"...The Japanese are not so black as they are painted or so immaculate as they occasionally paint themselves." As the author’s own words suggest, this book attempts to give a balanced account of Japan during the "crisis" years of 1931-1935 which were some of the most significant in modern Japanese history. They saw an act of political expansion unique in the years following World War One, as well as an expansion of Japanese foreign trade in markets hitherto dominated by the exports of other countries. The letters re-issued here were written for both the Western and Japanese reader and as such represent an unrivalled impartial resource.