This item has been stored at home. The contents are in like-new, excellent condition, but there is some aging on the cover and obi due to the passage of time. We appreciate your understanding. "Why did the West come all the way to Japan, a small corner of the East?" "Could I have stopped the war if I were there?" "Why did Japan achieve economic development again?"... This book carefully follows the movements of the world and reconsiders the period from the Edo era to the present day within a larger flow. History is not just about following a chronological table. If you feel the "hearts" of our predecessors who faced the storms of the times, such as joy, sorrow, pride, and confusion, it will become more familiar and interesting. A must-read for all Japanese people, discarding stereotypical views of history. History as a trembling of the soul (across all ages) Feeling it at the core of the soul, that is what it means to study history. The meaning of the Edo period (17th century to mid-19th century) An unprecedented peaceful and cultural era in world history About the Meiji era (late 19th century to the 1890s) Running desperately in a cruel world The Sino-Japanese and Russo-Japanese Wars (1894-1910) Having to fight wars to protect independence The beginning of the Showa era (1910s-late 1920s) Japan's misfortune in not noticing the changes in the world order What was Manchukuo? (early 1930s) Japan, which began to walk its own path, and the sharp confrontation with the West About the early Showa era (late 1920s-1930s) Seeking a new national design in severe poverty What was the Greater East Asia War? (late 1930s-1945) The sadness of having to proceed with a war with no chance of winning Did the occupation change Japan? (1945-1951) A clear goal was born, and there was a strange cheerfulness High economic growth (1951-1960s) A happy era when economic development gave the people a sense of unity [etc.] From reviews: History is written with a conversational approach, and it really resonated with me! This is a book that people of all generations should read! I think it is contemporary history that should be learned now, having been excluded from Japanese history education! Even if you want to refuse imports, you can't say anything if you are a colony. In the international society of the Meiji era, war was an important competitive event. The modernization of the Korean Peninsula was carried out by Japan. If the modernization by the Meiji Restoration was like a "youth" for Japan, a process of shedding its skin and becoming independent, then Japan stole that "youth" from the Korean Peninsula.