The Cambridge History of Japan series - Medieval Japan (Volume 3 of 6)

This third volume in The Cambridge History of Japan is devoted to the three and a half centuries spanning the final decades of the twelfth century when the Kamakura bakufu was founded, to the mid-sixteenth century when civil wars raged following the effective demise of the Muromachi bakufu. Volume 3 contains thirteen specially commissioned essays written by leading Japanese and American scholars that survey the historical events and developments in medieval Japan's polity, economy, society, and culture, as well as its relations with its Asian neighbors. The essays reflect the most recent scholarly research on the history of this period. The volume creates a rich tapestry of the events that took place during these colorful centuries, when the warrior class ruled Japan, institutions underwent fundamental transformations, the economy grew steadily, and Japanese culture and society evolved with surprising vitality to leave legacies that still characterize and affect contemporary Japan. "The Cambridge History of Japan is the first major collaborative synthesis to present the current state of knowledge of Japanese history for the English-reading world. The series draws on the expertise and research of leading Japanese specialists as well as the foremost Western historians of Japan. From prehistory to the present day, the series encompasses the events and developments in Japanese polity, economy, culture, religion and foreign affairs. In the distinguished tradition of Cambridge histories, the completed series provides an indispensable reference tool for all students and scholars of Japan and the Far East."--Provided by publisher Japan's ancient age was a period of radical social and political change during which a Chinese-style empire emerged. This volume in The Cambridge History of Japan spans the beginnings of human existence to the end of the eight century, focusing on the thousand years between 300 B. C. and A. D. 784 when the Nara period came to an end. --V.3. Medieval Japan, edited by Kozo Yamamura. v.4. Early modern Japan, edited by John Whitney Hall. v.5. The nineteenth century, edited by Marius B. Jansen. v.6. The twentieth century, edited by Peter Duus