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View Poll Results: What are your favourite periods in Japanese history ?

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  • Jomon (prehistory)

    13 10.92%
  • Yayoi (prehistory)

    11 9.24%
  • Kofun & asuka (early kingdoms : 300-710)

    14 11.76%
  • Nara & Heian (710-1185)

    28 23.53%
  • Kamakura (first, Minamoto-Hojo shogunate : 1185-1333)

    17 14.29%
  • Muromachi (Ashikaga shogunate 1333-1568)

    17 14.29%
  • Azuchi-Momoyama (great leaders : 1568-1600)

    27 22.69%
  • Edo (the closed country & Tokugawa shogunate : 1600-1867)

    46 38.66%
  • Bakumatsu (late Edo)

    24 20.17%
  • Meiji (the Westernization 1868-1912)

    25 21.01%
  • Taisho (social upheavals : 1912-1926)

    8 6.72%
  • Early Showa (militarism and WWII : 1926-1945)

    14 11.76%
  • US Occupation (1945-1952)

    10 8.40%
  • Late Showa (peace and economic miracle : 1952-1989)

    11 9.24%
  • Heisei (economic decline and post-modern culture)

    15 12.61%
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Thread: What is your favourite period in Japanese history ?

  1. #51
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    Hey ~ yeah, I am. ^^ I get that a lot.. I just spend my time on history rather than on video games and girls.. I suppose ^^

    Anyways ~ I don't think that we can say the Riaka had an "inventor" like a car. Think of the horse and buggy - can we say that a certaiin person invented it? Both the Rickshaw and Riaka, were, based on their uses, probably created from the peasant in China.. or maybe Korea/Japan.. they might have been urbanized by a certain preson.. but I doubt that that person invented it.

  2. #52
    Chukchi Salmon lexico's Avatar
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    Historical Reasoning, and Fresh Air

    Quote Originally Posted by Hiroshi66
    Hey ~ yeah, I am. ^^ I get that a lot.. I just spend my time on history rather than on video games and girls.. I suppose ^^.
    Sorry, didn't want to embarrass you. ^^ I'm surprised too, because I figured from you signature that you were some middle-aged college professor with a white moustach who loves to teach what he loves to study. But anyway, I think you should go out more and enjoy the outdoors, get some fresh air, meet some real people, not just on-line? Virtual friends can't help you out in real situations; the relationship is real, and even sincere, but isn't there something missing? I mean academics isn't everything in life? You've got to practice emotions with your peers, too. They need you, too. Just because they seem ignorant, and uninterested in reading, doesn't mean they're unworthy of your friendship? Don't you think?
    Anyways ~ I don't think that we can say the Riaka had an "inventor" like a car. Think of the horse and buggy - can we say that a certaiin person invented it? Both the Rickshaw and Riaka, were, based on their uses, probably created from the peasant in China.. or maybe Korea/Japan.. they might have been urbanized by a certain preson.. but I doubt that that person invented it.
    Here I see some real insight into the true nature of invention; two gems of an historian's mind...
    1. some inventions are based on evolutionary use; that is numerous people improving on a primitive idea in succession.
    2. a local artifact can change its definition by moving its place such as into the city.

    I appreciate your contribution to my historical reasoning. I might want to investigate the two historical processes that you just mentioned. In the meantime, I decided to go ahead with the RICKSHAW POLL. Please drop by if you're interested, and leave three ticks, or your thoughts!
    Z: The fish in the water are happy.
    H: How do you know ? You're not fish.
    Z: How do you know I don't ? You're not me.
    H: True I am not you, and I cannot know. Likewise, I know you're not, therefore I know you don't.
    Z: You asked me how I knew implying you knew I knew. In fact I saw some fish, strolling down by the Hao River, all jolly and gay.

    --Zhuangzi

  3. #53
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    Lexico-san ~ Ah! I didn't want to give anyone the impression that I thought I was superior to them.. not at all.. its just that when I am with them.. they get a little bit.. well, not only rude.. but also.. a bit.. perverted.. (?) It makes me feel uncomfortable. And no, I'm not only online. I love to read, go outside and walk in my yard, go to the bookstore, and hang out iwth a few of my true friends.

    I shall go to your topic.

  4. #54
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    Quote Originally Posted by lexico
    (...)
    I know that the medical experts from 731 were re-empolyed by the US occupation forces to convey their research results from human experiments to the US, and were given amnesty for their services. I learned in a college course that such information not only contributed to the advancement of US medicine but was also the source of the Hanta virus, supposedly dropped over lower Manchuria by the US just before/after(?) the Chinese invasion of Korea in 1953. I feel betrayed by the historical process that uses Chinese, Korean, and dissident Japanese civilians as guinea pigs to develop a biological weapon that ends up on their very heads in less than 10 years. The dead to not speak of course, but quite a few S.Koreans have suffered and died of this deadly virus; I do not know how many N.Koreans or Chinese died of it.

    If what I've read is true, then the US, with its active interest in the NW Pacific costal Asia, had its fair share of responsibility by playing God, condemning (fat-man & little boy) or forgiving (doling out amnesty for Mr. Hirohito, medical experts, etc.) at whim. So I could say that the Japanese during the US occupation were reluctant to record the details of its recent past, and that this trend was reinforced by the US occupation sending a subtle message that "as long as you cooperate with us, we'll let you forget everything. We gave you the A-bombs, and we're not sorry about it. So why should you be sorry about what you did?" I don't know if this makes a lot of sense, but that's what I think. I do not think that consciencious individuals are nonexistent in Japan, however, it will take a quantum leap for their voices to become mainstream. Yes, I believe the Japanese did suffer tremendously, and they were the first to get hit with Einstein's monster. There was no precedent. It is difficult to judge them when I think about that.
    The topic about Unit 731 is a very interesting topic lexico! I agree with you that most Japanese students are "ignorant" of some basic facts during WW2 compared to what German students know about their own past during the same period.

    I myself have taught history to Japanese students where I took up this topic of Unit 731. -Yes, I am brave!
    You are right that people behind Unit 731 were headhunted to the U.S. and they were never prosecuted in the Tokyo trials (although the Soviet Union and China did try to bring them to the same trial as Tojo and the lot). However, recently some of them (remainders) were brought to trial by the Tokyo district Court four years ago - many years after the terrible killings. (I will scan some notes/pictures and display them if I can find them).



  5. #55
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    While we're talking about the subject - I read that the Unit 731 headquarters were near Harbin. What was the capital of Manchukuo? Harbin? Mukden?

  6. #56
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    Quote Originally Posted by Hiroshi66
    While we're talking about the subject - I read that the Unit 731 headquarters were near Harbin. What was the capital of Manchukuo? Harbin? Mukden?
    The capital of Manchukuo 1932-45 was Changchun, near Harbin.

  7. #57
    Chukchi Salmon lexico's Avatar
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    Manchurian place names

    Quote Originally Posted by Hiroshi66
    While we're talking about the subject - I read that the Unit 731 headquarters were near Harbin. What was the capital of Manchukuo? Harbin? Mukden?
    The place names in Manchuria can be quite confusing because many nationalities and political bodies have interacted actively in the past. In additon to the Chinese, the Molgols, the Manchus, the Russians, and the Japanese have struggled for dominance over this region. Knowing the kanji and non-Chinese etymology may help you memorize the place names. Let me give a quick summary of the place names roughly along the Manchurian Railway starting from Port Arthur and ending at Qiqiha'er.

    current place names
    Chinese--------Russian---Japanese--Manchu
    Lushun -----Port Arthur-Ryojun ----- ?
    @ Dalian ------Dalnyi ?----Dairen ------ ?
    cz Shenyang --Mukden ------?--------Mukden n./adj. "rising"
    t Changchun ---?--------Shinkyo------ ?
    g Jilin ----------?-----------?--------Kirin Ula "riverside city"
    _ Ha'erbin---Kharbin-------?--------Alejin (Jurchen) "honor, fame"
    ---------------------------------------Harbin (Ma.) "drying fish nets"
    ꎍ Qiqiha'er--?-----------?--------Qiqihar (Dagur) "border"

    alternate names
    ~V Chengjing~Fengtian=cz in Qing dynasty
    V Xinjing, Hsinking= Manchukuo's Capital, t Changchun

    note: Jurchen: Language ancestral to Manchu-Tungusic
    Dagur: An isolated language within the Mongol language family
    Qiqiha'er in fact lies about 50km from the Sino-Mongol border.
    Harbin would lie roughly halfway between Jinlin & Qiqihar.
    The blanks only mean that I do not know the forms in those particular languages, not that they do not exist.

    Quote Originally Posted by Miss_apollo7
    The topic about Unit 731 is a very interesting topic lexico! I agree with you that most Japanese students are "ignorant" of some basic facts during WW2 compared to what German students know about their own past during the same period.

    I myself have taught history to Japanese students where I took up this topic of Unit 731. -Yes, I am brave!
    You are right that people behind Unit 731 were headhunted to the U.S. and they were never prosecuted in the Tokyo trials (although the Soviet Union and China did try to bring them to the same trial as Tojo and the lot). However, recently some of them (remainders) were brought to trial by the Tokyo district Court four years ago - many years after the terrible killings. (I will scan some notes/pictures and display them if I can find them).


    I have to admit, after posting that, I read other posts saying that people above their 30's are quite knowledgeable in modern Asian history. In addition one post said that history classes in highschools DO deal with Japan's recent history; quite a different description from what many people outside Japan tend to believe. I can only imagine that much would depend on the individual school and instructor. (You were one of those brave instructors? Quite a heavy subject for high school students; I wonder how they responded. I wonder if you didn't get negative feedback from the community, such as from students' parents, for being an "unloyal" Japanese? You don't have to answer if it makes you uncomfortable. ) And if that is true, I too made the error of hasty generalization. I think I have to apologize for that. I am very sorry.
    Unit 731 is a scary subject that not too many people are thrilled to talk about; it's only natural, I think. But as much as the Holocaust is important to Europe, I believe that the human experiments at Unit 731 must be studied so that we learn from our past mistakes; we as in the sense of humanity. I appreciate your not taking the subject as a Japan bashing thing. It's actually something that is beyond me, to tell the truth. But I am not sure how other members who see the material will respond. Although I talked about it, I am a little concerned.
    I read somewhere that there were not only Chinese, Koreans, and Japanese civilian dissidents, but also Russian and British POWs and unlucky civilians who became test subjects at 731. I wonder how historians in the UK and the (former) USSR describe the incident. And since there were German captives held in Japan, could there have been any German victims?
    Last edited by lexico; Jan 3, 2005 at 08:46.

  8. #58
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    Edo era

    I like Ukiyoe more than 731.
    So my favourite period in Japanese history is Edo era.




  9. #59
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    Thanks for the info!

    I wonder why the Japanese didn't set up the capital at another major city like Mukden or Harbin?

  10. #60
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    Japanese hackey sack!

    Quote Originally Posted by kaerupop
    I like Ukiyoe more than 731.
    So my favourite period in Japanese history is Edo era.
    That's a very nice painting! Might you know what year or historical period it belongs to? May I have the reference if you have it?

  11. #61
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    I like the Edo period, too. It's one of those closed periods when Japan melts outer influences into something different and Japanese... And it's a period of popular culture I also like ukiyo-e, espescially if it has something to do with the supernatural, legends or ghosts.


    Yoshitoshi Tsukioka: One Hundred Aspects of the Moon (full series as thumbnails)

    More of his work

  12. #62
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    Quote Originally Posted by lexico
    I have to admit, after posting that, I read other posts saying that people above their 30's are quite knowledgeable in modern Asian history. In addition one post said that history classes in highschools DO deal with Japan's recent history; quite a different description from what many people outside Japan tend to believe. I can only imagine that much would depend on the individual school and instructor. (You were one of those brave instructors? Quite a heavy subject for high school students; I wonder how they responded. I wonder if you didn't get negative feedback from the community, such as from students' parents, for being an "unloyal" Japanese? You don't have to answer if it makes you uncomfortable. ) And if that is true, I too made the error of hasty generalization. I think I have to apologize for that. I am very sorry.
    Sorry, I should have been more clear...I have never taught Japanese high school students. What I have been teaching were JAPANESE undergraduates in university (mainly first-and second-year students) during my work with my thesis. Hence, I have never met negative response, as the students were only open to "new" schools of thought, however, they are always some few who like to challenge instructors by being negative....
    Last edited by Apollo; Jan 4, 2005 at 05:23. Reason: grammar and typo...

  13. #63
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    The reason why Unit 731 is chosen as a part of the module because it lays the groundwork for a better understanding of e.g. the Cold War when looking solely on the guaranteeing of immunity to the people behind Unit 731, among them Dr. Shiro Ishii.
    Again, good discussions arise when it is claimed that "justice" was, publicly, seen to be done at the Tokyo Trial....

  14. #64
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    MissAppolo-san - do you happen to know exactly why the Japanese chose Changchun as the capital of Manchukuo instead of Harbin?

  15. #65
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    Quote Originally Posted by Miss_apollo7
    The reason why Unit 731 is chosen as a part of the module because it lays the groundwork for a better understanding of e.g. the Cold War when looking solely on the guaranteeing of immunity to the people behind Unit 731, among them Dr. Shiro Ishii.
    Again, good discussions arise when it is claimed that "justice" was, publicly, seen to be done at the Tokyo Trial....
    Sorry about the misunderstanding. I was a little worried this might happen, but brevity pushed me I guess. I'm getting sloppy these days.

    And thanks for telling the reason for chosing the subject. Now it makes very good sense to me; preparing for the Cold War and pedagogic expediency! History is great!

  16. #66
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    Miss Apollo and Lexico - please explain. I would like to know further on the guaranteeing of immunity in preparation of the Cold War.

  17. #67
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    I didn't forget your question...

    Quote Originally Posted by Hiroshi66
    I wonder why the Japanese didn't set up the capital at another major city like Mukden or Harbin?
    about the "reason of Japan's chosing Changchun/Hsinking/Shinkyo as Manchukuo's capital."

    It's just that I don't have an answer right now. I am trying to find some link on Google; but I'll have to dig more.

    I think that's a very interesting and valid historical question; but it is no light subject.

    I am not a historian, but a lot of times, knowing the "why's" can be the most important and interesting part of historical study.
    At the same time, it seems to be THEE most difficult thing to figure out, unless there is a document explicitly saying so!

    So, please be patient & hang in there, Dr. Hiroshi, it's coming, sooner or later, hopefully sooner!

  18. #68
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    Quote Originally Posted by Hiroshi66
    Miss Apollo and Lexico - please explain. I would like to know further on the guaranteeing of immunity in preparation of the Cold War.
    It is slightly complicated to explain in short here, I could write a lot about it, but no time!
    Basically, it is about Dr. Shiro Ishii and his colleagues from Unit 731 getting immunity instead of being put to trial like Tojo and other perpetrators conducting "crime against humanity" and were headhunted to Washington to further their research about bacteriological weapons, experiments and biological and germ weapons.
    Unit 731's "experiments" during the war could benefit the U.S. in the Cold War, just in case, against the "Reds" - the Soviet Union - or - China.

    I hope this enlightened you hiroshi!

    NB:
    I don't teach history at uni anymore, I did it only during my thesis...
    Since summer 2004, I have being involved with defence communications/history and warfare for a cultural institution and Defence Ministry only to shift next month to a consulting firm....can't wait!

  19. #69
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    Lexico ~ Thanks! I did some research though, and used deductive reasoning to figure out the answer. The Japanese expected a LOT of resistance in a major city like Harbin or Mukden. Therefore, they moved the capital to a smaller city - in this case Changchun. Chiang Kai Shek did the same thing in 1926 when he moved the capital of the Chinese Republic from Beijing (a major roaylist centre) to Nanjing.

    I understand - MissApollo - arigatou!!!

  20. #70
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    I love the samurai era, with all their swords and codes of conduct.
    Ni sen san / Ni sen go / Ni sen nana

  21. #71
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    It has to be the Meji period. I wish something similar happened in Mexico.

  22. #72
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    Heh, Flowerbird. Happened or happen?

  23. #73
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    Quote Originally Posted by Hiroshi66
    Heh, Flowerbird. Happened or happen?
    Excuse me for butting in, but I think your creative question makes histocial studies so much more interesting.....learning from the past, unsing histocial knowledge to change the future...I guess these are the possibilities you are suggesting?

  24. #74
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    Arigatou, lexico-san. ^^

    Yup. I was wondering if she wanted something of a Meiji Revolution to occur in 1900s Mexico or if she wanted it to occur currently.

  25. #75
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    Edo Period

    It is the most familiar period to me--other than the Showa periods and the US Occupation--because this encompasses the great battle of Seikigahara and the rise of Tokugawa Ieyasu to Shogun.

    I would have not known of this at all had I not taken a course in Asian history while attending Chapman College in Orange, CA. The professor was a Japanese history nut, so we studied Japan almost to exclusion of all the other nations of Asia (yeah, can you imagine discounting China? Well, we did!). I had a paper to do on the Battle of Seikigahara and in five double-spaced pages or less...well, it is possible, but you cannot dwell on details if you do. Brevity is the soul of wit, they tell me.

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