Clouds Above the Hill

Available for the first time in English, Clouds above the Hill is an epic portrait of Japan in crisis. It combines graphic military history and highly readable fiction to depict an aspiring nation modernising at breakneck speed. Bestselling author Shiba Ryotaro dedicated an entire decade of his life to this blockbuster, which portrays Japan's emergence onto the world stage by the beginning of the 20th century. This four volume epic centres on the careers of two ambitious brothers who work their way up from a rural backwater to positions of eminence in the new post-1868 Meiji State. The Akiyama brothers are determined to build a Japanese military capable of holding its own in an unstable region and the Russo-Japanese War becomes the central stage for their involvement in the frenzied modernisation and ascendancy of Japan in the region and subsequently, the world.In volume two, Meiji Japan is on a collision course with Russia, as Russian troops stationed in Manchuria ignore repeated calls to withdraw. Admiral Togo leads a blockade and subsequent skirmish to the strategically vital and heavily fortified Port Arthur, whilst Yoshifuru's cavalry in Manchuria manoeuvres for position as it approaches the Russian Army lines. The two armies clash at the battle of Liaoyang, where Japan seals a victory which shocks the world.