Table Of ContentADVISORY BOARD
John T. Alexander
Professor of History and Russian and European Studies,
University of Kansas
Robert A. Divine
George W. Littlefield Professor in American History Emeritus,
University of Texas at Austin
John V. Lombardi
Professor of History,
University of Florida
THE
HISTORY OF
JAPAN
Second Edition
Louis G. Perez
The Greenwood Histories of the Modern Nations
Frank W. Thackeray and John E. Findling, Series Editors
Greenwood Press
Westport, Connecticut • London
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Perez, Louis G.
The history of Japan / Louis G. Perez. — 2nd ed.
p. cm. — (Greenwood histories of the modern nations, ISSN 1096-2905)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-313-36442-6 (alk. paper)
1. Japan—History. I. Title.
DS835.P47 2009
952—dc22 2008052242
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available.
Copyright © 2009 by Louis G. Perez
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be
reproduced, by any process or technique, without
the express written consent of the publisher.
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2008052242
ISBN: 978-0-313-36442-6
ISSN: 1096-2905
First published in 2009
Greenwood Press, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881
An imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc.
www.greenwood.com
Printed in the United States of America
The paper used in this book complies with the
Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National
Information Standards Organization (Z39.48-1984).
10987654321
Contents
Series Foreword vii
Preface xi
Timeline of Historical Events xiii
1 A Wonderful Place 1
2 Early Japan 9
3 Feudal Japan 21
4 The Tokugawa Era: 1600-1868 49
5 The Meiji Era: 1868-1912 83
6 Prewar Japan 115
7 The Pacific War and Allied Occupation 129
8 A New Japan 145
vi Contents
9 Turbulent Politics 157
10 Society in the Twenty-First Century 183
Appendix A: Notable People in the History of Japan 217
Appendix B: The Sat-Cho Oligarchy (Genro) 223
Appendix C: Premiers 225
Glossary of Selected Terms 229
Bibliographic Essay 237
Index 241
Series Foreword
The Greenwood Histories of the Modern Nations series is intended to provide stu
dents and interested laypeople with up-to-date, concise, and analytical his
tories of many of the nations of the contemporary world. Not since the 1960s
has there been a systematic attempt to publish a series of national histories,
and as series advisors, we believe that this series will prove to be a valuable
contribution to our understanding of other countries in our increasingly inter
dependent world.
Some 40 years ago, at the end of the 1960s, the Cold War was an accepted
reality of global politics. The process of decolonization was still in progress,
the idea of a unified Europe with a single currency was unheard of, the United
States was mired in a war in Vietnam, and the economic boom in Asia was
still years in the future. Richard Nixon was president of the United States,
Mao Tse-tung (not yet Mao Zedong) ruled China, Leonid Brezhnev guided the
Soviet Union, and Harold Wilson was prime minister of the United Kingdom.
Authoritarian dictators still controlled most of Latin America, the Middle East
was reeling in the wake of the Six-Day War, and Shah Mohammad Reza Pahl-
avi was at the height of his power in Iran.
Since then, the Cold War has ended, the Soviet Union has vanished, leaving
16 independent republics in its wake, the advent of the computer age has radi
cally transformed global communications, the rising demand for oil makes
vtii Series Foreword
the Middle East still a dangerous flashpoint, and the rise of new economic
powers like the People's Republic of China and India threatens to bring about
a new world order. All of these developments have had a dramatic impact on
the recent history of every nation of the world.
For this series, which was launched in 1998, we first selected nations whose
political, economic, and socio-cultural affairs marked them as among the most
important of our time. For each nation, we found an author who was rec
ognized as a specialist in the history of that nation. These authors worked
cooperatively with us and with Greenwood Press to produce volumes that re
flected current research on their nations and that are interesting and informa
tive to their readers. In the first decade of the series, more than 40 volumes
were published, and as of 2008, some are moving into second editions.
The success of the series has encouraged us to broaden our scope to include
additional nations, whose histories have had significant effects on their regions,
if not on the entire world. In addition, geopolitical changes have elevated other
nations into positions of greater importance in world affairs and, so, we have
chosen to include them in this series as well. The importance of a series such
as this cannot be underestimated. As a superpower whose influence is felt all
over the world, the United States can claim a "special" relationship with al
most every other nation. Yet many Americans know very little about the histo
ries of nations with which the United States relates. How did they get to be the
way they are? What kind of political systems have evolved there? What kind of
influence do they have on their own regions? What are the dominant political,
religious, and cultural forces that move their leaders? These and many other
questions are answered in the volumes of this series.
The authors who contribute to this series write comprehensive histories
of their nations, dating back, in some instances, to prehistoric times. Each of
them, however, has devoted a significant portion of their book to events of the
past 40 years because the modern era has contributed the most to contempo
rary issues that have an impact on U.S. policy. Authors make every effort to
be as up-to-date as possible so that readers can benefit from discussion and
analysis of recent events.
In addition to the historical narrative, each volume contains an introductory
chapter giving an overview of that country's geography, political institutions,
economic structure, and cultural attributes. This is meant to give readers a
snapshot of the nation as it exists in the contemporary world. Each history
also includes supplementary information following the narrative, which may
include a timeline that represents a succinct chronology of the nation's histori
cal evolution, biographical sketches of the nation's most important historical
figures, and a glossary of important terms or concepts that are usually ex
pressed in a foreign language. Finally, each author prepares a comprehensive
bibliography for readers who wish to pursue the subject further.
Series Foreword ix
Readers of these volumes will find them fascinating and well written. More
importantly, they will come away with a better understanding of the contem
porary world and the nations that comprise it. As series advisors, we hope
that this series will contribute to a heightened sense of global understanding
as we move through the early years of the twenty-first century.
Frank W. Thackeray and John E. Findling
Indiana University Southeast
Preface
I am amazed that an entire decade has passed since I wrote the original edition
of this book. I am also amazed that some things I predicted then have actually
come true. Alas, others have not. But then that should be expected. Japan is a
wonderfully complex place. Its people are amazingly resilient, inventive, and
adaptive. Wars, economic recessions, and natural catastrophes have come and
gone and yet Japan prospers. I have heard it said that Japan perseveres in spite
of its political leadership. That is a very good thing because its leaders have
done and said some incredibly silly things. But, then Japan holds no patents
or copyrights on incompetent political leadership.
I have tried to correct my own mistakes of 10 years ago in this revision. That
being said, I am certain that I have committed even more in the editing. I am
grateful for constructive criticism offered by my peers (especially the review
written by Steve Erickson in the Journal of Asian Studies) and students.
I nave maintained the original format with some revisions, notably chapter
9. I have revised the former last chapter into two (now chapters 9 and 10).
The new chapter 9 now covers the Heisei Era (1989 to the present) with some
new commentaries about what I have called the "Turbulent Years." Chapter
10 incorporates some revised material (from chapter 9) and is devoted to brief
glimpses of Japanese society as one could find it today. I do so because many
students have written to me asking about cultural matters in modern Japan.
