What was seen in Japan’s night sky 1400 years ago?
Nearly a millennium and a half ago, red light streaked the night sky over Japan.
Reading Medieval Ruins: A Material History of Urban Life in 16th-Century Japan
The city of Ichijôdani served as the capital of Echizen Province for approximately one century during Japan’s late medieval period.
Major fire engulfs 600 year old castle in Japan
Much of Shuri Castle in Japan has been completely destroyed in a fire. The UNESCO World Heritage site dates back about 600 years.
Word Embodied: Entangled Icons in Medieval Japanese Buddhist Art
My project on the Japanese jeweled pagoda mandalas reveals the entangled realms of relics, reliquaries, and Buddhist scripture engendered through intricate interactions of word and image.
How the borders of Japan changed in the Middle Ages
Three videos taking a look at how Japan evolved during the medieval period.
Rare Japanese medieval documents discovered
In total, the boxes purchased contained 119 separate documents, 55 of which were written between 1308 and 1615.
Art as the Marker of a Common Cultural Heritage in East Asia: The Case of Goryeo Buddhist Painting in Japan
The case study I took into consideration is the Korean Goryeo Buddhist Paintings, a painting tradition which is almost disappeared by its homeland, but which conserves the majority of its last surviving examples in Japanese temples and museums.
400-year-old documents reveal evidence of Japanese opium production and winemaking
Researchers have revealed that Tadatoshi Hosokawa, a 17th century lord of Kyusyu, Japan, ordered his people to produce not only wine but also opium for medical purposes.
Finding Sanjō Genshi: Women’s Visibility in Late Medieval Japanese Aristocratic Journals
This study examines women’s visibility in journals composed by Japanese male aristocrats in the late fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries.
14th-century Japanese artwork comes to the Cleveland Museum of Art
The Cleveland Museum of Art’s recent acquisitions include a 14th-century Japanese hanging scroll featuring the Buddhist deity Aizen Myōō, Wisdom King of Passion.
Outcasts, Emperorship, and Dragon Cults in The Tale of the Heike
Among the Heike variants to be examined, the Kakuichibon (1371) and Enkyôbon (1309-10) exhibit certain symmetries of contrast that make them especially useful for understanding the relationship between sacred authority and manipulations of the defiled other embodied in outcast or semi-outcast performers.
Japanese medieval trading towns: Sakai and Tosaminato
Trade was essential to the development of urban forms in medieval Japan.
Historical evolution of forest management in Europe and in Japan
This paper describes in brief the historical evolution of forest management in Europe and in Japan and the motivations of these changes. In particular, the paper analyses three periods: pre-industrial (from the Middle-ages until the mid-17th century), industrial (from the mid-17th until the mid-20th century) and the post-industrial period (from the late-20th century until today)
Miyazaki’s Medieval World: Japanese Medievalism and the Rise of Anime
Hayao Miyazaki’s films always present vibrant worlds full of lush, colorful landscapes, characters, and fantastic, even mythic adventures.
How to Create a Legend? An Analysis of Constructed Representations of Ono no Komachi in Japanese Medieval Literature
Although the historical figure known to us as Ono no Komachi (ca. 825–ca. 900) is considered to have been a famous and talented female court poet of the Heian Period in Japan, not much is known about her actual life.
Who Would You Have Been In Feudal Era Japan?
Ever watched Akira Kurosawa’s movies or Inuyasha, or maybe some other Japanese entertainment, and wondered who you would have been during the Feudal Era?
Truth, Contradiction and Harmony in Medieval Japan: Emperor Hanazono (1297-1348) and Buddhism
The philosophical world of medieval Japan (here the 12th through 16th centuries, though other periodizations are possible) was a rich and multifaceted one.
A First Escape from Poverty in Late Medieval Japan: Evidence from Real Wages in Kyoto (1360-1860)
This paper offers a first investigation of long-term trends in Japanese living standards from the mid-14th to the mid-19th century using urban daily wages and price data for a number of basic commodities.
The last man standing : causes of daimyo survival in sixteenth century Japan
Regional magnates, or daimyo, came to dominate the political landscape of Japan, each controlling territory on their own authority. These military strongmen established control over local warriors and cultivators and then began to challenge one another for supremacy. The result was a period of protracted civil war lasting for almost 150 years.
What Kind of Ninja Would You Have Been?
The Ninja had many roles in their clans: some were unarmed experts, while others used a particular weapon. Some were intelligence gatherers, and others war strategists. Still, others were Kunoichi–female ninja! Only one was the grandmaster! This test will reveal what role you might have fulfilled in an ancient clan!
Cultures of Death: Warrior Suicide in Medieval Europe and Japan
In the course of the eleventh and twelfth centuries, the warrior elites of Japan and northwestern Europe, despite many similarities in ethos and lifestyle, developed very different cultures of death.
Legendary Samurai – Videos on Art and Warfare in Medieval Japan
Three videos from the Portland Art Museum
Sword and Spirit: Bushido in Practice from the Late Sengoku Era through the Edo Period
Bushido’s derivative word, bushi, was the original term for the upper warrior classes. The spiritual aspects of it arose from two main sources: Buddhism and Shintoism. Buddhism provided the necessary components for bravery in the face of death.