Heaven, Hell And Hara-Kiri: The Rise And Fall Of The Japanese Superstate
Condition: SECONDHAND
This is a secondhand book. The jacket image is a photograph of the exact copy we have in stock. This image shows the condition of this book. Further condition remarks are below.
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: Worn/faded, no tears
Pages: Good
From the neon-lit streets of Tokyo to the ghost of feudal tradition, Heaven, Hell and Hara-Kiri: The Rise and Fall of the Japanese Superstate presents an electrifying portrait of a nation caught between imperial ambition and catastrophic self-destruction. James Kirkup chronicles Japan's meteoric ascent as a modern superstate — its military conquests, its economic ferocity, and the deeply ingrained cultural codes of honour and shame that shaped its destiny — drawing readers into a civilization at once breathtaking in its achievements and haunting in its contradictions. Kirkup, a celebrated poet and writer with decades of intimate experience living in Japan, brings a rare literary sensibility to historical and cultural analysis, weaving together personal observation, historical sweep, and cultural insight with elegant precision. His prose illuminates the complex psychology of a society that could produce both extraordinary beauty and devastating militarism, asking uncomfortable questions about national identity, imperial mythology, and the price of pride. For anyone captivated by the enigma of modern Japan, this work remains an essential and deeply provocative reckoning with a superstate that dared to reach for everything — and what happened when it fell.
Author: James Kirkup
Format: Hardback
Genre: Asian history
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: Worn/faded, no tears
Pages: Good
From the neon-lit streets of Tokyo to the ghost of feudal tradition, Heaven, Hell and Hara-Kiri: The Rise and Fall of the Japanese Superstate presents an electrifying portrait of a nation caught between imperial ambition and catastrophic self-destruction. James Kirkup chronicles Japan's meteoric ascent as a modern superstate — its military conquests, its economic ferocity, and the deeply ingrained cultural codes of honour and shame that shaped its destiny — drawing readers into a civilization at once breathtaking in its achievements and haunting in its contradictions. Kirkup, a celebrated poet and writer with decades of intimate experience living in Japan, brings a rare literary sensibility to historical and cultural analysis, weaving together personal observation, historical sweep, and cultural insight with elegant precision. His prose illuminates the complex psychology of a society that could produce both extraordinary beauty and devastating militarism, asking uncomfortable questions about national identity, imperial mythology, and the price of pride. For anyone captivated by the enigma of modern Japan, this work remains an essential and deeply provocative reckoning with a superstate that dared to reach for everything — and what happened when it fell.