Voices of Early Modern Japan

Contemporary Accounts of Daily Life during the Age of the Shoguns

Constantine Nomikos Vaporis Ph.D.

• Publisher: Greenwood
• Year: 2012
• Print ISBN: 9780313392009
• eBook ISBN: 9780313392016
• Edition: 1
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Asian History
• Index: History

Based on fresh translations of historical documents, this volume offers a revealing look at Japan during the time of the Tokugawa shoguns from 1600–1868, focusing on the day-to-day lives of both the rich and powerful and ordinary citizens. Voices of Early Modern Japan: Contemporary Accounts of Daily Life during the Age of the Shoguns spans an extraordinary period of Japanese history, ranging from the unification of the warring states under Tokugawa Ieyasu in the early 17th century to the overthrow of the shogunate just prior to the mid-19th century opening of Japan by the West. Through close examinations of sources from a time known as "The Great Peace, " this fascinating volume offers fresh insights into the Tokugawa era—its political institutions, rigid class hierarchy, artistic and material culture, religious life, and more. Sources come from all levels of Japanese society, everything from government documents and household records to personal correspondence and diaries, all carefully translated and examined in light of the latest scholarship.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Voices of Early Modern Japan
• Recent Titles in Voices of an Era
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• CONTENTS
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction: The Shogun’s Japan
• Evaluating and Interpreting Primary Documents
• Timeline of Japanese History from the Mid-Sixteenth Century through the Tokugawa Period, 1543–1868
• The Domestic Sphere
• Material Life
• The Political Sphere
• Foreign Relations
• Social and Economic Life
• Recreational Life
• Religion and Morality
• Appendix 1: Biographical Sketches of Important Individuals Mentioned in Text
• Appendix 2: Glossary of Terms Mentioned in Text
• Bibliography
• Index