During the brief Meiji period, Japan underwent am astonishing metamorphosis from feudal state to modern industrial and military power. The national policy of isolationism, sakoku, initiated in 1639, was abruptly challenged in 1853 when Commodore Matthew C. Perry sailed into Tokyo Bay with four awe-inspiring iron vessels, locally known as "black ships." Forced into trade treaties, the Japanese state rushed to modernize under the enlightened leadership of Emperor Meiji.The popular woodblock prints of the Meiji period were snapshots of a modern society in the making. Those reproduced in Japan Awakens, all from the collection of the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, show everything from political events and wars to intimate domestic scenes. Three thematic essays by Barry Till trace the links between the revival of imperial rule and forces both national and international, connecting formal and aesthetic changes in fine-art prints to these events.

Today's headlines often feature stories about new trade agreements with Asian countries, but tapping eastern markets has long been a goal of Canadian commerce. When the Canadian Pacific Railway reached its terminus in British Columbia, which was seen as the launching point for trade in the Far East, particularly with China and Japan. The history of members of those cultures immigrating to Canada is well documented, but there has been little written on Canadians venturing across the Pacific from west to east. When adventurers first crossed the Pacific from BC in the 19th century, they encountered the closely guarded shores of Japan, a society emerging from 200 years of self-imposed isolation and transforming from a largely feudal country into a modern world power. Curious outsiders had for centuries been unable to penetrate the land of shoguns. This collection of stories begins with Ranald Macdonald, who tempted fate by intentionally shipwrecking himself off the coast of Japan in 1848, and takes readers through to 1945. As Japan slowly opened up to foreign influences, the new arrivals proved to be an intriguing and diverse cast of adventurers, missionaries, businessmen, social activists, soldiers and misfits.

An account of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

The six years between the surrender of Japan on September 2, 1945, and the signing of a Treaty of Peace in San Francisco on September 8, 1951 between Japan and forty-eight of the nations with which she was at war, was a period unique in the history of international affairs. Throughout those six years Japan was occupied by the Allied Powers. Because of what was accomplished during that occupation under the wise leadership of General Douglas MacArthur, it was possible to conclude a peace which showed no trace of angry passion; a peace of reconciliation, not of vengeance. From its inception the Occupation of Japan was inspired by high moral principles, was governed by the magnanimity that comes from true strength and was carried out in a calm and purposeful manner. Japan's war-making power was destroyed and the influence of those who committed her to armed con quest eliminated. Oppressive laws and restrictive practices were removed and guaranties established for freedom of speech, religion and thought and respect for fundamental human rights.

First published in 2005. Art and an aesthetic sense of beauty are central to all aspects of Japanese life. This book examines beauty as an important aspect of Japanese tradition and Japanese international success. Topics include natural beauty, gardens and flowers, architecture, applied art, manners and customs and many more areas of Japanese culture.

A teenager finds a cassette on the streets of Tokyo, Japan. At home, the teen plays the mysterious tape. Suddenly, an ogre-like creature awakens deep below the apartment building.