This is the history of U.S.-Japanese relations from the point of view of a pro-American Japanese scholar. Japan and the United States, says the author, share many interests and goals, but they suffer from a tremendous gap in mutual perceptions. He believes Japan is neither an inexplicable riddle nor a monolith. Since time immemorial, forging unity among the many warring groups in Japan has been difficult. The author's important contribution is to examine in historical depth the difficulties the Japanese have encountered in their efforts to unify.