Customer Reviews

A History of Japan, 1334-1615

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George Bailey Sansom's "History of Japan, 1334-1615" is an excellent compilation of the Japanese military, politicial and social history from the 14th to 17th centuries. The book starts with the tale of the reform-minded Emperor Go-Daigo and his efforts to overthrow the current Shogunate. It then proceeds to the story of Ashikaga Takauji, a well known general, who rebelled against Go-Daigo and the Imperial Throne and was made Shogun. The books ends with at the pivotal year, 1615, with the battle of Sekigahara. The Western forces of the Toyotomi family went to battle with the Eastern forces of Tokugawa Ieyasu. This battle marked the most significant increase in Tokugawa power to date, and would eventually lead to the creation of the Tokugawa Shogunate, which would last until the late 1800s.

Generally speaking, Sansom tells the story of Japan. He tells the reader how a tiny, landowner-dominated land that squabbled amongst itself over tiny plots of lands and saw the constant fighting between families, started to become the Super Power it was in the World War I time. This book is the second in the series, the first being entitled "History of Japan to 1334" and the third being "History of Japan, 1615-1867".

It is not necessary to read the first in order to understand the second, however it is useful. Sansom assumes that the reader has read his previous work, because he starts in the middle of Go-Daigo's tale, not really taking the time to explain the importance of such things as the "Bakufu" and the "Hojo Family". However, the difficulty there only lasts for twenty pages, or so, and then its smooth sailing.

While this book is often used as a college textbook, it is important to point out that this book is as much a story as it is a historical guide. Sansom keeps the reader enthralled and eager to see what happens next. Indeed, this historical book ranks up there with any novel. A definite must read for anyone interested in history, especially Japanese history.

It is probably well to point out that this is the 2nd of Sansom's 3-volume narrative history of Japan -- preceded by "A History of Japan to 1334" and followed by "A History of Japan, 1615-1867." The online listing does not always show them in the proper order; also, some readers may not realize that
the earlier, and quite well-known "Japan: A Short Cultural History" (1931; Revised Edition, 1943; author identified as "G.B. Sansom") is not part of this classic trio.

Although the period in Japan from 1334 to 1615 is noted for its endless civil wars, Sansom devotes considerable time and enthusiasm describing cultural developments and the country's initial contacts with the West -- a theme which he develops at length in "The Western World and Japan: A Study in the Interaction of European and Asiatic Cultures" (1965; 504, xi pp.), a work which cannot be too highly recommended! (Again, the author is indicated as "G.B. Sansom").

In short, this is the standard narrative history of Japan for our time. Today's scholars are more interested in details than in the overall picture.

Sir George Bailey Sansom (1883-1965) was a British diplomatist, knighted for his services to the crown, who was also a fine scholar of Japan. When the three volumes of his _History of Japan_ were written they were much the best in the field, well written, full of sharp insights, and reflecting current scholarship. They remain well written but a great deal has been learned since the 1950s that is not reflected in them.

With that said, although I have 75 volumes of Japanese history in my library, I still occasionally consult this book, which remains the most comprehensive narrative history for the period up to 1600. The trick is to be able to know when what he says has been superseded. But for most people, it is likely to be the only Japanese history they will read, and they are going to be misled in some respects.

One alternative is a biography that is also a history: Mary Elizabeth Berry, _Hideyoshi_ (Cambridge: Council on East Asian Studies, Harvard University, 1982), ISBN 0674390261. Its subject, Toyotomi Hideyoshi (c.1536-1598), was the most amazing man in Japanese history, and among the most amazing in anyone's history. It was Hideyoshi who unified Japan toward the end of the long period of turmoil that Sansom's book covers, and Berry tells the story of the background as well as of Hideyoshi's unification. She wrote two decades after Sansom and so benefits from a great deal of original scholarship in the interim (to which she contributed). Her book is also nicely affordable.

Another fine alternative, at least in part, is Marius B. Jansen, ed., _Warrior Rule in Japan_ (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995), ISBN: 0521484049. This is a collection of five articles from volumes 3 and 4 of the magnificent (and magnificently costly) _Cambridge History of Japan_, here presented in convenient (and affordable) form. It traces the three shogunates or bakufu (the Kamikura bakufu, the Muromachi or Ashikaga bakufu, and the final Tokugawa bakufu) up through 1800. Its weakness is the era of the unification, but that is the strength of Berry's book, so the two are complementary. The book has a good deal of Japanese terminology in it, but its index is set up also to serve as a glossary, so there is no need to get confused.

One minor thing to beware of in reading Sansom is that in recording the dates of events he gives Japanese lunar months their English names -- the sixth month is June, etc. Since the lunar months do not line up with the months of our calendar (and sometimes there are 13 rather than 12 in a year) this can be misleading.

The second book in Sansom's History of Japan takes the reader from the succession disputes between the Senior and Junior lines of the royal house, through the revolt of Go-Daigo against the Hojo regents and the Kemmu restoration. The story of how the first Ashikaga Shogun, Takauji, gained power and the desultory state of war between the so-called Northern (Kyoto-based) and Southern courts follows. The apparently pointless Onin war is discussed and the reader is relieved when nearly two hundred years of civil war ends under Nobunaga and Hideyoshi. Finally, Sansom deals with the establishment of the Tokugawa Shoguns by Ieyasu.

As in the first book in this series, Sansom once again cleverly combines narrative tales of action with analysis. For sheer brutality and callous disregard for human life under pre-modern ethical standards, the tales of Hideyoshi's treatment of his son, Hidetsugu, make chilling reading. The civil war period occasionally makes for a bewildering welter of names but the author generally steers a clear course through the flotsam. There is also considerable discussion of the Western influences that began to be felt in Japan with the advent of the Jesuit missions there under Francis Xavier. Sansom claims that many authors have made too much of the West's influence during this period but still devotes considerable time to Christianity and the Japanese response to it. A lengthy discussion of Japan's Korean invasion is also included.

This second book in the series is just as good or better than the first. It contains a similar selection of maps, charts, timelines and family trees and also has several short appendices expanding details of the text. It contains its own annotated bibliography and an extensive index. If you enjoyed the first book in this set, the second will continue to delight. It should be useful to the casual reader of Japanese history or to the scholar, although, written in 1958, some of its views are likely out of vogue and some facts may be out of date. On the whole, it is a remarkable piece of historical literature.

As I mentioned in my review of the first volume ("A History of Japan to 1334"), George Sansom's series is one of the most informative and detailed accounts of Japanese history that is available. There is no volume of the series that is an exception to the statement above, but I must admit that, as the focus of "A History of Japan: 1334-1615" is largely on matters of government and war, the reading of this volume from start to finish can often be a more arduous task than reading its predecessor. That being said, Sansom makes this remark on page 119: "One thing which strikes the student of this period is the almost continuous war (say from 1300 to 1400) is the monotony of its military history." I appreciate that this is mentioned, as the explanation that follows helps to ease the 'monotony' a bit. Sansom goes on to describe Japanese historical chronicles in relation to matters of war in sufficient detail. And, what's more, several of the chapters that follow are dedicated to topics of Japanese culture and foreign relations.

Areas that may be of especial interest, covered in certain chapters of this volume, include the arrival of the Portuguese in Japan, religion (Christianity and Buddhism, in particular), and the life of the famed shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu. These chapters of "A History of Japan: 1334-1615" make very interesting reading and serve as an incredible reference. Like the first and third volumes, this work includes useful appendixes and a comprehensive index. A bonus of this particular volume is that it also includes a Japanese (romaji and kanji) to English glossary of chiefly governmental and religious terms. Though this book could definitely stand alone for research purposes or a specialized interest in the years covered here, Sansom's expertly-written history trilogy works best when read and utilized together.

Pretty much every English speaker who studies Japan acquires a copy of Sansom. Consequently, if you are interested in Japan, you probably already have a set. I am giving this collection four stars instead of five simply because its scholarship is now a bit dated and it is not the Cambridge History of Japan. But, who can afford the Cambridge History? I wish I could. In terms of being affordable, this is most likely still the best introduction to Japanese history around in English.

Pretty much every English speaker who studies Japan acquires a copy of Sansom. Consequently, if you are interested in Japan, you probably already have a set. I am giving this collection four stars instead of five simply because its scholarship is now a bit dated and it is not the Cambridge History of Japan. But, who can afford the Cambridge History? I wish I could. In terms of being affordable, this is most likely still the best introduction to Japanese history around in English.