A SUNDAY TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2020Mightily impressive ... a marvellous read Sunday TimesFrom the acclaimed author of Japan Story this is the history of Japan distilled into the stories of twenty remarkable individuals. The vivid and entertaining portraits in Chris Hardings enormously enjoyable new book take the reader from the earliest written accounts of Japan right through to the life of the current empress Masako. We encounter shamans and warlords poets and revolutionaries scientists artists and adventurers each offering insights of their own into this extraordinary place. For anyone new to Japan this book is the ideal introduction. For anyone already deeply involved with it this is a book filled with surprises and pleasures.