Book excerpt: During the Meiji period (1868-1912), the Japanese laid the foundations for what is now the most advanced nation in Asia. Like Victorian Britain, which served as a model, Meiji Japan was characterized by faith in progress, civilization, and the growth of empire. This book features the architecture and feats of engineering of this age, illustrating Japan's transformation from a feudal society into a modern nation-state. Factories and schools, palaces and prisons, private homes, churches, hospitals, railways, bridges, canals, shipyards, warehouses, parks, and museums are all discussed, with attention to both the nuances of their design and construction and to their broader significance in reflecting and shaping the lives and consciousness of the people who built and used them.