What are some good History books on Japan?

Question

I'd like to be a history teacher on Japanese culture someday, so I think that it'd be a good idea to start up on my reading. Please give me the names and authors (if you know them) for any good Japanese History books.

Thank you!

~Abi

~

Answer 1

Japan: The Story of a Nation-by Edwin O. Reishauer

E.O.R. is still the go-to guy for Japanese history. Don't be intimidated by the fact he was a Harvard prof and an ambassdor to Japan-he wrote The Story of a Nation for a general audience.

Embracing Defeat-John W. Dower

This is the best book on the occupation-again, it's a very readable book from a heavy-duty scholar.

Answer 2

An oldie but a goodie is the George Sansom's 3-volume set that covers Japanese history from Prehistory to the end of the Edo Period (1867).

He also has a Cultural History book that traces cultural development over the same period.

Hiraizumi Kiyoshi has a three volume set though much shorter than Sansom's and it has some lovely drawings and paintings in it. His history tends to be pro-Imperial though it was written after the war. He completely dismisses much of the Muromachi Period which came about by the Ashikaga Shoguns betraying and running the emperor Go-Daigo off.

For Samurai history - Stephen Turnbull is one of the leading western experts and has a slew of books on them.

Anthony Byrant has several books most notably one on the Battle of Sekigahara.

For native texts that are quasi-historical get the Heike Monogatari which tells of the war between the Genji and Heike families in the late 12th century and the Taiheiki which takes place in the early 14th century involving the fall of the Kamakura shogunate.

The Tale of the Genji while fictional is a good look at the life and culture of the Imperial Court in the 10th-11th Century. Look for the The World of the Shining Prince by Ivan Morris for historical analysis of that time period.

For historical fiction, Yoshikawa Eiji is a good read. He has three books which have been translated into english which deal with the events leading up to the Heike Monogatari (The Heike Story), Toyotomi Hideyoshi (Taiko), and Miyamoto Musashi (Musashi).