Product Description: In contrast to the enduring stereotype of a ‘nation of samurai’, this book uses provincial newspapers and local records to hear the voices of ordinary people living in imperial Japan through several decades of war and peace. These voices reveal the authentic experiences, opinions and emotions of men, women and children...read more

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Product Description: Draws on letters and diaries from the battlefield, provincial newspapers, and local histories to illuminate the complex and diverse experiences of soldiers and civilians as war ushered Japan into the modern world. Describes the military and diplomatic context of the war, the impression of the troops as they journeyed to the front, their attitudes toward other Asians, and their sense of nationalism and duty...read more

An overview of the history of modern Korea discusses the political and socio-economic changes beginning with the latter half of the nineteenth century