Japanese History- Please help me pick a paper topic-

carl winslow · Post by **carl winslow** » 13 Feb 2006 00:36

I need to think about paper topics for my new Japanese History class.
Since you all helped me pick a topic for my chinese history class i figured i would ask everyone again.
So please help.
Sadly someone else in the class already thought of an awsome topic comparing historical ninjas to pop cultures portrayal of ninjas. But i hope to find an equally interesting topic of my own.
Thanks modified.

Zeb Jackson · Post by **Zeb Jackson** » 13 Feb 2006 10:06

how about how chinese who have stayed in thier counrty for a long time some to america and go
"oh! can i a take-a yo pictcha?"

and then snap the lense a million times

Note- this is not meant to be offensive its just the truth
i went water rafting with a group from japan and thats all they did

Splint · Post by **Splint** » 13 Feb 2006 10:16

How about Emperor Meiji's systematic removal of the Samurai as the armed forces of Japan after 1,000 years of service. There is a ton of info on it.

Zeb Jackson · Post by **Zeb Jackson** » 13 Feb 2006 13:47

some ones been watching the last samuri.......

Iron Clad Ben · Post by **Iron Clad Ben** » 13 Feb 2006 16:28

How about the rebuilding of Japan's infrastructure after World War 2?

Muffinman · Post by **Muffinman** » 13 Feb 2006 17:02

Or the cultural influences of China on Japan -- SOOO much you could write. I would love to read something on this. PLUS it would give you some use of your knowledge of Chinese history: Perfect!

Adam · Post by **Adam** » 14 Feb 2006 09:36

I am interested in what you have studied about Japanese history in your class up until now. That would help narrow down some possible topics.

I enjoy studying Japanese history (mostly Kyoto-specific history) myself and would be happy to give feedback.

carl winslow · Post by **carl winslow** » 15 Feb 2006 00:11

Seriously thanks to everyone who responded so far,
The class is about the Shogun period of Japan, so actually i just found out that the topicshave to be between approx 1534-1868.
So far we just learned about the unifiers of Japan, Nobunaga, Hideyoshi and Ieyasu.
And i have to pick 2 differetn topics for papers the first one is 9 pages the next is 15.
I have to decide my first topic for the 9 page paper by this thursday
Thanks again.

brinard · Post by **brinard** » 15 Feb 2006 11:44

i did an essay on history, and it happened to be about japanese printmaker harunobu suzuki, and how he furthered the genre of printmaking

Adam · Post by **Adam** » 15 Feb 2006 17:34

Here are a few ideas for possible topics:

The decline of the warrior class and the rise of the merchant class in the Edo period.

Japan's movement towards a capitalistic society in the Edo period.

Bushido--the code of conduct for the warrior class. Related topics could be: seppuku (detailed techniques and procedures for ritualistic suicide--this can be gruesome but fascinating!), Bushido's close ties with Confucianism (for example, the Confucian ideal of filial piety was reinterpreted as loyalty to one's leader), war strategies and how they changed with the introduction of guns (Nobunaga's success was largely due to his effective use of guns).

Contributions and effects of the Jesuits: For example, the publishing of the first Japanese-Portugese dictionary (1603), the spread of Christianity leading up to the Shimabara uprising, the somewhat unusual proselytizing methods of the Jesuits (many of the Jesuits were top European scholars, and the Jesuit ideal of missionary work is quite different from our modern ideal).

The Genroku period (1688-1704): This period saw a great flourishing of the arts, especially among the merchants in Osaka. Ihara Saikaku was a prolific writer from this period and was one of the first Japanese writers to deal with everyday themes (eating scenes, for example, are almost non-existent in the literature up until that time). Saikaku was also famous for his superhuman ability to compose tanka poetry at high speed--he created a contest (called the yakazu-haikai) in which participants competed to see who could compose the most tanka poems in a day. Saikaku set the record by composing an unbelievable 203,500 poems. Chikamatsu Monzaemon is another well-known writer of this period. He is known for his scripts for the joruri puppet theater and is often called the Shakespeare of Japan (although this is not a completely accurate analogy).

The development of kabuki and its early connections with prostitution (which led to the government prohibition of kabuki plays by women).

The Kano family, a well-known family of painters in the Edo period. Many temples in Kyoto feature their works.

A comparison of Japanese and Western painting during that period might also be interesting, because Japanese and Western painting were based on completely different premises. Whereas Western painting praised innovation and originality, Japanese painting was based on the Chinese ideals of preservation and mastery of traditional rules.

The spread of Pure Land Buddhism and Christianity in the Edo period. A comparison of these two religions would be interesting. Also, a look at the religious revolts (ikkou-ikki) by Pure Land believers might be interesting.

A look at what caused the Meiji Restoration. You could look at the koubugattai movement, which was a a movement to unite the Edo bakufu and the emperor.

These are just a few things off the top of my head. I'll post some links to some good reference works.

Good luck!

Adam · Post by **Adam** » 15 Feb 2006 17:50

Tokugawa Japan: The Social & Economic Antecedents of Modern Japan
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/086008 ... oding=UTF8

The Cambridge History of Japan (this is divided into a few volumes)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/052122 ... e&n=283155

The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Japan
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/052140 ... e&n=283155

And lastly, a forum with recent news and discussions of all things Japanese:
http://fuckedgaijin.com/forum/portal.php

carl winslow · Post by **carl winslow** » 16 Feb 2006 12:08

Adam, thanks a lot.
I wound up choosing Confucian and Buddhist influences on the Bushido code.
The papers not due for a few weeks so i got some time to start writing.

Jdigges · Post by **Jdigges** » 18 Feb 2006 08:31

instead of ninja's do samurais! there just as cool if not cooler