Bøger af Olive Checkland

Japan's reputation for humanitarianism rests on the generous behaviour accorded to 70,000 Russian prisoners of war in Japan during the Russo-Japanese War (1904-05). This contrasts sharply with the brutality displayed during the Pacific War (1941-45) towards 200,000 Allied prisoners of war. The power of the State to coerce the people, by using the reverence felt for the Emperor, enabled the Japanese to switch humanitarianism on, or off, apparently at will. This extraordinary volte-face is explored in this fascinating book.

This book examines the two-way bridge-building cultural exchange which took place between Japan and Britain in the years after 1859 and into the early years of the twentieth century.

During the Meiji Era, of 1868-1912, British influence in Japan was stronger than that of any other foreign power. Much new research material discovered in Japan, England and Scotland has enabled the detailed examination of a relationship - with Britain as Senior and Japan as Junior partner - which lasted until 1914.