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A Yankee in Meiji Japan: The Crusading Journalist Edward H. House
Contributor(s): Huffman, James L. (Author)

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 ISBN: 0742526216     ISBN-13: 9780742526211
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
OUR PRICE: $50.35  

Binding Type: Paperback - See All Available Formats & Editions
Published: May 2003
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Temporarily out of stock - Will ship within 2 to 5 weeks

Annotation: This unique book portrays the evolution of Meiji Japan through the life of crusading journalist Edward H. House (1836-1901). In chapters that alternate between history and biography, James Huffman, shows how one man bridged continents--shaping American at
Additional Information
BISAC Categories:
- History | Asia - Japan
Dewey: B
LCCN: 2002155382
Physical Information: 0.6" H x 6.08" W x 8.92" L (0.95 lbs) 328 pages
Themes:
- Cultural Region - Japanese
Features: Bibliography, Illustrated, Index, Table of Contents
Review Citations: Choice 01/01/2004 pg. 968
 
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc.
Publisher Description:
This unique book introduces nineteenth-century Japan through the compelling life story of Boston journalist Edward H. House (1836-1901), America's first regular correspondent in Japan. House's accomplishments were breathtaking in variety: shaping the reputations of John Brown and Mark Twain, influencing American attitudes toward Asia, persuading Congress to return a massive indemnity to Japan, editing Tokyo's earliest English-language newspaper (Tokio Times), constructing a powerful case against imperialism, and introducing Western orchestral music to Japan. House's experiences also illustrated many of the era's key themes: Japan's use of public relations as a diplomatic tool, the contentious relations of the expatriate community, the role foreign advisors played in Japan's drive toward modernity, and the complicated nature of U.S.-Japan relations. The book captures the human drama of a special breed of early journalist. It recounts the bohemianism that made House and his friends (e.g., Walt Whitman, Artemus Ward) notorious. It narrates his tender, tortured relationship with Aoki Koto, a girl he adopted when she was on the verge of suicide. It shows a courageous struggle with gout, including 20 years in a wheelchair given to him by the powerful Okuma Shigenobu. And it details a deep friendship with Mark Twain, which eventually was destroyed by a dispute over The Prince and the Pauper. Twain's unpublished 50-page manuscript on the experience, Concerning the Scoundrel E. H. House, is introduced here for the first time. Meticulously researched, the book draws on House's voluminous writings and on hundreds of letters between House and major figures in both America and Japan, including Mark Twain, U.S. Grant, John Russell Young, Edmund Clarence Stedman, Okuma Shigenobu, and Inoue Kaoru. With its lively, accessible prose and seamless interweaving of the life of House with the history of the Meiji era, this book will be welcomed by students, scholars, and general readers interested in modern Japa
 
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