Maritime Asia, as I use the term, encompasses the lands in and around the Japan Sea, the East China Sea, the South China Sea, and the Bay of Bengal, as well as all of Indonesia and the Philippines. The peoples of this densely populated, economically vibrant area, which includes southern coastal China and Japan, have… Read More The Dutch East India Company and Japan
The Sea of Okhotsk to the north and northeast of Hokkaidō plays no significant role in recorded Japanese history until the second half of the eighteenth century, when clashes began to occur between Russians advancing southward through the Kuril Islands and Japanese settlers trying to drive them back. But from archeological evidence and records from… Read More The Ainu and Early Commerce in the Sea of Okhotsk
Riding the circular Yamanote Line on a Sunday in Tokyo, it is easy to daydream. Those who have found themselves at times wondering what the city might have been like in the past are likely to enjoy the aptly named “Lust, Commerce, and Corruption: An Account of What I Have Seen and Heard, by an… Read More A firsthand account of vice and profit in Edo – Book review.
A few notes from a poster presentation I did about the Tokugawa family and the Edo Period. History of the Tokugawa Family Matsudaira Motoyasu (later Tokugawa Ieyasu) was born into a powerful clan which traces its history back to the Minamoto clan during the Heian period (794-1185) and the Ashikaga Shogunate in the 1330s. During… Read More Tokugawa and Edo Period (Poster presentation notes)
Browsing the web last night I came across an interesting question. Why didn’t the Japanese find the Americas before the Europeans? I would like to say these are my words but in this case I am merely a messenger. I did edit it a little and added some picks. It is a good read so… Read More Why didn’t Japanese seafarers find the Americas?
The Meiji Restoration is a very important period in Japan’s history as it reestablished Imperial rule and was the catalyst for the Japanese economy and society to move into the industrial age. 268 years of rule under the Tokugawa shogunate ended, and was eventually replaced with a national parliamentary system. Most members of this parliament… Read More The Meiji Restoration – A quick rundown
Many of you may look at this person’s name and wonder why I have chosen a foreigner in my Japanese history blog to write about. Yes Thomas is a foreigner to Japan but he made it his home when he arrived in Japan in 1859 and became one of the most influential people during the… Read More Thomas Glover – Scotsman in Japan
