About the book: 2009 / Richard Thames's book is a fascinating story about the past and present of Japan. It is written with deep knowledge and harmoniously combines accessibility with an academic approach. Moreover, it presents the country's history in vivid language, in remarkable detail while remaining easy to read. More and more travelers are coming to the Land of the Rising Sun on vacation, and of course, there is no better beginning to get acquainted with the complex structure of Japanese society and its rich history than a well-written book. The Japanese are the greatest natural team in the world. State, nation and language merge here into a single whole to a degree that is amazing for the modern world. Japan itself is home to 99% of all Japanese in the world. No other nation of over a million people is so homogeneous. The book will tell you a lot about this unique and inventive people: about their ancient ancestors, about rulers, shoguns and samurai, about the life of modern Japanese - their traditions, national holidays, historical places, Buddhism, robots, sushi, martial arts, tea ceremonies and much more..