A.B. Mitford and the Birth of Japan as a Modern State
Regular price
€56.99
14 days return policy
Shipping & Delivery
A01=Robert Morton
aristocratic travel narratives
Author_Robert Morton
British observers Meiji Japan
Category=GTM
Category=JPS
Category=NHF
cross-cultural encounters Japan
emperor
eq_bestseller
eq_history
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
eq_society-politics
ernest satow
Japanese political transformation
meiji restoration
Meiji Restoration history
mitford family
nineteenth-century diplomacy
samurai culture studies
shogun
Product details
- ISBN 9781041175186
- Weight: 500g
- Dimensions: 138 x 216mm
- Publication Date: 01 Dec 2025
- Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Paperback
Secure
checkout
Fast Shipping
Easy returns
Mitford (later to become the first Lord Redesdale) was an urbane aristocrat, had charm, looks and excellent manners. He was always in the right place at the right time, almost drowned, could have burned to death, was shot at, and was nearly cut down by samurai swords. But 'Bertie', as he was known, was never fazed by events. He stood face-to-face with the new, teenage Emperor when almost everybody else, including the Shogun, could only talk to him behind a screen. He became friendly with the last Shogun and witnessed a hara-kiri, his atmospheric account of which is now a classic. An accomplished linguist and writer, Mitford was the outstanding chronicler of the Meiji Restoration, complementing the writings of his contemporary Ernest Satow. This book will be of particular interest to students and readers of Japanese history, as well as readers of nineteenth-century biography in general. It will also have special appeal to those who are familiar with the Mitford family history.
Robert Morton has a PhD from the University of Queensland in creative writing, an MA in linguistics from the University of York, a BA in history from the University of Sussex. He has been a professor in the Faculty of Commerce at Chuo University in Tokyo since 2000. He edited and annotated the 1861-1869 diaries of Mitford’s colleague, Ernest Satow, with Ian Ruxton (Eureka, 2013). He is the Editor-in-Chief of the Transactions of the Asiatic Society Japan, the oldest academic journal in Japan. Dr Robert Morton is a professor at Chuo University, Tokyo, Japan. He is the author of the prize-winning A.B. Mitford and the Birth of Japan as a Modern State and A Life of Sir Harry Parkes.
