From the ancient samurai warrior to the fearsome kamikaze suicide pilot of World War II, the island nation of Japan has a long and storied history of military prowess. With the publication of this volume, the researcher now has a one-stop-shop, if you will, that provides access to some 2,000 years of armed conflict, both within and without this Oriental archipelago. In almost 300 alphabetically arranged signed entries, such disparate topics as leaders (“Yamamoto, Isoroku,” the party responsible for planning the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii); events (“Washington Naval Conference [1921–1922],” the resultant treaty of which placed limits on the size of Japan’s navy); attitudes (“bushidō,” literally, “the way of the warrior”); and international agreements (“Portsmouth Treaty,” which brought to an end the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–05) are discussed; along with the expected appearance of various battles, revolts and other military adventures. Interestingly enough, there is almost no mention of Japanese weapons. Those searching for information on, say, the “Zero” fighter plane will have to look elsewhere. To be fair, however, there is one entry for “Firearms in Premodern Japan” and a short discussion of chemical and biological warfare under the entry for “World War II, Japanese Atrocities.”

Editor Perez is well suited to helm such a project. Holding a doctoral degree from the University of Michigan, he currently is professor of Japanese history at Illinois State University at Normal. Widely published in his field, Perez has previously written The History of Japan (first and second editions), and Daily Life in Early Modern Japan, all by Greenwood Press. He has assembled here an admirable roster of academics andmilitary historians to write the entries. Experienced librarians will immediately recognize the name of Spencer Tucker, for example. It will suffice to say that this prolific author and editor is among the biggest of big guns in his field of study.

The value of this work is enhanced by a number of special features, which include an introductory essay giving an overview of Japanese military history, a slender section of primary documents, a chronology, a bibliography and a glossary of unfamiliar terms. Access points include three separate lists of all entries: alphabetical, by historical era and by subject matter (in addition, of course, to the index).

Those seeking narrative works regarding Japanese military history will find a lush garden, as volumes number in the thousands. Print reference aficionados, unfortunately, are confronted with a desert. A literature search reveals the title under review to be the sole English language entrant under the subject heading of “Japan—History, Military—Encyclopedias.”

Informative, engaging, well written, and thoroughly researched, this volume nonetheless has an obviously narrow focus. Institutions that would most benefit from purchase, in the opinion of this reviewer, would be academic libraries, especially those that support Asian studies or hold significant collections in Orientalia, military and/or museum libraries, and other such specialized facilities.