By 1853 Japan had been transformed from a sparsely populated land of nonliterate
tribal peoples into an elaborately structured commercial society sustaining
massive cities and a varied array of sophisticated cultural production. In this
authoritative survey, Conrad Totman examines the origins of Japanese
civilization and explores in detail the classical, medieval, and early-modern
epochs, weaving interpretations of the major themes in Japan's cultural and
political development into a rich historical narrative.