Examines the complex history of Japanese colonial and postcolonial interactions with Korea, particularly in matters of cultural policy. This book focuses on past and present Japanese fascination with Korean culture as he reassesses colonial anthropology, heritage curation, cultural policy, and Korean performance art in Japanese mass media culture.
"Deeply researched and elegantly written, Primitive Selves reaches beyond the confines of the colonial era to the present Japanese preoccupation with Korea. This is an absolute must-read for students and scholars of East Asia."-Sabine Frühstück, author of Uneasy Warriors: Gender, Memory and Popular Culture in the Japanese Army
"A gem to be consulted by all students of anthropology, history, ethno-musicology, and colonial studies."-Hyung Il Pai, author of Constructing "Korean" Origins: A Critical Review of Archaeology, Historiography, and Racial Myth in Korean State Formation Theories
"The hallmark of Atkins' scholarship is his ability to take something seemingly marginal-Japanese jazz, Koreana-and use it as a lens to explore cultural practices, national sensibilities, and modern ideologies. In doing so, this book uncovers the anxieties about authenticity that underlie the Japanese fixation with Korean culture across the twentieth century. This is a great example of how to write the empire into the history of modern Japan."-Louise Young, author of Japan's Total Empire: Manchuria and the Culture of Wartime Imperialism
"Atkins's study offers a refreshing new perspective."
