Early Japan

Great Ages of Man

by Jonathan Norton Leonard

history

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Japan, Historical, Japanese Literature

192 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1968

Reviews

[Peter]

The American-born writer Jonathan Norton Leonard’s 1968 edition of the book, Early Japan, is a history of Japan up until 1853 C.E., when the American naval officer, Matthew Perry forced Japan to sign a trade treaty with the United States. The book is for the series of Time-Life Books’ Great Ages of Man. Leonard also wrote the 1967 book in the same series on Ancient America. Leonard’s biographical sketch at the beginning of the book, Early Japan, says that “Although Leonard has always been interested in Japan and the Japanese, his comprehension of the culture and accomplishments of that land has been greatly enriched with his development of this volume in collaboration with its consultants”. Leonard’s book is probably dated, but it is still worth reading if one is interested in the historiography of Japan. Early Japan is readable. The book has a beautiful layout, and each chapter is followed by a photo essay. At the end of the book, there is a Timeline. Japanese history pre-1853 is not a subject I know a lot about, so this book was a well-done if perhaps dated introduction to the subject. In undergrad, I read The Pillow Book by Sei Shonagon, who wrote during the Heian Period of Japanese history, it was nice getting a refresher summary in Leonard’s book (Leonard 36-38). Even though it was dated I did not regret spending time reading the book, Early Japan.

[Jonathan Grant]

A brief but interesting history of Japan from the 6th century to just before the start of the Meiji period. I found the map at the beginning super helpful - I was familiar with the names of the islands but didn't realize exactly where they were in relation to each other.

I think if I'd read this before the Hirohito book, his actions and the way the emperor worked in Japan would've made a lot more sense. Context is everything.

[Stacy Croushorn]

Had to read for a book challenge. It wasn’t too bad, there were lots of photos, and some of it was interesting.

[Kili]

I want to read more by this author

[James Violand]

Another wonderful volume in the Time-Life series. A must read for anyone wanting a good synopsis of Early Japan.

[Karolina]

This is a textbook about early Japan, as it says, but I liked it because it was more like reading a story. It was nicely and artistically organized, with good pictures, and an absence of the kind of textbook drawl. It helped me a lot to get an overall understanding of who the Japanese are.

[Tom McKinney]

it was good would read it again. very educational and accurate. would recommend to anyone who is interested in japan

[Lina Murphy]

Interesting with good information.