A History of Japan: From Stone Age to Superpower

A History of Japan

Also by Kenneth G. Henshall

A GUIDE TO REMEMBERING JAPANESE CHARACTERS

COUNTRY TEACHER BY TAYAMA KATAI

DIMENSIONS OF JAPANESE SOCIETY: Gender, Margins and Mainstream

LITERARY LIFE IN TOKYO 1885–1915

THE LAST WAR OF EMPIRES: Japan and the Pacific War 1941–1945 (
co-author with Laurie Barber
)

THE QUILT AND OTHER STORIES BY TAYAMA KATAI

A GUIDE TO READING AND WRITING JAPANESE (
co-editor with Christopher Seeley and Henk de Groot
)

ETHNIC IDENTITIES AND LINGUISTIC EXPRESSIONS (
co-editor with Lin Jinghua and Xiao Hong
)

FOLLY AND FORTUNE IN EARLY BRITISH HISTORY: From Caesar to the Normans

A H
ISTORY OF
J
APAN:
F
ROM
S
TONE
A
GE TO
S
UPERPOWER

3rd Edition

K
ENNETH
G. H
ENSHALL

Professor of Japanese Studies, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand

© Kenneth G. Henshall 1999, 2004, 2012

All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission.

No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6–10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS.

Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

First edition published 1999

Second edition published 2004

Third edition published 2012 by

PALGRAVE MACMILLAN

Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS.

Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of St Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.

Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world.

Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries

ISBN: 978–0–230–34661–1 hardback

ISBN: 978–0–230–34662–8 paperback

This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.

10    9    8    7    6    5    4    3    2    1

21  20  19  18  17  16  15  14  13  12

Printed and bound in Great Britain by

CPI Antony Rowe, Chippenham and Eastbourne

C
ONTENTS

List of Tables

Preface

Acknowledgements

Preface to Third Edition

Introduction: Japan and History

Part One   From the Stone Age to Statehood: Myths, Prehistory, and Ancient History (to 710)

1.1   Making Gods of Emperors: Ancient History According to Japan’s Myths

1.2   The Earliest Inhabitants (to ca 13,000
BC
)

1.3   Stone Age Hunters and Gatherers: The J
mon Period (ca 13,000
BC
–ca 400
BC
)

1.4   New Beginnings: The Yayoi Period (ca 400
BC
–ca
AD
250)

1.5   The Early State Emerges: The Kofun/Yamato Period (ca 250–710)

Review of Part One

Part Two   Of Courtiers and Warriors: Early and Medieval History (710–1600)

2.1   Learning from the Chinese – within Limits: The Nara Period (710–794)

2.2   The Rise and Fall of the Court: The Heian Period (794–1185)

2.3   The Warrior State: The Kamakura Period (1185–1333)

2.4   A Nation at War with Itself: The Muromachi Period (1333–1568)

2.5   Reunifying the Nation: The Azuchi–Momoyama Period (1568–1600)

Review of Part Two

Part Three   The Closed Country: The Tokugawa Period (1600–1868)

3.1   Stability Equals Survival: Establishing theTokugawa Sh
gunate

3.2   Samurai and Ethics

3.3   Commoners, Culture, and the Economy

3.4   The Return of the Foreign Devils and the Fall of the Sh
gunate

Review of Part Three

Part Four   Building a Modern Nation: The Meiji Period (1868–1912)

4.1   Consolidating the Restoration

4.2   The Westernisation of Society

4.3   Harnessing the Energies of the People

4.4   Moves towards Democracy – of Sorts

4.5   War and Politics

4.6   Guided Economic Development

4.7   An Era Comes to an End

Review of Part Four

Part Five   The Excesses of Ambition: The Pacific War and its Lead-Up

5.1   The Fragile Democracy of Taish
(1912–26)

5.2   A Troubled Start to Sh
wa