Eyes On Japan

ON JAPAN BY VICTOR 1. YAKHONTOFF AUTHOR OF Russia and the Soviet Union in the Far East 9 The Chinese Soviets etc., etc. Illustrated COWARD-McCANN, INC. New York To MY WIFE AND MY DAUGHTER together with whom I enjoyed many years in Japan Within the four seas all men are brothers. CONFUCIUS. From the evils sent by Heaven there is deliverance from the evils we bring upon ourselves there is no escape. Japanese Maxim. PREFACE THERE are a multitude of books on Japan and the Far East, Even the short Bibliography found at the end of this volume, listing mostly the works published in recent years only offers a proof to the above statement. But still there are very few, if any, among them which may be considered as giving under one cover all the funda mentals necessary for the acquaintance with Nippon, The present book is an attempt to give such a concise source for reference on various aspects of Japans life economic, social, political and cultural past and present, domestic and international. It is by no means a substi tute for the unique work of the late Professor Basil Hall Chamberlain, The Things Japanese. That work still remains an unsurpassed short encyclopedia, even though, being published more than thirty years ago, a part of it now should be accepted as history of things as they were and not as they are. The present volume does not pre tend to do much more than to bring information up to date. It is designed to offer the general reader a book answering without minor details most of the questions arising from reading the daily press. It seems timely, for the press is constantly and increasingly discussing Japan and the Far Eastern problems. It includes material that may well serve torefute some of the numerous and widespread erroneous notions about that part of the world, It shows, for example, that the old conception of Japan as a small insular country, deprived of natural resources, is no longer correct. Japan of today is a large colonial empire in control of a territory larger than that of Ger many, England and France, without their colonies, com bined. It controls a population already larger than that ix x PREFACE of the United States, and who knows may soon have under her control a population larger even than that of her other neighbor, the U. S. S. R. Another point the book may serve to dissipate is that war between Japan and the U. S. S. R. is unavoidable. That war can be prevented. Finally, the book tries to show that the assertion that the U. S. A. has no particular interest in Asia in general, and in China in particular, is not warranted by facts. There are numerous Japanese names to be found in the text, but always accompanied with the explanation or translation, and invariably set in italics. Of course, they are found in the Index too, where one may look for the unfamiliar word and consequently find the explanation in the text. The family names in Japan usually precede the given name, though along with her modernization the Western style is being adopted more and more. Therefore we thought it advisable to keep the given names of per sonages of modern time in parentheses, be it before or after the family name. The author wishes to acknowledge with thanks the co operation, of his good friend, Mr. J. Fletcher Smith, for improving on numerous points his imperfect KnglLsh. CONTENTS PREFACE ix I. How JAPAN BECAME WHAT SHE Is TODAY 1 Mythology Period ojAutocracy 660 B. C.-A. D. 1192 From the Ascension of the First Emperor to the Establishment of the Shogunate. The Shogunate Th Period of Feudalism 1192-1868 House of Minamoto House of Hojo House of Ashikaga Toyotomi Hideyoshi Tokugawa Period. Period After the Restoration Meiji Era. IT...