Tanuma Okitsugu, 1719-1788, forerunner of modern Japan

The author has used Japanese sources almost exclusively in this study of Tanuma, who rose from being a page to become a feudal lord of wealth and influence. His state policies were based on practical and progressive reasoning. His liberal policies might have brought an end to a long period of national seclusion and hastened Japan on the path toward modernization. However he failed, and instead went down in disgrace.