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abbymorr11's review against another edition
3.0
i read this textbook for a class i did not like, i felt like this book was all about the economy and war. i just can’t stand be taught about the history of an entire nation and feeling like it was only about battles, war hero’s, and men. i would have preferred more information about women and social changes both from the boom and the class
statman's review against another edition
3.0
I know so little about Japan and the people there that I wanted to get a sense for how modern Japan came to be. There's a lot packed into this book and it will help you learn a lot about the modern aspects. Now I've got to go find a book that covers the earlier time periods of Japanese history.
ejerig's review against another edition
4.0
An extremely dense, generally unpleasant read when forced to read a chapter a week multiple times. There were some very important parts of Japanese history that were left out, but I'll be generous and only cut one star for that since covering the entire history of modern Japan in less than 400 pages is a tough task.
zkhesbak's review against another edition
4.0
I completed my months' long survey of Japanese history with this book, which is actually a textbook. It does a good job at covering what is a long space of time, and all of its political tumult with all corresponding factionalization, rounds and rounds of political infighting, and broad social and economic trends. I think it provides an adequate and interesting scaffolding for further reading in focused topics of Japanese history.
There is a touch of editorializing here and there, but for the most part it maintains a relatively objective tone and is interesting to read. Perhaps more interesting to me than the Samson trilogy, but this may be either due to the short space of time if covers or its modern relevance to me personally.
On reflection, I think reading the history (this or others, I'm sure) provides a different perspective than cultural exports I have enjoyed over the past couple decades would allow. It is a story that is less a monolith of a united and focused peoples and more a series of reactions to outside influences as they are incorporated into a Japanese protoplasm. A society which responds in varying degrees and with varying success to the challenges which it faces but typically with a mind on the community (though not immune from scandal and self-immolation).
In many ways, it is the story of all nations. There are idiosyncratic traits, to be sure, but it has always been and will continue to be interesting to me how individual voices sing out from such a mass of peoples. I recommend this book as an introductory text to modern Japan, and perhaps a more pertinent starting point than delving into the chaos of the pre-history and medieval chaos which preceded it.
There is a touch of editorializing here and there, but for the most part it maintains a relatively objective tone and is interesting to read. Perhaps more interesting to me than the Samson trilogy, but this may be either due to the short space of time if covers or its modern relevance to me personally.
On reflection, I think reading the history (this or others, I'm sure) provides a different perspective than cultural exports I have enjoyed over the past couple decades would allow. It is a story that is less a monolith of a united and focused peoples and more a series of reactions to outside influences as they are incorporated into a Japanese protoplasm. A society which responds in varying degrees and with varying success to the challenges which it faces but typically with a mind on the community (though not immune from scandal and self-immolation).
In many ways, it is the story of all nations. There are idiosyncratic traits, to be sure, but it has always been and will continue to be interesting to me how individual voices sing out from such a mass of peoples. I recommend this book as an introductory text to modern Japan, and perhaps a more pertinent starting point than delving into the chaos of the pre-history and medieval chaos which preceded it.
fraeyalise's review
5.0
One of the best textbooks I've had in a long time. I actually looked forward to our reading assignments. Read for an upper division college class: History of Japan Since 1850.
rick_sam's review against another edition
3.0
A thorough well written book on Japan from Tokugawa Shogunate until 1990s. I think I was surprised by the amount of change in Japan from 1860's - 1880's. Japan transformed from Feudal state into Modern nation.
This is an academic book. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in gaining an outline of Japan.
Deus Vult,
Gottfried
This is an academic book. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in gaining an outline of Japan.
Deus Vult,
Gottfried
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