Emperor of Japan Review

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Emperor of Japan ReviewAuthor Donald Keene begins "Emperor of Japan" by introducing an interesting paradox: How is it that the Meiji emperor is one of the most revered figures in Japanese history, yet so little is known about the emperor as an individual? The aim of "Emperor of Japan" is to shed some light on the life of the Meiji emperor while placing him in the context of his times. Keene, however, only partially succeeds in this regard due to several problems he himself highlighted. The Meiji emperor kept no diary but wrote thousands of poems, although few revealed his true thoughts; official court chronicles kept a detailed record on the emperor's activities but all were concerned with events (i.e. the emperor did this and that); and eyewitness accounts by relatives and advisors-although extremely valuable-were sometimes contradictory or inaccurate.
Despite such formidable obstacles, Keene nevertheless does an incredible job of bringing Meiji to life by pulling as much sources together and making educated speculations on the implications of Meiji's day-to-day activities. Meiji was a diligent emperor who understood the gravity of his position and the responsibilities it entailed by taking a more active role than his predecessors in discussing and examining state matters with his officials. He had toured Japan a number of times during his reign, out of the conviction that an emperor should be closer to his people. He was open to adopting western ways but remained a traditionalist, as exemplified by his distrust of western medicine and his preference for hearing lectures on Confucian philosophy. He placed great value on education, as shown by his propensity to tour schools and offer dictionaries as gifts to pupils and his obsession with his son's (and the future Taisho emperor) education and curriculum.
The real strength of the book, in this reader's opinion, is the detailed account of Japan's march towards modernity from the end of the Tokugawa shogunate through the first decade of the 20th century. Readers will get an extremely detailed account of the Meiji Restoration, the political disputes that led to the Satsuma Rebellion, Meiji and his advisors' thoughts on the Sino-Japanese and Russo-Japanese wars, and Japan's search for a viable and more modern system of governance. Individuals like Saigo Takamori and Ito Hirobumi come to life in Keene's account.
I recommend this book for anyone who familiar with modern Japanese history and is interested in reading this narrative on the life and times of a well-known-yet poorly understood-individual.Emperor of Japan Overview

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