Buy used:

$18.56

$5.41 delivery June 10 - 13. Details

Arrives before Father's Day

Select delivery location

Used: Acceptable | Details

Sold by JDZSales

Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.

Other sellers on Amazon

Used (10) from $18.56 + $5.41 shipping

Follow the author

William E. Deal

Follow

Handbook To Life In Medieval And Early Modern Japan Hardcover – January 1, 2005

by William E. Deal (Author)

4.5 17 ratings

See all formats and editions

Sorry, there was a problem loading this page. Try again.

Introduces readers to the significant people and eventscultural, social, political, and historicalas well as the everyday experiences and elements of material culture from the beginning of the Kamakura period in 1185 through the end of the Edo period in 1868.

Print length

415 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Facts on File
Publication date

January 1, 2005
Grade level

10 - 12
Dimensions

7.75 x 1.25 x 9.75 inches
ISBN-10

0816056226
ISBN-13

978-0816056224
See all details

Charles J. Dunn
72
Paperback
33 offers from $6.64
Stephen Longstreet
28
Paperback
53 offers from $8.99
Michael Dylan Foster
1,776
Paperback
51 offers from $13.14

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 10 Up–Covering Japanese history, culture, and society between 1185 and 1868 C.E., this resource highlights the complexity of this society by describing the social and economic hierarchies, the power struggles, the cultural innovations and the religious worldviews of that period. It consists of well-written narratives, thematically organized into 12 categories beginning with Historical Context. Warriors and Warfare, Everyday Life, Religion, Travel and Communication, and Performing Arts are some of the other topics covered. The book is most suitable for students with some knowledge of this nation's history and culture. Features include capsule biographies; black-and-white maps, charts, and photos; line drawings from the period; and a 19-page bibliography. Given the thematic organization of the book, students will need to use the extensive index to access specific information. This title will serve both reference and circulating collections.–Jack Forman, Mesa College Library, San Diego
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

This latest entry in the publisher's Handbook to Life series surveys Japanese life during the Kamakura (1185-1333), Muromachi (1333-1573), Azuchi-Momoyama (1573-1615), and Edo (1615-1868) periods. The Edo period, marked by some 250 years of both peace and nearly complete exclusion of foreign influences, constitutes early modern Japan. Arrangement is topical, with 12 chapters covering subjects such as "Land, Environment, and Population"; "Government"; "Warriors and Warfare"; and "Art and Architecture." Each of these is subdivided into from 3 to 12 subchapters, listed in the table of contents. Each subchapter is itself often extensively subdivided. "Religion," for example, is organized into an introduction and sections on Shinto traditions, Japanese Buddhist traditions, Christianity, the role of women, and suggestions for further reading. The section on Shinto is itself composed of 9 sections, for example, "Shinto Rituals and Festivals" and "Shinto Deities." The latter devotes a paragraph to each of 12 major deities.

Valuable supporting features include some 85 black-and-white photographs and illustrations, 5 maps, 17 tables and charts, and a thorough bibliography and index. The bibliography of some 600 English-language publications is a single alphabetical listing, most easily approached through the topically arranged reading suggestions at the end of each chapter. The index often pairs English terms with italicized romaji (English transliteration of Japanese) equivalents. This admirable practice is repeated throughout the clearly written text. An otherwise useful two-page chart of "Syllabic Sounds in the Japanese Language" (hiragana and katakana) suffers a common fate: the small lines and circles used to indicate voicing and palatalization are difficult to see without a magnifying glass.

This solid reference should find use not just among the anime and manga crowd but among all seeking reliable guidance to the basics of a country with an extraordinarily rich history and culture. Highly recommended for public and university libraries. Craig Bunch
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Facts on File (January 1, 2005)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 415 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0816056226
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0816056224
Grade level ‏ : ‎ 10 - 12
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.2 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.75 x 1.25 x 9.75 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,898,040 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #2,627 in Japanese History (Books)
- #70,116 in United States History (Books)
- #104,338 in Teen & Young Adult Books

Customer Reviews:
4.5 17 ratings

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Videos

Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video!

Upload your video

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

William E. Deal

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5

17 global ratings

3 star

0%

2 star

9%

1 star

0%

How customer reviews and ratings work

Sort reviews by

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Eric Griffith

Nicely organized by subject, a great reference

Reviewed in the United States on July 1, 2010

Verified Purchase

I got this book because I am working on writing a historical novel. Of course the story is fiction and I take an author's "artistic liberty" at times, but I want to paint as accurate a picture as I can of life in those times while entertaining readers. It would be very easy for a western writer to add many unrealistic details. Japanese culture and thinking are not easy matters to comprehend for us westerners. I am also well aware that my American heritage and upbringing significantly colors my storyline ideas, so I like to check myself often.

I like this book because it briefly covers a host of topics, including daily life, religion, society, government, philosophy, and of course warfare and history. The book is organized in such a way that I can pick a very specific subject and go right to it. It serves as a starting point. For example: if I want to learn about the role of women in Japanese society I can read the 2 or 3 pages in the book, which might generate more specific questions for me to research.

Which leads me to another cool thing about this book: at the end of each section is a list of further reading references on each topic. This is a good thing, because so many topics are covered, but somewhat briefly and in summary, so being pointed in the right direction for further study is a welcome feature.

For my purposes, this book is a very useful reference tool.

13 people found this helpful

Helpful

CM

Loved it

Reviewed in the United States on April 13, 2021

Verified Purchase

Xmas gift - she loved it.

Reviewed in the United States on June 25, 2016

Quite excellent.

Fantastic book (but with a few Turnbull errors)!

Reviewed in the United States on July 6, 2014

Really good book. Well organised with chapters dealing with specific subjects rather than a timeline with mixed info.

I own around 300 (!) books on Japan and Samurai (i.e. most of what is published in English + a lot of Japanese ones) and this is one of my all time favorites.

The only drawbacks are a few silly statements and "facts" that (mostly) can be traced back to having Turnbulls books as source material... IMHO: Dr Turnbull is in a different league (and not in a positive way) and this author (or anybody else for that matter) should not put too much trust in what that man has written ;)

Some false claims in this book:
- calling naginata with two meter long shafts "enormous ... more than one soldier would be required to deploy" (p.162).
- some of the usual bull about "ninja" and how entire villages "were devoted to instruction and mastery" (p.165) instead of embracing the fact that ninjutsu was just stealthy/espionage techniques used by ordinary warriors (and more often so in poorer provinces - like Iga and Koge - with weaker armies trying to avoid pitched battles).
- silly claims around "ninja weapons" and how they and their arts were less noble (p.166) - black clad ninjas and their supposedly special weapons are a myth that simply will not die (like that Vikings had horned helmets).
- how the horo was used as a protection against arrows (p.172) - typical Turnbull nonsense, probably derived from illustrations showing messengers with arrows stuck in the horo (which obviously is not the same as it providing protection).
- describing Go as a game were you *move* black and white stones across a wooden board (p.353).
- ...

Overall this book is still a fantastic source of information!

13 people found this helpful

Helpful

Linnell

Well-organized, but takes too much for granted

Reviewed in the United States on January 18, 2018

Verified Purchase

Sometimes, an author knows so much about his or her subject that it's impossible to step out of that knowledgeable mindset and write a clear guide. That's the case here. The reader needs a thorough grasp of Japanese history to get much out of the thumbnail sketches of a wide variety of subjects offered here.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

soulfringe

No Fluff. No Bluff.

Reviewed in the United States on December 20, 2012

I've just recently finished writing a term paper on the Kamakura era of Japan. I used this book as one of 7 print sources I checked out, along with various online texts and essays. Out of all of them, this was by far the best!

This is the way all historical books should be. In my time as a college student, most books I have used for lectures and research have been very "wordy", to say the least. This book does the opposite and breaks things down in a very simple easy to understand format. And while simple, it manages to cover a large magnitude of material.

I highly recommend this book if you are researching or have interest in any aspects that were a part of such early eras of Japan. I enjoyed it so much and found so invaluable to my research, that even though my paper is done and can recheck this book out whenever I so desire, I am still going to purchase a copy for myself. Amazing book.

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

MICHAEL JAY

Excellent!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 23, 2013

Verified Purchase

Well written, clear, and covers most aspects of the period. Lots of useful detail and I did not find any of the errors which mar some other books on this period. Very nicely produced and most useful if you are interested in this period. Highly recommended.

2 people found this helpful

See more reviews

Image Unavailable

Follow the author

Handbook To Life In Medieval And Early Modern Japan Hardcover – January 1, 2005

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

From Booklist

Product details

Videos

About the author

William E. Deal

Customer reviews

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Top reviews from other countries