Christopher Harding is a cultural historian of modern Japan, South Asia and the UK, and a Senior Lecturer in Asian History at the University of Edinburgh. He grew up in London before pursuing a B.A. in History, MSt. in Historical Research and PhD in South Asian History--all at Oxford. He lived and worked in Japan for three years through a Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation scholarship. Christopher has written numerous articles for scholarly journals as well as for newspapers and magazines, including The Guardian, The New York Times, BBC History Magazine and History Today. He also appears regularly on radio and TV (BBC, ABC), presenting on a wide range of subjects such as religion, politics, culture and mental health. You can find out more about him at www.christopher-harding.com

"Lucid and lyrical…a vivid history of Japan's turbocharged (and painful) modernisation. One of the best accounts I've ever read on what happens--for better and worse--when a country's relationship with the world is abruptly renegotiated…will stand as a major survey in modern Japan."-- The Telegraph

Christopher Harding is a cultural historian of modern Japan, South Asia and the UK, and a Senior Lecturer in Asian History at the University of Edinburgh. He grew up in London before pursuing a B.A. in History, MSt. in Historical Research and PhD in South Asian History--all at Oxford. He lived and worked in Japan for three years through a Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation scholarship. Christopher has written numerous articles for scholarly journals as well as for newspapers and magazines, including The Guardian, The New York Times, BBC History Magazine and History Today. He also appears regularly on radio and TV (BBC, ABC), presenting on a wide range of subjects such as religion, politics, culture and mental health. You can find out more about him at www.christopher-harding.com

"Lucid and lyrical…a vivid history of Japan's turbocharged (and painful) modernisation. One of the best accounts I've ever read on what happens--for better and worse--when a country's relationship with the world is abruptly renegotiated…will stand as a major survey in modern Japan."-- The Telegraph

Christopher Harding is a cultural historian of modern Japan, South Asia and the UK, and a Senior Lecturer in Asian History at the University of Edinburgh. He grew up in London before pursuing a B.A. in History, MSt. in Historical Research and PhD in South Asian History--all at Oxford. He lived and worked in Japan for three years through a Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation scholarship. Christopher has written numerous articles for scholarly journals as well as for newspapers and magazines, including The Guardian, The New York Times, BBC History Magazine and History Today. He also appears regularly on radio and TV (BBC, ABC), presenting on a wide range of subjects such as religion, politics, culture and mental health. You can find out more about him at www.christopher-harding.com

"Lucid and lyrical…a vivid history of Japan's turbocharged (and painful) modernisation. One of the best accounts I've ever read on what happens--for better and worse--when a country's relationship with the world is abruptly renegotiated…will stand as a major survey in modern Japan."-- The Telegraph