Concentrating on the period following Admiral Perry's visit in the 1850s, this encyclopedia examines the historical events, leaders, and societal pressures in the country's past that affected Japan's entry into the modern age. Like its companion volume, the encyclopedia covers important political topics, the arts, religion, business, literature, education, journalism, and other major social, cultural, and economic forces. Emphasizing the close ties that always existed between the emperor system and nationalism, the encyclopedia carefully explores the various forms of nationalism that flourished since the middle of the last century, discusses how the supernationalism of the beginning of the century ultimately led to World War II, looks at the uniquely Japanese custom of national self-analysis, and examines the country's remarkable postwar market-building economic nationalism.