Japan Emerging: Premodern History to 1850

by Karl F. Friday

Japan Emerging provides a comprehensive survey of Japan from prehistory to the nineteenth century. Incorporating the latest scholarship and methodology, leading authorities writing specifically for this volume outline and explore the main developments in Japanese life through ancient, classical, medieval, and early modern periods. Instead of relying solely on lists of dates and prominent names, the authors focus on why and how Japanese political, social, economic, and intellectual life evolved. Each part begins with a timeline and a set of guiding questions and issues to help orient readers and enhance continuity. Engaging, thorough, and accessible, this is an essential text for all students and scholars of Japanese history.

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

496 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2012

About the author

A specialist in classical and early medieval Japanese history, Karl Friday is professor emeritus in history at the University of Georgia.

Reviews

[Cameron Lea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid overview of Japanese history before the Modern Era, but lacks any sense of cohesion or continuity between chapters. Each chapter was written individually by an expert in the field, and when taken on their own provide interesting insight in to the subject they are focusing on. However, as a supposed overview of the full course of the country's history from pre-historical times to 1850, it fails to make sure the chapters connect in any sort of intelligible narrative or timeline.

I could see this being used effectively in a classroom setting, where selected readings were used to complement a more structure lesson plan, but on it's own, the complete independence of the chapters make it difficult to fulfill it's purpose as a historical overview.

[AskHistorians]

This is a general survey, with each chapter written by a specialist on a particular period or subject. It covers from prehistory to 1850 and is strongest in the Ancient/Classical and Late Medieval periods. This is an excellent book for getting into Japanese history.

[Floppy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating read, very helpful for understanding the historical context of premodern Japan. Only a small portion of the essays deal with historical events, while the rest usually cover specific topics such as religion, art, or daily life, so it is not good at crafting a historical narrative so much as giving the reader a picture of the historical context.
Sadly, the book also glosses over many historical events (one of the biggest victims of this being the Battle of Sekigahara, which only gets a few passing mentions), with this getting more and more noticeable as the book approaches the modern period, with the last section being 80% essays about the historical/social/economic context, and only 2 of them deal extensively with the Tokugawa shogunate itself.

[foxfire · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the most exciting history book but provides a really well rounded look at Japanese history through the ages.

[Karin · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5 stars

[Alexander Thornborough · Rating 4 out of 5]

Edited collection, some chapters stronger than others. Gave a fairly broadly-painted but enlightening picture of Japanese premodern history.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Invaluable

[Matthew da Silva · Rating 3 out of 5]

http://happyantipodean.blogspot.com.a...

Review on my blog.

[Peter Boylan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderfully done anthology of essays bringing the reader into contact with every area of Japanese history. The bibliography is well thought out and presented for the reader who wants to delve into any particular area in more depth. I can't recommend it enough.