Book Exploration State of War: The Violent Order of Fourteenth Century Japan by Thomas Donald Conlan tracks the events in Japan between 1336 and 1392. Conlan provides his wisdom on how state and society operated in the Nanbokucho period through various source documents portraying the warriors not by their romanticized “knights of the round table” ideal, but rather showing that while there were alliances of connivence, they could be broken just as easily as they were made, revealing that pragmatism was paramount above all else. State of War is comprised of eight chapters. It begins with a characterization of a common warrior, Nomoto Tomoyuki, who pledged allegiance to Ashikaga Takauji. Extracting from a detailed petition for reward (gunchujo), Conlan recounts Tomoyuki’s conduct in battle and his death. Conlan explains: “Among the thousands of petitions that survive, one submitted on behalf of Nomoto Tomoyuki is uniquely suited for reconstructing the experience of the fourteenth-century war for several reasons. This first is its length...the second is its reliability...the third reason stems from its comprehensiveness...the fourth is Tomoyuki’s anonymity. This petition represents a plea for rewards that largely went unheeded,” (Conlan 13-14). After six hundred and sixty plus years Conlan believes that Tomoyuki wouldn’t be displeased by how he is remembered, no matter how small. Next Conlan addresses the question of battle tactics and unit organization. Plodding through what had to be no doubt a great many gunchujo to see with what regularity and what ways warriors endured injury. He demonstrates that the fighting around the fall of Kamakura shogunate was far and away the most extreme of the fourteenth century and that the prepo... ... middle of paper ... ...st tozama implicitly believed that the onus of responsibility rested not on themselves, but on the competing regimes to secure support by granting rewards. Instead of land grants guaranteeing obligation, service (chusetsu) demanded adequate compensation,” (Conlan 150). The slogan “then was then; now is now; reward is lord!” (Conlan 150) perhaps sums up best these largely pragmatic warriors minus Chilafusa and his ilk. Being a relative neophyte to medieval Japanese history I found Conlan’s State of War to be an enlightening series of chapters about the changes that developed out of the Nanbokucho experience. With the requirement for compensation, rewards being imperative for service, and the often times capricious nature of loyalty; Conlan demystifies the Japanese warrior, revealing them to be no gods or buddhas, rather by and large merely pragmatists.
Much of what is considered modern Japan has been fundamentally shaped by its involvement in various wars throughout history. In particular, the events of World War II led to radical changes in Japanese society, both politically and socially. While much focus has been placed on the broad, overarching impacts of war on Japan, it is through careful inspection of literature and art that we can understand war’s impact on the lives of everyday people. The Go Masters, the first collaborative film between China and Japan post-WWII, and “Turtleback Tombs,” a short story by Okinawan author Oshiro Tatsuhiro, both give insight to how war can fundamentally change how a place is perceived, on both an abstract and concrete level.
War played a central part in the history of Japan. Warring clans controlled much of the country. A chief headed each clan; made up of related families. The chiefs were the ancestors of Japan's imperial family. The wars were usually about land useful for the production of rice. In fact, only 20% of the land was fit for farming. The struggle for control of that land eventually ga...
In the book Samurai, Warfare and the State in Early Medieval Japan, Karl Friday focuses on war in early medieval Japan. A central thesis could be the political primacy of the imperial court. (Lamers 2005) This is the tenth through fourteenth centuries, before the samurai became prominent in Japan and were trying to form themselves into more of what we think of them today. Friday focuses on five aspects of war in his book; they are the meaning of war, the organization of war, the tools of war, the science of war, and the culture of war.
Christopher Benfey’s work The Great Wave is a narrative driven by a collection of accounts, stories and curious coincidences tying together The Gilded Age of New England in particular with interactions and connections to the Japan of old and new. In the context of The Great Wave, Benfey's own personal journey to Japan at the age of sixteen should be understood. Embarking on this voyage to learn traditional writing, language and Judo, his story can also be seen as a not only a historical continuation, but also a personal precursor to the vignettes he discovers and presents to the reader.
Ives, Christopher. "Wartime Nationalism and Peaceful Representation: Issues Surrounding the Multiple Zens of Modern Japan ." Japan Studies Review Five (2001): 37-46. Print.
The Discourse acts as a forum for the exploration of the political pathways that Japan could follow following the Meiji Restoration in 1868. At a time when Japan had just begun to consolidate herself, Chomin’s Discourse was aimed at discussing Japan’s long-term trajectory through three imaginary mouthpieces, ‘The Gentleman of Western Learning’, his opposition ‘The Champion of the East’, whose debate is being observed and arbitrated by a ‘Master Nankai’.
21 Pitts, Forrest R., Japan. p. 113. -. 22. Davidson, Judith. Japan- Where East Meets West, p. 107.
The Tale of the Heike is a collection of tales that depict the livelihood of warriors during the Heian and Kamakura period. These tales illustrate that warriors during this period spent their existence dedicated to their duty to the Buddhist Law and that the growing contention arose from each warrior’s devotion and loyalty to the Buddhist Law.
War changes people’s lives; it changes the way people act, the way they think, and what they believe in. The people of Japan hold tradition and honor above everything else, this is something that did not change throughout the war. Though the world is changing right before the Japanese peoples’ eyes, they keep honor and tradition locked into their minds as well as their hearts. Frank Gibney’s statement, “There is no question that the Japanese people had participated wholeheartedly in the war effort.” is partly true as well as not. True in the sense that the Japanese did do certain things that may be counted as participating in the war, yet these acts were not done wholeheartedly.
...the Japanese Army facilitated specific forms of gender identity, in which to be a soldier meant to be a real man. Men often think to achieve their manhood they have to go through military service in the army, especially through combat. As hard as it was to be in the army the soldiers say that it has made a man out of them, and in some cases army life was easy compared to the hardship they were going though just trying to make a living. The effects of discipline that the army puts upon the soldiers may vary depending on the class origins of the recruits; they come together towards the production of a dominant model of manhood. This also includes rape, plunder, and arson, which was to demonstrate their power or bravery. However, I argue that military versions of masculinity are deeply contradictory, in that feminization and masculinization are enacted simultaneously.
Schrijvers, Peter. Bloody Pacific: American Soldiers at War with Japan. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010.
The second chapter, The Text, of Griffith’s study focuses on the text itself. There has been debate about how many chapters were originally in “The Art of War”: Eighty-Two or Thirteen. (p. 13) Griffith gives a sound theory that the current thirteen chapters were the only writings. Based on copywriting errors, the eighty-two chapters were probably written into thirteen categories (or chapters) while trying to transcribe written work onto paper from silk or wood. Griffith also asserts that the text was used for entry-level war fighting studies in early Chinese military academies.
Yukio Mishima’s Temple of the Golden Pavilion represents the hardships, evil, and rebirth throughout the timeline of the war and after, creating the individual experience and perspective of a young man fighting his own personal, internal wars. This is highlighted through first person accounts of brutal acts of military officials and the contrast of the beauty in
Giles, Lionel. The Art of War by Sun Tzu. 1994-2009. http://classics.mit.edu/Tzu/artwar.html (accessed December 2, 2013).
Our preliminary class gave a brief, yet detailed outline of major events affecting the East Asian region. Within that class, prompted by our limited geographical knowledge of Asia, we were given a fundamental explanation of the geographical locations of the various events taking place in the region. In subsequent classes, we were introduced to the major wars, political shifts, and economic interests which shaped Japan, China and Korea to what they are today. We examined the paradigm of pre-modern Japanese governance, the Shogunate, and the trained warriors which defended lord and land, Samurai. In addition, we examined the socio-economic classes of Medieval Japan, which included the Samurai, peasants, craftsmen, and the merchants. We also examined pre-1945 Japan’s policies toward foreign entities, notably the Sakoku Policy, which sought to expunge all foreign presence and commerce in an effort to protect its borders and culture. 1945, however, saw ...