Hey! History geek here. Looking for best book recommendations about Edo Period, especially one that describes its isolationism in a very detailed way. Recently learned a bit more about the topic, and it was enough for me to realize that I want to know now everything about that period. Thanks!
EDIT: If there are documents or movies worth recommending, I’m also open for propositions!
https://www.reddit.com/r/japan/comments/124mmv8/book_recommendations_about_edo_period_especially/
5 comments
Shogun is a fictionalized account of the rise of Iyasu Tokugawa and the dawn of the Edo period. It’s a long but good read if you’re interested in Japanese history.
What interests you and in what language ?
Interesting primary source read about that topic : the [True Description of the Mighty Kingdoms of Japan and Sia](https://shinku.nichibun.ac.jp/kichosho/new/books/23/suema0000000022g.html)m , part of it being written by François Caron, a Dutch merchant for the VOC in post in Japan for several years right about when the Shogunate started to really tighten the screw. He lived the whole episode about the expulsion of Portuguese merchants as well as the downfall of Hirado and the start of the Dejima tradepost.
For fiction, Silence by Martin Scorcese is a very good movie with quite solid historical background.
There are of course shitloads of jidaigeki samourai movies and series that take place during the isolationist period, don’t know if it’s what interests you ?
I enjoyed The Mikado’s Empire by William Elliot Griffis. I would recommend it if you’re looking for something a bit drier and more observational than the fictional pieces recommended elsewhere in the thread. It is a decent history book written by a foreigner who lived in Japan for several years. It has some of the faults and biases you’d expect from a book written in that time period, but it is full of insights as well.
JAPAN RISING
Tokyo A Biography by Stephen Mansfield