Shortest Histories
eBook - ePub

Shortest Histories

  1. 288 pages
  2. English
  3. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub

Shortest Histories

About this book

'A terrific overview of Japan's long and rich history... covers an astonishing amount of ground' PETER FRANKOPANJapan is a country of islands, strung like a necklace around the Asian mainland...Ever since US Commodore Matthew Perry forced Japan to open its borders in 1853, the culture of this remarkable and distant archipelago has enriched western life. At the same time the country has embraced foreign institutions from baseball to barber shops. Yet for centuries under the rule of the shoguns, the islands were largely sealed off from the outside world. In charting a course between openness and insularity, Japan has found a way to become ultra-modern while breathing new life into its own unique traditions.In The Shortest History of Japan, Lesley Downer brings an expert storyteller's eye to the sweep of Japanese history. Here are the emperors and warlords, the samurai and women warriors, the merchants and geisha who shaped this extraordinary modern society. From the hunter-gatherers who fashioned the world's first pots to the novel-writing ladies of the eleventh-century Heian court, from the devastation of Hiroshima to today's economic and cultural powerhouse, this is an indispensable, riveting history of the land of the rising sun.

Frequently asked questions

Yes, you can cancel anytime from the Subscription tab in your account settings on the Perlego website. Your subscription will stay active until the end of your current billing period. Learn how to cancel your subscription.
No, books cannot be downloaded as external files, such as PDFs, for use outside of Perlego. However, you can download books within the Perlego app for offline reading on mobile or tablet. Learn more here.
Perlego offers two plans: Essential and Complete
  • Essential is ideal for learners and professionals who enjoy exploring a wide range of subjects. Access the Essential Library with 800,000+ trusted titles and best-sellers across business, personal growth, and the humanities. Includes unlimited reading time and Standard Read Aloud voice.
  • Complete: Perfect for advanced learners and researchers needing full, unrestricted access. Unlock 1.4M+ books across hundreds of subjects, including academic and specialized titles. The Complete Plan also includes advanced features like Premium Read Aloud and Research Assistant.
Both plans are available with monthly, semester, or annual billing cycles.
We are an online textbook subscription service, where you can get access to an entire online library for less than the price of a single book per month. With over 1 million books across 1000+ topics, we’ve got you covered! Learn more here.
Look out for the read-aloud symbol on your next book to see if you can listen to it. The read-aloud tool reads text aloud for you, highlighting the text as it is being read. You can pause it, speed it up and slow it down. Learn more here.
Yes! You can use the Perlego app on both iOS or Android devices to read anytime, anywhere — even offline. Perfect for commutes or when you’re on the go.
Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Yes, you can access Shortest Histories by Lesley Downer in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in History & Japanese History. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Information

Table of contents

  1. Title Page
  2. Dedication
  3. Contents
  4. List of Maps
  5. Timeline
  6. Foreword
  7. Introduction: Before Time Began
  8. 1: Children of the Sun: 400 BCE–710 CE
  9. 2: Nara: The Flowering of Buddhism, 710–794 CE
  10. 3: Heian: City of Purple Hills and Crystal Streams, 794–1180
  11. 4: Kamakura: Rise of the Samurai, 1180–1333
  12. 5: Muromachi: Beauty and Turmoil, 1333–1573
  13. 6: Azuchi Momoyama: The Men Who Would Be Shogun, 1573–1603
  14. 7: Edo: Tokugawa Renaissance, 1603–1853
  15. 8: Bakumatsu: Fall of the Tokugawa, 1853–1868
  16. 9: Meiji: Headlong into the Modern World, 1868–1912
  17. 10: Taishō: Cross Currents, 1912–1926
  18. 11: Shōwa: From Defeat to Prosperity, 1926–1989
  19. 12: Heisei: Darker Years, 1989–2019
  20. 13: Reiwa: A New Emperor for a New Age, 2019–
  21. Acknowledgements
  22. Further Reading
  23. Image Credits
  24. Index
  25. Also by Lesley Downer
  26. Also in this series
  27. Copyright