The Cambridge History of Japan, Vol. 1) - Ancient Japan, 300 BC - AD 784 (1993. e2008)

Preface: We now know that human beings have lived on the Japanese archipelago for about 100,000 years. Volume I of The Cambridge History of Japan proposes to cover the first 99,000 years, a long period that ended when Japan's imperial capital was moved away from Heijo (now Nara) in A.D. 784. But until the introduction of agriculture and the use of iron tools and weapons around 300 B.C., people residing on thatnortheastern appendage to the Asian continent had made only slight progress toward civilization. Consequently, most of this volume is devoted to the final one thousand years (from 300 B.C. to A.D. 784) - the ninety-eighth millennium - of Japan's ancient past.The last two centuries (587-784) of that millennium receive a disproportionate share of attention, even though archaeological discoveries and meticulous research in Korean and Chinese sources now make it possible to outline a relatively rapid rise of kingdoms during the previous eight centuries. At about the time of Christ, some of these kingdoms were exchanging missions with the courts of imperial China, and by the third century A.D. the kingdom of Yamato was making military conquests in distant regions of the archipelago and burying its priestly rulers in huge burial mounds (kofun)...

Japan's ancient age was a period of radical and political change during which a Chinese-style empire emerged. This volume of The Cambridge History of Japan spans the beginnings of human existence to the end of the eighth century, focusing on the thousand years between 300 B.C. and 784, the end of the fabulous Nara period. The volume explores this period in four stages: (1) The Yayoi period (to about 250 A.D.) when small kingdoms and kingdom federations accumulated enough power to dispatch diplomatic missions to Korea and China; (2) the Yamato period (to 587) when priestly rulers, having gained economic and military power, conquered most of Japan; (3) the Century of Reform (to 710) when Japanese leaders, pressed by China's expanding T'ang empire, set out to build a strong Chinese-style empire of their own; (4) the Nara period (to 784) when spectacular literary, artistic, architectural, and religious advances were made.

"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. 1. Ancient Japan / edited by Delmer M. Brown v. 2. Heian Japan / edited by Donald H. Shively, William H. McCullough 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. This volume covers the Heian period, the golden age of the Japanese imperial court. It emphasizes political history, the land system, provincial administration, the capital and its society, the acceptance of Buddhism and religious practices Japan's oldest extant chronicles, the Kojiki and the Nihon shoki, describe the trek of Kamu-yamato-ihare-biko no Mikoto from south Kyushu to the Yamato plain accompanied by hand-chosen clan (uji) heads.