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Anonymous.
clay dubeHere's where we can share web page creation resources such as public domain image banks, templates, and icon resources. [Edit by="Clay Dube on Oct 8, 10:09:05 PM"][/Edit]
clay dubeOn a page on the Univ. of Kansas math dept. website, you can access commonly needed icons such as
http://www.math.ku.edu/icons/back.gif
http://www.math.ku.edu/icons/[Edit by="Clay Dube on Oct 8, 10:17:58 PM"][/Edit]
clay dubeHere are some sites that provide web page templates that you can adapt. None of these are especially complicated and you could readily match them using Mozilla Composer.
San Diego State University (< 10, simple and effective)
http://webquest.sdsu.edu/LessonTemplate.html
Netscape (> 10 templates, very basic)
http://wp.netscape.com/browsers/templates/
Web Diner (< 10 templates)
http://www.webdiner.com/templates/webtemp.htm
clay dubeOne of the most commonly used professional website building programs is Macromedia's Dreamweaver. I now use it to create pages for our sites. It is not intuitive but it is powerful. If you've enjoyed the web page creation effort associated with this course and want to experiment with other creation tools, Dreamweaver is available free for 30 days. Both Windows and Mac versions are available.
This is not an easy program to master (I've been using it for some time now and am still flumoxed regularly), but it is state of the art and available for a free trial. It is a huge download, though, so be sure you've got a fast internet connection.
clay dubeWe've suggested cd-roms from Corel and other resources. Here are a couple of websites to visit:
Image After
http://www.imageafter.com/
Image After offers free and paid images and textures. The assortment is huge, but there isn't much on Asia. Some backgrounds, etc. may be useful.
UNESCO Photobank
Currently being reconstructed -- relaunch is overdue
http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=20289&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
Excellent tips and links from the library at the University of San Francisco (note the sage copyright advice!):
http://www.lib.usf.edu/ref/ifrank/guides/images.html
AnonymousThe History of the Samurai
Mythological Roots
Japanese mythology, like the mythology of most cultures, was passed on for many years through oral tradition. Stories of mythological Japan were told as entertainment and education, thus preserving important Japanese religion, culture, and while not reliably accurate, history.
These accounts, or stories, were first documented in two eighth century texts: Kojiki (“Records of Ancient Matters,” 712) and Nihon Shoki (“Chronicle of Japan,” 720). Both the Records and the Chronicles begin with chapters on the mythological age of the Gods and while they reveal early Japanese ways of thinking and patterns of behavior, their content cannot, according to Sources of Japanese Tradition compiled by William Theodore deBary, be taken as reliable historical fact:
“The Japanese accounts of the birth of the gods and of the foundation of their country belong, or course, to the realm of mythology rather than history, but they afford us a glimpse of Japanese attitudes toward the world and nature. [Because] later Japanese attached importance to these legends, …knowledge of them is [important] to understanding Japanese thought” (5).
It is with the legends depicted in these two works that our history of the samurai begins.
Land of the sword
Long ago in mythological times, deities inhabited the Japanese islands. These gods lived in small tribes or family groups which were constantly at war with each other. One family group decided to gather the small tribes and groups together to form a single nation. They did this using the special powers of the hoko, which was an early spear.
However, no sooner had they unified did another large group of tribes, armed with both the hoko and powerful bronze swords known as tsufugi, come and conquer them. The result was yet a larger nation. This new nation became known as Tsurugi no kuni, or “Land of the Sword”.
Led by the warrior gods Takemikazuchi-no-mikoto and Futsunushi-no-mikoto another tribe appeared. Before long, armed with more powerful iron swords known as Futsunomitama-no-tsurugi, they approached the king of Tsurugi no Kuni, Ōkuninushi-no-mikoto. Thrusting their “swords of spiritual power” into the sand, they ordered Ōkuninushi-no-mikoto to surrender the Land of the Sword to the sun goddess Amaterasu Ōmi-no-kami.
Fearing the great power of these iron swords, king Ōkuninushi-no-mikoto did as he was told, and the Land of the Sword became governed by the warrior gods of the sun. To this day, Takemikazuchi-no-mikoto and Futsunushi-no-mikoto are considered the guardians of kobudō (traditional martial arts).
The First Emperor of Japan
Kamuyamatoi-warebi-no-mikoto was the great-great-grandson of Amaterasu Ōmi-no-kami, the sun goddess. After uniting many nations of the southern Japanese island of Kyūshū, he decided to advance his army to central Japan in hopes of conquering and further uniting the tribes there. Sailing through the Inland Sea, he ventured to Kashiware in Yamato Province, which is now Nara. The local armies there met his invasion with fierce opposition, and his older brother Sano-no-mikoto was killed in battle. Subsequently, his soldiers lost the will to continue fighting.
Thinking he would have to retreat and bring his broken soldiers back to Kyūshū, Kamuyamatoi-warebi-no-mikoto was approached by the god Takakuraji-no-mikoto, who had the Futsunomitama-no-tsurugi first used by the warrior god Takemikazuchi-no-mikoto who once conquered the Land of the Sword in the name of the sun goddess. As it was a gift from the heavens, Kamuyamatoi-warebi-no-mikoto took the iron sword. Using its divine power to renew the strength and moral of both himself and his warriors, Kamuyamatoi-warebi-no-mikoto and his men continued fighting and were victorious. It was from this victory that Kamuyamatoi-warebi-no-mikoto established the Japanese Empire and became the first emperor of Japan, Jinmu in 1600 B.C. And it was from this victory that subsequently the Futsunomitama-no-tsurugi became worshiped as the divine sword.
The Mononofu: The Earliest Warriors
The earliest roots of bushudō, or the code of the samurai, can be traced to warriors known as the Mononofu. These warriors practiced Shintoism, or the way of the gods, and believed that everything has a spirit. They believed in the importance of purification, and therefore believed that they must not only fight, but destroy their enemies. Destroying their enemies was the only way to purify the world of their spirit. The method of doing this was by beheading. The Mononofu, who could be seen carrying a hoko or tsurugi in their right hand, a shield in their left, and uttering words of Shinto magic, were notorious for beheading their enemies. Warriors who took the heads of their enemies were considered to be not only strong, but just.
The Introduction of Buddhism
The thirty-third emperor of Japan was a devout Buddhist and master warrior. After fighting with rival, traditional Shinto observing Mononofu clans, and emerging the victor, Shōtoku Taishi (574-622), prince to empress Suiko (r. 593-628), declared that Japan be ruled according to Buddhist philosophy. Upon this declaration, he established twelve court ranks and set into law the Seventeen-Article Constitution. These specifications outlined how people should live their daily lives.
What is Buddhism?
What is the Seventeen-Article Constitution?
The Peaceful Existence of Shintoism and Buddhism
Having outlined specifications of daily living, Prince Shōtoku laid the bedrock for a peaceful and orderly political state that was ruled by the imperial family, and yet accepting of multiple practices and beliefs. This time period became the “golden age” where religious art, architecture, painting and sculpture flourished. Swordsmiths had a better sword in the works, and samurai warriors, also known as bushi, began to incorporate the philosophies of both Buddhism and Shintoism into their practices.
I'm still working on these ....
The Heian Period
The Kamakura Period
The Muromachi (Ashikaga) Period
The Sengoku (Warring States) Period
The Edo (Tokugawa) Period
The Modern Period: The End of the Sword Carrying Samurai
The Legend of the First Samurai Sword
AnonymousKyle: Wow, so much stuff. I was intrigued into your post entry because my website deals with the mythology and transforming it into manga and/or anime. I am hoping that the students will create some good product from their acquired knowledge of East Asian mythology and their love of comics/cartoons. Good luck to you.
AnonymousMy website was complete but I had difficulty linking my index page to my sites page. I will see if Clay will let me come to the new seminar to fix it. I am useless on my own in correcting this.
