A History of Japan - History of Japan

by R.H.P. Mason, J.G. Caiger

In this newly revised edition of their classic work, Mason and Caiger trace the enthralling evolution of modern Japan from its early pre-history through the post-Cold War period to the collapse of the Bubble Economy in the early 1990s. New findings shed additional light on the origins of Japanese civilization and the birth of Japanese culture. Not merely a chronology of wars, imperial successions, and treaties, A History of Japan provides an in-depth analysis of the religion, culture, and arts of the Japanese people from the 6th century B.C. to the present. This contemporary classic, now updated and revised, continues to be an essential text in Japanese studies.

Genres: History, Japan, Nonfiction, Asia, Japanese History, Audiobook, Japanese Literature

407 pages, Tankobon Softcover

First published January 1, 1972

About the author

Richard Mason graduated from Cambridge University. He received his Ph.D. from the Australian National University where he subsequently lectured on Japanese history as a member of the Faculty of Asian Studies for over thirty years. Dr. Mason is also the author of Japan's First General Election (Cambridge University Press, 1969). Now retired, he continues to live and work in Canberra.

Reviews

[Smiley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This 'classic work' as claimed at the back cover is reasonably readable, informative and neutral since both authors have done their best. A few chapters're a bit lengthy but we need to keep reading, pause when necessary due to Japan's long history and complex politics/administration since Jimmu ascended the throne as the first emperor in 660 B.C. I'm not a historian, therefore, these three extracts below should imply and inform us how and why Japan has achieved her own identity as one of the developed countries in the world of globalization.

1. Ieyasu was always simple and frugal in his own habits, his only entertainment being hawking. He was notoriously careful with money, and there is a story that when he accidentally discovered that his ladies-in-waiting did not eat many vegetables if they were well salted, he promptly instructed his cook to make their dishes as salty as possible. ... (p. 194)

2. ... The military lords were forbidden to: move troops outside their own frontiers; form political alliances among themselves; maintain more than one castle in their domain; marry without shogunal approval. Later prohibitions made it illegal for daimyo to do such things as coin money, enter into direct relations with the court of foreigners except with the express permission of the bakufu, or build large ships except for trade. ... (p. 196)

3. At the lower levels, in the nine-year compulsory course secured by American pressure at a time of economic distress, a new subject called social studies was introduced. The American-derived syllabus expected the children themselves to confront social problems and attempt their solution in the classroom. It encouraged a critical attitude to the social order and a realization of the individual's role in society as an active one, capable of remaking the future. Great stress was laid on peace, democracy, and culture as essential components of the new Japanese society to be built for the welfare of the people as a whole. ... (p. 358)

Some 45 years ago, I came across an article in a Thai journal in which the writer wrote about an instance of Japanese means of her economic solution regarding the match production. For each matchstick, its supposedly standard length of 4 cm. was required to shorten one fourth (or one third? I'm not sure), therefore, they could save 1 cm. of each matchstick along the process. In other words, if there are 50 matches in a box, they could eventually save the length of a 50 cm. stick. Such information simply amazed me and I've since respected Japan for her unique idea in this competing world.

[Sato · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, what can I say, out of the books trying to give a general overview of the history of Japan, this one is a good pick - albeit with a few grains of salt.

Mason and Caiger decided on a very holistic approach, meaning aside from the description of major events and historical figures they also covered cultural and societal aspects, such as theater, music and literature. Additionally they also give an overview of the major Japanese Buddhist sects; a very good idea in my opinion, since their influence on Japanese culture and politics was great. All in all, I have to say, that the depiction of Japans history and the major factors that shaped Japan as a nation, were very well selected and elaborated.

That being said, I mentioned some salt, so let's get to it. First, even though I liked the structure of this book, it was also somewhat dense. Also, they sometimes brushed over certain events in passing (like the great Kanto earthquake of 1923). I believe for people, who are not familiar with Japanese history it might be quite dry and a little overwhelming in places. This rings especially true for the chapters on the Meiji period, those were unfortunately quite compact. (I've read that Mason is an expert on the Meiji period and therefore I felt he really wanted to put in as much information as possible, which ended up a little too much).

The second grain of salt for me was the handling of the Korean occupation. It is only mentioned very briefly and there is no mention of the crimes committed by the Japanese during the second World War. In general the chapter on the Pacific war is very, very short, all things considered. I understand this book was originally written in the 70ies, but still, that was really not enough for an event of that scale.

In conclusion, unlike some others here, I didn't find this book boring at all. But I am quite enthusiastic about Japanese history and I feel it might be a little more fun to read if you already have some prior knowledge. If you only want a quick overview, you might want to look elsewhere - there are books that are more concise and up to date.

[Daniel Clausen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very enjoyable and concise history of Japan, but perhaps not the best book if you need a reference book or something to help with research.

[Steve · Rating 2 out of 5]

Could not finish this book. There are places in the writing where things could be said a little more concisely. At times, he seems to focus on peripheral facts of a historical age. To the authors' credit, the first half has a good flow to it, but then, they seem to lose focus and it gets a little convoluted toward the end.

[Celeste Haehnel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well it certainly was factfull. Meaning it was jam packed full of facts strung together one after the other with a lack of over arching narrative and sometimes coherence, but man were there facts.

[David Areyzaga · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this book opens as an informative and interesting introduction to Japanese history overall, it feels like a competition among five books that never quite achieves much. One book wants to talk about the political history of Japan, another one about economy and agriculture, another one about painting (without actually including paintings among the almost random selection of illustrations), another one about literature (and giving very damning opinions about high art), and one about family and society.

The selection of topics is certainly informative, and it offers a general idea of how history manifests itself on multiple levels and how everything is closely interrelated, but it spends way too much time on some topics, while brushing over others. The result is unsatisfactory. Even more surprising is how the book rushes over its last two chapters, concerning Japan’s history leading up to and during World War II, when those are defining moments in Japan’s current international identity (and the authors acknowledge that).

However, I can’t dismiss this book as a valuable introduction, since it encouraged me to look further into the areas of history I found more interesting, and I’m sure there are plenty of books that offer more in-depth answers. Whenever a book encourages further reading, at least I feel like it was a worthwhile experience, and even though that’s not the best scenario, it’s good enough.

[Brenton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mason & Caiger's History of Japan is what I wanted: a nice, thick, detailed history of Japan. I was hooked in the mythic and prehistory periods, though it was not always nearly so gripping. A real strength was considering Japan not just through military history or political movement, but also in the realms of art and literature and faith. Of the latter, of religion, I would like to see a good deal more, and I think that it shows the need for a critical update. The '90s 2nd edition does not do a great job of including recent scholarship in terms of either anthropological understanding of early history and religion, or of the cultural movements after WWII. I mean, the collapse of the economy is one of the stories of the 1990s, and yet it is merely noted, with undue optimism.
Overall, readable and thorough. I read it over 4 months, so I can't speak to continuity.
Reread 2023: I came to enjoy the earliest and latest parts of the history most. I appreciate the individual studies on literature and art in each period.

[Annikky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Useful for a beginner, but somewhat dense to be read in one go (as I pretty much did). Some editorial decisions seemed questionable, but I'm honestly in no position to judge.

[Mr. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This does have the feel of a textbook, so it's not always the most riveting read. Nonetheless, it is enjoyable and provides a general overview of Japanese history. As someone who was looking for just such an overview, I was satisfied. As a non-expert, I can't speak to any inaccuracies, but the book's value lies in providing a framework to support further research.

The chapters from the Heian through the Tokugawa period were the most effective at summarizing the events covered. From the Meiji Restoration through the 1990s, the text grew more cluttered, and coherency suffered. I appreciated the inclusion of arts and culture, but I would have liked to see the sections on modern artists and writers expanded.

[Tiago · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think is the first History book I ever read free of Marxist indoctrination and ideology.

[Michael A · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm trying to clear some books off my Kindle recently. This is one of them. I will state up front that I did not manage to get through the entire thing, but I will count it as being read since it's for a challenge and I did read a good eighty percent of it before stopping. I think it was the chapters on the Meiji era that caused me to give up at some point when it was trying to stuff too much information into a tight space and I could not retain anything.

Books like this are useful in getting the lay of the land in most senses -- the big political arcs, the kinds of religions a country has, the development of art forms, and etc. I think at some point I got the ideas I needed about the big arcs and stopped needing the book to guide me. At this point, I would be better off exploring more specific times periods or themes. I would very much like to explore Noh theatre, the cinema of Japan, Heian literature, and etc. more in detail now, so I thank this good book for offering possible paths of explorations into Japan.

However, it can't do justice to huge expanses of time in a thoroughly historical way. Most of the material in this book doesn't get the coverage it would get in a much more thoroughly researched and focused source. Please look elsewhere for the actual information you might want on a specific topic related to Japanese history. If you have no clue where to begin, this isn't a bad place to start. Just be aware the writing is really dry and information dense for the length.

[Declan Melia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This does just exactly what it says on the bottle. I found it to be informative and all encompassing, it avoided being one thing, just a military history or just and art history but encapsulated all the disparate aspects of Japan's history (poetry, rural history, foreign interaction) to provide a complete portrait. Sure, it could have been juicier, Mason seemed to actively avoid details of particular incidents and personalities which could have made this a little more human and engaging. But as far as providing pure, reasoned and balanced account of history its hard to imagine how this could be improved. Not sure exactly what some of the more hostile reviews below were expecting, it's as good as two thousand years can get over four hundred pages.

[Danyal Akhtar · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a solid introduction to the history of Japan. The sheer fact that the authors managed to encapsulate the story of this land, spanning over 2000 years, into a single 400 page volume is impressive. I also appreciate the equal balance given to medieval and modern history, because as the introduction points out, you cannot truly understand most nations unless you look back to socio-political and cultural trends established in pre-modern times.

It was also great that political, economic and military history were not the only areas considered, with much of the work devoted to religious and cultural developments as well. I do wish there was more social history though (e.g. What were Japanese notions of masculinity and femininity in any given period, and the interaction between them? How did they conceptualise the home? What was their attitude to work and the class system, both during the times of the Tokugawa hierarchy and modern industrialisation? The book discusses organised religion and the role of clergy in politics and administration, but what were the social effects of Shintoism and Buddhism on the masses in their daily lives?).

The first half of the book on archaic and medieval Japan was the stronger half. Personally, the chapters on early-modern and, even more so, post-1868 Japan were rushed and hard to follow at times. There were quite a few occasions where I felt the work read more like a textbook, with a constant barrage of random names and facts that I was failing to process. This volume ought to have been bigger, so that these later chapters could be more fleshed out.

It would have also been great to have seen some inclusion of the history of the Ainu people of Hokkaido, with their own distinguished culture and way of living. Yes, they may not have been fully incorporated into Japan until the 19th century, but Hokkaido is an important and the biggest prefecture of modern-day Japan, so it'd be good to see some coverage of that region's history on its own terms.

Overall, this is a good starting point for anyone wanting to know more about Japanese history. Although, it may leave you with more unanswered questions than you started out with. But then again, maybe that's the point; the foreword of the text makes it clear that this is only meant to be a basic introduction to Japan for people who know little about the nation. After reading this book, I now know those specific areas and topics that I want to research further thanks to this.

[Chan Fry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, I was underwhelmed. As I might have noted in a “note” partway through, it felt a bit like some of the required reading I had to do in college — the kind where the textbook was written by a professor at my own college and he wasn’t a particularly engaging writer. I’m not saying it was poorly written, just that it reminded me of those handful of texts in my past.

One thing that made this go more smoothly is that I’d already read at least one other history of Japan book in the past few years (and I watched a couple of period-piece Japanese TV shows), so some of the history of the country is starting to be familiar to me.

[Kes · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an extremely dry and dense book. It's basically a series of academic essays on Japan.

Some notes:

- It's cool that one of the "tithes" would be to make x number of persons enter religion as priests, and that it gets recorded as "in consequence of this, she recovered".
- The shoen-shiki system sounds like an early version of tax evasion.
- There was an interesting system of cloistered emperors.
- The impact of commerce on the growth of civilisation (especially during the Tokugawa period).
- I liked that art of pre-1800 was of graceful female figures, but due to popularisation, figures became more crude, so tastes switched to landscapes (harder to be crude, lol).

In fact, civilisation in general is a delight, such as:

If the samurai had to give up thoughts of gaining fame as a warrior, he could at any rate hope to prosper as an accountant. The abacus was one of the things which replaced the sword as a means of achieving wealth and influence.

[Carlos · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting book, especially regarding the 20th century where the authors shine in giving context and depth to what is more commonly known of Japanese history. The authors also do a great job of laying out the centralization of Japan from ancient times up to the medieval period, paying particular attention to the role played by Chinese influence. However, in the medieval and early modern period the authors focus more on literature and the arts, in definitely interesting chapters, but with the outcome of leaving this period fuzzy with respect to governing trends. Nonetheless, the book as whole is a great introduction to anyone curious to learn more without having to put up with inordinate amount of detail.

[Jerry Day · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I did learn some history, it was quite a slog. The authors’ style is both academic and grammatically torturous. The level of detail was uneven. By about the turn of the century it just seemed to become a long series of names. I felt the authors’ treated the buildup of the Japanese Empire as some sort of fait accompli, rather than a brutal, conscious action. Finally, the Amazon page says it was revised in 2011, but there’s no content here later than 1995, making some of the concluding remarks inaccurate as Japan and the rest of Asia has been though a lot of changes in the past 20+ years.

[Books on Asia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh my gosh, so boring! But I did enjoy the historical perspectives of poetry, literature and the arts and their effects on Japanese society. The book is not arranged entirely chronologically so it skips around a little. The chapters are based on concepts so I believe the best way to read this book is one chapter at a time rather than trying to read the whole book at once. It lends itself to reading a chapter, stopping and processing that chapter, then moving on. Otherwise it's too difficult to tie it all together. I recommend this book for people who are already quite familiar with Japanese history and who are looking for additional perspectives.

[Christina Reid · Rating 3 out of 5]

I borrowed this audiobook from my library to listen to whilst doing things around the house. It is a comprehensive and clear overview of thousands of years of history, but does run the risk of coming across as quite dry at times, particularly when some chapters start with a long list of names reminiscent of some books in the Bible where genealogy is listed.
A solid introduction, but quite dry.

[Jamie · Rating 2 out of 5]

A passable overview of Japanese history from its earliest known origins through the late 20th century. It's not the most engaging or entertaining read, and as a result I found most of the specific names and details sliding over my memory without sinking in. The broad strokes stuck, but I'm quite sure there are many books that cover this same material better. 2.5/5

[Tzurky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Is this the best one-volume history of Japan? I couldn’t tell you cause it’s the only one I’ve read. But it sure is a good one - until the 20th century at least, on which the authors refuse to pronounce themselves except praising the consistently conservative Japanese diet parties. How do they deal with the obvious issues (ahem war crimes ahem?) they don’t. They simply elide all that as well as other crimes (mostly, the post-Kanto Korean massacre is not titled one and is only briefly mentioned, repressions against leftists merit a couple of paragraphs but not a lot of space). In any case their handling of the most recent period leaves a lot to be desired.

So YMMV. I can only list the things I liked about it:
- significant space devoted to religious and cultural developments including analyses of literary and artistic trends with famous artists being listed
- appreciation for the arts and Japanese sensibility in general
- structural analysis, famous figures barely feature and a lot of space is devoted to the less exalted members of society and even the common man
- short but leaves space not just for a recounting of the millennia of history but also personal opinions
- personal opinions clearly identifiable and some opposing viewpoints presented as well as divergences explained.

I actually didn’t agree with many of the authors‘ personal opinions being espoused. Chief among them the surprisingly sympathetic treatment of the Japanese government in the first half of the 20th century. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the book a lot because the authors are definitely not blind to their biases and leave room for disagreement.

I’m going to read more in-depth on the period the skimp on next.

[CC · Rating 2 out of 5]

The only reason this is a 2 star is purely because of the useful information in it.

It was boring for a person who’s studying history and is deeply interested in Japan. DO NOT RECOMMEND TO ANYONE casually interested in the topic matter. I have never read a history book that I wanted to put down as much as I did with this one.

The book was written in the 70s by men of Western discipline. About what you’d expect.

How do you take such a rich and fascinating history and make it so goddamn boring? Absolute snooze fest. Not to mention the tone of the book was so condescending towards its subject matter at times.

So many of the political sections were just laundry lists of people’s names and titles. Heavy on military aspects, meanwhile cultural/societal ones were delivered poorly.

Where was the analysis? Cause and consequence? Author would just drop a fact or an event down and then give no further context/explanation.

Would hardly recommend to a person who loves history, let alone people who are just looking for a nice non-fiction to read.

[Mel Bossa · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a good summary. I took a lot of notes on poetry, theater, literature and painting... However, it was again too dry and focused on government and military like most history books written by men. No emotions. No real talk of sociology or relationship between classes, women, different communities and lgbt people. I love reading history books but they always fall short when it comes down to painting a real portrait with texture and color.

And the fact that there was three or four lines on Hiroshima bombing and that there wasn't a whole chapter dedicated to the aftermath and effects it had on the people was shocking.

Also... I would have loved more coverage of the internment camps in the States and talk about the prejudice etc.

I believe these books are good as a starting point and now to further my knowledge of this AMAZING country that is Japan, I will read more fiction and poetry written by actual Japanese people.

[Brad Pretty · Rating 2 out of 5]

I mean, it's a very detailed history book that stuffs a lot of history into its pages.

I think it's overly ambitious to do a survey of all of Japanese history at this size, but it could be pulled off if there was a thematic link and through-line. But there's not - Japan doesn't play the character it could, there's nothing unifying or grabbing. It serves as a chronological list - which can be fine - instead of a cohesive book.

It's best served as an off-the-shelf quick reference for sure (but not a detailed research volume) and I wish I had a version of it for doing that. However, I consumed it as an audiobook and on its merits as an engaging survey of Japan in that format it falls flat.

I'd be much more interested in a more fleshed out narrative that's more focused on a specific era (there's a bunch of really interesting themes and characters that start to bubble up but just rapidly get tossed aside) or conversely, a much longer, detailed version that takes the time to explore Japan's transitional states with much more breadth and character.

This is not a review that says "don't read this!", instead I'm just setting expectations.

[Erik van der Wurff · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thorough overview of Japan’s history, though the Pacific war is only discussed in a couple of pages (e.g. dropping of atomic bombs is described in one single sentence). My main critique of this book is that it is written in a very cumbersome way, making it hard to remain engaged. In addition, because of the writing style, it is hard for the reader to capture and appreciate the main points/trends that define Japanese society and history.

[Laurie Jenkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Official dogma had ranked the merchants below other commoners because they did not produce anything. Like the samurai they lived off the work of others, but they did not share the samurai responsibility for administration and general welfare. In the eyes of the more hidebound Confucian theorists, merchants were little better than cunning parasites.

[Rex Gian · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is a nice read if you are looking for a specific part of Japan long history. Would not recommend to read it unless for the beforementioned reason as it is quite a lot of information.
Furthermore, the way how Japan played a role during and after World War II was written felt quite rushed.

[Tanner Gadams · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not even going to bother finishing this book. Factual and informative but the writing and organization of facts is so awful. Just throws information out without providing proper context needed for actual comprehension.

[Kanmani2 · Rating 5 out of 5]

nice one

[akat · Rating 4 out of 5]

good but out of date