Session 12 readings (yamashita, 4/30)

[cgao]

Please read the readings below in preparation for Professor Yamashita's upcoming lecture on Warrior Japan. 

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[Lin Kuang]

Thanks to Professor Yamashita's impressive lectures on Japanese Culture and traditions systematically, I acturally found it helped me reveal the puzzles I had befiore. In the artical, " The Japanese learned from the Chinese how to write history something during seventh and eighth centuries. In addition, the calendar that they imported taught them how to keep track of the passage of itme in an orderly manner, and the great classic of Chinese history , including the Spring and Autumn Annals..." they mentioned Chinese writing has the greatest impact on Japanese writing. When we study the Japanese characters, we found out that they came from each single part of the Chinese characters and the cund system is quite similar. I reallly respected the facts that the Japanese selectively followed Chinese models, and they eventually created their own writing which reflects their culture and their beliefs.It's interestingly to know that they built their defence system on the tops of the mountains as Mountain Castles and Flatland Castales, the decentered governing system probally encouraged the the existence of the Worriers to fight for their survivals.

[Juan Liebana-Mena]

It was very interesting learning about Samurais and their origin from Professor Yamashita’s presentation. I had no idea that the bakufu (tent government) was not influenced by the most advanced political theory in Asia at the time (Chinese political theory) but by warrior theory, which was based on warriors and their own interests. One might have thought that the other territories might have adopted practices from the most advanced political theory of the area such as the rest of European territories did after the Greek and Roman empires, so that was quite a surprise. I also enjoyed learning about castles and the transition from mountain to flatland castles due to a matter of power to centralize economic, military and political power. In the Tokugawa period it was very hard to move up the social rank if you were a farmer, but it was easier to keep moving up your ranks if you were a warrior. Also, the Vendetta Registration System was something quite interesting to learn about. The rule to organize a vendetta was only if you were avenging someone from your immediate family. The funny thing is how there was an application and were you had to specify your name, family information, etc. and then apply for formal permission at your closet Tokugawa or domain office, and then it took 1-3 years. Then if you were unable to vendetta, you had to apply to desist, quite an interesting system indeed.

[Lin Kuang]

https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/3QL_ycH_Y5jaLLpOezAhug

I just read this amazing article about the unique design from the professional Japanese weavers “ Butterfly House” crested Kimono Project for all guests from all countries that will attend the Olympic event in Japan in 2020. The Traditional Japanese dresses embedded each every country’s culture and tradition, which is a great presentations and respect to people from all over the world. 

[Jonathan Tam]

I have always wondered what the history of early Japan was and so it was interesting to see most of all the diminishing influence of warrior values and emerging influence of economic values. Through the history of early Japan, Samurais emerged through the Heiji uprising in service of their clans and eventually died out as the period of warring states ended. Military governors became funded more and by the 1400s, the warring states were long over, but a new war emerged between villagers and the daimyo (the feudal lords of Japan). It’s interesting to see a new level of warfare emerge all throughout early Japan.

[Jonathan Tam]

Something that Sam touched on was the emergence of a Vendetta system towards the end of the century. He argued that it was a way to rid of criminals, but I see it as a way for citizens to participate in aspects of justice. Where there may not have necessarily been the opportunity to influence aspects of government, a vendetta system seems like an opportunity to do exactly this. You would apply for a vendetta and then have the opportunity to carry out. You wouldn’t need to fairly duel the person on your vendetta, but generally, they would know that someone was coming after them. I wonder how many vendettas were carried out, but also how many went awry as a way of seeking personal justice.

[Jonathan Tam]

It was interesting to hear how sushi, soba and tempura emerged as fast foods in Japan. It’s capacity in the United States seems very much like a dine-in food, but the storage and expedited nature of these foods allowed the Japanese to work more in an ever growing 1600s economy. I have personally never had Soba noodles, but enjoy sushi and tempura very much. I don’t think that I’ll get to a point soon where I can afford Sam’s recommendations for restaurants, but I certainly feel more inclined to explore on the menus at the regular sushi places that I go to. I would certainly like to try more types of nigiri sushi.

[Percy Ortiz]

Dr. Yamashita provided many details and insights in the development of Japanese culture from the 1100s all the way to the 1600s. The development of the bakufu, tent or garrison government, as opposed to a government that had an emperor was interesting to learn about. Another development of the time was the regionalism that existed within the Daimyos and how the country side kept most of its money or goods. Another are that was highlighted by Dr. Yamashita and one I'd like to spend some time on when I teach Japanese history to 7th graders is the evolution of the castle system and its changing purposes during this time in Japan. The establishment of the Tokugawa Order was also fascinating being that it was in the Battle of Sekigahara were guns are used and allows those with using them to establish authority over the rest of the Daimyos.

The manner in which Dr. Yamashita explained how the Tokugawa order permeated every part of Japanese society was a bit confusing and at times a lot to intake, but I believe that what he said was that the Tokugawa constantly told society, and this was done through rituals, how to be despite living in a hierarchical system where status was static and hereditary, meaning that despite going to a brothel, there too there were levels and distinctions made to the point that they too had a "Great Ship Procession" just as the Tokugawa had. Prof. Yamashita finally topped off his lecture with a rundown of the different foods that developed during the Tokugawa period being, soba noodles, tempura food and sushi, which represented a society that was more and more in tune with its climate, urban populations, and its interconnecting links of trade and commerce to other urban centers.

A topic that I would focus on with my middle school students would be on the development of castles. I really like the idea of posing a series of questions to students of the usefulness of having a castle, and then moving on to questions that deal with geography. For example, where would it be good to build a castle and why? I think that the development of castles can be a great was for students to also learn about Japanese mountainous geography and what would be the pros and cons of building fortifications in the mountains or in the flat lands. Another aspect of this could show case not only the evolution of castle fortifications, but also the use of weapons and how evolving weapons could have caused a change in fortifications. In addition, building on geography and warfare, the focus on foreign invasions, and trade could also be included in the development of castles. 

[Christine Xu]

Japanese castles were fortresses constructed primarily of wood and stone. They evolved from the wooden stockades of earlier centuries, and came into their best-known from in the 16 century. Castles in Japan were built to guard important or strategic sites, such as ports, river crossings, or crossroads, and almost always incorporated the landscape into their defenses.Though they were built to last and used more stone in their construction than most Japanese buildings, castles were still constructed primarily of wood, and many were destroyed over the years.

In my class, we are going to talk and learn Asian (Japanese and Chinese) architecture. My students will compare Japanese castles( Asian castles) to western castles. They will find the similarity and differences between the two types regarding structures, styles, and surroundings. 

 

Sources: wiki

[Jacqueline Mercado]

In this session, we learned about Japanase history and culture.  Professor Yamashita presented a panoramic overview of Japanese history from medieval Japan to the development of the Japanese warrior culture to the establishment of the Tokugawa order.  My knowledge of Japan and its people has been greatly expanded to better understand the foundations and development of Japanese society, its economy and political power and how all of this relates to its topography and geography.  I noted how Professor Yamashita contextualized the different aspects of Japan's history accoding to four contexts:  topography, military, political and emotional.  I thought the emotional aspect was particularly interesting and how Japanese society worked to control human emotions.  I did not realize how important the control of passions was in Japanese culture and how tightly controlled it was, how historically this culture has been occupied with order and structure.  I appreciated Professor Yamashita's broad view of Japanese history and the diversity of thought and the various aspects of the culture he included.  The historical puzzles and questions he presented, from the puzzle of the Samurai to the puzzle of sushi, serve as a guide to assist me as I think about how I can share this information with my students and have them delve into content that will cause them to appreciate Japanese culture. I personally would like to know more about Japanese feudalism and how this system compares to European and Chinese feudalim, its structure and system.  The session is over, but my thoughts about how I can integrate this into my lessons continues.   

[Stella Castro]

It is always I interesting to hear Mr... Yamashita speaks about Asia, especially today’s topic/s for today’s session, which will be about Warrior Japan.   The thing that I most enjoy about Mr. Yamashita is that he always has and prepares his lecture notes for us, the students, this is just awesome. I recall that in one of his appearances as a guest speaker he mentioned the fact that students should not have to sit down and write notes. And this he makes certain of, by preparing the notes for us. Kudos to Mr. Yamashita!

The lecture was quite interesting to learn about warrior Japan, as how it got to be. In the lecture Mr. Yamashita told us and showed us pictures of bows and arrows that the samurais use to fight with. I learned that the word Samurai is a noun derived from the verb,” saburau”, (sorry if I did not spell this word right), which means” to serve someone” Some of the pictures also were of the armor and helmets they use. Mr. Yamashita also brought some books that may of have been or held an interest to us on the subject of the lecture. Mr. Yamashita also talked about the different types of castles, the Mountain castles, and the Flatland Castles. The Mountain Castles appeared around the 1300’s and many were built. The Flatland castles, usually were built near rivers of highways, were usually about 40-60 acres, and were used for administrative/political purposes, they had a dual function.  Mr. Yamashita also told us he was going to tell us how to cook/make sushi, but we would have to wait until the end of the lecture, and he delivered. I am not a sushi person, but it was nice to learn about the sushi, process, as many Asian people are fond of it, Mr. Yamashita told us the process of making sushi, and that it originated in China/East Asia. He also told us of places of where to go eat this Sushi in China, where at one place it is quite expensive, but the people love it there and are willing to wait the 1-2 hours to eat at this place. He also mentioned a couple of places here in the Los Angeles area/vicinity, where they have great sushi, but  again since I am not a Sushi lover, I did not note these places, which as of this writing I wish I had, so that I could mention these places to friends, and family who are sushi lovers. This was a fun session.  The things that I can apply in teaching my students about this lecture/readings, is how to make a recipe of Asian food/s, architecture, (castles/s dwellings), geography, (rivers and mountains), and mapping.

[Christine Xu]

I learned a lot from Dr. Yamashita about Japanese culture and Japanese warrior. According to Dr, the samurai were the warriors of premodern Japan. They later made up the ruling military class that eventually samurai culture became the highest ranking social caste of the Edo Period. Samurai culture was not restricted to the art of war; it was influenced by a variety of sources and itself had a far-reaching impact on Japanese society at large. Buddhism, Zen, Confucianism and Shinto all made their mark on bushido, and helped lend meaning to the life of the warrior. The samurai's everyday wear was a kimono, usually consisting of an outer and inner layer. Normally made of silk, the quality of the kimono depended on the samurai's income and status. Beneath the kimono, the warrior wore a loincloth.

Many of my students are interested in Japanese warrior culture. In my class, I will show some pictures regarding Japanese warrior. We will do a research about Japanese warrior, and we will talk and share ideas about Japanese warrior. 

Sources: wiki

 

[Christine Xu]

The talking of sushi is one of my favorite parts during the seminar. 

When people in the West think of Japanese food, the first thing that comes to mind is probably sushi. However, sushi as we know it today is a relatively modern development.  It was originally developed several hundred years ago as a way of preserving fish.Sushi is a Japanese dish of specially prepared vinegar rice, usually with some sugar and salt, combined with a variety of ingredients, such as seafood, vegetables, and occasionally tropical fruits. Styles of sushi and its presentation vary widely, but the key ingredient is "sushi rice", also referred to as Shari, or Sumeshi. The term sushi is no longer used in its original context and literally means “sour-tasting.”

It is interesting that many of my students thought that sushi was Chinese food.  In my Asian culture class, we will do a research about sushi, and we will talk and share ideas about sushi. 

Sources: wiki

 

[Laura Gonzales]

Professor Yamashita lectured about the Japanese warriors as well as the mountain castles and flatland castles. The lesson was concluded with a discussion of food. Japanese government placed a lot of importance on their warrior men. In professor Yamashita’s lecture I was able to see the similarities between Japanese Feudalism and European Feudalism which is important to be able to compare since the AP world history could ask a question about comparing both.  I learned that the Samurai lived in the countryside and were independent, many of them controlled their territory by brute force, they were financially autonomous and by 1600 there were 200-300 daimyo.

 

The Samurai discussion led to the Japanese Castles, since they were built for defense. I was very impressed with the mountain castles because of the location they were built in and the detail that was put into them. However, Professor Yamashita did mention that Mountain Castles were not built to be defended in fact battles were usually fought elsewhere.  On the other hand Flatland castles were more common in the 1500-1600 and they were designed for defense. I thought that by that time since population had grown Japanese needed to expand and could no longer build in the mountains. Professor Yamashita explained that the transition occurred because of the development of centralized institutions and the tax system it also made it easier to control local commerce and their subjects.

 

The final subject discussed in the lecture was the puzzle of sushi. I learned about the origins of Sushi, which comes from southeast Asia or China. He mentioned that sushi is a fairly new concept introduced in the 1600’s. The first layer is cooked rice and the second layer is the topping usually a slice of raw or pickled fish or grilled eel. I found it interesting that people in Japan were into fast foods such as soba, tempura, and sushi. It would be nice for us in the U.S. to introduce these healthier options of fast food oppose to the hamburgers and fries we are so accustomed to .

 

 

 

[Christine Xu]

The language of a culture provides clues to important concepts and values. This is true in the Japanese culture. The primacy of rice as a diet staple is echoed in the Japanese language. "Gohan" is both the word for "cooked rice" as well as "meal." This is also true in other Asian cultures where rice is the main dietary staple. The use of Gohan in Japanese is extended with prefixes to give us asagohan (breakfast), hirugohan (lunch), and bangohan (dinner). These multiple terms signal that it was almost impossible for most Japanese to think of a meal without rice. 

During my Asian culture lesson we will talk about the role of rice in Japanese culture. Students will do research, and they will talk and share ideas about the role of rice in Japanese culture. Also, we will have a food tasting at the end of the class.

Sources Japan-guide/wiki

 

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