Product Description
This Elibron Classics book is a facsimile reprint of a 1875 edition by \'Rising Sun\' Office, Nagasaki. ... Read more

Book Description
Japan's ancient age was a period of radical and political change during which a Chinese-style empire emerged. This volume of The Cambridge History of Japan spans the beginnings of human existence to the end of the eighth century, focusing on the thousand years between 300 B.C. and 784, the end of the fabulous Nara period. The volume explores this period in four stages: (1) The Yayoi period (to about 250 A.D.) when small kingdoms and kingdom federations accumulated enough power to dispatch diplomatic missions to Korea and China; (2) the Yamato period (to 587) when priestly rulers, having gained economic and military power, conquered most of Japan; (3) the Century of Reform (to 710) when Japanese leaders, pressed by China's expanding T'ang empire, set out to build a strong Chinese-style empire of their own; (4) the Nara period (to 784) when spectacular literary, artistic, architectural, and religious advances were made. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

An Extensive Reference
This is the second volume in The Cambridge History of Japan, covering from the founding of Heian-kyo in 794 to the Gimpei clan wars of 1185 and the rising dominance of the warrior class.Arguably, these are the formative years for Japanese culture and social structure.Many of the subtle forms of governance that endured into modern times were entrenched at this time.Art and religion flourished as well (this was the period in which The Tale of Genji was written).

The Heian era, marked by a tremendous amount of formative activity, are crucial to understanding all that followed.This text is as exhaustive a record and analysis of those times as any reader would ever want.The chapters are written by individual experts in their fields and cover key aspects of history, politics, sociology, religion, and art.If anything, the worst criticism of this text is that the amount of information provided is overwhelming.

Casual history buffs beware.Don't expect an easy to read narrative.The intended reader is either academic or deeply interested.The kind of person who doesn't mind information overload and who is willing to take the time to put all the pieces of the picture into place.It may be important to understand rice politics, but, for the average reader, the subject lacks the glitter of the Heian court and the conflicts that forged modern Japan.

Of course, this is intended to be a reference book as much as a history, which accounts for the dryness of some of the writing.But as a reference book it really shines - I have yet to look for something and not be able to find material.For the right reader, the book is well worth its steep price.

The First 99,000 Years
'Ancient Japan' is the initial volume in 'The Cambridge History of Japan.'As such it is a stunning effort to collect and organize the results of recent discovery about of Japan's early history.What surprised me from the beginning of the book was how much of Japan's early history has only been discovered in the last half of the 20th Century.In that period of time archeology and scholarship has added vast amounts of information to the story, dispelling some myths and affirming others.

The format is the classical form of a series of chapters written by experts in the field.Delmer M. Brown, who is Professor Emeritus at the Center for Japanese Studies (UC Berkeley) has done an excellent job of bringing the work together and making this first volume work as a whole, including writing a good piece of the text himself.Eight other writers contribute, with sections on the Jomon, Yayoi, Yamato, Asuka (century of reform) and Nara periods, ending with 784 CE.Collateral chapters on Japan's relations with the continent, Kami worship and Buddhism, Nara economic and social institutions, and culture are also included to fill out the overall picture.The religious and cultural studies I found particularly informative.

When a book attempts to cover this much material, the pace of exposition is often overwhelming.Brown manages to keep this from being extreme, but it would be dishonest to describe 'Ancient Japan' as a leisurely armchair read.On the other hand, it is the perfect vehicle for forming a mental picture of the periods under study, and identifying additional sources for further reading.As such, the footnotes, citations, and index/glossary are invaluable.In addition, the writing is all in a competent academic style that never bores, even when it fails to excite.Despite the steep price this volume is an important addition to a scholarly library.I am looking forward to the rest of the series.

Comprehensive and Scholarly Review of Medieval Japan
This is an outstanding work and provides both the lay reader and the scholar with a comprehensive discussion of Medieval Japan with all its complexities, richness, and fascinating detail.Understanding Japanese history is a challenge and this work provides an excellent and detailed background of the feudal period.

It's the most detail publication on Heain era in Japan!
If one is looking for a manual that can help him/her understand historical events in Heian period (794-1185) then this is the book. It brings to you in detail the system of government (copying China's Tchang dynasty model),introduction of new Buddhist sects to Japan (Tendai, Shingon) and the life/ culture at the Imperial Court in Heiankyo (contemporary capital). Whatmay scare one off is the price but if you're either deeply interested inJapan's history or want to know more than you can find in the generalpopular history books then be sure to add this piece to your bookself andit will bring the Heain Japan to your reading chair.Index and glossaryare practically arranged.

The definative English language history of Japan
This book brings post war scholarship on the history of Japan up date.Excellent index and glossary.Too expensive for the general reader ofcollege text but an excellent addition to any library. ... Read more

Book Description
This insight into ancient Asian and Oriental culture is packed with information and projects. ... Read more

Book Description
Ancient and Medieval Japan covers the major events and people from the hunter gatherer society of 50,000 BC to the Tokugawa shoguns of 1603-1867 AD, with particular focus on the traditional or shogunate period. It explores the importance of different cultural practices, personalities, events and forces within early and traditional Japanese society, and describes everyday life and the role of certain social groups including peasants, samurai warriors and shoguns. Ancient and Medieval Japan also looks at the origins of Japanese government, citizenship, spirituality, values and attitudes and explains the contribution of the Japanese to the world's cultural heritage in terms of philosophy, art and literature. The book is full colour throughout, draws on a wide range of sources and contains learning outcomes and focus issues. The activities will help to build students' historical skills while ensuring that history remains fun! ... Read more

Book Description
This digital document is an article from Canadian Journal of History, published by University of Saskatchewan on August 1, 1994. The length of the article is 1020 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: The Cambridge History of Japan, vol. 1, Ancient Japan. (book reviews)
Author: Sinh Vinh
Publication: Canadian Journal of History (Refereed)
Date: August 1, 1994
Publisher: University of Saskatchewan
Volume: v29Issue: n2Page: p435(3)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

The ultimate book on its subject
This is a large book full of excellent photographs and drawings which would, on their own, make the book an exceptional coffee table book for leisurely thumbing through.It is also an extremely well researched, incredibly in-depth textbook on the design, function and history of samurai armament.If you have an interest in the subject, there is no substitute for this book.

Chi
A completely fascinating look at one of the most intriguing periods of history, the Ancient Japanese period equivilent to Medieval Europe. This book details the arms and armor of the Samurai class that dominated the battles, protecting their aristocratic interests, the Samurai were the champions of their era, always following the code of Bushido. This book is superb in it's presentation of rare photographs of authentic weapons and clothing worn by the Samurai, imcluding the beginnings with archery and weapons of hand to hand combat. The novice historian will be fascinated by the intricate breastplates made of leather, often embellished to the point of art. The helmets are elegant displays of fine tooling and craftsmanship . The arms themselves are exquisite. The blades of the swords or daggers are hammered with fine details that was only fitting of the Samurai class but the fine craftsmanship continues to this day. The similarities to the arms and armor of Europe are interesting and when taken as individual pieces they are at times hardly distinguishable. The Japanese culture however is reflected in the terrifying masks worn to frighten their opponents. The face plates are beautiful representations of a wonderful culture. The ornate wormanship involved in all facets of the "war gear"can only be considered art now as it is so intricate and detailed that it amazes the senses. An example is the display of delicate tsuba or sword guards that have intricate patterns or designs that are nothing less than inspirational pieces of art. The totality of the outfits are mind boggling in terms of sheer beauty. This book is an excellent addition to the novice historian's library or collector of books relating to Japanese culture or what I call art. The excellent glossary is ideal for the novice who desires to know more than just what a katana is. Every piece of arms or armor is given in the language of the Samurai and explained in English. An extremely useful tool for a middle or high school instructorto compliment his course on World or Japanese history. This book is a treasure of text and photographs of one of the most colorful periods in history.

Excellent Photographs, a good resource in general
_____This book is good for a flip-through as well as an involved read.It covers much of Samurai weapons and armor hustory, from the beginnings of Japanese history right up to the modern times.There are plenty of excellent quality photographs as well. _____Unfortunately, I had a few problems with this book.First, sometimes an item pictured did not fall into place with the historical period in the text on the same page.Second, the book was about 75% armor, 25% arms.There was a brief discussion of Naginata, and quite a bit on Katana/Tachi, but not much on Kyudo and very very little on Tanegashima.If these areas were covered a little more, then I would have rated this book a 4 or 5.

Top notch book for any lover of the samurai
I've run a feudal Japan SIG for 12 years now, and have quite a library on the samurai and Japanese culture. This is by far one of my favorites. The book begins with an overview of the warrior culture in Japan, reviewing the eight points of Bushido (the Way of the Warrior) and the periods in Japanese history.

It then begins with photos and descriptions of early history armor and weapons, back in the 800s when Japan was just forming its culture. It then moves into the more and more elaborate outfits and armor, with drawings, photos and historical illustrations explaining how the items were put on and used.

The helmet and armor photos are simply gorgeous, with all details showing up clearly and then described in full detail. I could look at the photos of the swords and tsuba, or guards, for quite a while. The glossary at the back helps explain any terms with which you are unfamiliar.

Highly recommended for any fan of this fascinating culture.

a classical and best one in peers
i think this is the best book i ever met focused on samurai arms and armor. the pictures qualities are beyond expectation. the price is low comparing to the book's quality. hesitate no more to buy it! ... Read more

Book Description
Despite an incredibly rich prehistory covering nearly ten thousand years, modern coverage of complex hunter-gatherer societies has tended to overlook the Jomon of Japan.This text presents an overview of the archaeology of the Jomon Period between 10,000 and 300 BC within the context of more recent complex hunter-gatherer societies. It bridges the gap between academic traditions in Japanese and Anglo-American archaeology and represents an invaluable source of reflection on the development of human complexity. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A Great Starter For Most
Junko Habu's "Ancient Jomon of Japan" is a heavily archeaological book, in that it really focuses on the archaeology of the period. This really is a book to avoid of those details really do not interest you. If you can wade through them, or that is what you are looking for, then this book is for you.

There are broad sections, such as mortuary practices, subsistence strategies and trade networks that all contribute to build up a comprehensive introduction to the Jomon people and culture, (which flourished c. 14,500 - 300 B.C.).

As mentioned, Habu does discuss actual sites in detail, and it is here that she builds up a remarkable picture of what people have found and what they have understood it to mean or indicate. In this sense, I found the book to be very interesting and informative.

It is the first book I have read on the Jomon Period, and I found it to be very readable and very understandable. I enjoyed reading it, and I would imagine anyone curious about the Jomon Period would also find it a fascinating book. I can certainly recommend it to you. ... Read more