Book Description
In a single short book as elegant as it is wise, Ian Buruma makes sense of the most fateful span of Japan’s history, the period that saw as dramatic a transformation as any country has ever known. In the course of little more than a hundred years from the day Commodore Matthew Perry arrived in his black ships, this insular, preindustrial realm mutated into an expansive military dictatorship that essentially supplanted the British, French, Dutch, and American empires in Asia before plunging to utter ruin, eventually emerging under American tutelage as a pseudo-Western-style democracy and economic dynamo.

What explains the seismic changes that thrust this small island nation so violently onto the world stage? In part, Ian Buruma argues, the story is one of a newly united nation that felt it must play catch-up to the established Western powers, just as Germany and Italy did, a process that involved, in addition to outward colonial expansion, internal cultural consolidation and the manufacturing of a shared heritage. But Japan has always been both particularly open to the importation of good ideas and particularly prickly about keeping their influence quarantined, a bipolar disorder that would have dramatic consequences and that continues to this day. If one book is to be read in order to understand why the Japanese seem so impossibly strange to many Americans, Inventing Japan is surely it. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (17)

A Starting Point
This introduction to modern Japanese history -- from Com. Perry's 1853 naval mission to the 1964 Olympics -- is perfectly fine as just that, an introduction for those who have neither the time nor inclination to read an in-depth 500-800 page work. Of course, as is to be expected from such a gloss, the author skims lightly across major topics, and without the context of further reading or background knowledge, it's difficult for the average reader to know what to make of Buruma's interpretations, emphases, and omissions.

Certainly the span of time is well chosen, although as the book is clear to point out, the arrival of Perry's "black ships" to force Japan to trade with the U.S. was hardly the first significant contact with the West. For quite some time, Japan had contacts with the Netherlands, and a segment of Japanese intelligentsia pursued "Dutch learning." Still, it's a good starting point, as the American arrival heralded the end of the feudal era and the start of the Meiji Restoration. Aside from little snippets here and there (a section on 1920s Japan made me curious to read more about the era), much of the early part of the book revolves around Japan's military muscle-flexing.

The 1904-05 Russo-Japanese War, which Buruma describes as a brutal dress rehearsal for World War I, starts the century off on an ominous note, as the Japanese taste of victory against a European power sparks delusions of grandeur. These delusions mount as the century moves forward, taking the form of expeditions into Manchuria and China (Rape of Nanking anyone?), and finally the attack on Pearl Harbor. Japanese militarism is portrayed as an outgrowth of a strange blend of overconfidence, inferiority complex, and sentiments of racial and national superiority. Such sweeping generalization of national character are bound to raise some readers' hackles, but to Buruma's credit, he doesn't dance around them.

Less familiar than Japan's military adventurism is the overview of the U.S. occupation and influence in the postwar years, and the crafting of a new constitution by low-level American bureaucrats. Another relatively less well-known area Burma sketches is the postwar Japanese domestic scene. This comes across as a relatively cozy balance of power between politicians and bureaucrats, with plenty of corruption to go around. One comes out of it with the dispiriting sense that Japan's democracy is a rather hollow one, mired in entrenched interests and overly dependent on the U.S. The narrative ends with the staging of the 1964 Olympics, an event that marks Japan's complete reassimiliation into the world community.

Ultimately, this appears to be a reasonable overview, perhaps best suited as one of several texts in an undergraduate course on Japanese history. Without some other guidance or supplementary reading, it's simply too full of interpretation to take at face value. Fortunately, Buruma does provide an excellent bibliography for those interested in further reading.

A quick read and summary, but ultimately confusing
A short book can be a great introduction to a topic, or provide a quick overview to something that you do not care to delve further in.Or, it can leave out so much context and nuance, that it is simply confusing.I am a history buff, but not a Japan expert attracted by the topic and timeframe of this book.And I cannot say I did not learn anything or that the book was dry and uninteresting.But it was breathtakingly quick...seeming to jump through the decades, introducing and then throwing away topics and characters and leaving one with far more questions than answers.I cannot comment on the biases others have noted, because I do not have enough knowledge to judge, but there was a certain "flip-ness" to the writing that was irritating, and the overall structure and pace was so flawed I cannot recommend this book regardless of its accuracy or insight.

50% five + 50%zero stars =2.5 stars.
This is the only book, I have read about the history of Japan so far. If the analysis can be validated to be true, it is a fascinating brief history of Japan that teaches the fundamentals. However, if it is a biased fantasy then it is very offending to Japanese culture. I have a tendency to believe that most of it is biased. It describes the Japanese people as easily manipulated crowd that can take a person to be their God after an overnight decision by the power elite. It gives a sense that Japanese people in any part of their history were imitating, adopting cultures of others. Reader is pushed to believe that if Japanese culture is left unchecked it has a huge potential to do harm.

I also feel hard to believe that while the elite bureaucrats are imitating the western style of life, the public, especially working class, would swallow such behavior like candy as described in the book.

It is a brief book that is very coherent in its analysis. However, it feels such an analysis may be very biased and not reflecting the truth.

Graceful Losers: The Emergence of Modern Japan
Since Mathew Perry's Black Ships reached Japan and broke its self imposed exclusion from the world, the Japanese Experience has been extraordinary.Alone among the non Western nations it has mastered Western science, technology, and economic prowess, and had earned a place among the major world powers in the pre WW2 world.Then it has joined in with Hitler and Mussolini as part of the Axis power, unleashing a gruesome campaign against its weaker Asian neighbors and a suicidal one against the United States.Following its defeat, Japan reemerged as a pacifist democracy and an economic and cultural world leader.

Ian Buruma's fascinating little book about the century between Perry's arrival and the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, has to cover a lot of ground in 160 pages (he has about 1.5 pages per year).His book is necessarily frustrating in its gloss of important aspects, but he nonetheless supplies a useful account of Japan's political history throughout the period (and, surprisingly, quite a lot about Japanese culture as well, particularly the Cinema).

It seems redundant to summarize the political developments in Japan; Suffice to say that, rather then a confrontation between traditionalists and modernists; Buruma sees a conflict between modernists of the Liberal and illiberal kind.The latter, drawing upon the German model, transformed Shinto into a state religion celebrating a divine emperor, created a highly militaristic state, and led Japan into a series of Military adventures, from the Sino-Japanese war of 1895, through the war with Russia in 1905, the 'Manchurian incident' in 1931, and finally to Pearl Harbor.

Following Japan's inevitable defeat, The American occupation force purged the hardliner military leaders, but maintained Emperor Hirohito (Buruma is inconclusive as to the level of his culpability in Japan's militarism).It created a new Constitution (dedicated to Pacifism), and partially, but not entirely, reshaped Japan's political culture.After some turbulence, the conservative Liberal-Democratic Party settled to rule Japan fairly effectively, partially betraying and partially fulfilling the Liberal hopes from the Post War era.

As interesting as Japan's political history has been, the extraordinary question of Japanese history is economic:How did Japan manage to twice rise from great disadvantages to a position as a world leader?How did Japan, alone among all non Western nations, manage to Industrialize as early as the 19th century, and how come it is today a leading member in the still almost exclusively Western club of developed countries?

Buruma hardly addressed these questions, and as such his ability to explain the history of Japan suffers greatly.As interesting as the political and ideological history is, that's not where the story of Modern Japan truly is; Japan's triumph, and current difficulties are hardly addressed, and Buruma mostly sees the enrichment of post war Japan as a distraction, "Opium to the Masses", so to speak, allowing the conservatives to shrink from fuller Liberalization of Japan (pp. 166-167).

The best insight Buruma offers to Japan's extraordinary success is in the Prologue, describing the Judo contest in the 1964 Olympics.The Japanese expected their smallish Judo champion, Kaminaga Akio to defeat his six foot six Dutch opponent, Anton Geesink.Such a victory would have signaled the "superiority of Japanese culture, of the Japanese spirit".(p.6)

But in the end, Geesink won.The Dutchman defeated the Japanese: "Once again, Japanese manhood had put to the test against superior Western manhood, and once again it was found wanting".But the humiliation subsided when Geesink showed the proper respect by bowing the traditional bow."Geesink... would be treated as a hero in Japan forever after...One quality has stood out to serve Japan better than any other: the grace to make the best of defeat".

I think Buruma has hit upon a major element in Japan's success.Unlike many other traditional societies, Japanese were able to accept the victories of the West and to profit from them; I think people around the world have much to benefit by reflecting upon the Japanese capacity of Embracing Defeat.

A great start but final third a waste of time
For me a very informative beginning but got less interesting the more I read, probably due to a combination of a lack of detail (even for a summary) and the fact that I've already read Embracing Defeat.

The further into the text you go, the more Mr. Buruma seems like part of the "Japan is Evil" camp, even going so far as to make opinionated assertions not supported by fact.

Speaking of facts, it seems some checking is in order. Iwo Jima as a base for B-29s? Everthing I've read says that was Saipan and Iwo Jima was for emergency landings and fighters that escorted the B-29s.

Finally, I would like to mention that to me it seems inappropriate to specifically review other reviewers. Vote on the usefulness of their reveies sure, but if you have more to say start you own blog or something. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Remembering is a Form of Forgetting
In Censoring History: Citizenship and Memory in Japan, Germany, and the United States Laura Hein and Mark Selden provide a critical investigation of how Japan, Germany, and even the United States recognize, think about, and then articulate their role during times of war.Hein and Seldon place their work within a larger viewpoint and try to concentrate on two main issues: [1] the connection between citizens and the state, and [2] a nation's actions in wartime and its implications vis-à-vis other countries.Censoring History is "really" about what has been left out of the public space in the development or reification a national narrative.The focal point of Censoring History is the many manifestations of such censorship and how it seeps into particular national spaces of memory.Vis-à-vis the Japanese, Germany has made tremendous strides in terms of how it deals with its past.Reading Hein and Seldon one gets the impression that on a "self-reflexivity" scale of 1 to 10 Germany is perhaps an 8 while the Japanese gaze thorough a less critical lens situating themselves in about a 5 position and the United States perhaps at and about the 3 positions.Different angles of war and internal conflict not only create problems within a nation-state, but also increasingly affect the state of affairs between them.

Germany not only looks at issues such as textbooks but they also perceive themselves as part of a developing European Community, as per Hein and Seldon a key distinction from how Japan deals with is history, hence its "place" in the region.Compared with Japan, German textbooks contain large segments analyzing controversial issues and creatively augment those entries with projects and field trips.Perhaps unfairly judged and there is movement in this area but vis-à-vis their Japanese counterparts, German textbooks have more of a propensity to motivate students to investigate and explore historical and juxtapose those sites and sounds against present-day similarities and contrasts.Not only that, a student is made to poke and prod and reflect on people's prejudices and such.

Kathleen Woods Masalski, an American high school teacher, communicates exchanges between American and Japanese teachers.In a lot of ways, most master narratives can be pegged to a sense of nationalism.Nationalist master narratives are created to make people feel good about being part of that national community.However, historians introduce self-criticism by problematizing histories makes history 'messy' (258).Masalski writes in Teaching Democracy, Teaching War: American and Japanese Educators Teach the Pacific War (258):"National narrative, master narrative, textbook narrative, counternarrative, multiple narratives - the language, though not the ideas behind it, was new to me and to most if not all the high school and college teachers in the audience when our keynote speaker at a National Endowment for the Humanities summer institute in 1994 challenged us to "problematize the national, the master, the textbook narrative ... to make history messy!"" (258).Masalski further writes: "The speaker was Jonathan Lipman (a historian at Mount Holyoke College), one of many scholars in the Five College area in western Massachusetts who has collaborated with social studies teachers throughout New England (and across the country) to bring serious historical thought and controversy into precollege classrooms" (258).

Not known to many in the United Stated but to a few interested scholars and teacher is the epic struggle of Ienaga Saburo.In Censoring History such notables as Nozaki Yoshiko and Inokuchio Hiromitsu offer a more sympathetic description of the decade-long effort by historian and educator Ienaga Saburo who challenged the state authority in censoring and sanitizing textbook content in Japan.Understandably in problematizing the hegemony we can expose the limitations contained within the narratives, much to the chagrin of most comfortable unreflective folk.At this point I wish to bring in Edward Linenthal who penned Anatomy of a Controversy in History Wars: The Enola Gay and other Battles for the American Past - who also focuses on issues of pedagogy - when he quotes Michael Kammen, president of the Organization of American Historians and a member of the Smithsonian Council during the Enola Gay controversy, "Historians become controversial when they do not perpetuate myth, when they do not transmit the received and conventional wisdom, when they challenge the comforting presence of a stabilized past.Members of a society, and its politicians in particular, prefer that historians be quietly irenic rather than polemical, conservators rather than innovators" (Linenthal 60).Such is the struggle of Ienaga Saburo.For those interested in pedagogy, Gregory Wegner's article on the Buchenwald Concentration Camp in educating youth is very informative.

Turning to a topic of a very different sort, Hein and Seldon present the argument that unlike the two "defeated" countries, the US has somehow managed to escape outside scrutiny and accountability over is "narratives" of its discredited war - Vietnam.The one thing that Censoring History does is drag the U.S. into this circle of examination.Hein and Seldon's research shows how the resulting clashes, wars, etc. have been sanitized, at times even deliberately ignored, when textbooks circulate this part of American history to its young.Taken together, these essays reveal that Japan is far from the only country caught in an ongoing conflict over its past.Masalski's essay reveals some instances of differences among American teachers over an American historians interpretation of World War II.Potential teachers like myself wish to view the work do Laura Hein and Mark Selden (and including, but not limited to, the works of Edward Linenthal and Tom Engelhardt) as unfinished projects.Pedagogical development is something that should be constantly and vigorously attended to, lest we forget.

Miguel Llora

Japanvisitor.com Review
The premise of this book is that "schools and textbooks are important vehicles through which contemporary societies transmit ideas of citizenship and both the idealized past and the promised future". The 10 chapters look at how World War II and the Vietnam War are represented in school history textbooks in the 3 countries. Almost 50 years after the end of the war, controversy over Japanese text books continues to rage, and this book is useful to put that into some sort of perspective. Of the 10 chapters, 6 deal with Japan, including a chapter with all the details of Saburo Ienaga's famous textbook lawsuits against the Japanese government, and a couple of chapters on joint history projects between Japan and Korea, and Japan and the U.S. The common conception is that Japan has not yet faced up to its wartime past, and while I agree, after reading this book my view has been somewhat softened. Compared with the U.S.A., Japan has done more to teach its young about the negative side of its wars. If you enjoyed reading Ian Buruma's Wages of Guilt, then you will enjoy this book.

Should be required for High School/College Hist teachers
This is the best collection of essays on the "uses" of history and construction of national "memories" that I have read. This should be required reading in every high school social studies/history teacher certification program, and should be read by all who want to enter the debate on standardized testing and prescriptive curriculum content. I have used selections of it in my college level Japanese history course, my college level world history courses, and recommend it to my colleagues and also to the many high school teachers with whom I work. It shares valuable lessons on the manipulation of history for nationalistic and/or militaristic purposes.It should also be read by educational, defense, and foreign policy-makers as well as journalists who often seem too quick to pass on widely held myths as truths. Alas, I am afraid that many in these positions are more comfortable with the myths.

Fascinating, challenging, highly informative essays
Censoring History: Citizenship And Memory In Japan, Germany, And The United States is a fascinating, challenging, well written and highly informative anthology of essays about how history is almost inevitably distorted and revised by subsequent generations to meet their social, political and cultural needs and myths --and how such unwarranted revisions must be countered with an coherent understanding of the politics of education, from the writing and publication of textbooks to curriculum development and classroom instruction practices. Censoring History is critically important reading for anyone seeking to understand how and why the needs of nationalism would and do distort the recording and transmission of history, and the peril future generations are put to as those who do not know their history are so often doomed to repeat it in an age where nuclear war could end civilization and even the human race. ... Read more

Book Description
Ranging from the Tokugwa period to the present day, this text provides a concise and fascinating introduction to the social, cultural and political history of modern Japan. Tipton covers political and economic developments and shows how they relate to social themes and developments. Her survey covers traditional political history as well as areas growing in interest: gender issues, labor conditions and ethnic minorities. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Great Text for an upper-division course
Tipton does an excellent job of writing a compact and yet informative text on Modern Japan. Especially helpful are the many references to scholarship which go into greater detail on specific topics. Not content to bury researchers in the endnotes, Tipton allows the reader easy access to much of the historiography as well as the history. Routledge, as usual, overprices the book, but the quality is outstanding and worth the cost. ... Read more

Book Description
This thoughtfully organized survey of Japan's early modern period (1568-1868) is a remarkable blend of political, economic, intellectual, literary, and cultural history. The only truly comprehensive study in English of the Tokugawa period, it also introduces a new ecological perspective, covering natural disasters, resource use, demographics, and river control. ... Read more

Book Description

The fearless, elite warriors of medieval Japan were loyal comrades but deadly foes. Whether foot soldier, samurai or trained assassin, these men were driven by strict codes of honor and bound by deep allegiances of rank, family or religion.

This book examines the military lives of four formidable warrior types, covering the samurai and the ninja as well as the experiences of warrior monks and ashigaru foot soldiers, less familiar to western readers. The recruitment, training and equipment of each warrior type are described, and their beliefs, motivation and experience of warfare are explored. Rare material from Japanese sources makes this a highly authoritative treatment of the military elites of medieval Japan, brought to life by lavish illustrations and photography.

Customer Reviews (2)

A great popular work
The first thing I noticed about this book was its stunning artistic quality: with full-color art illustrations and diagrams, and beautiful layout throughout, it's worth owning just for its image content.

Turnbull is a fantastic popular writer. The book is informative and easily accessible to the general reader, and an invaluable introduction to the samurai, ashigaru, ninja, and warrior monks of Japan's Age of Warring States.

Divided into four parts, each detailing one of the different warrior types that Turnbull discusses, the book gives descriptions of individual duties, the warrior's place in times of peace and war, weaponry, dress, daily life, and anything else applicable through examples of individual battles, people, and documents from the time.

It's a wonderful work, and I'd suggest it to any person interested in military or Japanese history.

History culture and art all in one
Great book full of artwork, great information regarding Medieval Japan and is an easy read. Full of wonderful information. Still reading it, but I will continue it is the best book I have seen for understanding the Japanese culture centuries ago. ... Read more

Book Description
By 1853 Japan had been transformed from a sparsely populated land of nonliterate tribal peoples into an elaborately structured commercial society sustaining massive cities and a varied array of sophisticated cultural production. In this authoritative survey, Conrad Totman examines the origins of Japanese civilization and explores in detail the classical, medieval, and early-modern epochs, weaving interpretations of the major themes in Japan's cultural and political development into a rich historical narrative. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A summary of pre-modern japan
This book covers the history of Japan in an enthusiastic way from its early histories with the Joman dolls up to the blackships of commodore Perry. I first read this in my Japanese history course, we were required to read parts of the book as a backbone for the lectures, but soon i found that I was reading the entire book. It's actually quite a easy read and Japan's history is quite refreshing for someone who's been embraced in european histories all his life. Chapters about the Heian and warring states period (in the 16th century) are the most interesting and helpful. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

The Art and Architecture of Japan: Third Edition
Book was in the condition it stated.Prompt delivery.I will use this seller again.

Authoritative, scholarly work on a focused subject.
I purchased this book in my never ending pursuit of sholarly discourse onJapanese Buddhist sculpture. It is one thing to study sculpture andpainting. It is quite another to understand it in the context of historyand the architecture that housed it. Enlightening, to say the least, andmeaningful reading. Its coverage of Buddhism and Buddhist art in Japan isnoteworthy. ... Read more

Book Description

Customer Reviews (1)

Good book in studying Japan's history
Beasley does a great job in this second edition of the rise of modern japan. Unlike the 1990 version of the book, he concentrate more on the empires that came to power in the early 20th century and also coversthoroughly in today's political ups and downs in Japan. I love this book,because I get a great sense of Japan's history. ... Read more

Book Description

The first anthology of its kind,The Modern Murasaki brings the vibrancy and rich imagination of women's writing from the Meiji period to English-language readers. Along with traditional prose, the editors have chosen and carefully translated short stories, plays, poetry, speeches, essays, and personal journal entries. Selected readings include writings by the public speaker Kishida Toshiko, the dramatist Hasegawa Shigure, the short-fiction writer Shimizu Shikin, the political writer Tamura Toshiko, and the novelists Miyake Kaho, Higuchi Ichiyo, Tazawa Inabune, Kitada Usurai, Nogami Yaeko, and Mizuno Senko. The volume also includes a thorough introduction to each reading, an extensive index listing historical, social, and literary concepts, and a comprehensive guide to further research.

The fierce tenor and bold content of these texts refute the popular belief that women of this era were passive and silent. A vital addition to courses in women's studies and Japanese literature and history,The Modern Murasaki is a singular resource for students and scholars.

Customer Reviews (2)

Daughters Thinking Outside the Box
"The Modern Murasaki" is one of those rare definitive anthologies, the kind that constitutes a cornerstone contribution to the field while being just in and of itself profoundly interesting and enjoyable to read cover to cover. Within its pages are translations of literary works written during the Meiji era (1868-1911) by Japanese women of various temperaments and backgrounds, all of whom though sought more out of life than the role of "good wife, wise mother" dictated to them. And it's a good thing they did, too, because modern Japanese literature would be much the poorer without the excellent stories, poems, plays, and essays found herein--highly thought-provoking or deeply moving, terribly heart-wrenching or wonderfully entertaining, but all noteworthy and significant.

In many respects too this is an important anthology. Of course it vastly expands the horizons of what we think of as Meiji literature, but the works here are also key representative texts rather than the footnotes of literary history; I know for certain that I have come across countless references to Kishida Toshiko's speech/essay "Daughters in Boxes" in who knows how many historical studies and such, but now finally I got the chance to actually read the real thing for myself. The translations are of an exceptional quality, too, carefully accurate and scholarly and yet vibrant and accessibly literary. Furthermore, the selections seem carefully chosen so as to be equally relevant both in terms of literature and social history, making this book extremely useful to scholars and students in both areas of inquiry--not to mention Women's Studies in general. Finally, the handy format of this book makes it ideal for classroom use so it should hopefully find its way to many a syllabus, and yet it's the perfect book to just sit back with at a coffee shop and read for good old-fashioned enjoyment's sake.

Selections included in this book are:
1. Poems in various styles by Matsunoto Misako, Saisho Atsuko, Shimoda Utako, Nakajima Utako, Higuchi Ichiyo, Nakajima Shoen, Yosano Akiko, Yamakawa Tomiko, Chino Masako, Ishigami Tsuyuko, Okamoto Kanoko, Yazawa Koko, Otsuka Kusuoko, and Takeyama Hideko
2. "Daughters in Boxes" by Kishida Toshiko
3. "Warbler in the Grove" by Miyake Kaho
4. Journal Entries by Higuchi Ichiyo
5. "The Temple of Godai" by Tazawa Inabune
6. "Hiding the Gray" and "Wretched Sights" by Kitada Usurai
7. "How Determined Are Today's Women Students?", "The Broken Ring", and "School for Emigres" by Shimizu Shikin
8. "Wavering Traces" by Hasegawa Shigure
9. "Persimmon Sweets" by Nogami Yaeko
10. "For More than Forty Days" by Mizuno Senko
11. "Lifeblood" and "The Vow" by Tamura Toshiko

Great Service
The book was in perfect condition. It was mailed to me in what I think must be record time. ... Read more

Book Description

Book Description
The New Japan describes the anxiety and unrest that trouble modern Japanese society, the rift between traditional generations and the younger, more cosmopolitan and Westernized people. Matsumoto draws upon a wealth of Japanese and Western sources to present a thorough exploration of both classic and contemporary views of Japanese culture. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Very, very useful in explaining how Japan is changing
Every social, business, and travel guide you read regarding Japan, and most of the fiction written in this country with a Japanese setting, perpetuates certain stereotypes about the Japanese people and their culture: They're collectivist in their basic psychology, not individualistic, preferring consensus to majority rule and trying not to stand out in the crowd; they think of themselves as interdependent rather than independent, which has most of the same historical roots and social effects; they're highly interpersonal, considering others before themselves in decision-making, again for the same reasons and with the same effects; they're "inscrutable," meaning they suppress their emotions in the company of others, smiling and maintaining an appearance of dignity even in the most uncomfortable circumstances; the Japanese "salaryman" expects lifetime employment by his company, giving absolute and enthusiastic loyalty in return, even to the point of almost never seeing his family because his social relationships even after working hours are all with his colleagues (this has an enormous effect on the educational system, too); and the man is the master in his marriage, expecting obedience and support from wife and children, while the wife runs the house and manages the finances (and divorce is to avoided at all costs). And not only have these long been the key Japanese attributes as seen by outsiders, this is also how Japanese have seen themselves, and how they still prefer to.

Drawing on decades of social-psychology studies and scientific surveys, Matsumoto convincingly shows that, while these stereotypes were true in the past, even up into the economic boom days of the 1970s and even the 1980s, they are all absolutely inaccurate in describing Japan at the beginning of the 21st century. This is true to some extent all across society, but overwhelmingly so in the younger generations. Younger Japanese, especially, are more individualist and less collectivist than Americans. Employees are more in more in favor of pay and advancement based on ability, not merely seniority, and lifetime employment is very much a thing of the past. Young people no longer suppress their emotions and have rejected arranged marriages in favor of marriage-for-love. Because they are far more individualistic than previous generations, younger Japanese are also far more likely to commit violent crimes; the "shame culture" is also rapidly becoming a thing of the past. In other words, any outsider who lived in Japan even in 1990 would find a greatly changed country and culture if he returned there today. This book ought to be required reading for any novelist setting a story in Japan, for all writers of travel books, and for thoughtful Japanese themselves.

Blazing New Ways of Understanding Japan
The New Japan alone evokes modernity with the old ways shaken and the new ones moving at a rapid pace. The book paints a picture of Japan's next volcano not erupting from the cone of Mount Fuji, but from a generation of people in search of a new miracle. ... Read more

Book Description
Isabella L. Bird was one of the most famous British travelers of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Her destinations included Canada, the United States (the Rocky Mountains), Hawaii, Japan, Korea, Persia, Kurdistan, China, and Morocco. She is particularly known for her intrepidness and lively writing style.

Written in the form of letters to her sister, her account of her trip to Japan in 1878 is viewed as a classic of travel writing and a valuable account of little documented areas of Japan in that era. Rather than stay in the Tokyo region or travel south to Kyoto, the mecca of Japanese civilization, she chose to travel north through the most arduously mountainous areas and eventually visit the island of Hokkaido, where lived the indigenous Ainu. With the Ainu, Isabella took an ambiguous stance: she admired them tremendously on the one hand but could not, on the other, find it in her heart to remove them from the category of savages.

The Foreword, "Reading between the Lines," calls into question the accuracy of Isabella's observations of the Japanese and Ainu and casts doubt on the judgments she formed. Readers are urged to read the book actively, rather than passively, if they are not to be led astray by Isabella's biases and eccentricities. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Engrossing-- a must read for travel-lovers and Japanophiles
Isabella Bird's firsthand account of the Japanese countryside and its inhabitants is fascinating for its detailed description of nature and is full of interesting observations of the customs and characteristics of both the Japanese and Ainu people. Isabella Bird deliberately chose to avoid the main routes as she traveled northward, and for the villagers she meets along the way, she is the first foreigner that they have ever laid their eyes upon. The reaction that she provokes is enough to make you laugh as Isabella does a good job of describing the scene before her eyes. Last but not least, I especially enjoyed reading the insightful Forward which gave me some food for thought as I read through the book. ... Read more

Book Description
JS955, 0-582-41875-5, Kingston, JfferyJapan in Transformation, 1952-2000*/ Investigates the emergence of the 'new Japan' after the changes made by post-war occupying powers, and the enormous social and cultural consequences of this dramatic transformation. Books in this Seminar Studies in History series bridge the gap between textbook and specialist survey and consists of a brief "Introduction" and/or "Background" to the subject, valuable in bringing the reader up-to-speed on the area being examined, followed by a substantial and authoritative section of "Analysis" focusing on the main themes and issues. There is a succinct "Assessment" of the subject, a generous selection of "Documents" and a detailed bibliography.Only fifty years after defeat in World War Two, Japan is an influential world power and a dominant player in Asia. How did Japan rise from the ashes to become one of the world's most important powers in the international economy, and what effect did it have on its people? The author shows how Japan's economic 'miracle' was closely linked to the political system established in 1955, and how the unraveling of this system has led the nation into uncharted waters. With the bursting of the economic bubble at the start of the 1990s, and corruption scandals bringing down successive governments throughout the decade, Japan has once again been thrown into a period of revolutionary change. For those interested in modern Japanese history. Discount Code--F ... Read more

Book Description
Stefan Tanaka examines how late nineteenth and early twentieth century Japanese historians created the equivalent of an "Orient" for their new nation state. He argues that the Japanese attempted to use a variety of pasts--Chinese, Indian, and proto-historic Japanese--to construct an identity that was both modern and Asian. ... Read more

Book Description
Our GLOBAL STUDIES Series provides students with comprehensive background and current information shaping regional cultures and countries of the world today. Each volume features country report essays and maps as well as relevant articles from world-wide publications.

Visit our website for more information and a complete listing of titles: www.mhcls.com/globalstudies/ ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Great overview of the Pacific Rim
The Global Studies series is a great way to get a general overview about a region of the world and its quick history.Each country is divided up into a quick overview of demographics, trade, economics, population and other pertinent data similar to a scaled down CIA world fact book.There is then a general overview of each country and how it has played its part in the region with a particular focus on World War II to the present.Finally there are about 24 articles in this one that focus on all sorts of different aspects from the region.They address everything from gambling opportunities in Macau to population control in Japan.Overall this book does an excellent job of capturing the Pacific Rim and the countries that reside there. It is a great start to learning about the region and provides an overview that will give you a focus to direct further investigations.If you are just getting started on this area of the world as I am you will find it an invaluable resource.

Good buy for international business enthusiast
Book was new and just as described.Good information regarding Japan's history and economy as well as good information on countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand. ... Read more

Book Description
In this second volume of his classic history Dumoulin turns his attention to the development of Zen in Japan. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Perhaps even more formidable ...
... than Volume 1.

I am a lay person so I can not speak to the challenges in recent years that have been made to Dumoulin's depiction of Zen. I can say unequivocally that this volume was compelling, even exciting, at times at timesfor me. I'll let historians fight it out, to me this volume is a masterpiece. My preference has been for Chinese Zen so I was not expecting to enjoy this volume so much.

Just the sections on Dogen, Bankei and Hakuin make the book worthwhile to me. Dogen is so hard to follow. I've read some of his work and much about him and still get confused although dazzled by the issues he raises and his own language. Dumoulin presents Dogen as clearly as I have ever found and I would definitely recommend the chapter in this book on Dogen as the best introduction to Dogen.

Dumoulin also presents Bankei as well as I have found. Bankei's own writings, however, may be considerably more accessible than Dogen's but understanding his place in Zen history is a challenge Dumoulin seems more than up to.

The chapter on Hakuin is similarly helpful and a wonderful introduction to this key Zen teacher. In this volume the importance of koans in raising one's level of doubt so as to intensity Zen practice becomes clearer. This is no mere history but besides the sections on these 3 major Japanese Zen masters there is a detailed history: more detail than you may want, with stories of many other Japanese Zen masters, of Zen's introduction from China and the help of Chinese Zen masters, of the severe persecution of Buddhism at times that Zen survived, of how Zen interacted with other Japanese religions, of Zen's contribution to Japanese arts and education, of how Christianity met Zen within Japan, of how Zen monks became beloved by the Japanese people not least of all for their willingness to work alongside the Japanese people as needed. The Rinzai, Soto, and, to a lesser extent, Obaku approaches to Zen are presented, including how Dogen's Zen evolved into Soto Zen.

Here is a German Jesuit who is so sensitive to the intricacies of Japanese Zen, it's amazing. Dumoulin closes his history at the beginning of the 20th century but with an openness to the impact that Zen's spread into the West may have for the future history of Zen.

So this is a book for both historians and Zen practitioners. When you see a Zen practitioner sitting in meditation, you would not realize just how much has gone before and how much diversity lay within the Zen Buddhism religion.

I strongly recommend reading first volume 1
Zen Buddhism: A History, India & China
and then this volume. I found these books and even the passages about enlightenment more helpful than in Dumoulin's own book focused on that subject
Zen Enlightenment: Origins And Meaning (Buddhism & Eastern Philosophy).
It may be that, as a historian, Dumoulin was more comfortable explaining from a more historical framework although "Zen Enlightenment" certainly is not lacking in history.

From its inception to its expansion during the middle ages and modern Zen movements
Zen Buddhism: A History Japan is the new edition of volume two of Zen scholar Dumoulin's classic two-volume reference of the history of Zen. Specifically focusing upon the development of Zen in Japan from its inception to its expansion during the middle ages and modern Zen movements, Zen Buddhism: A History Japan has now been enhanced with notes by James W. Heisig of the Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture and a new introduction by Victor Sogen Hori of McGill University. Zen Buddhism: A History Japan is an extensive, in-depth, scholarly, superbly written and presented resource and reference, intended especially for scholars, historians, and students of Zen Buddhism due to its thorough detail.
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Customer Reviews (1)

Good for overall history
This book is a great resource for the reader/researcher who is looking for a general overview of the history of writing in Japan.It is one of the few books on the subject that is in English, which is a big plus. However,if you are looking for details of a specific period of the writing this book is not for you. ... Read more