Before any civilization can actually reach its potential the thing that first has to happen is the citizens have to be able to feed themselves. This is required to the point because no scholars will be able to take the time to think and expound on their thoughts unless they are able to have enough food to be able to do another type of work, thinking.
The first place that thinkers of other countries mention Japan is in the Twenty Four Histories. The amusing thing is that from their histories we can see that the Chinese did not like to think of themselves and the Japanese as being equal countries because when the emperor of Japan sent a letter to the Chinese emperor he did not like it when he was addressed as if the Japanese were equal.
The civil, military, and judicial matters were handled by the bushi, otherwise known as the samurai. (The bushi link is an interesting link to a history channel documentary which is really interesting) The samurai were soldiers who expected their feudal lords to compensate them for the fighting that they did for their lord. This shows that while the samurai were a strong force the true power of the samurai came from having someone else in government who helped to lead them. The Japanese have a rich history which has many different events happening in their history, this will be a topic that I will enjoy getting to study more.
Nice post Montana. I thought what you said about a civilization only reaching its potential after its basic needs are met was really interesting; I'd never thought of it that way before. I also liked how you focused on the Samurai and how they dominated political/civic life for much of Japan's history
ReplyDelete(if anyone wants to read it, here's an earlier post I did on the folk knowledge of the Samurai. )
Here's the link
ReplyDeletehttp://reinventingknowledge8.blogspot.com/2011/09/warrior-code.html
Very insightful. The Japanese were definitely a society and culture that was well established and exemplary. Considering in later times they were quite the force to be reckoned with (WWII)..until 2 atomic bombs were dropped on them.
ReplyDeleteI think it shows just how great ancient Japan was by seeing how much of a world power Japan is today.
The Japanese were and still are innovative people. I think that word is a perfect definition for the Japanese.
I must admit that I became terribly engrossed in the video that you posted. When the ten minutes were up, I immediately clicked on the next segment without hesitation! ;)
ReplyDeleteThe video recounted the story of two rival warlords who fought for many years until one day an outside party sieged one of the warlords, cutting him off from food and (more importantly) salt. His rival sent a supply train, laden with salt to save the warlord and his army. When asked why, his rival replied that wars were meant to be won with swords and skill, not with rice and salt.
When basic needs were met (i.e. salt and rice) the Japanese could focus on other matters. Even an opposing warlord recognized this need for food as a need that should be fulfilled unconditionally, even for his enemies.