Reddit reviews Inventing Japan: 1853-1964 (Modern Library Chronicles)

If you want to just get a taste of imperial Japan and some pretty interesting firsthand accounts, check out "inventing Japan" by Ian Buruma.

https://www.amazon.com/Inventing-Japan-1853-1964-Library-Chronicles/dp/0812972864



If you want to get a bigger view of the condition japan was in before beginning their empire building, check out "Peasants, Rebels, Women, and Outcastes: The Underside of Modern Japan" by Mikiso Hane


https://www.amazon.com/Peasants-Rebels-Women-Outcastes-Underside/dp/0742525252


If you want an even bigger view of how and why Japan was treated differently from Germany after the war check out, "the wages of guilt" by Ian Buruma


https://www.amazon.com/Wages-Guilt-Memories-Germany-Japan-ebook/dp/B00YLQU0GS

I would recommend these three books if you want to get a better idea of the everyday life of what everyday life was like pre-war, mid-war, post-war.

If you want to get into the psychology of Japanese people, I would recommend "the Japanese self in cultural context" by Takie Sugiyama Lebra

https://www.amazon.com/Japanese-Self-Cultural-Logic/dp/0824828402/ref=mp_s_a_1_12?keywords=the+Japanese+self&qid=1571829682&sr=8-12


Another interesting book to add after reading these would be, "multiethnic Japan" by John Lie. It points out the ripples of what Japan's empire building brought.

https://www.amazon.com/Multiethnic-Japan-John-Lie/dp/0674013581/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?keywords=multiethnic+Japan&qid=1571829847&sr=8-1


Check em out!

> but a something more profound with a lot on the literature, legends, culture, art, history of Japan.

If so, you might want to look for something that's not a guidebook.

This book on modern culture might be an interesting read.

Edit: Ian Buruma's "Inventing Japan" may prove to be a very readable introduction to modern history.