History / History by country / Asia / Japan

The Great Kanto Earthquake and the Chimera of National Reconstruction in Japan

von J. Charles Schenking

In September 1923, a magnitude 7.9 earthquake and subsequent firestorms devastated nearly half of Japan’s capital, killing more than 120,000 people and leaving two million homeless. Using a rich array of source...

Samurai: The Japanese Warrior's [Unofficial] Manual

von Steve Turnbull

Combines the latest research with contemporary lives, descriptions, and reconstructions to provide a dramatic picture of what it was like to be a samurai.

So you think you'd like to be a samurai?

It's 1615 and...

Post-War Borneo, 1945-50: Nationalism, Empire and State-Building

von Ooi Keat Gin

This book examines Borneo, both British Borneo - Brunei, Sarawak and North Borneo - and Dutch Borneo in the period 1945-1950. Borneo then was at the crossroads. Following the Japanese Occupation, the likely...

The Maker of Modern Japan: The Life of Tokugawa Ieyasu

von A L Sadler

Tokugawa Ieyasu founded a dynasty of rulers, organized a system of government and set in train the re-orientation of the religion of Japan so that he would take the premier place in it. Calm, capable and entirely...

The World of the Shining Prince: Court Life in Ancient Japan

von Ivan Morris

Ivan Morris’s definitive and widely acclaimed portrait of the ceremonious and melancholy world of ancient Japan.

Using The Tale of Genji and other major literary works from Japan’s Heian period as a frame...

Aikido Ground Fighting: Grappling and Submission Techniques

von Walther G. Von Krenner, Damon Apodaca & Ken Jeremiah

Aikido Ground Fighting presents effective ground techniques that remain true to aikido founder Morehei Ueshiba's teachings while addressing a potential weakness in the system: while aikido is renowned for its...

Nation and Nationalism in Japan

von Sandra Wilson

Nationalism was one of the most important forces in 20th century Japan. It pervaded almost all aspects of Japanese life, but was a complex phenomenon, frequently changing, and often meaning different things...

Race to Commercialize Biotechnology

von Steven Collins

This comparative study looks at the early development of biotechnology in the US and Japan. Drawing on primary and secondary sources it traces the historical roots of recombinant DNA technology, discusses the...

The American Merchant Experience in Nineteenth Century Japan

von Kevin C. Murphy

American merchants established trading firms in the ports of Yokohama, Kobe and Nagasaki which operated from 1859-1899 until the repeal of the Unequal Treaties. Members of a privileged, semi-colonial community,...

A Chinese Physician: Wang Ji and the Stone Mountain Medical Case Histories

von Joanna Grant

A Chinese Physician is the portrait of a 16th century medical writer and clinical practitioner. Drawing on socio-economic/biographic, textual, and gender analysis along side a variety of sources, from hagiographical...

Tea Ceremony and Women's Empowerment in Modern Japan

von Etsuko Kato

The subject of the tea ceremony is well researched both in and outside of Japan, but the women who practice it are hardly ever discussed. The Tea Ceremony and Women's Empowerment in Modern Japan rectifies this...

Sexual Violence and the Law in Japan

von Catherine Burns

This book provides a detailed examination of judicial decision-making in Japanese cases involving sexual violence. It describes the culture of 'eroticised violence' in Japan, which sees the feminine body as...

Japan's Subnational Governments in International Affairs

von Purnendra Jain

This book moves away from the common belief that Japan's international relations are firmly the preserve of the national government in Japan's highly centralised political system. Examining examples of subnational...

Castles in Japan

von Morton S. Schmorleitz

Armed with Castles in Japan, the traveler who wants to explore beyond superficial, flashy tourist attractions will learn where to go to discover Japan as it was. As a guidebook, this volume is a pleasure; as...

Martial Arts and the Body Politic in Meiji Japan

von Denis Gainty

In 1895, the newly formed Greater Japan Martial Virtue Association (Dainippon Butokukai) held its first annual Martial Virtue Festival (butokusai) in the ancient capital of Kyoto. The Festival marked the arrival...

Operation Storm: Japan's Top Secret Submarines and Its Plan to Change the Course of World War II

von John Geoghegan

The riveting true story of Japan's top secret plan to change the course of World War II using a squadron of mammoth submarines a generation ahead of their time

In 1941, the architects of Japan's sneak attack...

Historical Dictionary of Modern Japanese Literature and Theater

von Scott J. Miller

Historical Dictionary of Modern Japanese Literature and Theater presents a broad perspective on the development and history of literature_narrative, poetry, and drama_in modern Japan. It focuses specifically...

Manners and Customs of the Japanese in the Nineteenth Century: From the Accounts of Dutch Residents in Japan and from the German Work of Dr. Philipp F

von Philipp Franz von Siebold & Terence Barrow

Manners and Customs of the Japanese in the Nineteenth Century is a delightful account of the Japanese of Tokugawa Japan. First published in New York in 1841, this small book is one of the earliest accounts of...

The A to Z of Japanese Business

von Stuart D.B. Picken

The A to Z of Japanese Business is an examination of the origins and characteristics of Japan's business culture. This handy reference book includes most of the important words or company names that foreign...

Japan Transformed: Political Change and Economic Restructuring

von Frances McCall Rosenbluth & Michael F. Thies

With little domestic fanfare and even less attention internationally, Japan has been reinventing itself since the 1990s, dramatically changing its political economy, from one managed by regulations to one with...