The Cambridge History of Japan

Definitive history of Japan from prehistoric times to the end of the eighth century.

Delmer M. Brown (Edited by)

9780521223522, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 30 July 1993

630 pages, 11 b/w illus. 12 maps 3 tables
23.7 x 15.6 x 3.5 cm, 1.011 kg

"In the final analysis, Ancient Japan has opened up the early history of the archipelago in unprecedented fashion, and we now have a stable base from which to launch further research. For that, the editor, the contributors, the translators, and the staff of the Cambridge University Press who worked to make this book plausible deserve our hearty thanks." Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies

Japan's ancient age was a period of radical and political change during which a Chinese-style empire emerged. This volume of The Cambridge History of Japan spans the beginnings of human existence to the end of the eighth century, focusing on the thousand years between 300 BC and 784, the end of the fabulous Nara period. The volume explores this period in four stages: (1) The Yayoi period (to about AD 250) when small kingdoms and kingdom federations accumulated enough power to dispatch diplomatic missions to Korea and China; (2) the Yamato period (to 587) when priestly rulers, having gained economic and military power, conquered most of Japan; (3) the Century of Reform (to 710) when Japanese leaders, pressed by China's expanding T'ang empire, set out to build a strong Chinese-style empire of their own; (4) the Nara period (to 784) when spectacular literary, artistic, architectural, and religious advances were made.

Preface
Maps
Chronology
Introduction Delmer M. Brown
1. The earliest societies in Japan J. Edward Kidder Jr.
2. The Yamato kingdom Delmer M. Brown
3. The century of reform Inoue Mitsusada and Delmer M. Brown
4. The Nara state Naoki Kojiro (translated by Felicia G. Bock)
5. Japan and the continent Okazaki Takashi (translated by Janet Goodwin)
6. Early kami worship Matsumae Takeshi (translated by Janet Goodwin)
7. Early Buddha worship Sonoda Koyu and Delmer M. Brown
8. Nara economic and social institutions Torao Toshiya (translated by William Wayne Farris)
9. Asuka and Nara culture: literacy, literature, and music Edwin A. Cranston
10. The early evolution of historical consciousness Delmer M. Brown.

Subject Areas: Ancient history: to c 500 CE [HBLA], Asian history [HBJF]