Samurai Revolution : The Dawn of Modern Japan Seen Through the Eyes of the Shogun's Last Samurai

See the dawn of modern Japan through the lens of the power players who helped shape it — as well as those who fought against it — in this exploration of Samurai history. Samurai Revolution tells the fascinating story of Japan's historic transformation at the end of the nineteenth century from a country of shoguns, feudal lords and samurai to a modern industrialized nation. The book covers the turbulent Meiji Period from 1868 to 1912, widely considered "the dawn of modern Japan," a time of Samurai history in which those who choose to cling to their traditional bushido way of life engaged in frequent and often deadly clashes with champions of modernization. Knowledge of this period is essential to understand how and why Japan evolved into the nation it is today. The book opens with the fifteen-year fall of the Tokugawa Shogunate, which had ruled Japan for over 250 years, and the restoration of the Meiji emperor to a position of power at the expense of the feudal Daimyo lords. It chronicles the bloody first decade of the newly reestablished monarchy, in which the new government worked desperately to consolidate its power and introduce the innovations that would put Japan on equal footing with the Western powers threatening to dominate it. Finally, Samurai Revolution goes on to tell the story of the Satsuma Rebellion, a failed coup attempt that is widely viewed as the final demise of the samurai class in Japan. This book is the first comprehensive history and analysis in English covering all the key figures in this exciting drama and is the result of over twenty-five years of studying this critical period in Japanese history. The book contains numerous original translations of crucial documents and correspondence of the time, as well as photographs and maps. Samurai Revolution goes in-depth to reveal how one era ended and another began. This is the story of the samurai revolution that spanned the third quarter of the nineteenth century. It transformed Japan from a country of hundreds of feudal domains under the hegemony of the Tokugawa Shogun, into a modern industrialized world power under the unifying rule of the Emperor. The shogun was head of the ruling Tokugawa family, and his regime was known as the Tokugawa Bakufu (Bakufu, for short). The first chapter of Samurai Revolution opens with the arrival of American warships commanded by Commodore Matthew Perry in 1853, sparking the revolution that would end with the fall of the Bakufu in 1868. The last chapter ends with the crushing defeat in 1877 of an army of former samurai who stood against the Imperial government they had created, marking the end of the samurai era, and with it the last vestiges of feudal Japan. The series of tumultuous events between 1853 and 1868 are collectively called the Meiji Restoration (i.e., the restoration of Imperial rule). The Meiji Restoration was Japans modern revolution. It was different from other great revolutions in that it was brought about by men of the ruling castei.e., samurai. It is a human drama of epic proportion, which is how author Romulus Hillsborough treats it in Samurai Revolution. And just as the Meiji Restoration was the dawn of modern Japan, knowledge of this history is essential for understanding the complexities of todays Japan. The overthrow of the Bakufu in 1868 sparked a contained civil war that would have spread throughout the country, endangering Japans sovereignty, had Katsu Kaishu, as commander in chief of the fallen shoguns still formidable military, not negotiated an eleventh-hour peace with Saigo Takamori, commander of the Imperial Army. While Katsu is a household name in Japan, Samurai Revolution, based largely on primary sources, is the first comprehensive English language treatment of the mans life, mind, and important role in the Meiji Restoration, though Hillsborough has written about him in other books as well. And though the focus is on Katsu Kaishu, this book is more of a history than a traditional biography. In telling this history from the perspective of Katsu Kaishu, commissioner of the shoguns navy and later supreme commander of the Tokugawa military, Hillsborough also portrays an array of other leading players in the Meiji Restoration drama examining their values and social systems, their culture and ideals, their desires and fears, and their historical perspectives against a backdrop of tumultuous events that would change their world forever. Overview The Introduction provides the historical and political background of Japan under the hegemony of the Tokugawa Bakufu. The body of Samurai Revolution (not including the Epilogue) is divided into two Books (published as one volume), comprising a brief Prologue and five distinct Parts in 37 Chapters, and ending with the lengthy Epilogue and Appendix. Book 1: The Fall of the Tokugawa Bakufu (1853-1868) covers the cataclysmic fifteen-year history of the fall of the Bakufu and the restoration of Imperial rulei.e., the Meiji Restoration (1853-1868). The Prologue and Parts I through III comprise Book 1. Book 2: The Rise of Imperial Japan (1868-1878), comprised of Parts IV and V, chronicles the first decade of Imperial Japan (1868-1877) under the newly restored monarchy. The Epilogue summarizes the last two decades of Katsu Kaishus life (1879-1899). Throughout the volume, Hillsborough quotes Katsu Kaishu, a prolific writer, focusing on his journals, letters, histories, biographical sketches, and oral memoirs. (All citations are Hillsboroughs own translations of the original texts.) As such, Kaishus unique personality the down-to-earth attitude, magnanimity, scathing humor, genius in overcoming adversity, and humanity come forth. Fourteen of the thirty-seven chapters focus on historical events and sociocultural phenomena in which Katsu Kaishu had little or no direct involvementbut which nonetheless had a profound effect on him personally and on Japanese society and history overall. The remaining twenty-three chapters focus either on Katsu Kaishu or events in which he was directly involved. The revolution, broadly speaking, pitted three of the most powerful samurai clans Satsuma, Choshu and Tosa against the Bakufu and its allies, with the Emperor and his Court caught in the middle. Beside Katsu Kaishu, among the most prominent men are: Ii Naosuk, the boy-shoguns dictatorial regent whose assassination in the spring of 1860 marked the beginning of the end of the Bakufu; Tokugawa Yoshinobu, the last shogun, whose rise and fall is integral to this history; Saigo Takamori and Okubo Toshimichi, who emerged, respectively, as the military and political leaders of Satsuma, the former the driving force behind the revolution, the latter the most powerful man in the early Imperial government; Yoshida Shoin, Takasugi Shinsaku, and Katsura Kogoro, respectively the spiritual/academic, military and political leaders of Choshu, without whom the revolution, as it happened, would have been unachievable; and the outlaw samurai Sakamoto Ryoma of Tosa, who, formerly Katsu Kaishus protg, brokered the military alliance between Satsuma and Choshu to overthrow the government his mentor represented. Samurai Revolution is the first English-language presentation and analyses of these powerful and alluring personalities in one volume aimed at a general international audience. See the dawn of modern Japan through the lens of the power players who helped shape it -- as well as those who fought against it -- in this exploration of Samurai history.

Samurai Revolution tells the fascinating story of Japan's historic transformation at the end of the nineteenth century from a country of shoguns, feudal lords and samurai to a modern industrialized nation. The book covers the turbulent Meiji Period from 1868 to 1912, widely considered "the dawn of modern Japan," a time of Samurai history in which those who choose to cling to their traditional bushido way of life engaged in frequent and often deadly clashes with champions of modernization. Knowledge of this period is essential to understand how and why Japan evolved into the nation it is today.

The book opens with the fifteen-year fall of the Tokugawa Shogunate, which had ruled Japan for over 250 years, and the restoration of the Meiji emperor to a position of power at the expense of the feudal Daimyo lords. It chronicles the bloody first decade of the newly reestablished monarchy, in which the new government worked desperately to consolidate its power and introduce the innovations that would put Japan on equal footing with the Western powers threatening to dominate it. Finally, Samurai Revolution goes on to tell the story of the Satsuma Rebellion, a failed coup attempt that is widely viewed as the final demise of the samurai class in Japan.

This book is the first comprehensive history and analysis in English that includes all the key figures from this dramatic time in Japanese politics and society, and is the result of over twenty-five years of research focused on this critical period in Japanese history. The book contains numerous original translations of crucial documents and correspondence of the time, as well as photographs and maps.

Samurai Revolution goes in-depth to reveal how one era of ended and another began. Japan's dramatic rise from a political backwater to a great power; an inside look at the men and their times that shaped a nation. Samurai Revolution tells the fascinating story of Japan's transformation from a backward country of feudal lords and samurai under the control of the shogun into a modern industrialized nation under the unifying rule of the Emperor. Japan's modern revolution spanned the third-quarter of the nineteenth century; knowledge of this history is essential to understand how and why Japan evolved into the nation it is today. Samurai Revolution is divided into two books in one complete volume. Book I chronicles the series of tumultuous and bloody events between 1853 and 1868, collectively called the Meiji Restoration, the "dawn of modern Japan," when the shogun's government was overthrown and the Emperor was restored to his ancient seat of power. Book 2 covers the first turbulent decade of the restored monarchy in which the new... Samurai Revolution Tells The Fascinating Story Of Japan's Transformation From A Backward Country Of Feudal Lords And Samurai Under The Control Of The Shogun Into A Modern Industrialized Nation Under The Unifying Rule Of The Emperor. Japan's Modern Revolution Spanned The Third-quarter Of The Nineteenth Century; Knowledge Of This History Is Essential To Understand How And Why Japan Evolved Into The Nation It Is Today. The Fall Of The Tokugawa Bakufu (1853 -- 1868). The Outsider -- The Outsider Steps In -- The Outsider Steps Back -- The Rise Of Imperial Japan (1868 -- 1878). The Outsider Takes Control -- The Outsider And The Imperial Government. Romulus Hillsborough. Includes Bibliographical References (pages [599]-601) And Index.