The History of Japan

Japan is a country where ancient Shinto shrines coexist with ultra-modern skyscrapers, and corporate culture is still influenced by the samurai code of honor and traditional Confucian ethics. Its history presents a series of very different epochs in spirit: starting from the mythical creation of the islands by gods and an open culture receptive to borrowing, Japan transitioned to a voluntary self-isolation for over two centuries, and then to rapid modernization and transformation into one of the leading economies of the world. This book provides a concise and sequential explanation of key stages in Japanese history—from the earliest ceramic vessels of the Jomon period and burial mounds of the Kofun period to the samurai feuds, the politics of isolation, the Meiji Restoration, the post-war economic miracle, and the challenges of the 21st century. You will learn how Japanese statehood was formed, why power belonged to military rulers for centuries, and how Japanese modernization differed from the Western.