A History of Japan

Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Short History---Ideal for Japanese Movie Buffs
Review: I love Japanese films, especially those of Kurosawa and Ozu, and that is the biggest reason for my interest in Japanese history. This nice little book by Mason and Caiger is the best short history of Japan that I have been able to find. There are even shorter works, but this one (at 408 pages) appears to be just the right size and with all of the information I could wish. The book has been around for about 30 years and was revised in 1997. The revision has been thorough, not just bringing it up to date. It covers not only political history but social and cultural history as well,and it has an excellent bibliography. This book is a wonderful read. I've begun to read it for the third time. I can't recommend it enough.

Rating:
Summary: An overview of Japanese history
Review: This book is a great introduction to the history of Japan, as the liner on the back of the books says. It suffers a little from the obvious problem of trying to squeeze two thousand years of civilisation into 370 pages, and as such is basically a fleshed out timeline. There is little elaboration on events and presents the reader with an endless string of historical characters, places and dates. However, there is a good focus on the development of the arts in each period. It would seem the authors have a great liking for Japanese verse, so the seemingly often appearance of poetry excerpts can get a little annoying if one is reading it purely for historical information. The book also glosses over recent Japanese history, from about the beginning of the occupation by American forces. As a turbulent time, there would be a lot to write about but if you're interested in that, try John Dower's "Embracing defeat" or a number of other books on Japan's modern history. If you are planning on making a visit to Japan this may be a good book to read so that you know when "that castle" or "this temple" was built, by whom and why.

Rating:
Summary: A comprehensive history of Japan
Review: This book makes an excellent introduction to Japanese history, as it covers the whole spectrum of history and does not focus in on one part too much. About two thirds of the chapters cover political and general history, and the other third look at cultural and religious developments. My only problems are that it doesn't seem to go in-depth in Buddhism enough and it seems to move past the civil war in the 16th century too quickly. It is especially good at developing the ideas of Shiki land rights and how Buddhism developed in Japan. A good general history or introduction to Japanese history.

Rating:
Summary: Good, not great
Review: When I first became interested in the history of Japan, this is the first book that I read. At the time, I gave this book five stars. As I have read more about Japan though this book falls a little bit for the things it leaves out and the fact that it focuses too much attention to relatively obscure cultural phenomena without expending equal energy to political and military development. I would recommend this book for a good start to learning about Japan and a quicker read than Sansom's histories or the Oxford histories.

Rating:
Summary: Good, not great
Review: When I first became interested in the history of Japan, this is the first book that I read. At the time, I gave this book five stars. As I have read more about Japan though this book falls a little bit for the things it leaves out and the fact that it focuses too much attention to relatively obscure cultural phenomena without expending equal energy to political and military development. I would recommend this book for a good start to learning about Japan and a quicker read than Sansom's histories or the Oxford histories.