Best historical japan biographies according to redditors
We found 113 Reddit comments discussing the best historical japan biographies. We ranked the 27 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
We found 113 Reddit comments discussing the best historical japan biographies. We ranked the 27 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
I'll do classical works, since those are what I know best.
Classical works:
Kojiki. One of the recent translations is highly readable. It contains the major native myths and legends, which you will see referenced over and over again in your modern works.
Manyoshu: Earliest surviving collection of native poetry. A partial translation done in the 50s is the one I recommend, as the final English was worked over by an actual English language poet, making it by far the most accessible one around. Poets and topics range far and wide, especially when compared with later classical works.
Tales of Ise: Another one with a recent translation. Provides a good look at the noble aesthetic, romance in classical Japan, etc.
Kokin Wakashu: There are no easy to find translations of this, unfortunately. However, if you were to ask a Japanese scholar what the definitive Japanese classic is, this would be it. All later aesthetics, from literature to art, derive in large part from it in one way or another. It is a collection of poetry from 905 (approx) that epitomizes the new noble aesthetic of the age, and as I said, sets the tone for the next millennium and beyond.
Tale of Genji: The definitive prose classic. Courtly love and romance, political intrigues, all that. There are several full-length English translations (and a few that aren't full length). There are still many adherents to the Arthur Waley version, despite its age. The newer Royall Tyler translation is more thorough and scholarly accurate, however.
Tale of the Heike: Several translations exist, but the recent one by Royall Tyler does a good job of projecting the lyrical quality of the original while maintaining accuracy. Several others exist as well, but the Tyler is probably the easiest to both find and read. Tale of war and upheaval at the end of the 12th century, showing the decline of the nobility and rise of the new warrior class. Probably hard to go from cover to cover with, as there are many names/events/places that are hard to follow for most readers. Spot reading recommended.
Confessions of Lady Nijo: There are a few translations, but the one I have linked is probably the easiest to find. Discusses the life of a woman who served in the imperial courts of the late 13th/early 14th C. and all the trials and tribulations she faced by receiving the favors of the emperor.
Hope this is a good start for you all.
This is interesting on the topic too:
http://www.amazon.com/Hirohito-Making-Modern-Japan-Herbert/dp/0060931302#
> Bix shows what it was like to be trained from birth for a lone position at the apex of the nation's political hierarchy and as a revered symbol of divine status. Influenced by an unusual combination of the Japanese imperial tradition and a modern scientific worldview, the young emperor gradually evolves into his preeminent role, aligning himself with the growing ultranationalist movement, perpetuating a cult of religious emperor worship, resisting attempts to curb his power, and all the while burnishing his image as a reluctant, passive monarch. Here we see Hirohito as he truly was: a man of strong will and real authority.
Supported by a vast array of previously untapped primary documents, Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan is perhaps most illuminating in lifting the veil on the mythology surrounding the emperor's impact on the world stage. Focusing closely on Hirohito's interactions with his advisers and successive Japanese governments, Bix sheds new light on the causes of the China War in 1937 and the start of the Asia-Pacific War in 1941. And while conventional wisdom has had it that the nation's increasing foreign aggression was driven and maintained not by the emperor but by an elite group of Japanese militarists, the reality, as witnessed here, is quite different. Bix documents in detail the strong, decisive role Hirohito played in wartime operations, from the takeover of Manchuria in 1931 through the attack on Pearl Harbor and ultimately the fateful decision in 1945 to accede to an unconditional surrender. In fact, the emperor stubbornly prolonged the war effort and then used the horrifying bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, together with the Soviet entrance into the war, as his exit strategy from a no-win situation. From the moment of capitulation, we see how American and Japanese leaders moved to justify the retention of Hirohito as emperor by whitewashing his wartime role and reshaping the historical consciousness of the Japanese people. The key to this strategy was Hirohito's alliance with General MacArthur, who helped him maintain his stature and shed his militaristic image, while MacArthur used the emperor as a figurehead to assist him in converting Japan into a peaceful nation. Their partnership ensured that the emperor's image would loom large over the postwar years and later decades, as Japan began to make its way in the modern age and struggled -- as it still does -- to come to terms with its past.
It's combination of both what you're saying and what yordles_win is saying. Read Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan. Hirohito had a much bigger role in the events of WWII than most American historians like to admit ... BUT he also was frequently circumvented towards the end of the war and at the very end, it was the army that negotiated with America, and not the emperor.
This book (Last to Die, by Stephen Harding) also has some good info about the mindset amongst certain elements in the Japanese military at the end of the war.
And if you're interested in getting some insight into the overall Japanese mindset, this book (Japan 1941, by Eri Hotta) is a good place to start.
For many of the Japanese who were bypassed during the pacific campaign the war's end was either unknown immediately or largely ignored. With the supply chain cut off, communication was rarely readily available. It may have taken a while for the Japanese on these bypassed islands to get the word that the war was lost. For some, this news was hard to swallow and in some cases it was ignored. The Japanese soldier was trained to not give up, dying in battle was the ultimate goal of the Japanese warrior. There were also cases of Japanese soldiers who joined the fight for Vietnamese independence and Indonesian independence to rid the Asian colonies of western control.
There were search parties, both Japanese and American and sometimes joint, to convince the holdouts that the war was over and to bring them home. Still some Japanese resisted. This book ( http://www.amazon.com/No-Surrender-Thirty-Year-Bluejacket-Books/dp/1557506639 ) was written by Hiroo Onoda, one of the most famous Japanese holdouts following World war 2. He was finally relieved of duty by his former commanding officer in 1974.
I don't disagree with the bulk of this, but two points:
I read Onoda's book No Surrender and it's a great look into his mindset at the time.
He and his compatriots didn't believe the first news of surrender, and no one wanted to be the first to give in. They were on a recon/intelligence mission for the Japanese invasion.
They understood that fighting had stopped, but believed Japan would gather its armies and resume the war, and at that point greatly need his intelligence on the island. Once the others died believing this, even a search party with his own brother could not get Onoda out of hiding. It was awful hard on him.
If you want a more in depth western account of this scene, read Tokyo Vice.
There was a group of men called The Holdouts who refused to believe that Japan surrendered during WWII and subsequently hid in the jungles of the Philippines until 1974 defending Japan's honor. Hiroo Onada was one of the last holdouts, surrendering in March of 1974. He is still alive, living in Brazil. He's also written a book about it.
he did.
No Surrender: My Thirty Year War
Hiroo Onoda's autobiography No Surrender: My Thirty-Year War is by far the most interesting biography I've ever read.
Seriously, it is fucking twisted and amazing.
It's awesome. He was an officer, is very intelligent, and gives lots of jungle survival tips . Lots of lessons in doublethink too - how he managed to reconcile his view that the war was still on with the information he received as time passed.
Amazon link to the soldier's book
Very good story. I'm like you, I had the privilege of having a grandmother who was born in the late 1800s (actually, a great-grandmother). Anybody who grew up around those types of people are likely to have been positively influenced by them. This woman never had a car in her life, walked everywhere she went, did lots of hard work well in to her late 90s, like gardening all summer, lifting heavy stuff up stairs, etc.. Those types of people who grew up without electricity, air conditioning, soft beds, etc, are on a whole different level. Regardless of race.
I agree that you tend to develop sense of superiority compared to normal people, when you grew up hard, or succumbed to hard conditions at some point in life. To the point where you begin to see "hard work" as something that you actually need, like air or water. Also, what really inspires me about the older generations is how they didn't gorge themselves on food, in fact, they ate very little, and were surprisingly strong for their size, even in old age.
One guy who really inspires me is Hiroo Onoda, a Japanese soldier who lived in a jungle for almost 3 decades. I highly recommend reading his book about his experience. He was one of those "old guard" people who lived hard and long, and "did the impossible" as an everyday thing. Patience, persistence, stoicism... All attributes that have been totally lost in many countries, since WW2.
https://www.amazon.com/No-Surrender-My-Thirty-Year-War/dp/1557506639
Honestly, this question is really just asking "hey, could you retell the main narrative of Japanese history for 1000 years?" It's kind of like asking "What's the relationship between the Pope and European Kings and Queens?" and it should probably be in popular questions. I mean honestly just read any textbook, since this relationship is the central political question at any point from 1200 onwards. It's not in popular questions and this would make a crappy /r/askhistorians post though, so I'll go ahead and link-filled summarize:
It depends on what time period you're talking about. Since you explicitly asked for shogun/emperor, I'll start with the first shogunate. Established in Kamakura (symbolically, far away in the traditional lands of the Minamoto clan instead of in Kyoto where the Emperor was) in 1192 as a result of the Gempei war, it stripped the emperor of most of his temporal power. Even at that point, though, the operative power was not in the Emperor himself, but rather his courtiers (see the fujiwara clan), as the Emperor himself spent most his time fulfilling the many Shinto-Daoist rituals that were cosmologically needed to keep the realm in working order (a lot of waving stuff around, purifying stuff, burning stuff, etc.) The war was really between to rival warrior families who were desperately trying to marry into the courtiers and eventually the Imperial family itself. One won, the other lost, and the winner set up an alternate power structure. From here on, power fluctuated between a few sources. At some points, Emperors would 'retire' to become monks, leave their sons to do the ritual crap, while they exercised some measure of power
from the monastery (no small irony there). In this period, around 1340, after another short war/power struggle, the Ashikaga family deposed the Kamakura shogunate and set up their own shogunate within Kyoto itself. Depending on who was shogun and who was cloistered, real power fluctuated. Sometimes even abbots of powerful temples would get in the mix. In terms of actual family ties, all 3 groups were closely linked and regularly intermarried. For a really good monograph on this interesting period, I'd see Gates of Power by Adolphson.
By the late 1400s, though, that system was breaking down altogether. Local Samurai basically acted on their own perogatives on their own land. At this point, the Sengoku Jidai (age of country at war), there are people claiming this and that in terms of rulership, and all of it is meaningless. The only thing that mattered was military strength and personal loyalty, which could be broken at the drop of a hat if the benefits were seen to outweigh the consequence. For this period, the history shelf is littered with colorful picture books about the HONORABLE SAMURAI WARRIOR and all kinds of nonsense (it is also when Shogun: Total War (and its re-make) is set). One trustworthy monograph on the ending throes, that I'd say also captures the essence of the period, would be Japonius Tyrannus by Jeroen Lamers.
The Tokugawa Shogunate, set up by the eventual victor in 1600 onwards, sought to solidify sole control. During the wars, the great temples had been almost completely obliterated, so they were out. The Shogunate removed the other threat to their power, the Imperial Court, by taking over administration and funding of the Imperial Household (and thus removing the powerful courtiers that traditionally surrounded the Emperor together). In order to leave the Emperor to his important ritual business, they very kindly removed from his household the burden of managing any land--making them completely dependent and unable to cultivate their own powerbase. While the Emperor was still seen as the ultimate source of both political and cultural legitimacy, temporal power was seen to have been devolved entirely to the Tokugawa family (who did still regularly marry daughters off to Emperors). With the Royal Baby in our thoughts, I'd say it's similar to how the UK runs now; the Emperor is around, popular, and beloved, but not even a figurehead in terms of running things. A good window into how things ran in the middle of the period would be The Dog Shogun by Beatrice Bodart-Bailey.
This is, until the "Opening of Japan" leads to everyone going nuts. For the Boshin war and what follows, I did write a post about that here just a few days ago. One thing I didn't link to in that is a book about all the neat intellectual history, which really touches on your question in terms of how intellectuals built up a sense of legitimacy for the Imperial Restoration and how that leads up to the revolution, so I'll link it here: Before the Nation by Susan Burns.
I read https://www.amazon.com/War-Japan-1467-1615-Essential-Histories/dp/1841764809 , and that's how I got into it, but people seem to like https://www.amazon.com/Sengoku-Jidai-Nobunaga-Hideyoshi-Ieyasu-ebook/dp/B078X3MVBL , although I've never read it. Actually, this is one of those rare moments when I will vouch for YouTube channels like Extra Credits ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDsdkoln59A). It's a great and insightful overview to start with, and then go to the books for details.
>(someone pls recommend me some good books)
https://www.amazon.com/Lost-Enlightenment-Central-Conquest-Tamerlane/dp/0691165858/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_t_0/144-0242630-4897537?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1refRID=KKYE6CNQEBQAGXX727XD
Comparing Genghis Khan, Timur and Nader Shah is pretty fun.
https://books.google.com/books?id=nFx3OlrBMpQC&printsec=frontcover&hl=de#v=onepage&q&f=false
http://www.fusosha.co.jp/Books/detail/9784594074760
https://www.amazon.com/Rulers-Guide-Greatest-Emperor-Timeless/dp/1501138774/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_t_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=VXGE1BG6WGDA6CJ8K9T2
https://www.amazon.com/Shi-Min-Founding-theTang-Dynasty/dp/0875869785/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_t_0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=VXGE1BG6WGDA6CJ8K9T2
https://www.amazon.com/Poetics-Sovereignty-Harvard-Yenching-Institute-Monograph/dp/0674056086
https://books.google.com/books?id=VW2HJL689wgC&printsec=frontcover&dq=baburnama&hl=de&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiNjrCE_b_TAhXIOBQKHaDyCCEQ6AEIJTAA#v=onepage&q=baburnama&f=false
https://www.amazon.com/Xi-Jinping-Governance-English-Language/dp/160220408X
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Guerrilla-Warfare-Mao-Tse-Tung/dp/956310014X
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhou_Enlai:_The_Last_Perfect_Revolutionary
https://www.amazon.com/Ho-Chi-Minh-William-Duiker-ebook/dp/B0095V89ZI
https://www.amazon.com/Admiral-Togo-Nelson-Jonathan-Clements/dp/1906598622
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quotations_from_Chairman_Mao_Tse-tung
http://www.npc.gov.cn/englishnpc/Constitution/node_2825.htm
https://www.amazon.com/Keiretsu-Inside-Hidden-Japanese-Conglomerates/dp/007042859X
The history of Austronesian Madagascar is interesting.
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I'd also recommend Aleksandr Dugin's books and "The Intelligent Investor" by B. Graham.
Yes, it's called No Surrender
No Surrender: My Thirty-Year War https://www.amazon.com/dp/1557506639/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_UMd4Db0R4DM66
Everything about this guy's story is incredible
This will.
Excellent, however, sometimes somewhat depressing bit to read.
Congratulations! I visited Okinawa on a school trip in 2007, and it was absolutely beautiful. And the food mmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
If you're interested in political history regarding Okinawa, both as a Japanese prefecture and as basically a giant US military base, I cannot recommend highly enough the Okinawa chapter of Norma Field's In The Realm of a Dying Emperor It's a little academic but gives voice to native Okinawans, who are often overlooked in most US-Japan conversations about the islands.
Safe travels!
I'm sorry I can't stop commenting. This is the best thread I've ever seen and I am so stoked to read a lot of these books!
I haven't read the Pillowbook (and I keep meaning to buy it), but I did read the Confessions of Lady Nijo, which started me along the medieval Japanese lit path.
/u/tealparadise is correct. I was referring to the book "Tokyo Vice: An American Reporter on the Police Beat in Japan" by Jake Adelstein.
The other source was the primary source wikipedia links to. "Why Is the Japanese Conviction Rate So High?" by J. Mark Ramseyer and Eric B. Rasmusen.
I know it's not a documentary but I would highly recommend Tokyo Vice by Jake Adelstein. Amazing book about vice crime in Tokyo and Yakuza activity in general.
There's the local stuff that a lot of people will share with you, but there's some macro-stuff as well.
For example, The ministry of economy, trade, and industry has often flat out obstructed foreign business owners/investors from otherwise legally participating in the foreign markets due to "market confusion," which has been the most illogical defense, and has contributed to ridiculous prices in Japan at the consumer's expense for several decades.
There's also the story of インチキ外人レスラー, or "cheating foreign wrestler" in Japan's pro-wrestling. This is the time honored tradition of having huge foreigners playing the part of fighting dirty before they get their ass handed to them by the honorable, hard-working Japanese fighter.
Why, yes, I am reading Robert Whiting's Tokyo Underworld right now. Obviously focused on organized crime, but it often centers around its role in international relations for Japan, as well.
http://www.amazon.com/No-Surrender-Thirty-Year-Bluejacket-Books/dp/1557506639
was such a good book about it.
"Hidden in Plain Sight" is a must read, but it's not really a straight history. "A Life in Aikido" is probably the best straight biography in English, just keep in mind that it's written from a certain point of view and it's missing some key things.
I have a doozy of a really dumb question, not really about living in Japan at all.
TL;DR: Did Pandas used to be viewed as some kind of mythical creature in Japan (circa 1970)?
Context:
I recently finished reading No Surrender: My Thirty-Year War. The book about Hiroo Onoda, dude who continued fighting WW2 until 1974. Fascinating book, highly recommend it.
The book starts with a note from the translator, pointing out that Onoda was found by [Norio Suzuki](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norio_Suzuki_(explorer), who dropped out of college to find, I shit you not:
> Lieutenant Onoda, a panda, and the abominable snowman, in that order
By this point Onoda had been reported dead and my understanding is that at this time in Japan, "They never found his body! Onoda is still alive!" was a pretty "Jet fuel can't melt steel beams" kind of statement.
The inclusion of "A panda" in the middle of Suzuki's mission statement confused me and has been bugging me for a while. Did Pandas used to be some kind of mythical creature? Like "nobody has ever actually seen a panda, its just Chinese propoganda".
I asked my wife and she has no idea and that he was probably just a little coocoo, or wanted a break between the two really hard tasks. Does anybody have any input on this?
That last sentence is a whole debate in itself. How responsible was Hirohito for his country's acts and how much of it was just rampant militarism in his name. There's a decent book on the topic called Hirohito and the making of modern Japan that deals with the subject however it is not the only perspective.
Broadly speaking, most in Japan are of the belief that it was the militant minority that took control during the period and that Hirohito was more or less just going a long with it. That's the popular notion but it is by no means necessarily correct. I'm not sure where I read that, but it was in an academic article I read for my thesis.
Onoda also wrote a book about his experience called No Surrender:
http://www.amazon.com/No-Surrender-Thirty-Year-Bluejacket-Books/dp/1557506639
Not quite as wild as Yakuza video games, but this will give you some context for the craziness that was going on during a certain dark time in Japan's underground: https://www.amazon.com/Tokyo-Vice-American-Reporter-Police/dp/0307475298
Having just finished Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan (http://www.amazon.com/Hirohito-Making-Modern-Japan-Herbert/dp/0060931302) I can tell you that Hirohito is directly responsible for pushing Japan into war with America.
Read his book "No Surrender", it gives some great insight into how one's mind can allow this sort of thing to happen.
http://www.amazon.com/No-Surrender-Thirty-Year-Bluejacket-Books/dp/1557506639
From Axis perspective:
Guy Sajer - The Forgotten Soldier
Herbert Werner - Iron Coffins
Sven Hassel books (treat it like the fiction)
Saburo Sakai - Samurai
I am assuming you can't read Japanese.
Reading Materials:
Chronicles of Oda Nobunaga. Primary source record by one of his vassals.
Description of Japan Primary source by Jesuit Luis Frois comparing Japan and Europe.
Japonius Tyrannus by Jeroen Lamers on Oda Nobunaga
Hideyoshi (Harvard East Asian Monographs) on Hideyoshi and Shogun: The Life of Tokugawa Ieyasu (Tuttle Classics) on Tokugawa Ieyasu. These are outdated but I'd recommend anyone else other than Stephen Turnbull.
Speaking of Turnbull, everyone else please look in The Samurai Sourcebook and Samurai Commanders. The only reason I'm putting Turnbull on the list is there seem to be no other English sources. Just remember Turnbull takes propaganda, fiction, and rumor at face value (interestingly he says Sadler did, but Sadler's book is oooooold) and from time to time have outright mistakes. If he talks tactics, ninjas, backroom politics, or conversations without citing a primary or Japanese secondary source, use the information with caution. Also IIRC most of his general numbers (ie numbers he produce without saying which primary source they're from) is can be traced back to Meiji Imperial Army book which is not accurate.
I might get back to you with the others if I get around to it, but as the request is large and I'm super busy lately I'll just leave you with a roundabout translation/paraphrase of Frois' description of Nobunaga:
>He is of average height, slender, little mustache, and has a high voice. He likes war and is constantly focused on training for war. He is very proud and very strict in delivering justice. If someone dishonours him he will without a doubt get revenge, but sometimes he displays a human and merciful side. He sleeps little and gets up early. He is not greedy, is decisive and very experienced at warfare. He [can be] incredibly impetuous and frantic but is not always so. He barely listens to the advice of his vassals, and all greatly respect him. He doesn't drink, eats little, is incredibly frank to others, and is arrogant about his own opinion. He looks down on all the other princes of Japan, and speaks to them as if they're subordinates. Everyone obeys him like an absolute monarch. Even when the fortunes of war are against him, he's calm and great at enduring hardship. He has great reason and judgement, and treats any kind of rites to God, the Buddha, pagan divination or superstition with disdain. In name at first he acts as if he belongs to Hokke Sect (Nichren Buddhism), but after attaining greatness he looks down on all idols. In a few points he follows Zen Buddhism and does not believe in the immortality of the soul or rewards and punishments in the afterlife. His house is incredibly clean, and he is incredibly meticulous in everything. He hates protracting in conversations and long preludes, and talks friendly even with lowly servants. He likes famous tea bowls, horses, swords, falconry, and really likes sumo wrestling. No one is allowed to wear weapons before him. He has a slight depressed look. Even when he meets difficulty he is fearless. Everyone obeys his every word.
There were a lot of islands separated by a lot of ocean. Lack of communication was probably the primary factor in them thinking they had to fight on. No Surrender is a good book about a soldier that hid for thirty years thinking the war was still on. People knew he was out there, but he refused to believe the Japanese Empire would ever surrender. Even when they dropped newspapers describing current events in Japan, he thought "those crafty Americans and their propaganda." A hand written note from his brother that was dropped was also dismissed with him thinking "now they have even imitated his handwriting!"
http://www.amazon.com/Tokyo-Vice-American-Reporter-Vintage/dp/0307475298/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1288744028&sr=1-1
Tokyo Vice - Jake Adelstein
I read his book:
http://www.amazon.com/No-Surrender-My-Thirty-Year-War/dp/1557506639
It's actually fascinating.
not sure if it was posted in here but good read!
http://www.amazon.com/No-Surrender-My-Thirty-Year-War/dp/1557506639
What kind of depth and detail are you looking for? A sure bet to start with is surely the Cambridge History of Japan series.
I enjoyed this book, but the price is wicked high apparently and I had the luxury of interlibrary loans. Oda Nobunaga isn't as popular in English-language literature because he's overshadowed by the Tokugawa shogunate that came after and Toyotomi Hideyoshi, unfortunately, and there's actually a great deal of Japanese and Chinese literature on the subject that never gets translated. Luckily, most works about Tokugawa Ieyasu and Toyotomi Hideyoshi will involve Oda Nobunaga, so you an always go that route.
Jake Adelstein wrote a book about his experiences with yakuza called Tokyo Vice. It was a fascinating read.
> Jeez, Lynch is only 71 now! He could certainly give us another 18 episodes before turning 75 if he really wanted to.
He'll keep going as long as he wants to. Jerry Yellin, "The Last Fighter Pilot" (of WWII) learned TM about the same year as Lynch did, and he's still going in his 90's. In fact, Jerry's goal is to be The Last Man Standing, and David will have been practicing TM for 70 years by the time he's Jerry's age, instead of 40 years, like Jerry.
The US has gotten very interested in Yakuza activity in the US in recent years. See also Tokyo Vice which goes into how the FBI fast tracked a liver transplant for a Japanese mob boss in exchange for help on a bust in the US.
I do not but this might interest you http://www.amazon.com/Tokyo-Underworld-Times-American-Gangster/dp/0375724893
It's not a particularly easy read but interesting enough.
Do you mean like this kind of Tanker? http://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/RAF-Tanker-Navigator-Paperback/p/1714
As for POW memoirs here's a couple of my faves
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Captivity-Slavery-Survival-Far-East/dp/1848846223/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1427815097&sr=1-1&keywords=9781848846227
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Escape-Auschwitz-Andrey-Pogozhev-ebook/dp/B00DN5VGEI/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=1-1&qid=1427815152
Luvassa elokuvia, elokuvia ja ehkä joku satunnainen Netflix-sarja. Kokemusta aion ryydittää oluella.
Historiapuolelta voi suositella Robert Whitingin Tokyo Underworldia. Ensimmäinen luku on hieman hidas, kun kertomus pohjustetaan katsauksella 2. maailmansodan jälkeisen Japanin tilanteeseen.
Tämän jälkeen alkaakin sitten aivan uskomaton tositarina, kun länsimainen gangsteri päättää avata pizzerian Roppongiin ja vallata oman nurkkansa yakuzojen vedonlyöntibisneksistä. Kulttuurishokista seuraa surrealistista menoa, puolin ja toisin.
It's from Tokyo Vice, it was a pretty good read. How much of it is true, I guess I don't know.
Ｔｈｉｓ ｉｓ ｂｏｏｋ ｏｆ ｅｘｐｅｒｔ ｏｆ ｊａｐａｎ ｃｒｉｍｅ ｐｅｏｐｌｅ ”ｙａｋｕｚａ”
https://www.amazon.com/Tokyo-Vice-American-Reporter-Police/dp/0307475298?ie=UTF8&ref_=asap_bc
If you want to more more about that, i highly recommend the book Tokyo Vice
Hiroo Onoda beat em by 2 years I think, I read his book recently, pretty awesome.
http://www.amazon.com/No-Surrender-Thirty-Year-Bluejacket-Books/dp/1557506639/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1314298829&sr=8-2
No Surrender: My Thirty-Year War https://www.amazon.com/dp/1557506639/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_nmajDb1MPSGBF
Different guy but the book you're looking for.
Tokyo Underworld: The Fast Times and Hard Life of an American Gangster in Japan by Robert Whiting.
Book description:
>"A fascinating look at some fascinating people who show how democracy advances hand in hand with crime in Japan."--Mario Puzo
>In this unorthodox chronicle of the rise of Japan, Inc., Robert Whiting, author of You Gotta Have Wa, gives us a fresh perspective on the economic miracle and near disaster that is modern Japan.
>Through the eyes of Nick Zappetti, a former GI, former black marketer, failed professional wrestler, bungling diamond thief who turned himself into "the Mafia boss of Tokyo and the king of Rappongi," we meet the players and the losers in the high-stakes game of postwar finance, politics, and criminal corruption in which he thrived. Here's the story of the Imperial Hotel diamond robbers, who attempted (and may have accomplished) the biggest heist in Tokyo's history. Here is Rikidozan, the professional wrestler who almost single-handedly revived Japanese pride, but whose own ethnicity had to be kept secret. And here is the story of the intimate relationships shared by Japan's ruling party, its financial combines, its ruthless criminal gangs, the CIA, American Big Business, and perhaps at least one presidential relative. Here is the underside of postwar Japan, which is only now coming to light.
More here:
Robert Whiting’s Adventures in the Tokyo Underworld
Tokyo Vice
ake Adelstein is the only American journalist ever to have been admitted to the insular Tokyo Metropolitan Police Press Club, where for twelve years he covered the dark side of Japan: extortion, murder, human trafficking, fiscal corruption, and of course, the yakuza. But when his final scoop exposed a scandal that reverberated all the way from the neon soaked streets of Tokyo to the polished Halls of the FBI and resulted in a death threat for him and his family, Adelstein decided to step down. Then, he fought back. In Tokyo Vice he delivers an unprecedented look at Japanese culture and searing memoir about his rise from cub reporter to seasoned journalist with a price on his head.
https://www.amazon.com/Tokyo-Vice-American-Reporter-Police/dp/0307475298
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jake_Adelstein&oldid=627123879
OMG, he is coming out with a movie 'Tokyo Vice'. Starring Daniel Radcliffe. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2887954/
He is described as an American reporter, not Jewish.
http://www.amazon.com/Tokyo-Vice-American-Reporter-Vintage/dp/0307475298
How Jewish networking works. Here he is promoted by Jon Stewart Leibowitz. He got Howard Rosenberg at ABC to get the Washington Post to publish his story.
http://thedailyshow.cc.com/videos/1stsxc/jake-adelstein
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0742222/
My personal recommendations:
My 30 year war by Onada Hiro:
This book was written by a Japanese lieutenant who refused to believe the war was over, and continued living in the jungles of the Philippines until the 70s.
https://www.amazon.com/No-Surrender-My-Thirty-Year-War/dp/1557506639/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1493673294&sr=8-1&keywords=Hiroo+Onoda
Battleground Pacific by Sterling Mace. A first person account from a USMC rifleman who fought in the Pacific war. He is also a redditor.
https://www.amazon.com/Battleground-Pacific-Marine-Riflemans-Odyssey/dp/1250005051?SubscriptionId=AKIAILSHYYTFIVPWUY6Q&tag=duckduckgo-d-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=1250005051
And the Forgotten Soldier by Guy Sajer, a French man who fought for the Germans on the Eastern Front.
https://www.amazon.com/Forgotten-Soldier-Guy-Sajer/dp/1574882864/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1493673668&sr=8-1&keywords=the+forgotten+soldier+by+guy+sajer
Happy reading!
> It actually isn't
Well crap, I thought this was based on a book. So it doesn't even have that.
I am father fond of Foreign Babes in Beijing by Rachel DeWoskin and I just finished Tokyo Vice by Jake Adelstein. Both are about foreigners and their observations living and working in China/Japan. It's interesting stuff.
Last Summer I read Jake Adelstein's Tokyo Vice, right after Ronson's Psychopath Test, actually. The two are quite different, not just in subject matter; I found Ronson's neuroses endearing, while Adelstein's subtle narcissism sometimes nagged at me. I would say both are in the same ballpark though, page turner journeys on fascinating subjects, by authors with relatable voices.
This might have been the last American casualty in Europe, but there is an entire book on the last American combat casualty in the entire war (guy was a bomber crew member in the Pacific)
http://www.amazon.com/Last-Die-Defeated-Forgotten-American/dp/0306823381
>Are you trying to say that the US is more centralized and top-down oriented than fascist dictatorships/Imperial Japan was?
This is what happens when you edit out the end of the sentence. It was a dictatorship with a MENTAL DEFECTIVE at the helm. Thus there was a total break down in chain of command. Read Bix's book Hirohito for more.
Learn to read for comprehension, not snip out bits that catch your eye.
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http://www.amazon.com/No-Surrender-Thirty-Year-Bluejacket-Books/dp/1557506639/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1269570463&sr=8-1
comes from that guy that wouldn't surrender
Tokyo Underworld, nuff said.
http://www.amazon.com/Tokyo-Underworld-Times-American-Gangster/dp/0375724893
A Boy Called H A story of a kid growing up during WW2
Shank's Mare also know as Tōkaidōchū Hizakurige. The best way the book was described to me was Beavis and Butthead in medieval Japan. It's about two travelers walking around and getting into trouble.
Musashi: An Epic Novel of the Samurai Era - the story of Miyoto Musashi, one of the most well known sword saints in Japan.
Shipwrecks A story of a village set in the Edo era, interesting premise but disappointing ending.
If you like the book Shogun, James Clavell wrote another one based during the Meji Restoration titled Gai-Jin
I'm about to graduate with a degree in Japanese History so I can recommend a lot of books on different topics, but I need to know something more specific. For a broad summarization of Japanese history, I recommend Andrew Gordon's A Modern History of Japan.
Since you're interested in Okinawa (which has been a big part of my focus), I'd recommend Okinawa: Cold War Island ed. by Chalmers Johnson, this book is more rooted in poli-sci. I found Christopher Nelson's Dancing with the Dead an extremely fascinating anthropological account of war memory and trauma in Okinawa. The first chapter of Norma Field's In the Realm of a Dying Emperor focuses on Chibana Shōichi, an Okinawan who burned Hi no Maru at a national sporting event (the rest of the book is really interesting and well written as well). I can plenty of other books depending on what you're interested in. Just let me know :)
"Letters from the End of the World" is a highly recommended read. It's a collection of a survivor's letters to his wife, who died shortly after the explosion. Pretty sobering.
Adding on to this if you wanted to read a book on the historical aspect of how integrated it all is, check out Tokyo Underworld. I had to read it for one of my seminar courses and boy was it a bit telling. The Yakuza are involved in so much.
Tokyo Vice by Jake Adelstein
An interesting aside to this is how close Emperoro Hirohito of WWII fame/infamy was chronologically to the Meji Restoration that we all associate with samurai and bushido and the like; Emperor Meiji was Emperor Hirohito's grandfather. Japan's transformation from a feudal society utilizing horses and swords to an industrialized nation, then a world power, was incredibly swift.
A very interesting Hirohito biography, lots of good info about him and Japan from the start of the twentieth century to the American occupation of postwar Japan: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0060931302
Read Tokyo Vice It's the story of the only America jounalist to be amitted to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Press Club. You'll find that the Yakuza and the TMP seem to have a very cozy relationship and that a lot of Japan's famed low crime rates should really should not be trusted.
Also, the Yakuza kill you if you step out of line w/ any of these unspoken rules. Or at the very least, if you have a dispute with a neighbor where they put their fence then you go to the Yakuza (Japanese mafia) to sort it out if you don't have the patience to wait the 1+ year it could take to settle in court . I'm not exaggerating about this latter example, check out out this book for how dominant the Yakuza is in Japanese culture: https://www.amazon.com/Tokyo-Vice-American-Reporter-Police/dp/0307475298