This is part of a series in which each book explores the history of a different time and place through the lens of one twenty-four-hour day. I haven’t come across any of the previous books, but I was drawn to this one because I know relatively little about Japan’s history and wanted to add to my limited knowledge. Most of what I do know about this period (the Tokugawa shogunate of 1603 to 1868) comes from novels like James Clavell’s Shogun so I thought it would be interesting to read some nonfiction on the subject – although as it turned out, this book is an unusual combination of fiction and nonfiction.
24 Hours in Shogun’s Japan focuses on a day in 1614 and devotes one chapter to each hour of the day, beginning at midnight. The chapters are headed with both the Western time and the equivalent Japanese term, a system introduced from China – for example, Upper Hour of the Rat or Lower Hour of the Dragon – which I thought was a nice touch. We are then given a short fictional story providing a snapshot of one person’s life as they go about their usual daily activities during that hour. As we progress through the day one hour at a time, we meet a range of characters from all walks of life – a doctor, a pilgrim, a merchant, a pirate and many more – and each one has their own story to be told.
The stories are too short to be very satisfying as works of fiction, but they are there to serve a purpose and they do that very well, providing snapshots of all aspects of daily life – the food people ate, the clothes they wore, the housing they lived in and the types of job they did. Some of the characters who stood out for me included a tea master preparing for the elaborate ritual of the tea ceremony, a fisherman trying to persuade everyone to buy a new type of fish they’d never even seen, a Kabuki dancer performing on stage by the river in Kyoto and a man known as a Yamabushi, or mountain ascetic, getting ready to climb Mount Fuji.
Each chapter includes some key historical facts, there are illustrations and at the end of the book there’s an index and a list of sources and suggestions for further reading. If you want something more academic you would need to look elsewhere, but this is an excellent starting point. The book is obviously intended as an introduction to the time period and the style and structure make it very accessible to readers who are new to the subject.
If you like the sound of the format of these books but aren’t interested in Shogun-era Japan, the others in the series cover Ancient China, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Athens, Ancient Rome and the Viking World. They’re not all by the same author but I assume they’re all written in a similar way. I found this one a quick and informative read, so I would probably consider reading another one.
Can you recommend any good books about Japanese history?
Thanks to Michael O’Mara Books for providing a copy of this book for review via NetGalley.
She Reads Novels 
A Brief History of Japan by Clements is a good intro, although by its very nature a bit too short of an overview.
Thanks. I’ll consider reading that one. I think a basic intro would be useful for me at the moment, as there are so many periods of Japanese history I know very little about.
This is on my Wish List – as are most of the others in that series. I’ve read the Ancient Rome one:
https://cyberkittenspot.blogspot.com/2025/02/just-finished-reading-24-hours-in.html
Amazon was offering the Viking one cheap in hardback so I snapped *that* up! I intend reading the rest @ some point.
The format – fiction based on historical research – is a *bit* strange but, once you get used to it, works pretty well I thought (although it did take a while to get used to it).
I haven’t read a general history of Japan but I have these on my Wish List that look interesting:
A Short History of Japan by Christopher Harding
The Shortest History of Japan by Lesley Downer
I hope you enjoy the Viking book. That one and the China one sound most appealing to me as I know a lot less about them than I do about Ancient Greece, Rome and Egypt. I’m sure all of them will be fascinating, though!
That’s interesting. So how would you categorize this book? Fiction or nonfiction?
It’s a mixture of both but I would say it feels more like nonfiction than fiction and it’s listed in the nonfiction section of the publisher’s website.
OK, thanks!
This sounds like it could contain some interesting information like the tea making ritual that you’ve described. I think I’d have expected a more factual book too but I do think learning what a variety of people would potentially be doing within a time setting is an interesting approach. And I do love the green of the cover. How did you find the Shogun novel? I don’t tend to pick up non fiction but I’d be curious to learn more about samurai after reading Japanese Gothic earlier this year.
Yes, I liked the way the book covered such a variety of different types of people and I thought the mixture of fact and fiction was a fascinating approach. It’s been a long time since I read Shogun by James Clavell and I remember it being very long and detailed but it brought Japan to life very vividly. I’ve also read another book, The Shogun’s Queen by Lesley Downer (which is part of a series that I still haven’t finished), and I found that an easier read.
I feel like I’ve seen pretty mixed things about it tbh, although its been a while since I’ve seen any reviews for it. Ooh I hadn’t heard of that one but I’ll definitely add it to my TBR. Thanks for the recommendation 🥰