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Before the Dawn

Tōson Shimazaki

Paperback | Pages: 816 pages

Rating: 4.05 | 41 Users | 5 Reviews

Point Books As Before the Dawn

Original Title:	夜明け前 [Yoakemae]
ISBN:	082481164X (ISBN13: 9780824811648)

Relation In Pursuance Of Books Before the Dawn

Although Before the Dawn is the story of the author's family and of the Meiji restoration, it is much more than that; the aftermath of the events that form its context have fundamentally altered the nature of the world we live in. Its author was a man of sophistication and erudition even though he was not given to virtuoso displays of either quality. He created this novel out of his personal and artistic needs, and out of his sense of the need of Japan and the world community to know the story he tells in it. Japan has been richly served by the original. But Toson had a worldwide as well as a Japanese audience in mind when he wrote Before the Dawn. This translation has been done in the hope of contributing to that undertaking.



Before the Dawn looks back on the adventure, turmoil, and tragedy of the mid-nineteenth century with a clear and unsentimental vision, but it speaks of those times in tones of tact, humility, and deference. It is a celebration of the humanity of its characters and the richness, complexity, and diversity of the lives they lived during the final years of the Tokugawa shogunate and the first two decades of the Meiji era. For all the weight of its historical concerns, it maintains its lyrical tone even when the subject is external threat, internal political turmoil, the grinding hardship of maintaining the old post system, or the bitter disappointments that the new age brought so many of those who had worked hardest and sacrificed most to bring it into being. It has been followed not only by scholarly studies but also by an immense outpouring of historical fiction, family and local histories, and other publications drawing on the rich store of old diaries and official records preserved throughout the country. These later works often illuminate the period from points of view that were not accessible to any of Toson's characters, but Before the Dawn remains the standard against which all others are measured. --from the Introduction

Present Out Of Books Before the Dawn

Title	:	Before the Dawn
Author	:	Tōson Shimazaki
Book Format	:	Paperback
Book Edition	:	Special Edition
Pages	:	Pages: 816 pages
Published	:	July 1st 1988 by University of Hawaii Press (first published April 1929)
Categories	:	Cultural. Japan. Asian Literature. Japanese Literature. Fiction. Historical. Historical Fiction

Rating Out Of Books Before the Dawn

Ratings: 4.05 From 41 Users | 5 Reviews

Criticism Out Of Books Before the Dawn

Shimazaki Tōson's monster-sized novel is technically fiction, though it has been commented that it is so full of historical detail that it is just as useful as a work of history. Before the Dawn is the chronicle of the highs and lows of the Aoyama family (a family modeled closely on the Shimazaki family), who were the founders and village headmen of Magome village in the famed Kiso Valley in central Japan. It is the story of Hanzō, who was based on Tōson's father, and his attempts through the

Tōson Shimazaki is the pen-name of Shimazaki Haruki, a Japanese author, active in the Meiji, Taishō and early Showa periods of Japan. He began his career as a poet, but went on to establish himself as the major proponent of naturalism in Japanese literature.



It was a tough and long read. Interesting though as it gives the reader a ringside seat to an important slice of history at a personal level.

Whilst the focus in "The Family" was very tight (and some readers were left thinking "Where's the Russo-Japanese war?") ... "Before the Dawn" includes a lot of the history and politics of the time: Perry and his black ships, the Boshin War, the Meiji Restoration, etc. Very dry.

Shimazaki Tōson's monster-sized novel is technically fiction, though it has been commented that it is so full of historical detail that it is just as useful as a work of history. Before the Dawn is the chronicle of the highs and lows of the Aoyama family (a family modeled closely on the Shimazaki family), who were the founders and village headmen of Magome village in the famed Kiso Valley in central Japan. It is the story of Hanzō, who was based on Tōson's father, and his attempts through the

FINALLY I'M DONE I read this for school, and now I have to write a paper over it so I probably won't update this review later. It was a good book and really helped me understand a different viewpoint but I am so ready to move on.