Honors 200: Samurai and Geisha: Understanding Japan

This book provides detailed information about the samurai, beginning with a timeline and narrative historical overview of the samurai. This is followed by more than 100 alphabetically arranged entries on topics related to the samurai, such as ritual suicide, castles, weapons, housing, clothing, samurai women, and more. The entries cite works for further reading and often include sidebars linking the samurai to popular culture, tourist sites, and other information. A selection of primary source documents offers firsthand accounts from the era, and the volume closes with a selected, general bibliography.

Bushido, often translated as Way of the Warrior, came from the Samurai way of life and moral code. It emphasized loyalty, skill, moderation and honor, and became a widespread influence throughout Japan.

Covering the full sweep of Japanese history, from ancient to contemporary, Henshall explores Japan's enormous impact on the modern world, and how vital it is to examine the past and culture of the country in order to full understand its achievements and responses. Now in its third edition, this book is usefully updated and revised.

A Companion to Japanese History provides an authoritative overview of current debates and approaches within the study of Japan's history.Composed of 30 chapters written by an international group of scholars.

An updated edition of David Lu's acclaimed "Sources of Japanese History", this two volume book presents in a student-friendly format original Japanese documents from Japan's mythological beginnings through 1995. Covering the full spectrum of political, economic, diplomatic as well as cultural and intellectual history, this classroom resource offers insight not only into the past but also into Japan's contemporary civilisation. This volume covers up to the late 18th century. Three major criteria used in the document selection were that: the selection avoids duplication with other collections - 75% of the documents presented here are newly translated; a document accurately reflects the spirit of the times and the life-styles of the people; and emphasis is on the development of social, economic and political institutions.

The Oxford Handbook of Japanese Philosophy is a foundation-laying reference work that covers, in detail and depth, the entire span of this philosophical tradition, from ancient times to the present. It introduces and examines the most important topics, figures, schools, and texts from the history of philosophical thinking in premodern and modern Japan.

This second edition of the comprehensive history of Japanese art from 10,500 B.C.E. now extends beyond 1945, tying together more closely the development of all the media within a well-articulated historical and social context. Features a comprehensive survey of Japanese art and culture, now with 67 new color and 52 new black and white illustrations including other art forms such as calligraphy, lacquer, metalwares, ceramics, and textiles. For art enthusiasts interested in far eastern art.

This cultural history of Japan explains the diverse cultural traditions that underlie modern Japan and offers readers deep insights into Japanese manners and etiquette. Davies begins with an investigation of the origins of the Japanese, followed by an analysis of the most important approaches used by scholars to describe the essential elements of Japanese culture. From there, each chapter focuses on one of the formative elements: Shintoism, Buddhism, Taoism, Zen, Confucianism, and Western influences in the modern era.

A Modern History of Japan: From Tokugawa Times to the Present, Fourth Edition, paints a richly nuanced and strikingly original portrait of the last two centuries of Japanese history. It takes students from the days of the shogunate--the feudal overlordship of the Tokugawa family--through the modernizing revolution launched by midlevel samurai in the late nineteenth century; the adoption of Western hairstyles, clothing, and military organization; and the nation's first experiments with mass democracy after World War I.