History of Japan

A Captivating Guide to Japanese History, Including Events Such as the Genpei War, Mongol Invasions, Battle of Tsushima, and Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

By: Captivating History

Narrated by: James Peters

Length: 4 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

If you want to discover the captivating history of Japan, then pay attention...

Japan is one of the most adaptable countries in the world. It is capable of very rapid change, even after crises that would halt the progress of other nations. When the shogunates collapsed in the 17th century, the feudal system disintegrated. Within a year’s time, though, railroads replaced ox carts. During World War I, a first-rate economy sprung up on deserted farmlands. During World War II, the modest islands of Japan burgeoned into an empire with one of the most powerful navies in the world. After the devastation of that world war, Japan emerged as one of the most modern countries in the world. The Japanese have survived frequent earthquakes and tsunamis and rebuilt their cities using enviable technologies.

The Japanese progressed throughout the eras because of the emperor, but they also progressed despite him. These are people who never let go of their sacred history, and their story is told and retold in art, film, literature, and even graphic novels across the entire world. Terms such as shoguns, samurai, haiku, anime, and manga are familiar to many in the Western world today. Westerners also learn flower arranging, martial arts, meditation, and enjoy a variety of visual and digital art forms because of the unique culture of Japan.

In History of Japan: A Captivating Guide to Japanese History, Including Events Such as the Genpei War, Mongol Invasions, Battle of Tsushima, and Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, you will discover topics such as:

• Children of the Sun
• Warring clans
• The two imperial courts
• Edo Japan: part one -1603 to 1638
• Edo Period: part two -1638 to 1868
• The Meiji restoration
• Japan in World War II and its aftermath
• And much more!

So if you want to learn more about the history of Japan, scroll up and click the "add to cart" button!

©2019 Captivating History (P)2020 Captivating History

Pronunciation problems

I enjoyed this audio book for the most part, but the narrator mispronounces many things to a confusing degree. All of the English parts are fine and he narrates them well (although there are a few places that should have been edited out where he coughs or makes a mistake and rereads). However, pretty much all of the Japanese names and words are mispronounced to a degree that makes them almost unrecognizable. Many of these mispronunciations could have been avoided by simply consulting wikipedia, which others would have been smoothed out if the narrator just spent an afternoon learning Japanese pronunciation which is quite easy. This audiobook is passable, but doesn’t exhibit the professionalism that I’d like to see if I am to keep paying every month to have this service.

Comprehensive

A comprehensive overall coverage, however, a bit light on coverage of Japan's involvement in the world wars, especially on it's an aggression on China during WWII.

A good introduction

A good introduction to Japanese history. I wish there were more maps and illustrations though, and an introduction so if you know a lot about Japan you might want something else.

Clarity

A comprehensive and concise account of the history of Japan. A very good book suitable for beginners like me.

Informative & Appropriately Condensed

I enjoyed this from beginning to end. There are a few (very few) moments that should have been edited out (repeated lines and a moment of coughing). Overall, the narrator was consistent and clear. Content covered a good range of historical events with smooth transitions.
A pleasure to listen to and will again!

Very Informative

While wide-ranging and detailed subjects in this book might make some readers confused. But the authors' intention to cover many aspects that defined Japan as she is nowadays also making this effort worthwhile and the book worth reading.

Great work

Great work about the subject!!!!. Of the great value for me were the extracts of Japanese poetry.

Intellectually Dishonest and Lazy

It’s a summary of a summary, and not a captivating one. They literally copied the text from Wikipedia, shortened it even more and eliminated crucial context and detail.

They also completely omitted Japan’s annexation of Korea and rape of Korean women, dedicating a whole of 1 minute during the last 15 minutes of the book. This alone makes the book unreliable and biased. They don’t even mention the authors, but whoever they are don’t know much about Japan’s history or do not want to contend with Japan’s war crimes. They included a lot about China, but nothing about Korea, only vaguely referencing its interests in Southeast Asia.

There is distracting poor grammar, microphone sounds, repeated sentences, and even a pause where the narrator coughs, which were oversights by the editors. Grammar example: “Part of the reason was due to the Americans finding it difficult or just didn’t care enough to distinguish between civilians and soldiers.” The cough is when there’s 2h51m left.

Overall, get a different book or simply read Wikipedia. Captivating History has some good titles, like the Mexican Revolution, but they didn’t care about putting any effort into the history of Japan.