#MedievalJapan

[whencyclopedia]

Daily life in medieval Japan (1185-1606 CE) was, for most people, the age-old struggle to put food on the table, build a family, stay healthy, and try to enjoy the finer things in life whenever possible. The upper classes had better and more colourful clothes, used expensive foreign porcelain, were entertained by Noh theatre and could afford to travel to other parts of Japan while the lower classes had to make do with plain cotton, ate rice and fish, and were mostly preoccupied with surviving the occasional famine, outbreaks of disease, and the civil wars that blighted the country. Still, many of the cultural pursuits of medieval Japan continue to thrive today, from drinking green tea to playing the go board game, from owning a fine pair of chopsticks to remembering ancestors every July/August in the Obon festival.

[nicholasandriani]

A Look at the Print and Material History: A Comparative Exploration of “Medieval” England and Japan

[gypsykingarmor]

This painting is probably called: The Turtle Who Dreamed of Climbing Mount Fuji, But Didn't Know Why.

[skumpf]

Swordsman #art #illustration #drawing #doodle #sketchbook #sketchdaily #sketch #artist #illustrator #drawings #artistoninstagram #samurai #bushi #japan #medievaljapan #swordsman https://www.instagram.com/p/B067iQ4DT4v/?igshid=adhmqm0eqs2w

[thealbertstudio]

‘Sekiro • 3 • The Ōmukade & Kakuen Ape’ releases in 5 hours on YouTube, iTunes, Stitcher & Podbean. On this entry, I discuss the latest footage revealed from Tokyo Game Show, and also dive into some analysis and commentary on Miyazaki's distinctive (and by now synonymous) aesthetic and narrative choices for his titles. #sekiro #sekiroshadowsdietwice #shadowsdietwice #corruptedmonk #ashinaclan #hidetakamiyazaki #medievaljapan #japan #medieval #katana #samurai #shinobi #ninja #shuriken #fromsoftware #darksouls #bloodborne #soulsborne #scultporsidol #buddhism #shinto #japanesemyth #japanesemythology #japanmythology #mythology https://www.instagram.com/p/Bnobb1lnDcY/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=b4j2m1p8cwty

[inspireif]

Commissioned artwork • 13”x19” • Brush pen #superanius #medievaljapan #samurai #ninja #japanesecastle #armor #japanesearmor #brushpen #inkwork #illustration

[whencyclopedia]

Inventing the Way of the Samurai: Nationalism, Internationalism, and Bushidō in Modern Japan (The Past & Present Book Series)

Japan is known for many different things, but one popular image associated with the country is that of the ‘samurai’. Especially, many people admire the idea of the ‘samurai spirit’ encapsulated in the concept of ‘bushido’ – the ‘way of the warrior’. The image people have of samurai is often drawn from movies and TV shows or from the culture associated with the martial arts. What many fail to understand, however, is that the way samurai are portrayed often has very little to do with historical reality. In fact, the idea of ‘bushido’ itself was something made up in the Meiji period, after the samurai class had actually been abolished. How this happened is the subject of the book Inventing the Way of the Samurai: Nationalism, Internationalism, and Bushido in Modern Japan by Oleg Benesch, Professor of East Asian History at the University of York.

Benesch argues that ‘bushido’ is an ‘invented tradition’ - something which is thought to be old when, in fact, it is quite new. After Japan opened its doors to foreign contact in the Meiji period, Japanese historians were keen to find similarities between the history of Japan and that of Europe. The period of warrior rule in Japan from 1185 until 1868 seemed to resemble the ‘feudalism’ of Medieval Europe, and the mounted samurai of the Kamakura and Muromachi periods seemed to resemble European knights. Seeing these similarities, Japanese historians went looking for something comparable to the European idea of ‘chivalry’, and they found it in the concept of ‘bushido’.

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[whencyclopedia]

Reading Medieval Ruins: Urban Life and Destruction in Sixteenth-Century Japan

Although this is a wonderful read for anyone having a deep infatuation with Japanese history, it mostly appeals to a scholar or a reader who is somewhat familiar with the topic. This, however, should not discourage any passionate readers from attempting this book. Its language style and structure are straightforward. This book looks at Japanese history through the eyes of the author Morgan Pitelka and a common citizen living in the medieval Japanese city of Ichijōdani.

Pitelka avoids tediousness by using fluid language and vibrant imagery while still maintaining an educational and academic stance.

Pitelka's Reading Medieval Ruins contains nothing too logically complex to grasp. On the other hand, it deals with very specific subjects that a person looking for a general overview of Japanese history may not know the meanings or contexts of. An example of this is probably Pitelka's discussion on medieval Japanese medicine. It is an intriguing yet niche topic. Pitelka starts the discussion on medicine without providing much background information. From another perspective, regardless of whether one chooses to read it on its own or not, this book is a fascinating examination of a plethora of topics in a very tumultuous time in Japanese history.

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[whencyclopedia]

Heavenly Warriors: The Evolution of Japan’s Military, 500–1300 (Harvard East Asian Monographs)

This is a fairly old book since it was first published in 1996, but it remains the best English-language introduction to the history of the warrior class in ancient Japan. In English, Japanese warriors are usually referred to as ‘samurai’. Although this is a Japanese word, it is a term that is not used all that often in Japanese. ‘Samurai’ means ‘one who serves’ and originally had a much broader meaning than ‘warrior’. In Japanese, depending on the type and period, many different words are used for ‘warrior’. The most common replacement is ‘bushi’, which literally means ‘fighting man’.

Farris believes that, in studying the history of bushi, historians have been too keen to try and make the Japanese past fit into models derived from that of Europe.

Heavenly Warriors: The Evolution of Japan’s Military, 500–1300, by William Wayne Farris, covers the history of bushi from 500 to 1300 CE. The book contains eight chapters. The first chapter deals with the period from 500 to 645 and examines the indigenous origins of Japan’s warrior class. The second covers 645 to 770 and explains how, as a part of a wave of cultural borrowing from mainland Asia, the Japanese state adopted a Chinese system of military organization. Chapter Three details how these Chinese-style armies performed in wars in northeastern Japan against the Emishi between 770 to 900. Chapter Four focuses on the period 850 to 950 when government armies were used to suppress domestic rebellions. Chapter Five looks at the evolution of military institutions in both the capital and provinces in the middle Heian period from 950 to 1050. Chapter Six describes developments in the later Heian period from 1050 to 1150, including the Former Nine Years' War and the Latter Three Years' War. Chapter Seven deals with the rise of the Taira family and their eventual destruction by the Minamoto clan between 1150 and 1185. In the final chapter, Farris describes warrior armies in the early Kamakura period from 1185 to 1300.

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[whencyclopedia]

30 of Japan's Finest Castles

This image gallery includes 30 of the finest castles in Japan, based on their level of preservation as well as their architectural and cultural heritage. It is by no means an exhaustive list, as Japan has produced countless castles worthy of inclusion. The entries on this list are based on the Japanese Castle Association's Top 100 Castles in Japan.

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[sokeanshu]

Hikone Castle (彦根城, Hikone-jō) is a Japanese Edo-period castle in Shiga Prefecture. It is considered the most significant historical building in Shiga. Hikone is 1 of only 12 Japanese castles with the original keep, and 1 of only 5 castles listed as a national treasure. . Hikone Castle traces its origin to 1603 when Ii Naokatsu, son of the former daimyō Ii Naomasa, ordered its construction. The keep was originally built in 1575, as part of Ōtsu Castle, and was moved to Hikone by the Ii clan. . When the Meiji era began in 1868, many castles were scheduled to be dismantled, and only a request from the emperor himself, touring the area, kept Hikone Castle intact. Today it remains one of the oldest original-construction castles in Japan. . JOIN THE ONLINE NINJUTSU DOJO! Study The Ancient Ninja Martial Art Called: “Ninjutsu”! 👺 ⛩ BudoRyuNinjutsu.com . Do you live in Kansas City? Call us for a FREE TRIAL CLASS! ☎️ (913) 449-5367 . Don’t Live in Kansas City? Join The Online Ninja Dojo! ⛩ BudoRyuNinjutsu.com . #Ninja #MartialArts #Ninjutsu #Ninpo #Bujutsu #Budo #Kobujutsu #Kobudo #Shinobi #Shinobijutsu #Taijutsu #NinpoTaijutsu #TraditionalMartialArts #JapaneseMartialArts #HistoricalNinjutsu #IgaRyuNinjutsu #KokaRyuNinjutsu #KogaRyuNinjutsu #KokaRyu #KogaRyu #Shiga #Hikone #HikoneCastle #Castle #Japan #Japanese #Samurai #JapanCulture #JapaneseCulture #MedievalJapan https://www.instagram.com/p/CPjPHaKpFhN/?utm_medium=tumblr