Constantine Vaporis, professor of history and director of the Asian studies program, has published a new book. Voices of Early Modern Japan: Contemporary Accounts of Daily Life during the Age of the Shoguns is part of ABC-CLIO/Greenwood Press’s “Voices of an Era” series.
The book spans an period of Japanese history ranging from the unification of the warring states under Tokugawa Ieyasu in the early 17th century to the overthrow of the shogunate just prior to the mid-19th century opening of Japan by the West. Much of what we think of as quintessentially Japanese emerged during the time of the Tokugawa shoguns, including Kabuki theatre, sushi, sumo wrestling, woodblock prints and the tea ceremony. Vaporis’s book brings that time to life through the voices of those who experienced it, focusing on the day-to-day lives of both the rich and powerful and ordinary citizens.
