Download or read book Brief History of Japan written by Jonathan Clements and published by Tuttle Publishing. This book was released on 2017-08-01 with total page 326 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This fascinating history tells the story of the people of Japan, from ancient teenage priest-queens to teeming hordes of salarymen, a nation that once sought to conquer China, yet also shut itself away for two centuries in self-imposed seclusion. First revealed to Westerners in the chronicles of Marco Polo, Japan was a legendary faraway land defended by a fearsome Kamikaze storm and ruled by a divine sovereign. It was the terminus of the Silk Road, the furthest end of the known world, a fertile source of inspiration for European artists, and an enduring symbol of the mysterious East. In recent times, it has become a powerhouse of global industry, a nexus of popular culture, and a harbinger of post-industrial decline. With intelligence and wit, author Jonathan Clements blends documentary and storytelling styles to connect the past, present and future of Japan, and in broad yet detailed strokes reveals a country of paradoxes: a modern nation steeped in ancient traditions; a democracy with an emperor as head of state; a famously safe society built on 108 volcanoes resting on the world's most active earthquake zone; a fast-paced urban and technologically advanced country whose land consists predominantly of mountains and forests. Among the chapters in this Japanese history book are: The Way of the Gods: Prehistoric and Mythical Japan A Game of Thrones: Minamoto vs. Taira Time Warp: 200 Years of Isolation The Stench of Butter: Restoration and Modernization The New Breed: The Japanese Miracle

Download or read book The Japanese written by Christopher Harding and published by Penguin UK. This book was released on 2020-11-05 with total page 346 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A SUNDAY TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2020 'Mightily impressive ... a marvellous read' Sunday Times From the acclaimed author of Japan Story, this is the history of Japan, distilled into the stories of twenty remarkable individuals. The vivid and entertaining portraits in Chris Harding's enormously enjoyable new book take the reader from the earliest written accounts of Japan right through to the life of the current empress, Masako. We encounter shamans and warlords, poets and revolutionaries, scientists, artists and adventurers - each offering insights of their own into this extraordinary place. For anyone new to Japan, this book is the ideal introduction. For anyone already deeply involved with it, this is a book filled with surprises and pleasures.

Download or read book A History of the Japanese Language written by Bjarke Frellesvig and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2010-07-29 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bjarke Frellesvig describes the development of the Japanese language from its recorded beginnings until the present day as reflected by the written sources and historical record. Beginning with a description of the oldest attested stage of the language, Old Japanese (approximately the eighth century AD), and then tracing the changes which occurred through the Early Middle Japanese (800–1200), Late Middle Japanese (1200–1600) and the Modern Japanese (1600–onwards) periods, a complete internal history of the language is examined and discussed. This account provides a comprehensive study of how the Japanese language has developed and adapted, providing a much needed resource for scholars. A History of the Japanese Language is invaluable to all those interested in the Japanese language and also students of language change generally.

Download or read book Rethinking Japanese History written by Yoshihiko Amino and published by U of M Center for Japanese Studies. This book was released on 2012 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A call to reconsider Japanese history from the perspective of the deep past

Download or read book A History of Japan written by Kenneth Henshall and published by Springer. This book was released on 2012-04-17 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Japan's impact on the modern world has been enormous. It occupies just one 300th of the planet's land area, yet came to wield one sixth of the world's economic power. Just 150 years ago it was an obscure land of paddy fields and feudal despots. Within 50 years it became a major imperial power – it's so-called 'First Miracle'. After defeat in the Second World War, when Japan came close to annihilation, within 25 years it recovered remarkably to become the world's third biggest economy – it's 'Second Miracle'. It is now not only an economic superpower, but also a technological and cultural superpower. True miracles have no explanation: Japan's 'miracles' do. The nation's success lies in deeply ingrained historical values, such as a pragmatic determination to succeed. The world can learn much from Japan, and its story is told in these pages. Covering the full sweep of Japanese history, from ancient to contemporary, this book explores Japan's enormous impact on the modern world, and how vital it is to examine the past and culture of the country in order to full understand its achievements and responses. Now in its third edition, this book is usefully updated and revised.

Download or read book Encyclopedia of Japan written by Dorothy Perkins and published by New York : Facts on File. This book was released on 1991 with total page 424 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Less comprehensive and more popularly written than the nine-volume Kodansha Encyclopedia of Japan ( LJ 1/84), this single-volume work is nevertheless a valuable reference source. It is extremely current, including entries on such recent topics as the Recruit political scandal and current prime minister Kaifu Toshiki. While the articles in the Kodansha Encyclopedia are written by experts in the field and provide bibliographic references with nearly all of the entries, the present work is authored entirely by Perkins, whom the publisher identifies as ``an educator specializing in Buddhism and Japanese culture,'' and has only a general bibliography at the end. For its more comprehensive treatment, especially of historical topics and traditional culture, the Kodansha remains a standard source, but for its currency and value as a ready reference tool the Perkins volume will be a useful acquisition for most libraries as well. Its single-volume format and lower cost make it an excellent acquisition for smaller libraries.-- Scott Wright, Univ. of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minn. - Library Journal.

Download or read book A Companion to Japanese History written by William M. Tsutsui and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2009-07-20 with total page 633 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Companion to Japanese History provides an authoritative overview of current debates and approaches within the study of Japan’s history. Composed of 30 chapters written by an international group of scholars Combines traditional perspectives with the most recent scholarly concerns Supplements a chronological survey with targeted thematic analyses Presents stimulating interventions into individual controversies

Download or read book A Brief History of Japanese Civilization written by Conrad Schirokauer and published by Wadsworth Publishing Company. This book was released on 2006 with total page 356 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Preface. Part I: BEGINNINGS AND FOUNDATIONS. 1. Early Japan. 2. The Impact of Continental Civilization. Part II: ARISTOCRATS, MONKS, AND SAMURAI. 3. The Heian Period. 4. The Kamakura Period. 5. The Ashikaga Shogunate: Integration and Disintegration. Part III: LATE TRADITIONAL JAPAN. 6. The Formation of a New Order. 7. The Tokugawa Shogunate: The Middle Years. Part IV: JAPAN IN THE MODERN WORLD. 8. Endings and Beginnings: From Tokugawa to Meiji. 9. The Emergence of Modern Japan: 1874-1894. 10. Imperial Japan 18951931. 11. Militarism and War. 12. The New Japan. Afterword. Suggestions for Further Reading. Index.

Download or read book Gendering Modern Japanese History written by Barbara Molony and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2020-05-11 with total page 631 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "In the past quarter-century, gender has emerged as a lively area of inquiry for historians and other scholars, and gender analysis has suggested important revisions of the “master narratives” of national histories—the dominant, often celebratory tales of the successes of a nation and its leaders. Although modern Japanese history has not yet been restructured by a foregrounding of gender, historians of Japan have begun to embrace gender as an analytic category. The sixteen chapters in this volume treat men as well as women, theories of sexuality as well as gender prescriptions, and same-sex as well as heterosexual relations in the period from 1868 to the present. All of them take the position that history is gendered; that is, historians invariably, perhaps unconsciously, construct a gendered notion of past events, people, and ideas. Together, these essays construct a history informed by the idea that gender matters because it was part of the experience of people and because it often has been a central feature in the construction of modern ideologies, discourses, and institutions. Separately, each chapter examines how Japanese have (en)gendered their ideas, institutions, and society. "

Download or read book Japan to 1600 written by William Wayne Farris and published by University of Hawaii Press. This book was released on 2009-04-27 with total page 250 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Japan to 1600 surveys Japanese historical development from the first evidence of human habitation in the archipelago to the consolidation of political power under the Tokugawa shogunate at the beginning of the seventeenth century. It is unique among introductory texts for its focus on developments that impacted all social classes rather than the privileged and powerful few. In accessible language punctuated with lively and interesting examples, William Wayne Farris weaves together major economic and social themes. The book focuses on continuity and change in social and economic structures and experiences, but it by no means ignores the political and cultural. Most chapters begin with an outline of political developments, and cultural phenomena—particularly religious beliefs—are also taken into account. In addition, Japan to 1600 addresses the growing connectedness between residents of the archipelago and the rest of the world. Farris describes how the early inhabitants of the islands moved from a forager mode of subsistence to a more predominantly agrarian base, supplemented by sophisticated industries and an advanced commercial economy. He reveals how the transition to farming took place over many centuries as people moved back and forth from settled agriculture to older forager-collector regimes in response to ecological, political, and personal factors. Economics influenced demographics, and, as the population expanded, the class structure became increasingly complex and occupational specialization and status divisions more intricate. Along with this came trends toward more tightly knit corporate organizations (village, city, market, family), and classes of servants, slaves, and outcastes formed. In reflecting the diversity of traditional Japan’s economy and society, Japan to 1600 is well suited for both undergraduate and graduate courses and will be a welcome introduction to Japan’s early history for scholars and students of other disciplines and regions.

Download or read book On the Persistence of the Japanese History Problem written by Hitomi Koyama and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2018-06-13 with total page 283 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Japan, people often refer to August 15, 1945 as the end of "that war." But the duration of "that war" remains vague. At times, it refers to the fifteen years of war in the Asia-Pacific. At others, it refers to an imagination of the century long struggle between the East and the West that characterized much of the 19th century. This latter dramatization in particular reinforces longstanding Eurocentric and Orientalist discourses about historical development that presume the non-West lacks historical agency. Nearly 75 years since the nominal end of the war, Japan’s "history problem" – a term invoking the nation’s inability to come to terms with its imperial past – persists throughout Asia today. Going beyond well-worn clichés about the state’s use and abuse of discourses of historical modernity, Koyama shows how the inability to confront the debris of empire is tethered to the deferral of agency to a hegemonic order centered on the United States. The present is thus a moment one stitched between the disavowal of responsibility on the one hand, and the necessity of becoming a proper subject of history on the other. Behind this seeming impasse lay questions about how to imagine the state as the subject of history in a postcolonial moment – after grand narratives, after patriotism, and after triumphalism.

Download or read book A History of Japanese Religion written by 笠原一男 and published by Tuttle Publishing. This book was released on 2001 with total page 660 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Seventeen distinguished experts on Japanese religion provide a fascinating overview of its history and development. Beginning with the origins of religion in primitive Japanese society, they chart the growth of each of Japan's major religious organizations and doctrinal systems. They follow Buddhism, Shintoism, Christianity, and popular religious belief through major periods of change to show how history and religion affected each-and discuss the interactions between the different religious traditions.

Download or read book The Columbia Guide to Modern Japanese History written by Gary D. Allinson and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 1999 with total page 284 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first all-inclusive, single-volume guide to the history of modern Japan--conveniently divided into easy-to-use sections that provide a narrative, topical compendium, resource guide, and selected documents

Download or read book A History of Japan written by Richard Henry Pitt Mason and published by . This book was released on 1973 with total page 334 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book History of Japanese Art written by Penelope E. Mason and published by Prentice Hall. This book was released on 2005 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Japanese art, like so many expressions of Japanese culture, is fascinatingly rich in its contrasts and paradoxes. Since the country opened its doors to the outside world in the mid-nineteenth century. Japanese art and culture have enjoyed an immense popularity in the West. When in 1993 renowned scholar Penelope Mason wrote the the first edition of History of Japanese Art, it was the first such volume in thirty yearsto chart a detailed overview of the subject. It remains the only comprehensive survey of its kind in English. This second edition ties together more closely the development of all the media within a well-articulated historical and social context. New to the Second Edition Extended coverage of Japanese art beyond 1945 New discoveries both in archeology and scholarship New material on calligraphy, ceramics, lacquerware, metalware, and textiles An extended glossary A comprehensively updated bibliography 94 new illustrations

Download or read book Routledge Handbook of Premodern Japanese History written by Karl F. Friday and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2017-07-14 with total page 433 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Scholarship on premodern Japan has grown spectacularly over the past four decades, in terms of both sophistication and volume. A new approach has developed, marked by a higher reliance on primary documents, a shift away from the history of elites to broader explorations of social structures, and a re-examination of many key assumptions. As a result, the picture of the early Japanese past now taught by specialists differs radically from the one that was current in the mid-twentieth century. This handbook offers a comprehensive historiographical review of Japanese history up until the 1500s. Featuring chapters by leading historians and covering the early Jōmon, Yayoi, Kofun, Nara, and Heian eras, as well as the later medieval periods, each section provides a foundational grasp of the major themes in premodern Japan. The sections will include: Geography and the environment Political events and institutions Society and culture Economy and technology The Routledge Handbook of Premodern Japanese History is an essential reference work for students and scholars of Japanese, Asian, and World History.

Download or read book History of Art in Japan written by Nobuo Tsuji and published by . This book was released on 2019-08-27 with total page 632 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this book the leading authority on Japanese art history sheds light on how Japan has nurtured distinctive aesthetics, prominent artists, and movements that have achieved global influence and popularity. The History of Art in Japan discusses works ranging from earthenware figurines in 13,000 BCE to manga, anime, and modern subcultures.