About this product

Product Identifiers

PublisherPenguin Books, The Limited

ISBN-10014199228X

ISBN-139780141992280

eBay Product ID (ePID)12062365266

Product Key Features

Book TitleJapanese : a History in Twenty Lives

Number of Pages528 Pages

LanguageEnglish

Publication Year2023

TopicAsia / Japan, Asia / General, Historical

GenreBiography & Autobiography, History

AuthorChristopher Harding

FormatUk-B Format Paperback

Dimensions

Item Height1.2 in

Item Weight13.6 Oz

Item Length7.8 in

Item Width5.2 in

Additional Product Features

Intended AudienceTrade

TitleLeadingThe

Dewey Edition23

ReviewsSkilled, ambitious, mightily impressive ... Harding turns out to be as adept at describing the country's artistic development as he is at unpicking its brutal politics. Another of his talents is a sharp eye for the telling quote that makes these distant presences tangible ... a marvellous read, full of startling information. -- Waldemar Januszczak Sunday Times Splendid ... It's an effective way of telling an unfamiliar story, leavening the course of social change with plenty of enjoyable individual details. -- Dominic Sandbrook Sunday Times An enjoyable romp through the ages across the Japanese archipelago ... Harding is in his element ... A tour de force, this imaginative book may well be the "ideal introduction" for anyone new to Japan ... Vividly written, there are certainly some interesting surprises to savour along the way. -- Andrew Cobbing BBC History Magazine A fresh and fascinating perspective ... By shifting focus without losing the renowned figures or the sweeping trends but rather leavening them with formerly unsung individuals, Harding is able to say something new about the history of Japan and reinvigorate old stories. As such, this book can act as a primer for the archipelago's long and complex story, or as a refreshing take on familiar periods for those already well-versed in the emperors, shoguns and battlefields. -- Iain Maloney Japan Times The people included in this look at the lives of 20 of Japan's most notable characters are not, it's fair to say, household names, but historian and broadcaster Christopher Harding brings them to life with warmth and insight. Together, they offer a great primer to the nation's expansive, dynamic story . History Revealed , Book of the Month, Skilled, ambitious, m ightily impressive ... Harding turns out to be as adept at describing the country's artistic development as he is at unpicking its brutal politics. Another of his talents is a sharp eye for the telling quote that makes these distant presences tangible ... a marvellous read, full of startling information.

Dewey Decimal952.0099

Table Of ContentContents List of Maps ix List of Illustrations xi A Note to the Reader xiii Introduction 1 PART ONE From Heaven to Heian: Mythological Time to 1185 1 Himiko - Shaman Queen 11 2 Prince Shotoku - Founding Father 21 3 Emperor Kanmu - Boundary Pusher 37 4 Murasaki Shikibu - Court Reporter 53 PART TWO From Many to One: 1185- 1582 5 Hojo Masako - The Nun Shogun 71 6 Shinran - Power to the People 89 7 Zeami - Master of Arts 105 8 Oda Nobunaga - Unity or Else 125 PART THREE Floating Worlds: 1582- 1885 9 Hasekura Tsunenaga - Voyager 147 10 Ihara Saikaku - Amorous Man 171 11 Sakamoto Ryoma - Revolutionary 191 12 Kusumoto Ine - Building the Body 213 PART FOUR New Lives: 1868- 1941 13 Shibusawa Eiichi - Entrepreneur 239 14 Tsuda Umeko - Culture Shock 259 15 Ikeda Kikunae - Taste- Maker 279 16 Yosano Akiko - Poet of Peace and War 297 PART FIVE 'Forward with Culture': 1942 to the Present 17 Misora Hibari - Starlet/Harlot 325 18 Tezuka Osamu - Dream Weaver 349 19 Tanaka Kakuei - Shadow Shogun 373 20 Owada Masako - Uncertain Symbol 395 Chronology 427 Bibliographic Notes 435 Acknowledgements 459 Permissions 460 Index 463

SynopsisA SUNDAY TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2020 'Mightily impressive ... a marvellous read' Sunday Times From the acclaimed author of Japan Story , this is the history of Japan, distilled into the stories of twenty remarkable individuals. The vivid and entertaining portraits in Chris Harding's enormously enjoyable new book take the reader from the earliest written accounts of Japan right through to the life of the current empress, Masako. We encounter shamans and warlords, poets and revolutionaries, scientists, artists and adventurers - each offering insights of their own into this extraordinary place. For anyone new to Japan, this book is the ideal introduction. For anyone already deeply involved with it, this is a book filled with surprises and pleasures., Chris Harding's enormously enjoyable new book distils Japan's long, complex and fascinating history into the stories of twenty remarkable individuals. These vivid and entertaining portraits take the reader from the earliest written accounts of Japan right through to the life of the current empress, Masako. We encounter shamans and warlords, poets and revolutionaries, scientists, artists and adventurers - each offering insights of their own into this extraordinary place. For anyone new to Japan, this book is the ideal introduction. For anyone already deeply involved with it, this is a book filled with surprises and pleasures.

LC Classification NumberDS834