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The Japanese by Christopher Harding

The Japanese

A History in Twenty Lives

Christopher Harding

Penguin UK · Print & ebook · July 16, 2024

A SUNDAY TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2020 'Mightily impressive ... a marvellous read' Sunday Times From the acclaimed author of Japan Story, this is the history of Japan, distilled into the stories of twenty remarkable individuals.

Japanese HistoryAsian & Asian American LivesAsian Culture & Societybiography
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Who it’s for
Twenty vivid portraits make Japan’s history feel personal, surprising, and easy to enter.
Themes
Japanese history, History through individual lives
Genres
Japanese History, Asian & Asian American Lives, Asian Culture & Society

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About this book

A SUNDAY TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2020 'Mightily impressive ... a marvellous read' Sunday Times From the acclaimed author of Japan Story, this is the history of Japan, distilled into the stories of twenty remarkable individuals. The vivid and entertaining portraits in Chris Harding's enormously enjoyable new book take the reader from the earliest written accounts of Japan right through to the life of the current empress, Masako.

Continue reading

We encounter shamans and warlords, poets and revolutionaries, scientists, artists and adventurers - each offering insights of their own into this extraordinary place. For anyone new to Japan, this book is the ideal introduction. For anyone already deeply involved with it, this is a book filled with surprises and pleasures.

Japan Through Lives

Twenty vivid portraits make Japan’s history feel personal, surprising, and easy to enter.

Come here for

  • Meet shamans, warlords, poets, scientists, artists, and adventurers
  • Trace Japan’s history from its earliest written accounts to Empress Masako

Expect

  • A lively sequence of portraits, each offering its own view of Japan
  • An inviting introduction with pleasures for longtime Japan readers, too

Where it sits

Japanese History100%
Asian & Asian American Lives47%
Asian Culture & Society44%

Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.

Publisher categories

  • Asian & Asian American Lives
  • Lives in History
  • Japanese History
Authors
Christopher Harding
Publisher
Penguin UK
Published
July 16, 2024
Format
Print & ebook
Theme
Japanese history · History through individual lives
Reading lane
Asian & Asian American Lives