Reflections on Session #8 (11/5)

[Anonymous]

This was a very enlightening lecture. I have very little knowledge of Japanese history and found many components of what we learned interesting. I did not know about the 47 Ronin and recently learned that there will be a movie coming out this year about it. It was interesting to learn that vendetta could take 2-3 years to carry out and that one could attack the victim from behind during a vendetta killing. I would have assumed that the vendetta killing would be a face to face battle for honorable reasons. Another intriguing note regarding vendettas is the fact that one would have to apply to revoke the vendetta if one could not find the person that they wanted to kill.

[Anonymous]

The topic of vendettas was a very interesting one for my students. It helped them understand the degree of violence as well as the bureaucratic nature of Japanese society during that time. Every single one of my students was surprised to hear this about Japan.

[Anonymous]

I agree with nfong regarding the unusual aspect of carrying head bags, although I would disagree with the idea that the society that we live in is not obscured by hierarchical barriers. I would argue that we live in a world that has hierarchies at almost every turn. I concur that we have more freedoms when compared to pre-industrial Japan, but it's mostly due to the fact that people have pushed against hierarchies, and not due to any absence of them.

[Anonymous]

It was very interesting to read about the fact that the displaced warriors may be the beginning of the Yakusa. I have read that in Europe in many of the wars that raged through Europe in the middle ages and renaissance time when a groups leaders lost or retreated to their own land the foot soldiers were left behind and had to resort to plundering and raiding the civilians of the country they were occupying. So it seems that the practices during wars are the same all over.

[Anonymous]

Lpalmer: vendettas are violent, but this is also indicative of their strong sense of honoring what they believe is right. Of course, it's appalling to hear that people traveled great distances to seek revenge, but I find it honorable that someone would risk their lives to avenge their loved ones. It's just another way of looking at it from the perspective of those living during that time. If the law cannot detain those who deserve punishment or consequence for their wrongdoing, the people must carry out the law. It was just how their government worked. It is also important to remember that the court of law would give permission for one to seek vengeance.

[Anonymous]

How do you maintain order once established?
-marriage to secure alliances. used up to the end of the 20th c.
-order all castles but 1 in every feudal domain
-Buke shohatto (code of Warrior Houses)
-Made lords contribute to public works projects and lords couldn’t refuse. A way to keep the lords and domains poor.
-Had to leave family as hostages in Edo every other year. Leave main wife and heir.
-strict schedule. story of a lord who arrived in Edo late. He was subject to house arrest for 3 years.
-Close the country: threat of Christianity.
-Port in Nagasaki. Chinese traders allowed to trade there. The Dutch are allowed to maintain an outpost. Deshima= name of port. 1639-1860 the Dutch was the conduit for military information or knowledge of the outside world to the Japanese.

In contrast to the way the Manchu's took over China, the Japanese had a more rigid and controlling type of leadership. The rules and customs are much more specific, stressing more of a negative moral (in my opinion). Maybe that's why this system didn't last as long.

[Anonymous]

I was surprised by the level of status inequality that existed in Japan. According to the reading, landlords segregated toilets by sex because male excrement was valued more than women's. The same document shows a picture of a Samurai toilet made of polished wood, while the tenant farmer and family members simply used an open pit.

[Rob_Hugo@PortNW]

Dear Colleagues,

Please write your reflections below on Professor Yamashita's lecture on the Tokugawa and Meiji Restoration.

Best,
Yingjia

[Author]

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