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History of Japan
- The Most Important People, Places and Events in Japanese History. From Japanese Art to Modern Manga. From Asian Wars to Modern Superpower.
- Narrated by: William Bahl
- Length: 2 hrs and 9 mins
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Summary
Now tell us - did you ever like Japan? Do you know anything about its history, or just what you learned from television and anime, in general? That's a good starting point, anyway. If you want to delve deeper into Japanese history, in chronological order, and see the main events that transformed Japan into what it is today, you've just hit the jackpot.
What will you learn from this book? Among others:
- The main stages in Japanese history, from the most ancient, the Jomon period to Imperial Japan. Each of them will be explained so that everybody can understand them, without technical terms that harden the absorption of information.
- Japan during the Middle Ages
- Everything about shoguns, shogunates and all other forms of governance
- The situation in Japan during World War II and after that
- The most important battles between Japan and the United States of America
- The fall of the Empire of Japan
- Japanese politics
- The catastrophic Japanese deflation that ruined the economy for decades on end
- Japanese culture and what makes it so unique in the world
- Valuable information on anime and manga as distinct avatars of Japanese culture
- Tourism in Japan and why it is so important for the economic growth of the state
This book is for you, no matter if you are a student or a professor, or you just want to learn more about Japanese culture and history.
What listeners say about History of Japan
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- Jesse Cordeiro
- 14-09-20
this complex and mesmerizing culture, beautifully
Brilliant insight of this complex and mesmerizing culture, beautifully narrated.
This course is a delight to listen to with a lot of information and a great narrator.
My only complaint is that there is no PDF booklet to accompany the course like the other Great Courses.
Hope it shows up soon!!!
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24 people found this helpful
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- Jesse Lee
- 15-09-20
Not Just the Bare Bones
The mystery surrounding them was further enhanced by their incredibly developed politics, their steadfastness and efficiency in maneuvering swords and their eerie religion. Throughout the ages, Japan went through six stages: ancient, classical, medieval, early modern, modern and contemporary. Each of these has endured for hundreds of years. Multiple dynasties have been in charge, and uncountable emperors have reigned over this surreal realm. If you are interested in finding out more about Japan, and not the Japan we all know today, but the one that is still enveloped in the fog of the ages, you will be able to acquire that knowledge by reading this book. We will study each of the six stages in Japanese history, with an emphasis on the most important events in them. We will see how Japan was shaped to become what it is nowadays. Even though we could start with Japan during the Paleolithic age, we will jump directly to ancient Japan. And that is not because the Paleolithic Japan would not matter – you should be familiar with the fact that the first man-made tools were found on Japanese territory – but because not many things are known about it. And that is the case with pretty much every other country one would study from a historical point of view. Let us then proceed on this long journey, from ancient Japan to that of the 21st century.
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20 people found this helpful
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- Barbara
- 18-09-20
Development and analysis of Japan
This is my first listen to the series and it was overwhelming in its depth and detail in various subjects surrounding Japan. There is so much information and it's presented in easy 2 hrs and 9 mins lectures to digest slowly and reflect on the notes.
The presentation was excellent and the narration was perfect. I enjoyed the pacing and found the content engaging throughout thanks to the lecturer's sincere interest in Japanese culture and the intonation was spot on with how I remember college lectures, which should be appropriately a no-brainer considering that's what this is.
I recommend this course for anyone with an interest in Japanese history. I learned so much and I'm definitely going to listen again to individual lectures.
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16 people found this helpful
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- Micheal Pickering
- 20-09-20
Very good set of lectures
I thought I knew Japan really well already before I listened to this book. But the author takes it to another level where things can be entertaining while they are also very informative. It was great, both the tone of the narrator and the story of Japan in this lecture. This is an intelligently oriented rapid fire look at japan that touches on basically every cornerstone of its history and culture from the first emperor to today. The professor has a good voice and a lot of inflection that keeps the vocals from getting stale. I was sometimes left wanting more from certain lectures or more depth in certain areas, but that is just the nature of such an overarching history. Worth every minute in my opinion! This narrator is someone I'll certainly look for in the future. He's got an excellent cadence, great pacing and and he is very easy to listen to. The content itself is great as well, I learned a lot in easily digestible bites. I would definitely recommend to anyone interested in Japan's history & culture and an overall idea how it was shaped.
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11 people found this helpful
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- Dorothea
- 22-09-20
My favorite of The Great Courses presentations
Although this wasn't what I expected, I ended up loving it. It was a mix of history and culture - I see some reviewers have expected one or the other, and been disappointed. One thing I thought was particularly interesting here was that he addressed the historical topics chronologically but used each of them as a jumping off point to discuss some aspects of Japanese culture. This would be especially good listening for someone planning a visit to Japan.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Jessica
- 24-09-20
An absolutely fantastic survey course
The rupture of the archipelago from the continental shore, led to an explosion in population. As one may expect, this occurrence would have had catastrophic outcomes were it not for such an abundance of food. Luckily, the odds were not against the Jomon people. Soon enough, the inhabitants started to develop their inchoate architecture. Subsequently, they began constructing pit-houses, shelters dug in the ground and covered with roofs. Although such a construction does not really inspire trust, pit-houses were actually very efficient in keeping the people safe from rain. The contact with Korea, much later in the Jomon period, towards the end of it, was beneficial for two primary reasons: the Jomon people learned how to cultivate rice (a ground-breaking change at the time) and how to work with metal. Needless to say, the expertise on metalworking automatically facilitated the manufacturing of better tools and improved weaponry. In 300 BCE, the Jomon transitioned to the period in ancient Japanese history known as the Yaoyi.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Gregory
- 25-09-20
Good Piece of Work
An excellent guide to Japanese culture and history This could easily be an introduction to Japan. But would also have facts that would be interesting to someone who knows a great deal. Excellent performance very knowledgeable.
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- Roger
- 25-09-20
Interesting blend of history and culture
I love Japan. I loved this course. I enjoyed this narrator. I can't wait to one day actually get to be in this magnificent land!
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- Anderson
- 24-09-20
Covers Everything
Fantastic Lecture! You can hear the professor's passion he has for the subject matter when he speaks!
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- Lindsay
- 24-09-20
Great Knowledge
After 28 years in Japan, there was still much for me to learn from this course. Professor Rui Kanda did an excellent job presenting a very wide topic in clear, understandable lessons. His explanation of the Japanese language, I felt, was second to none.
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