Another thing that stood out to me was the introduction/cultural growth that came in the form of poetry and artwork, as well as how they still impact people today. When reading the Man’yōshu poems, one of the questions was why poems that are well over a thousand years old still speak to the Japanese now.
This is so interesting and I feel that this stood out to me too. I think it's good that you brought in the poems as an example.
As such, Buddhists say to remove suffering people should not get attached. However, that is easier said than done. Nonetheless, is it not paradoxical that the very act of wanting to attain nirvana could be considered an attachment?
This is so interesting and true because it really does question the idea of Buddhism and the way the we view and interpret it.
The other defining feature of the era was the adoption of Buddhism, which some Nara rulers, Tenmu in particular, enthusiastically embraced. A few things about the new religion raised my curiosity however.
I agree with this I also felt that these newer traditions and beliefs brought over we're interesting and I like how you included them here.
In the second phase of interaction between Japan and China, from the first to the fifth century, the Japanese established “tributary” relations in which the Japanese leaders played the role of political ambassadors and subordinates to the Chinese emperor.
I liked that you added more information here and talked about the Japanese and Chinese relations.
Next, I briefly read into the Han dynasty, and their conquering of the Four Commanderies. First controlled by a group called the Xiongnu, the Han hosted a siege against them, traveling through the great wall.
I liked that you added more information and furthered the discussion of what we talked about in class.
also find it interesting that they reference the Buddha in law no. 2 and though these laws (for the most part) make sense; though in my opinion they are vague but it’s a good start if their is a general consensus of everyone in Japan understanding what these laws mean.
This is interesting and I like that you included your own opinion about this.
During this period, there were more communities and social influences, which led to the introduction of ancient fishing and rice paddy fields by Korean immigrants in S. Japan. This resulted in competition between families, given the different graves and crops found in that region. The Yayoi period involved a majority of Japanese and Korean families who spread quickly throughout Japan. The peak of the Yayoi period was in Yoshinogini, which may have been the capital. The Kofun period saw the rise of aristocrats, who shared their ways of control and gaining wealth through the housing and goods they possessed. This period was marked by combat and housing completions, estimate from the findings of war horses, armor, and weapons.
I found this part of your review very interesting because I think it was a good point to bring up the different social conflicts of the time period and the history involved with them.
Lastly, not only has religion played an important part in Japanese history but their culture, ethnic distinctions, and traditions. The origin of Japanese culture can be found in the Upper Paleolithic era. Then comes Jōmon Japan where the first reports of pottery being used.
I found this part of the review interesting because it talks about the different eras and time period where you explain well the idea of pottery and how that affected how we see the different periods.
The quote: “These Incipient Jōmon wares were variously plain, scratched, nailmarked, shell-impressed, or decorated by appliqué strips on their surfaces, while subsequent Jōmon types all exhibited cord-marking in a variety of styles and patterns,” (Friday 58), emphasizes how important pottery was back in the time and how much detail it had. This allowed ancient people to print their history and culture in artifacts that would never be forgotten and that would go down in history for generations to come.
I like how you used this quote to talk about the different ways pottery and art work has had on Japans History and the importance it has at keeping the history preserved.
Due to the fact that Japan is mostly composed of mountains and volcanoes, people have resided mostly in plain areas where it is much easier to build homes and travel. The quote: “The density for Tokyo is 5,751 persons per square kilometer, seventeen times the “average” but indicative of the imbalance between mountains and plains,”
I agree with you on this and I feel that this quote was a good way to show an example of what you were conveying.
Freedom from simple survival. If you can freely choose to specialize your life from simple survival to that of any other course, you are now a complex society. In other words, freedom is what makes us complex. I believe this is to be true as if you are chained to survival how can you ever hope to achieve and create culture?
This makes a good point to back up the statement that was previously made. The point of freedom being the reason for complex society was an interesting take.
their location in relation to the tectonic plates also results in relatively frequent earthquakes, tsunamis, landslides, and volcanic eruption. and typhoons are an additional natural disaster that poses a threat. as we discussed in class, this constant threat can manifest as a sort of fatalism
I feel this point is very well made as well as well explained. It helps give more insight into the reason for certain held notions.
Syllabus HST267 (Spring 23)
I understand the course material and expectations for this course.