A BRIEF HISTORY OF
JAPAN
A BRIEF HISTORY OF
JAPAN
SAMURAI, SHŌGUN AND ZEN:
THE EXTRAORDINARY STORY OF THE LAND OF THE RISING SUN
JONATHAN CLEMENTS
TUTTLE Publishing
Tokyo | Rutland, Vermont | Singapore
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Published by Tuttle Publishing, an imprint of Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd.
Copyright © 2017 by Jonathan Clements
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior written permission from the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Names: Clements, Jonathan, 1971- author.
Title: A brief history of Japan : samurai, shogun and zen : the extraordinary story of the land of the rising sun / Jonathan Clements.
Description: First edition. | Tokyo ; North Clarendon, VT : Tuttle Publishing, 2017. | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016055712 | ISBN 9784805313893 (pbk.)
Subjects: LCSH: Japan--History.
Classification: LCC DS835 .C55 2017 | DDC 952--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016055712
ISBN 978-4-8053-1389-3
ISBN 978-1-4629-1934-5 (ebook)
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CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1 The Way of the Gods: Prehistoric and Mythical Japan
CHAPTER 2 Through the Keyhole: The People of Wa
CHAPTER 3 The Shining Prince: Medieval Japan
CHAPTER 4 A Game of Thrones: Minamoto vs. Taira
CHAPTER 5 Ashes of Victory: The Warring States
CHAPTER 6 Time Warp: 200 Years of Isolation
CHAPTER 7 The Stench of Butter: Restoration and Modernization
CHAPTER 8 The Empire Strikes Back: The Road to Pearl Harbor
CHAPTER 9 Broken Jewel: Occupation and Recovery
CHAPTER 10 The New Breed: The Japanese Miracle
CHAPTER 11 Cool Japan: The Lost Decades
Preface
The first time I arrived in Japan, I was more prepared than most newcomers. I had been studying in Taiwan, and could already understand all the signs on the street, even if I could not necessarily pronounce them. Quite by accident, I was arriving not in the Tōkyō region, but in Japan’s ancient heartland of Kyōto, which would soon bewitch me with its history and culture. I was there to study premodern Japanese foreign relations and Japanese literature. I shopped like it was going out of fashion, shipping home box after box of books and CDs, VHS cassettes and shōgi boards. I had been studying Japanese for several months, and was sure that one day it would all fall into place.