Book Description
Here is the autobiography of a remarkable man. Yukichi Fukuzawa's life covered the 66 years between 1835 and 1901, a period which comprised greater and more extraordinary changes than any other in the history of Japan. In his country's swift transformation from an isolated feudal state to a full-fledged member of the modern world, Fukuzawa played a leading role: he was the educator of the new Japan, the man who above all others explained to his countrymen the ideas behind the dazzling material evidence of Western civilization.
Dictated by Fukuzawa in 1897, this book vividly relates his story, from his childhood as a member of the lower samurai class in a small, caste-bound village. His escape from the hopeless destiny decreed by his social position, his adventures as a student of Dutch (the language of the only Westerners allowed in Japan), his travels aboard the first Japanese ship to sail to America -- all prepared Fukuzawa to write Seiyo¯ Ji¯jo¯ (Things Western), the book which made him famous. His special perspective on Japan's tempestuous 19th century gives Fukuzawa's life story added fascination.
Customer Reviews:
You must read this book.......2007-06-28
Yukichi Fukuzawa is on the money. Quite literally, actually. He is the face on the Japanese equivalent of the hundred-dollar bill, which is fitting because he was the Japanese equivalent of Benjamin Franklin. A man completely ahead of his times, innovative and far-thinking, yet he never sought personal or political power, and in fact gleefully surrendered his samurai status and refused his clan-paid salary in order to just be an individual. Smack in the middle of civil war, when the armies of the Tokugawa Shogun fought against the armies trying to restore the Meiji Emperor to power, Fukuzawa founded a University. Education, liberation from ignorance, these were the ideals he worked for, not who would be king. His pen was his sword.
"The Autobiography of Yukichi Fukuzawa" is an extraordinary achievement, not only because of Fukuzawa's own extraordinary life but also for its readability. The guy was a writer, first and foremost, and he knew that the value of any book, any testament of beliefs, was inherent in how many people would pick it up and read it. He specifically wrote in simple, entertaining prose because he wanted the poorest and least-educated person to be able to pick up his works and enjoy them thoroughly, rather than have them be pondered over and studied by obtuse academics.
Fukuzawa lays out his life from his earliest stages, bitterly hating the feudal system that meant he had to bow and scrape to anyone who outranked him, regardless of that persons ability. He saw education as a means out of this proscribed lifestyle, and pursued the study of the Dutch language, which at the time was the only foreign interaction with Japan. His shock when he actually meets foreigners in the open port of Yokohama, and realizing that none of them spoke Dutch and that Holland was actually an unimportant country was a bombshell to the young Fukuzawa. From then on, the study of English obsessed him. He sailed on the first official Japanese mission to the US, founded Keio University based on English education, and tried to silently prod Japan out of its nationalistic frenzy and into the modern world.
Because it is an autobiography, of course, Fukuzawa is free to paint whatever portrait of himself that he wants. There are no "warts and all" revelations here, and even when he tries to describe his faults he comes off as more of a charming rouge than anything else. There are controversies with Fukuzawa, of course, and you will find none of them here. He gives you his personal philosophy of life, tells you how he tried his best to live up to it, all the while giving you a window into one of Japan's most dramatic periods of history.
Anyone interested in Japanese history should read this book. It is that simple. Fukuzawa may be one of the most important figures ever to emerge from Japan, and is influence is still felt to this day. The sheer pleasure to be had from reading "The Autobiography of Yukichi Fukuzawa" is a double bonus, and makes this book essential.
A Book (And Life) With Something For Everyone.......2006-03-19
Fukuzawa Yukichi's memoir is one of the most versatile tools for teaching history. It has proved its worth as a self-effacing account of one 19th-century samurai's experience of westernization and modernization. But its universal appeal derives from Fukuzawa's zeal for the pursuit of knowledge, and his development as a skilled mediator of cross-cultural encounters. The author transformed himself from a conventional warrior into a scholar of "Dutch" (i.e. western) learning, diplomat, journalist, educator and entrepreneur, achieving success in all his endeavors. His "Autobiography" has all kinds of uses; there's even a passage decribing Fukuzawa's run-in with another swordsman, where they avoid a duel of honor by fleeing---thus puncturing the samurai ethos as a particular construction of masculinity. There are some imperfections; he is less than forthcoming about backing the Tokugawa Shogunate, thus siding with the losers during the Meiji Restoration. Also, the story ends well before Fukuzawa's final decades, when he became more conservative, nationalistic and a supporter of Japanese imperialism. Still, the man portrayed here is exceptionally attractive, and an important actor in the drama of Asia's role in the modern world. Albert M. Craig is nearing completion of a comprehensive major biography, but until it appears, there is N. Tamaki, "Yukichi Fukuzawa 1835-1901," a study of his role in business. Older titles by C. Blacker, "Japanese Enlightenment," and G. Sansom, "The Western World and Japan," are still valuable. NB, Family names come before personal names in Japan, which explains the variant listings.
Open you eyes to one man's Japan.......2005-02-07
Rethink your view of Japan as steeped in tradition. Fukuzawa helped shape modern Japan by standing against feudal Japanese thought in a critical cross-road in Japanese history. This is one man's insight into why the Japanese think the way they do and why the best course of medicine is an open embrace of Western thought.
Great for anyone interested in Japanese history without being bogged down. Great for anyone looking for a little life inspiration.
I'd like to invite him to dinner.......2004-11-20
This is the best book I ever read as assigned reading in college, and I continue to reread it every year. In fact, I try to have a few (used) copies around the house to give to friends.
Fukuzawa was an amazing person, and the book is delightful in many ways. My favorite part is when, as a young student of the Dutch language in Osaka, he visited Yokohama and discovered that most foreigners were speaking a different language, English. He came back to Osaka and tried to persuade his fellow students to switch to English but nobody would listen. "The important documents will always be translated into Dutch!", they said. Undeterred, Fukuzawa went on to learn English more or less by himself. A whole string of 'firsts' followed -- he opened the first English school in Japan, was part of the first Japanese delegations to the U.S. and later to Russia, and wrote the first widely distributed book about "Things Western." A true iconoclast, he gave away his samurai swords and forbade bowing in his school as a waste of time.
I am eternally grateful to Edwin O. Reischauer for assigning this book in his Introduction to Japanese Culture class at Harvard.
Yes!.......2004-02-26
This is the best book I've ever read in my life. Err... It's the only book I've read in my entire life. I know that sounds sad, but I'm simply not a big reader. I mean I read textbooks and reference material, I read the news. But I just don't read books. We were assigned this book for a Japanese history class I'm taking this semester, and you can imagine my worries when I found out we were to read all 330 pages of it in a mere 2 weeks! I dreaded the 4th week of class when this torture would begin! So I decided to start reading it on a plane to Florida, a week or two before it was assigned, because I knew I wouldn't be able to finish all of it in only 2 weeks. And guess what? I read it TWICE before it was due.
His memory is so vivid and clear, even 60 years later. This book gives his accounts of growing up in the land of Samurai and emperors. he lived through the Meiji Resotration and died around the turn of the century. This is THE man responsible for making Japan what it is today. Had Fukuzawa not lived, perhaps Japan would be on the so-called "axis of evil" today. Fukuzawa opened the eyes of society to Western learning, trained all the teachers of the future to promote Western learning and welcome and open-door policy with the West.
But we also such a human side of him. We really learn what it means to be loyal by reading this book. He is perhaps the most loyal and honorable man I can imagine, and you would imagine someone like this to be rather into formalities, especially in Japan where honor and formality are closely intertwined. But then we see him urinating on a sacred symbol in one of the first chapters of the book! He really defied the thought of the time, and the world is definitely a better place because of his life. Anyone interested in Japan should read this book.
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Yukichi Fukuzawa, 1835-1901: The Spirit of Enterprise in Modern Japan
Norio Tamaki
Manufacturer: Palgrave Macmillan
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ASIN: 0333801210 |
Book Description
Yukichi Fukuzawa was one of the most effective business entrepreneurs in early modern Japan. He was the inspiration for the Yokohama Specie Bank, without which the Japanese could not have set up a sound banking system. He began the bookstore chain Maruzen. He was adviser to the newly founded shipbuilding and mining giant Mitsubishi and helped bring the house of Mitsui into the modern age. This is both the story of his life and his transforming impact on Japan's economy.
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Autobiography
Yukichi Fukuzawa
Manufacturer: Columbia University Press
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ASIN: 0231028849 |
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The Autobiography of Fukuzawa Yukichi
Eiichi Kiyooka
Manufacturer: The Hokuseido Press
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ASIN: B000MGLN7G |
Product Description
Autobiography of Fukuzawa Yukichi
Book Description
This book provides a thoughtful history of human civilizations while maintaining a balance between the Western world and other societies.
Starting with the birth of civilization, this combined volume takes the reader through the empires and cultures of the ancient world, the consolidation and interaction of world civilizations, the enlightenment and revolution in the west, and into global conflict and change of the Twentieth Century.
For readers looking to make history come alive.
Customer Reviews:
Good.......2005-09-26
Book cover was torn but i actually got this book from amazon. Thats a first since the others never showed.
Nice, but not what I'd expected!.......2005-09-09
This is a very good book, information is well laid out and presented--but I didn't realize it was a high school textbook! If I'd known, I probably wouldn't have ordered it.
The perfet good to aquire a good general overview of History.......2000-03-05
I abhorred History when I was at school. When I've matured and grown more realist I've started to consider the importance of history to try understand what happens around me. I started with The Penguin History of the World" by J.M. Roberts; I don't recommend that book for beginners though it's a good book (I actually hadn't courage enough to finish it, it exists in audiobook too). This book is written by five american scholars which I think gives it a more general scope than others written by a single author. It includes a CD-ROM with the whole book plus a multimedia summary of human history read by a beautiful voice, photographs, Questionnaires, Quizzes, maps and the Complete Webster's New World Dictionary. There's an exclusive webpage for the book with quizzes, add-on reports and links to other history websites, there you can have your questions answered and your exercises corrected (I haven't used it yet though). Sincerely I didn't expect this book to be so good. The CD-ROM is the same for each of the separate books or for the complete version, so, buying the first or second part alone you have the full CD-ROM encompassing all world history.
A fantastic book! I loved it!.......1997-07-24
No book captures the authentity of world civilizations as this one does. A masterpiece
Book Description
Volume One: Birth of Civilization to 1700
Message: This highly visual, brief text provides and engaging overview of human civilization. The Teaching & Learning Classroom edition of the highly successful
Heritage of World Civilizations, Seventh Edition, provides your students with the most help available in reading, thinking about, and applying the material they learn in the text and in the classroom. A series of pedagogical aids, and in-text and additional study resources (as well as complete instructor presentational and assessment support), both make this text the perfect choice for those looking to make history come alive for their students.
Story: Written by leading historians, this is the book that will change the way you feel about history. Prentice Hall developed this text to bring history to your students with more visual appeal than ever. This is the book that they will want to read because it is interesting. They will think about what you’re reading because it has relevance to their life. With this book and the multimedia tools we crafted to accompany it, your students will truly experience history’s dramatic trials and passionate triumphs in a way that adds meaning to their own life. And they will score better on tests because preparation will be easier and less time–consuming than they ever dreamed possible.
Book Description
Volume II: Since 1500
Message: This highly visual, brief text provides and engaging overview of human civilization. The Teaching & Learning Classroom edition of the highly successful
Heritage of World Civilizations, Seventh Edition, provides your students with the most help available in reading, thinking about, and applying the material they learn in the text and in the classroom. A series of pedagogical aids, and in-text and additional study resources (as well as complete instructor presentational and assessment support), both make this text the perfect choice for those looking to make history come alive for their students.
Story: Written by leading historians, this is the book that will change the way you feel about history. Prentice Hall developed this text to bring history to your students with more visual appeal than ever. This is the book that they will want to read because it is interesting. They will think about what you’re reading because it has relevance to their life. With this book and the multimedia tools we crafted to accompany it, your students will truly experience history’s dramatic trials and passionate triumphs in a way that adds meaning to their own life. And they will score better on tests because preparation will be easier and less time–consuming than they ever dreamed possible.
Customer Reviews:
History for the non-linear thinker.......2007-02-08
I had to deal with these same authors for my previous World History Class, which was on campus. If it were not for attending lecture, I would have been ill-prepared for understanding History. This semester, with Vol.2, which is online, I am really struggling. The flip-flop sequencing of the history, with no connections to other civilizations or their time-frame. It is piecemealed together and is one of the worst history books I have been a part of.
Some of its better qualities are the snipets from historical data, most of which is tied to a small but important insight into a specific letter or event.
If you must purchase the text for a class, be prepared to take detailed notes from your lecture, as an instructor is needed to tie together all the loose ends.
Book Description
This highly visual, brief survey of Western civilization provides an exceptionally balanced survey of the political, social, and cultural development of Western civilization—its strengths and weaknesses, and the controversies surrounding it.
From the Birth of Civilization to 1715, this volume provides a broad survey of western civilization.
For those interested in a lively account of western heritage.
Book Description
This highly visual, brief survey of Western civilization provides an exceptionally balanced survey of the political, social, and cultural development of Western civilization—its strengths and weaknesses, and the controversies surrounding it.
From 1650 to the present, this volume provides a broad survey of western civilization.
For those interested in a lively account of western heritage.
Books:
- Behind the Scenes: or, Thirty Years a Slave, and Four Years in the White House (Penguin Classics)
- Beyond the Great Story: History as Text and Discourse
- Black Women in America (3 Vol. Set)
- Carrying the Fire: An Astronaut's Journeys
- Chasin' The Bird: The Life and Legacy of Charlie Parker
- Crazy from the Heat
- Cuba: A Short History (Cambridge History of Latin America)
- Curzon: Imperial Statesman
- Daily Life in Ancient Rome : The People and the City at the Height of the Empire
- Deep Water Passage
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