Historians have long been aware of the richness and complexity of the intellectual history of modern Japanese politics. Najita\'s study, however, is the first in a Western language to present a consistent and broad synthesis of this subject. Najita elucidates the political dynamics of the past two hundred years of Japanese history by focusing on the interplay of restorationism and bureaucratism within the context of Japan\'s modern revolution, the Meiji Restoration.