Japan Before Perry: A Short History, 25th Anniversary Edition

by Conrad D. Totman

Book Overview

By 1853 Japan had been transformed from a sparsely populated land of nonliterate tribal peoples into an elaborately structured commercial society sustaining massive cities and a varied array of sophisticated cultural production. In this authoritative survey, Conrad Totman examines the origins of Japanese civilization and explores in detail the classical, medieval, and early-modern epochs, weaving interpretations of the major themes in Japan's cultural...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0520254074
• ISBN13: 9780520254077
• Release Date: January 2008
• Publisher: University of California Press
• Length: 260 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.5" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

A summary of pre-modern japan

This book covers the history of Japan in an enthusiastic way from its early histories with the Joman dolls up to the blackships of commodore Perry. I first read this in my Japanese history course, we were required to read parts of the book as a backbone for the lectures, but soon i found that I was reading the entire book. It's actually quite a easy read and Japan's history is quite refreshing for someone who's been embraced in european histories all his life. Chapters about the Heian and warring states period (in the 16th century) are the most interesting and helpful.