THE EMPIRE OF SIGNS -- Editorial page -- Title page -- Copyright page -- Table of contents -- Contributors -- Introduction: Semiotics and Culture -- 1. Semiotics -- 2. Culture in relation to semiotics -- 3. Roland Barthes and The Empire of Signs -- 4. 'East' and 'West': Some considerations toward a semiotic typology of culture -- Notes -- References -- The Notion of the Sign in Japanese Tradition -- Note -- Creative Interpretation of the Text and the Japanese Mentality -- 1. The creative performance of interpreting text in contexts -- 2. New rules in a Japanese semiotic society -- 3. The covertness of Japanese culture: uniformity, passivity, sympathy, teamwork, tranquility, simplicity, and strong context-dependency -- Conclusion -- Notes -- References -- Characters that Represent, Reflect, and Translate Culture - in the Context of the Revolution in Modern Art -- Concrete Poetry -- Notes -- The Images of Japanese Landscapes: A Typological Approach -- 1. The basin surrounded by mountains. -- 2. Narrow valleys or gorges -- 3. The mountain edge -- 4. The maternal landscape -- Notes -- References -- Semiosis in Architecture: A Systemic Analysis of the Traditional Towntextures in Japan -- Introduction -- 1. The multi-modality of the urban semiotic text -- 2. Systemic code: the sign system of towntextures -- 3. Scene analysis: the formation of towntexture -- 4. Text analysis: the meaning of towntextures -- 5. Concluding remarks: semiosis in architecture -- Notes -- Glossary of Japanese Architectural Language -- References -- Intertextuality in Japanese Traditional Music -- 1. Octopus traps and the vertical society -- 2. The style of 'syamisen' music in general -- 3. Intra-stylistic intertextuality -- 4. Inter-stylistic intertextuality -- 5. Intertextuality, group consciousness, vertical societies, octopus traps -- Note -- References.

The "Forbidden Chamber" Motif in a Japanese Fairy Tale -- 1. The Bush Warbler's Home -- 2. The problem of cultural differences -- 3. Consciousness -- 4. What has happened? -- 5. A woman who disappears -- Note -- Aspects of Japanese Nonverbal Behavior in Relation to Traditional Culture -- 1. Nonverbal communication -- 2. Assumptions regarding the system of communication -- 3. Assumption for cultural influence on nonverbal communication -- 4. Aspects of Japanese nonverbal behavior in relation to traditional culture -- 5. Japanese nonverbal behavior in relation to clothing -- 6. Japanese nonverbal behavior in relation to style of eating -- 7. Japanese nonverbal behavior in relation to shelter -- 8. Japanese nonverbal behavior in relation to religion -- 9. Discussions and summary -- References -- Cosmological Dimensionof the Japanese Theater -- 1. The concept of theatrical space in traditional Japan -- 2. The basic structure of Japanese theatrical forms -- 3. Symbolic dimension of performance in Japanese culture and in theater -- 4. Cosmological dimension of stage performance -- Notes -- References -- Literary Semiotics of Suburban Houses -- The Ghost Trio: Beckett, Yeats, and Noh -- Notes -- A Semiotic Approach to the Role of Paritta in the Buddhist Ritual -- Note -- References -- 'DO-language' and 'BECOME-Language': Two Contrasting Types of Linguistic Representation -- 0. Introductory -- 1. Linguistic representation of the individuum -- 2. Linguistic representation of the human -- 3. Linguistic representation of the agent -- 4. Some concluding remarks -- Notes -- References -- Index -- The series Foundations of Semiotics.