Modern Japan: A Historical Survey

by Mikiso Hane

Integrating political events with cultural, economic, and intellectual movements, Modern Japan provides a balanced and authoritative survey of modern Japanese history. A summary of Japan's early history, emphasizing institutions and systems that influenced Japanese society, provides a well-rounded introduction to this essential volume, which focuses on the Tokugawa period to the present.

The fifth edition of Modern Japan is updated throughout to include the latest information on Japan's international relations, including secret diplomatic correspondence recently disclosed on WikiLeaks. This edition brings Japanese history up to date in the post 9/11 era, detailing current issues such as: the impact of the Gulf Wars on Japanese international relations, the March 2011 earthquake, tsunami, and subsequent nuclear accident, the recent tumultuous change of political leadership, and Japan's current economic and global status. An updated chronological chart, list of prime ministers, and bibliography are also included.

Genres: History, Japan, Nonfiction, Asia, Japanese History

610 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 1, 1970

About the author

Mikiso “Miki” Hane was a Japanese American professor of history at Knox College, where he taught for over 40 years. He wrote and translated over a dozen books, wrote many articles, and was appointed a member of the National Council on the Humanities in 1991.

Hane was born in California, lived in Japan during his teenage years, and was interned in Arizona during World War II. He taught soldiers Japanese at Yale, then studied there, where he attained a bachelors in 1952, a masters in 1953, and doctorate degree in 1957. Hane studied in Japan and Germany, then taught at the University of Toledo and studied in India before coming to Knox College in 1961. He lived in Galesburg for the rest of his life, and both wrote and taught up until his death.

Reviews

[Yalin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a brilliantly written historical survey of modern Japanese history, that does not spare the reader important details which any other mainstream history of Japan might ignore for various reasons. It is a history that pays homage to those downtrodden, ignored, and left behind during the advent of Japan's modernity, as well as discuss those major events and personalities that have had an important role in achieving this situation. The appendix includes a number of links - although some by the time of this review (03 May 2020) are dead - which are good further sources to check.

[Chelsea Henry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another book I had to read for history of modern Japan. This book is very interesting, it is also very technical college level textbook reading, meaning lots of names and lots of dates. It tells a very detailed history of Japan though from the Edo/Tokugawa era all the way to modern Japan in the 21st century.

[machinaheart · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read in parts.