Includes bibliographical references (pages 217-228) and index.

Introduction: Japan and History -- From the Stone Age to Statehood: Myths, Prehistory, and Ancient History (to 710) -- Making Gods of Emperors: Ancient History According to Japan's Myths -- The Earliest Inhabitants (to ca 13,000 BC) -- Stone-Age Hunters and Gatherers: the Jomon Period (ca 13,000 BC-ca 300 BC) -- New Beginnings: the Yayoi Period (ca 300 BC-ca AD 300) -- The Early State Emerges: the Kofun/Yamato Period (ca 300-710) -- Of Courtiers and Warriors: Early and Medieval History (710-1600) -- Learning from the Chinese--within Limits: the Nara Period (710-794) -- The Rise and Fall of the Court: the Heian Period (794-1185) -- The Warrior State: the Kamakura Period (1185-1333) -- A Nation at War with Itself: the Muromachi Period (1333-1568) -- Reunifying the Nation: the Azuchi-Momoyama Period (1568-1600) -- The Closed Country: the Tokugawa Period (1600-1868) -- Stability Equals Survival: Establishing the Tokugawa Shogunate -- Samurai and Ethics -- Commoners, Culture, and the Economy -- The Return of the Foreign Devils and the Fall of the Shogunate -- Building a Modern Nation: the Meiji Period (1868-1912) -- Consolidating the Restoration -- The Westernisation of Society -- Harnessing the Energies of the People -- Moves towards Democracy--of Sorts -- War and Politics -- Guided Economic Development -- An Era Comes to an End -- The Excesses of Ambition: the Pacific War and its Lead-up -- The Fragile Democracy of Taisho (1912-26) -- A Troubled Start to Showa -- The Ideologies Behind Expansionism -- Preparations for War -- The Pacific War -- A Phoenix from the Ashes: Postwar Successes and Beyond -- American Dreams for a New Japan -- Cold War Realities Reshape the Dreams -- Becoming Number One -- A Superpower Adrift -- Conclusion: Lessons for Aspiring Superpowers.

In a rare collection of comprehensive coverage and sustained critical focus, this book examines Japanese history in its entirety to identify the factors underlying the nation's progression to superpower status. Japan's achievement is explained not merely in economic terms, but at a more fundamental level, as a product of historical patterns of response to circumstance. Japan is shown to be a nation historically impelled by a pragmatic determination to succeed. The book also highlights unresolved questions and little known facts.--Publisher description.