Brett L. Walker > Quotes

“But troubles far more menacing than sodomy threatened Japan.”
― Brett L. Walker, A Concise History of Japan

“Jomon hunters did not see themselves as ‘Japanese’, nor did their Yayoi replacements. Heian courtiers viewed courtly positions as far more meaningful than ‘Japan’, as did later samurai, who moved according to the rhythms of a hierarchical status system. In this respect, the modern nation is a recent ‘imagined community’, one that is invented through museums, school curricula, holidays, and other national events.”
― Brett L. Walker, A Concise History of Japan