John Harington Gubbins, long a British diplomat and translator in Japan, traces the country’s history from the great reforms of the seventh century and the adoption of Chinese culture through feudalism and the Tokugawa shoguns to the reopening to foreigners, the Restoration and the struggles over a constitution. Chapters on religion, the family system and education complete the picture.
A clear, well-informed 1922 history by someone who watched the Meiji transformation at close range. Download the free EPUB.