introduction in history: help needed

[Casper Baar]

Christmas (and Sinterklaas) are on their way. I have been thinking about buying some books on japanese history. Does anyone have idea's about what books would make a good starting point?

Both books on general history and on the history of martial arts have my interest.

I am limited to books in Dutch or English. I could wrestle myself through a short text in German but this would mean reading and rereading before I get what it says.

If someone has regrets about buying such a book or knowledge that a certain book contains wrong or misguiding information I would also be glad to hear about it.

I wasn't sure where I could post this question best. If this should be in another forum please feel free to move somewhere else.

thank you,

[Joseph Svinth]

Japanese history, in English, is still an enormous topic. Can you narrow it a bit? Era, activity, person, something like that?

[nicojo]

Some good recommended reading lists in some of the threads. Try putting "Good books" or "Book review" in the search thingie. Of course, the estimable Mr. Svinth, as well as others hereabouts, can help you if you want something more specific.

[Joseph Svinth]

Gave the question some more thought.

First, try the local library. I mean that. I have a storage room full of books, plus more on the shelves. This costs me a lot of money every month just to maintain the books, and in storage, they're hard to access, too. After that, try the university library. Leyden and Den Haag ought to have rooms full of 17th - 19th century accounts, written in Dutch. Get a grounding in that, and you'd open new windows on the Tokugawa era.

Some specific thoughts. The best essay, bar none, on the role of religion in the JMA is Prof. Bodiford's. It's in Vol. II of Tom Green's "Martial Arts of the World: An Encyclopedia." The encyclopedia itself costs US $175 a set, so either ask Santa very nicely, or find it at a university library.

For modern Japanese culture, try Ian Buruma's books. He's Dutch, but I think he does most of his writing in English. Anyway, "Behind the Mask" is a classic. I think it's in print, and it's probably at the library.

For military minutiae, try Osprey Books. They have lots of pix, and are usually pretty reliable. The library won't have these, but your local hobby shop might.

Finally, for MA in the 20th century (internationally, not just Japan), I will immodestly assert that Green and Svinth, "Martial Arts in the Modern World" is a pretty good buy for US $39.95 (hardback only, no trade paper available). Check Amazon, B&N, etc.

[Casper Baar]

Mr. Svinth,

Thank you very much. For those interested I will post in this thread about the books I have read in a while.

I know the question wasn't very specific but I am looking for some books to get started. Usually after I have read some books on a subject, I develop a taste and then one good book leads to another.

Actually my mother works at a public library. She is going to get Buruma's: "A Japanese mirror" from one of the libraries through the national network.

I have searched the royal Dutch library:
http://www.kb.nl/
or
http://www.kb.nl/index-en.html (for english)

but could not find a copy of Tom Green's "Martial Arts of the World: An Encyclopedia."
Putting Japan and history in this search engine get's a collection of dutch accounts from 1600 - 1799 as the first result.
Enough to get started, thanks again.

[Chrono]

Originally posted by Joseph Svinth
First, try the local library. I mean that.

I concur. I went to my local library about a week ago and even though it's very] small I found what looks like a good book. It's called The Japanese Mind by Robert C. Christopher. I don't suppose anybody's read it? Anyway, I was surprised to see that they had something like that. Now, if I really wanted something I could search my school's library which is huge. I'm sure they have plenty of stuff to keep me busy for a while.

[Geoff]

In our introductory Asian studies course we use "Japan: A Short History" by Mikiso Hane. I like it as a good, relatively brief, introduction.

Green's Encyclopedia is excellent for MA history, as is Svinth and Green's survey "Martial Arts in the Modern World". If you are interested in koryu, Skoss' series is well-done.

Geoff Wingard

[Katsujinken]

Here are some recent ones that I have found quite interesting, many of them are however quite academic:

Farris, William Wayne (1992) Heavenly Warriors: The Evolution of Japan's Military 500 - 1300. Council of East Asian Studies. Harvard Univ Press.

The above is Accessible lays out some of the academic arguments of the evolution of Japanese Military history for this period and beyond.I think its an excellent book that lays out some of the issues underpinning historical writing on Japan.

Souyri, Pierre Francois (2002) The World Turned Upside Down: Medieval Japanese Society. Pimlico.

The above deals with Heian to Edo. Gives context in which warrior classes developed and changed through periods. Bit heavier than above, but still fairly accessible.

Totman, Conrad (1966/1988)Politics in Tokugawa Bakufu 1600-1843. California Univ Press. A Bit heavy in places, but has some picture diagrams.

Berry, Mary Elizabeth (1989)Hideyoshi. Harvard Univ Press. This is actually quite readable, still in print and fairly academic without being too weighty.

Ooms, Herman (1985) Tokugawa Ideology: Early Constructs 1570 - 1680. Princeton Univ Press. An interesting work conecrning mostly intellectual history.

Hall, John Whitney & Takeshi, Toyoda (1977) Japan in the Muromachi Period. Univ of California Press. A collection of Short articles some quite heavy going though, very academic.

Regards

[Joseph Svinth]

I can add a couple titles to Chris's list of sleepers.

* Brownlee, John S. Japanese Historians and the National Myths, 1600-1945: The Age of the Gods and Emperor Jinmu (Vancouver, BC: University of British Columbia Press, 1997).

* Conroy, Hilary, Sandra T.W. Davis, and Wayne Patterson, editors. Japan in Transition: Thought and Action in the Meiji Era, 1868-1912 (Rutherford, NJ: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1984)

* Keene, Donald. The Japanese Discovery of Europe, 1720-1830 (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, revised edition, 1969)

* Kreiner, Josef, editor. Sources of Ryukyuan History and Culture in European Collections (Munich: Iudicium, 1996)

* Morris, Ivan I. Nationalism and the Right Wing in Japan: A Study of Post-War Trends (London: Oxford University Press, 1960)

* Singer, Kurt. Mirror, Sword, and Jewel: The Geometry of Japanese Life (New York: Kodansha International, 1989)

At the popular level, see also

* DeMente, Boye L. Japan’s Secret Weapon: The Kata Factor (Phoenix, AZ: Phoenix Books/Publishers, 1990)

* DeMente, Boye L. Japanese Etiquette & Ethics in Business (Lincolnwood, IL: NTC Business Books, 5th edition, 1990)

* Kaplan, David E. and Alec Dubro. Yakuza: The Explosive Account of Japan’s Criminal Underworld (Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1986)

* Perrin, Noel. Giving Up the Gun: Japan’s Reversion to the Sword, 1543-1879 (Boston: David R. Godine, 1979) (NOTE: This book is actually a parable about nuclear disarmament.)

* Whiting, Robert. Tokyo Underworld: The Fast Times and Hard Life of an American Gangster in Japan (New York: Pantheon Books, 1999)

And, finally, a sample traveler's account.

* Villiers, John, editor. Francois Caron and Joost Schouten, A True Description of the Mighty Kingdoms of Japan and Siam, A Facsimile of the 1671 London edition in a contemporary translation from the Dutch by Roger Manley (Bangkok: The Siam Society, 1976)

***

Somewhere in the storage room is Christopher's "A Japanese Mind." As I recall, it wasn't bad, either -- if it was, it would have been right back to Half-price Books. That's what happened with David Carradine's "Shaolin." As I recall, the latter book did have one redeeming value, though, namely a line in which he said Chuck Norris told him that he (Carradine) did martial arts about as well as Norris acted.

***

If you truly want to understand the subculture, then some sidebar research topics that should prove rewarding.

1. The role of Kabuki and bunraku. (The latter is puppet theater.) The black uniforms worn by ninjas, for example, had nothing to do with real assassins, and everything to do with theatrical conventions. Iaido was also influenced by the stuff seen on stage. Martin Banham's "Cambridge Guide to World Theatre" provides a good starting place.

2. Japanese astrology. It's different from both Vedic and Western astrology, and if you don't at least recognize the importance of numerology and whatnot, then lots of explanations will seem cryptic at best, and nonsensical at worst.

[nicojo]

I wrote:
Of course, the estimable Mr. Svinth, as well as others hereabouts, can help you if you want something more specific.

Bah, did I mean "estimable" or "inestimable"? Where's Fowler's when I need him?


es·ti·ma·ble ( P ) Pronunciation Key (st-m-bl) adj.
1. Possible to estimate: estimable assets; an estimable distance.
2. Deserving of esteem; admirable: an estimable young professor.


in·es·ti·ma·ble ( P ) Pronunciation Key (n-st-m-bl) adj.
1. Impossible to estimate or compute: inestimable damage. See Synonyms at incalculable.
2. Of immeasurable value or worth; invaluable: “shared all the inestimable advantages of being wealthy, good-looking, confident and intelligent”(Doris Kearns Goodwin).

{both from dictionary.com}

Hmm...Well, I'll let others decide. I really should just stop posting on e-budo...

[Brian Owens]

Originally posted by nicojo
...Bah, did I mean "estimable" or "inestimable"? Where's Fowler's when I need him?

es·ti·ma·ble
2. Deserving of esteem; admirable: an estimable young professor.

in·es·ti·ma·ble
2. Of immeasurable value or worth; invaluable: “shared all the inestimable advantages of being wealthy, good-looking, confident and intelligent”(Doris Kearns Goodwin).

Not having met him, I don't know if he's good looking or wealthy, but all the others seem to hold true.

So I would say, either or both are correct. ;)

[Brian Owens]

Originally posted by Casper Baar
...I have been thinking about buying some books on japanese history. Does anyone have idea's about what books would make a good starting point?
For a very brief introduction, my school -- the Nippon Business Institute (http://www.evcc.ctc.edu/template.cfm?doc_id=114) -- uses Albert M. Craig's The Heritage of Japanese Civilization for its introductory course "Japanese History & Culture" (Humanities 160D).

In a mere 160 pages, the author manages to take the student from the mythological age of the gods through the jomon and yayoi periods, past the samurai and the Edo Period, over the atomic bombing, and into the 21st Century.

Obviously a lot is skipped or glossed over, but as an appetizer it does a reasonable job.

As it is a college text, I don't know if it's generally available, but you could try a Web search or check at your local book stores or colleges. It's published by Pearson Education/Prentice Hall.