             
 |
|
|
Japan: A Documentary History: Volume I: The Dawn of History to the Late Tokugawa Period
|
||||||||||
|
|||||||||||
Comments/Reviews
Description: An updated edition of David Lu's acclaimed Sources of Japanese History, this primary documents textbook presents in a clear and accessible format, with full annotation and incisive commentary by Mr. Lu, readings translated from the original Japanese that cover the full spectrum of political, economic, and diplomatic as well as cultural and intellectual history in a time span that ranges from Japan's mythological beginnings to the present. The past indeed is prologue: many of these documents--written by Japanese contemporaneous with the events described--provide insight not only into the past but also into Japan's contemporary civilization.
Three major criteria were used in the judgment of which documents to translate:
--That the selection of documents avoids duplication with other documentary collections as much as possible; therefore, fully three-quarters of the documents are newly translated.
--That a given document accurately reflects the spirit of the times and the life-styles of the people.
--That the emphasis be placed on the development of social, economic, and political institutions.
Selected Contents:
Volume I:
1. Dawn of Japanese History
2. Impact of Chinese Civilization
3. The Early Heian Period
4. Rise of Feudal Institutions
5. Kamakura Buddhism
6. Development of Feudal Institutions through the Muromachi Period
7. From Civil Wars to Unification
8. The Tokugawa Peace
9. Intellectual Currents in Tokugawa Japan
Review(s): "Presents primary source materials in translation on pivotal changes in Japan's social, economic, and political institutions, culture, and religion, from the dawn of history to the present. ... The selections offer an interesting taste of salient trends and issues in each period." -- Japan Quarterly
    
|