A History of Japan to 1334

A History of Japan #1

by George Bailey Sansom

This is a straightforward narrative of the development of Japanese civilization to 1334 by the author of A Short Cultural History . While complete in itself, it is also the first volume of a three-volume work which will be the first large-scale, comprehensive history of Japan. Taken as a whole, the projected history represents the culmination of the life work of perhaps the most distinguished historian now writing on Japan. Unlike the renowned Short Cultural History , it is concerned mainly with political and social phenomena and only incidentally touches on religion, literature, and the arts. The treatment is primarily descriptive and factual, but the author offers some pragmatic interpretations and suggests comparisons with the history of other peoples. A History of Japan to 1334 describes the growth from tribal origins of an organized state on a Chinese model, gives a picture of the life of the Royal Court, and examines the conflict between a polished urban nobility and a warlike rural gentry. It traces the evolution of an efficient system of feudal government which deprived the sovereign of all but his ritual functions and the prestige of his ancestry. The structure of Japanese feudal society is depicted in some detail and explained in terms of its internal stresses and its behavior in peace and war, especially during the period of the Mongol attacks in the last decades of the thirteenth century. The volume ends with the collapse of the feudal government at Kamakura under the attack of ambitious rivals.

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

500 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1958

About the author

Sir George Bailey Sansom GBE KCMG was a British diplomat and historian of pre-modern Japan, particularly noted for his historical surveys and his attention to Japanese society and culture.

Reviews

[Michael Finocchiaro · Rating 5 out of 5]

I visited Japan about 10 or 12 times on business and became fascinated with the nation and its peoples. In a burst of curiosity, I started reading Japanese literature (lots of reviews here on GR on my japanese shelves) but quickly realised that I knew next to nothing about the history of this incredible country. I was lucky to discover the work of George Sansom who wrote a series of excellent books about Japanese history. In a history of Japan to 1334, we learn of the migration of Chinese and Korean peninsular peoples to Japan in around the 5th C and the existence of the Ainu aborigines that were treated poorly (as all native peoples are in periods of colonial expansion - they are still in the 21st C treated as a national shame, have incredibly high unemployment and are pushed into lost hamlets in the hinterlands of Hokkaido). Due to the ocean separating the Korean peninsula from Japan, the culture grew to be completely unique with its own identity. One persistent theme in Japanese culture is the dualism between knowing that they have Chinese roots and that the Chinese civilisation gave them their written language (kanji) and was one of the oldest most developed cultures in the world and their own innate sense of uniqueness and superiority. IT is a theme that comes back again and again. In the meantime, this book explains the early society that developed into having an emperor endowed with divine adulation and a highly developed culture around the court in Nara and later Kyoto. The high cultural period of the Heian which produced one of the marvels of world literature, The Tale of Genji, is described in detail.
The book is highly readable and for me the best way to understand the origins of Japan to the middle ages.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ever since the first volume was originally published in 1958, George Sansom’s history of Japan has served as the standard English-language survey of the country’s history prior to the Meiji Restoration. Reading it today, it’s easy to see why it continues to enjoy this status. Written for a general audience, he presents a narrative account of roughly seven hundred years of Japan’s early history that engages the reader with its description of key events and the explanation for why they occurred. While his focus is primary on the political history of Japan, he addresses as well several related aspects of its cultural history, showing how they revealed important influences on Japan’s development. Though the economy and society of the Heian and Kamakura eras do not receive the same attention, these are also included as well, making the book a handy overview of the early centuries of Japan’s existence as a nation.

Yet while time has largely have been kind to Sansom’s labors, the book is showing its age nevertheless. This is understandable, as in the decades since Sansom wrote his book numerous scholars have greatly enriched our understanding of Japan’s classical and medieval eras. Sansom’s reliance on literary sources has insulated himself against this to a degree, but several parts of his book are now seriously outdated because of this. More problematic, though, is his complete exclusion of any coverage of Japan’s prehistory, as not only does he leave out any examination of the Jōmon and Yayoi eras but by dating the original habitation of Japan to just 5,000 years ago he pretends as though much of it did not even exist. Such a distortion of Japanese history is a disservice to the reader, and underscores how, for all of its stature as a standard text of Japanese history, anyone who reads it today needs to supplement it with some of the more up-to-date works written about Japan’s fascinating past.

[Smiley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this book has been fascinatingly informative and rewarding to me as the first one in its highly-acclaimed trilogy; the second and the third being A History of Japan 1334-1615 and A History of Japan 1615-1867 by Professor George Bailey Sansom, an eminent diplomat, Japanologist and educator in the 20th century. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_...) I found his topics full of historic narrations in 21 chapters and cited references as informed in Appendixes I-IV (pp. 471-484), Bibliographical Note (pp. 485-487), 15 descriptive plates (p. xi-xiii) and 19 illustrations (p. xv) in text. As soon as I read this sentence in the Preface, "Perhaps it is as well, for one who writes on the history of an Asian country for ordinary readers and not for professional scholars, to refrain from drawing any but the simplest conclusions from the material which he presents" (p. v), I could not help being encouraged, relief-like, to read it due to his considerate understanding in mind by taking ordinary readers as non-professional scholars into account.


To continue . . .

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even for a history book, this was pretty dry until Sansom reached the era of the Genpei Wars and the rise of the Bakufu under the first Minamoto shoguns. Since I was especially interested in the Heian period that was a bit of a disappointment to me. I don't know if the difference was due to the Kamakura period being so well documented that Sansom had more material to draw from, or he was just so much more interested in that period personally that it showed in the text, but to me the demarcation was pretty dramatic.

All that said, I was pulled right into the story of the creation of the samurai class and the rise of the Shogunate as the dominant political entity under Minamoto Yoritomo. Especially interesting was the role that Yoritomo's wife, Masako, played in keeping the fledgling Bakufu together after his death, and the different perspective on Yoritomo's brother, the nearly legendary Minamoto no Yoshitsune, than is the norm for that tragic story. Well worth reading for anyone interested in Japanese history of the period.

[Paulius · Rating 5 out of 5]

A systematically written book with chronological events of Japan and its neighbours from the late Jōmon period to the Kemmu restoration.

For readers who like Japanese history all around, whether it includes political, social or wartime historical works, it came around pretty easy to understand and get the grasp on overall matters at the given time. The book includes several examples and genealogical trees of regents and family ties throughout the period being discussed. However, it was sometimes hard to follow up on the names of the families and where they were located on the map and to get a basic view of how different wartime strategies were carried out. For this, I recommend opening a general map of provinces during the period that you're currently on and using your imagination on the courses of troops and other matters or just opening a map of the battle needed.

Of course, there are maps in the book with the mentioned battles and where they took place, but in my opinion, they are very vague, the same as the uncoloured pictures throughout the book. I suggest you use Google for coloured references if you're like me and wanted to see how some Emperors, relics or different tools for this matter, looked like at that time.

All in all, a great book to get a basic gist of Japan's roots and where certain things come from. It is hard to say if this book is good for beginners regarding the history of Japan (as I do not have any other works to compare with). I would think that if someone decided to read this book, they already have some kind of interest regarding the history of Japan and it will only give you more to work on with, as the author includes various sources to continue feeding your hunger for other aspects of this book, that perhaps did not fit in this ~500p. book.

I Will definitely re-read. Later books of History of Japan are already in the cart.

P.S If you like to read while listening to background music, I advise putting on some traditional Japanese instrumental music (koto, shamisen, shakuhachi) as it adds to the reading experience and lets you be emerged in it (at least for me).

[Matt Ely · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do not enter lightly into the weighty endeavor. When I described this book to people, they would often conclude that it was "dry." I don't know that that's an entirely accurate assessment. What is challenging about the text is that *every paragraph matters.* It is impossible to skim because Sansom constructs his chapters in such a way that everything depends on what came before it. While he will occasionally refresh readers on allusions from previous chapters, he typically expects the reader to be able to keep up. The result is that the book demands focus and seriousness. It can, as a result, be a somewhat draining reading experience.

Of course the upside of density is that the reader can expect a thorough education from the 500-some pages. Sansom focuses, of course, on the records available, so the majority of the book is devoted to the evolution of government, warfare, and religion in early Japan. There's less on the day-to-day lives of average citizens, largely because it's not the kind of information that was preserved. But Sansom makes a clear effort to include diverse sources.

I also appreciated his tendency to comment on why he was including or excluding certain data, making it apparent what he felt the critical foci were.

Diving into this book will take time and energy. If the topic intrigues you, it will be worth it.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fifty years later and it’s still the only comprehensive history of Japan in English.

That I know of.

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well worth the time investment, but too dry for anyone without more than a passing interest in early Japanese history. That said, this "old school" scholar has contributed much with this volume.

[Damon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a foundational text for those who have a deep interest in Japan's early history--and a lot of time. History starts with Japan's vague prehistory and concludes with the erosion of the system of regency following the failed invasions of Japan by the Yuan dynasty. Along the way, it is easy to get lost in the details; there are a lot of names to contend with among the Fujiwara family, the Hojo family, the acting or retired Emperors, and the Shoguns. some of the family trees and timelines are helpful, but it takes effort to keep everything in the context of the broader narrative. Sansom shines, however, when he focuses in on the lives of some of the more notable Japanese political figures. Kiyomori and Yoritomo chief among them. Finally, his treatment of the Yuan invasions are wonderful.

Sansom anchors his narrative very much in comparisons with the western / British tradition. Contemporary books probably avoid some of the terminology that he uses ("Crown" for the Emperor, etc). I found it helpful in some areas, but a distraction in others, especially when he likens somehting in Japan to a quote in Latin. Thankfully, those instances are the exception, and don't get in the way of the content.

I would recommend this only for those who have a general sense of Japanese history, and are willing to spend a lot of time swimming in the deep of court politics and political intreague.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent, excellent starting history book on Japan. Even though this book is older, it still remains a solid foundational text to start learning about Japan. I thoroughly enjoyed George Sansom's writing style and his consideration for a newbie reader. His appendices and footnotes were great additions, and the language he used throughout was very approachable.

As per usual, I have some minor nitpicks. The first is... kind of a staple of his time in the 1950s. Honestly, the comparisons to European concepts were unnecessary and their additions felt disjointed from the main explanations. However, this quasi-trend was very popular in the 50s and 60s for academic writing, so this particular quirk can't be held against him. Another one is that Sansom's tres excellente charts and diagrams should have had their own section in the book instead of being interspersed in a chronological order in the chapters. It made referencing Emperors and Shoguns a downright pain! I'll probably mark up my copy with little section dividers and if you buy this book, I recommend the same for you. Lastly, my personal preference (being an Art Historian) is that if images are included in a book, it's best if they have their own little 'Plates' section and that they are colored! Honestly, it's hard to appreciate the historical artwork that Sansom included without seeing them in color. They should also have been labeled appropriately! Honestly, where was his editor during this! It is so inconvenient to look up the artwork included without knowing on what page he referenced them. Tsk tsk!

[Janel]

This is a well written & great book on Japanese history

[Alex Helling · Rating 3 out of 5]

A History of Japan to 1334 by Sir George Sansom does as the title suggests and provides the early history of Japan. This takes us through the initial development of a unified political structure under the emperor, the wars against the Emishi (the aboriginal peoples in the west/north), the flowering of culture, religion and links to China, and the growing power of the warrior class - the well known Samurai who eventually seize power. This is a crucial period in the development of pre-modern Japan; it sets the political structure of a powerless emperor and powerful warriors that survives, albeit in different hands, right through to the Meiji restoration in 1864; and it sets the religious background both in terms of the indigenous religion shinto and importation of Buddhism that remains the case today. Sansom is an excellent guide to these developments.

It is worth noting that this is the first book of three covering the whole of Japanese history to the Meiji Restoration, the starting point for modern Japan. The downside is that means that while 1334 is a logical stopping point, as it is the end of the first shogunate, there is no real conclusion rounding up the book and its meaning. The book just stops. Looking at the other end, a full history up to 1334 sounds like it could be an immense amount to pack in. But in practice it is not; Japan did not have a complex ancient civilisation like China. So there is not much detail until the 7th Century.

Perhaps the biggest problem is with names; there is no way to escape having an immense number of people with similar names when the same families dominate politics and culture for hundreds of years. Especially as these families often use elements of their predecessors' names in the next generation;. But Samson does not always help things, if we have not had a mention of someone for 50 pages (and then only very briefly) it would be helpful to say who he is rather than simply giving just the person’s first name and assuming the reader will remember who this person is and the event that we have suddenly jumped back to.

Japanese history in this period is decidedly complex with multiple layers. Thus by the time we are at the end of the period covered we have a line of power that goes roughly a titular emperor (often a young child), who is a puppet of a retired emperor (usually papa), who is controlled by his most senior courtier (often an uncle), who in turn is controlled by the Shogun, who in similar fashion to the titular and retired emperor is a puppet of the Hojo regents on the state council. While there is a progression about it; power starts near the beginning of the book with the emperor and is then taken by the retired emperor etc it is not entirely linear as sometimes someone in the system tries to get some power back, and the ties are also not a direct chain; so the regent might send a request to the titular emperor who then takes it to the retired emperor and senior courtier to get his marching orders confirmed. This is maddeningly difficult to keep straight and must have been a bit of a nightmare to write a book about. It is therefore a tribute to Sansom that it is usually reasonably clearly told and not too confused!

I am not sure whether this is an issue with the book being quite old (1958) but some of the numbers in armies are ridiculous. They get up to 200,000. This would be near the size of the legions of the whole Roman Empire at its height, in a small mountainous country with very limited bureaucracy. Even if this were the total number of warriors it would not be possible to bring anything like this number together in one army, given the terrain of Japan logistically it would be impossible until the modern age. Hyperbolic claims by chroniclers of armies that are said to be tens of thousands in medieval Europe are routinely reduced by historians to being just hundreds, or at most a few thousand. Is it likely this is the case here too?

It is probably also somewhat dated in that there is little on the economy or the lower levels of society; things that history scholarship has focused on since the 1950s. But I have to admit that while I have some interest in the history of societal changes and the economy, my real interest is in politics, international relations, governance, peace and conflict. All of which are well covered in the narrative (as is culture and religion which I am less interested in).

So A History of Japan to 1334 is a good old style introduction to the early part of Japanese history but there are definitely elements where it is less effective. This is not a period for which there are a lot of books in English so even if dated this is likely still the best option.

[Nick Gaschler · Rating 3 out of 5]

George Bailey Sansom remains one of the notable English language historians of Japan. The great issue is that his work is now 60ish years old. Nonetheless, his first volume of his “A History of Japan” trilogy is fascinating. As I alluded to, the availability of scholarship on pre-modern Japan is scarce making this book a valuable resource despite its age and when reading this, considering this as well as the time period it was produced in, I felt Sansom gave a balanced account of Japan’s medieval beginnings without sacrificing much. His prose is academic and can be difficult at times, but generally I found this readable and highly informative. Sansom focuses on a few central themes that hold the book together throughout its nearly 470 pages, namely the influence of Chinese customs and ideas on Japanese culture, the power dynamics at play and the ultimate transition of Japanese governance from a unipolar to a multipolar system.

Sansom opens the book with a quick background of Japan as an island and the people who have historically inhabited it before turning into what we can assume and understand about early Japanese civilization. From the emergence of the early chronicles, we can clearly gleam the impact that Chinese culture had on the formation of Japanese society. Migration to the islands came mainly from Korea and with it ideas of morality, government and religion were all imported from China including Buddhism which remained a very influential moment in early Japanese history. The development of the Buddhist sects in Japan remain probably the most important pre-Heian development in Japanese history and it gets a lot of focus in the early goings of the book. Sansom takes the reader through the establishment of the early Yamato state and the eventual establishment of a permanent capital at Heian-kyo or Kyoto, which becomes the Imperial seat for the remainder of this book. From there, Sansom details the ins and outs of the aristocratic world of Kyoto during the Heian period, covering the social history, the religious history and of course the political history which saw the emergence of powerful clans like the Fujiwara who exercised control over Japanese governance for roughly two to three centuries. It is at this point that as the aristocrats in Kyoto grow wealthier and more aloof, reality sets in across the countryside leading to the development of a warrior class in the provinces. This culminates in the Gempei War between the Minamoto and Taira. The Minamoto’s victory in this conflict establishes the Kamakura Shogunate, the development of a feudal order and the dualistic government that is firmly entrenched within Japanese society by 1221. Sansom ends with a brief exploration of the Mongol invasions of 1274 and 1281 breaking down their failure and ultimate effect on the Bakufu (feudal government) and eventual end of the Hojo clan who controlled the Kamakura government to that point.

Along the way, Sansom goes into a ton of detail about various topics. I found his analysis of the changing ways land was divided, won, lost, conceived, created, etc as especially interesting. He notes early on that power in medieval Japan was land (where is it not) and that the feudal order was developed out of land relations as the aristocratic court gradually became less interested in that and more interested in culture, art and the like. We get good tracts on religion; the development of Buddhism, its division into the many sects such as Zen or Pure Land, its relationship with Shinto and how Shinto endured in society and how Buddhist monasteries established military forces. There is considerable time devoted to the rise of the military class in the 10th and 11th centuries, with emphasis on the eastern warriors. I found this part as well as the time spent on the development of the feudal societal order especially interesting. I admire that Sansom makes good use of the chronicles and textual sources of the period and does not fall on the assumption of the West that the Japanese are an inherently martial race, a perception unfortunately common at the time following World War II and common today. All in all there is good detail in this book and continues to likely be the standard for the historian who wishes to dig deeper than the pure synthesis.

This book will fall short of the five star label due to a lack of truly entertaining writing and riveting interpretation. This is moreso a narrative with the author picking and choosing where he wants to develop. You will see the words “deserves examination/consideration here” more times than you will like. The writing style was at times dull and repetitive. It also lacked any truly strong interpretation. This is a synthesis so there is nothing impressive argumentatively. This is OK, but the best synthesis’s are able to tie in an essential position on the given topic. Sansom does not do so. I am closer to a 3.5 star for this book due to its narrative strength and the amount I learned.

[Gerry Leb · Rating 5 out of 5]

This clear and careful history is by far the best comprehensive history of earlyJapan in English. It is based on primary sources, and stays close to them. It has good maps, and good illustrations.

The most interesting aspects of early Japan are it's adoption of Buddhism, Chinese language and culture, and the complex relation of those to its indigenous society and religion.

The latter half of the work tells of the growth of the warrior ethos and the outbreak of the Genpei war. This brought to an abrupt end the centuries dominated by taste and sensibility, exemplified by the Heien period.

[Ziyad Khesbak · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first of an extensive three-part volume which details the history of Japan from its geologic roots, here until 1334. This volume was written in 1958 and so, while it is not modern in its construction and often not the most engaging, remains appropriately detailed and appears comprehensive while giving allowances to omit additional details which the author deems accessory. Can be read casually, but does an adequate enough job dissecting the economic and social developments of each age such that it does require focus to read, as names come and go across many hundreds of years.

Looking forward to the next volume, nevetheless.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

This academic tome is an absolute necessity to read to fully understand Japanese history. It focuses on the time span of the founding of the country up to 1334, but it is integral in understanding the full complexity and development of Japanese society.

Be forewarned, this is written in an archaic, 1958 academic language that makes it an absolute chore to read. Extremely difficult to those not truly interested in this specific subject. But this book provides access to a treasure trove of history that influenced a key nation in today's geopolitical world.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book set was recommend to me by an old professor. I picked it up and set it down again due to a lack of time to read for years, but finally started reading it seriously.

It's a good and informative overview of Japanese history. It covers both details of historical figures, Japanese culture, Japanese literature, influences from other countries, comparisons, and more.

My only complaint is it is very dry. It was a hard read, taking me over a year to finish even after picking it up seriously. However, if you are looking for in depth historical analysis it is worth pushing through.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Does a good job at keeping things chronological. Doesn't jump around a lot like some other history books I've read. Could have done without the frequent comparisons to Western history, though. Sansom also does a good job at covering numerous topics within Japanese history, from art and literature to politics and war, and not just focusing on one area. Maybe not the most exciting history book in the world, but certainly not written pretentiously, which I appreciate.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Upon returning from our first trip to Japan, I felt the need to read a history of Japan once we get home. Sansom's three-volume work was the obvious choice. The first volume took me a while to get through. It's very detailed, especially for a period where there isn't a wealth of primary sources available. It's also dry and a bit of a slog at times. However, I found it to be a good foundation for further study down the line. I'm also hitting volume 2 next.

[Luis Mario · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was really interested in the history of Japan, so I bought the trilogy of A History of Japan by George Sansom, I have to say that the first book is perfect. If you're really interested in the history of this incredible country I totally recommend these books. The thing that I liked about this one is that is very complete, it has a lot of information, and each page is important. It also has some charts, and I have to say that they're very helpful.

[Michael]

It has an older writing style (it was published in the 1950s) but it is such a fantastic overview. Some of the court intrigue I found boring to read, but it flowed nicely for me during the sections of the end of the Heian era and the Gempei War. I also found the early sections on religious developments most fascinating. I'm looking forward to reading the next volume.

[Summer Knaus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very in-depth, well researched, easy to follow and fluidly written. Sansom does an excellent job of portraying the native Japanese spirit through history. A lot of dry material but a very thorough and comprehensive guide to early Japanese civilization. Highly recommend for the committed student of Japanese history.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read, although it's easy to get lost in the myriad of names mostly unfamiliar to Western readers. The overall themes become clear, so you get a good idea how ancient Japan evolved into its Medieval character.

[Haden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid overview, I think. Limited in space and perspective. Of its era in an ethically complicated way, but an accessible and useful means of deciphering larger trends/structures, as well as paths to more elaborate study.

[Les Nicholls · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent coverage of early japanese history. Sansom keeps it interesting by illustrating history with artistic developments over the years.

[Kyle Cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating read and an ending that mashes to ready to jump into the next book.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Thanh Xu Jr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tập đầu trong ba cuốn sách biên niên đầy đủ về lịch sử Nhật Bản, chi tiết và kĩ hơn bất kì cuốn sách nào.

[Patty · Rating 4 out of 5]

figure i should get the backstory of a country before i visit

[Hiroshi Sasaki · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm prepping a December pilgrimage to my birthplace and ancestrial burial grounds, so I'm doing the research right now.... Sansom provides a phenomenal social history from early pre-history to the fall of the Kamakura "bakufu," the competing dual government system between the Emperor's court of Kyoto (also a dual system with a titular & symbolic Emperor and a "cloistered" or "retired" emperor who actually has the royal power) and the warrior government of Kamakura.