books on Japan

A relative who is going to be traveling around Japan for a couple of
weeks (mainly Kyoto and environs) in September has asked me to
recommend two books on the country as background reading.

Ten years ago I would have recommended Edwin Reischauer's book for a
modern overview and the concise Samson for history, but I doubt either
are very up-to-date (well, of course the Samson isn't but it was a
good read back then).

I'm considering The Enigma of Japanese Power as a third book, and
Yakuza as a fourth, because he reads a lot, and imagine he might want
more suggestions, but haven't read anything general or historical
recently, and would appreciate any ideas.

Thanks,
Marc

.

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