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Movements of people through migration, exile, and diaspora are central to understanding power relationships in Japan 900 1400. But what of more literary moves: texts with abrupt genre leaps or poetic figures that flatten distances? Terry Kawashima examines what happens when both types of tropes literal travels and literary shifts coexist."

In texts from the mid-Heian to the early Kamakura periods, certain figures appear to be "marginal" or removed from "centers" of power. But why do we see these figures in this way? This study first seeks to answer this question by examining the details of the marginalizing discourse found in these texts. Who is portraying whom as marginal? For what reason? Is the discourse consistent? The author next considers these texts in terms of the predilection of modern scholarship, both Japanese and Western, to label certain figures "marginal." She then poses the question: Is this predilection a helpful tool or does it inscribe modern biases and misconceptions onto these texts?

Lists useful Japanese phrases for making reservations, socializing, dining out, shopping, asking directions, and seeking medical care, and briefly discusses grammar and pronunciation

Make the most of your trip to Japan with this convenient phrasebook/dictionary. Living Language Traveltalk TM Japanese is the ideal traveler's companion. It's easy and fun to learn essential phrases, even if you've never studied Japanese before. This 288-page book features: -- more than 2,200 useful expressions in well-organized chapters covering every travel situation from arrival to departure -- an accurate, easy-to-use phonetic system that helps you speak like a native -- a 1,600-word English-Japanese/Japanese-English dictionary -- extensive, practical travel information for Japan, including two maps. Living Language Traveltalk TM book/cassette packages are available in Italian, Spanish, French, German, Russian, and Portuguese.