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The cover of Inventing Japan

Inventing Japan

Ian Buruma

How did Japan remake itself again and again, and what story did it tell about each remaking?

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At a glance

Author
Ian Buruma

Why read it

  • You will see how a nation can rebuild its image after defeat, and what it chooses to forget
  • You will understand how a rapid push to modernise can end in war and then in reinvention
  • You will learn to read national celebrations, such as an Olympics, as messages a country sends about itself

Who it is for

  • Travellers and readers who want to understand modern Japan
  • Students of how countries rebuild after defeat
  • Anyone who notices Japan's wartime memory is still disputed

Contents

  1. PROLOGUE: THE TOKYO OLYMPICS
  2. 1 THE BLACK SHIPS
  3. 2 CIVILIZATION AND ENLIGHTENMENT
  4. 3 ERO GURO NANSENSU
  5. 4 AH, OUR MANCHURIA
  6. 5 WAR AGAINST THE WEST
  7. 6 TOKYO BOOGIE-WOOGIE
  8. 7 1955 AND ALL THAT
  9. EPILOGUE: THE END OF THE POSTWAR

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