Emperor of Japan: Meiji and His World, 1852-1912

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When Emperor Meiji began his rule, in 1867, Japan was a splintered empire, dominated by the shogun and the daimyos, who ruled over the country s than 250 decentralized domains and who were, in the main, cut off from the outside world, staunchly antiforeign, and committed to the traditions of the past Before long, the shogun surrendered to the emperor, a new constitution was adopted, and Japan emerged as a modern, industrialized state.Despite the length of his reign, little has been written about the strangely obscured figure of Meiji himself, the first emperor ever to meet a European Most historians discuss the period that takes his name while barely mentioning the man, assuming that he had no real involvement in affairs of state Even Japanese who believe Meiji to have been their nation s greatest ruler may have trouble recalling a single personal accomplishment that might account for such a glorious reputation Renowned Japan scholar Donald Keene sifts the available evidence to present a rich portrait not only of Meiji but also of rapid and sometimes violent change during this pivotal period in Japan s history.In this vivid and engrossing biography, we move with the emperor through his early, traditional education join in the formal processions that acquainted the young emperor with his country and its people observe his behavior in court, his marriage, and his relationships with various consorts and follow his maturation into a Confucian sovereign dedicated to simplicity, frugality, and hard work Later, during Japan s wars with China and Russia, we witness Meiji s struggle to reconcile his personal commitment to peace and his nation s increasingly militarized experience of modernization Emperor of Japan conveys in sparkling prose the complexity of the man and offers an unrivaled portrait of Japan in a period of unique interest. Read Emperor of Japan: Meiji and His World, 1852-1912 Author Donald Keene – kino-fada.fr Respectfully, I ve just finished reading this remarkable book on a famous Japanese emperor and felt so awed and humble that I thought I would never write any review on this deservedly acclaimed book since it s been authoritatively narrated, referenced and summarized by one of the great Japanologists, Professor Donald Keene who has recently been granted his Japanese citizenship and moved to live in Tokyo Some might wonder why we should read his Respectfully, I ve just finished reading this remarkable book on a famous Japanese emperor and felt so awed and humble that I thought I would never write any review on this deservedly acclaimed book since it s been authoritatively narrated, referenced and summarized by one of the great Japanologists, Professor Donald Keene who has recently been granted his Japanese citizenship and moved to live in Tokyo Some might wonder why we should read his biography to better understand this unique country, one of the reasons is that his name has long been mentioned in terms of the Meiji Restoration due to his wise and diplomatic rule essentially destined to ...This is a huge book, close to 900 pages In it Mr Keene exhaustively covers the life of the Emperor Thus the length is both a major strength EVERYTHING is there and the major weakness it can get pretty dreary of the biography.Part of the author s problem, as he admits, is that it is very hard to find sources as to what Meiji was thinking Keene works around that by going into detail on what he did In this, and in analyzing what his subordinates did, and why, Keene provides the reader with This is a huge book, close to 900 pages In it Mr Keene exhaustively covers the life of the Emperor Thus the length is both a major strength EVERYTHING is there and the major weakness it can get pretty dreary of the biography.Part of the author ...Keene sets out to portray Meiji the man not the era, but ends up concluding that this almost ostentatiously impassive 718 monarch may not have had any personality beyond his driving sense of duty and a mess tent humor The book is best approached as a court centered history of Japan s most dynamic period of modernization and Westernization As such it depicts in fine detail the interpersonal register of joining in the European nation state system, such as the Japanese royalty becoming Keene sets out to portray Meiji the man not the era, but ends up concluding that this almost ostentatiously impassive 718 monarch may not have had any personality beyond his driving sense of duty and a mess tent humor The book is best approached as a court centered history of Japan s most dynamic period of modernization and Westernization As such it depicts in fine detail ...Keane presents the reign of Emperor Meiji in such depth that it can feel overwhelming There s a sense that you re losing the forest for the trees, but it s in being presented the complete breadth of the Meiji Era that you come to really appreciate the scale of what was achieved That said, Keane s singular focus on the Emperor can result in a less detailed analysis of the events themselves particularly in respect to foreign policy , but it is what it says on the tin a book about the Emperor Keane presents the reign of Emperor Meiji in such depth that it can feel overwhelming There s a sense that you re losing the forest for the trees, but it s in being presented the complete breadth of the Meiji Era that you come to really appreciate the scale of what was achieved That said, Keane s singular focus on the Emperor can result in a less detailed analysis of the events themselves particularly in respect to fore...Quite uncharacteristically I was unable to finish this biography As I recall and it s been several years I couldn t get past about page 150 It wasn t that the subject matter wasn t fascinating the problem was that ...I picked up this book hoping for a biography of a person who I had assumed played a pivotal role in Asian politics at the turn of the 20th century Keene s volume, in its 723 pages, gives a sweep of the history of that era, while never quite approaching the threshold of biography for his subject Keene explores Meiji s personality through his poems numerous and some of the anecdotes about him that are left by the visitors who were ki...Interesting biography of a man who was very hard to know Describes not only the man, but the general history of Japan during one of the most important periods in its history during which it went from a frankly backward, closed country to first world power.Though like everyone, he has faults, Meiji ...Dry, dry, dry.and not really much information about the life of Meiji himself, yet, if you are looking for an in depth account of the political, economic and war issues and questions that arised during this period, is a very good source of information.Even though I learned a lot from this brick sized work, I was left feeling somewhat disappointed Professor Keene himself admits that, in spite of the plethora of source material on the Emperor Meiji, it is almost impossible to get to the real man his official biographies list what he did or who he met, but nothing about his emotional states Most of this work is thankfully rounded out with narratives of political, social, economic and diplomatic changes in the era of the eponymous Even though I learned a lot from this brick sized work, I was left feeling somewhat disappointed Professor Keene himself admits that, in spite of the plethora of source material on the Emperor Meiji, it is almost impossible to get to the real man his official biographies list what he did or who he met, but nothing about his emotional states Most of this work is thankfully rounded out with narratives of political, social, economic and diplomatic changes in the era of the eponymous Restoration But Keene often feels the need to digress int...In 1867, the final shogun, Tokugawa Yoshinobu, resigned, ending centuries of tradition a nearly 250 year old shogunate founded by Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1603 With abdication of the shogun, came the call for the emperor, who, was the focus of elborate rituals, but had absolutely no power under the shogunate, to be placed back in the forefront The same year that Yoshinobu abdicated, Emperor Komei died his teenag...

Emperor of Japan: Meiji and His World, 1852-1912
  • English
  • 21 December 2018
  • Paperback
  • 928 pages
  • 0231123418
  • Donald Keene
  • Emperor of Japan: Meiji and His World, 1852-1912