History of Japan

There are many books published about the history of Japan. To name just a few:

• A History of Japan, George Sansom
• A Modern History of Japan From Tokugawa Times to the Present, Andrew Gordon
• A history of japan 1582-1941, L.M. Cullen

The list would be much longer if books about the Pacific War were included.

On Youtube however, we found a nice and easy to watch video’s about the history of Japan, in the form of lectures given by Professor Mark J. Ravina. The series is titled :

Understanding Japan: A Cultural History

LECTURE 1 Japan: A Globally Engaged Island Nation
LECTURE 2 Understanding Japan through Ancient Myths
LECTURE 3 The Emergence of the Ritsuryō State
LECTURE 4 Aspects of the Japanese Language
LECTURE 5 Early Japanese Buddhism
LECTURE 6 Heian Court Culture
LECTURE 7 The Rise of the Samurai
LECTURE 8 Pure Land Buddhism and Zen Buddhism
LECTURE 9 Samurai Culture in the Ashikaga Period
LECTURE 10 Japan at Home and Abroad, 1300–160
LECTURE 11 Japan’s Isolation in the Tokugawa Period
LECTURE 12 Japanese Theater: Noh and Kabuki
LECTURE 13 The Importance of Japanese Gardens
LECTURE 14 The Meaning of Bushidō in a Time of Peace
LECTURE 15 Japanese Poetry: The Road to Haiku
LECTURE 16 Hokusai and the Art of Wood-Block Prints
LECTURE 17 The Meiji Restoration
LECTURE 18 Three Visions of Prewar Japan
LECTURE 19 War without a Master Plan: Japan, 1931–1945
LECTURE 20 Japanese Family Life
LECTURE 21 Japanese Foodway
LECTURE 22 Japan’s Economic Miracle
LECTURE 23 Kurosawa and Ozu: Two Giants of Film
LECTURE 24 The Making of Contemporary Japan

Please enjoy!