Japanese Time explores the deep connection between a nation's cultural identity and its sense of time, focusing on the intriguing evolution of Japanese calendars. From ancient lunar cycles borrowed from China to the adoption of the Gregorian calendar during the Meiji-era, the book highlights the adaptation, resistance, and cultural negotiations that have shaped Japan's historical evolution. Early Sino-Japanese relations, indigenous religious practices, and a centralized bureaucratic state all played a crucial role in the implementation of calendrical decrees. The book argues that Japan's shifting calendars reflect a continuous tension between internal cultural preservation and external pressures for modernization and standardization. Japanese Time emphasizes that the adoption of the Gregorian calendar during the Meiji-era was not necessarily a complete break from the past, as traditional cultural patterns persisted.
The book progresses chronologically and thematically, beginning with the fundamental concepts of lunar and lunisolar calendars and concluding with an analysis of the long-term implications of calendar reform on Japanese identity in a globalized world. The book examines the influence of Chinese calendrical science on early Japanese society, the unique Japanese adaptations within the traditional calendar, and the political and social upheavals surrounding the Meiji-era adoption of the Gregorian calendar. By examining historical documents, government records, diaries, and literature, this book offers a comprehensive examination of Japanese calendars, considering their technical aspects and broader cultural, social, and political implications.
