Product Description
Only now can the full scope of the war in the Pacific be fully understood. Historian Ronald Spector, drawing on newly declassified intelligence files, an abundance of British and American archival material. Japanese scholarship and documents, and research and memoirs of scholarly and military men, has written a stunning, complete and up-to-date history of the conflict. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (41)

The Most Definitive Work on the Pacific War
Ronald Spector's work, 'Eagle Against the Sun: The American War With Japan,' has proved to be the most definitive account of America's war with Japan in WWII. Definitive not because it covers every small aspect of the war but because it covers the behind the scenes aspects so well. It is written from the American point of view but makes gracious allowances for other views as well including the Japanese, Australians, and various pacific islanders. For anyone who cares about America's involvement in the Pacific war with Japan, this is a must have book!

Eagle Against the Sun
The Bok was in excellent shape and delivered promptly.I would highly recommend this seller.

US vs Jap
This books give a comprehensive review of the fighting betweenthe United State and the empire of Japan.All of the old battles and torture of Americans and other, by the japs have been gone over time and time again.What this book does,in only a few pages is outline in a very readable form and format for a person not too interested in learning a horrendous amount of facts.

No Maps? No Maps!
I do not understand how a history of a war spread over such a sprawling canvas could possibly be published without maps. Perhaps this is only true of the paperback version. This is a major barrier to understanding the strategy and even the thinking of the major characters in the narrative.

Knowledgable, exciting, comprehensive, balanced
Ronald Spector's history of World War II in the Pacific theater is a satisfying mix of panoramic strategy and battle-specific tactics. He is especially helpful on the roles played by prominent leaders--MacArthur, Chiang-Kai-Shek, Stilwell, King, Nimitz, etc. Their contributions are assessed through comments of both their supporters and detractors. Spector's own views on them are even-handed. The endnotes are comprehensive.

The narrative of the volume rates 5 stars, easily; however, the unaccountable absence of maps is aggravating--especially since the text cries out for an accompanying visual capability.


I bought the book on the recommendation of John Keegan found in the bibliographic essay in his The Second World War. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

A sorely needed update on Japanese financial politics
Amyx is one of very few scholars doing the kind of yeoman's work in political science today that is necessary for successfully integrating original source field research with rigorous theoretical analysis.The payoff is the kind of detailed and informed study that made Johnson's MITI and the Japanese Miracle a classic. Amyx's analysis of networks inclusive of the Ministry of Finance provides a rich explanatory framework for policy paralysis over the course of a dozen + years.A particularly interesting insight is that networks (i.e., people) make institutions durable even as institutions structure incentives for individuals. This reinforcing relationship, in Japan's case, led to intransigence and suboptimal outcomes for nearly all parties.I highly recommend this to readers interested in an update on bureaucratic politics in Japan, and those interested in the backstory to the grim headlines on Japan in the financial papers over the last decade.Even as Japan starts its long-delayed turnaround, this book will help readers understand where change is most likely to occur, and where the bottlenecks still exist.
... Read more

Product Description
Giants of Japan brings to life fifteen centuries of Japanese history through lively biographical sketches of the great men and women who have shaped this fascinating and complex country.Covering industry, the arts, religion, and politics, the book includes business titans such as Morita Akio, founder of Sony, and Toyoda Eiji, the man behind Toyota's incredible success; creative giants such as writer Mishima Yukio and film director Kurosawa Akira; and historical icons such as Shotoku, the prince who helped bring Buddhism to Japan, and Izumo no Okuni, the actress and dancer who created kabuki theater.

The economies and futures of the West and Japan are now more interdependent than ever, yet Japan remains very much a mystery to many Westerners.The more than forty profiles in this entertaining and enlightening book are essential knowledge about a nation that is a key player on the world stage. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Best comprehensive book on greatest men & women of Japan
This is the best book I have read in either Japanese or English that gives a comprehensive, easy to read and balanced overview of the lives of 37 people who contributed into making Japan into what it is today. The book presents people from diverse aspects of Japan: industry, traditional culture, history, modern writers and film directors. The people span from the first ever novelist in the world Murasaki (c.975-c.1025) to Morita Akio, the co-founder of Sony. The biographies are short and concise and are on average 10 pages long. It is not necessary to read the entire book at once, but read one biography and come back to another one at a later time. I have read and reread the book numerous times and have been inspired by the lives of each one of the people profiled.

Diverse and Interesting history of Japanese individuals
Much has been written about the history of Japan from the point of view of society and group dynamics.This is understandable given Japan's interdependent culture.Mark Weston's Giants of Japan is one of the first that covers Japan from the point of view of it's great individuals.The subjects of the book range from well known industrialists (Konosku Matsuhita) and leaders (Tokogawa Ieyasu) to lesser known writers (Fukuzawa Yukichi) and directors (Ozu Yasujiro).

The book is good for many different types of people.Those with a deeper knowledge of Japan can pick and choose from the individuals they wish to learn more about.Those newly interested in Japan can read the book cover to cover to gain a broad knowledge of the history and people of Japan.

This book does not attempt to provide a comprehensive Japanese history, or in depth view of any aspect of Japanese society.There are other more suitable books in those genres.

Enjoy a ride of Japanese history!
Giants of Japan is a very pleasant introduction to Japanese history, organized in a succession of biographies of the most influential figures in Japanese business, politics, arts and sports. In addition to being well-written, the book offers a good mix of key facts and anecdotes, making the reading both interesting and exciting.

Beyond information about the country itself, Weston takes good care of extracting history lessons from his biographies. For example, it is edifying to learn how (with what vision, strategems, and tricks) Mistui developed from a sake brewry into one of the worldfs largest corporations, with what political purpose tea ceremony was used, and how a single author, Fukuzawa Yukichi, precipitated Japan's westernization.

The book recounts the origins of Shintoism, Haiku, even Aikido (judofs creator, Jigoro Kano, is missing from the book). It depicts the spirit of feudal warriors (both samurais and ronins), and shows how Bushido has survived in 20th century Japan (exemplified by Mishimafs tragic death). It also deals with the dark pages of Japanese history, including Japanese military actions before and during WWII and modern political corruption.

I recommend this book to anyone who has a yet unfulfilled interest in Japan; the biographical structure of the book makes it readable even to a busy audience.

An eclectic collection of fascinating and remarkable lives
Giants Of Japan: The Lives Of Japan's Greatest Men And Women by journalist and author Mark Weston is an informed and informative biographical survey of great figures drawn from fifteen centuries of Japanese history. Ranging from the internationally famous writer Yukio Mishima and the film director Akira Kurosawa, to historical icons such as Shotoku (the prince who helped bring Buddhism to Japan), and the actress Izumo no Okuni (who created kabuki theater), Giants Of Japan effectively summarizes an eclectic collection of fascinating and remarkable lives revealed in an energetic and raptly interesting presentation. Very highly recommended reading for students of Japanese history and culture.

A great read
This was the best book I read last year. Very informative and easy to read. ... Read more

Product Description
FOREWORD
It is trite to remark that if you wish to know really any people, it is necessary to have a thorough knowledge of their history, including their mythology, legends and folk-lore: customs, habits and traits of character, which to a superficial observer of a different nationality or race may seem odd and strange, sometimes even utterly subversive of ordinary ideas of morality, but which can be explained and will appear quite reasonable when they are traced back to their origin. The sudden rise of the Japanese nation from an insignificant position to a foremost rank in the comity of nations has startled the world. Except in the case of very few who had studied us intimately, we were a people but little raised above barbarism trying to imitate Western civilisation without any capacity for really assimilating or adapting it. At first, it was supposed that we had somehow undergone a sudden transformation, but it was gradually perceived that such could not be and was not the case; and a crop of books on Japan and the Japanese, deep and superficial, serious and fantastic, interesting and otherwise, has been put forth for the benefit of those who were curious to know the reason of this strange phenomenon. But among so many books, there has not yet been, so far as I know, a history of Japan, although a study of its history was most essential for the proper understanding of many of the problems relating to the Japanese people, such as the relation of the Imperial dynasty to the people, the family system, the position of Buddhism, the influence of the Chinese philosophy, etc. A history of Japan of moderate size has indeed long been a desideratum; that it was not forthcoming was no doubt due to the want of a proper person to undertake such a work. Now just the right man has been found in the author of the present work, who, an Englishman by birth, is almost Japanese in his understanding of, and sympathy with, the Japanese people. It would indeed be difficult to find any one better fitted for the task—by no means an easy one—of presenting the general features of Japanese history to Western readers, in a compact and intelligible form, and at the same time in general harmony with the Japanese feeling. The Western public and Japan are alike to be congratulated on the production of the present work. I may say this without any fear of reproach for self-praise, for although my name is mentioned in the title-page, my share is very slight, consisting merely in general advice and in a few suggestions on some special points. ... Read more

Product Description
Despite an incredibly rich prehistory covering nearly ten thousand years, modern coverage of complex hunter-gatherer societies has tended to overlook the Jomon of Japan.This text presents an overview of the archaeology of the Jomon Period between 10,000 and 300 BC within the context of more recent complex hunter-gatherer societies. It bridges the gap between academic traditions in Japanese and Anglo-American archaeology and represents an invaluable source of reflection on the development of human complexity. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Good book, but...
This book provides a very good survey of the work that has been done in the study of the Jomon period and provides interesting theories based on the author's reading of the research and her own work.The "but" has to do with Amazon, not the book.The photo shown in the Amazon listing shows the hardcover book with a dust jacket.The picture shown on the jacket is the only photograph of a Jomon pot used in the book.(There are only sketches and photographs of pot shards in the book proper.)The dust jacket also provides the only color image and the image on the cover is referred to several times in the text.The problem is that the book Amazon actually ships does not include the dust jacket.Therefore, the reader is left without this resource while reading the book.I contacted Amazon regarding this and requested that they send the duct cover.They said they could not send the cover but would exchange the book for one with a cover.I agreed with this.Of course, when I received the second book it too was missing the dust cover.

Stunning book on a little known culture
I bought this book because I am doing some research into the history of weaving -- and this book has some extremely good information on that topic. But what kept me reading half of the night was not just the information I was looking for, but a glimse into a culture little known in the Western world. The author does researchers and just-plain-interested readers a big favor: excerpts from other research originally written in Japanese have been well translated and interspersed with Habu's own research in a style not usually seen in Western books.

And that information covers a really amazing range of topics, from the stunning Jomon pottery (such as the one on the cover), to basketry, weaving, lacquerware, textiles, and other art forms from this culture dating back to nearly 10,000 BCE. Interesting little tidbits (such as the black lacquer was made from the sap of the poison oak tree) are juxtapositioned with stunning assessments of arts you can hardly believe are as old as they are.

Assessible for those just interested in history as well as serious researchers, I'm thrilled to have this book on my shelves!

Not enough photography
I was a disappointed in the fact that all the illustrations in the book were sketched rather than photographed. In an art form such as pottery illustrations are very important!

A Great Starter For Most
Junko Habu's "Ancient Jomon of Japan" is a heavily archeaological book, in that it really focuses on the archaeology of the period. This really is a book to avoid of those details really do not interest you. If you can wade through them, or that is what you are looking for, then this book is for you.

There are broad sections, such as mortuary practices, subsistence strategies and trade networks that all contribute to build up a comprehensive introduction to the Jomon people and culture, (which flourished c. 14,500 - 300 B.C.).

As mentioned, Habu does discuss actual sites in detail, and it is here that she builds up a remarkable picture of what people have found and what they have understood it to mean or indicate. In this sense, I found the book to be very interesting and informative.

It is the first book I have read on the Jomon Period, and I found it to be very readable and very understandable. I enjoyed reading it, and I would imagine anyone curious about the Jomon Period would also find it a fascinating book. I can certainly recommend it to you. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

A Mixed Bag of Musings on Millennial Japan
Variety is the spice of life. That simple (if cliched) principle accounts for both the strength and the weakness of a book like "Japan After Japan"--a collection of assorted articles on a wide variety of subjects by a mob of scholars all expert in Japanese history per se but otherwise rather different in tone, approach, and specialization. In some ways then the book feels disjointed and discontinuous despite the overall theme (Japan in the 1990's), the consistently high academic caliber, and the generally common leftist political orientation of the contributors--no matter what the topic at hand, you can be pretty sure that any form of capitalism is always already something negative to be resisted, any sense of national identity whatsoever is always already a mere half-step away from full-blown virulent militarism, and so on. But these diffuse and very overarching commonalities aside, anything goes. No topic is out. Juvenile crime and Pokemon, you name it. The quality also varies greatly, from a fascinating and thought-provoking account of the Aichi Expo and the citizen opposition groups who intervened in its conceptualization and realization to a clunky, jargon-infested, ideologically kneejerk Marxist analysis of globalization's effect on the Japanese nation state.

But then only in a book like this can you find all this together like a box of chocolates, allowing you to sample a bit of each before moving on to the next. The very fact that the disorganized range of the book resists some kind of premature conclusion and closure ("The 90's in Japan mean only so-and-so and nothing else") is refreshing. The articles altogether also give the patient reader a pretty solid sense of some of what's going on in the field of Japanese History and/or Cultural Studies for better or worse, all without having to root through obscure academic journals or commit to a dozen-plus different monographs. No matter what your own interests and proclivities, this is a key book for any consideration of what in retrospect is a particularly dramatic decade in Japan's history--although, okay, not quite so dramatic as the book's cover would seem to suggest with its "I Am Legend" rendition of Ginza in Tokyo.

Articles included in this book:
1. Introduction by the editors, Harry Harootunian and Tomiko Yoda
2. "A Roadmap to Millennial Japan" by Tomiko Yoda
3. "The University and the 'Global Economy': The Cases of the United States and Japan" by Masao Miyoshi
4. "The University, Disciplines, National Identity: Why Is There No Film Studies in Japan?" by Mitsuhiro Yoshimoto
5. "Japan's Long Postwar: The Trick of Memory and the Ruse of History" by Harry Harootunian
6. "National Subjectivity and the Uses of Atonement in the Age of Recession" by J. Victor Koschmann
7. "'Give Me Japan and Nothing Else!': Postcoloniality, Identity, and the Traces of Colonialism" by Leo Ching
8. "'You Asians': On the Historical Role of the West and Asia Binary" by Naoki Sakai
9. "Revenge and Recapitation in Recessionary Japan" by Marilyn Ivy
10. "The 'Wild Child' of 1990s Japan" by Andrea G. Arai
11. "The Rise and Fall of Maternal Society: Gender, Labor, and Capital in Contemporary Japan" by Tomiko Yoda
12. "Representation, Reality Culture, and Global Capitalism in Japan" by Eric Cazdyn
13. "Monsieur le Capital and Madame la Terre Do Their Ghost-Dance: Globalization and the Nation-State" by Yutaka Nagahara
14. "New-Age Fetishes, Monsters, and Friends: Pokemon Capitalism at the Millennium" by Anne Allison
15. "Otaku Movement" by Thomas LaMarre
16. "A Drifting World Fair: Cultural Politics of Environment in the Local/Global Context of Contemporary Japan" by Yoshimi Shunya
17. "Angelus Novus in Millennial Japan" by Sabu Kohso ... Read more

Product Description
From the attack on Pearl Harbor through Japan's surrender, the Americans and Japanese conducted a total of twelve combat parachute drops in the Pacific theatre of World War II. Filling a glaring gap in the historical record of the war, Gene Eric Salecker recounts all twelve drops, highlighting the courage of paratroopers on both sides. ... Read more

Product Description
This popular and accessible introduction to Japan offers readers an authoritative yet concise overview of two thousand years of Japanese history. Now fully updated to the present, this edition also includes an array of photographs and illustrations. The first half of the book explores the pre-Meiji era up to 1868. The second half traces domestic and relevant foreign events in the modernizing era launched by the Meiji Restoration. Milton W. Meyer's clear explanations of Japanese traditions, religion, history, economics, politics, and relations with the West provide an invaluable aid for understanding contemporary Japan. ... Read more

Product Description
Offering a compelling introduction to Japan's rich culture and fascinating history for travelers, businesspeople, and students, this guide discusses the influence of China; the impact of feudalism, modernization, and imperialism; Japanese history of war and peace; and today's economy and uncertainty. Traced are the threads of history, environment, and culture that run through the centuries to explain much about the Japan of today. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Much more than you bargain for
This book really is a lot more than you bargain for.
The title "...from Samurai to Sony..." gave me the impression of a very basic history book on the most popular facets of Japan. This book doesnt talk about how cool samurai's are, or where to get discount sony products, how to make a bonsai tree, sushi or draw manga. It is actually a politic, social and economic review of Japan and its relations with the world, starting from its, possible, origin of 6000 years ago (although likely to be more recent as discussed in the book).

The book deals with:
-Why Japanese people consider them selves different from the rest of the worlds human population.
-How the country was run up to ~1900CE, at which time international influence (which had been strongly repelled) dramatically changed the whole country.
-Why Japan attacked Pearl Harbor.
-How they forged a super power in under 30years (from war torn country).
-Why they have such poor international relations.
-Why their economy crashed in the '90s (When everywhere else was doing so well).
-Current issues with their society, as well as probably future ramifications (aging population and youth rebellion).

The book also highlights peace and success of the japanese way of life, however overall it is targeted at westerners who wish to know answers to the questions above (not that the reader knew of these questions, or there global importance, before reading this book).

I would say this book is essential before visiting Japan for any extended period of time.
It has given me a VERY different perspective of the japanese people and their culture.
It's important to try and subjectively compare what is in this book with your own society to not get the wrong idea, that japanese are racist, fascists only looking out for them selves. But that is the case with any countries history.


A follow up book by Curtis Andressen would be very interesting, as he leaves us up to 2002 (datepublished), with many proposed outcomes for the re-emerging Japan, circa 2010.

A "Bullet Train" Ride Through Japan's History
This book is well organized and well written, and I recommend it to anyone who is looking for a concise political and economic history of Japan.That is particularly true for business persons, political scientists or economists whose main interest is in the past fifty years or so of Japanese history.Slightly under half of this book covers the period from 1952, when Japan began its economic recovery in earnest, up to the current day.For that time period, the book presents a good bit of technical political and economic detail.

Western readers who are looking for a cultural history of Japan are likely to be disappointed by this book.Details of the day-to-day life of the Japanese, the samurai bushido code, Kabuki theater, tea ceremonies and the many other things that make Japanese culture so distinctly different from Western culture are either not described at all or receive only a fleeting mention, while the emphasis of the narrative is on changes in the style of government and the seat of executive power.The Confucian and Shinto religions are mentioned primarily in references to their effects on the Japanese acceptance of varying degrees of authoritarian governance.

I have come away from reading this book with a good understanding of the current Japanese political and economic situation and its basis in Japanese history.But I will continue my search for a good history of Japan's unique culture.

First rate introduction to Japanese history
I read this book on a recent airplane ride across the USA.I had never read a book dedicated to Japanese history, nor do I usually read nonfiction for pleasure.A few words to describe this book: absorbing, descriptive, informative, and well worth reading!While most history texts are dry, this book tells a story that kept me turning the pages long past when I usually fall asleep.It examines the key issues and events with a fair, balanced hand.Movement between topics takes place logically.The depth of the inquiry is right on for an introduction, and at the same time is so transparent that the complexities of Japan's history are made that much more understandable.

Excellent Book, for those new to Japanese history!
Well, I do have some knowledge of Japanese History, but I just wanted a broad overview, so I got this book. The book is very good. It is 252 pages, which is still short for a short history of a country but that's good enough. The book is an Australian printing, and has never been revised and is not revised. One mistake I saw on Amazon is that it says that the book was published in 2003 and that it is 268 pages, but I checked with the publisher and she said that it was indeed published in 2002, and it is only 252 pages, there is no revised edition and the edition is not revised. Okay, let's get started with the review!

The book discusses everything, it gives info on the geography and the early prehistory of ancient times, and goes on to the Yamato Dynasty's start, how the government borrowed from Chinese and Korean cultures, and how the early capitals at Nara and Heian (now Kyoto) were influenced by China and Korea.

It likewise talks about how the Hojo Regency overthrew the Yamato Dynasty and how the different shogunates, including the Minamoto and the Tokugawa Shogunates, seized power from each other, and how feudalism kept Japan in isolation from the 1100's to 1853, when Colonel Perry of the American Navy opened Japan's gates and how the Yamato Dynasty came back into power.

It also talks about how Japan experienced with imperialism, gained an empire with Taiwan, Manchuria, and Korea, and finally how Japan's rampage through Southeast Asia bought it face to face with one of the most powerful countries in the world, America.

It finally talks about the brutal American occupation, and concentrates on Japan's miracle economy, and how Japan is going to walk into the modern era. The book contains a number of black and white/color pictues by the author and also some figures/maps from other Japanese books.

Like I said, if you want to learn about Japanese history, get this book, it's excellent, but if you know everything about it, I would get something in more detail.

RATING: ***** 5 Stars A + ... Read more

Product Description
This compelling text explores the development of Japan through its art, religion, literature, and thought as well as through its economic, political, and social history. This author team combines strong research with extensive classroom teaching experience to offer a clear, consistent, and highly readable text that is accessible to students with no previous knowledge of the history of Japan. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

A required text but nice to have anyway
I ordered this required text for my summer Japanese history course. It is a beautiful book to look at, and although a bit densely written, it seems to be a good introduction to a complex and labyrinthine subject.

As a College Textbook
I'm a Hamilton College student pursuing an Asian Studies major. This book is a pretty good summary of Japanese history covering cultural, religious, and historical information. It also is in color unlike the privious addition, or so says my professor. Overall it makes a pretty good college textbook.

A book that feels misguided
I've had the dubious pleasure of reading this book as I am a student of Japanese language and culture. After reading those 300 pages I have to say that this book is not for those who want to research japanese history as it focuses on many inconsequential things to the history of Japan.

One could say that history is written in suffering as one reads the history of the western world. Both Europe and America have had their bloodshed through the centuries and it's clearly illustrated in our own cultural history. We still create movies, documentaries and books on the Second World War as well as the myriad of conflicts that have been started in the name of religion, king or nation.
Japan is in itself no different as there were clear social class lines between warriors, merchants and commoners. Due to the fact that Japanese history is based on the warrior it is a bit surprising that this book talks very little about the wars and conflicts that drove the nation to the modern world. Some wars that are considered importan to Japanese history are only granted one sentence while the author can go on and on talking about the intricacies of a Buddhist statue.
The second problem with the book is the pacing, the author goes from one emperor to another without putting them in sufficient context which in turns makes this book probably as convulating as the "Nihonshoki".

If it were a book that based itself on Japanese art history, poetry and literature I would well advise it to those who seek knowledge about that particular history. For those who want to see what drove this nation forth to conquest and glory I advise people to look elsewhere.

this book is so good i wish i was reading it right now
i thought that this book was good for japanese and chinese civilization study.it should be considered by many teachers as a text for their students. ... Read more

Product Description
This book is a broadly-cast study of the purposes, methods, technology and mores of warfare among the early samurai, and their relationship to the polity and social structure of tenth to fourteenth century Japan. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Hoc est bellum, an excellent and superior effort! ... TGIF!
Not much I can say that my 5 stars doesn't... What you see is what you get. I won't be so presumptuous as to attempt to delve into the varying nuances or deeper implications of Professor Friday's exceedingly excellent and superior Samurai, Warfare and the State in Early Medieval Japan, but I will say that it is far beyond entertaining, thorough and informative. Casual or passing interest beware, academic in extremus, but for adept readers, a new world awaits!

Historia est Magistra Vitae!

Good, but in places inconsistent
The work's subject is of tremendous importance to the field of Japanese Studies and Karl Friday is one of the most qualified scholars to render such an undertaking into a succes. However, where expectations are high and scope is wide, one invariably encounters mistakes. Whether in transcription of Japanese terms, overall textual consistency or detailed interpretational coherency. Furthermore, a glossary of Japanese terms in the original 'kanji' complete with correct Hepburn transcriptions is sorely missed. Maybe space dictated omission of this necessary tool for any serious Japanese Studies work, but afficionados like myself would have preferred one just the same. It would have made the book a valuable addition to anyone's library.

The Real Story of The Samurai
Karl Friday is one of a group of scholars studying Japanese history who are determined to cut through the hoary myths of the past -- myths too often taken as history -- that have clouded the true role and behavior of the samurai and thus have led to a skewed view of the past. His chapter on "The Culture of War" is particularly revealing and insightful, and in an indirect way exposes the sophistry of the ultra-nationalists who nearly destroyed the country in WWII and killed millions of their countrymen. Myth, in the wrong hands, can pervert history; the historical record is its only antidote; and Karl Friday has delivered a clear-eyed, meticulously researched and well-crafted narrative of samurai life that will help to set the record straight. This is a fine piece of scholarship, and a fine book for those who love to read history. ... Read more

Product Description

A notion widely shared among the Japanese is that a unique culture has existed uninterrupted on the archipelago since the first human settlements more than 30,000 years ago. The idea of a continuous shared Japanese culture, often described as "Japanese-ness," is epitomized by material items ranging from Zen Buddhist stone gardens and tea ceremony equipment to such archaeological artifacts as the prehistoric Jomon clay figurines. An Archaeological History of Japan challenges this notion by critically examining archaeological evidence as well as the way it has been interpreted.

By combining techniques of traditional archaeological investigation with the tools of contemporary critical sociological and anthropological theory, An Archaeological History of Japan reveals the contingent, reflexive nature of how the prehistoric inhabitants of the Japanese islands identified themselves as they mapped their social and cultural environment. Koji Mizoguchi demonstrates that this process of self-identification underwent transformations as societies and technology changed, indicating that there is no intrinsic connection binding present-day Japanese with people of the past.

Product Description
A practical approach to the earth sciences, Japan helps kids reach a deeper understanding of historical peoples by participating in the activities that shaped their lives. Discover the past by hands-on projects, facts, photographs, costumes, and maps. A comprehensive look at this topic for children ages 8-11. ... Read more

Product Description
Tokugawa Japan ranks with ancient Athens as a society that not only tolerated, but celebrated, male homosexual behavior. Few scholars have seriously studied the subject, and until now none have satisfactorily explained the origins of the tradition or elucidated how its conventions reflected class structure and gender roles. Gary P. Leupp fills the gap with a dynamic examination of the origins and nature of the tradition. Based on a wealth of literary and historical documentation, this study places Tokugawa homosexuality in a global context, exploring its implications for contemporary debates on the historical construction of sexual desire.
Combing through popular fiction, law codes, religious works, medical treatises, biographical material, and artistic treatments, Leupp traces the origins of pre-Tokugawa homosexual traditions among monks and samurai, then describes the emergence of homosexual practices among commoners in Tokugawa cities. He argues that it was "nurture" rather than "nature" that accounted for such conspicuous male/male sexuality and that bisexuality was more prevalent than homosexuality. Detailed, thorough, and very readable, this study is the first in English or Japanese to address so comprehensively one of the most complex and intriguing aspects of Japanese history. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Informational and Interesting Read!
I bought this book last year when I was doing a study on the construction of modern Japan, and I saw this book and thought it looked interesting. I didn't end up reading it until a few months ago, but once I started it I didn't put it down. This is a really interesting and accesible book. Although it is filled with lots of information, it is well written so that it flows along like a novel. It is easy and interesting to read, without being clogged down with lots of scientific and research terms. Although the topic of Japanese homosexuality isn't one that I have studied too intensly, I found this novel to be very interesting and I think it gives an excellent over-view to the subject.

the cut sleeves of Tokugawa
This is an extraordinary book. The author begins telling the reader that even in today's Japanese studies circle there is still bias against those who research such things as this book. With that in mind, I delved into this fascinating book. Before going into the book's contents I want to say that Dr. Leupp writes in a style that is very easy to read while conveying a great deal of information. Before I started reading this book I was worried that he was going to write in such an academic way that it would leave the subject matter quite sterile. That definately is not the case. The author begins the book at first with an explanation of the long hitorical trends of homosexuality that can be found in the histories of China and Korea and he places these histories of homosexul cultures beside those of Greece and other European countries. He then delves into the homosexual tradition of early Japan mainly focusing on the Imperial Court, Buddhist and Shinto monks and priests, and finally Samurai. After setting this precedent, he goes into detail of Tokugawa homosexuality, mainly focusing on Kabuki actors and Prostitutes. He uses examples from both historical records and literature. This is a great book that should be read by those who are interested in not only homosexual history, but those who are looking for a fuller understanding of Japanese hitory.

A major academic work that was a pleasure to read
Not many scholarly works read well, but this one does. Even if you are not a student of Japanese history and culture, "Male Colors" is a pleasure. Yes, there are sections with a lot of Japanese names (particularly when the author cites a string of sources), but by and large, this work is very accessable to us mere mortals who are interested in the history of same-sex love.

Initially, as the author describes, same-sex love in Japan was something practiced by elite groups: first the Zen Buddhist monks who are believed to have imported the practice from China (a curious notion because this also carries the connotation that homosexuality came from "some place else") and then the samuri elite. While factors such as the lack of eligible women may have contributed to the general acceptance of bisexuality, many, if not most, of the practicers of nanshoku had deep emotional ties to their partners. But as urban life began to grow, nanshoku was popularized through a combination of the kabuki theater and the commercial sex enterprises that cropped up.

Also interesting were all the examples of art depicting nanshoku, some of it quite ribald and most of it graphic. But that just lends more weight to the notion that there was no stigma attached to boy love during this period in Japan, at least not a universal stigma; it was quite nearly universally tolerated and any effort to control nanshoku usually was to control violent fights over popular boy prostitutes rather than a governmental decree against homosexual sex.

The book is heavy on male sexuality with little mention of lesbianism, but that's hardly a surprise considering most cultures tend to be strongly patriarchal and it is the men who record history. And as usual, it appears that it was through contact with the West, particularly with Christian missionaries, that the practice of nanshoku was eventually shunned into the crepuscular corners of Japanese culture. More evidence that if there is harm caused by same-sex activity, the harm is caused by a prudish societal mentality orignating in a rigid Judeo-Christian ethic that thrives on domination and guilt.

Amazing history of homosexuality.....
The history of Japanese homosexuality is full of references to males dressing up as girls and serving powerful men in submissive relationships. Evidently bisexuality was the prevalent norm for Japanese MEN as almost every shogan has several 'beautiful boys' in addition to the women they kept. Many were exclusively devoted to beautiful young men---almost always dressed and acting like girls.This theme practically defines homosexuality in ancient Japan...the Japanese word for homosexuality was NANSHOKU which is loosely translates to english as "Male Colors".Nanshuko was so consistent in it's expression for so many years that it almost qualifies as a artistic expression or preference.

"Bishounen means not only cute, harmonic, lovely boy features but refers to the open feminity of a boy, and the way he can be associated to feminine beauty and delicacy. It involves the heavenly face whose beauty is deeply androgynous though boyish enough to remind us of his male gender, the curvy hips, legs and butt the standard bishounen soprts and make him attractive to both sexes, the evident delicacy of manners and personality and, most important of all, the homosexual tendencies the boy shows by liking other, more masculine males."

It is amazing that this expression of homosexual desire would exist so long in Japanese history even into a modern Japanese anime genre called "Yaoi"

Thorough Research--Excellent Result
Gary Leupp's research was clearly thorough, and his end-result benefitted greatly from it. Although I already knew of both the monastic and samurai traditions of same-sex pairings, to see the extent to which this permeated Tokugawa society was fascinating. It also gave strong argument to the constructivist theory of homosexuality, which, when considered alongside biological factors, makes for a coherent picture of sexuality in society. It's clear from the work that more research can and should be done: same-sex pairings among women, and the shift from the Tokugawa to the Modern era in Japan and the resulting changes in sexuality would make for excellent books as well. One curious thing is the appendix of glossed terms in Japanese, Chinese and Korean. I for one would have appreciated more than a vocabulary list; if the notes in the text had contained the original language versions of his text, I'd have been happier. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A welcome synthesis
I find this historical study brings a fresh outlook and new interpretations to quite a few disputed points about chanoyu and Rikyu.
A welcome synthesis, plus convincing answersto outstanding questions. A most useful addition to a Chanoyu library

Authoritative Collection of Essays
This booked of essays by leading Japanese and American authorites in the field, is highly recommended for anyone seeking an informed understanding ofChanoyu. ... Read more

Product Description
This new edition brings together selected chapters from Volume 5 of The Cambridge History of Japan.Japan underwent momentous changes during the nineteenth century.This book chronicles the transition from Tokugawa rule, and the political process that finally ended centuries of warrior rule.It goes on to discuss the samurai rebellions against the Meiji Restoration, national movements for constitutional government that indirectly resulted in the Meiji Constitution of 1889, and Japan's twentieth-century drive to Great Power status. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

Crimson Kimchi
I first became interested in the issue of minorities in Japan when I watched Yukisada Isao's wonderful film Go a couple of years ago. The film revolves around a young man named Sugihara who keeps his Korean identity secret from his love interest because he is afraid of how she would react if she found out that he has Korean blood running through his veins. However, Go was not my first exposure to Resident Korean literature or film. The first bit of Resident Korean literature I read was Yu Miri's novel Gold Rush which seems to have become lost somewhere between the releases of better known Japanese writers such as Murakami Haruki and Yoshimoto Banana. However, this novel and the violent world within its pages was able to stick in my head for three years after I read it, so I was delighted to see that a book had been released that analyzed not only the literature of noted Resident Korean authors such as Ri Kaisei, Kin Kakuei, Chong Chu-wol, Kim Chang-saeng, Yi Yang-ji, and the aforementioned Yu Miri, but also important events that involved the Resident Korean population in Japan while each of these writers were at their heights such as the trial of Kim Hui-ro who killed two yakuza members because of racial remarks, the trial of Pak Chong-sok who was fired by Hitachi because he was Korean, the textbook controversy, and protests against mandatory fingerprinting.

Wender weaves these narratives carefully with these historical events showing the importance that the written word has not only as a catharsis for these writers, especially female writers, but how literature and narrative can be used in politics in strengthening a case. Ri Kaisei was heavily involved in Kim Hui-ro's court case and Yu Miri is one of the strongest opponents to Kobayashi Yoshinori, a manga artist turned revisionist historian whose writings have infuriated a number of people including Yu herself. Quite readable and not overly weighed down with academic language, Lamentation as history is a quick and highly interesting read for those who study Japanese literature or for those who want to learn more about the so-called "homogeneousness" of modern Japan.
... Read more

Product Description
The alternate drinking of rice-wine, by bridegroom and bride, from the same vessels, corresponds in a sort to the Roman confarreatio. By the wedding-rite the bride is adopted into the family religion. She is adopted not only by the living but by the dead; she must thereafter revere the ancestors of her husband as her own ancestors; and should there be no elders in the household, it will become her duty to make the offerings, as representative of her husband. With the cult of her own family she has nothing more to do; and the funeral ceremonies performed upon her departure from the parental roof,--the solemn sweeping-out of the house-rooms, the lighting of the death-fire before the gate,--are significant of this religious separation. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Great on many levels
In a nutshell, he shows how ancient Japanese society grew out of a vast network of family cults based on ancestor worship. Each family had a duty to keep the dead ancestors satisfied (or at least not unhappy), and, for the most part, this meant keeping family behavior in line with custom.There was a very fine line between custom and morality, and the immoral individual was one who broke with custom. No individual was free to break custom because, in doing so, he endangered the prosperity of the family.

Later incursions of Buddhism and Confucianism did little to alter the core family-cult structure underlying the society. In my opinion, it is still largely in tact today, though some would likely disagree.

An insightful history of Japanese religiosity, up Meiji era
Lafcadio Hearn says that Japanese culture is like a Bonsai tree, meticulously sculpted and trimmed and controlled for thousands of years.Even during his time (1890-1904) the rules were changing and the gardner was putting away his shears, and chaos was beginning to reclaim the tree.

However, to understand this strange plant, with the roots and bends and twists of Bonsai sculpting, one must look at its past, and the methods of shaping.From Hearn's point of view, this shaping is religion, specifically Ancestor worship and the "rule of the dead."Without insight into Japanese religious history and practices, Hearn says, you cannot understand Japan, its history or its people.

"Japan: An attempt at interpretation" is incredibly insightful and thorough, offering a history of the various forms of Shinto, Buddhism, Confucianism and other folk-practices that shaped the national character.I am currently working on my MA in Japanese Religion, and I can verify that his research is correct, and his conclusions still hold.It is the longest of Hearn's books, and obviously a great deal of work went into it.

All though time has passed him by, "Japan: An Attempt at Interpretation" is still a valid, interesting book, both well-written and accurate.It DOES help explain Japanese interactions and culture.Most interesting are his speculations of Japanese culture, and where it would go in his pre-WWII era.Unfortunately, some of his worst fears were realized.

Somewhat Dated, But Still Interesting
The author's premise is that "Japan can be understood only through study of her religious and social evolution."Toward that end, he gives a good and interesting account of the history and development of the Shinto faith.

This book describes in detail not only Shinto's history, but also how the religion effected and influenced Japanese society and culture for well over 2000 years.There are chapters on Shinto's/Japan's response to the introduction of new religious ideas --- namely Confucianism, Buddhism, and Christianity --- and on its reaction to the rise of the shoguns, and to the sudden introduction of Western ways in the mid-nineteenth century.

All-in-all, this is an informative, educational book.

One word of caution is in order, however: Hearn wrote this book in 1904.It is therefore somewhat dated; and the author's flowery Victorian-era prose might put some readers off.Same can be said for his use of nineteenth century anthropological terms and references --- words such as "Aryan," for example.Still, if the reader can look past Hearn's personal prejudices, this book is a fine history of Shinto up until the year 1904.

To complete a study of Shinto, of course, it would be necessary to learn of the religion's development through the Second World War and beyond.I am not aware of any book bringing the history of Shinto into the present, but perhaps they exist ... in English. ... Read more

Product Description
The Cambridge History of Japan is the first major collaborative synthesis to present the current state of knowledge of Japanese history for the English-reading world.The series draws on the expertise and research of leading Japanese specialists as well as the foremost Western historians of Japan. From prehistory to the present day, the series encompasses the events and developments in Japanese polity, economy, culture, religion and foreign affairs. In the distinguished tradition of Cambridge histories, the completed series provides an indispensable reference tool for all students and scholars of Japan and the Far East. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

indispensable
I am working at the Dutch Embassy in Tokyo and am of the opinion that all foreign missions wherever they are should have a full set of the Cambridge History relating to the country the Embassy is situated.Since there were only two volumes available in the library I considered it necessary to order the whole set. It arrived within a few days after I ordered it. Compliments. And what an amazing thing such compilation is. Even specialists will find nuggets of historical and intellectual gold. Going to the index at the end is like eeting old friends after the many yars since you read them at University. Indispensale. Ph.deHeer ... Read more