Conflict in Modern Japanese History - by Tetsuo Najita & J Victor Koschmann (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

First published by Princeton University Press in 1982, this volume depicts the conflict and uncertainty that have bedeviled modern Japan. The eighteen contributors explore dissent, secession, and conflict first in the 1850s and 1860s, when the Tokugawa regime gave way to the Meiji government, and then from the end of the Russo-Japanese War through the mid-1920s. Includes an introduction by Tetsuo Najita and concluding chapter by J. Victor Koschmann.

Review Quotes

[Offers] an entirely new approach to the study of Japanese history.... The articles are informative and together stimulate thought about the causes of conflict in Japan.

A challenging and welcome book. Provides a perspective on modern Japan worth considering with care.

Offer[s] expert studies of infinite variety--peasant rebellions, insurrections, urban riots, strikes, student disturbances. Reminds [Japan historians] to be concerned not only with the mainstream but [also with] forces of dissent, conflict, and secess.

Presents 'new ways of comprehending the history of modern Japan' (from the preface). [Should be] read widely by all who have an interest in modern Japanese history.

This provocative work probes conflictual events in order to discover their broader significance. Carefully researched and intelligently written; a collection of indispensable essays.

About the Author

Tetsuo Najita is Robert S. Ingersoll Distringuished Professor Emeritus of History and East Asian Language & Civilization at the University of Chicago.

Victor Koschmann is Professor of History at Cornell University.