Japan by David Murray

Page 1 of 173

Japan

David Murray, Ph.D., LL.D.

Late Advisor to the Japanese Minister of Education

Third Edition

London

T. Fisher Unwin

Paternoster Square

New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons

1896

(For Great Britain)

(For the United States of America

CONTENTS

Preface. Chapter I. The Japanese Archipelago. Chapter II. The Original And Surviving Races. Chapter III. Myths And Legends. Chapter IV. Founding The Empire. Chapter V. Native Culture And Continental Influences. Chapter VI. The Middle Ages Of Japan. Chapter VII. Emperor And Shogun. Chapter VIII. From The Ashikaga Shoguns To The Death Of Nobunaga. Chapter IX. Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Chapter X. The Founding Of The Tokugawa Shogunate. Chapter XI. Christianity In The Seventeenth Century. Chapter XII. Feudalism In Japan. Chapter XIII. Commodore Perry And What Followed. Chapter XIV. Revolutionary Preludes. Chapter XV. The Restored Empire. Appendix I. List Of Emperors. Appendix II. List Of Year Periods. Appendix III. List Of Shoguns. Appendix IV. Laws Of Shotoku Taishi. Footnotes

PREFACE.

It is the object of this book to trace the story of Japan from its beginnings to the establishment of constitutional government. Concerned as this story is with the period of vague and legendary antiquity as well as with the disorders of mediaeval time and with centuries of seclusion, it is plain that it is not an easy task to present a trustworthy and connected account of the momentous changes through which the empire has been called to pass. It would be impossible to state in detail the sources from which I have derived the material for this work. I place first and as most important a residence of several years in Japan, during which I became familiar with the character of the Japanese people and with the traditions and events of their history. Most of the works treating of Japan during and prior to the period of her seclusion, as well as the more recent works, I have had occasion to consult. They will be found referred to in the following pages. Beyond all others, however, I desire to acknowledge my obligations to the _Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan_. A list of the contributors to these transactions would include such names as Satow, Aston, Chamberlain, McClatchie, Gubbins, Geerts, Milne, Whitney, Wigmore and others, whose investigations have made possible a reasonably complete knowledge of Japan. The _Transactions of the German Asiatic Society_ are scarcely less noteworthy than those of her sister society. To these invaluable sources of information are to be added Chamberlain's _Things Japanese_, Rein's _Japan_ and the _Industries of Japan_, Griffis' _Mikado's Empire_, Mounsey's _Satsuma Rebellion_, Dening's _Life of Hideyoshi_, the published papers of Professor E. S. Morse, and the two handbooks prepared successively by Mr. Satow and Mr. Chamberlain.

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