03754nam a2200433 i 4500 45855 BD-DhAAL 20260609192506.0 260609t2022 caua b 001 0 eng 2021019537 9781503610385 9781503629943 9781503629950 22012165 CSt/DLC eng DLC rda BD-DhAAL pcc a-ja--- HE3360.T6 A24 2022 385.0952 23 Abel, Jessamyn R., 1970- author. 61227 Dream super-express : a cultural history of the world's first bullet train / Jessamyn R. Abel. Stanford, California : Stanford University Press, 2022. ix, 289 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm Studies of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia University Includes bibliographical references and index. Introduction : dreams of infrastructure -- Invisible infrastructures of protest in Kyoto -- Reconstructing the Tōkaidō -- Railroad for the information society -- Nostalgia for imperial Japan -- Technology of cultural diplomacy -- Conclusion : bullet train dreams in the twenty-first century. "A symbol of the "new Japan" displayed at World's Fairs, depicted in travel posters, and celebrated as the product of a national spirit of innovation, the Tōkaidō Shinkansen--the first bullet train, dubbed the "dream super-express"--represents the bold aspirations of a nation rebranding itself after military defeat, but also the deep problems caused by the unbridled postwar drive for economic growth. At the dawn of the space age, how could a train become such an important symbol? In Dream Super-Express, Jessamyn Abel contends that understanding the various, often contradictory, images of the bullet train reveals how infrastructure operates beyond its intended use as a means of transportation to perform cultural and sociological functions. The multi-layered dreams surrounding this high-speed railway tell a history not only of nation-building but of resistance and disruption. Though it constituted neither a major technological leap nor a new infrastructural connection, the train enchanted, enthralled, and enraged government officials, media pundits, community activists, novelists, and filmmakers. This history of imaginations around the monumental rail system resists the commonplace story of progress to consider the tug-of-war over the significance of the new line. Is it a vision of the future or a reminder of the past, an object of international admiration or a formidable threat? Does it enable new relationships and identities or reify existing social hierarchies? Tracing the meanings assigned to high-speed rail shows how it prompted a reimagination of identity on the levels of individual, metropolis, and nation in a changing Japan"-- AAL Tōkaidō Shinkansen (High speed train) History. 61228 High speed trains Social aspects Japan History. 61229 Railroads Social aspects Japan History. 61230 Technology Social aspects Japan History. 61231 Japan History 1945-1989. 61232 Online version: Abel, Jessamyn R., 1970- Dream super-express. Stanford, California : Stanford University Press, 2022 9781503629950 (DLC) 2021019538 Studies of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia University. 60986 Ayesha Abed Library General Stacks ddc BK 48079 48079 0 0 ddc 0 0 BRACUL BRACUL 2026-06-09 Donated by Embassy of Japan in Bangladesh, Read Japan Project 2025, The Tokyo Foundation, supported by The Nippon Foundation. 0 385.0952 ABE 3010045855 2026-06-09 1 2026-06-09 BK