Welcome to the 日本の歴史 Book Club!
This is the main thread for reading the manga 日本の歴史 1 日本のはじまり 旧石器~縄文・弥生~古墳時代 together with the Intermediate Manga Club.
View on Natively: 角川まんが学習シリーズ 日本の歴史 1 日本のはじまり 旧石器~縄文・弥生~古墳時代 | L28
Original nomination post: here
The point of this book club is to enjoy reading together and pool our resources and questions so that we can more easily enjoy the book. That said, if you have to start late or you are reading this after the club has finished, you are still welcome to read and post with us.
Story
This volume covers the 原始 (Prehistoric/Ancient Japan) and beginning of the 古墳 Kofun periods. Specifically it’s divided into 旧石器時代 (Paleolithic Era), 縄文時代 (Jōmon Era), 弥生時代 (Yayoi Era), and 古墳時代 (Kofun Era) periods. Each era has a unique story with new and distinct characters. It tells the story of Japan’s progression from the very first inhabitants; to developing stone, clay, metal tools; becoming more sedentary; creation/developing of Shinto practices; introducing rice cultivation, producing glass and silk, forming kingdoms with new architectural achievements, and finally consolidating into a larger empire, with the establishment of the Imperial Family. As the story and civilization progresses, you get diagrams and explanations of newly acquired/developed technology, rituals, construction patterns, etc.
Schedule & Discussion Thread Links
| Week | Start Date | Chapter and part | Page numbers | Number of pages |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | July 19 | Chapter 1, part 1 | 14-37 | 24 |
| 2 | July 26 | Chapter 1, part 2 | 38-63 | 26 |
| 3 | August 2 | Chapter 2, part 1 | 64-85 | 22 |
| 4 | August 9 | Chapter 2, part 2 | 86-113 | 28 |
| 5 | August 16 | Chapter 3, part 1 | 114-140 | 27 |
| 6 | August 23 | Chapter 3, part 2 | 141-163 | 23 |
| 7 | August 30 | Chapter 4, part 1 | 164-187 | 24 |
| 8 | September 6 | Chapter 4, part 2 | 188-214 | 27 |
Where to buy
Physical:
CD Japan
Suruga-ya (has free shipping deals frequently)
Amazon JP
Digital:
BookWalker
eBook Japan
Amazon Kindle JP
Discussion Guidelines
Spoiler Courtesy
Since not all of us are super familiar with Japanese history, we will be observing the regular spoiler etiquette! Please follow these rules to avoid inadvertent ネタバレ. If you’re unsure whether something should have a spoiler tag, err on the side of using one.
- Any potential spoiler for the current week’s reading need only be covered by a spoiler tag. Predictions and conjecture made by somebody who has not read ahead still falls into this category.
- Any potential spoilers for external sources need to be covered by a spoiler tag and include a label (outside of the spoiler tag) of what might be spoiled. These include but are not limited to: other book club picks, other books, games, movies, anime, etc. I recommend also tagging the severity of the spoiler (for example, I may still look at minor spoilers for something that I don’t intend to read soon).
- Any information from later in the book than the current week’s reading (including trigger warnings that haven’t yet manifested) needs to be hidden by spoiler tags and labeled as coming from later sections.
Instructions for Spoiler Tags
Click the cog above the text box and use either the “Hide Details” or “Blur Spoiler” options. The text which says “This text will be hidden” should be replaced with what you are wishing to write. In the case of “Hide Details”, the section in the brackets that is labelled “Summary” can be replaced with whatever you like also (i.e, [details=”Chapter 1, Pg. 1”]).
Hide Details results in the dropdown box like below:
Example
This is an example of the “Hide Details” option.
The “Blur Spoiler” option will simply blur the text it surrounds.
This is an example of the “Blur Spoiler” option.
Posting Advice
-
When asking for help, please mention the page number, and check before posting that your question hasn’t already been asked. As the threads get longer, it becomes more convenient to use the Search function, which is located in the upper right corner of the forum. It is the magnifying glass which is near your profile picture! The best way to search is usually to type part of the sentence you are confused about, and select “in this topic”. This will show you all posts within the current thread which has that string of text.
-
Be sure to join the conversation! It’s fun, and it’s what keeps these book clubs lively! There’s no such thing as a stupid question! We are all learning here, and if the question has crossed your mind, there’s a very good chance it has crossed somebody else’s also! Asking and answering questions is a great learning opportunity for everyone involved, so never hesitate to do so!
Will you be reading with us?
- Yeah!
- Yeah, but I’ll start late
- I’m not sure yet
- I’m skipping this one
- I’ve read this before, but will join in the discussion
How will you be reading?
- Physical
- Digital
- I’m not sure yet
Now that it’s been spotted I’ll have to fix it. 
bummer
