The Japanese Experience: A Short History of Japan

by William Gerald Beasley

The Japanese Experience is an authoritative history of Japan from the sixth century to the present day. Only a writer of W.G. Beasley's stature could render Japan's complicated past so concisely and elegantly. This is the history of a society and a culture with a distinct sense of itself, one of the few nations never conquered by a foreign power in historic times (until the twentieth century) and the home of the longest-reigning imperial dynasty that still survives. The Japanese have always occupied part or all of the same territory, its borders defined by the sea. They have spoken and written a common language, (once it had taken firm shape in about the tenth century) and their population has been largely homogeneous, little touched by immigration except in very early periods. Yet Japanese society and culture have changed more through time than these statements seem to imply. Developments within Japan have been greatly influenced by ideas and institutions, art and literature, imported from elsewhere. In this work Beasley, a leading authority on Japan and the author of a number of acclaimed works on Japanese history, examines the changing society and culture of Japan and considers what, apart from the land and the people, is specifically Japanese about the history of Japan.

The arrival of Buddhism in the sixth century brought a substantially Chinese-style society to Japan, not only in religion but in political institutions, writing system, and the lifestyle of the ruling class. By the eleventh century the Chinese element was waning and the country was entering a long and essentially "Japanese" feudal period—with two rulers, an emperor and a Shogun—which was to last until the nineteenth century. Under the Togukawa shogunate (1600-1868), Chinese culture enjoyed something of a renaissance, though popular culture owed more to Japanese urban taste and urban wealth.

In 1868 the Meiji Restoration brought to power rulers dedicated to the pursuit of national wealth and strength, and Japan became a world power. Although a bid for empire ended in disaster, the years after 1945 saw an economic miracle that brought spectacular wealth to Japan and the Japanese people, as well as the westernization of much of Japanese life.

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

317 pages, Hardcover

First published March 2, 1999

About the author

William Gerald Beasley was Emeritus Professor of the History of the Far East at the School of Oriental and African Studies of London University.

Reviews

[Lynda · Rating 5 out of 5]

The beautifully written "The Japanese Experience: A Short History of Japan" is hard to follow at times because it is not a straight chronological treatment in the middle chapters, however, this is more than compensated by the author's gift in offering us an immensely comprehensive overview of Japanese history in just 270+ pages. The hardcover version contains some beautiful illustrations, in particular the one of the statue of Buddha at a Kyoto temple. After reading W. G. Beasley's "The Rise of Modern Japan" I felt compelled to learn about the history of pre-modern Japan, thus reading "The Japanese Experience" was for me a natural progression in my pursuit to acquire a better understanding of the country.

[Leonard Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great read for someone that doesn't know much about Japanese history. I didn't realize that China had such an influence on culture, politics, religion, etc.

[Jack Schutter · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brief survey of Japanese history, this book delivers on its promise extremely well. The author keeps right on trucking through ~1600 years of history and everything always stays interesting.

[Yang-Yi Shen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Japanese Experience: A Short History of Japan is a lucid and informative, if not immaculately written, history of Japan. It begins with some information about ancient japan, then covers every major period of Japanese history, clearly highlighting the cultural, religious and political changes of each period, and gives the reader a basic awareness of how Japan has changed and grown for the past sixteen centuries.

This book promises to be a Short History of Japan, and that is exactly what it is. I frankly do not understand the negative reviews of this book left by those who apparently expected more detail. That's the point of being brief! Regardless, I appreciate how this book provides a simple yet thorough structure on which I can hang any future knowledge I may aquire on this topic. I also like how the author clearly separates the developments of a period into categories such as cultural, religious and political instead of weaving them together into an interesting but befuddling clump of information as some historians are wont to do. In addition, the inclusion of descriptions of daily life and popular culture for the Edo period and onwards really makes the information come alive, and is an aspect of history that I have found is usually underrepresented in histories of other countries.

There are a handful of strangely worded sentences, very lightly scattered throughout the book, which I assume just slipped through the editing process. While they are a little annoying, they do not affect the meaning of the text. I also would have liked to learn about the Meiji period in more detail, particularly about the economic development of Japan then. However, there are books specializing in that topic which I can read.

Like I previously stated, this book promises to be a Short History of Japan, and that is exactly what it is. It gives the reader an overview of Japanese history, and a framework to build further knowledge on top of. It also piques in the reader a curiosity about the Meiji period which it does not fully satisfy. But brief overviews are meant to be followed by further, more specialized reading. Despite what other reviews of this book might say, this is an excellent read and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to familizarize themselves with Japanese history.

[Ozge Armutcu · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book in San Francisco at a second-hand bookshop 5 years ago, I thought that it was a little bit ironical for me to get a book about Japan which is located on the other side of the Pacific Ocean. Since I am reading / interested in reading Japanese literature nowadays, I thought it was time for me to learn about and understand Japanese history. The book covers the period from 6th century until 2000. It gives a clear description of Japanese political, militaristic, cultural, social and educational history. I had very brief information on Japanese history before I read this book so it suited my needs - if you already are knowledgeable about the basics and the chronology, I would suggest for you to consider other books focusing on specific eras or specialties. The most interesting parts for me were Meiji Restoration period and post World War II period; for this reason I plan on reading the following books: "Inventing Japan 1854-1964" and "Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II"

[Eleanor Bouley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Aw man Japan has too much history to fit into this book. It includes SO MUCH INFORMATION and that's really cool but omg it moves so quickly through the history like every sentence is dense and important I am sure this is a good book for lots of people but my ADHD brain absorbed nothing unless I read each paragraph like 7 times before moving onto the next one. Took me forever to read, but when I did do enough work to comprehend it it was super informative. Very packed full of information like good job author for making it so concise I just could not keep up

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good overview of Japanese history. As another reviewer said, it doesn't get into the finer details, but it gives the beginner in the subject a good sense of each period and the most important historical and cultural events and figures.

[Katharine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative. I think I'd like a personal copy for my shelf; as a Japanese language teacher this was all good information to digest. It was a bit dry, but it's a history book so I'm not surprised. The picture plates were great; just wish there had been more illustrations throughout.

[Doug]

You have to be very interested in Japan to finish this book. I managed about 15-20 pages. I'm not that interested. The first chapter rattles off dozens of unfamiliar names and unfamiliar places. I've not rated it because I don't blame the author for my lack of interest.

[Nick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Like all basic histories of a country, rapid glossing of events and observations (some more noteworthy than others) but a decent quick read.

The bibliography sensibly provides some general references but there’s no real endnotes and the glossary feels underwhelming. Maybe this book was meant as a primer for someone pressed for time on a brief history of Japan.

[Desni · Rating 3 out of 5]

its like exactly what it says on the tin tbh its a short history of japan. the informations good but goes in rapid fire mode when it comes to ww2/industrialization post-meiji era. it contributes more to my future info dumps though

[Christopher Barnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative but quite dense.

[Maura McGrath · Rating 4 out of 5]

A concise and accessible overview of a complex history

[Mustika Dwinita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Helped me write my thesis. Thanks.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very enlightening, well-organized and accessible introduction to Japanese history for anyone who, like me, knows very little about it. Not the most scintillating prose, but clear and maintains interest, if not grabs it as some histories.

[Nano · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a tough read. Great information but very dry.

[AC · Rating 2 out of 5]

Slight and disappointing.

[EMA · Rating 2 out of 5]

it was super boring. i have decided to read about japan elsewhere.

[Spencer Tompkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like others have said, the information this book contains is absolutely fascinating, however the way it is put together and written makes it difficult to get through.

[Matthew · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's fine for what it is, a general overview, but Beasley has much better and specific works.