Reflections on Session #8 (11/5)

[Anonymous]

I found all three sections (Establishing the Tokugawa Order, Vendettas and the Tokugawa Order, and The Meiji Restoration) fascinating. As I and many others have mentioned in previous posts, my knowledge of eastern Asian history is definitely lacking. I'm sorry to admit that most of the material we learned on Monday night was new material for me. One reason history fascinates me in general is it allows us to see how and why things are the way they are in present day. For example, Matthew Perry's (not Chandler Bing) Flotilla really led to the Westernization of Japan. Building construction, education, banking, military, and even art were all affected by the Meiji reforms. I found it so interesting that Japan did to Korea what the US essentially did to Japan.

I also found the Incident of the 47 Ronin extremely interesting, and while it was hard to hear about the warriors committing suicide in such a gruesome way, it gave me a lot of insight into the time.

[Anonymous]

There were two things that interested me most. The first one was all the beheading that went on. The warriors had HEAD BAGS they kept with them to carry the head back after the beheading! I found it very interesting that this was such a cultural norm in Japan. We didn't hear anything about this during our lectures about China and Korea--just Japan. I wonder what led to this in Japan that sets it so far apart from the other east Asian countries.

The second thing I found interesting was the hierarchical structure shown in every aspect of the culture. I kept thinking to myself, "Wow, they were so organized!" As someone who can truly appreciate organizational wonders, I also definitely see the downside to this hierarchical structure in their history. It makes me appreciate the freedom I have in my life to accomplish the things I want to accomplish without those hierarchical barriers.

[Anonymous]

I was overwhelmed by all of the information presented to us on Monday night. I didn't expect to learn that the Japanese were so gruesome and were using be-heading as their preferred form of punishment and intimidation. After the battle of Sekigahara, Ishida escapes and hides, and gets dysentery. He is finally hunted down and is paraded through the streets, and is then is beheaded. The head of Ishida is lined up on the side of the road to Tokyo, with other heads defected enemies. The fact that the warriors carried "head bags" to carry the heads back from the beheading to be displayed is beyond belief.

[Anonymous]

I, too, was impressed by all of the violence of the Tokugawa era, and did not find it surprising that these "displaced warriors" are considered the predecessors of the Yakuza. There is an excellent article about modern-day Yakuza by Jake Edelstein in the Jan. 9, 2012, The New Yorker magazine.

[Anonymous]

I found the ability to apply for a vendetta to be very interesting. I can't even imagine a place where you could apply for permission to kill an enemy. It would be terrifying to find out that someone could legally kill you. yikes.

[Anonymous]

This lecture was very enlightening for me. My background on Japanese history is lacking. I found it very interesting that historically the Japanese felt like Christianity was a threat. I also didn't realize that social hierarchy was so important in Japanese history. People were born into a social class and had no options outside their socially accepted realm. This seems very oppressive and sad to me.

I found the concept of applying to carry out a vendetta quite surprising. There was a great sense of justice and revenge among the Japanese. Grudges were held for generations. The fact that these vendettas were legal and approved by the government is shocking and disturbing.

The practice of warriors carrying a bag specifically for severed heads is very gruesome. I wonder at the violence and the public display of heads that accompanied so many Japanese battles. Why did the Japanese focus so much on beheadding their enemies? It seems excessively barbaric.

[Anonymous]

I too had not heard most of the information that was lectured on Monday. I had heard of the Incident of the 47 Ronin but definitely never to this level of understanding. I liked how Professor Yamashita used the graphics to explain his lecture. It was also great to understand the order of power from Emperor all the way down to local officials. My favorite part of this lecture was finding out that you had to "apply" to follow through with a Vendetta and that you were to return with proof. The expectation that you would follow the person you were going to kill was also a bit funny to me. Can you imagine the stress on your family as you leave to go kill the person who had killed someone in your family, and had no way to communicate back home as to when you would return?

[Anonymous]

The government-sanctioned vendetta's and violence of this era are such a contrast to the information that was taught to me about the Japanese culture in my history classes as a teenager. There was never anything taught about the structure of Japanese government or the history of the country when I was in school. In my "caucasian" upbringing I was taught that the Japanese were quiet, docile people who went to war with us in World War II. I learned about Pearl Harbor and the relatively recent events but there was never any background provided about the Japanese experience prior to World War II. I think that history would be so much more engaging for students with some of these events taught in context with some background in each culture involved (particularly when discussing wars) so that students can engage in meaningful dialogue and critical thinking.

[Anonymous]

There has been wonderful propaganda of how Japanese culture has been so organized, systematize and rigid in form and function in our western media. Movies such as the seventh samurai, the last samurai and tora, tora, tora, focus on the sacrifice for honor and duty over that of realism and human fragility. It was refreshing to hear that the Japanese culture is just as human (with flaws and otherwise) as any other culture in existence. It was interesting to hear that the Japanese placed a premium on order and hierarchy in most of their organizations and government even in vendettas and self imposed punishments or suicides.

[Anonymous]

I heard a wonderful story on NPR about the ethnic music of Okinowa and thought of our talk about how Okinowans were once the "scorn" of Japanese society. The music, though very strange to our Western ears, covers the full range of human life lessons - advice for relationships, how to insure for a healthy harvest, etc. Most songs, played on ancient instruments (sun shu ???) are ubiquitously (is this a word??) present in Okinowa today. You can hear them at weddings. funerals, and most cultural events. Okinowans, known for their longevity, are very proud of their musical heritage.

[Anonymous]

I also thought that the discussion on vendettas and control over freedom of movement was relevant in terms of my class' understanding of morality and social policy throughout the history of Japan.

[Anonymous]

I agree with nfong that historical, hierarchical barriers in Japan must have contributed to so many people not having a chance to live up to their potential. Their classes were so rigid that if you were born into a class that was the class you stayed in during your entire life. As an American I feel very grateful to have the opportunity to shape my own life. I also love teaching school in America. I love looking at my students and wondering what amazing futures they have ahead of them. I love knowing that they have a choice in how their life turns out.

[Anonymous]

I was fascinated by all the process of the reunification of Japan under the Tokugawa Shogunate in 1600 and how it happened, placing total emphasis on reestablishing order in every area: social, political and international after such a difficult century of civil war and turmoil.

[Anonymous]

In America, we are currently quite worried about the amount of violence our children see on tv, in movies, and in video games. However, if we were to compare the violence of our society with that of Japan's during the Tokugawa era, it may seem less alarming. I am absolutely astounded by the amount of beheading that took place. I am shocked that there were special head bags that people would travel with. I think it is so interesting that people could apply for a vendetta. Violence was a huge part of Japanese culture during that time period. I am glad that I did not live there in that era.

[Anonymous]

Professor Yamashita's lecture on Japan was filled with new information that I had never studied. The Incident of the Forty-seven Ronin was one topic that stood out to me, and the idea of the Vendettas. I never realized that Japan had such a violent history, including beheadings and "head bags."

[Author]

Posts