This is the fourth annual list devoted to Japan and its relationship with things western and you might notice it's leaner than the first three. This is not because I've lost interest but because it's getting harder to find exciting things and hold them long enough for a list.
Japan is unique among the countries of the world faced with European expansion and empire building begun in the renaissance in having a literate and curious society and sophisticated publishing industry. And in scrupulously putting the whole business into word and picture. Admittedly it was often an iffy proposition but publish they did and when that made the authorities unhappy ways were found to keep information circulating.
Come Perry and his Black Ships the whole thing became a balancing act with a nation on the wire pulling in different directions. Japan must finally come to terms with the outside world and this was done with wild enthusiasm by some and black fury by others. The only thing agreed upon was that it should be on their own terms.
Who wins in the end, Japan or the west? These lists might convince you that one or both sides maybe won or not.