Reflections on Tokugawa/Meiji Japan (4/13)

[Anonymous]

Today's session was particularly enjoyable for me because of my interest in Japanese history and culture. I have long been fascinated by the roles of samurais and the events they took part in throughout Japan's history. Therefore, Professor Yamashita's lecture on the Tokugawa and Meiji periods were equally informative as they were interesting. His coverage of the Battle of Sekigahara provided me with a detailed background of the political, social and economic factors involved as well as the outcomes based on those same factors. It was easy for me to follow the events that transpired and shaped the Tokugawa period based upon his clear and organized lecture. His answering of our questions was equally knowledgable and interesting.

His lecture of the Meiji period was equally clear and concise, yet he did provide us with many details and I left with a greater understanding of the period. He was able to cover a tremendous amount of material, a little over 3 centuries of events, in the time allotted yet I did not feel bombarded with too much information. I look forward to his lecture on 20th century Japan. I hope to gain a better understanding of how the warrior culture of the samurais and the industrialization of the Meiji period affected Japan's role in the events leading up to World War II.

[Anonymous]

Having studied China in depth in college, but never having taken a course on Japan, I have been looking forward to learning more about the topics of the Tokugawa Shogunate and the Meiji Restoration for the entire course. I only knew the basics: Japan's feudal system was similar to the European feudal hierarchy, there is a lot of mythology and a legacy linders from the Samurai culture, and that Japan industrialized rapidly after 1867 and evaded European imperial conquests and actually made a Japanese empire in the Pacific.

I was entirely engaged in the discussion today. More than anything, (except for the anecdotes), I enjoyed the format of the lecture. Professor Yamashita's proclaimed himself a "radical contextualist" and then proceeded to focus on an event--exclusive of context--to force the point that we needed to know why, how, when and where the event was taking place to really understand what had happened.

I also liked that he chose three pivotal moments in the 300 year period. I hadn't heard of either the the Battle of Sugihara or the Vendetta of the 47 ronin --neither of which seemed significant in the background reading--until I came to class.

I look forward to Tuesday since I just finished re-reading John Hersey's Hiroshima and my students are studying World War II right now!

[Anonymous]

One reason I appreciated Professor Yamashita’s lecture is due to his methods. I am constantly trying to get students to look at an event within the historical context. I plan on using this method this week with my AP World History class – giving them events and having them draw circles around it to show global context. I plan on starting with the Incident of the 47 Ronin. I believe my students will find this story as compelling as I did. Why were the warriors so willing to die to honor their Lord Asano? This idea, from the Code of Bushido, of death to regain honor, is something not common to the western world. Many of our students may see seppuku as a disregard for life, which is untrue. I found a great article online that addresses the influence of Confucianism and Buddhism to the Way of the Samurai at http://cla.calpoly.edu/~bmori/syll/Hum310japan/Bushido.html. It addresses the samurai view of life as impermanent and the importance of the separation of self-interest. I highly recommend taking a look a the article.

[Anonymous]

I enjoyed Professor Yamashita's lecture on Saturday. I found it incredibly informative - mainly because I don't feel I have ever really studied Japan's history, and I always wanted to. I especially enjoyed learning about "applying for a vendetta." It was interesting to find out that could actually happen! I also appreciated the books and videos he brought in to show us. Many of them could be used in the classroom and I appreciate getting suggestions about texts that can be used in class that are accessible for students. I'm looking forward to Tuesdays class.

[Anonymous]

Professor Yamashita's lecture has me dwelling on war and culture. The ideas of honor and death and how these values perpetuate throughout various cultures of the world. I imagine men pouring perfume on their head before battle and what sort of courage one must possess. Growing up in Hawaii, I know Japanese culture is deeply rooted in "saving face" and being respectful. I never thought to consider the impact it would have upon war. How does a culture perpetuate and instill these deep values? What do we as Americans value and how does it impact our views of war? In Pakistan, controversial "honor killings" where women are killed because they have dishonored their family, are currently being discussed in my classroom in connection to The Scarlet Letter. How do culture beliefs create norms in our society and is it ethical?

[Anonymous]

Starting a lecture with a battle gets anyone's attention. Also, it is a good way to engage students when presenting a subject in history that almost always has a cause-effect relationship. I found it fascinating how the alliances played a role in future events. I liked how the topic of the samurai closely relates to medieval Europe (loyalty, castles, fiefs, etc.). Students can make connections just like we were asked to do on Saturday with the circles. The Vendetta Registration System is a good way to control men with weapons; reminds me about how the European knights had to be tamed with a code of chivalry, not unlike the samurais' bushido. In reading one of the stories in "Five Women who Loved Love" one also finds how human nature affects the regular people and how laws must be instituted to help maintain The Four Principles.

The Meiji Revolution/Restoration brought modernism to Japan, though it was probably forced on by Perry or by what was happening to and in Asia during that same time. It is amazing how readily the Japanese took to the Industrial Revolution and the things that it had to offer. I found it fascinating how the samurais were maneuvered into giving up their holdings and way of life. I noted also how the government's policies affected the peasants/farmers which in turn migrated to various parts of the world to include Hawaii and the U.S. It is easier to understand how the Japanese were victorious against the Russians and the Chinese within a generation or two of becoming "Western".
edited by mcastillo on 4/16/2013
edited by mcastillo on 4/16/2013

[Anonymous]

Every session is extremely valuable because before this course I knew very little about any Asian countries. It was nice to switch to Japan for a couple sessions and it was nice to receive lectures from another lecturer with a different presentation style. In addition to gaining factual knowledge I also like to observe the way each professor speaks and steal some of their style and adapt it into my own lectures. I was not disappointed with Professor Yamashita’s style!

Part two of the lecture was my favorite. The vendettas were interesting to me and would likely be very interesting to my students. I believe I might try to have them start by getting in groups and have them discuss feuds in the hip hop realm or in their neighborhoods or in movies that they have seen and then explain how feuds have been around forever and then go into the lecture about the Ronin 47. I am looking forward to seeing how the Professor discuss WWII and Japan’s ascent to modern times.
edited by rlaunius on 4/16/2013

[Anonymous]

Saturday’s session was very instructive and informative. I really enjoyed how Professor Yamashita delivered the lesson. He was full of information and the notes were very helpful in following along with the main topics, leaders and significant historical events. In addition, the session on Japanese castles was interesting and the images of the architecture were very nice to look at. Moreover, I had never heard of the Battle of Sekigahara during the 1600s and the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648, which took place in a small village. Also the leaders consisted of Ishida Mitsunari (West) and Tokugawa Ieyasu (East). In order to learn more about this topic, three main ideas were introduced. The main concepts were: (1) Political, (2) Emotional and (3) Decentralization of Power. Furthermore, I found the section on the Vendetta Registration System to be very interesting. I liked the fact that vendettas were carried out in bridges or the outskirts of towns. All in all, this class was very effective and informed me much about culture and history.
edited by dcoronel on 4/16/2013

[Anonymous]

I was fascinated to learn about official vendettas in class on Saturday. I had heard the story of the 47 Ronin before, but I really appreciated Professor Yamashita's approach. First, telling us about the event and then revealing the political and emotional context of the event made it far more meaningful. It also created an unexpected type of suspense. In addition to being an effective lecture style, I imagine this would be an interesting approach to teaching creative writing. We could start with the end and move backwards, inverting typical plot structure. I'd like to try it sometime.

[Anonymous]

I really enjoyed the session on Saturday. I am currently reading a biography on Roger Mortimer - the man presumed responsible for the death of Edward II -- so I have drawing parallels between Feudal societies in Japan and Europe. I have also been pondering other historical events in light of political/emotional/ constructs of power. I like thinking about event through this lens. I was also interested in debunking the ever loyal Samurai myth, with the discussion of Battles. Like everyone else posting, the registration of Vendettas also had a certain appeal.

[Anonymous]

Having taken the class last year, I thoroughly enjoyed Professor Yamashita's lecture. I am a little sad that we didn't get to go into too much depth about the samurai way (great stuff), but I am glad we got the handouts/readings (didn't get the readings last time). The informaton that Prfessor Yamashita brings is invaluable as he himself stated that you can't find a lot of this information. The fall of the Tokugawa and the rise of the Meiji are fascinating. gsharpe, I appreciate the link but it didn't seem to work for me. I will try it on another computer. Like everyone else, who odesn't like the story of the 47 Ronin and sanctioned vendetta's in Japan (in many ways, it seems more civilized and yet, less civilized).

Again I appreciate Proefessor Yamashita's insight, especially with his self-compiles "4 priciples" of Heirarchy, Fixity, Propriety and containment/seperation. It does appear to classify everything conveniently and efficiently for historical purposes.

Constant themes that appear in Jpan, China and elsewhere is the theme of economics and money, but that is unavoidable when you have the western world come crashing in and imposing the unfair trade practices. Interesting that Japan chose to modernize while China stayed (or at least tried to) in the past, clinging to traditional ideals dor as long as possible. The Meiji reforms allowed for the Japanses to really flex it's muscles and Imperialize much like the western world (and Ilove how it slowly was adopted with clothing styles and later to imperialistic ideals). It really allowed for the Japanese to move forward when the Chinese chose to stay behind (same for Korea) which of course paves the way for WWII. Looking forward to tuesday's session.

[Anonymous]

Why do so many statues in cities around the world depict generals and colonels and admirals etc? Why do the history books and museum paintings and TV documentaries harp on so much about the valor and deeds of the warrior class? A history of violence and horror makes for a better reading than the slow pace of advocacy for social change, justice and human rights. The exploits of warlords, roving armies and crusades are fascinating, but do we pay enough attention to the cost in human suffering. There are wars of liberation, wars of subjugation and wars of annihilation. The warrior class are touted as heroes. Everything else is collateral damage, unfortunate victims mentioned in passing as a footnote, even when the numbers run into the millions. Homecoming armies are celebrated as heroes, shown off in parades, but they would be nothing without the industry of regular folk manufacturing the equipment, the weapons, the clothes, the transportation, and the provision of all other services. Either we are all heroes or we are all fools.

[Anonymous]

Saturday's session was an eye opener to all the struggles the Japanese people had to go through to maintain their country and traditions intact. The personal vendettas and the samurai ways have been always fascinating to me since I can remember. Last month, I was talking to my daughter who happens to be an Anime fan, that her own mother have been watching samurai cartoons since she was herself a little girl. Revenge! What a concept carried out throughout every generation, just like the episodes I used to watch.
Professor Yamashita's lecture was complete and organized. He spoke about geography, architecture, social hierarchy, politics... Fascinating stuff! I am interested in knowing more about the 9 problems Japan faced to be part of the rest of the world.

[Anonymous]

Another note about Saturday's session, Professor yamashita mentioned the issue of sumo wrestlers, and hot that today still continues the idea of order, fixity and propriety. Professor Yamashita mentioned that the younger wrestlers with not much to cover, start earlier in the day and as the day goes on, the main wrestlers come out at 5 pm. I ran across this piece on sumo wrestlers in Japan, and a small photo-essay on sumos. Pretty cool stuff, but in it it briefly describes how the younger guys start training earlier in the day and the superstars come out much later, all the time beating up the little guys. They are subjected to abuse, but can't say much as they have to work their up the ladder. It also rerminded me of how the Japanese soldiers were disciplined and endured abouse from older officers. Fascinating stuff. Hope you all enjoy it:

http://www.slate.com/blogs/behold/2013/04/17/paolo_patrizi_gentle_giants_examines_the_daily_lives_of_sumo_wrestlers_in.html

[Anonymous]

Just a quick follow up to my previous post. I discussed the Incident of the 47 Ronin with my students with Yamashita's method. I started out with a brief description of the event and had my students make concentric circles with the 47 Ronin in the center. I then went back to Lord Asano's death, then to the Vendetta Registration, and then to the hierarchy of the Tokugawa Shogunate. My AP World History students write Change and Continuity essays that require them to show historical context. I used this story as practice. Afterwards, when reviewing the Cuban Revolution of 1959, I had them use this method to describe the context of Castro coming to power. They came up with imperialism, the Monroe Doctrine, the Spanish American War, etc.
I plan on using this method to introduce topics.

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