Giving Up the Gun: Japan’s Reversion to the Sword, 1545-1879

this Is A Significant Story, And Perrin Tells It Marvelously Well, With Rich Detail, Captivating Quotations From Observers Of The Time, Both Japanese And Western, And A Wealth Of Revealing Comparisons With Contemporary Technology, Warfare, And Life In Europe. This Little Book Is Both Thought-provoking And A Delight To Read.—edwin O. Reischauer, Former U.s. Ambassador To Japan professor Noel Perrin Has Written An Elegant Monograph, Magnificently Illustrated With A Wealth Of Japanese Prints.—new York Times Book Review through His Description Of One Historical Event In Japan's National Experience, Noel Perrin Has Written A Book As Tight And Elegant As Haiku. The Story Is A Fascinating One: Japan's Introduction To, Mastery Of, And Subsequent Abandonment Of, The Gun.. Perrin's Work Is So Crisp And Interesting, And So Loaded With Background Information And Revealing Anecdotes, That The Whole Peculiar Episode It Describes Jumps To Life From Its Pages.—the New Republic [perrin] Has Set Down A Fascinating Story, One Which Has Long Been Inaccessible To The West. Giving Up The Gun, Written For General Readership, Is Throughly Enjoyable-filled With Marvelous Anecdotes And Illustrations.—washington Post Book World Lord Hideyoshi, the regent of Japan at the time, took the first step toward the control of firearms. It was a very small step, and it was not taken simply to protect feudal lords from being shot at by peasants but to get all weapons out of the hands of civilians. He said nothing about arms control. Instead, he announced that he was going to build a statue of Buddha that would make all existing statues look like midgets. It would be so enormous (the figure was about twice the scale of the Statue of Liberty), that many tons of iron would be needed just for the braces and bolts. Still more was required to erect the accompanying temple, which was to cover a piece of ground something over an eighth of a mile square. All farmers, ji-samurai, and monks were invited to contribute their swords and guns to the cause. They were, in fact, required to. -- from publisher description This is a significant story, and Perrin tells it marvelously well, with rich detail, captivating quotations from observers of the time, both Japanese and Western, and a wealth of revealing comparisons with contemporary technology, warfare, and life in Europe. This little book is both thought-provoking and a delight to read. Edwin O. Reischauer, Former U.S. Ambassador to Japan