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Title: Japan: A Short Cultural History by George B. Sansom ISBN: 0-8047-0954-8 Publisher: Stanford University Press Pub. Date: 01 February, 1978 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $31.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4 (4 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: With some skimming, a very good introduction.
Comment: While interested in culture, I have come to realize I am not very interested in cultural history. For one thing, it is difficult to convey a history of art or architecture or literature to a reader unless the reader is already conversant with historical examples of all of these. It is also true, for me at least, that a discussion of religious and philosophical ideas from a modern perspective, with reference to historical changes, is more enlightening than an attempt at a chronological history. On the other hand, cultural histories, such as Sansom's can provide political histories of just the right amount of detail, and this book does; and Sansom is generally able to convey the flavor of a Japanese cultural epoch. The book lacks a proper emphasis on economic and technical history. Possibly, this is due to gaps in the historical record, at least at the time this book was written (1931), since Sansom does pay attention to economics in the late stages of this book. The book does successfully stress morality and character. A Short Cultural History ends just before the Restoration in mid-19th century. The book's style is pleasantly informal, more in the style of an essayist than an academic. And despite the reservations I have expressed, I found that with a certain amount of skimming, it provides a very good introduction, one that encourages more reading. I give it 5 stars because of the challenge of writing a book such as this.
Rating: 3
Summary: A Good Primer on Japanese Culture
Comment: Sansom's book has been around for a long, long time, and it has been an introduction to the subject for several generations of interested readers and budding Japanese scholars.
As a book for beginners on Japan it is an excellent start. If you already know something about the subject, you will probably find that it is long on history and short on culture. The author goes out of his way to keep the political context in the forefront and always maintains the chronological order of his story, even when the development of some cultural features (e.g., Japanese Buddhism) may not be well-served by that approach. Most of the major features we associate with Japanese culture are mentioned. Too many of them are only mentioned in passing, and could have merited more in-depth treatment.
Nevertheless, it would be a mistake to denigrate the book too much; when it appeared, most western readers knew little enough on the subject, and most of what they could obtain was either fanciful, biased or just plain unreadable. The tide has turned, and there is so much material available on Japanese culture nowadays that it's hard for the beginner to figure out where to start. If he or she starts with this book, they could do far worse.
Rating: 4
Summary: A great reference tool on Japan
Comment: I purchased this book at great cost but it has been worthwhile. It provides a concise overview of Japanese culture. It is the only book I have found to be so informative without the "fluff" of other books. I don't know about this one but the one I purchased is of fantastic high quality paper that makes such a small book rather heavy. A great book for anybodies reference library.
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Title: Sources of Japanese Tradition: Volume 2 by Wm. Theodore De Bary, Donald Keene, George Tanabe, Paul Varley ISBN: 0231121393 Publisher: Columbia University Press Pub. Date: 15 April, 2002 List Price(USD): $25.50 |
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