The main entrance to the Kyoto Palace, ancient home of the Japanese imperial family, is called the Door to Heaven. How t
523 58 64MB
English Pages 416 [432] Year 2000
•THE SECRET HISTORY OF >JAPAN'S IMPERIAL FAMILY
MARIN CP.UNTY,FREE LIBRARY
3 1111 019150851
Une —
YAMATO JJynasiy
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a
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Tho main ontmnce
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home ollho Japanese the
Door
whrs, the
is
the Kvoto Palace, ancicnl
imperial lamily,
is
called
How the emperors fell
to Heaven.
from heaven
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a story that
c
rosses t>vo
bombing of Hiroshima
world
anti Nagasaki,
the American occ upation of Japan, anti Japan's
phoenix-like rise from the ashes of the Second
World War.
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m^ V fc
In this authoritative biography. Sterling Seagr«"i> e,
bestselling author of The Soomj Dvnastw
and Peggy Seagrave bring to light the uneasy historv of the Yamato Dvnastv, from Hmperor Meiji in 1852 to the present day. Revealed here for the
first
time
is
looting operation,
("Golden
Lily")
the
of the Japanese
full scale
code-named Kin No Yuri
—which systematically
re-
moved billions of dollars' worth of gold, platinum, diamonds, art, religious artifacts, and other treasures from a dozen occupied countries
during World War
II
—and the
fate
of
these hidden assets after 1945.
Drawing on decades of research, the Seaiiraves reveal Golden Lilv and other secrets of the family's long reign, such as the police state resulting from the Meiji restoration; the folly that led to Japan's 1920s
economic
crash; the
greed that forced hundreds of thousands of working-class girls into prostitution; the devastating effects of the Meiji
dogma, which
serts that the imperial family
scent
and
Shinto
infallible;
The Yamato Dynasty
formed
of divine de-
and how mcmey
—became the
Among the most
is
as-
state religion
—not
of Japan.
important revelations in is
how Japan
itself since World War II.
has transAfter the war,
was so dismal it seemed the nation might never recover from bankruptcy and 'WA\. broadwaybooks.com
Parade
^
—
"The Seagraves have uncovered one
of the biggest
secrets of the twentieth century." Iris
Chang, author oiDfieCRape ofy^an^in^
"TheYamato Dynasty
.
.
.
cannot
fail
to have a lasting impact
upon
Japanese national politics, the way the Japanese view themselves,
and the wav the rest of the world views them." iDonoon (uunaau
''[TheYamato Dynasty] unveils
war
ing secrets of the
some of the most endur-
in the Pacific
is
"An
incisive
biography
.
.
.
contains
political thriller: family squabbles,
duplicity and murder.
— —and
It
.
.
with a reality
—
all
CBusiness C^^e
the elements of a
power
struggles,
involves a huge pile of treasure f
bullion
worth
billions stashed all over the
secret operations to retrieve
it's all
true."
US
$27.50
it.
And
world
best of
Soui/i G/iina JKornin^ CPos i (SAow^ /
$43.00
CAN
ISBN 0-7679-0496-6
52750
I
.
both shocking and absorbing."
that
Z/i/nes
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all,
Kong)
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