Couverture / Jaquette

Japan over the last two and a half centuries has changed almost beyond recognition. Almost, that is, 'for every now and then one catches one's breath, stunned by how well-preserved a place or building is, creating the impression that past and present perfectly overlap.'Much in Japan has been lost, either as the result of devastating earthquakes, the ravages of war, ill-advised government policies, or the simple progress of time. Much, too, has been saved, both on purpose and by happenstance. Little, however, has not changed.This book explores the extent of that change by juxtaposing photographs from late 19th-century Japan to those of today and tracing the history of that change in insightful and dispassionate texts.

Note biographique

William de Lange was born in 1964 in Naarden, the Netherlands to Dutch and English parents. In the late 1980s, he traveled to Japan, where he supported himself by making traditional Japanese scrolls, working as a carpenter, and writing articles for the Japan Times Weekly. Having studied at Leiden and Waseda universities during the nineties, he lived in Japan for the next decade, studying the art of Japanese fencing under Akita Moriji sensei, eighth dan master of the Shinkage-Ryu. Since then, he has written a large number of books on Japanese history, culture, and art. More recently, he has appeared in the Netflix documentary Age of Samurai. His many books include Samurai Battles, Samurai Sieges, An Encyclopedia of Japanese Castles, and The Siege of Osaka Castle. He is perhaps best known for his epic history of the Yagyu clan, and his acclaimed biography of Miyamoto Musashi.

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