Product Information
This is a straightforward narrative of the development of Japanese civilization to 1334 by the author of Japan: 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.Product Identifiers
PublisherStanford University Press
ISBN-100804705232
ISBN-139780804705233
eBay Product ID (ePID)304928
Product Key Features
LanguageEnglish
TopicAsia / Japan, History
AuthorGeorge Sansom
IllustratorYes
Dimensions
Item Height0.6in
Item Length9in
Item Weight25.6 Oz
Item Width6in
Additional Product Features
Publication Year1958
TypeTextbook
FormatTrade Paperback
Reviews"A brilliant synthesis . . . The culmination of the life work of the most distinguished historian writing on Japan, it is not likely to be equaled in our generation." The Canadian Historical Review, "Superb . . . This work will be the standard history of Japan for all serious students." The American Historical Review
Publication NameHistory of Japan to 1334
Lccn58-011694
Intended AudienceScholarly & Professional
Number of Pages512 Pages