Few institutions are as well suited as the monarchy to provide a window on modern Japan. Since the Meiji Restoration of 1868, Japanese supporters as well as opponents of the throne have used it to def
In 1949, Mao Zedong announced the birth of the People's Republic of China, a proclamation to the world that, after centuries of war and social conflict, China had emerged as one nation. Since then, th
Julian (Flavius Claudius Iulianus) "the Apostate", Roman Emperor, lived 331 or 332 to 363 CE. Born and educated in Constantinople as a Christian, after a precarious childhood he devoted himself to li
First published in 1928, and translated from the original Japanese by Major A. P. McKenzie, this book sets out the ideas which form 'the groundwork and skeleton of the common intellectual life of the people' of Japan. The topics discussed include modesty, loyalty, the duties of Emperor and people, and patriotism. This book is a fascinating glimpse into pre-war Japanese culture, and will be of value to anyone with an interest in Japan and its people.
With the ascension of a new emperor and the dawn of the Reiwa Era, Kenneth J. Ruoff has expanded upon and updated The People's Emperor, his study of the monarchy's role as a political, societal, and c
Perhaps the funniest travel book ever written, Remote People begins with a vivid account of the coronation of Emperor Ras Tafari - Haile Selassie I, King of Kings - an event covered by Evelyn Waugh in
