01752nam a22002171i 450000500170000000800410001702000390005804000250009708200120012210000420013424501350017626400420031126400110035330000790036433600210044333700250046433800230048950000510051252009500056365100210151320201222103705.0201222t20172017ja ao||e  ||| 001 0 eng d  a9784805313893cRM 60.00qpaperback  aPPAKbengcPPAKerda  223a9251 aClements, Jonathan,d1971-,eauthor. 12aA BRIEF HISTORY OF JAPAN :bSAMURAI, SHŌGUN AND ZEN : THE EXTRAORDINARY STORY OF THE LAND OF THE RISING SUN /cJONATHAN CLEMENTS 1aTokyo :bTuttle Publishing ,c[2017]. 4c©2017  a288 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates bmaps and illustration ,c21 cm.  2rdacontentatext  2rdamediaaunmediated  2rdacarrieravolume  aIncludes bibliographical references and index.  aASIAN HISTORY. This fascinating history of Japan tells the story of the people of Japan, from ancient teenage priest-queens to teeming hordes of salarymen, a nation that once sought to conquer China, yet also shut itself away for two centuries in self-imposed seclusion. Stretching for nearly 2000 miles and encompassing almost 7000 islands, Japan has the fourth largest GDP and the tenth largest population in the world. Japan is a country of paradoxes, a modern nation steeped in ancient traditions; a democracy with an  emperor as head of state; a famously safe society built on 108 volcanoes and an active earthquake zone. Despite a  reputation for sprawling cities and cutting-edge technology, seventy-three percent of its land comprises uninhabited mountains and forests. First revealed to the West in the Travels of Marco Polo, Japan was the legendary faraway land defended by the fearsome Kamikaze storm, and ruled by a divine sovereign. 0aJapanxHistory.