Session 5A: Classical and Warrior Japan 8-1-08

[Anonymous]

From today's lecture I'm reminded of the power of visuals. The fingerprints...just looking at the 3 prints, I can recite information from the lecture that went with it. And the triangle that gets sliced away to show the erosion of the tax base and topic of tax exclusions. One immediaely starts to visualize our tax system and exclusions and think about drawing and slicing a triangle or other shape. I especially enjoyed the discussion of castles, aided by the personal example of falling into one of the moats. I had never thought to examine why castles are built in a particular spot. I was unaware that Japan has so much mountain terrain. In the spirit of our first week at class, I'd like to share that I just heard on the news that Japan has 20% of the world's earthquakes 6.0 or better. An interesting fact. Any relationship to the abundance of mountain terrain?

[Anonymous]

This lesson was a highlight for me. The culture that has captured most of my attention so far is Japan. One of my favorite movies is The Last Samaria. I’m not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing. After my first watching of the movie, I was a bit bothered because I took it as the message being that the “last Samaria” was a “white man”. After further viewings, this isn’t necessarily the message that should be taken from the film. Nonetheless, today’s lesson helped clarify a lot for me in regard to what was happening in the movie. It made the movie that much more beneficial as it clarified in greater detail the historical context that was being displayed in the film. It is weird how you can be equipped with facts, but unless you stop to actually analyze and take to heart the information, unless you connect it to real life, the facts themselves mean nothing. “Shikata ga nai” a word that I read about every year as I read Farewell to Manzanar” with my students. A word that is very symbolic in the movie The Last Samaria. Yet, I’ve never made the connection between the two until today’s lesson. Now that I’ve made the connection, I have another tool that I can use to help my students understand the book they are reading, to better understand the people that allowed themselves to be unjustly relocated to internment camps. Today’s lesson was indeed very beneficial for me.

[Anonymous]

Professor Yamasshita covered so many periods, prehistory: "the Origin of Japan" to Tokugawa period: 19th century, in 3 short hours with selected six major "artifacts". His lecture was organized with useful handouts (puzzle 1 to puzzle 7), and the presentation was very interesting.

I watch Japanese historical drama "Atsu-hime" every Saturday night. This drama develops during end of the Tokugawa (Edo) period. The time is about when Matthew Perry arrived in Uraga. Atsu-hime, the name of shogun Tokugawa Iesada's wife, is a very unusual lady. She was born in a lower samurai family in Satsuma, now Kagoshima-prefecture. The head of Shimazu (daimyo) discovered Atsu-hime's unusual brillant mind, and he adapted her. Then she went though hard training, and gradually became the shogun's wife.

I know the history of Tokugawa period. But I don't know about Atsu-hime. She was not mentioned in history textbook in Japan. I am interested to see how Atsu-hime thinks and acts during this political turmoil. She is one of the centers of politics but under the surface.

I like Japanese castles. I visited several of them. They are beautiful and practical for protecting the lord. There is a castle-town (joka-machi) around each castle. The casle-towns have maintained traditional Japanese culture. It is very interesting to visit them.

In my teaching of Japanese language and culture, I always include some historical backgrounds. Prof. Yamashita gave us so much useful information. I can use some of them in my classroom according to the students' level and the contents. Thank you very much.

[Anonymous]

I really appreciated the way that Professor Yamashita organized the information into artifacts and puzzles. This made is possible to follow along with the lecture, know where we were going and how long it would take to get there. I can see using this organization style in a high school history unit. I think this style would be very effective for high school students because they like to know what they are going to learning and how long it is going to take before we begin a unit. The puzzles would be great for getting students involved in the unit because they pushed students to engage in the material and create ideas and conclusions about the lecture’s topics - a great way to check for understanding as we proceeded through the unit.

[Anonymous]

History is intended to teach and inspire the following generations that read it. We learned that the Qing dynasty lasted more than 260 years. Why was that and what can we ( including current day politicians) learn from it? You need to start with the people ( ethnic groups, political mind, age variations, etc) and the demographic realities ( who is situated where and why are they there, how likely is demographic shifting during the time period, can the demographics change or shift?). For Americans, we track ourselves pretty well and can pinpoint the demograpics and ethnic groups for study. A second need is the culture. The Qing rulers had understanding and showed respect for the culture of the time. They accepted Buddhism and Confucianism amongst the peasant population. Our sociey and politicial leaders equate the different cultural needs and religious groups, at least on paper. The political climate and those in power are always a vital element for a society's success or downfall.The political policy of the Qing promoted dual rule. Overall, our political experiences enable our government to function for the benefit of the people. The democratic government functions well for the benefit of the population. The fourth element is economics. The state of the economy over the long term is vital for a civilization's success and continuance. When the Qing rulers took over, they didn't change what already exhisted in the day to day lives, the economics of the time. There were some changes around Shanghai area. Most people don't like change, especially when the change is abrupt or without representation by the people. By not introducing alot of change, the people continue to feel safe and that their world is stable. We see the same thing in our politics. Only when the majority insists they want change is some kind of change proposed. The timing in this is imperative. The proposed change(s) must convey a message of improving the economy and the people's lives for it to work. We are privy to this last idea during our current presidential election experience. All four points can be plugged in to a time period and the success of the government at that time evaluated. The bottom line for the Qing period of success as well as modern day governmental success is twofold. Those in charge need to accommodate the needs of the people and offer opportunity. An individual's feeling safe and successful, as well as belief there is even more for them in the future secures the government's position as their leader.[Edit by="sspringer on Aug 8, 1:43:48 AM"]THIS POST WAS TO BE SENT TO LATE IMPERIAL CHINA, 8-4-08, Monday topic. So sorry.[/Edit]

[Anonymous]

Clayton and Miranda:

Sorry! I cannot find where in the heck to post a film review. So, I'm putting it under Classical Warrior Japan!

Twilight Samurai film response:

The former social order of relationships between the rulers and the commoners "long before the Meiji restoration." (Ebrey p.411) It's hard to be the last man killed in affairs of state. A system that had worked once collapses in 1867. (Ebrey p. 411)

A larger question is the one of answering the call of duty to one's superiors. America, a nation of so-called individualists (I'll tell you why we're not later), would not understand Twilight's necessity of obedience. But, here's a little hope: Tomoe is willing to buck convention. Just like a man, Twilight feels he must do as he is told and follow orders; it's either that or face dishonor. Just like a woman, Tomoe answers the call of her heart. Those of us who have ever dared to take on the social norms (even in our liberal society) will understand Tomoe. Those of us who have given up personal freedom and desires to do what we are supposed to do will understand Twilight. I suppose all of us have had at least a little taste of both: sacrifice for a greater cause and/or following the call of our own soul's desire or impulse.

Twilight desires to rid himself of the mask of Darth Vader and its programmed political agendas. He wants to NOT be a company man. And, ask yourself in the privacy of your own mind, in what ways are you a Darth Vader? That is, how often do you NOT follow your own heart, but instead follow the dictates of the little microcosm or the macrocosm in which you swim? Just think of the senseless and stupid things that your district and the state may be asking and demanding of you. Even in your own department, you may be told to follow and teach/test a child in English who speaks Spanish. Just an example I've heard complaints about. And, soon you learn to be a company man/woman, because you've learned that no good deed goes unpunished!

Twilight gets about three years of life's goodness: family love and societal peace. Then it's the same old state non-sense. Those of us who lived during the Vietnam War will understand deeply what I am saying. Unfortunately, for Twilight there was no Canada where he could hide and I saw guys just like him enlist, do their "duty" and die. For what? We are not the nation of individualists that we like to think we are. An individualist is someone who cannot be divided, who is whole, who is free, truly free. Do any of you know such a person?

[Anonymous]

Twilight Samurai
I would say that Twilight Samurai followed the orders of higher ups as any military person would follow orders in the present day. What struck me most were his character traits. Samurai's were supposed to be ruthless and aggressive. He was compassionate and caring. He cared for his daughters, and Tomoe and her troubled married life. At the end, his combatant talks about being let free to escape and Twilight buys into that. This goes to show the feelings of a real person.

[Anonymous]

Some Japanese believe they are the descendants of the sun goddess. On the other hand, artifacts prove what we as people can relate to today. Anthropologists and archeologists accept the facts. Dualisms of blood types appear in the Japanese. Type A blood is dominant in the south and type B blood is dominant in the north of Japan and both come from the mainland of China. They believe that the Japanese Islands formed between 250-270 million years ago and that it had a land bridge that connected from China. I would like to research this area deeper.

[Anonymous]

I am so glad Dr. Yamashita is local. The Samurai are always a good discussion starter for high school students, and I would like to see if he would be able to come in as a guest speaker. After reading most of the entries, I think the Samurai were considered mystical because of their martial art - the rules of loyalty, etc. which could not be broken, and the need for honor above all. I don't remember any mythical origins, maybe mythical Samurai, but they were the protectors, basically. I would love to see a detailed breakdown of their uniforms, or outfits. They always appear to be so intricate. and the specific methods for dressing (and probably undressing) for battle.
The thing that struck me the most, was the reference to the Neolithic period. I was smiling as I was taking notes, simply because I wondered how many references to the Neolithic period were in U.S. History books. Oh, that's right...NONE. Admittedly, I haven't picked up a History book in a while, but last I saw, there was cursory mention of Native Americans found here when Europeans landed, then it goes from there. History truly is written by the victors. (Of course, I welcome any corrections from colleagues who may read this)
Once I get my notes squared away, I will come up with a prompt for Samurai. Till then, I think using it as a subject for computer research will probably take one whole class period. Wiki is no help, and there are a plethora of sites on the subject, so we'll see which one has the best sources of information.

[Anonymous]

Professor Yamashita's lecture was very informative. Castles, samurai, original "ATM's", commerce, blood typing, fingerprint typing...so much to learn about. The discussion on fingerprints and bloodtype was eye-brow raising; I had never connected the idea of fingerprints and ethnicity. While I was intrigued at first, I began to worry about where such ideas could lead...have led. Eugenics is a dangerous backlash when placing too much un-checked credence to such a movement. In searching this idea on-line, I found that kids do it for science fairs, but I diverge from Prof. Yamashita's point.

I found the information about the keyhole tombs to be the most fascinating. Why? Well, we hear so much about the beautiful and amazing Egyptian pyramids and little to nothing about the other amazing archeological structures. Friends who have lived on one of the military bases in Okinawa, Japan had never heard of the huge tombs. The immensity of them, in my mind, makes them a no brainer to know about, yet they didn't. I'm thankful for the exposure to such rich history because it helps me truly understand the ways in which we, the world, are connected. My students will be the luckier for it.

[Anonymous]

The time had come: the first of two days designated as a time to discuss the history and culture of Japan. I was not disappointed; this was the stuff I knew (or thought I knew), and my time was spent furiously writing notes on nuggets of info shared by Yamashita-sensei that were entirely new to me. Who knew that there was a common linguistic thread between Japanese and Finnish?! I had known about and visited one of the tombs on a recent visit to Nippon, but had no idea that more manpower went into its construction than that of the pyramids. Another fact that continues to amaze: the Japanese language was originally written in Chinese, phonetically. The modern Japanese writing system is notoriously difficult, but nothing compared to a phonetic transcription using only Chinese characters.
The next time I go to my favorite Japanese restaurant, I'm going to ask about the Benedict Arnold of Japan, Takauji... after the food is brought out and the bill is paid.
During my time in Kagawa Prefecture, I visited the two local castles, but both were dramatically different in description from those structures featured in the lecture. One castle was actually made up of eleven or twelve small watch towers with no large central tower, while the other was built on the oceanfront and uses ocean water to fill its moats. The stylistic differences of these castles is high on the list of topics I'd like to learn more about.

"I'm used to getting sensitive questions of all types." - Yamashita-sensei. Incredible.

[Anonymous]

During lunch I had the opportunity to ask Professor Yamashita a few questions about his lecture and how I could connect the content he covered to what I teach about Japan in 10th grade World History. Our conversation led us to discussing the Japanese Imperial Army and World War II. He mentioned a book that I believe is going to be a remarkable read.

A Diary of Darness, by Kiyosawa Kiyoshi.

I recently purchased it on Amazon and although there were only two book reviews, both readers rated it five stars. I am looking forward to reading it and incorporating an entry or two into my lesson on WWII this Spring. While discussing the book with Professor Yamashita, he mentioned an entry from March of 1945 when the author writes that the only hope for saving Japan was for its enemy to destroy the government that currently held power and build anew because the Japanese citizens felt powerless against it. His words in 1945 were profound and his position was considered liberal... I hope others of you find interest in this book as well.

[Anonymous]

In a lecture that gives new meaning to the term "tour-de-force," Prof. Yamashita covered the history of Japan from its prehistoric beginnings into the Tokugawa Period. I was particularly interested in the archaeological cultures of the Jomon, Yayoi, and Kohun. The cultural leap from peaceful fishers, hunters, and gatherers to horse-riding, sword-wielding, armored warriors usually means some kind of invasion. At the time (a decade ago at least) I found two pictures of museum displays depicting a Jomon and Yayoi village, and there was very little to explain what they meant. I had to rely on visual interpretation for a general description of the culture. It was gratifying to see that I was very close in my depiction. That this period of transiton in Japanese history is still a hotly debated topic is a testament to the many problems that arise from the interpretation of archaeological data, even with sophisticated techniques like DNA analysis. I have been fascinated by haniwa, the Kohun grave goods, for some time. They definitely point to one of the major emphases of this group of people.
The thing that does bother me is that Prof. Yamashita never really did explain the design and size of the "keyhole" tumuli? I guess it comes down to "Because they could!" As an ardent puzzle fan, it's always nice that there are a few big ones left to ponder.
I love visiting chateaus, Roman ruins, and castles so the all-too-brief segment on castles was pretty fascinating. It got me looking for more on Japanese castle design and I leave you with a tremendously interesting website to explore:http://www.jcastle.info/

[Anonymous]

Many different cultures are obsessed with keeping the purity of the people (being Indian I am well aware of the pressure people have to marry the right person with the right ethnic background). Eugenics movement is also an example of this obsession with believing we are all fundamentally different. I think the professor's detailed explanation about where Japanese people originate from really helps dispel some of the myths that we are different and it helps us see the influence we all have on each other. This is a great theme of a unit or a lead in idea.

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