Old Japan: Secrets from the Shores of the Samurai

by Antony Cummins

Japan has often been thought of as a closed country, but before the country was closed in 1635 many travellers from the West were able to experience its unique traditions and culture. Their accounts speak of legends of powerful dragons and devils, tales of the revered emperor and the protocol surrounding him, following complex etiquette in everything from tea ceremonies to footwear, and bloodthirsty warlords who exacted cruel and unusual punishments for the smallest of crimes.In Old Japan Antony Cummins uses these captivating eyewitness accounts to reveal fascinating facts and myths from the mysterious Land of the Rising Sun.

Genres: History, Japan, Nonfiction

240 pages, Hardcover

Published August 20, 2018

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a buy for my husband and I picked it up on a whim. It's definitely an interesting book and I'd highly recommend it for those that like trivia types of bit sized information as that's what it is meant to be. As Antony Cummins puts it, he's trying to capture the flavor of Old Japan, and he does a great job.

[Václav · Rating 2 out of 5]

Je důvod, proč mi to dočíst trvalo tak dlouho. Tohle je prostě inkoherentní soubor různých zkazek, postřehů, faktoidů a dalších pseudoinformací o Japonsku. To by byl první problém. Některé věci jsou triviální hovadiny, některé jsou dvacetkrát přežvýkané informace od misionářů, diplomatů, námořníků. Většina má společné to, že tam chybí kontext. A jediné dělení je "tematické". Ale jinak se skáče v prostoru, čase i pohledu. Autor v předmluvě upozorňuje, že je to takový soubor, aby člověk "nacítil" Japonsko. Jenže za mě, jakožto člověka který se o Japonsko a jeho historii laicky zajímá, už tohle prostě byl guláš povídaček od stejců z hospody. Zajímavé věci by se tam našly, které třeba posloužily jako podnět si něco dohledat, ale celkový dojem to u mě nespraví. Další ránu tomu pravděpodobně uštědřil i překlad z angličtiny. Na mnoha místech jsem se přistihl, že automaticky tipuji jak ta část zněla v angličtině a říkám si "ale to přece v tomhle kontextu znamená něco jiného...", co tam i sedí lépe. Nechci tuhle knihu úplně pohřbít, i když jsem chtěl dát jen jednu hvězdičku, ale třeba si to někdo může užít ve stylu jako si čte feed an Facebooku. Ale za mě je to takový slátanec, který jako celek nefunguje.

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Antony Cummins presents an addictive series of bite-sized snippets of life in medieval Japan on a wide variety of different stories and accounts, organized into themes. Hardly ever longer than a paragraph or two, it's perfect as both a page turner, and something you can pick up when you have a few extra moments.

He gives context and life to just some of the many stories and accounts by everyone from courtesans to foreign missionaries. If you want a 'taste' of what people did and saw at the time without having to track down first hand accounts, this is a great place to start.

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a small book that talks about the history of Japan, mainly the Samurai era. It contains many information and short stories that depicts how life was during Old Japan and I feel that it was definitely a tough time to live in that era.

Overall, if you are looking for some bite-sized information about Japan's Samurai history, this is the book for you. There are also other books cited in this book that provides you with the mean to delve deeper if you are interested to find out more.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall interesting read if you're interested in Japanese history and it's culture. Notably a book which is designed for the reader to drop in and out with its variational snippets of information. Only downside which irritated myself was the number of spelling errors and the odd grammatical hiccups I found while reading the book.

[Carl Cash · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad little fun facts kind of book.