Incubation period

Protest activity, prompted by prolonged inequality, arises from the frustrations of men who feel socio-economically disadvantaged and are displeased with the government’s approach towards society’s issues. The Tokugawa and Meiji periods encountered several instances of uprising amongst the peasantry—most notably those led by Oshio Heihachiro, Tanaka Shozo, and Sakura Sogoro. The story of Sakura Sogoro—a protest in which an archetypal heroic peasant martyr appealed directly to the elites in…

Oku no hosomichi, is the story of a Buddhist man’s travels throughout Japan during the Kamakura Period. The book has many names in English, but here it will be referred to by the name contained with the reading: The Narrow Road to a Far Provence. The tale is but one example of many Buddhist themed stories during the Japan’s Kamakura period. Japan was one of the only countries to incorporate Buddhism into the already standing religion: Shintoism. This offers a unique look into Japan and the…

Japanese Edo Period Art The Edo period had a lot of importance & impact on Japan as it helped flourish its culture by cutting off the west and isolating itself, with the help of many Schools of Japan learning new techniques in art which would become the norm for today. A lot of the impact was on the social classes, as artists started to become noticed, and recognised for the art they created. The points to discuss will be on ‘who’ to talk about. First, I’ll look at Hoitsu & Buncho from Edo as…

derivative of the popular Ukiyo-e print genre, Nagasaki-e prints were mainly created as souvenirs for the Japanese middle class. Background The Edo Period (1769 - 1868) saw the end of ancient feudal wars and a country united under the Tokagawa Shogunate who moved the new capital to Edo (Tokyo). On July 24, 1641, during a period of self-imposed Japanese seclusion (approximately 1639-1854), the Dutch settlement was moved to Deshima. Deshima was a small artificial island…

and were one of the elites of Japan’s class system. Although samurais were once known as “Great”, the samurai’s downfall was inevitable because they want to keep the same traditions not trying modernize. During the eighth century, the Heian Period, around the year 800 to 1200, Samurai originally was referred to household servants. The Heian Era was a time where Japan’s government was ruled by an Emperor who ruled by military force. The Emperor had heavy taxation and those who refused to…

Saigō Takamori was born on on 1827/12/7 in the Castletown of Kagoshima, an isolated area within the Satsuma domain under the control of the Shimazu clan which had established themselves as the oldest living clan in Japan at the time of his birth. The Shimazu clan were of notable prestige in that they were the only clan that received foreign ambassadors in a time when, under the orders of the Tokugawa Shogunate (the shogunate was a council of military commanders led primarily by a single domain),…

A thousand years ago the culture of refined elegance blossomed around Japan 's imperial court. this era known as the Heian period gave rise to Monogatari one of the masterpieces of world literature spanning 54 chapters.The tale of Genji is an epic novel of romance.It is written by Murasaki Shikibu a remarkable woman who lived at the hand court.The book vividly depicts the life of the aristocrats , describing the joys and sorrows woven into tapestry of court life. It tells the tale of a noble…

The Plague of Progress: Mishima’s Characterization and Views of Westernization A common misconception is that change always equates to progress, yet sometimes change can strip a society of its fundamental characteristics. Japan endured similar events, surrounding World War II that resulted in an increasingly Westernized country that lost it’s integrity and beliefs. In this allegorical novel, The Sailor who fell from Grace with the Sea, Yukio Mishima uses the characters Fusako, Ryuji and Noboru…

Japan's Tokugawa, or Edo, period existed from 1603 to 1868, until it underwent many rapid key developments, transforming the traditional Japanese government, society, and culture into the modern Meiji Restoration of 1868. The Meiji Restoration overturned the long-reigning Tokugawa shoguns and pushed Japan into a modern era. During the Tokugawa period there were many blossoming developments that prompted the modernisation of Japan to take place such as the decline of the Bakufu (military…

After Meiji Restoration, Japan had almost completed its modernization stage. During its modernism period, the flourish of mass media brought various doctrines and ideologies into Japanese people minds namely Capitalism, Marxism, and Militarism. Compared with the literature written in Meiji Restoration era, the ideology of Success Advancement now was not main focusing point as before. In my opinion, the reason is that after Meiji Restoration, Japanese people gained the confidence on their rapid…