The Making of Modern Japan Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)First and foremost, I was very surprized at how readable this book is at times. For a book of this size, and the amount of material it covers, I was glad at how readable it was in certain parts.
I also liked that the book was relatively neutral approach. The author clearly respects Japanese history and has mastered it, while not making excuses for their mistakes. To often Japanese and Chinese scholars have been seduced by the cultures of these areas and it clouds their writing and interpretations. I liked the neutrality of this book.
I am less interested in social history, so I will not lie and pretend to have found those chapters interesting, it is not my thing.
The chapters that I felt were the best dealth with the unification of Japan around 1600 and the events surrounding the Meiji Restoration of 1868.
To me, one of the most interesting periods in Japanese history is the 16th and 17th century. The stories and actions of Oda Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu (my screen name)fascinate me greatly. However, there is so little in English about them. It is so hard to find many sources on these great Japanese leaders and the final battles at Sekigara and Osaka castle. So it was quite enjoyable to read about them in this book. The Tokugawa Shogunate ruled Japan for over 200 years and was great to read how it came into power and stayed in power. If this time period interests you, you must read Totman's bio of Tokugawa and of course Cavells Shogun.
Equally as interesting is how the Tokugawa Shogunate collapsed and the Emperor was restored. The book does a great job detailing Perry's arrival in Japan and its forced opening to the west. The book also does a great job discussing the infighting in Japan going on at the time of Perry's arrival and after. The book makes it clear that the Meiji Restoration was more than simply a reaction to Western Imperialism. I enjoyed reading about all the infighting between the remaining Tokugawa bakfu and the more rebellous daimyo.
Also the author does a great job describing how after the Meiji restoration Japan modernized and westernized.
I also feel this books makes up for some of the weaknesses in other recent books on modern Japan. "Embracing Defeat" was too sympathetic to the Japanese in dealing with its history immediately after WWII. This book stays neutral.
Also,Bix recent biography of Hirohito, really did not go into enough detail of the Meiji restoration which this books does a great job of.
However, that creates another problem. Again, if you have read either Bix' Hirohito or Embracing Defeat you will be pretty well informed of post-WWII Japan. Therefore the last chapters of this book are really not neccessary to read. Again, its done well, but having read both of those books makes his information a bit of overkill.
So, if you are looking for a good overview of recent Japanese history you will enjoy this book. It is well written and informative and at times surprizingly entertaining. But again, the last few parts of this book cover material fans of Japanese history will have read too much of recently.
If you like Japanese history, you will like this book.

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