Synopses & Reviews
In a rare collection of comprehensive coverage and sustained critical focus, this book examines Japanese history in its entirety to identify the factors underlying the nation's progression to superpower status. Japan's achievement is explained not merely in economic terms, but at a more fundamental level, as a product of historical patterns of response to circumstance. Japan is shown to be a nation historically impelled by a pragmatic determination to succeed. The book also highlights unresolved questions and little known facts.
Synopsis
Examines Japan's history in its entirety to identify the factors behind its progress to superpower status, showing it to be a nation historically impelled by a determination to succeed.
About the Author
Kenneth G. Henshall is Professor of Japanese Studies in the department of Asian Studies at the University of Canterbury, UK
Table of Contents
Introduction: Japan and History * From the Stone Age to Statehood: Myths, Prehistory, and Ancient History * Of Courtiers and Warriors: Early and Medieval History (710-1600) * The Closed Country: The Tokugawa Period (1600-1868) * Building a Modern Nation: The Meiji Period (1868-1912) * The Excesses of Ambition: The Pacific War and Its Lead-Up * A Phoenix from the Ashes: Post-War Successes and Beyond * Conclusion: Lessons for Aspiring Superpowers * Index