Books like The Making of Modern Japan by Marius B. Jansen

Herbert P. Bix’s Pulitzer‑winning biography traces Emperor Hirohito’s reign from his birth into a divine dynasty to his pivotal role in Japan’s military expansion, wartime decisions, and postwar transformation.

A comprehensive examination of Japan's historical development and cultural civilization.

An engaging single-volume overview of Japan’s history and culture from 3000 B.C. to the present, covering art, religion, imperial politics, militarism, race, geography, agriculture, and socio‑economic life.

With this book the editors complete the three-volume series on modern Japanese colonialism and imperialism that began with The Japanese Colonial Empire, 1895-1945 (Princeton, 1983) and The Japanese Informal Empire in China, 1895-1937 (Princeton, 1989). The Japanese military takeover in Manchuria between 1931 and 1932 was a critical turning point in East Asian history. It marked the first surge of Japanese aggression beyond the boundaries of its older colonial empire and set Japan on a collision course with China and Western colonial powers from 1937 through 1945. These essays seek to illuminate some of the more significant processes and institutions during the period when the empire was at war: the creation of a Japanese-dominated East Asian economic bloc centered in northeast Asia, the mobilization of human and physical resources in the older established areas of Japanese colonial rule, and the penetration and occupation of Southeast Asia.

Commodore Perry arrives in Japan, changing the course of history and introducing the West to the country in the late 19th century.

Examines the dramatic changes that occurred in Japan after diplomatic and economic relations were established with the West in 1853.