Overview

John Pilcher’s appointment as HM Ambassador to Japan in 1967, three years after the widely acclaimed Tokyo Olympics, was both judicious and enlightened. His role was to be that of a bridge-builder between Japan and Britain following the early post-war years of disenchantment, distrust and detachment that had earlier marked the relationship between the two countries. He brought to his role a particular understanding of Japanese civilization and a critical analysis of Japanese attitudes and way of life.  Before the war he had had the good fortune to spend time as a language student in Kyoto. There he came to appreciate Japanese culture at its best but as a junior consular official he also came to see other less attractive aspects of Japan. In this volume Sir Hugh Cortazzi who was to follow in John Pilcher’s footsteps, has compiled the defining reports to Whitehall from Pilcher’s time and as such they offer a valuable record of Japan’s progress at this important point in her post-war history, as well as providing unique insights into the activities, hopes and expectations of the British government in her dealings with Japan. The collection (including essays and writings from his private papers) which has hitherto remained largely unknown or inaccessible to most researchers, provides a platform for John Pilcher as a writer and distinguished scholar-diplomat.

Full Product Details

Author:   Hugh Cortazzi
Publisher:   Global Books
Imprint:   Renaissance Books
Edition:   New edition
Dimensions:   Width: 16.00cm , Height: 4.00cm , Length: 25.40cm
Weight:   1.000kg
ISBN:  

9781898823148

ISBN 10:   1898823146
Pages:   434
Publication Date:   01 November 2015
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

Plate section faces page Foreword – Ian Nish Publisher’s Preface – Paul Norbury Acknowledgements Introduction – Hugh Cortazzi PART 1: 1967 1. Sir Francis Rundall’s Valedictory Despatch 2. Japanese Economic Aid 3. The State Funeral for Mr Shigeru Yoshida 4. Japan: Annual Review for 1967 PART 2: 1968 5. Visit of the Secretary of State to Japan, 7–10 January 6. The Visit of USS Enterprise to Japan 7. Impressions of Contemporary Japan 8. The 58th (Regular) Diet Session 9. The So?ka Gakkai and the Ko?meito? 10. Japanese Economic Success: A British Opportunity 11. The Japanese Left 12. The Japanese Mood in 1968 13. Mr Sato’s New Cabinet 14. Japan: Annual Review, 1968 PART 3: 1969 15. Revolting Students: Japanese Style 16. Japan’s Science and Technology 17. Labour and Incomes in the Japanese Economy 18. British Week, Tokyo 19. The Merry Wives of Ginza: Women’s Status in Japan 1 20. The Quality of Life in Japan 21. Japan: Annual Review, 1969 22. The Japanese Self-Defence Forces PART 4: 1970 23. Osaka Expo ’70: A First Impression 24. The Japanese Mood in 1970 25. Japan’s Economy in the 1970s: The Miracle Excels Itself 26. Japan’s Changing Society and the New Generation 27. Japanese Exports: How Much of a Threat? 28. Japanese Protectionism: Signs of a Thaw? 29. ‘The Rest are Monkeys’: The Japanese Abroad 30. Japan in the 1970s: The Trade Mark and the Sword 31. Japanese Militarism 32. Mishima’s Suicide 33. Japan: Annual Review for 1970 – ‘Economic Man’ Comes of Age PART 5: 1971 – THE SHOWA EMPEROR 34. The Emperor of Japan: The Man and His Life 35. The Emperor of Japan: Human or Divine? 36. The Emperor and Empress of Japan 37. The Visit of the Emperor and Empress of Japan to Europe as Seen from Tokyo 38. Mr Sato’s New Cabinet 39. Relations Between Japan and the United States 40. Japan in 1971: The Rude Awakening PART 6: SIR JOHN PILCHER’S LAST MONTHS IN JAPAN 41. Japan in the 1970s: ‘Guns and Butter’ 42. Japanese Export Successes: Cheap, Sweated Labour? 43. Basic Japan and the Shifting Mood 1967–71 44. The Japanese: ‘Frail Flowers of Opportunism’? PART 7: 1972 – A NEW ERA FOR THE BRITISH MISSION 45. The Lord Privy Seal Brings Concorde to Japan 46. The Plebian Mr Tanaka Replaces Mr Sato 47. Japanese Investments Overseas 48. Mr Tanaka in Charge 49. The Japanese on the Road to Peking 50. The First Visit to Japan by a British Prime Minister APPENDICES I ‘Sir John Pilcher: Ambassador to Japan, 1967–1972’. Portrait by Hugh Cortazzi II Letter from Kyoto, January 1936 III ‘A Perspective on Religion in Japan’ (Lecture at the Nissan Institute, May 1984) IV ‘Is Economic Success Destroying Japanese Traditions?’ (Occasional Paper/Speech, 1975) V Book Review, 1977: Deus Destroyed: The Image of Christianity in Early Modern Japan VI ‘An Introduction to Japanese Gardens’ (Occasional Paper/Speech. Early1980s?) Index

Reviews

"""Cortazzi has made another valuable contribution to Japan country studies and, indeed, it is indispensable for any generalist who wants to master the guild of diplomacy...For those of any professional calling, venturing to reside and work in Japan, this book should be mandatory reading. It will challenge your mind and stereotypical perceptions. It achieves its intention to inform and educate."" Mike Fogarty, Australian Outlook. July 2016"

Cortazzi has made another valuable contribution to Japan country studies and, indeed, it is indispensable for any generalist who wants to master the guild of diplomacy...For those of any professional calling, venturing to reside and work in Japan, this book should be mandatory reading. It will challenge your mind and stereotypical perceptions. It achieves its intention to inform and educate. Mike Fogarty, Australian Outlook. July 2016

Author Information

Sir Hugh Cortazzi, GCMG, was British Ambassador to Japan 1980-1984 and Chairman of The Japan Society, London, 1985-1995. He has written extensively on Japan. His many books include Isles of Gold: Antique Maps of Japan (1983), The Japanese Achievement (1990) and his memoir Japan and Back and Places Elsewhere (1998). He compiled and edited seven volumes of Britain & Japan: Biographical Portraits, most recently volume X (2016), for The Japan Society, in addition to Japan Experiences: Fifty Years, One Hundred Views (2001), British Envoys in Japan, 1859-1972 (2004) and The Growing Power of Japan, 1967-1972: Analysis and Assessments from John Pilcher and the British Embassy, Tokyo (2015). He also co-edited, with Peter Kornicki, Japanese Studies in Britain: A Survey and History (2016).

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