The making of modern Japan - Marius B. Jansen

Magisterial in vision, sweeping in scope, this monumental work presents a
seamless account of Japanese society during the modern era, from 1600
to the present. A distillation of more than fifty years' engagement with
Japan and its history, it is the crowning work of our leading
interpreter of the modern Japanese experience.

Since 1600 Japan
has undergone three periods of wrenching social and institutional
change, following the imposition of hegemonic order on feudal society by
the Tokugawa shogun; the opening of Japan's ports by Commodore Perry;
and defeat in World War II. The Making of Modern Japan charts
these changes: the social engineering begun with the founding of the
shogunate in 1600, the emergence of village and castle towns with
consumer populations, and the diffusion of samurai values in the
culture.

Marius Jansen covers the making of the modern state, the
adaptation of Western models, growing international trade, the
broadening opportunity in Japanese society with industrialization, and
the postwar occupation reforms imposed by General MacArthur. Throughout,
the book gives voice to the individuals and views that have shaped the
actions and beliefs of the Japanese, with writers, artists, and
thinkers, as well as political leaders given their due.

The story
this book tells, though marked by profound changes, is also one of
remarkable consistency, in which continuities outweigh upheavals in the
development of society, and successive waves of outside influence have
only served to strengthen a sense of what is unique and native to
Japanese experience. The Making of Modern Japan takes us to the core of this experience as it illuminates one of the contemporary world's most compelling transformations.