A BRIEF HISTORY OF
JAPAN
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TUTTLE Publishing
Tokyo Rutland, Vermont Singapore
J O N A T H A N C L E M E N T S
SAMURAI, SHŌGUN AND ZEN:
THE EXTRAORDINARY STORY OF THE LAND OF THE RISING SUN
A BRIEF HISTORY OF
JAPAN
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Published by Tuttle Publishing, an imprint of
Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd.
www.tuttlepublishing.com
Copyright © 2017 by Jonathan Clements
All rights reserved. No part of this publica-
tion may be reproduced or utilized in any
form or by any means, electronic or mechani-
cal, including photocopying, recording, or by
any information storage and retrieval system,
without prior written permission from the
publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publica-
tion Data
Names: Clements, Jonathan, 1971- author.
Title: A brief history of Japan : samurai, sho-
gun and zen : the extraordinary story of the
land of the rising sun / Jonathan Clements.
Description: First edition. | Tokyo ; North
Clarendon, VT : Tuttle Publishing, 2017.
| Includes bibliographical references and
index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016055712 | ISBN
9784805313893 (pbk.)
Subjects: LCSH: Japan--History.
Classification: LCC DS835 .C55 2017 |
DDC 952--dc23 LC record available at
https://lccn.loc.gov/2016055712
ISBN 978-4-8053-1389-3
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CONTENTS
Preface 8
Point of Departure: 14
Cipangu
CHAPTER 1 The Way of the Gods: 20
Prehistoric and Mythical Japan
CHAPTER 2 Through the Keyhole: 36
The People of Wa
CHAPTER 3 The Shining Prince: 64
Medieval Japan
CHAPTER 4 A Game of Thrones: 92
Minamoto vs. Taira
CHAPTER 5 Ashes of Victory: 121
The Warring States
CHAPTER 6 Time Warp: 146
200 Years of Isolation
CHAPTER 7 The Stench of Butter: 173
Restoration and Modernization
CHAPTER 8 The Empire Strikes Back: 196
The Road to Pearl Harbor
CHAPTER 9 Broken Jewel: 217
Occupation and Recovery
CHAPTER 10 The New Breed: 233
The Japanese Miracle
CHAPTER 11 Cool Japan: 248
The Lost Decades
Notes on Names 266
Further Reading 269
Bibliography 272
Index 278
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8
Preface
T
he first time I arrived in Japan, I was more prepared than most
newcomers. I had been studying in Taiwan, and could already
understand all the signs on the street, even if I could not necessarily
pronounce them. Quite by accident, I was arriving not in the Tōkyō
region, but in Japan’s ancient heartland of Kyōto, which would soon
bewitch me with its history and culture. I was there to study pre-
modern Japanese foreign relations and Japanese literature. I shopped
like it was going out of fashion, shipping home box after box of
books and CDs, VHS cassettes and shōgi boards. I had been study-
ing Japanese for several months, and was sure that one day it would
all fall into place.
Twenty-five years and three degrees later, I still felt very much like
a beginner. On my most recent trip to Japan, I was old enough to be
the father of the student I once was. I hardly bought a thing, know-
ing that online stores would ship anything I w...
