Japan

by Naff, Clay Farris

• ISBN13: 9780737718560
• ISBN10: 0737718560
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-03-01
• Publisher: Greenhaven Pr

Summary

Few countries boast a history as long and distinctive as that of Japan. Its people created the world's first pottery, wrote the world's first novel, and forged the world's finest swords. This book traces major events from Japan's prehistory through its recent economic malaise and offers a variety of viewpoints on the island nation's future.

Table of Contents

Foreword	9	(2)
Introduction: Japan: A History of Extremes	11	(14)
Chapter 1: Ancient Japan
1. The Founding Myth
by the Kojilo	25	(3)
Mythology tells of the creation of Japan by the gods and of an unbroken line of emperors descended from the gods. This line of emperors is said to have begun with Jimmu in 660 B.C.
2. Prehistory and the Jomon Era
by Kenneth G. Henshall	28	(7)
The earliest culture in Japan dates from about 13,000 B.C. The name Jomon refers to the people, their style of pottery, and the era in which they lived.
Chapter 2: The Medieval Era
1. Feudal Lords Fight for Power
by Kenneth Scott Latourette	35	(7)
From the late twelfth to the late fifteenth centuries, various warlords fought for control of Japan.
2. Europeans Reach Japan
by Ian Nish	42	(4)
In 1542, a group of shipwrecked Portuguese sailors washed up on Japan's shores. They were soon followed by a missionary named Francis Xavier and Portuguese and Dutch traders.
3. Japan Closes Its Doors
by Kenneth G. Henshall	46	(11)
Ieyasu, founder of the Tokugawa dynasty, and his successors put a stop to the influence of foreigners by banning Christianity, expelling foreigners, and sealing off Japan from the world.
4. Life in Tokugawa Japan
by James L. McClain	57	(11)
With the Tokugawa dynasty firmly in control, Japan's cities began to grow as a new system of commerce took hold.
Chapter 3: Japan Modernizes
1. The U.S. Navy Arrives
by Pat Barr	68	(9)
In 1853 Commodore Matthew Perry arrived in command of a U.S. Navy fleet, leading to the end of Japan's policy of isolation and the beginning of its struggle for equal treatment from the West.
2. The Meiji Era
by Ki Kimura	77	(9)
In 1868 the emperor was restored. Emperor Meiji presided over a country determined to industrialize and become an international power.
3. Battling for Control in Asia
by W.G. Beasley	86	(10)
As Japan rushed to catch up with the industrialized West toward the end of the nineteenth century it took on the ambitions of empire in Asia. This brought it into violent conflict with its neighbors.
4. The Emergence of Women
by Janet E. Hunter	96	(10)
Conditions for women began to change with industrialization in the late nineteenth century and early in the twentieth century, activists pressed hard for new rights for Japanese women.
Chapter 4: Rise and Fall of the Japanese Empire
1. A Flawed Democracy Falters
by Noel F. Busch	106	(6)
While two-party democracy grew in the years following World War I, the military refused to take directions from anyone but the emperor.
2. The Militarists Take Power
by Robert L. Worden	112	(8)
As economic and diplomatic complications arose in the late 1920's, violent ultranationalists and headstrong young military officers pushed the nation inexorably into military rule.
3. The Pacific War
by Milton W. Meyer	120	(13)
In the 1930's, Japan's continuing disputes with Western powers, along with its military ambitions, led to its participation in World War II.
4. The Atomic Bombings: A Look Back
by John W. Dower	133	(9)
On August 6, 1945, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, creating widespread devastation.
Chapter 5: The Postwar Era
1. The Occupation
by Richard Storry	142	(11)
The Allied occupation eliminated many of Japan's former leaders, imposed a new constitution on the country, and renounced Japan's right to make war.
2. Economic Superpower
by Martin E. Weinstein	153	(6)
Japan's economy rebounded when the Korean War started in 1951. American military requisitions got Japanese factories churning, and the Japanese economy became the envy of the world.
3. The Economy Stalls
by Marius B. Jansen	159	(9)
In the 1990's, a prolonged economic recession paralyzed the banking system, forced the sell-off of many industries to foreigners, and left the future of Japan's economy in doubt.
Chapter 6: Japan's Clouded Future
1. Three Driving Forces
by David J. Staley	168	(8)
A historian examines the three key trends that he believes will shape Japan's future: aging of the population, structural reform of the government and economy, and cultural change in the lives of the young.
2. Pluralistic Japan: Coming to Terms with Racial and Ethnic Diversity
by Cavan McCormack	176	(7)
As Japan enters the twenty-first century, its longstanding ideology of racial and cultural uniformity and distinctiveness is being challenged.
3. Searching for a New Global Role
by Gilbert Rozman	183	(11)
Japan's foreign policy has fallen into disarray, and a reawakening nationalism increases the difficulty of finding a new role on the world stage.
4. Insecurity and Hope in the New Era
by Masaru Tamamoto	194	(9)
The national determination that carried the Japanese people through previous crises has been lost. Nevertheless, a Japanese resurgence is possible-though at the cost of many valued traditions.
Chronology	203	(7)
For Further Research	210	(5)
Index	215