Inventing Japan: 1853-1964 (Modern Library Chronicles)

I've read 35 or so Japanese novels and nonfiction in translation since 2017. The more I read, the more aware I became that augmenting my knowledge of Japanese history, particularly post-1850, would inform my reading. Plus, Japanese history is fascinating, at least to me, and I had the good fortune to stumble across a copy of Inventing Japan at a used book sale in September. I read a lot for the job that pays for my books and prioritize fiction for the part of my reading life that is under my control, so Inventing Japan, at fewer than 200 pages, plus a bibliography and other helpful tools, was the careful, precise 50,000 foot view I wanted. If you already are especially familiar with the key events and themes or want to burrow in to a historian's detailed, context-laden tome with a warm blanket and beverage of your choice, this isn't the book for you. It also isn't for you unless you're keenly interested in Japanese politics, governments and political systems, Japan's relationship with China and Korea, the post-WWII US occupation, and more on Japanese political parties and the like. On the other hand, for example, if you know that japan's Constitution (as written and imposed on Japan by the US) forbids it to maintain a standing army and yet you are aware that it has a standing army - the Japan Self-Defense Forces, and you wonder how the JSDF can exist, Ian Buruma explains the mystery.In terms of approach and tone, Buruma is challenging and direct. He calls out stupid and wrong where he sees it, delights in doing so, and his tolerance for numbskulls is close to zero. Talking about this 100-year period with any level of honesty and accuracy means challenging the stories that each of the key players tells about themselves and about their history. Many sacred cows (to someone) are taken on and dismantled efficiently. He's particularly hard on American actors, including General MacArthur, but he's not going to lose any educated readers around the world by bashing us. We make ourselves easy targets and I read nothing unfair here. Other critical events and actions -- Japan's treatment of Koreans over the decades, Japan's slaughter, mass rape and looting at Nanking, then the capital of China, of non-combatant Chinese over the 6-week period after Nanking's capture, for example -- are addressed head on, but are such hot-button and important topics to all participants that no statement can be deemed bias-free, notwithstanding Buruma's likely efforts at achieving that goal. This book is best for those whose first response to a statement that raises a reader's eyebrow is not to interpret the statement as an insult or unfair, but to further research it, who seek to recognize bias and build that recognition into their interpretation of what they read but who don't attribute everything they disagree with as bias-motivated, without more, and who are fond of the "curmudgeon with deep expertise, passionate about his topic" school of writing about history.Also, the first chapter and the Epilogue are circular and frustrating, especially the first chapter. Read it, push through it and be assured that the remaining chapters are far more enlightening and better organize, and Buruma's presentation is compelling. He doesn't get bogged down at any point on a story he really, really wants to tell, as is the wont of some academics. Maybe he's the sort that is always the best in the middle and finds on-ramps and off-ramps difficult. Who knows. Just know not to abandon it until you've at least read half of Chapter 2.As a start in shedding light on possible bias, note that Buruma, born and raised in the Netherlands, a graduate of Leiden University with a degree in Chinese literature and history, a (chaired) Professor at Bard College since 2003, and briefly-tenured (2017 - 2018) editor of The New York Review of Books, lived in Japan for only 6 years from 1975 - 1981 and spent that time as a photojournalist. Readers understandably may remain offended by his handling of events immediately prior to his departure from The New York Review of Books, but, if you can do so without tripping any of your own ethical wires, I highly recommend finding a copy and reading Inventing Japan.

Since Mathew Perry's Black Ships reached Japan and broke its self imposed exclusion from the world, the Japanese Experience has been extraordinary. Alone among the non Western nations it has mastered Western science, technology, and economic prowess, and had earned a place among the major world powers in the pre WW2 world. Then it has joined in with Hitler and Mussolini as part of the Axis power, unleashing a gruesome campaign against its weaker Asian neighbors and a suicidal one against the United States. Following its defeat, Japan reemerged as a pacifist democracy and an economic and cultural world leader.Ian Buruma's fascinating little book about the century between Perry's arrival and the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, has to cover a lot of ground in 160 pages (he has about 1.5 pages per year). His book is necessarily frustrating in its gloss of important aspects, but he nonetheless supplies a useful account of Japan's political history throughout the period (and, surprisingly, quite a lot about Japanese culture as well, particularly the Cinema).It seems redundant to summarize the political developments in Japan; Suffice to say that, rather then a confrontation between traditionalists and modernists; Buruma sees a conflict between modernists of the Liberal and illiberal kind. The latter, drawing upon the German model, transformed Shinto into a state religion celebrating a divine emperor, created a highly militaristic state, and led Japan into a series of Military adventures, from the Sino-Japanese war of 1895, through the war with Russia in 1905, the 'Manchurian incident' in 1931, and finally to Pearl Harbor.Following Japan's inevitable defeat, The American occupation force purged the hardliner military leaders, but maintained Emperor Hirohito (Buruma is inconclusive as to the level of his culpability in Japan's militarism). It created a new Constitution (dedicated to Pacifism), and partially, but not entirely, reshaped Japan's political culture. After some turbulence, the conservative Liberal-Democratic Party settled to rule Japan fairly effectively, partially betraying and partially fulfilling the Liberal hopes from the Post War era. As interesting as Japan's political history has been, the extraordinary question of Japanese history is economic: How did Japan manage to twice rise from great disadvantages to a position as a world leader? How did Japan, alone among all non Western nations, manage to Industrialize as early as the 19th century, and how come it is today a leading member in the still almost exclusively Western club of developed countries?Buruma hardly addressed these questions, and as such his ability to explain the history of Japan suffers greatly. As interesting as the political and ideological history is, that's not where the story of Modern Japan truly is; Japan's triumph, and current difficulties are hardly addressed, and Buruma mostly sees the enrichment of post war Japan as a distraction, "Opium to the Masses", so to speak, allowing the conservatives to shrink from fuller Liberalization of Japan (pp. 166-167).The best insight Buruma offers to Japan's extraordinary success is in the Prologue, describing the Judo contest in the 1964 Olympics. The Japanese expected their smallish Judo champion, Kaminaga Akio to defeat his six foot six Dutch opponent, Anton Geesink. Such a victory would have signaled the "superiority of Japanese culture, of the Japanese spirit". (p.6)But in the end, Geesink won. The Dutchman defeated the Japanese: "Once again, Japanese manhood had put to the test against superior Western manhood, and once again it was found wanting". But the humiliation subsided when Geesink showed the proper respect by bowing the traditional bow. "Geesink... would be treated as a hero in Japan forever after... One quality has stood out to serve Japan better than any other: the grace to make the best of defeat".I think Buruma has hit upon a major element in Japan's success. Unlike many other traditional societies, Japanese were able to accept the victories of the West and to profit from them; I think people around the world have much to benefit by reflecting upon the Japanese capacity of Embracing Defeat.

Had this for Sociology of japan. Learned some interesting ways of things and thought I had no idea of. e.g. The emperor of Japan being a figure head after the war, a little bit of brainwashing

I wanted to learn more about what made Japan what it is today. The earlier history especially was interesting to me, but then parts of the book got a little boring for me. Still, it wasn't too long, and I finished reading it, even though I wasn't required to for a class or anything.

The book is as described by the condition Used - Good. There are a few minor physical scratched on the book covers but again, you have to hold the book up to the light at a certain angle to see it. There are no markings inside the book and the pages seem to be in good condition. Good price for the quality.

A good introduction of Japanese political system and what's the problem inside. Combined with a economic history of Japan, you can get a better sense of why things going that way by then.

A short book can be a great introduction to a topic, or provide a quick overview to something that you do not care to delve further in. Or, it can leave out so much context and nuance, that it is simply confusing. I am a history buff, but not a Japan expert attracted by the topic and timeframe of this book. And I cannot say I did not learn anything or that the book was dry and uninteresting. But it was breathtakingly quick...seeming to jump through the decades, introducing and then throwing away topics and characters and leaving one with far more questions than answers. I cannot comment on the biases others have noted, because I do not have enough knowledge to judge, but there was a certain "flip-ness" to the writing that was irritating, and the overall structure and pace was so flawed I cannot recommend this book regardless of its accuracy or insight.

It is only when one begins looking for books on early 20th century Japanese history that one realizes just how little is out there. Ian Buruma's "Inventing Japan" nicely fills that gap. It is very readable and packed to the brim with information. The first half of the 20th Century was a uniquely fascinating time in the history of japan; this book lays bare our preconceptions about Japanese people and society.The west harbors a number of popular myths about Japanese people; one such assertion is that the Japanese are inherently docile and conformist as a result of centuries of indoctrination and subjugation. Upon reading this book it becomes clear that this particular preconception is false. For example, an extreme form of emperor worship was not instituted until 1940, the idea of the emperor as a religious head was taken from Christianity, Japan experienced major labor upheavals both before and after the war.The chapter on democratization read "Americanization" is a fascinating account on the lengths the occupation forces went to in their quest to instill freedom and democracy, censorship was a part of this, which included the banning of films and books that contained descriptions of poverty in America.A very interesting and informative work, for anyone new to and interested in this time period in Japanese history.

This is quite a short book but the information contained is very dense and there's no 'fluff' to pad it out. This book gives you a lot of insight into Japanese history and despite the title it does mention politics all the way up to the millenium. It has an extensive bibliography along with (very usefully) comments about each one so you can pick whatever time in history piqued your interest the most and read further. I found Ian Buruma's style to be very intimate too, often commenting on the thoughts and motives of many of the historical figures, making it a much more enjoyable and insightful read.There's probably many books on Japanese history out there but if you start your journey into a richer understanding of the country here, you can't go far wrong.

Another brilliant book in Buruma's journey into Japan's history,here reflecting on it's rise under an 'enlightened' Emperor towards it's fall under the shadow of a mushroom cloud to it's rebirth.A writer of great style and engaging manner.

As a layperson with an interest in understanding the Japanese, but not so much on an academic level than rather from a practical point of view, I found Buruma's account of the Japanese history very informative. In particular, the information is in the right amount: The information suffices to better understand Japanese policy as observed from distant Europe, both, the post-war pacifism and the rise/return of nationalism, and also Japan's attitude to South-East Asia, China, and the Koreas. The information is not so extensive as to give up on the book before reaching the last page. Fundamentally, Buruma describes how the Japanese people, because of an error in the construction of the post-Shogunate state, fell victim to unchecked military rulers. One wonders, how could it be that a people known for its culture and kindness could pursue so offensive policies and in the process produce attrocities on a large scale. I interpret Buruma's account such that this behaviour was a by-product of compensating a kind of collective inferiority complex vis-a-vis the Western colonial powers, the compensation being a ruthless indulgence in colonialization. An interpretation I took away from reading the book is that the damage done in Asia by the colonial powers, also including Japan, continues to the present day with China posturing to compensate its previous experience of weakness. Before, there would perhaps have been a good time for relatively easy reconciliation. But unfortunately, when the time was right, many Japanese were too ashamed to truly admit mistakes made in the past. Today, rising nationalism makes true reconciliation look only a remote possibility.

This is an amazing book that offers a glimpse of the transition from traditional to modern Japan. Ian Buruma is a gifted storyteller. One particularly refreshing characteristic of his storytelling is how he weaves the narrative of a country's history around important personalities who shaped the Japanese mind. From devoted samurai to corrupt politicians, each person whose influence has marked contemporary thinking progressively makes their way to the stage of this story, to illustrate a particular perspective that shaped the thinking of their time. These personas embody the spirit of Japan, a metaphor of change towards the fascinating nation that has crystallized into what we today know as Japan.Another superb aspect of this book is Ian Buruma's subtle mix of colloquial and formal language, which translates into a very unique, exquisite style that is easy to read and intriguing at the same time.A must-read for anyone interested in Japan and in modern world history.