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Introduction

Placing Modern Japanese History in the Twenty-First Century

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 May 2023

Laura Hein
Affiliation:
Northwestern University, Illinois
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Summary

The twenty-four accessible and thought-provoking essays in this volume present innovative new scholarship on Japan’s modern history, including its imperial past and transregional entanglements. Drawing on the latest Japanese and English-language scholarship, it highlights Japan’s distinctiveness as an extraordinarily fast-changing place. Indeed, Japan provides a ringside seat to all the big trends of modern history. Japan was the first non-Western society to become a modern nation and empire, to industrialize, to wage modern war on a vast scale, and to deliver a high standard of living to virtually all its citizens. Because the Japanese so determinedly acted to reshape global hierarchies, their modern history was incredibly destabilizing for the world. This intense dynamism has powered a variety of debates and conflicts, both at home and with people and places beyond Japan’s shores. Put simply, Japan has packed a lot of history into less than two centuries.

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  • Introduction
  • Edited by Laura Hein, Northwestern University, Illinois
  • Book: The New Cambridge History of Japan
  • Online publication: 19 May 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108164535.003
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  • Introduction
  • Edited by Laura Hein, Northwestern University, Illinois
  • Book: The New Cambridge History of Japan
  • Online publication: 19 May 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108164535.003
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Introduction
  • Edited by Laura Hein, Northwestern University, Illinois
  • Book: The New Cambridge History of Japan
  • Online publication: 19 May 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108164535.003
Available formats
×