The lush green mountainous archipelago of today supports a population of over 127 million people and one of the most advanced economies in the world. How has this come about? At what environmental cost? Conrad Totman, one of the world's foremost scholars on Japan, explores the country's environmental history, from its beginnings to the present day. From Japan's unique borders, to the external influences exerted on its rich history, Totman demonstrates how the Japanese experience, yields important insights into the processes of environmental history, with important lessons for the wider environmental history of the planet. “This is the premier book for readers in and outside academia to gain a comprehensive view of human interaction with the environment on the Japanese archipelago, and a perspective that is beyond the anthropocentric historiography.” ― Canadian Journal of History/Annales canadiennes d'histoire Conrad Totman is Professor Emeritus in Japanese History, Yale University. Acknowledged as the leading western authority on Japanese environmental history, his books include Japan before Perry , The Green Archipelago, Early Modern Japan, and A History of Japan (3rd edition, 2010).