Cover of Japan: A Modern History

Japan: A Modern History

This text conveys the turbulent political, economic and social change that over four centuries positioned Japan as a modern world power. This narrative examines the impact of towering figures such as Leyasu, the architect of the Tokugawa state, and the experiences of everyday Japanese - farmers, soldiers and women - whose struggles built a strong and prosperous nation. The work traces the advances and reversals marking Japan's path from a land ruled by lords and a warrior class to a modern parliamentary democracy, and from a small isolationist nation to a political and economic giant. This history text is also seasoned with Japanese culture throughout - the woodblock prints of Hiroshige and Hokusai, the exquisite haiku of Basho, the beauties of noh drama, the novels of Oe Kenzaburo and the films of Ozo.

Audience
adult
Length
epic · 632 pages

Click a tag to see books like this one that share it. Point at it (on a phone, tap it) for less of it instead.

Read it? Sign in to help tag it.

Liked Japan: A Modern History? Here’s where I’d start.

These suit anyone who liked Japan: A Modern History. Sign in and mark a few books for picks shaped around your own taste.

  1. A Modern History of Japan: From Tokugawa Times to the Present Shares Japan, history, nonfiction
  2. Inventing Japan: 1853-1964 Shares Japan, history, nonfiction
  3. The Making of Modern Japan Shares Japan, history, nonfiction
  4. A History of Japan to 1334 Shares Japan, history, nonfiction

“People who read Japan: A Modern History tend to reach for these next.”

  1. An Introduction to Japanese Society
  2. Japan at War: An Oral History
  3. Kaigun: Strategy, Tactics, and Technology in the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1887-1941
  4. The Making of African America: The Four Great Migrations

“If you want more of the same (history), start with these.”

  1. The Making of Modern Japan
  2. The Clash: U.S.-Japanese Relations Throughout History
  3. A History of Japan
  4. A Short History of Japan: From Samurai to Sony

“If it was the Japan that hooked you, try one of these.”

  1. The World of the Shining Prince: Court Life in Ancient Japan
  2. The Nobility of Failure: Tragic Heroes in the History of Japan
  3. Seppuku: A History of Samurai Suicide
  4. A History of Japan: From Stone Age to Superpower

“These start from a similar idea, even if they go somewhere else with it.”

  1. Social History Of England: Second Edition
  2. A History of the Modern Middle East
  3. This Realm of England, Volume 2
  4. A Concise History of Finland