Giving Up the Gun: Japan's Reversion to the Sword, 1543-1879 by Noel Perrin
8vo. pp. xii, 122. b/w illustrations. bibliography. paperback. Boston: David R. Godine, [2010].
Fifth Printing.
New.
ISBN-10: 0879237732 / ISBN-13: 9780879237738
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Was there ever a time when a technically sophisticated civilization reverted to an earlier, less advanced technology? There was, Japan, 1543-1879. During this period Japan effectively prohibited all manufacture of firearms and gunpowder, and isolated itself from the rest of the world with a blockade that remained successful until Commodore Perry's celebrated opening of Japan in 1854. An altogether fascinating book because Perrin is a consistently good storyteller, because even his footnotes are a delight to read, and because this story has few parallels in modern history.