The Japanese A History in Twenty Lives

Two thousand years of Japanese history, told through interconnected portraits of twenty fascinating individuals

Chris Harding's enormously enjoyable book distills Japan's long, complex and fascinating history into the stories of twenty remarkable individuals. These vivid and entertaining portraits take the reader from the earliest written accounts of Japan right through to the life of the current empress, Masako. We encounter shamans and warlords, poets and revolutionaries, scientists, artists and adventurers - each offering insights of their own into this extraordinary place.

For anyone new to Japan, this book is the ideal introduction. For anyone already deeply involved with it, this is a book filled with surprises and pleasures.

Christopher Harding is the author of the widely praised Japan Story: In Search of a Nation, described by Neil MacGregor as 'Masterly. How much I admired it, what a lot I learned from it and, above all, how very much I enjoyed it'. Harding teaches at the University of Edinburgh and frequently broadcasts on Radio 3 and Radio 4.

Contents
List of Maps ix
List of Illustrations xi
A Note to the Reader xiii
Introduction 1

PART ONE
From Heaven to Heian: Mythological Time to 1185
1 Himiko –  Shaman Queen 11
2 Prince Shōtoku –  Founding Father 21
3 Emperor Kanmu –  Boundary Pusher 37
4 Murasaki Shikibu –  Court Reporter 53

PART TWO
From Many to One: 1185– 1582
5 Hōjō Masako –  The Nun Shogun 71
6 Shinran –  Power to the People 89
7 Zeami –  Master of Arts 105
8 Oda Nobunaga –  Unity or Else 125

PART THREE
Floating Worlds: 1582– 1885
9 Hasekura Tsunenaga –  Voyager 147
10 Ihara Saikaku –  Amorous Man 171
11 Sakamoto Ryōma –  Revolutionary 191
12 Kusumoto Ine –  Building the Body 213

PART FOUR New Lives: 1868– 1941
13 Shibusawa Eiichi –  Entrepreneur 239
14 Tsuda Umeko –  Culture Shock 259
15 Ikeda Kikunae –  Taste- Maker 279
16 Yosano Akiko –  Poet of Peace and War 297

PART FIVE
‘Forward with Culture’: 1942 to the Present
17 Misora Hibari –  Starlet/Harlot 325
18 Tezuka Osamu –  Dream Weaver 349
19 Tanaka Kakuei –  Shadow Shogun 373
20 Owada Masako –  Uncertain Symbol 395

Chronology 427
Bibliographic Notes 435
Acknowledgements 459
Permissions 460
Index 463