# Japan: Past and Present

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Japan
Past and Present
Japan
PAST AND PRESENT
by
Edwin O. Reischauer
Foreword by Sir George Sansom
Alfred A. Knopf • New York
Copyright 1946 by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review to be printed in a magazine or newspaper. Manufactured in the United States of America. Published simultaneously in Canada by The Ryerson Press.
First Edition
This is a Borzoi Book, published by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
To my brother, Bob
Few countries have been more copiously described than Japan, and perhaps few have been less thoroughly understood. In the last century there were a number of works dealing with the picturesque or the exotic aspects of that country, most of which, though some­ times a trifle deceptive, were passable books of travel. During the same period there were written a few important studies of Japanese political and social history which are still standard works, though they are used only by a few specialists. But it is a remarkable fact, which I think will be accepted by any teacher who has been responsible for instruction in schools or colleges, that before the outbreak of the war in the Far East there was no single short book which gave a lucid and tolerably complete picture of Japan’s early history and her development in modern times. There were plenty of learned treatises on this or that, but nothing to give the average educated reader what he needed.
After the outbreak of war, there appeared in profusion a flood, or at least a considerable stream, of books about Japan, chiefly of topical interest. Some of these ​were interesting and useful. Others, however, were of a different type. Understandably, but regrettably, they belonged to that class of historical work, all too common in the last few decades, of which the purpose is not to discover or expound truth but to promote one of those perversions of systematic thought which are known by the suitably ill-sounding name of ‘ideologies.’ Now that the war is over, the average reader has a right to expect something more rational, more readable and more reliable.
I think that Dr. Reischauer’s book fulfils these requirements. He has excellent qualifications for his task— familiarity with the country he describes, a first-class linguistic equipment, a good training as an historian, and most important of all an approach to his subject which is neither prejudiced nor sentimental. He narrates the leading facts of Japanese history from early times, with just and interesting comment. He explains easily and competently the evolution of modern Japan to the conditions described in his concluding chapters. I can truthfully say that I do not know of any short book on Japanese history which gives so much useful information in so brief and simple a form.
G. B. Sansom
In this brief description of the Japanese and their history I have of necessity omitted the great mass of small factual details of which history is made, and have attempted to clarify the picture for the reader by concentrating on salient features and by treating the whole in general and broadly interpretative terms. In doing this, I have been acutely aware of the dangers of oversimplification and of misplaced emphasis. If I have avoided these pitfalls, the credit is in no small measure due to several friends who very kindly read my manuscript and made many extremely helpful and valuable suggestions. Sir George Sansom, whose masterful Japan – A Short Cultural History is an inspiration to all students of Japan, not only was kind enough to read my manuscript but also has written a foreword. My special thanks for much valuable aid are also due Professor Serge Elisséeff, under whose excellent guidance I first started my study of Japanese history. I wish to express my appreciation also for the helpful comments and corrections given me by Dr. Hugh Borton, Dr. Edward Kracke, Mr. Richard McKinnon, and by my parents ​and my parents-in-law, Dr. and Mrs. George H. Danton. I take this opportunity also to thank my sister-in-law, Jean Reischauer, for her skillful and painstaking work in preparing the maps which accompany the text.
Contents
| I · | Geographic Background | 3 |
| II · | The Early Japanese | 9 |
| III · | The Coming of Chinese Civilization | 16 |
| IV · | The Growth of a Native Culture | 32 |
| V · | The Development of a Feudal Society | 45 |
| VI · | Growth and Change in the Feudal System | 62 |
| VII · | The Reestablishment of National Unity | 77 |
| VIII · | Signs of Change Behind the Feudal Façade | 96 |
| IX · | The Creation of a Modern State | 108 |
| X · | The Appearance of Liberal Democratic Trends | 142 |
| XI · | Nationalism, Militarism, and War | 156 |
| XII · | The Dawn of a New Age | 186 |
| Index follows page | Index follows page | 192 |
List of Maps
| Japan Superimposed on the United States | 4 |
| Ancient Centers of Civilization | 7 |
| Early Migrations to Japan | 10 |
| Routes Between Japan and China | 20 |
| Plan of Ancient Kyoto | 24 |
| Japan in the Feudal Period | 50 |
| Japan in the Tokugawa Period | 82 |
| Major Railway Lines of Modern Japan | 115 |
| The Far East in Modern Times | 137 |
| Japanese Expansion Before December 1941 | 176 |
| The Japanese Empire and the Line of Furthest Conquest, 1931–1945 follows page 192 ||
Japan
Past and Present
[The Japanese title by William R. B. Acker]
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