I stumbled across this article today. I love history written this way; spanning ages and cultures. Real big picture stuff. So while I wait for a chance to visit Japan and the rest of Asia, (tall order - I know). I'll keep search the net.

I'm fascinated by the idea of the Japan Islands after the last Ice Age. Everything just came together - a hunter gather paradise. Pottery comes early, unusual for hunter gathers. And with the seas keeping just enough distance from China, I just never saw it that way before. Really opens up my understanding - Japan is not a good analogue to British Isles. It is much more complicated.