Medieval Warm Period

The turnover from the Tokugawa period to the Meiji is historically seen as a Japan entering a new age of modernization and industrialization to reach western levels of civilization. Tokugawa as a traditional, old fashioned age while Meiji metaphorically as opening itself up to new ideas and western ways of thinking. The Meiji era was a time where Japan opened itself up to western influence. This romanticized way of viewing Meiji as a triumphant time of growing industry and capitalism is, however…

While cheerful and bright melodies are used to represent Mozart’s early years in his short lives, the prelude of the opera “Don Giovanni” composed by Mozart after the death of Leopold Mozart – Mozart’s father – indicates the relationship between Mozart and Leopold and shows the process how Salieri set his scheme foreshadowing the death of Mozart. First of all, the opera “Don Giovanni” suggests the abnormal relationship between Mozart and his father. In the film, Mozart is illustrated as a…

Shotoku at Two Years, made in the late 13th century, is a wooden sculpture depicting Shotoku Taishi, a famous historical and political figure in Japanese culture, as a young child praying. The piece is made of wood, crystal and pigments. This work is 53 cm high, 20 cm wide. This figure is about the size of a small toddler. Despite its small size, It is overwhelming in the sense that it depicts a future ruler as an innocent child. The piece of work appears to be delicate in both subject matter as…

tongue. The first step is the prelinguistic period, which is the when a child is between the ages of 0 and 15 months old. At this age the child has not yet acquired their first word. By 3 days old a child can already recognize their mother’s voices as well as showing preference for language over music. The second step is the prelinguistic period, which entails the cooing phase, which occurs at 2 months old. This phase overlaps the prelinguistic period at 2 months. This then goes into the…

Japan’s Edo period, lasted from 1603 to 1867, would be the final era of traditional Japanese government, culture and society before the Meiji Restoration of 1868; when the Tokugawa shoguns and citizens transformed the country into the modern era. For instance, Japan during Edo feared that European missionaries might spread out the Christianity in Japan, therefore they decided to isolate themselves to defend their culture, society and religion. The Edo period then began to be challenged as Japan…

The political revolution of the modernization stage allowed Japan to strengthen its internal government and external interests. Prior to Japan’s attempt to introduce an advanced government, the emperor overthrew the Shoguns and restored his supreme power, which is also known as the Meiji Restoration. Under the emperor’s reliable, centralized government, rather than numerous Shoguns, Japan united. The new government acted as the catalyst that emboldened Japan’s will to modernize and led a…

Western ideas being installed in Japan in order to raise their nation to the level of the US and of Europeans nations. They believed that to accomplish this they needed to reform their education system, their government and their society. During this period, this movement which originated from the Meiji’s government Westernizing changes in culture (clothing, nutrition and western weaponry) went beyond the government’s actions. For example, they argued in favor of natural rights of freedom and…

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…

Ebola, a very contagious disease that spreads through bodily fluids such as saliva & sweat, can spread very quickly through a population. Due to this, the Liberian Government set up roadblocks and asked people to stay in their homes in an attempt to slow the disease. The economic toll this and other restrictions, such as the stopping of flights to Liberia, caused fewer goods to be able to make it to the people. this scarcity creates inflation, with inflation comes the higher cost of goods and…

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…