Like Roland Barthes well-known book, LEmpire des signes, from which the title of the present collection is taken, this volume contains essays dealing with certain aspects of Japanese culture.
1. Introduction: Semiotics and Culture (by Ikegami, Yoshihiko), p1; 2. The Notion of the Sign in Japanese Tradition (by Toyama, Tomonori), p25; 3. Creative Interpretation of the Text and the Japanese Mentality (by Arima, Michiko), p33; 4. Characters that