A History of Japan: Revised Edition Revised Edition

by R. H. P. Mason (Author), J. G. Caiger (Author)

44 customer reviews

ISBN-13: 978-0804820974

ISBN-10: 9780804820974

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A classic of Japanese history, this book is the preeminent work on the history of Japan.

Newly revised and updated, A History of Japan is a single-volume, complete history of the nation of Japan. Starting in ancient Japan during its early pre-history period A History of Japan covers every important aspect of history and culture through feudal Japan to the post-cold War period and collapse of the Bubble Economy in the early 1990's. Recent findings shed additional light on the origins of Japanese civilization and the birth of Japanese culture.

Also included is an in-depth analysis of the Japanese religion, Japanese arts, Japanese culture and the Japanese People from the 6th century B.C.E. to the present. This contemporary classic, now updated and revised, continues to be an essential text in Japanese studies. Classic illustrations and unique pictures are dispersed throughout the book.

A History of Japan, Revised Edition includes:

Archaic Japan—including Yamato, the creation of a unified state, the Nana Period, and the Heian period.
Medieval Japan— including rule by the military houses, the failure of Ashikaga Rule, Buddhism, and the Kamakura and Muroachi Periods periods.
Ealy Modern Japan—including Japanese feudalism, administration under the Tokugawa, and society and culture in early modern Japan.
Modern Japan—including The Meiji Era and policies for modernization, from consensus to crisis (1912-1937), and solutions through force.

This contemporary classic continues to be a central book in Japanese studies and is a vital addition to the collection of any student or enthusiast of Japanese history, Japanese culture, or the Japanese Language.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"The best one-volume introduction to the history of Japan in English" —Canberra Times

"Very engaging history book. It draws you in through the experiences of prominent persons in Japanese history. A definite book on Japan's history." —Goodreads

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Product details

Paperback: 408 pages
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing; Revised edition (November 15, 1997)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 9780804820974
ISBN-13: 978-0804820974
ASIN: 080482097X
Product Dimensions: 5 x 1.3 x 8 inches
Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 44 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #86,650 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #31 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Social Sciences > Specific Demographics > Asian American Studies
- #32 in Books > History > Australia & Oceania > Oceania
- #39 in Books > Textbooks > Humanities > History > Asia

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Sloth

More confusing than informative

June 27, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Having read a pretty good overall history of Japan, I wanted to find another book that briefly covers its entire timeline as a review. This book does not do the job well. The writing style is extremely dry and the author often uses double negatives or run on sentences. It's like reading a graduate dissertation. The content is also very lacking. Mason zooms past sections without providing enough history, or gives some small topics way too much focus. For example, he has pages devoted to Nara poems (just the translated poems) which he doesn't explain the significance of, but barely mentions the Tale of Genji. There's also many sections where he fails to impress the importance of the topic because of the convoluted style he writes in. Concepts that can be easily explained in a paragraph are dragged out for pages, it all feels a bit elitist. For a not as dry, compact, informative, and CONCISE overview, I suggest Kenneth G. Henshall's A History of Japan.

26 people found this helpful

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Ben

Superb, but revisionist

April 7, 2018

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Let me first start out by saying that I greatly enjoyed this book, and I would recommend it to anyone that is interested in a thorough understanding of Japanese history.

The book deals with its subject in a chronological order, with an emphasis on important people and events. These highlights are in turn fleshed out by a comprehensive analysis of what historians consider to be the underlying causes for change. In addition, a running commentary is made on the intelectual and cultural developments of each periode, particularly within Buddhism, which facilitated change. All of this is presented in a compressed yet accessible style, leaving the reader not only with a clear understanding of what happened, but also why it happened. Anecdotes and excerpts from novels and plays also give the text a colourful and enjoyable feel.

So why just three stars?

While the book is incredibly detailed when it comes to Japan’s internal history, the history of its colonial empire and actions during the Pacific war are purposfully vague. Korea, at the time of the invasion, is refered to as a ‘backwards country’, and the worst thing the Japanese did during World War Two was appearantly forcing older Indonesians to use Japanese Standard time rather than local time. Indeed, the author flat out refers to the execution of Japanese war criminals as a ‘dubious arraignment’. These things runs contrary to all other records of the era.

Japan’s history is more than the Pacific War. To focus unduly on its actions during that war would give a slanted view of its history, but so does ignoring them outright. For all its merit, this book whitewashes a difficult time in human history, and that makes it a bad history book, no matter how well written it otherwise is.

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John Garcia

A mostly concise, very informative read on Japanese history.

November 10, 2013

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Note: The context of my reading of this book was in that of a class room setting, so some information may have been made more clear after lecture and not because of the book itself.

In "A History of Japan: Revised Edition" the whole of a. Japan's history is covered up to the 1950s. From the original historical references of ancient Chinese scribes to the imperial documents of the Meiji period and beyond, this book manages to cover quite a lot of ground in a little bit of time, and it manages to do so with a nearly concise telling. I say nearly concise because the book tends to get bogged down in a generous procession of name-dropping and the occasional fluffed bit information. The authors are not attempting to pad their book by any means, so rest assured the price you pay is certainly worth the information you receive, just be prepared for reread a few sections in an attempt to filter out superfluous information and cut through the occasional fluff. Documents and references are provided for each chapter via footnotes, so you skeptics can fact check the fine work of these historians. Overall it was a great educational experience, despite the sparse moments of information overload. I highly recommend reading it, if you're at all interested in Japanese history.

Likes:
-Reliable information
-Concise and well laid out chapters

Dislikes:
-A spot of fluff here or there
-A lot of naming dropping, past the point of necessity sometimes and to the point of confusion.

16 people found this helpful

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Bruce K

If you like lots of facts

December 31, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

If you like lots of facts, and little to no dubious extrapolations or conclusions, then you will like this book.

My nephew is living in Japan, and thus my inerest in learning more about the origins and development of this ancient civilization.

One thing I did not expect, was how this history has helped me to understand the long history of the complex and conflicted relationship between Japan, Korea and China.

Three stars because the style is a little dry and professorial, compared to my favorite history authors, and might be a turn-off for younger readers.

One person found this helpful

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January 10, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

I was born and educated in Japan. I knew the history. I found it very well written.

7 people found this helpful

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Emilio

It covers more than military/political

September 17, 2016

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

What I most liked about this book is that is does not cover only military/political history, but also arts, religion, poetry, architecture, theater, and many other aspects of Japanese society that are essential to understand this country.

It is a great book for those who want to enter in this world. Now I feel I have the basics about the country for a more detailed study.

10 people found this helpful

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MAW

I purchased this book because of an upcoming trip to Japan and I not only learned a good bit of the country's history

April 16, 2018

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Fascinating and very well written. I purchased this book because of an upcoming trip to Japan and I not only learned a good bit of the country's history, but also gained more of an understanding of the people of Japan.

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May 10, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Very comprehensive and well written. A little more detail than I really needed in some of the early chapters but an excellent review of Japanese history.

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