Voices of Early Modern Japan

Based on fresh translations of historical documents, this volume offers a revealing look at Japan during the time of the Tokugawa shoguns from 1600–1868, focusing on the day-to-day lives of both the rich and powerful and ordinary citizens.Voices of Early Modern Japan: Contemporary Accounts of Daily Life during the Age of the Shoguns spans an extraordinary period of Japanese history, ranging from the unification of the warring states under Tokugawa Ieyasu in the early 17th century to the overthrow of the shogunate just prior to the mid-19th century opening of Japan by the West.Through close examinations of sources from a time known as "The Great Peace," this fascinating volume offers fresh insights into the Tokugawa era—its political institutions, rigid class hierarchy, artistic and material culture, religious life, and more. Sources come from all levels of Japanese society, everything from government documents and household records to personal correspondence and diaries, all carefully translated and examined in light of the latest scholarship.60 original documents, divided into 42 thematic sectionsA chronology of Japanese history from roughly a half century before the beginning of the Tokugawa period until the fall of the Tokugawa shogunate in 1868, with selected events in world history included

"High school and postsecondary teachers of Japan and Asia will find this book valuable for their teaching. The introductory essay in and of itself is an excellent explanation of the complexities and developments of the 268-year period of early modern Japanese history. Of course, the most important component of the book is the primary documents, and because of the intelligent selection of the 60 documents, Vaporis has made the Tokugawa period more accessible for students." - Education About Asia

Constantine Nomikos Vaporis, PhD, is professor of history and founding director of the Asian Studies program at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.