The Japanese Empire

This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design. Harry A. Franck's travel reader opens Japan as a living classroom, guiding young readers across the Pacific with vivid scenes, maps, photographs, and a spirit of global sympathy. From the crossing to Seattle, the Aleutians, and the international date line—where a child can "lose" his birthday—the journey turns geography into adventure and introduces the Japanese Empire as the "land of the rising sun," a vast island nation shaped by volcanic origins, crowded cities, and varied climates. The narrative then moves through Yokohama, Tokyo, and beyond, tracing Japan's rise from foreign reopening to modern power, and confronting the ruin left by the 1923 earthquake and fire. Alongside rickshaws, railways, kimonos, streetcars, and American automobiles, the book reveals a country balancing tradition and Western influence. It expands into rural Japan, where rice, tea, silk, paper, and timber are produced through exhausting hand labor, and into industrial centers like Osaka and Kobe. Throughout, the book celebrates Japan's resilience, industry, and enduring cultural identity.