32 Matching Annotations
  1. Apr 2023
    1. It had an impact on everything, from martial arts to the tea ceremony which we talked a bit about during class.

      I found this so interesting and how drinking tea along with practicing zen buddhism is like a balance between your soul/spirit and nature.

    1. That is scary for me to think of as they felt that was the only option to save Japan

      yea its honestly just sad.

    1. Mongols as it protects their ego in front of themselves and other people

      yes and I think that it really did save Japan, especially from the Mongol's planned attack with Kublai Khan.

    1. more writing about the tactics employed by both Mongol and Japanese troops during the fighting, since I thought the discussion of tactics felt a bit incomplete

      I felt the same way, i wish there were more in-depth descriptions to truly grasp the battle and violent conflict (with both of their efforts and tactics when fighting)

  2. Mar 2023
    1. The Mongols would also retell stories of battle and would make the other side seem like a powerful adversary

      I liked how you mentioned this; it's so embarrassing for them that they felt the need to this for their little egos.

    1. The Mongols were used to using land rather than sea

      yea, I believe this was their most unsuccessful conquest.

    1. collective psychological effort which fuels the army

      I really like your word choice here. It's not just about praying for a win, but having a mindset and faith in each other.

    1. The initial chapter of The Tale of Heike strikes me in particular as it really plays up the idea that Kiyomori is one a man of great power, but also a rather rude and mean individual, an idea that most definitely comes up in his eventual death as a sort of comeuppance.

      I really like how you worded this.

    1. made me realize how much I could get out of looking at the pictures, since the look of sadness or disappointment really helped me to read more into the story.

      this is a good point; emotion and movement can really enhance/liven the story behind it.

    1. I think we really tend to forget those who do not automatically fit the standard in the story

      i completely agree, this is very telling of today's society

    1. dust spider being a metaphor for those who are outsiders

      oh i really like this metaphor, its kind of ironic because spiders are seen good luck in Japan.

    1. Japanese nationalism, or at least what may become Japanese nationalism

      I recognised this as well while reading

    2. how people were affected by the moving of the capital

      yes i agree, the descriptions were so vivid and it truly gives you an insight on how the damage destroyed peoples lives and its interesting that the writer said that he believes salvation is more important than what was lost.

    1. What surprised me was that the same thing was true for Kamakura Shoguns, who also came to become mere puppets to their supposed subordinates

      yea i also found this surprising, but i do feel like they are a little more than puppets because of their strong and controlling power over the government

    1. As such, it struck me as strange that the emperor did not get rid of both clans as they were trying to usurp his power, by catching them at their weakest as they were both fighting each other

      yea this is an intriguing point, it's definitely weird that the emperor just disregarded them.

    1. I would be lying if I did not say that understood what I was looking at with the first scroll that we explored

      i felt the same way; I did not know what was going on at first but now that I understand the meaning and story behind it, it is interesting to see the overall message behind the scroll.

  3. Feb 2023
    1. I would also be remised if I were not to mention just how important a story such as this can be, as in the hit series Avatar: The Last Airbender,

      i thought of this too; love the image you chose

    1. “Detective Conan” and was able to learn a lot of information about the history of these systems

      same, I watched this anime as well

    1. My personal favorite part of this was the world building and the portrayal of nature

      i really enjoyed this story as well; the descriptions of nature and vivid scenes and images were very captivating. The way that the story unfolds was interesting to read

  4. Sep 2022
    1. If you are an American, you must allow all ideas to circulate freely in your community, not merely your own

      I agree with this. All ideas should be expressed and taught in school regardless because that is reality. The world is filled with all different thoughts, beliefs, and ideals, so I would think that schools would want to use all different types of novels and books that express this and can teach young people what others experience in real life.

    2. ratlike people who enjoy making money from poisoning the minds of young people

      I find it sad how the school thought that it was okay to burn books and think just because they thought of them as “evil” and “poisonous”. I don’t understand how the school does not rather appreciate different perspectives and types of books, which can truly be a great learning experience.

    1. They are tangible, personal and real, in every sense of the word.

      I agree that letters are personal and real; they show you care and want to put more effort into the conversation.

    2. For those few minutes, you will live entirely in the present moment and in the thoughts you're putting on paper

      I love the aspect of being more in the present when writing something to someone through a letter, which truly expresses how you feel and think at the time.

    3. Research has shown that the general act of writing by hand can promote quite a few physical and mental benefits

      in middle school letter writing helped me feel less alone when my best friend moved to California. We wrote letters to each other because i did not have a phone, so I was able to stay in touch.

    1. Even those aware of the manipulation still felt propaganda’s pull

      I was shocked how Tokyo rose tried to persuade Japanese and Nazi causes through a radio station and the GI’s were encouraged to stop fighting, as the radios claims were false.

    2. It was best to appeal directly to the emotions

      this is scary how manipulative US propaganda is; Seeing colorful misleading posters everywhere, implied that becoming a troop will be an “honor” to America but they were false visuals with no truth in how much death was actually occurring.

    1. I live in a world of death

      this was the most moving quote. Showing the true emotion of Aanenson, it makes you understand the reality of the war and the impact it had on the troops’ lives. They were surrounded by death and destruction most of their time serving and it eventually became hard to continue to have positivity and hope when writing. Living with constant fear of your life and the life of others that can be taken away at any point; it hard to keep inside. Although Aanenson wanted to initially reveal how he was truly feeling to the girl he loved, he knew it was best to not tell her, as she cannot prevent or do anything about it. He didn’t send the letter to keep his hope in their future. These troops crave comfort from their loved ones and writing letters probably relieves some of their suffering at least a little bit. Keeping messages and letters from family and friends allows them hold on to something that they know will always be safe with and bring them joy from reading it, so it was probably best to always write with positive outlooks in order to keep the hope and dreams of a better future and end to the war.

    2. Every day I hear of some person doing strange things

      This revealed the truth behind how people had felt in the Japanese imprisonment camps. Being confined caused people to loose themselves and get caught up in negative thoughts. Forced into camps, people needed to endure the emotional and mental trauma of this, which clearly changed people.

    3. We couldn't have won the war without it. It was terribly important as a motivator of the troops

      This is my favorite quote from this article. It reveals how important and valued letters were to the soldiers and families/friends at home who received them. The troops specifically probably held on to them, treasuring what was from their loved ones, giving them hope and a drive to keep fighting in order to go home to them.

    1. In the coming years more newsreels and photographs were released showing increasingly graphic images of death and destruction

      graphic movies and films of the war horrified people and I find it interesting how effective and powerful they were to engraving scary truths of what troops were actually living through.

    2. These sources played a vital role in connecting the home front with the war front and kept Americans informed about the progress of the fighting overseas as well as its impact on their communities

      This is an impactful meaning behind the radios and movies. They showed the true reality of what troops were going through and how everyone needs to keep having hope. Even though this caused worry, it also kept everyone informed and not clueless to what was occurring.