Author : John Finnemore
Release : 2016-09-15
Genre : Social Science
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 374/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis Peeps at Many Lands by : John Finnemore

Download or read book Peeps at Many Lands written by John Finnemore. This book was released on 2016-09-15. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Excerpt from Peeps at Many Lands: Japan F AR away from our land, on the other side of the world, lies a group of islands which form the kingdom of 'japan. The word Japan means the Land of the Rising Sun, and it is certainly a good name for a country of the Far East, the land of sunrise. The ag of Japan, too, is painted with a rising sun which 'sheds its beams on every hand, and this ag is now for ever famous, so great and wonderful have been the victories in which it has been borne triumphant over Russian arms. In some ways the Japanese are fond of comparing themselves with their English friends and allies. They point out that Japan is a cluster of islands o the coast of Asia, as Britain is a cluster of islands of? The coast of Europe. They have proved themselves, like the English, brave and clever on the sea, while their troops have fought as nobly as British soldiers on the land. Theyare fond of calling themselves the English of the East, and say that their land is the Britain of the Pacific. The rise of Japan in becoming one of the Great Powers of the world has been very sudden and wonder ful. Fifty years ago Japan lay hidden from the World she forbade strangers to visit the country, and very little was known of her people and her customs. Her navy then consisted of a few wooden junks; to-day she has a eet of splendid ironclads, handled by men who know their duties as well as English seamen. Her army consisted of troops armed with two swords and carrying bows and arrows to-day her troops are the admiration of the world, armed with the most modern weapons, and, as foes, to be dreaded by the most powerful nations. Fifty years ago Japan was in the purely feudal stage. Her great native Princes were called Daimios. Each had a strong castle and a private army of his own. There were ceaseless feuds between these Princes and constant fighting between their armies of samurai, as their followers were called. Japan was like England at the time of our War of the Roses: family quarrels were fought out in pitched battle. All that has now gone. The Daimios have become private gentlemen the armies of samurai have been disbanded, and Japan is ruled and managed just like a European country, with judges, and policemen, and law-courts, after the model of Western lands. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works."