Hello,
I am currently learning Japanese, so I was thinking that maybe if I start learning more about the history and culture of Japan, it will be easier to understand the way they communicate, the way they are and think. To have more context about their culture and not just learn for fun, and love for anime and manga.
I would love to read your book recommendations (or any other type of content), it can be fiction, non-fiction. Whatever you think can help me.
Thank you so much.
If this is not the right place to post, my apologies.
https://www.reddit.com/r/japan/comments/13wntgv/looking_for_books_about_japan_history_and_culture/
4 comments
Read the novel Shogun. It’s a fictional account of the rise of Ieyasu Tokugawa that provides insights into Japanese history and the roots of Japanese culture.
This is a pretty common question, so there are a bunch of other threads which have some good recommendations:
– https://www.reddit.com/r/japan/comments/7xk88y/what_are_the_best_comprehensive_books_about_the/
– https://www.reddit.com/r/japan/comments/zbfyzp/book_recommendations_for_a_broad_overview_of/
– https://www.reddit.com/r/japan/comments/d2bx5j/which_book_about_the_history_of_japan_would_you/
– https://www.reddit.com/r/japan/comments/fn0qvm/looking_for_book_recommendations_old_japan/
– https://www.reddit.com/r/japan/comments/124mmv8/book_recommendations_about_edo_period_especially/
Beside from history overview, i would recommend “in praise of shadows” by tanizaki jun’ichirou in 1933(translation available)if you want to learn about culture. It’s a nonfiction about japanese aesthetics, basically tells the author’s grievances about the rapid modernization of japan so you will get not the historian but just a normal art loving person perspective on pre and post modern japan.
“Embracing Defeat”. Probably the most important book to understanding Japan’s fascist past.