Japan: Memoirs of a Secret Empire

Japan blossomed into its Renaissance at approximately the same time as Europe. Unlike the West, it flourished not through conquest and exploration, but by fierce and defiant isolation. And the man at the heart of this empire was Tokugawa Ieyasu, a warlord who ruled with absolute control. This period is explored through myriad voices-- the Shogun, the Samurai, the Geisha, the poet, the peasant and the Westerner who glimpsed into this secret world.

Top Cast

Michael Auslin

Himself - Nikko Toshogu Shrine

Beatrice M. Bodart-Bailey

Herself - Otsuma Women's University

Richard Chamberlain

Narrator

Michael Cooper

Himself - Former Editor, 'Monumenta Nipponica'

Luke S. Roberts

Himself - UC Santa Barbera