Title says it, really. Looking for good overviews of the Shimoda-Bakumatsu-Restoration-Boshin period. I have access to a good library but most of its sources are older (Beasley and Akamatsu come to mind; there's also a multivolume compilation of Meiji legislation, compiled in I think the 1960s, which is just too specialized). Hoping someone can recommend a) a decent overview that's reasonably up to date with modern scholarship, with perhaps b) more specialized sources that cover specific aspects of the period more closely. Hoping especially for a good treatment of the Boshin War.
My Japanese is not up to engagement with primary sources.
Thanks in advance!
Modern Japan: Second Edition by Peter Duus (1998) gives a nice summary from 1800-1990s.
On the period before the restoration and written differently than many historical books, Romulus Hillsborough's Samurai Tales (2010) is a good read.
Bito Masahide's The Edo Period: Early Modern and Modern in Japanese History (2006) will also have relevant information for what you're looking for.