Global Japanese History and Culture

Spanning prehistory to the present, concise chapters by established and emerging scholars trace the movement of people, texts, images, beliefs, and commodities in and out of Japan, and beyond.

From ancient trade routes to contemporary pop culture, Japan has always been connected. This book reframes Japan not as an isolated exception, but as an active participant in exchange—absorbing, adapting, and contributing across borders and centuries—and invites readers to see connection, circulation, and hybridity as central to Japan’s past and present. Unexpected case studies sit alongside clear syntheses to show how ‘international’ approaches—comparative, bilateral, cross-border—relate to newer ‘global’ frames that situate Japan within multidirectional networks and entanglements. Topics range across religion, literature, visual culture, media, technology, environment, and everyday life. Throughout, contributors foreground translation, adaptation, and reciprocity. The result is a lively, readable collection that joins deep expertise to lucid storytelling, without sacrificing nuance or rigour.

This volume offers a fresh lens on Japan’s place in the world for scholars and researchers interested in East Asia, cultural history, and global studies. It equips readers to connect international and global perspectives, think beyond disciplinary silos, and recognise the creative power of exchange in culture.