Where the Middle Ages Begin
The Discovery of “Childhood” in Tokugawa Japan By Ohta Motoko Wako University: Bulletin of the Faculty of Human Studies, No.4 (2011) Abstract: In the Tokugawa period, almost all the people could marry and attach importance to their family occupation and lives. Their concern was family’s continuation and guaranty in the future. Under such condition, people […]
Reinventing the Sword: A Cultural Comparison of the Development of the Sword in Response to the Advent of Firearms in Spain and Japan By Charles E. Ethridge Master’s Thesis, Louisiana State University, 2007 Abstract: Swords have been used throughout history as weapons of war, as symbols of power and wealth and as national and religious […]
TRAVEL WRITING FROM HELL? MINAMOTO NO YORIIE AND THE POLITICS OF FUJI NO HITOANASŌSHI Kimbrough, Keller R. (University of Colorado, Boulder) PAJLS, Volume 7 (2007) Abstract Within the fantastic world of late-medieval Japanese prose fiction, extraordinary, supernatural, or otherwise improbable journeys are the norm. Whether the eponymous Urashima Tarō’s visit to the underwater palace of […]
This article explores how the Western Middle Ages is represented in contemporary Japanese popular culture.
The Baltic Sea and the Sea of Japan: History of Cooperation By Yulia Lamasheva The journal of the study of modern society and culture, No.33 (2005) Introduction: From far away, the Baltic region looks perhaps as a rather homogeneous area. The Baltic Sea is situated in Europe, all bordering States are maritime States. However, in […]
In 1281 C.E., under the rule of Kublai Khan, the Mongols sent a fleet of more than 4000 vessels to subjugate the island nation of Japan.
Supernatural Abductions in Japanese Folklore By Carmen Blacker Asian Folklore Studies, Vol. 26:2 (1967) Introduction: The belief that children may in an unguarded moment be kidnapped by a subtle and malignant enemy of supernatural description is a fairly widespread one throughout the world. In western Europe fairies and korrigans were widely credited with powers of […]
Child Guardian Spirits (Gohō Dōji) in the Medieval Japanese Imaginaire By Irene H. Lin Pacific World Journal, Third Series No.6 (2004) Introduction: The rise of the cult of gohō dōji, guardian or servant spirits in the form of boys, was a particular medieval Japanese phenomenon vividly captured in both narrative accounts and visual representations. In […]
Mongol Intentions towards Japan in 1266: Evidence from a Mongol Letter to the Sung By Kenneth W. Chase Sino-Japanese Studies Journal, Vol.9:2 (1990) Introduction: The Mongol emperor Khubilai first decided to dispatch an envoy to Japan in the year 1265. The Yuan shih implies that this was the first time that the Mongols had heard […]
Bibliography Japan and the Japanese in printed works in Europe in the sixteenth century By João Paulo Oliveira e Costa Bulletin of Portuguese-Japanese Studies, No.14 (2007) Introduction: Japan was practically isolated from the rest of the world when the first Portuguese disembarked there, in 1543. In Europe, it was only known that beyond China there […]
In this study, I address the issue of women’s humour and laughter in Heian Japan, particularly as handled in Sei Shonagon’s Makura no soshi, a key text in the tradition of women’s writing and reading.
The Political Meaning of the Hachiman Cult in Ancient and Early Medieval Japan By Ross Bender PhD Dissertation, Columbia University, 1980 Abstract: This is a study of the state cult of the Shinto deity Hachiman from the eighth century through early medieval times. During this period there flourished three major state shrines to Hachiman: Usa, an […]
Bushido in its Formative Period By Takuke Kawakami The Annals of the Hitotsubashi Academy, Vol.3:1 (1952) Introduction: In ancient Japan, where the clan system had been in force for many centuries, it had been customary for the chieftain of each clan, when he received Imperial orders for mobilization, to master the able-bodied members of his […]
This video report details the work by Peter Shapinsky of the University of Illinois – Springfield, related to Japanese pirates from the 15th and 16th centuries. Professor Shapinsky discusses how his research is able to show Japanese history from the perspective of the sea. He also finds records that show these pirates were more than violent […]
Simultaneous auroral observations described in the historical records of China, Japan and Korea from ancient times to AD 1700 Willis, D. M., Stephenson, F.R. Annales Geophysicae 18, (2000) Abstract Early auroral observations recorded in various oriental histories are examined in order to search for examples of strictly simultaneous and indisputably independent observations of the aurora […]
The Culture of Force and Farce: Fourteenth-Century Japanese Warfare By Thomas Conlan Edwin O. Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies: Occasional Papers in Japanese Studies, Number 2000-01 (2000) Introduction: War. The word is familiar to each of us, and yet the action is anything but familiar. Who has ever experienced the novel subversion of the social […]
The Early Modern Warrior: Three Explorations of Samurai Life By Morgan Pitelka Early Modern Japan, Vol.16 (2008) Introduction: The following three essays focus on lesser-known aspects of the early modern warrior experience: food, shopping, and travel. While each essay is part of a larger scholarly project, the intention of the articles presented here is to […]
Written a thousand years ago by Murasaki Shikibu, a 30 year-old lady in waiting of the 11th century Japanese Heian Court, The Tale of Genji is considered the world’s first novel. It’s a story of politics and intrigue, of sexual conquests, frustrated love and jealousy, of the relationship between art and nature, and of the […]
Human skeletal remains from the Osaka castle site in Japan: metrics and weapon injuries By Tomohito Nagaoka and Mikko Abe Anthropological Science, Vol.115 (2007) Abstract: The purpose of this study is to report on the results of the observations of newly excavated human skeletons from the Osaka castle site and to explore the metric features […]
The mountains and forests of Nikko in the northwest of Tochigi Prefecture in Japan have been regarded as the hallowed ground of Shugen-do for over 1200 years. Within the Nikko complex are two shrines and one temple inscribed as World Heritage. The Futarasan shrine dedicated to the God of Mt. Nantai is one of the […]
Japanese Pirates and Sea Tenure in the Sixteenth Century Seto Inland Sea: A Case Study of the Murakami kaizoku By Peter D. Shapinsky Seascapes, Littoral Cultures, and Trans-Oceanic Exchanges (Conference: February 12 through 15, 2003, held at the Library of Congress, Washington D.C.) Introduction: The fifteenth and sixteenth centuries witnessed an expansion of the maritime […]
We review the book The Mongol Invasions of Japan 1274 and 1281, by Stephen Turnbull, which is being released this month by Osprey Publishing. The book details how Kubilai Khan ordered two naval invasions of Japan, the second of which ended in disaster after a typhoon known as a kamikaze struck the Mongol fleet, destroying […]
Prevailing notions of samurai loyalty remain largely unopposed by Western scholarly literature. This should not be so.
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