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.
Chapter List (106 chapters):
- Chapter 1: Cover
- Chapter 2: Copyright
- Chapter 3: Contents
- Chapter 4: List of Illustrations
- Chapter 5: Acknowledgments
- Chapter 6: Foreword to the first edition
- Chapter 7: Preface to the revised edition
- Chapter 8: Part 1: Archaic Japan
- Chapter 9: CHAPTER ONE: Environment and Early Settlement
- Chapter 10: CHAPTER TWO: Yamato
- Chapter 11: The Beginnings of Political Unity
- Chapter 12: Government and Religion
- Chapter 13: PART II: Ancient Japan
- Chapter 14: CHAPTER THREE: The Creation of a Unified State
- Chapter 15: The Soga Victory
- Chapter 16: Prince Shōtoku
- Chapter 17: The Taika Reform
- Chapter 18: Buddhism and the Centralized Imperial State
- Chapter 19: Conclusion
- Chapter 20: CHAPTER FOUR: Culture in the Nara Period
- Chapter 21: Material Culture
- Chapter 22: Writings
- Chapter 23: CHAPTER FIVE: Government in the Heian Period
- Chapter 24: Emperor Kammu and His Successors, 781-850
- Chapter 25: Rule by the Fujiwara, 850-1068
- Chapter 26: The Development of Shōen
- Chapter 27: Rule by Cloistered Emperors (Insei), 1068-1156
- Chapter 28: Conclusion
- Chapter 29: CHAPTER SIX: Heian Literature
- Chapter 30: Poetry
- Chapter 31: Early Prose and Uta-monogatari
- Chapter 32: Court Diaries (nikki)
- Chapter 33: Two Heian Masterpieces—Makura no Sōshi and Genji Monogatari
- Chapter 34: CHAPTER SEVEN: Religion in the Heian Period
- Chapter 35: Tendai Buddhism
- Chapter 36: Shingon Buddhism
- Chapter 37: Religion and Society
- Chapter 38: CHAPTER EIGHT: Architecture and Art in the Heian Period
- Chapter 39: Architecture
- Chapter 40: Sculpture
- Chapter 41: Painting
- Chapter 42: Music
- Chapter 43: PART III: Medieval Japan
- Chapter 44: CHAPTER NINE: Rule by the Military Houses
- Chapter 45: The Rise and Fall of the House of Taira
- Chapter 46: The Heike Monogatari
- Chapter 47: The Success of the Minamoto Under Yoritomo
- Chapter 48: The Hōjō Regency
- Chapter 49: The Mongol Invasions
- Chapter 50: The Decline of the Kamakura Bakufu
- Chapter 51: The House of Ashikaga
- Chapter 52: The Muromachi Bakufu at Its Height
- Chapter 53: CHAPTER TEN: The Failure of Ashikaga Rule: The Vigor of Economic and Cultural Life
- Chapter 54: The Collapse of Central Government
- Chapter 55: The Vigor of Economic Life
- Chapter 56: Cultural Life in the Period of the Country at War
- Chapter 57: Funa Benkei
- Chapter 58: CHAPTER ELEVEN: Buddhism in the Kamakura and Muromachi Periods
- Chapter 59: Hōnen (1133-1212), Shinran (1173-1262), and the Spread of Amidism
- Chapter 60: Nichiren (1222-82)
- Chapter 61: Dōgen (1200-1253) and Other Zen Monks
- Chapter 62: PART IV: Early Modern Japan
- Chapter 63: CHAPTER TWELVE: Sixteenth-Century Japan
- Chapter 64: Nobunaga and Hideyoshi
- Chapter 65: Castles, Palaces, and Decorative Arts in the Momoyama Period
- Chapter 66: Contact with the Outside World
- Chapter 67: CHAPTER THIRTEEN: Administration Under the Tokugawa
- Chapter 68: The New Bakufu
- Chapter 69: Regulation of Elites: Buddhist Sects and the Imperial Court
- Chapter 70: Central Government and Local Autonomy: The Baku-Han System
- Chapter 71: Foreign Policy: Closure of the Country and Relations with Neighboring States
- Chapter 72: Bureaucratization and the Changing Role of the Samurai
- Chapter 73: Taxation and Fiscal Problems
- Chapter 74: The Bakufu, 1651-1841
- Chapter 75: CHAPTER FOURTEEN: Society and Culture in Early Modern Japan
- Chapter 76: Monetization and the Development of a Market Economy
- Chapter 77: Villages Drawn into the National Economy
- Chapter 78: City Life and City Culture
- Chapter 79: Intellectual Life and Education
- Chapter 80: The Japanese Family System
- Chapter 81: Conclusion
- Chapter 82: PART V: Modern Japan
- Chapter 83: CHAPTER FIFTEEN: The Meiji Era and Policies for Modernization
- Chapter 84: The Restoration
- Chapter 85: Meiji Foreign Policy
- Chapter 86: Economic Policies and the Beginnings of Industrialization
- Chapter 87: Domestic Politics and the Transition to Constitutional Rule
- Chapter 88: Formation and Development of Political Parties
- Chapter 89: The Constitution and the Ideology of Kokutai
- Chapter 90: Meiji Society
- Chapter 91: CHAPTER SIXTEEN: From Consensus to
- Chapter 92: Painting
- Chapter 93: Music
- Chapter 94: Dramatic Entertainments
- Chapter 95: Literature
- Chapter 96: Ideology
- Chapter 97: Politics and the Economy
- Chapter 98: Conclusion
- Chapter 99: CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: Solutions Through Force
- Chapter 100: War in China
- Chapter 101: The Pacific War
- Chapter 102: The Occupation
- Chapter 103: Postscript
- Chapter 104: Bibliography
- Chapter 105: Index
- Chapter 106: ABOUT THE AUTHORS