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nicojo
27th January 2004, 01:49
Please let me know your opinions, if any on these books, which I saw in the Japanese History section at Borders today. I haven't read much on this time period since my Mod. E.Asian history class 7 years ago. I'm not that interested in straight-up "war history" in the sense of battles or technology, warfare and suchlike...while interesting, I'd rather learn about the changes in culture and Japanese self-perception from these two events (Hirohito's change in public persona and the Japanese occupation of China). If that makes any sense.

If you can recommend better works for these subjects, please share, but also tell me why you like those better if you don't mind. If you could recommend other books alongside these to present a balanced view, whatever that may be, if you think these don't provide that, it would be excellent. Thanks for your help.

The Nanjing Massacre ...Honda Katsuichi

Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan...Herbert Bix

I saw through a forum search this (http://www.e-budo.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1340&highlight=hirohito) link about Bix's book, but no one responded to Mr. Lindsey's article. Perhaps no one has read the book?

Thanks again,

ps I also found a very interesting thread (http://www.e-budo.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=3635&highlight=nanking) in the forum about the internment camps of U.S. Also about Hiroshima, etc. I appreciated reading everyone's comments on it.

Rennis
27th January 2004, 19:39
Bix's book is excellent and I remember one of my Japanese area studies professors in Japan was mad at me because I beat him to checking it out in the library when it first came out. Haven't read the other one so...

Best,
Rennis Buchner

TommyK
28th January 2004, 01:13
Greetings,

On Japanese History try:

George Sansom's trilogy on the "History of Japan", it's in paperback and widely available.

He also has a very readable companion volume called: "A Short Cultural History of Japan." Dealing with the Culture of Japan.

For more culture and related musings on the Japanese pysche try:

"Chrysanthemum and the Sword", by Ruth Benedict...a dated, but valid work.

"The Japanese", by Edwin O. Reischauer.

These are good introductory texts.

Regards,
TommyK

Joseph Svinth
28th January 2004, 02:16
Benedict is actually better on the worldview of Issei than Japanese. Not surprising, either, inasmuch as she did her research in relocation centers.

Somewhere around E-budo, Professor Friday discussed Sansom. As I recall, the gist was that Sansom did a good job of summarizing what was known in Europe and the US ca. 1950. For a critical Japanese perspective, Saburo Ienaga has some books that have been translated into English. That would probably bring you up into the 1970s. I don't know what has been published lately, though.

That said, I've always liked Ian Buruma's books on Japan. Boye Delamente's book, "The Kata Factor," is also very worthwhile.

Michael Wert
29th January 2004, 01:42
All of those books are a bit dated (except Bix and Honda), and tend to essentialize the Japanese, i.e. I would never assign them in a class.

There was a good review recently on the new general history textbooks that was featured either in the Journal of Japanese Studies or Monumenta Nipponica. Check for online index on these journals and go down to your local university to read the reviews.

I know that Conrad Totman's general Japanese history book that came out in 2000 or 2001 was pretty good. He also did a excellent book on early modern (i.e. Tokugawa ) Japan that you should check out if that's your area of interest.

nicojo
29th January 2004, 05:24
Thank you for the suggestions. I should say that I have a pretty good grasp of Japanese and E. Asian history in general, though I will update my reading list.

I inquired about these books in particular because they are relatively recent and more importantly, are dealing with two "events" that are, shall we say, somewhat controversial. They are also about more specific events in J. History. So I was interested to know, for example how well Honda's book compares to Iris Chang's "Rape of Nankin" which is the book I've seen on most university reading lists about the subject. Because it is written by a Japanese journalist (as the book jacket told me) I am interested in his take on it, as opposed to Chang's views, with which I am familiar, though it's been a while since I've read it. Bix's book intrigues me and you all have recommended it. I will pick it up one of these days...I'm just down the road from the ASU campus so I'm sure they have it there. But I like having my own books to underline and reference later on (English lit. habit).

Mr. Svinth, at Border's the other day I ended up buying "Kata: The key to understanding and dealing with the Japanese" by Boye Lafayette De Mente instead of the ones I'm asking about. Just finished it tonight and thought it was quite...interesting. He seems to paint with a wide brush, perhaps, but it was very illuminating. The thread here (http://www.e-budo.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=19929&highlight=kata) made me settle on the book as much as anything. Much appreciated.

Thank you all for your rec's. Please add more, if you like, about other useful history books, not only for myself but other people who may see this thread. While one of my minors was in history, I didn't do much with primary sources, and was not able to focus on E. Asia.

By the way, Mr. Svinth, I think I read somewhere in e-budo or perhaps the ejmas website that you did your graduate work at Western Washington University? I finished my own M.A. in Lit. up there and will be going to Bellingham to see some grad school friends in March...I'm missing the rain here in Phoenix. Though I'm from WY so rain is still a sort of novelty to me.

Not missing the wind much though. There's enough of that in WY and Bellingham to last me for a while.

Oh, just so you all know, I titled the thread "Researchers" as a nod to the thread here about that. Interesting discussion.

Joseph Svinth
30th January 2004, 03:39
I did undergrad at Western (history, major in Africa south of the Sahara during colonial times), grad at University of Washington (Middle East). Didn't start reading much about Asia until years later...

don
4th February 2004, 01:06
Originally posted by nicojo
Please let me know your opinions, if any on these books

Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan...Herbert Bix


For Jpn response to the book (translated and published in Japan last year), see:

http://japanecho.com/sum/2002/2906_bix_reprint.pdf