The late Marius Jansen was America's most eminent historian of modern Japan. Admired in Japan and Europe, he not only contributed to the study of Japanese history but also connected that history to the worlds outside this archipelago.
As he said in a 1994 lecture at the Kyoto Conference on Japanese Studies: "Japan studied the rest of the world, but until recently that world studied Japan very little." Indeed, it was only with the generation that Jansen represents that "new awareness throughout the world [realized] that Japanese culture and civilizations deserve and indeed demand serious attention as an important part of the world's cultural heritage."
It is this that is celebrated in the present volume, contributions by old friends and former students forming a tribute, which is also an extension of the major themes and concerns in his work. Evolved from the Marius Jansen Memorial Conference held at the International House of Japan in December 2001, this collection of essays and tributes form not only a deserved festschrift but also a continuation of Jansen's findings, interests, and methods.