Pax Tokugawana: The Cultural Flowering of Japan, 1603–1853

by Toru Haga, Juliet Winters Carpenter (Translator)

Some people view Tokugawa Japan through the “exotic Edo” lens. Others see the era as Japan’s dark ages. And those who reject both of these extremes tend to think of it as simply the run-up to Japan’s modernization.

Yet it would be more accurate to see it as a vast flowering of culture spearheaded by the Rinpa school of art led and developed by Tawaraya Sōtatsu and Ogata Kōrin; the exquisite poetry of Matsuo Bashō and Yosa Buson; the groundbreaking natural science treatises by Kaibara Ekiken and others; Arai Hakuseki’s "Seiyō kibun" [Tidings of the West] and Sugita Genpaku’s "Rangaku kotohajime" [The Dawn of Western Science in Japan]; and by such towering figures as Watanabe Kazan and Hiraga Gennai. All told, the Tokugawa period was arguably the high-water mark of Japan’s long cultural traditions.

This ambitious work provides a comprehensive review of the distinctive culture that emerged in the limited space of the Tokugawa period’s 250 years and the narrow confines of Japan. As such, it stands at the forefront of comparative cultural studies and points the way to new insights. This definitive volume is the culmination of a lifetime of work by a scholar whose research on the Tokugawa era has been recognized with awards from, inter alia, the Japan Art Academy and the Japan Academy.

Genres: History, Japan

372 pages, Hardcover

First published October 18, 2017

Reviews

[Christopher · Rating 3 out of 5]

A combination of a variety of essays loosely strung together by virtue of belonging to the Edo Period. Often overly sentimental and maudlin, sometimes interesting and insightful.

Do yourself a favor and get this book physically not on kindle if you really want it. The kindle version's art chapters are useless due to image compression.

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the advantages of following friends on Goodreads is that I often learn about a book I would otherwise not have known about. . Thanks to my friend DJ this was the case with Pax Tokugawana.

In her translator’s note at the start of this book Carpenter disclosed that it is a series of previously published essays which Haga edited and reworked specifically for this publication. Like any collection I found that some were more interesting than others. Ie, there were times when his very thorough description and/or analysis of a particular poem or painting got to be a bit of TMI. But despite my having read a handful of books about this era of Japanese history almost all of these chapters introduced me to people I knew little if anything about. Some of them piqued my interest sufficiently for me to want to read more about the individuals described.

The author merits praise for a few other aspects of PAX. Each essay is well organized with subsections in some which help one to follow his thinking. He often makes observations which demonstrate a relationship between some aspects of Japanese culture or history which I had not considered before. Sources are referenced in the narrative text with notes at the end of each chapter. An 8 page bibliography and a 5 page index at the end of the book confirm how thorough the research on which the book was based.

Many plates showing the artwork described, some of which are in color, make it much easier to follow his thorough discussions. At the risk of sounding ungrateful there were some paintings which were not accompanied by a reproduction. I wish there had been more of these. Many quotes of haiku, a particular form of poetry found in Japan, also heightened my engagement.

Carpenter did a credible job of translating Pax. The prose is largely direct, at times almost conversational. Thus, it is readily readable.

Haga freely offers his own opinions about the individuals, their artistic productions, and/or the influence which he believes they had on the country. On the one hand, this enriches Pax in some ways. On the other, it demonstrates a bias on his part. More specifically, he consistently opines that the era was one of ‘peace and stability’ which allowed the economy to develop and the arts to blossom. He acknowledges that it was a hierarchal society but quickly claims it ‘accepted inequalities.’ He only briefly alludes to the problems which this social structure gradually led to. Eg, there were at least 2 famines and brief periods of ‘unrest’ in the 18th and 19th centuries but he notes that these were short lived. There are historians such as Totman in Early Modern Japan who argue otherwise about the latter. Additionally, Haga never mentions the taxes which by the late 18th/early 19th century became quite onerous for the peasants forced to support the increasing opulence of the upper crust of the society.

Overall, I recommend Pax for those like myself who have a great interest in that era of Japan. But readers should beware that Haga’s love for his country and its culture led to a myopic, if not in some ways idealized presentation.

[Liz · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's a compilation of essays depicting specific characters in Tokugawa japan. The chronology of each essay, however, is messy, lending to confusion when the author mentions the same event twice in one essay. The book concentrates mostly on poets and scientific writers. When it does mention artists, very little imagery is utilized, and we must rely solely on the author's description. I did glean new information from the book on artists, but not as much based on the time I spent reading this piece.

[Nirmal · Rating 1 out of 5]

The translator has tried hard to keep track on the original author. I feel the original articles themselves are not so bright.

[Geert · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first, I was a bit disappointed: I had expected more on sociology, economics but this book is about culture. I now find it gets better with every chapter, and I discover wonderful artists I had never heard of before, sprinkled with some historical background.