A Japanese view of Japan and the world is presented in this book, which is the first of two volumes which can be used in secondary and college courses. The reality of everyday life as experienced by the Japanese people is recreated in the series. Almost all of the material in both volumes has been written by Japanese and has been taken from a variety of sources: autobiographies, fiction, poetry, newspaper and magazine articles, and historical documents. Each primary source selection is preceded by an editor's introduction which provides background information and a few questions for class discussion. Volume one begins with a brief look at Japan as it is known to the world today: a nation of economic prosperity and technological excellence. It then goes back to the 17th century, to a time when Japan was isolated from the rest of the world, and traces some of the political and social developments that transformed this hermit kingdom into a modern imperial power. Japan's contact with the outside world led eventually to its involvement in World War II. The last third of the book examines some of the causes of that war, its impact on the Japanese people, and some of the permanent changes it brought about in Japan. (Author/RM)