As Japanese Buddhist temples are eminently tranquil, it's unthinkable that, as this bundle shows (especially the 毀 essay), an 1868 government mandate to separate Shinto and Buddhism nearly eliminated the latter religion. The Meiji government banned Fuke Zen, viewing its monks as informants for the ousted government. More significantly, the government aimed to make Shinto the national religion, prompting the destruction of Buddhist property nationwide. People burned sutras and discarded Buddhist statues, and monks either returned to secular life or became Shinto priests. With about 40,000 temples destroyed—up to 80 percent in certain places—Japanese Buddhism neared eradication.

With momentous changes, new names emerge (as when countries split off from other nations or when people marry or divorce). Accordingly, the Meiji era (1868–1912) ushered in copious changes to proper names, as this bundle shows. People needed to choose surnames, and many drew inspiration from nature. Provinces became prefectures, though borders often changed. For instance, three provinces combined to form Osaka Prefecture. Japan's capital moved from Kyoto to Tokyo in 1868 and acquired a new name by 1895; with the colonization of Taiwan, Japan became an imperial power, making Tokyo the "imperial capital" (帝京).

As this bundle shows, the Meiji era (1868–1912) plunged the Japanese economy into turmoil. The government disbanded feudal domains, leaving many samurai unemployed. In response, the government provided them with work—a land reclamation project. Silkworms also saved the day! Raw silk accounted for 70 percent of Japan's exports, generating money that enabled the Japanese to buy machines. As the country rapidly industrialized and developed a capitalist economy, feudal workers became wage laborers, gaining freedom and power thanks to their earnings. But these changes also brought tumult to the country in the form of labor disputes, strikes, and riots.

With the Meiji Restoration of 1868, when samurai drove out the shogun and restored Emperor Meiji to power, Japan entered a period of staggering transformation. The nation opened to the West, incorporating its knowledge, technology, and institutions. No longer a feudal society, Japan developed a market economy. With a new national system of public schools, Japan produced a skilled workforce who contributed to rapid industrial growth. All of these changes and more led Japan to become a formidable military power by 1895. This bundle provides a sweeping overview of how Japan became unrecognizable during the Meiji era (1868–1912).

Some consider the Meiji Restoration of 1868 a bloodless revolution, but as this bundle shows, profound change doesn't come without turbulence. The Shogitai army (pro-shogun radicals) waged war against the Meiji government, only to be defeated in a one-day battle in 1868. The same year, three thousand samurai took on governmental forces in the monthlong Boshin War, losing and bringing the samurai era to an end. Even nowadays certain individuals resist the changes wrought by the Meiji Restoration; the essays include titles by authors who label that event a mistake and condemn the glorification of the Meiji era (1868–1912).

True revolutions require a sea change in a culture's thinking. As this bundle shows, that occurred in many realms during the Meiji era (1868–1912). For instance, writer Yukichi Fukuzawa and entrepreneur Zenjiro Yasuda strongly promoted frugality. So did the Meiji government, which popularized such slogans as "Extravagance Is Our Enemy." The idea was that having the masses save would help Japan develop economically. In addition, old Confucian ideals began to conflict with the population's new hankering for freedom and individualism, tearing families asunder. Finally, the Japanese started to reject plagiarism and embraced concepts such as copyrights.

In the Edo period (1603–1867), the Japanese reconfigured geographical features and built abundant infrastructure, as this bundle shows. Where multiple rivers met, engineers changed their flow. Numerous canals emerged, providing transportation, protecting land from disasters, supplying water to fields, and stimulating commerce. New aqueducts connected rivers, and new wells created access to groundwater. So popular was the 井戸 (いど: well) during the Edo era that people jokingly call it the "Ido" era! And in 1767 on Kyushu, people launched an ambitious project to reclaim vast quantities of land from the sea. That effort continues today!

As one essay in this bundle shows, theft wasn't rampant in the Edo period (1603–1867). Regular people didn't even lock their homes, greatly trusting their communities. But as other essays reflect, the era gave rise to copious crime novels, detectives' memoirs, and dramas, so people clearly did commit crimes. Arrests ensued; barbed metal made it possible to catch suspects, and the police then bound detainees' hands with rope. Officers weren't squeaky-clean, though. One expression alludes to a particular man who was both a gambler and a policeman. In the latter capacity, he cracked down on gamblers!

Justice was severe in the Edo era (1603–1867), as this bundle shows. People could legally kill enemies. Samurai faced house arrest for crimes. The shogunate locked tax evaders in cages and submerged them in frigid water. Some criminals had their foreheads tattooed. Capital punishment modalities included burning at the stake, crucifying someone and stabbing the body with spears, and decapitation, which was a punishment for murder, robbery, or even the production of fake masu boxes! Some criminals were publicly displayed and kept alive for days as the public hacked at the neck with a dull bamboo saw. Fun times!

This collection shows that the government had massive control issues during the Edo era (1603–1867)! Commoners couldn't wear silk and could have surnames and swords only if granted permission. The authorities kept borders closed, greatly delaying access to vaccines. The government also banned Christianity and oppressed Christians. To justify extreme levels of control over citizens, the shogunate adopted Confucianism. Its teachings include dedication to one's master, a philosophy supporting the shogun's absolute power. But a rival doctrine emerged, and its criticism of Confucianism as repressive contributed to the collapse of the shogunate, ending the Edo era.

This bundle examines financial culture in the Edo period (1603–1867). Because most Japanese couldn't save much, they honored frugality, embracing the sayings "Bear noble poverty, despise riches" and "A man is still a man even if he's poor." Money was tight even for many provincial lords, who halved samurai salaries. But some folks did have money; they bought things on credit, paying off debts at year's end, and whatever the Edo native earned by day, he famously spent at night on drinking and prostitutes. Garments in which people stored cash gave rise to a term for "financial standing."

As this bundle shows, new industries in the Edo era (1603–1867) changed Japanese culture. Ample whaling caused whale images and whaling byproducts to proliferate in people's lives. Mining technology greatly improved, providing ongoing wealth for the shogunate and enabling the Japanese to export precious metals. Despite productive copper mining, Japan nearly exhausted that metal by using it to pay China for abundant raw silk, so citizens cultivated silkworms throughout Japan, and artisans developed techniques for weaving and dyeing silk. One other emergent industry was most resourceful; traders sold household sewage to farmers as fertilizer!

This bundle reflects that samurai in the Edo era (1603–1867) had an unusual relationship with money. They viewed earning as a "dirty thing," and they devalued vendors for selling things that others made. Still, the samurai must have resented putting in a day's work only to be paid in rice. When they lost their jobs, many former samurai became petty thieves and muggers. One famous movie showcases unemployed Edo-era samurai who avenged the death of their lord. The tale demonstrates the samurai code of honor, perhaps showing that values mattered to them more than anything, including money.

What a figure the samurai must have cut in the Edo era (1603–1867). As these essays explain, men shaved the tops of their heads. Kabukimono (samurai gangsters) had even stranger hairstyles, plus eye-catching clothes and behavior so eccentric that people often translate "kabukimono" as "the crazy ones." Samurai wore two swords—one large and one small—whereas commoners had only small ones. In urban areas, the rebellious kabukimono were both hated for their lawlessness and admired for their manliness. Samurai culture flourished so much that people created a rectangular mochi and playfully named it with a samurai allusion!

These essays depict the explosion of visual arts in the Edo era (1603–1867). Although sumi-e (ink drawing) works were originally done in shades of black, colorful sumi-e really took off in the 17th century. Then bright ukiyo-e (woodblock prints) emerged, overtaking sumi-e. Ukiyo-e had implicit political content, but erotic woodblock prints also abounded. Ukiyo-e developed in tandem with tattoos that covered a great deal of the body, and many currently popular tattoo designs come from Edo-era ukiyo-e. Finally, manga go back at least to the time of the artist Hokusai (1760–1849).

In the Edo era (1603–1867), Japanese streets vibrated with sounds, spectacles, and surprises. As these essays show, peripatetic performers entertained people in all kinds of ways. Some magicians would repeatedly say something like "Abracadabra" and produce a different wooden doll each time from under a bamboo basket. Jugglers would spin plates to make their juggling performances more appealing. Candy vendors would drum up business by playing flutes while walking around. And street performers sold utensils and incense, as well as medicines, giving rise to a term that means "showman; charlatan; quack."

In the Edo period (1603–1867), audiences were spoiled for choice. As these essays show, kabuki (a dance-drama combination featuring elaborate costumes, vivid makeup, outlandish wigs, and exaggerated movements) originated in the first year of the era! Immediately popular, the comic performances depicted everyday life, eventually with suggestive themes (and was particularly fashionable in the red-light districts). Then there was joruri, storytelling done via dramatic chanting, sometimes complemented by puppet shows. Finally, Noh, a type of classical musical drama that mainly involves masked male actors, offered Edo-era citizens yet another entertaining option.

As this bundle shows, red-light districts abounded in the hedonistic Edo era (1603–1867). In fact, second-class, unauthorized pleasure quarters lay adjacent to top-class, government-authorized red-light districts. A multifaceted, euphemistic term emerged that meant "geisha quarter," "prostitute," "red-light district," and more. Prostitutes were classified as 松, 竹, and 梅, with 梅 being the lowliest and with rankings likely based on looks and lovemaking techniques! A popular play in those days featured a prostitute named 梅ヶ枝 (there's 梅 again!) driven by financial desperation. Real-life prostitutes mimicked her behavior, also inspiring one woodblock print by Kuniyoshi.

The Edo era (1603–1867) lacked standard education, but institutions formed to meet the need. Teachers ran "terakoya" (private schools) from their houses. After-hours private academies emerged, as did an Osaka school that taught Dutch studies, medicine, astronomy, and other Western sciences. Adult scholars also made great advances, enhancing a mathematical system called "sampo," inventing "enri" (a calculus-like system), and devising complex calculations with the soroban (a Japanese abacus). One expert quantified a term that means "too many grains of sand to count"! These essays explore such topics, also showing how a word for "Pythagoras' theorem" represented an imaginative leap.