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 Japan written by Mikiso Hane and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2013-09-01 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What is a shogun? Who were the samurai and what is the warrior code? What lies behind the Japanese work ethic? From the ancient tea ceremony to the boom and subsequent downturn of its economic prosperity, this uniquely concise introduction to Japan and its history surveys nearly 10,000 years of society, culture, economics and politics. Balancing economic and political information with new insights into the twin spheres of art and religion, Mikiso Hane offers authoritative coverage of all aspects of Japanese life. With a particular focus on the key events of the last 200 years, the author also pays special attention to the changing conditions of those whose history has been so frequently neglected - the women, the peasants, and the lowest order of untouchables. Well-rounded and enlightening, this informative account of Japan and its people will be greatly appreciated by historians, students and all those with an interest in this diverse and enigmatic country.
Download or read book The Japanese Experience written by W. G. Beasley and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2000-08-31 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An authoritative history of Japan from the sixth century to the present day and of a society and culture with a distinct sense of itself, one of the few nations never conquered by a foreign power in historic times until the 12th century. 35 illustrations.
Download or read book SHORTEST HISTORY OF JAPAN written by LESLEY. DOWNER and published by . This book was released on 2024 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book A Short History of Japan written by Curtis Andressen and published by Allen & Unwin. This book was released on 2002-09-01 with total page 267 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This comprehensive, readable history of the land of the rising Sun, from its ancient origins to its fascinating past, is an ideal introduction to Japan for travellers, business people and students, and a compelling read for those interested in this rich culture and fascinating history.
Download or read book A Concise History of Japan written by Brett L. Walker and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2015-02-26 with total page 365 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: To this day, Japan's modern ascendancy challenges many assumptions about world history, particularly theories regarding the rise of the west and why the modern world looks the way it does. In this engaging new history, Brett L. Walker tackles key themes regarding Japan's relationships with its minorities, state and economic development, and the uses of science and medicine. The book begins by tracing the country's early history through archaeological remains, before proceeding to explore life in the imperial court, the rise of the samurai, civil conflict, encounters with Europe, and the advent of modernity and empire. Integrating the pageantry of a unique nation's history with today's environmental concerns, Walker's vibrant and accessible new narrative then follows Japan's ascension from the ashes of World War II into the thriving nation of today. It is a history for our times, posing important questions regarding how we should situate a nation's history in an age of environmental and climatological uncertainties.
Download or read book A Brief History of the Samurai written by Jonathan Clements and published by Robinson. This book was released on 2013-02-07 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Clements has a knack for writing suspenseful sure-footed conflict scenes: His recounting of the Korean invasion led by samurai and daimyo Toyotomi Hideyoshi reads like a thriller. If you're looking for a samurai primer, Clements' guide will keep you on the hook' Japan Times, reviewed as part of an Essential Reading for Japanophiles series From a leading expert in Japanese history, this is one of the first full histories of the art and culture of the Samurai warrior. The Samurai emerged as a warrior caste in Medieval Japan and would have a powerful influence on the history and culture of the country from the next 500 years. Clements also looks at the Samurai wars that tore Japan apart in the 17th and 18th centuries and how the caste was finally demolished in the advent of the mechanized world.
Download or read book The Shortest History of China From the Ancient Dynasties to a Modern Superpower A Retelling for Our Times Shortest History written by Linda Jaivin and published by The Experiment, LLC. This book was released on 2021-09-28 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Journey across epic China—through millennia of early innovation to modern dominance. The Shortest History books deliver thousands of years of history in one riveting, fast-paced read. As we enter the “Asian century,” China demands our attention for being an economic powerhouse, a beacon of rapid modernization, and an assertive geopolitical player. To understand the nation behind the headlines, we must take in its vibrant, tumultuous past—a story of “larger-than-life characters, philosophical arguments and political intrigues, military conflicts and social upheavals, artistic invention and technological innovation.” The Shortest History of China charts a path from China’s tribal origins through its storied imperial era and up to the modern Communist Party under Xi Jinping—including the rarely told story of women in China and the specters of corruption and disunity that continue to haunt the People’s Republic today. A master storyteller and exacting historian, Linda Jaivin distills this vast history into a short, riveting account that today’s globally minded readers will find indispensable.
Download or read book The Shortest History of Europe How Conquest Culture and Religion Forged a Continent A Retelling for Our Times Shortest History written by James Hirst and published by The Experiment, LLC. This book was released on 2022-11-08 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Uncover the decisive moments that shaped a world-changing continent. The Shortest History books deliver thousands of years of history in one riveting, fast-paced read. Celebrated historian John Hirst draws from his own lectures to deliver this ultra-accessible master class on the making of modern Europe, from Ancient Greece through World War II. With over 600,000 copies sold worldwide, this brief history is a global sensation propelled by a thesis of astonishing simplicity: Just three elements—German warfare, Greek and Roman culture, and Christianity—come together to explain everything else, from the Crusades to the Industrial Revolution. Hirst’s razor-sharp grasp of cause and effect helps us see with sparkling clarity how the history of Europe—the crucible of liberal democracy—shapes the way we live today.
Download or read book A Short History of Japan written by Ernest Wilson Clement and published by . This book was released on 1915 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Engaging Japanese Philosophy written by Thomas P. Kasulis and published by University of Hawaii Press. This book was released on 2017-12-31 with total page 785 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Philosophy challenges our assumptions—especially when it comes to us from another culture. In exploring Japanese philosophy, a dependable guide is essential. The present volume, written by a renowned authority on the subject, offers readers a historical survey of Japanese thought that is both comprehensive and comprehensible. Adhering to the Japanese philosophical tradition of highlighting engagement over detachment, Thomas Kasulis invites us to think with, as well as about, the Japanese masters by offering ample examples, innovative analogies, thought experiments, and jargon-free explanations. He assumes little previous knowledge and addresses themes—aesthetics, ethics, the samurai code, politics, among others—not in a vacuum but within the conditions of Japan’s cultural and intellectual history. For readers new to Japanese studies, he provides a simplified guide to pronouncing Japanese and a separate discussion of the language and how its syntax, orthography, and linguistic layers can serve the philosophical purposes of a skilled writer and subtle thinker. For those familiar with the Japanese cultural tradition but less so with philosophy, Kasulis clarifies philosophical expressions and problems, Western as well as Japanese, as they arise. Half of the book’s chapters are devoted to seven major thinkers who collectively represent the full range of Japan’s historical epochs and philosophical traditions: Kūkai, Shinran, Dōgen, Ogyū Sorai, Motoori Norinaga, Nishida Kitarō, and Watsuji Tetsurō. Nuanced details and analyses enable an engaged understanding of Japanese Buddhism, Confucianism, Shintō, and modern academic philosophy. Other chapters supply social and cultural background, including brief discussions of nearly a hundred other philosophical writers. (For additional information, cross references to material in the companion volume Japanese Philosophy: A Sourcebook are included.) In his closing chapter Kasulis reflects on lessons from Japanese philosophy that enhance our understanding of philosophy itself. He reminds us that philosophy in its original sense means loving wisdom, not studying ideas. In that regard, a renewed appreciation of engaged knowing can play a critical role in the revitalization of philosophy in the West as well as the East.
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 Modern Japan A Very Short Introduction written by Christopher Goto-Jones and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2009-04-23 with total page 177 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Japan is arguably today's most successful industrial economy, combining almost unprecedented affluence with social stability and apparent harmony. Japanese goods and cultural products are consumed all over the world, ranging from animated movies and computer games all the way through to cars, semiconductors, and management techniques. In many ways, Japan is an icon of the modern world, and yet it remains something of an enigma to many, who see it as a confusing montage of the alien and the familiar, the ancient and modern. The aim of this Very Short Introduction is to explode the myths and explore the reality of modern Japan - by taking a concise look at its history, economy, politics, and culture. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
Download or read book The Making of Modern Japan written by Marius B. Jansen and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2009-07-01 with total page 933 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Magisterial in vision, sweeping in scope, this monumental work presents a seamless account of Japanese society during the modern era, from 1600 to the present. A distillation of more than fifty years’ engagement with Japan and its history, it is the crowning work of our leading interpreter of the modern Japanese experience. Since 1600 Japan has undergone three periods of wrenching social and institutional change, following the imposition of hegemonic order on feudal society by the Tokugawa shogun; the opening of Japan’s ports by Commodore Perry; and defeat in World War II. The Making of Modern Japan charts these changes: the social engineering begun with the founding of the shogunate in 1600, the emergence of village and castle towns with consumer populations, and the diffusion of samurai values in the culture. Marius Jansen covers the making of the modern state, the adaptation of Western models, growing international trade, the broadening opportunity in Japanese society with industrialization, and the postwar occupation reforms imposed by General MacArthur. Throughout, the book gives voice to the individuals and views that have shaped the actions and beliefs of the Japanese, with writers, artists, and thinkers, as well as political leaders given their due. The story this book tells, though marked by profound changes, is also one of remarkable consistency, in which continuities outweigh upheavals in the development of society, and successive waves of outside influence have only served to strengthen a sense of what is unique and native to Japanese experience. The Making of Modern Japan takes us to the core of this experience as it illuminates one of the contemporary world’s most compelling transformations.
Download or read book The Shortest History of Japan From Mythical Origins to Pop Culture Powerhouse The Global Drama of an Ancient Island Nation The Shortest History Series written by Lesley Downer and published by The Experiment, LLC. This book was released on 2024-07-30 with total page 229 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Discover the aesthetic traditions, political resilience, and modern economic might of this singular island nation. The Shortest History books deliver thousands of years of history in one riveting, fast-paced read. Zen, haiku, martial arts, sushi, anime, manga, film, video games . . . Japanese culture has long enriched our Western way of life. Yet from a Western perspective, Japan remains a remote island country that has long had a complicated relationship with the outside world. Japan—an archipelago strung like a necklace around the Asian mainland—is considerably farther from Asia than Britain is from Europe. The sea has provided an effective barrier against invasion and enabled the culture to develop in unique ways. During the Edo period, the Tokugawa shoguns successfully closed the country to the West. Then, Japan swung in the opposite direction, adopting Western culture wholesale. Both strategies enabled it to avoid colonization—and to retain its traditions and way of life. A skilled storyteller and accurate historian, Lesley Downer presents the dramatic sweep of Japanese history and the larger-than-life individuals—from emperors descended from the Sun Goddess to warlords, samurai, merchants, court ladies, women warriors, geisha, and businessmen—who shaped this extraordinary modern society.
Download or read book The Perry Expedition and the Opening of Japan to the West 1853 1873 written by Paul Hendrix Clark and published by Hackett Publishing. This book was released on 2020-04-01 with total page 170 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: By the time U.S. Commodore Matthew Perry's squadron of four ships sailed into Tokyo Bay on July 8, 1853, the Japanese Tokugawa government had already fended off similarly unwelcome intrusions by the French, the Russians, the Dutch, and the British. These Western imperialists had the power and the means to force Japan into the kinds of treaties that would effectively spell the end of Japan’s autonomy, maybe even its existence as an independent country. At the same moment, Japan was also grappling with a serious insurrection, the death of an emperor, and the death of a shogun—as well as with a series of natural disasters and associated famines. The Japanese response to this incredible series of catastrophes would permanently alter the balance of geopolitical power around the world. Drawing on the best recent scholarship, this short introductory volume examines the motivations and maneuvers of the major participants in the conflict and sets the "opening" of Japan in the context of broader global history. Selections from twenty-nine primary sources provide firsthand accounts of the event from a variety of perspectives. Several illustrations are also included, along with a note on historiographic interpretation.
Download or read book The Cambridge History of Japan written by John Whitney Hall and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1988 with total page 742 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Survey of the historical events and developments in medieval Japan's polity, economy, society and culture.
