In Japanese Historians and the National Myths, John Brownlee examines how Japanese historians between 1600 and 1945 interpreted the ancient myths of their origins. Ancient tales tell of Japan's creation in the Age of the Gods, and of Jinmu, a direct descendant of the Sun Goddess and first emperor of the imperial line. These founding myths went unchallenged until Confucian scholars in the Tokugawa period initiated a reassessment of the ancient history of Japan. These myths lay at the core of Japanese identity and provided legitimacy for the imperial state. Focusing on the theme of conflict and accommodation between scholars on one side and government and society on the other, Brownlee follows the historians' reactions to pressure and trends and their eventual understanding of history as a science in the service of the Japanese nation.

The Japanese have faithfully preserved their ancient myths as a connected and well ordered system. And as a system, Japanese myths say much about the human condition in the cosmos and about the human place in the cosmic order. Not until now has a book-length, English-language study been released on Japanese mythology. Drawing on his meticulous research, Asianist Peter Metevelis presents this selection of analytic essays that form a mosaic of themes on the primordial world of Japanese myth, adding a rewarding voice to cultural history and the history of ideas around the world. Metevelis shows that, contrary to popular belief, Japanese myths have much in common with other myths around the globe, and are mythically, logically, and symbolically equivalent. This suggests that Japanese culture has always resonated with the rest of the world and provides a valuable touchstone for comparative mythologists. The mythic themes Metevelis explores include: Linkage of birth with death Loss of immortality Containment of souls Effect of time on mortals Creation of the cosmos And many more This incomparable volume also includes detailed notes, bibliographies, and appendices to help further your knowledge of Japanese myth. Under Metevelis's expert guidance, you can expand your understanding of the Japanese myth system, its structure, and its principal actors, and immerse yourself in the ancient Japanese mysteries of the cosmos.

From the John Holmes Library collection.

In this major revision of his classic history of Japan—from the tribally divided state under the leadership of Yamato in the fifth century through centuries of dynastic rule to the death of Emperor Hirohito in 1989—the eminent Harvard historian and former U.S. Ambassador to Japan Edwin O. Reischauer incorporates nearly a decade's worth of new scholarship. His book is divided into three parts: the first part examines traditional Japan from the early Chinese influences to the flowering of a native culture and the establishment of a feudal system and society; the second looks at Japan in transition from the beginnings of the modern state to the rise of militarism and the advent of World War II; the third section, extensively rewritten to reflect Japan's drastically changed role in world affairs since 1984, deals with postwar Japan from the American Occupation and years of political division and instability to Japan's gradual metamorphosis into an economic giant. The Nakosone and Takeshita years are discussed at length, and the transformation of Japan's economy, hinged upon surging exports to the West, is analyzed. Clear, concise, and enormously informative, Reischauer's Japan: The Story of a Nation encompasses political, social, economic, and cultural history in a superbly readbable narrative.