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Japan: Past and Present

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Japan: Past and Present (1946)
by Edwin O. Reischauer
George Bailey Sansom4661118Japan: Past and Present1946JapanReischauer-ebook cover.jpg

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Japan

Past and Present

Japan

PAST AND PRESENT


by

Edwin O. Reischauer


Foreword by Sir George Sansom

Publisher logo.
1946

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Alfred A. KnopfNew York

Copyright 1946 by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review to be printed in a magazine or newspaper. Manufactured in the United States of America. Published simultaneously in Canada by The Ryerson Press.

First Edition

This is a Borzoi Book, published by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.

To my brother, Bob

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Foreword

Few countries have been more copiously described than Japan, and perhaps few have been less thoroughly understood. In the last century there were a number of works dealing with the picturesque or the exotic aspects of that country, most of which, though some­ times a trifle deceptive, were passable books of travel. During the same period there were written a few important studies of Japanese political and social history which are still standard works, though they are used only by a few specialists. But it is a remarkable fact, which I think will be accepted by any teacher who has been responsible for instruction in schools or colleges, that before the outbreak of the war in the Far East there was no single short book which gave a lucid and tolerably complete picture of Japan’s early history and her development in modern times. There were plenty of learned treatises on this or that, but nothing to give the average educated reader what he needed.

After the outbreak of war, there appeared in profusion a flood, or at least a considerable stream, of books about Japan, chiefly of topical interest. Some of these were interesting and useful. Others, however, were of a different type. Understandably, but regrettably, they belonged to that class of historical work, all too common in the last few decades, of which the purpose is not to discover or expound truth but to promote one of those perversions of systematic thought which are known by the suitably ill-sounding name of ‘ideologies.’ Now that the war is over, the average reader has a right to expect something more rational, more readable and more reliable.

I think that Dr. Reischauer’s book fulfils these requirements. He has excellent qualifications for his task— familiarity with the country he describes, a first-class linguistic equipment, a good training as an historian, and most important of all an approach to his subject which is neither prejudiced nor sentimental. He narrates the leading facts of Japanese history from early times, with just and interesting comment. He explains easily and competently the evolution of modern Japan to the conditions described in his concluding chapters. I can truthfully say that I do not know of any short book on Japanese history which gives so much useful information in so brief and simple a form.

G. B. Sansom

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Acknowledgments

In this brief description of the Japanese and their history I have of necessity omitted the great mass of small factual details of which history is made, and have attempted to clarify the picture for the reader by concentrating on salient features and by treating the whole in general and broadly interpretative terms. In doing this, I have been acutely aware of the dangers of oversimplification and of misplaced emphasis. If I have avoided these pitfalls, the credit is in no small measure due to several friends who very kindly read my manuscript and made many extremely helpful and valuable suggestions. Sir George Sansom, whose masterful Japan – A Short Cultural History is an inspiration to all students of Japan, not only was kind enough to read my manuscript but also has written a foreword. My special thanks for much valuable aid are also due Professor Serge Elisséeff, under whose excellent guidance I first started my study of Japanese history. I wish to express my appreciation also for the helpful comments and corrections given me by Dr. Hugh Borton, Dr. Edward Kracke, Mr. Richard McKinnon, and by my parents and my parents-in-law, Dr. and Mrs. George H. Danton. I take this opportunity also to thank my sister-in-law, Jean Reischauer, for her skillful and painstaking work in preparing the maps which accompany the text.


List of Maps

Japan Superimposed on the United States 4
Ancient Centers of Civilization 7
Early Migrations to Japan 10
Routes Between Japan and China 20
Plan of Ancient Kyoto 24
Japan in the Feudal Period 50
Japan in the Tokugawa Period 82
Major Railway Lines of Modern Japan 115
The Far East in Modern Times 137
Japanese Expansion Before December 1941 176
The Japanese Empire and the Line of Furthest
Conquest, 1931–1945
follows page 192

Japan

Past and Present

title in Japanese


[The Japanese title by William R. B. Acker]



This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was legally published within the United States (or the United Nations Headquarters in New York subject to Section 7 of the United States Headquarters Agreement) before 1964, and copyright was not renewed.

Works could have had their copyright renewed between January 1st of the 27th year after publication or registration and December 31st of the 28th year. As this work's copyright was not renewed, it entered the public domain on January 1st of the 29th year.


This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.

It is imperative that contributors ascertain that there is no evidence of a copyright renewal before using this license. Failure to do so will result in the deletion of the work as a copyright violation.

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