Japanese History

New Medieval Sources online: Harvard Law Scrolls

jdresner — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 02:35:39 +0000

Harvard University’s Law Library has put 22 Heian, Kamakura and Muromachi period documents online. The online exhibit includes a discussion by Professor Mikael Adolphson [pdf] about how to read and interpret these materials.

Samurai Arms and Armor as Art

jdresner — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 17:28:55 +0000

There’s a review in the NYTimes about an exhibit at the Met: arms and armor of the samurai. For some commentary and criticism of a similar exhibit from San Francisco, see here

International Divorce in Japan: an overview

jdresner — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 14:05:33 +0000

Joe Jones at MutantFrog Travelogue (don’t let the name fool you, it’s a fantastic blog about Japanese culture, politics and history) has an excellent overview of the law and demographics of divorce and child custody in Japan, especially when foreigners are involved. Jones is a lawyer, with extensive international experience. The topic has come up because of a fairly prominent ongoing dispute between a Japanese woman and her dual-citizenship former husband over child custody, involving both US and Japanese law. You can find details in the links of Jones’ post.

Jomon-era Ceramic Sculpture Exhibit

jdresner — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 21:49:36 +0000

A new traveling exhibit on Jomon-era “dogu” sculptures highlights the evolving debates about culture and physical remains, etc.

Ask and ye shall be answered: Mystery Circles on Samurai Armor

jdresner — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 15:22:34 +0000

One of the beautiful things about the internet is that if you ask for help, often you can get it. I posed the question about the mysterious circular gear on the medieval samurai to my blog audience, and got an answer very quickly: they are spare bow string spools. The best picture I’ve been able to find of a “tsurumaki” online is this ebay auction, where you can clearly see the groove around the edge which holds the string.

Five Colors

jdresner — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 03:56:32 +0000

In the discussion today the “Five Colors” of Buddhism came up, and I mentioned the Tibetan Mandalas. If you look at this sand-painting mandala done at PSU last year, you’ll see the five colors:

Note the border around the edge: White, Yellow, Red, Green, Blue, over and over (clockwise). You can see the same colors in this hand drum. As near as I can tell, the five colors predates most of the explanations offered for their meanings — which is to say, there are lots of different explanations, because everyone seems to be making up new rationalizations for an old practice.

Atsuta Shrine still exists

jdresner — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 17:07:42 +0000

Lady Nijo, in her Confessions, cites a visit to “Atsuta Shrine, in Owari.” Owari is now Aichi Prefecture and the city is called Nagoya. Atsuta Shrine still exists and is a major attraction, with their annual festival serving as a kind of city celebration.

Shrine Ropes

jdresner — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 01:26:34 +0000

In the Amaterasu eclipse story, the gods use a rope to draw her out of the cave. Ropes have a long tradition in Shinto as symbols of divinity and authority. Often you see ropes as part of Shinto shrines, as in this sacred tree:

You see a similar rope as part of the ceremonial garb worn by Sumo Yokozuna — the title is usually translated “Grand Champion” but literally means “horizontal rope”!

There are some truly extraordinary shrine ropes, though, created as part of massive community festivals:

Japanese Women: Online Survey Results

jdresner — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 08:26:10 +0000

On 3 lists:

http://japanese-history.suite101.com/article.cfm/womens_status_in_japan, “Women’s Status in Medieval Japan: Female Marriage and Labour in Japan’s 14th-17th Centuries.”
www.womeninworldhistory.com/sample-08.html – on women warriors

On 2 lists:

www2.gol.com/users/friedman/writings/p1.html, “The Changing Roles of Women in Japanese Society,”
http://www.koryu.com/library/wwj1.html – on women warriors.

On one list:

http://asianhistory.about.com/od/imagegalleries/ss/samuraiwomen.htm – female Samurai.
http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/_generate/JAPAN.html – compilation of female writers from Japan
http://homepages.which.net/~james.phillips/hist.htm female wrestlers in Japan
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art153.asp – brief but informative reality of what exactly a Geisha is, and how their were different “ranks” among them, and how this was, in many ways, far from the ideal life for a young Japanese girl.
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art24550.asp female samurai rule in ancient Japan.
http://www.columbia.edu/~hds2/BIB95/03womens_studies_kline.html – Resources in Japanese Women’s History.
http://www.immortalgeisha.com
http://www.iz2.or.jp/english/fukusyoku/kosode/50.htm – ancient hairstyles of Japanese Women,
http://www.samurai-archives.com/women.html – specific women famous in Japanese history. It covers their roles in history and society.
http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/ANCJAPAN/WOMEN.HTM – Women and Women’s Communities in Ancient Japan
www.iop.or.jp/0313/kurihara.pdf, “A History of Women in Japanese Buddhism: Niceren’s Perspectives on the Enlightenment of Women,” told of how Buddhism helped women, but also injured them by labeling women “impure.”

Japanese Women Online Survey Assignment

jdresner — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 21:07:53 +0000

Due midnight, Tuesday (8/25) by email to me (jdresner@pittstate.edu)

Spend a little time (half an hour to an hour) researching the history of Japanese women on the internet. Keep track of the websites you visit, and make note of any themes, continuties, oddities or great finds. Write a short summary of your experience (400 words, max) and include five to ten of the most interesting (best, worst, whatever) websites, with notes about what makes them interesting. Email your results to me by midnight on Tuesday, and also bring a copy to class.