The Cambridge History of Japan, Volume 1: Ancient Japan

The Cambridge History of Japan #1

by Delmer M. Brown

Japan's ancient age was a period of radical and political change during which a Chinese-style empire emerged. This volume of The Cambridge History of Japan spans the beginnings of human existence to the end of the eighth century, focusing on the thousand years between 300 B.C. and 784, the end of the fabulous Nara period. The volume explores this period in four stages: (1) The Yayoi period (to about 250 A.D.) when small kingdoms and kingdom federations accumulated enough power to dispatch diplomatic missions to Korea and China; (2) the Yamato period (to 587) when priestly rulers, having gained economic and military power, conquered most of Japan; (3) the Century of Reform (to 710) when Japanese leaders, pressed by China's expanding T'ang empire, set out to build a strong Chinese-style empire of their own; (4) the Nara period (to 784) when spectacular literary, artistic, architectural, and religious advances were made.

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

630 pages, Hardcover

First published July 30, 1993

Reviews

[Ozymandias · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came to this book with a certain degree of trepidation as the only “Cambridge History of” series which I am familiar with is their one on Ancient History and then Iran. While those are excellent resources (indeed, world standard) they are not the easiest sources for beginners as they are primarily meant to serve as references and guides to further research. Each chapter is thematic in focus and written by one of the leading scholars in their field, although the editorial hand is heavy enough that the books are more coherent than that may make it sound. I approached the Japanese series only reluctantly after failing to find any other multi-volume series on Japanese history apart from the three volumes by George Sansom which, while undoubtedly groundbreaking at the time since they were the first in English, have long since been superseded by deeper research from several generations of Japanese scholars now unchained from imperialist dogma.

It has to be said that this volume was never going to be my favorite and I started here solely out of a dedication to chronological progression. I find prehistory boring and, as it turns out, Japanese prehistory exceptionally so. The scale of the islands’ population in the so-called Jōmon Period was limited, it seems, until roughly 300 BC, at which point they rapidly (and inexplicably) developed widescale rice-based agriculture and metal tools. There is probably an interesting story here, but I doubt we shall ever know it. This is followed by a period of state formation about which we know next to nothing except from a Chinese source describing hundreds of civilizations in the land they called “Wa”. My disinterest in this material is solely a matter of personal taste. The explanations here were clear and if you are interested in the Stone Age, this will probably be compelling. I did note that archaeology is perhaps the biggest element missing in Sansom, who quite understandably didn’t have access to the important finds unearthed and slowly excavated after the Second World War or (and this reflects the limits of historians of his day) any interest in using archaeology to supplement the sparse written sources.

This was followed by the Yamato Period, which is the first time that one of these names actually reflects what the people at the time called themselves. This was the first section I really found myself drawn to as it contained a lot of information I had never heard of before. This was particularly true of foreign affairs. Korea is one of those regions where it is all but impossible to find information on (until they too get their own “Cambridge History of” in a couple years) and the Three Kingdoms period is particularly badly served in English. This is a real shame because it is really interesting! Even the brief glimpse here shows a dangerous international situation, with the Korean states and Japan competing with each other and a divided China. What really interested me is the fact that it was Baekje, a state which didn’t really have a compelling narrative for me until this point, that proves to be central. Guguryeo held off the Chinese so fiercely that the entire Sui dynasty fell, Silla backstabbed their way into control of the peninsula, and Baekje, it turns out, was closely tied to Japan, providing their first Buddhist scholars and monks, and even welcoming Japanese armies of assistance. It was through Baekje that Japan was brought into the Chinese sphere of influence. The close analysis of which Buddhist elements came from which state was also very interesting and offered stronger conclusions than I had expected. The whole political situation in late Yamato times turns out to be utterly fascinating, something no other book even suggested.

The chapters on the Asuka Enlightenment and the creation of the Nara regime were also good, outlining the reforms clearly and explaining how this society worked. I do think there could have been a little more about the city of Nara itself (not even a map?) as this was central to the politics of the period. The maps otherwise were good so this seems a strange omission – is there not enough left archaeologically to reconstruct a rough city plan? I have also always been a little unclear on what exactly changed between the Nara and Heian period since the two seem to naturally blur together. Splitting them up between two volumes doesn’t leave a lot of opportunities to explore this, although perhaps the next volume will provide the clarification needed.

The rest of the book is taken up by thematic chapters – Japan and the continent, early kami worship, early Buddha worship, economics and society, culture, and historic consciousness. I found these to be a little repetitive. The information in Japan and the continent, for example, is largely just an expansion of material already given in the chapter on the Yamato state. Why include such detailed analysis of international affairs there if it will be covered in a later chapter? Religious issues appear throughout the book (plus the overly drawn out 50-page introduction) and the independent chapters don’t offer much new. I was genuinely not clear what the chapter on historic consciousness was talking about, but it felt like it could easily have been merged with the chapter on culture.

A part of me wonders if this is simply because there isn’t enough information for more to be said. At only(?) 602 pages long it is by far the shortest of the books in this series. I note that the New Cambridge History of Japan is squishing this plus Heian and medieval Japan into a single volume. Maybe I'm not alone in noticing this problem, although condensing Heian and medieval history into one seems a bit extreme. As a reference book repetitiveness isn’t likely to be a problem. If you’re interested in Shinto you’ll learn a lot from the chapter on the development of kami worship and it won’t really matter that many of the same things were already said elsewhere. But as a book for reading straight through (and since it has no competition on that front this is one viable use) it can be a pain. I recommend becoming comfortable with skimming.

The book is pretty much what I expected. Approach it as a reference work and you will find it incredibly useful. There is a lot of information in this volume in particular that can be found nowhere else in English. It is quite a dry read naturally, but if you come at it prepared to focus on chapters of interest and skim the rest it can be very informative. I wouldn’t recommend it as anyone’s introduction. For that stick to a more general history such as A History of Japan. They offer little on this period, but they will provide a general overview that will help put everything in context.

[Brett Childs · Rating 5 out of 5]

As the title says, this volume covers ancient Japan starting from the Palaeolithic and stopping around 794AD when the capital moves to Heian-Kyō (modern Kyoto). It goes into everything - general history and archeology, the history of the court, government, reforms, tax policy, land distribution, social institutions, foreign relations, early Shinto and Buddhism, literacy, literature, music, dance, the Japanese character, early historical consciousness, so on; all painstakingly detailed, compiled and ordered beautifully.

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not a narrative but rather, as is the way of Cambridge Histories, an anthology of scholarly chapters on various topics that cover the era involved; herein Ancient Japan. This includes pre-history, stone age, the various early settlements that we know about more from archaeology than from written sources, including the fascinating elusive burial mound cultures. There is also much on the early contacts with Korea and China, who exported writing, Buddhism, wet-rice agriculture, metallurgy and systems of government the Japanese. Not what you'd call a ripping great read, and the maps were very hard to decipher but, if you're serious about learning the history of the Japanese, this series is much-required reading.

[Truls Ljungström · Rating 2 out of 5]

Denna var primärt en religionshistorisk genomgång av de japanska öarna under tiden innan 600 fkr. Jag skulle ljuga om jag påstod att den var njutbar, men den var definitivt inte ointressant i sin genre, och förklarar en del smådetaljer om Japan som var obegripliga förut. Jag skulle kunna tänka mig att om japansk idé och religionshistoria tillhör det man är absolut mest nyfiken på, så skulle denna bok kunna vara spännande.

Detta sagt, så skulle det förvåna mig om det fanns ett gigantiskt intresse bland folk i allmänhet för kultbrukets i Japan utveckling efter kontakten med Kina.

[Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's difficult to find much in English that covers this period of Japanese history and especially at this depth. The writing can be dry and it's certainly dense but it's an academic text first and foremost.

[Ethan Mckenzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent survey of ancient Japanese history, which both lays a groundwork of understanding for further study, and proposes a few useful thoughts of it's own-this is especially true of the last chapter, which makes a fairly convincing arguement for development of linealism, vitalism and optimism as driving forces in early Japanese development, and shows how contrary they are to the typical themes of mainland East Asia, especially China. There seem to be few factual misteps, if any, the only noteworthy one which I came accross was a claim in the chapter on music and art which stated the Chinese zither that came over in the 7th century differed from Japanese Koto in that a Koto had either 4 or 5 strings, as opposed to the Chinese zither's 7 strings-the Chinese zither originally had 5 as well, representing the five elements, the other two were added to commemorate the deaths of a pair of heroic figures who's names escape me at the moment. This is only relevant because the zither has ties to pagan, shamanistic, practices in both Japan and China, and the Shantung penninsula was one of the last holdouts of commonly practiced forms of that sort of shamanism, which suggests a possibility of early transfer. To be honest though, it was probably overlooked as being irrelevant, rather than a true oversight.

More importantly, the book does an excellent job of avoiding the two greatest pitfalls of ancient history-assuming ancient sources are incorrect without verifying it to be true, and stating things which are theories as though they are proven. It will probably be a little dry for an average history buff, but if you want it either as a reference, or if you intend to put serious effort into studying the subject, this is an excellent choice.

[Dumitru Condrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant tome on the ancient history of Japan, especially for those who only have a vague idea about it. The chapter about the earliest societies of Japan is, of course, a heavy read compared to the rest - it's based on archaeological data. However it is only a summary, and therefore a good source of important facts. The main attraction is the use of paleoclimatology and environmental change in conjuction with other data in order to explain the undercurrents of the Pre-Jomon and Jomon society. Later, towards the end of the Jomon period, it is fascinating to see the different influences flowing around the Sea of Japan and on the entire Asian continent. Japan was indeed influenced from the West even before the dawn of its civilization. Import items, such as Chinese bronze mirrors and Korean daggers are a testament of that in the Yayoi period. The authors show excellent skill in highlighting them.

Most of the other chapters display a critical view on the different written sources dating from the ancient period of Japan, especially the six national histories. In this regard we know more about 8th century Japan, than we do about most of 8th century Europe. It's impossible to list everything discussed in those chapters, but I liked reading about the birth of Shinto, the introduction of Buddhism and the foreign relations of the country. I was less interested in the internal squabbles and the reforms, although that is not the book's fault. It's worth mentioning that the chapters about land tenure and land taxes are a real revelation throughout the entire Cambridge History of Japan series and should be mandatory in case of selective reading.