The Yamato Dynasty : The Secret History of Japan's Imperial Family

Rating:
Summary: Neither the best nor the worst...
Review: A prospective reader of this book could be confused by the variety of reviews available at this page, so let me add my voice to the cacaphony. The book covers the history of the Yamato dynasty during the twentieth century. It has had the misfortune to appear about the same time as the works of several renowned scholars who tackled similar material, e.g. Herbert Bix and John Dower, and their fame has dulled the luster of the Seagraves' book. The Yamato Dynasty is gossipy, full of inuendo, contains numerous minor errors of fact, and a paucity of Japanese primary sources. I must disagree with Daniel Ford; this book is not a rant about "right wing Republican" conspiracies... but parts of it are written in a style more in keeping with (sensational) journalism than with the drier academic style of a Peter Duus or Hebert Bix. The book is easy to read, then, but is it worth reading? Perhaps it is. It was recommended to me by several Japanese scholars, and I can see what attracted them: the ground it covers is not so different from what Dower and Bix cover, and even Iris Chang, and the Seagraves conclusions are not so different from theirs. Not bad when you consider that this book was published before those of Dower and Bix. It may be that in some ways, the Seagraves see the big picture just a little bit better than either Dower or Bix ( please see reviews for Herbert Bix and John Dower if you are not familiar with their work). Herbert Bix sees the Showa Emperor as being responsible for all things in Japan; the Seagraves put him in perspective. Dower lumps all Japanese officers together and absolves everyone else in Japan of responsibility for the war; the Seagraves see the situation as more ambiguous. Their depiction of the tensions in the officer class before the war is written in annoyingly breathless prose , but it is basically sound and quite succint. So the answer is... maybe you should judge for yourself. The book is certainly brief enough.

Rating:
Summary: Gold, conspiracy, and the Japanese monarchy.
Review: As some of the previous authors have already noted, this book is cleary marked for the conspiracy minded, and those who hate the Japanese monarchy. It is revisionist history at its extreme. Also it takes a lot of swipes at the Republican Party, even though it is a book about the Japanese monarchy. It is dedicated to Diane Fienstein, the liberal Democratic Senator from California. Where to begin?
Up to Chapter 9, this was a very believable book. It discussed the Meiji and Tashio Emperors and the first stages of Hirohito's rule. Then it became unbelievable. First it talked about how Roosevelt let Pearl Harbor happen. There have been many books about this but suffice to say, this is VERY REVISIONIST, and probably not true. Then it questions the courage of MacArthur. Most historians don't debate his courage, but the Seagraves thought they could throw it in there. It also suggested MacArthur was interested in the 1940 Republican nomination, when this is clearly not true. Then it talks about the 1936 coup attempt in Tokyo as being very liberal, when in fact they were very militeristic and anti democractic. This book takes swipes at Hoover as encouraging the corruption of the post war Japanese government and suggested he took a bribe of several million dollars. Hoover devoted most of his life to public service and charities, so it is hard to believe the Seagrave's nonsense. Then there were all the stories of the billions of dollars of gold and gems looted from the conquered Asian countries. There were so many billions tossed around as sure facts, that I lost track if there was that much gold in the world. The Seagraves then detail all the corruption of post war Japan and blame it on Americans, the monarchy, and the rich strata of Japan. It was hard to read this stuff when the documentation is just not there.
This is a hard book to swallow. Part of this book is history, and the last 100 pages is pure fiction. When an author puts one controversial subject in a book, it is open to discussion. These authors threw in literally a hundred controversial subjects (loot, gold, blame for Pearl Harbor, corruption,) and ask the reader to believe them. Please!!!! Stick to the facts Seagraves, and no more treasure stories. One gets sick of so much fantasy in a history book.

Rating:
Summary: rebuttal to rebuttal
Review: I believe that the reader from Hong Kong is referring to the original hardcover edition when he states that it is an illustration of Henry Pu Yi.

Rating:
Summary: Sterling Finally Got the Right Photo
Review: I read this book after reading "The Emperor's General" by James Webb, a great story which gave me some context for the McArthur element in this book. "The Yamato Dynasty" seemed at first to be more historical documentary than story, but having read the first book, I was hooked, and couldn't put it down. I used to skip the bits in the Economist magazine about Japan's economic situation, but this book puts the influences on the economy into fascinating context, and has made me much more interested in what's going on now. It's full of bizarre and amazing little facts that made me want constantly to read bits aloud to whoever was nearby. I would recommend this book to anyone.

Rating:
Summary: A Sobering Look At Japan's Imperial Dynasty
Review: This is an intriguing, often mesmerizing, account of the secret history of Japan's Yamato Dynasty, from the decade prior to the Meiji Restoration to the present. The Seagraves must be commended for their scholarship, if not perhaps, for their writing (Although the writing is good, it never rises to the literary eloquence shown by distinguished historians such as Herbert Bix and John Dower.). However, this book raises many questions regarding the conduct of individual family members before, during, and immediately after World War II, which should be addressed by the likes of Herbert Bix and John Dower. It is certainly a provocative look at Japan's royal family - and indeed, of Japanese government - since the end of the American occupation. Hopefully this is the first of many books which will address the Yamato Dynasty's culpability in planning and conducting the Pacific War during World War II.

Rating:
Summary: What a waste
Review: This is the first Seagraves book I have read and will be the last as this book leaves the reader wanting. When I first picked it up, I thought that tackling 1 Emperor in 1 book was a difficult challenge, but 5?! seemed a bit much. Turns out I was correct and not enough background was given on the early Emperors and the book should have been called "Hirohito". By far the most frustrating thing in this book was the lack of "footnotes"-I am not clear on what I was supposed to do; finish reading a page and then turn to the notes section and look up the page to see if there was a note and guess what the note was referring to? Or perhaps I was to read the entire book and then the notes and try to match with the rest of the book? Perhaps the Seagraves should learn about the "*" key to indicate a page where there is a footnote attached or perhaps using small numbers beside passages that require footnotes (what a novel concept!).
Having never read anything they have written before, I am not sure of their qualifications to comment on Japan, but it becomes apparent throughout the book, that their knowledge of Japan is quite superficial.
Definitely a non-read for anyone interested in an in-depth look at Japan from the Meiji era on.

Rating:
Summary: What a waste
Review: This is the first Seagraves book I have read and will be the last as this book leaves the reader wanting. When I first picked it up, I thought that tackling 1 Emperor in 1 book was a difficult challenge, but 5?! seemed a bit much. Turns out I was correct and not enough background was given on the early Emperors and the book should have been called "Hirohito". By far the most frustrating thing in this book was the lack of "footnotes"-I am not clear on what I was supposed to do; finish reading a page and then turn to the notes section and look up the page to see if there was a note and guess what the note was referring to? Or perhaps I was to read the entire book and then the notes and try to match with the rest of the book? Perhaps the Seagraves should learn about the "*" key to indicate a page where there is a footnote attached or perhaps using small numbers beside passages that require footnotes (what a novel concept!).
Having never read anything they have written before, I am not sure of their qualifications to comment on Japan, but it becomes apparent throughout the book, that their knowledge of Japan is quite superficial.
Definitely a non-read for anyone interested in an in-depth look at Japan from the Meiji era on.

Rating:
Summary: Gold... did someone say GOLD?
Review: Well now, I've heard many stories about Japan before, during, and after WWII, but this is the first one claiming GOLD (and tons of it... yes, tons) were shipped to first Japan, and then later stockpiled in the Phillipines due to US Submarines blockading off any shipping to Japan.

General MacArthur, Herbert Hoover, the OSS (later CIA), President Marcos, and the US Republican Party were all hauling off their share of the gold bars too? Is this why MacArthur did not say anything more about becoming the Republican Party nominee for the 1948 Presidential Election?

Maybe there are tons of Gold Bars in Japan, the Phillipines, and MacArthur's personal bank account, but I think we need to reserve making a decision until more evidence is forthcoming.

And by the way, Bergamini ("JAPAN'S IMPERIAL CONSPIRACY") reported that MacArthur left the Phillipines by PT Boat... NOT submarine. So that contradiction needs to be straightened out too.

The one area I most enjoyed reading were the sections covering Japan's "INVISIBLE MEN". Who were (are) they, and how they fit into this puzzle makes for even more interesting reading.

In spite of some questionable issues, I still think this book is worth reading. Make your list of events to get to the bottom of, and hopefully, one day, the truth shall finally emerge...