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dmdavy's review
It's done in a sort of vignette style and I read a few and really loved it, but simply put it down. Would like to come back to it.
arirang's review
3.0
Ivan Morris's thesis is best stated in his introduction: "Napoleon's panegyrists rarely dwell on the period after Waterloo, whereas if he belonged to the Japanese tradition his cataclysm and it's bitter aftermath would be central to the heroic legend."
He focuses on the preference in Japanese history and culture for tragic heroes - heroes than didn't just fail, but crucially knew they were destined to fail but sacrificed themselves nevertheless.
This is illustrated by 10 case studies of such heroes, starting in the 4th century and ending with the World War II Kamikaze pilots (which as he points out were actually called Shimpu at the time).
In each case study, Morris gives an excellent overview of the character and his (it is always his) life and times, their tragic and heroic end, and also their posthomous history and reputation. He also does his best to separate history from myth - although as he points out the myth is actually more important in many cases to his hypothesis than the reality.
The book also gives an excellent view of Japanese history over the last 1500 years, since the characters involved typically played a pivotal role in key events. Morris's style is also highly accessible - his footnotes actually take up a third of the book, but the book can be read without reference to them, unlike many similar books where one spends half the time flicking back and forth between the main text and appendices.
The one tragic figure ("hero" is more questionable) without a dedicated chapter is Mishima Yukio, whose views instead feature throughout the book. Morris acknowledges him as a personal friend, while admitting they had strong differences of views, particularly on politics and indeed on their interpretation of many of the heroes in the book.
Finally a disclaimer - I was provided with a review copy of this book from the publisher, although the views expressed are my own.
He focuses on the preference in Japanese history and culture for tragic heroes - heroes than didn't just fail, but crucially knew they were destined to fail but sacrificed themselves nevertheless.
This is illustrated by 10 case studies of such heroes, starting in the 4th century and ending with the World War II Kamikaze pilots (which as he points out were actually called Shimpu at the time).
In each case study, Morris gives an excellent overview of the character and his (it is always his) life and times, their tragic and heroic end, and also their posthomous history and reputation. He also does his best to separate history from myth - although as he points out the myth is actually more important in many cases to his hypothesis than the reality.
The book also gives an excellent view of Japanese history over the last 1500 years, since the characters involved typically played a pivotal role in key events. Morris's style is also highly accessible - his footnotes actually take up a third of the book, but the book can be read without reference to them, unlike many similar books where one spends half the time flicking back and forth between the main text and appendices.
The one tragic figure ("hero" is more questionable) without a dedicated chapter is Mishima Yukio, whose views instead feature throughout the book. Morris acknowledges him as a personal friend, while admitting they had strong differences of views, particularly on politics and indeed on their interpretation of many of the heroes in the book.
Finally a disclaimer - I was provided with a review copy of this book from the publisher, although the views expressed are my own.
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