Japanese Political History

Brought to you by Penguin. Chris Harding's enormously enjoyable new book distils Japan's long, complex and fascinating history into the stories of twenty remarkable individuals. These vivid and entertaining portraits take the reader from the earliest written accounts of Japan right through to...

Japan has seen the rise and fall of emperors, samurai warriors, isolation, expansion, defeat, rebirth, and much more. In this book we explore the magnificent history of Japan from its early origins to its rise as a modern superpower.

In this groundbreaking biography of the Japanese emperor Hirohito, Herbert P. Bix offers the first complete, unvarnished look at the enigmatic leader whose 63-year reign ushered Japan into the modern world. Never before has the full life of this controversial figure been revealed with such clarity and vividness. Bix describes what it was like to be trained from birth for a lone position at the apex of the nation's political hierarchy and as a revered symbol of divine status.

China and Japan have cultural and political connections that stretch back 1,500 years. But today, their relationship is strained. China's military buildup deeply worries Japan, while Japan's brutal occupation of China in World War II remains an open wound. In recent years, less than 10 percent of each population had positive feelings toward the other, and both countries insist that the other side must deal openly with its history before relations can improve. Ezra Vogel's China and Japan examines key turning points in Sino-Japanese history.

A riveting account of the role of Americans in the evolution of the Tokyo underworld in the years since 1945. In the ashes of postwar Japan lay a gold mine for certain opportunistic, expatriate Americans. Addicted to the volatile energy of Tokyo's freewheeling underworld, they formed...

"Shadows of the Rising Sun" delves into the enigmatic Black Dragon Society, a secretive ultranationalist group in early 20th-century Japan. As Western imperialism spread across Asia, the Society proclaimed Japan as the defender and leader of Asian unity against Western dominance. Their ideology of "Greater Asianism" influenced Japan's aggressive expansion and contributed to the regional conflicts of World War II. This book explores the Society's origins, philosophy, and significant impact on Japan's foreign policy. It also examines their strategic support for Chinese revolutionary Sun Yat-...

福沢諭吉の説くあるべき日本男子は「メシ」「フロ」「ネル」ではありえない。『一国の社会を維持して繁栄幸福を求めんとするには、その社会の公衆に公徳なかるべからず。その公徳をして堅固ならしめんとするには、根本を私徳の発育に取らざるべからず。』この視点に依って説かれる「男子論」なのである。襟を正して聞くべし。

「一身独立して一国独立す。」福沢諭吉の名言としてしられる『学問のすゝめ』の一文です。「独立自尊」のひとをつくる。「人類」に至大の幸福を得させる。そのために教育はあるのである。——新聞を創り、大学を創り･･啓蒙と教育に生涯を捧げた福沢諭吉の肉声を、ここで聞いてください。

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that on all men are created equal on, that they are endowed by Creator with certain unalienable Rights. 天ノ人ヲ生ズルハ億兆皆同一轍ニテ、之ニ附与スルニ動カス可カラザルノ通義ヲ以テス「天は人の上に人を造らず、人の下に人を造らず」