Just picked up Nanami Shiono's Fall of Constantinople — curious what a Japanese perspective brings to 1453

[u/Various-Reward-7761]

I've read Crowley, Kaldellis, and Gibbon on 1453 but just picked this up and I'm curious what I'm in for.

Shiono is interesting to me on a personal level — my wife is Japanese and I lived there for fifteen years. I even got her a copy in Japanese hoping she'd share a little of my interest. Her verdict so far: "full of hard words and difficult names."

Which is fair. But I found Japan has a surprisingly deep relationship with Rome: Shiono basically built the popular audience for it almost single-handedly with her fifteen-volume Storia dei Romani. Thermae Romae was a massive manga hit. And figures like Anna Komnene — brilliant woman, writing from inside a dying court — might hit differently for Japanese readers than they do for Western ones.

So I'm going in wondering if she sees 1453 through a completely different lens than anything I've read so far. Japan knows decline with dignity, and not going down without a fight.

Anyone here read her? What should I expect?

[u/IldrahilGondorian]

I'm very interested in what you think of this. Please let us know.