Customer Reviews

Emperor of Japan

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Author Donald Keene begins "Emperor of Japan" by introducing an interesting paradox: How is it that the Meiji emperor is one of the most revered figures in Japanese history, yet so little is known about the emperor as an individual? The aim of "Emperor of Japan" is to shed some light on the life of the Meiji emperor while placing him in the context of his times. Keene, however, only partially succeeds in this regard due to several problems he himself highlighted. The Meiji emperor kept no diary but wrote thousands of poems, although few revealed his true thoughts; official court chronicles kept a detailed record on the emperor's activities but all were concerned with events (i.e. the emperor did this and that); and eyewitness accounts by relatives and advisors-although extremely valuable-were sometimes contradictory or inaccurate.

Despite such formidable obstacles, Keene nevertheless does an incredible job of bringing Meiji to life by pulling as much sources together and making educated speculations on the implications of Meiji's day-to-day activities. Meiji was a diligent emperor who understood the gravity of his position and the responsibilities it entailed by taking a more active role than his predecessors in discussing and examining state matters with his officials. He had toured Japan a number of times during his reign, out of the conviction that an emperor should be closer to his people. He was open to adopting western ways but remained a traditionalist, as exemplified by his distrust of western medicine and his preference for hearing lectures on Confucian philosophy. He placed great value on education, as shown by his propensity to tour schools and offer dictionaries as gifts to pupils and his obsession with his son's (and the future Taisho emperor) education and curriculum.

The real strength of the book, in this reader's opinion, is the detailed account of Japan's march towards modernity from the end of the Tokugawa shogunate through the first decade of the 20th century. Readers will get an extremely detailed account of the Meiji Restoration, the political disputes that led to the Satsuma Rebellion, Meiji and his advisors' thoughts on the Sino-Japanese and Russo-Japanese wars, and Japan's search for a viable and more modern system of governance. Individuals like Saigo Takamori and Ito Hirobumi come to life in Keene's account.

I recommend this book for anyone who familiar with modern Japanese history and is interested in reading this narrative on the life and times of a well-known-yet poorly understood-individual.

During the Meiji Period (1868-1912), Japan was thrust back into the world after a two-century self-imposed absence in which Japanese were prohibited from leaving and foreigners were banned from entering Japan-punishable by death. In this period, Japan entered the world stage hellbent on modernizing and catching up with the imperial powers of the West. Donald Keene, the dean of Japan studies and Professor Emeritus at Columbia, attempts to paint a picture of the Emperor for whom the period is named and about whom little is known. His name and the period are of course extremely well-known, both inside and outside of Japan; but the life of the Meiji Emperor himself remains hidden.
Drawing extensively from the Tenno no Ki, or official imperial diary, and other Japanese sources, Keene fills in the many blanks of the life of a man often derided as a mere figure-head. When the Meiji Emperor began his rule, in 1867, Japan was not a unified country per se; it was dominated rather by the shogun and the daimyos, who ruled over Japan's more than 250 decentralized domains. However, these rabidly xenophobic men yielded ultimately to a new constitution and Japan was on the road to becoming a modern state.
Keene's biography begins with the emperor's traditional education; we see the formal occasions that acquainted the young emperor with his subjects; have a ringside seat at his court, marriage, and his relationships with various consorts. This is a massive tome that will keep the reader hoping for more and sorry to see its 900-plus pages end.

I really don't have nothing more positive to add compared to two previous reviews which speak for itself. The book proves to be everything they stated. However, I would like to add this train of thought which may sound bit negative but something for author to considered in the future. For one, it needs a map. Imperial Japan isn't one of these geographical places many Americans really know about. Maps and diagrams would have been greatly helpful. Second, more photos of historical characters in the book. It would be nice to have faces to go with the names - most who were total unknown to most Americans. I am surprised considering the research involved in this book that Mr. Keene could not add more photos even although he writes about them in the book. Otherwise, the previous two reviews proves to be very accurate. Top notch book that combined biographical as well as historical evolution of the Meiji Emperor and his reign.

This is the canonical biography of the Emperor Meiji. Not to put too fine a point on it, but I seriously doubt that anyone will write as complete and well-researched a biography - at least in English - in the next 50 years. In addition to this, it is a very readable 800 pages. So why only 4 stars? Keene writes well and there is little question that reading his book is an enjoyable and intellectually rewarding experience. However, Keene is one of the leading, if not the leading, expert of Japanese literature in the United States. He is neither a historian nor a political scientist by training and this is entirely apparent in his analysis of Meiji and his life. Meiji presided over what is unquestionably a revolutionary period in Japanese history - an era in which Japanese society, culture, and politics was entirely transformed - and yet the precise way in which Meiji expanded his power and then used it to facilitate these changes, particularly vis a vis his ministers and councilors, is not given the thorough treatment it deserves. After reading Keene's biography, I agree with him that Meiji deserves more credit than he is often given for the changes in Japan during the late 19th and early 20th century, but I am still not entirely sure of what Meiji's role was in those changes. The narrative is engaging - exceptional, even - but the scope of the book is such that I was left begging for a richer analysis. I would have happily read another 300 pages had Keene provided this. Ironically, a less thorough treatment of Meiji might have earned 5 stars: the disappointment of reading such a magisterial book with such thin analysis would have been lessened considerably.

This has to be the best book on the Meiji emperor currently in English. Professor Keene has assembled enough primary and secondary material to form as complete a picture of the Meiji emperor as is likely to exist for a long time. This book is an esential source book for anyone seeking to understand the man or his era.

Professor Keene has a fascinating subject to explore in this book. If Augustus can be said to have found Rome to be city of mud huts and left strutures of marble behind, the Meiji emperor was born into a backward feudal nation and left when it had become a world power. Unlike Augustus, he cannot claim all of the credit for this achievement. There were many talented and visionary politicians who came to power during the period. However, the environment to foster the rise of Japan as a world power was certainly fostered by the emperor's departure from the traditional role of the Japanese emperor, a position which under the preceeding Shogunate period could be said to resemble that of a national high priest.

What is fascinating about this book is how Japan became a modern country. Persons who look at things like how modernity and change affects rising nation states will certainly find this book fascinating. At anyone of several periods throughout this period, Japan could have found efforts to modernize halted and it returning to the status of a rather unimportant Asian power.

Even though I thoroughly enjoyed this book, I will suggest that this is not really the best book to begin a study of Japanese history. Somethings are not fully explained and the significance of certain individuals not perfectly introduced. I would suggest reading a survey history of Japan before reading this one. However despite this shortcoming, Professor Keene has composed the definative text.

As other reviewers note, this is a wonderful biography of Emperor Meiji. It is well written, seemingly deeply sourced, and a great source to learn about Japanese history at one of its true turning points. Other reviewers have pointed out its strengths (comprehensiveness, scholarship, clarity), and Keene himself confesses its greatest weakness: the nearly impenetrable mysteries surrounding Meiji, his personality, and sentiments.

That said, this book is simply not user-friendly. The sixty-three chapters are untitled, which would be pardonable if they were grouped into parts, but they are not. Thus, for a book of 725 odd pages of dense type, the table of contents is utterly worthless. Moreover, the 135 pages of end-notes are a bear to navigate. (Jansen's "Making of Modern Japan" is an exemplar of how to handle end-notes.) Other editorial oddities include a few non-sequitur index entries and a few typos (notably in the reproduction of the Charter Oath on p. 139: "deliberate assemblies" instead of "deliberative assemblies").

This is a magisterial work, and a must-read for those interested in Meiji Japan, or Japan in general, but I wish it were easier to use for research.

If you are looking for a definitive account of Emperor Meiji and his reign, look no further. Although probably not the first such account written for Western audiences, "Emperor of Japan" may very well be the last. I can't imagine a more exhaustive analysis of this monumental figure in Japanese history.

I came to this book knowing next to nothing about Japanese history, but after several weeks I came away with a very firm grasp of what happened during the Komei and Meiji periods. (Emperor Komei, Meiji's father, was instrumental in setting the stage for his son's reign so is given ample space in this book.) I don't feel like my lack of prior knowledge kept me from enjoying this book. Donald Keene writes very well and explains things clearly.

The events unfold at a deliberate pace and in painstaking detail. Either you will soak it up like a sponge, or you will tire of the book quickly. In fact, if you don't have a lot of time to invest (several weeks) you may want to pass on this book.

If you're looking for an account of the emperor alone, without the surrounding detail, you're out of luck. This book may have more information about Emperor Meiji than any other, but he only features prominently in about 25% or less of the more than 700 pages of text. It's difficult if not impossible to separate the emperor from the men and events that surrounded him. For much of his reign Meiji was more of a figurehead than a decision-maker, which makes it difficult for a biographer to center on the man alone. Also, as previous reviewers have pointed out, he did not keep a diary. Working with court records, personal anecdotes and thousands of tanka (Japanese poems) that Meiji wrote, Keene pieces together the most accurate picture we'll probably ever have of the emperor. At that, he's still not fully understood outside of the historical events and characters that were his world, and even then only partially. (It seems that the emperor will forever remain hopelessly enigmatic.)

Those looking for a detailed account of the Meiji Restoration, the events that immediately preceded it, and the Meiji Era in general will find much to absorb here. "Emperor of Japan" may not be the definitive source for each of these subjects, but as they directly involved and affected Emperor Meiji and his reign they are given a very thorough analysis. (For a more detailed account of the Meiji Restoration, I recommend "Sakamoto Ryoma and the Meiji Restoration" by Marius B. Jansen.)

If you have more than a passing interest in Emperor Meiji, the most beloved but least understood of all Japanese historical figures, "Emperor of Japan" is well worth your time. Highly recommended.

Through the slow, steady accumulation of the tiniest details, Donald Keene has built an extraordinary and masterful portrait of Emperor Meiji of Japan. Meiji ruled at a time when significant changes were talking place in Japan: its opening to the West, its modernization, and perhaps most importantly, the transfer of governing power from the Shogunate to the Emperor.

Meiji's life exemplified these changes: he was the first emperor to travel regularly outside of the imperial palace and the capital city. He was the first emperor to take a train ride. He was the first emperor to shake a foreign dignitary's hand.

Although few details exist of Meiji's personal thoughts, Keene has built up this detailed portrait through a close examination of court records and through analysis of the numerous "tanka" or poems that Meiji penned.

As the indexer of this book, I was privileged to spend a number of weeks with this text and can attest to the immense scholarly effort it represents. This is surely the highlight of Keene's career as one of this country's foremost experts on Japan and Japanese culture. I highly recommend this work to anyone interested in Japan and its transition to a modern nation.

Great perspective into the life and times of one of the most influencial characters in Japanese history.
This book will not only give insight into the life of Japans royalty but a good look at that period of history. Easy to read, no previous knowledge of Japanese history or culture needed cause the book tells ya everything youll need and want to know about this time. It is alot longer then the average book, 800 pages or so, (the other 300 is notes and index), but fast moving enough to keep ya interested. Author does make alot of assumptions at times though.
I found the book pretty balanced, but if yur one of the many people who just read books on Japan to bash the Japanese, ya might want to go somewhere else as it doesnt spent much time on social commentary for ya to rip on.

This book offers a detailed snapshot of the Emperor and the dynamic times he had lived in...However, in my personal opinion, I would like to say that even after factoring the fact that the author was writing a subjective and sympathetic portrayal of the Japanese Emperor as a gentleman and enlightened monarch, the language and tone in the book reflects an extremely strong pro-Japanese and even nationalistic bias that colours the entire book, unlike the style of writing which I prefer, which is to be as academic and objective as possible....