![]() ![]() And when that lie tumbles, so too do others like the idea of the noble samurai. The emperor has long been a figurehead, beholden at various times to military leaders or merchants or even former emperors for their titular power. That turns out not to be true! The power and presence of the emperor’s court has waxed and waned over the years, but really hasn’t been the locus of true power in the country for millennia. Reading about Emperor Hirohito in the American context, it’s sort of taken as granted that the Japanese believed in the godlike essence of their ruler and that the monarchy was an essential part of the state going back centuries. Having all this context was important too for breaking down a lot of the misinformation and propaganda that underpins Japan’s myths even today. This was incredibly important context to have to understand the veritable explosion outward during the Meiji era, which further informed the seemingly rational decisions that led the state to confront the west militarily. I got a lot more insight into the decision to close Japan to foreigners in the first place. I’m pleased to say that it met my expectations in this respect. So what I was really hoping to get from Henshall’s book was a quick overview of the formation of the Japanese state and a more in-depth look at the Meiji restoration and how it contributed to Japanese militarism and ultimately into the post-WW2 state that I was familiar with from other readings. Most focus either directly or indirectly on the Pacific War and the American occupation or else are dated looks at the Japanese business culture when they seemed like the great ascendant economic enemy in the 1980s. In my experience, so many of the works of history available to Americans are weirdly specific to the American experience. This was a great resource for filling in the gaps in my knowledge about Japan. I feel like I've now got a decent foundation for future readings on Japanese history. Its focus on the 20th century and its necessarily cut-and-dry text is what gives it three stars instead of four, but for what it is (a brief overview of Japanese history), it's very good. While this is understandable, I do miss the interesting anecdotes and ability to make history "come alive" that I get from my favorite history books. If I wasn't particularly interested in a given chapter, I could just read the end summary and get all the important information there (plus, it's good for future refrence).Īlso, since it's so slim, there obviously can't be too much depth into daily life of Japan and the focus is more on important names/dates/wars/trends/etc. I also liked the summarizations at the end of each chapter. I did like the first 70 pages, which covers up to the end of the Tokugawa Period (1868). ![]() As someone who is not a fan of 20th century history (for any country), I'm not enthused and wished he'd spent more time on earlier periods. The focus on 20th century history is obvious, given that it takes up more than half the book. A good place to start if you're interested in Japanese history. ![]()
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