Nov.29 - session w/Dr. Yamashita

[Anonymous]

Courtesans, samurais, vendettas and ritual suicide. I felt like a kid again and I think I know what my students will gravitate to when they are studying the Tokugawa Order. Seriously, I was a bit a surprised at how rigid Japanese society was during the Tokugawa Order. When you have something as emotionally charged as vendettas being regulated by the government, then you are talking about a rigid society. But the rigidity didn't stop there. When your rank determines how you dress, where you live, the company you keep and whom you will marry then you are talking about a rigid society. I think as an American I am used to so much freedom that I can't imagine living in a situation where your emotions are so regulated to the point in which even vengeance has to be registered with the government. I put myself in the position of my students who take being able to let loose their emotions at any moment for granted. Something that else that caught my attention was ritual suicide. Seppuku was a key part of bushido, the code of the samurai warriors; it was used by warriors to avoid falling into enemy hands, and to rid oneself of shame. Committing seppuku involved a detailed ritual. Samurai dressed ceremonially, with his sword placed in front of him and sometimes seated on special cloths, the warrior would prepare for death by writing a death poem. His selected attendant standing by, he would open his kimono, take up his short sword and plunge it into his abdomen, making first a left-to-right cut and then a second slightly upward stroke. On the second stroke, the kaizoe would behead him with one stroke of his sword. Those who have studied World War II and the kamikaze are familiar with the idea of committing suicide, which was considered an honorable death instead of falling into enemy hands. I have always been troubled by this aspect of Japanese culture and in a post 9/11 world, in which suicide is an acceptable form of warfare it is even more troubling still.

[Anonymous]

I would urge my fellow teachers to check out the following link sand compare Perry’s photograph with the woodblock depiction of him by a Japanese artist. Perry's Caucasian features are a bit exaggerated. His face is large and fat. His nose is big and his eyebrows are extra bushy. In fact most of the portraits of the Americans done during this time depict Americans with excessively hairy faces. But it is most interesting is that Perry is depicted with vaguely Asian features. Perry through Japanese eyes. http://timpanogos.wordpress.com/2009/03/08/millard-fillmore-and-march-8-hurrah-and-rip/

[Anonymous]

I was very humbled after this session that how much I didn't know about the history and culture of Japan.

[Anonymous]

I particularly enjoyed Dr. Yamashita's lecture. Although I did live in Japan, I never studied it formally and have major gaps in my knowledge. When I first moved there, I didn't speak any Japanese, and my hosts didn't speak much English. As a result, a lot of meaning got lost when we tried to talk. Although I tried to learn as much as possible, it was hard with limited language skills and a full time job. I have spotty understanding of their history, and this lecture filled in some of the gaps. For example, I knew that some people in Osaka were still bitter about the Tokugawa and that it had something to do with the Tokugawa, but I wasn't clear on what happened. It makes more sense now.

[Anonymous]

Great link, Mr. Covarrubias! Even though the woodblock is a bit exaggerated, I feel that it captures Perry's features and the expressions conveyed by him. Last week's session with Dr. Yamashita was wonderfully presented and very informative. I had the opportunity to travel to Japan a couple of years ago and how I wish I could have taken this course/lecture with Dr. Yamashita before I had gone. When I ventured off to Japan, my Lonely Planet was my only guide. Armed with the tidbits of information that I'd learned reading my Lonely Planet and what I remembered from my History courses, I did my best to connect what little historical knowledge I had about Japan with what I was seeing and experiencing. Recalling my trip, like Ms. Level has expressed, everything makes more sense now. An interesting fact that I discovered upon doing a little more research on Toyotomi Hideyoshi's (the general who is credited for uniting Japan) son, Toyotomi Hideyori, is that he is buried in Mount Koya (Koyasan), an esoteric Buddhist mountain village. It is an incredible and picturesque city where one can only lodge in a Buddhist temple. It is off the path well-traveled (about two hours away from Osaka), but a most rewarding detour. On the advise of a friend, I visited Koya-san, stayed in a temple, and even went to the incredible cemetary/graveyard. I wish I had taken the lecture and known about Hideyori two years ago. Next time.
edited by bdeleon on 12/6/2011

[Anonymous]

I for one am fascinated by the ritualistic approach of the Japanese in all that they do. My first impression of Japan (Narita, outside of Tokyo) is still quite clear in my mind - a cold, windy December day but there was not a single piece of thrash/paper being whipped around in the wind. Visiting the about 300 years old Buddhist monastery at Narita, I did not have the heart to step inside because the floors were so spotlessly clean and I only viewed it from outside the main hall!
Little surprise, therefore, that once Tokugawa Ieyasu won the Battle of Sekigahara, he set about consolidating his rule by placing his followers - collateral, hereditary and outside lords - into a rigid placement system. It was quite a distinct way of making sure the other lower lords were kept in place through "alternate attendance" system and thus preventing them from rising up in rebellion against the shogun.
The new topic I learned was about the 'vendetta registration system' which was quite unique in the way it was operated. One actually had to register that one is seeking vengeance!!!! If the intended victim knew that he was the target, this would make it all the more difficult to exact vendetta because the intended victim would be extra cautious and prepare for his own safety.

[Anonymous]

vgairola: I, too, was intrigued by the vendetta registration system. It's hard to imagine that such a thing existed at all, much less in such a rigidly structured way.
bdeleon: I know what you mean -- Koya-san was on the end of my train line, but I had no idea what was going on when I went there. I was with several ladies from work, but they didn't speak English, and my Japanese was really weak at the time. All I knew was that it was beautiful, that we saw lovely temples, and that the cemetery was important. It would be amazing to have the opportunity to go back to some of these places with more knowledge. Maybe someday!
edited by alevel on 12/11/2011

[Anonymous]

Alevel, were you ever able to stay in one of the temples?

[Anonymous]

bdeleon: No, I wasn't able to spend the night there, though I would love to have done so. We went to a temple for lunch, which included an afternoon nap and a bath, so I guess you could describe it as a half-day stay at the temple. I hope I'll be able to go back again in the future. It must have been an amazing experience for you.

[Anonymous]

Currently I'm in Mexico visiting family and I was telling some relatives about our class. They were fascinated by the Tokugawa dynasty and its rigid society. The most animated conversation came from the regulated vendettas. As morbid as it sounds most agreed with regulated vendettas than what is seen in some parts of Mexico where for a few hundred dollars you can have someone whacked. And part of the "menu" is having the choice whether you want to have the person tortured. Japan it appears was ahead of its time according to my relatives because if you want someone murdered you should do it yourself. Having an "informed" group of judges or municipal officials to approve of the vendetta was an added bonus because it would do away with "unjustifiable" reasons to kill someone. Interesting conversations all due to this course!

[Anonymous]

'Understanding the "Tokugawa Order"' -
2a: Second Principle of Tokugawa Order: FIXITY - declared that a person was supposed to remain in the social order one was born in - warrior, farmer or merchant. This brought to my mind the caste system of India.
I want to draw a parallel to this with the caste system of India where one is supposed to remain in the caste one is born in - brahmins, kshatriyas, vaishayas or shudras. It is quite prevalent in the social system in India even now and one especially gets to witness this when a marriage is being arranged (though with people being more mobile due to job locations, youngsters who are no longer living in a joint family system increasingly tend not to follow it). What we see now is the ancient caste system that has fallen into decadence and decay. The caste system was initially established during Vedic period to facilitate what profession or trade a person would be engaged in once he became an adult. However, the person could move to a higher caste through personal efforts and achievements. Even in the Bhagwad Gita, Krishna has purportedly said that a person can aspire to move to a higher caste through personal efforts. But over the centuries the caste system has attained an intensely rigid outlook and families go to extreme lengths to make sure that their son or daughter do not enter into marriage with another caste!!
In Japan, though, political developments ultimately made the samurais to move into central provinces and then ultimately they went into becoming traders and merchants themselves - a class which had been considered to be the lowest strata of society during medieval times.

[Anonymous]

Dr. Yamashita gave a similar lecture about medieval japanese society when I took the East Asian history pre-1800 last Fall, but he is such a great story teller, it is hard not to be fascinated with him each in each lecture he gives. I especially love how he starts each section of the lecture with a driving question, something I need to adopt in my own teaching manners.

[Anonymous]

LACMA has some great medieval Japanese art on permanent display that works very well into Yamashita's lecture. The website gives a brief review with some good pictures, but if you have a chance to see the samurai outfits and the beautiful tapestries of Japanese art, it is totally worth the trip!http://collectionsonline.lacma.org/mwebcgi/mweb.exe?request=exhibit;id=8898

[Anonymous]

Dr. Yamashita gave an excellent lecture on Vendettas and the Tokugawa Order. It was surprising to learn that during Medieval Times the Japanese had established registered Vendettas. A few rules that Dr. Yamashita discussed about the Vendetta was that property could not be damaged or anyone who was not a designated target could be killed. The 47 Ronin which was unregistered Vendatta plays a significant role in Japanese History. There are even several films on this subject.

Comparisons of Vendettas and feuds can be taken from many different parts of the world. In fact, Hamilton was killed in a duel with Aaron Burr.

[Anonymous]

The Nov 29 was the most difficult for me as really my knowledge is sorely lacking in this time period and in this part of the world.......however, after reading the post by Covarrubias, I appreciated the connection between Japanese ritual suicide and today's suicide bombers -- I believe students could make a comparison between the two -- although death is the end result - there is a vast difference in the process and result.
P Lamkie

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