This was an interesting class since we are not focused on China as much as we have been in the previos sessions. The professor discussed several aspects of the history of Japan. For example, he talked about the Kamakura period which marked the transition to land-based economies and a concentration of advanced military technologies in the hands of a specialized fighting class, also known as the Samurai. He also describe how the new emergence of castles in japan originated from this period and gave fine examples of Japanese architecture such as the mountain castles (Yamajiro) to the flatland castles (Hirajiro). I like the examples of Japanese Kanji he gave us during class. The hara-kiri (literally , stomach-cutting) rituals were perhaps not my favorite, but for some reason, I know this is what many of our students are fascinated with. Inspite of all the violence the samurai had, I enjoyed learning about this important period of the Japanese history.
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