In general, I liked this book because Toby displays a lot of revisionistic insights with regard to the Tokugawa diplomacy. But indeed, Toby overemphasizes similar points in a repetitive manner, which could bore readers before reaching most important argument he makes: Tokugawa Bakufu willfully manipulated the existing diplomatic channels to ensure the national security, as opposed to the conventional belief that it vigorously attempted to shut out the country from any undesirable foreign influence. Even occasionally painful to continue, read it through, and you will find the intellectual ride with Toby quite rewarding!

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In general, I liked this book because Toby displays a lot of revisionistic insights with regard to the Tokugawa diplomacy. But indeed, Toby overemphasizes similar points in a repetitive manner, which could bore readers before reaching most important argument he makes: Tokugawa Bakufu willfully manipulated the existing diplomatic channels to ensure the national security, as opposed to the conventional belief that it vigorously attempted to shut out the country from any undesirable foreign influence. Even occasionally painful to continue, read it through, and you will find the intellectual ride with Toby quite rewarding!