1 comments about Women of the Mito Domain: Recollections of Samurai Family Life.

1. This is a very realistic and engaging account of samurai life just before the Meji restoration. Samurais are not idealised in this book, but instead their every day life is described. The focus is on women, as it retells history mainly from the view of the author's mother, but as women were completely dependent on men at the time, a lot of the account deals with how men as well as women lived. Topics such as school, dress, dwellings, amusments, family, marriage and divorce are covered, and at the same time the unrest in Mito domain before the restoration. The grandfather of the author had his own school and worked at the Office of Japanese History. He was one of the lower class samurai, but was recognized by the daimyo for his great learning and taught even his children at some point.
   If you want to understand Japanese society in the 19th century up to the Restoration, this is an extremly interesting book. Highly recommended!

No comments about Old Kyoto: A Short Social History (Images of Asia).

No comments about The Hatoyama Dynasty: Japanese Political Leadership Through the Generations.

1 comments about A Genealogy of Japanese Self-Images (Japanese Society).

1. According to Oguma, the self-image of Japan as a homogenous society is not the result of the prewar discourse of Japanese character. Deftly using Foucault to understand the phenomenon of Japanese identity as a discourse, Oguma argues that the contrary is true. He asserts that the prewar discourse used the language of nationalism, racism, and imperialism to validate Japan's imperial project and the resulting domination over others. This same discourse pegged Japan as a polyglot society. The implications of the polyglot model are many. At the center was the notion that the empire was one of ethnic and racial variety - this point is crucial. In effect, Oguma argues that the notion of Japanese homogeneity is really a postwar invention. A new sense of homogeneity rises from the idea that Japan is no longer an empire. Dropping, in effect, what was seen as the periphery - Taiwan (Formosa), Korea, and Manchuria, etc. - the shrinking of the empire to the core island forced the Japanese to re-evaluate their position and as a result its identity. As a former polyglot society and its empire as one of ethnic variety, it is conversely, the postwar discourse on the new state, Oguma asserts, that invented a peace loving, singular nation as the basis of the contemporary Japanese identity. Most of the tome is focused on the explanation of the complexity of Japan's prewar identity discourse. Oguma's A Genealogy of `Japanese' Self-images is now required reading for Japanese scholars of Nihonjinron history as well as high school readers.

5 comments about Elements Of Japanese Design: Handbook Of Family Crests, Heraldry & Symbolism.

1. John Dower's study of Japanese crests and heraldry benefits from the same lucid writing and impeccable research that this MIT historian has brought to all of his work, including his recent National Book Award study of postwar Japan. The illustrations are excellent and the introduction, in particular, should be required reading for all those interested in Japanese history, heraldry, and samurai practices. It is just as valuable for those with a more generic interest in how heraldry has been used over time and across cultures.



2. I didn't realize the true value of this book until a year after I had initially read it.

   It's a great book about Japanese crests. The pictures are clear and very sharp. There are a lot of kamon in the book, but not as many as others, so I put the book down...my mistake!

   The book is filled with descriptions of the meanings and significance of each kamon! Mr. Dower writes of where the crest orginated when it is used, what season it is associated with, what meaning it has if associated with other motifs, etc. With the text and pictures one can actually recognize and understand the symbolism in Japanese art, kimono, etc. I can now tell what season it is in Japan by just looking at the kimono people wear or the tapestry hung on the wall (if the people who wear the kimono, hung the tapestry, etc. understand the symbolism...which many now don't :(...)!

   There is also a short history of the kamon in the beginning :) The story of how the author came upon the illustrations for the crests is very interesting, too!

   But...this book will not tell you the surnames that go with the crest. Granted, it will tell you of some of the really famous names that go with some of famous kamon, but not all of them.

   I think this book is a must for anyone who is really interested in Japanese culture. (The other books on kamon I have are just for people interested in kamon.) I have loved it so much that the binding is coming apart...




3. Thank You, for such a great book it has helped my research and photography tremendously. The information given is quite helpful. Thank You Again, E.Ortiz



4. Incredibly indepth coverage of Japanese family crests; a wealth of information on the subject. Detailed designs give rise to much inspiration to artists and crafters who enjoy Japanese history and culture.



5. I am very pleased with this book and with Amazon's service. The subject of Japanese family crests and "kamon" designs is summarized very well by the author. As a hobbyist/artist, I find this book to be a very worthy addition to my design library.

5 comments about Diary of Lady Murasaki (Penguin Classics).

1. Aside from the "tale of Genji" this is the only known writings of Lady Murasaki. The book is slim, as not much of her personal diary survived. However, it does have a good introduction, including a VERY helpful picture of a court lady in her dress. If you ever read any of these old court diaries, you come to appreciate a good picture like this because the women who wrote these books dwelled, almost obessivly on what they wore.

   The clarity and quality of the writing is this slim volume is very good, as good as what you will find in the pillow book of sei shonagon. This book is also a facinating read in conjuction with the latest novel by Liza Dalby "the tale of Murasaki". Anyone interested in Old Japanese litrature should had this title to their reading list.




2. First off, Although the book i s 91 pages long there is a 52 page introduction. The introduction by Bowring is very well done, especially for those who are unfamiliar with Heian era Japan, like me. Bowring gives adequate introductions to the architecture, dress, religion, and other things of culture at the time. Although the info he gives of Murasaki Shikibu is scant, he does give the reader all of the information that is known about the author of the Genji monogatari. The diary itself is a wonderful resource of Heian era Japan. Murasaki Shikibu gives wonderfully detailed descriptions of ceremonies, dress, and glimpses of daily lives of females in the court. Bowring adds wonderfully helpful footnotes to aid teh reader. Also the illustrations inb the book are wonderful for showing how the Heian lady dressed and how a Heian era mansion looked. Good little book.



3. And a companion piece ot the Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon. The world of courtiers and courtesans, intrigues, affairs.
   
   Daily soaps will never be exciting once you've read this book! WOW!



4. The Diary of Lady Murasaki is a very fine read, even by today's standards. Sadly short due to age, it still offers an amazing insight into court life of the time.
   
   The book's coverage of both important court events and the personal outlook of Murasaki herself on everything from fashion to her contemporaries is eye-opening to say the least. Great attention is paid to detail where she was able to remember any detail at all, and when she does not remember detail, she always made a note of why. Perhaps the most refreshing part of the book is the honesty in her observations. She seldom seems to mince words, which is not something that I would expect from anyone at all familiar with court politics.
   
   The book is especially valuable given the lack of other documents to come out of the period.



5. The diary of Lady Murasaki is the court diary of the author of the Tale of Genji - an 11th century masterpiece of japanese literature. Although Murasaki Shikibu has been dead for over 1000 years this diary brings to life Murasaki and the imperial court. It recounts an important period at court with the birth of Empress Shoshi's first son. We are given details into court ceremonies, life, fashion, and attitudes. Excellent read, especially if you're interested in Japan.

5 comments about Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan.

1. It's more of an academic book, with an apparently controversial thesis to defend, rather than something like David Halbarstam would write. So the firs third is pretty slow and arcane, with lots of details about Japanese politics, and history, with relevant Japanese terms tossed in. Things pick up when WWII starts. I missed an overview of Japanese culture, national psychology and interviews with people who lived through this time. But it's not that kind of a book. It's worth reading, I would recommend it for a very different perspective than you get on the History Channel, where they love to refight Midway over and over. Japanese war planners were tacticians, and overly optimistic, with their heads in the sand. None of them, nor the Emperor, served the people well.



2. Herbert Bix's book more than amply rewards the patient reader. Many of the previous reviews have focused on the emperor's responsibility for World War II, and that's certainly an important theme of Bix's superbly researched book. However, the conclusions the book draws are far from black and white. Instead, Bix lays out his version of the facts and lets those facts speak for themselves.
   
   It's an extremely effective means of rhetoric, and you will find, the closer you read, that Bix leaves oceans of ambiguity regarding the emperor's wartime role. Where Bix's arguments have the least flexibility is where he articulates, using sociology, history, and the personal upbringing of Hirohito, the point that the imperial role during and before the war was far more than symbolic. Yet his discussion of how the cabinet, the parliament, and the imperial advisers circumscribed and/or expanded that role shows that whether the emperor's role was great or small, it defies easy definition.
   
   This opaque method of wielding power is so intuitively correct for anyone who has studied Japanese politics, that it smacks of great truth. And whether you believe that the emperor was a tyrant, a figurehead, or something in between, Bix's sophisticated attempt to trace the myriad strands of power, politics, and battlefield outcomes illuminates Japanese politics and power in a way that no other modern history been able to do, at least in English.
   
   The personalities and events surrounding this extraordinary historical figure make for tantalizing reading. Many previous reviews have described the writing as boring, but it's nothing of the kind if you're interested in the details that made up war and pre-war decisions. Consensus, factions, deference to hierarchy, moving up through the ranks, and an incredible attention to the finest details are all characteristics that will be immediately recognizable to anyone who has lived in Japan for long. Bix's lifetime and intimate ties to Japan are reflected in his thinking and in his style. It's rich and rewarding, but certainly not low hanging fruit.
   
   If you're looking for a thoughtful and thought provoking view on the modernization of Japan, this book provides it. The relationship between Meiji and Showa is fascinating for its scantiness and for the profound impact that the grandfather had on the grandson. The description of the postwar imperial reign creates a cacophonous dissonance with Hirohito's earlier power and involvement in government that literally hearkens back to the occasional Roman emperors who left the seat of power to putter in their gardens.
   
   If you enjoy this book, regardless of your conclusions, even half as much as I did, it will have been worth every single penny.



3. A hnonorable attempt at writing a biography by using secondary resources to support his writings. The Japanese government does not allow people to review the emperior writngs, so we are left with other writings from his colleagues to make a analysis on his character.



4. I always find it fascinating when I reach a completely different conclusion than a noted awards organization like the Pulitzers. But after slogging through over half of Herbert Bix's book, "HIROHITO AND THE MAKING OF MODERN JAPAN," I cannot imagine how this book received much of any award.
   
   I guess at some level it is not a complete washout. The book is obviously meticulously researched. As a reference for academics, it will probably have real value. But in terms of simple readability, it is a disaster.
   
   For me, it seems Bix has been immersed in Japan and Japanese culture for way too long. Like a lot of experts, he tends to speak in a bit of a short hand without remembering that it makes it difficult for laymen to follow.
   
   For better or worse, most Americans are not terribly familiar with Japanese history and culture, especially as it relates to pre-WWII. So the huge cast of characters that Bix throws at you is overwhelming because most readers are not going to know who any of them are. His introductions to each of these characters tend to be very brief and there are so many of them (and so many names that are all alien to begin with) that it becomes almost dizzying. You are constantly flipping over to the index to figure out who someone is that hasn't been mentioned in 50 pages.
   
   Cabinets rise and fall with blinding speed and without much explanation for how or why. Japanese cultural points are raised without deep explanation and without reinforcement later in the text. And the prose itself is leaden. It is not a read so much as a slog. You endure it more than you enjoy it.
   
   More bothersome is that Bix has a clear agenda in the biography. His take? Hirohito was a conniving jerk who misled everyone about his role during the war. Other than being an upright family man, Bix's Hirohito is a Machiavellian slimeball constantly making poor choices and then finding ways to foist the consequences on others.
   
   Now for all I know, this may be totally accurate. But the text reads as almost seething in its anger. I have no issue with a writer presenting an opinion and a point of view. That is a role of the historian and the biographer--to interpret the facts and put them into context. But Bix never lets it go to simply tell the story of his subject. He is constantly slamming Hirohito. Again, his criticism may be sound. It probably is. But it so pervasive that at some point you begin to wonder whether or not Bix is presenting all the facts. Based on the enormous "notes" section of this book, he probably is, but at some point he just needed to tell the story. If the problems and hypocrisy in Hirohito's life are as pronounced as he says they are, that will likely come through to the reader without having to ham-handedly beat the man page after page. It reads less like a biography and more like a polemic.
   
   The only reason I am giving this any stars at all is because I feel I am obligated to give some credit to the sheer depth of research that is evident in the work. This is truly a scholarly effort in its research and I suspect the underlying source documents cited will make this a great reference for future scholars seeking information on the subject. But I found the writing itself to be bad and the Bix's anti-Hirohito agenda to just be overwhelming.
   
   This is an important story that needs to be told. But Bix's work is not the book that gets it done. Obviously, based on the accolades this book received from critics, other readers and Pulitzer committee puts me in the minority but I really am left wondering what book they read when they heaped their praise on this work.



5. My wife is Chinese, to this day there still exists a great deal of hate in China for Japan and her actions during the war. I say this to clarify I am no fan of Hirohito or Imperial japan.
   
   What I had hoped to get an objective review of Hirohito and his role before and during the war. Instead what I got from this book was a foaming at the mouth rabid attack Hirohito all in the first few pages. I really had thought people such as Bix might have grown out of fanatical Marxism.
   
   This is the only time I have thought about asking for a refund from Amazon for a book. I suppose I should have read the reviews of others before buying.

5 comments about The World of the Shining Prince: Court Life in Ancient Japan (Kodansha Globe).

1. This book is just what I needed after reading The Tale of Genji. Besides providing extremely detailed historical information on the time period, it is just a good read in general, being extremely well written. Ivan Morris also draws dozens of interesting parallels between Heian Japan and other societies throughout world history. I would definitely recommend this book.



2. Mr Morris is my hero! He manages to make an extremely complex subject a joy to read and study...Gosh, i wish other subjects could be this engaging. In the world of the shining prince everything has a protocol and a reason to been, Mr Morris manages to explain many important details that may, at first, be just tiny observations and passing glances in the story. This study book provides readers with tools to better understanding the kilometric "Tale of Genji"



3. This book really enhances, enlarges and clarifies one's understanding of Lady Muraski's world and though not necessary reading really enriches one's reading of The Tale of Genji.



4. I would recommend this book to anyone who is going to read "The Tale of Genji." Elegantly written, with discreet touches of humour here and there, it should help enormously in getting to grips with the superficially accessible, but actually wholly alien and remote world of the Heian court.



5. Ivan Morris wrote the essential guide to understanding the classical literature and culture of Heian Japan in this book.
   
   Everything you ever wanted to know about rarified, indeed *deified* Japanese court life in the 11th century A.D. is here. From directional taboos to de rigeur blackened teeth (and other fashion highlights) to bureaucratic hierarchies - it's all here, in engaging and accessible prose.
   
   We often think of the samurai ethos when we think of Japan, but the roots of Japanese culture developed in the 9th century, when imported Chinese concepts of governance and culture were assimilated. Morris describes how the Heian elite absorbed and transformed Chinese philosophy, and how Shinto beliefs operated in harmony with the teachings of Buddha.
   
   This is an enormously entertaining book, especially in its depiction of the politics and morality of the courtiers.

5 comments about Japanese Design Motifs: 4,260 Illustrations of Japanese Crests.

1. Supposedly, there are about 2,000 Japanese family crests, with origins that reach back more than a millenium. And while I can't say whether this book contains all two thousand, it's nevertheless pretty comprehensive. They're presented in columns of black images--each image about 2" in diameter--and grouped by theme (e.g., crests depicting one cherry blossom, then crests based on 2 blossoms, then crests based on 3 blossoms, etc.).
   
   Like other Dover art books, this one is primarily for artists and designers, rather than for students of history/culture. (I used these images for stencilling, during an Anglo-Japanese makeover of our 1870s-era house--and discovered that "chinoiserie" abounds, but "japanesque" is rare. This book became part of an invaluable, and small, set of resources.)



2. I bought the book for my son and he loved everything about it. The illustrations are teriffic.



3. This book is simply the best. I found my maternal grandfather's mon and my paternal grandmother's crest in this book. It is quite comprehensive. Reading japanese kanji is a plus as you can then read descriptions next to appropriate mon. Graphic artists studying oriental design will find more than 4,000 designs that have existed for hundreds of years. There is inspiration aplenty for all artists.



4. It hadn't occurred to me that this could be a research source for geneaology, but i'm glad to see that it's useful for those searching for ancestral emblems. I appreciate this book as a source for small, clip art versions of Japanese graphic design.
   As any user of clip art knows, it only takes one application from a source to pay for the cost of the book and this one has more than paid its way.



5. Im in graphic design and using this book has helped me so much! Hundreds of pages bombarded with close to 3x3 thumbnails-so much info that it will probably take a very long time to actually notice each design. Some people dont like this book because all designs are set into a limited palette of insignias. The point is not to look at what the overall shape of the thumbnail is but at the specific contours, combinations. There's a variety from organic to geometric shapes. Some designs look modern, others ancient, others are used today i.e. radiation symbol. All of these designs come from an Asian background which is so design and logo-oriented that it most definitely helps you find that "swoosh" or certain attitude you're looking for. Overall, Dover books have great graphics!

5 comments about Japan at War: An Oral History.

1. This book should be read alongside "The Good War", by Studs Terkel, in every high school. Sometimes it seems as if Americans would rather stick to the bright and sunny WWII fairy tales that Hollywood specializes in rather than learn the true story. Please, don't let John Wayne re-write our history. Millions of ordinary people were caught up in this cataclysmic event, and yet the world barely remembers their ordeal. This is real history. Perhaps the most valuable aspect of this book is that it reminds that -"ism"s can quickly turn poisonous if they approach the simple lives most people lead as insignificant.
   
   As a side note, this book is anything but dry and scholarly in tone. It is shocking. Once you begin to accept the reality of what it conveys, it is hard to put down.



2. Pacific War experiences related by those who lived it on the Japanese side. Excellent and moving accounts of what the disastrous war was like "on the other side." Helps us see that all people are human beings, not the caricatures and stereotypes portrayed in propaganda of either side.



3. How do I describe in words the emotion this book evokes. It simply can't be done. Of all the books I have read on this era of Japanese history, this one had the most impact by far. Oral histories are valuable because they reveal the side of history you don't hear about in dry history books, they reveal the human side of tragic events in this case. Anyone interested in learning about Wartime Japan must read this book.



4. I rarely go all in for history books of this type. As an academic it is not in my nature to suspend or withhold criticism. Oral histories typically suffer from a certain blindness to strategic considerations, and end up being little more than advocacy for personal preferences held by the author, disconnected from the reality of the people, places and times of historical events under examination. That is NOT the case with Haruko Taya Cook and Peter Cook's "Japan At War: An Oral History".
   
   In the case of the Cooks' "Japan At War: An Oral History," I have no criticism or suggestion for how it could have been made better, save for my lingering wish that there was more to read of it. The interviewees' stories of personal experiences during the war are well told, well edited, well organized and well chosen. At the same time, the authors preserve an overall context in the strategic picture of what was happening at that time and why.
   
   Without hesitation, I rank it as one of my all-time favorites, and whole-heartedly recommend it to anyone interested in history, World War II, Japan, the Far East, or human frailty, vice, cruelty and endurance.



5. This book will make you laugh out loud, angry, or simply awed by the twists of the human spirit- both good and evil. The stories are exceptional and I cannot praise the Cooks enough for creating this document! If you are a student of history, much less, a student of Japanese history, this book should be on your shelf.