Origins Part 1
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1.
Japaneese Culture
Learn more about aspects of Japanese culture featured in Dale's books
Hanko - Personal Seals
Hanafuda - Japanese Card Game
Hanafuda Homepage - Learn about the Hanafuda deck and a few games to play with Hanafuda cards.
Nihonto - Japanese Swords
Japanese Swords and Sword Arts
History of the Japanese Sword
The Japanese Sword Art
Nihongo - Japanese Language
Jim Breen's Japanese-English Online Dictionary
Online English to Japanese to English Dictionary
Reading Kanji -- A simplistic explanation.
Geijutsu - The Arts
Japanese Art and the Japanese View of Nature
Asian Arts
The Tokugawa Art Museum
Japanese Traditional Theater
Kabuki for Everyone
Joeseph Wu's Origami Page
Kiga - Life in Japan
Gateway Japan
The Japan Times
24 Hours Mount Fuji Live (remember to account for the 17-20 hour time shift or you'll see a black nightime screen)
All About the Kimono This site has information on the history of the kimono for men, women, and children as well as wonderful photos and descriptions.
Yakuza - Japanese Mafia
The Japanese Yakuza on About.com
Shizen - Nature
The Bonsai Web
Japanese Garden Database - Nice site with lots of information.
The Shiga Project - The Japanese Garden
Samurai - Warrior ("One who serves")
Dr. Robert Boock's Samurai bibliography.
Origins Of The Samurai by David Lay
Haiku - Traditional Japanese Poems
Haiku - A how-to site offering definitions, samples and guidelines for getting your syllabic universe in order
The Haiku Society of America
History of Haiku
2.
Medieval History - Life in the Middle Ages and Renaissance
Comprehensive directory of medieval art, literature, music, philosophy, history, religion, science and militaria, and the individuals who made it all happen.
3.
Origins of the Samurai
Here is a sampling of what you will find and I strongly suggest that you visit the site to read the rest. Origins Of The Samurai by David Lay
By 200 AD, rice cultivation had been known on the islands east of the Asian continent for 500 years. With agriculture had come ownership of land where previously, boundaries between small nomadic hunting groups had been indistinct. People came to live together in communities, sharing in the work of planting and harvesting, and in defence against others who would take their winter stores. With the possession of land had come war.
The growth of farming drew people away from hunting and away from hunting skills. Some were naturally better suited to fighting then others and so honed those skills, becoming specialists at fighting. Those who fought became warriors, and by virtue of their strength, became the leaders of their clans. The wars they fought resulted in larger clans overcoming and absorbing smaller ones. Japanese society of the third century was composed of many clans, capable and willing to wage war for advantage. It would not be very long before they became one society.
By 200 AD, the Chinese Han court had received envoys from as many as 30 clans from northern Kyushu through their offices on the Korean peninsula. The ancestors of the Japanese had much more reason to look west than to the northern wilderness since the west held much to attract them in both materials and technology. Korean iron and weapons were particularly desirable. Shortly after the fall of the Han in 220 AD, Kyushu clans, capable and willing to wage war for advantage, attacked.
Warriors of this era fought on foot with bows, stabbing swords, and spears. Armour was worn, but most warriors probably had only shields. Steel and bronze had come to the Japanese islands with rice and so they knew of and used these materials. The more advanced technology and the better materials, however, were still from the continent.
By 300 AD the religious, political, and military consolidation of independent clans culminated with the Yamato clan becoming dominant. Included in the consolidation were clans on northern Kyushu and southern Honshu. The Yamato were in power because of the support of many clans rather than the surrender of those clans. The Yamato culturally consolidated early Japanese society; administratively, many local clans remained relatively independent. Archaeological excavations show that mound tombs constructed in this time were all very similar and yet widely distributed. They demonstrate the cultural unity of the people, the independence of distributed clans, and the measure of their power over the lower classes. Yamato invasions of the Korean peninsula were frequent, leading even to the establishment a land-hold. The tip of the peninsula, called Mimana, long under the influence of the islanders, was established as their own domain and base for raids in the fourth century. From this presence, the flow of culture and technology was assured.
4.
Samurai History
Another "must see" web site for you. Look at these subject areas. Castle of Japan
Yagyu Shinkage Ryu
Jubei Yagyu - Master Swordman
Yagyu Village
Yume Dojo Online - Historical Ninja
The Ninja of Anicent Japan
Ninja - The Feared Underlings
Historical Ninja
History of Iga
Hanzo Hattori History
Hanzo Hattori & Hattori Ryu
Hanzon Hattori - Ninja of Iga
Iga Ninja
Koga Ninja
Ninjutsu - A different perspective
Heros in the Civil War era
History of the Samurai
Japanese Historical sites
Japanese Samurai History forum
Japanese Life
Japanese Armour
Martial Arts Dictionary
Origins of the Samurai
Samurai Archives
Samurai Gallery
Samurai Tour
Guide to Japan - Samurai
Homepage of Musashi Miyamoto
Musashi Miyamoto
Kenshi - Musashi Miyamoto
Kukishiden Ryu
Stephen Turnbull - Japan Archive
Sun Tzu Art of War Strategy Site
Sun Tzu Art of War
The Art of War
The Battle of Kawanakajima
The Battle of Sekigahara 21 Oct 1600
The Battle of Sekigahara
The Illuminated Lantern
Japanese dictionary of history
Warrior Quest International
The Ninja of Anicent Japan
5.
Samurai Information
Excellent variety of articles, poems essays of interest. Topics include: The Unfettered Mind:The Mysterious Record of Immovable Wisdom, by Takuan Soho The Unfettered Mind: The Clear Sound of Jewels, by Takuan Soho
The Unfettered Mind: Annals of the Sword Taia, by Takuan Soho Ueshiba's Enlightenment
Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai, by Yamamoto Tsunetomo., by Yamamoto Tsunetomo. A Book of Five Rings, by Miyamoto Musashi.
Commentary on The Book of Five Rings, by Masayuki Imai, by Masayuki Imai The Art of Peace, by Morihei Ueshiba
Teachings of the Path, by Morihei Ueshiba Methods, by Morihei Ueshiba
Poems of the Path, by Morihei Ueshiba Spiritual Poems, by Morihei Ueshiba
The Essence of Technique, by Morihei Ueshiba Dokas of the Way, by Yamaoka Tesshu
Essay on Bushido, by Yamaoka Tesshu The Tao of Jeet Kune Do, by Bruce Lee
The Art of War, by Sun Tzu Tao Te Jing by Lao Tze, in both Chinese and English
Dhammapada A Martial Arts Instructor's Manual for all Martial Artists, M.A.I.M., courtesy of Bruce Taber.
Martial Arts Students & Teachers Educational Resource Home Page (M.A.S.T.E.R.) The Noble Struggle of the Warrior
Kyuso Mifune's Rules of the Dojo The Contribution of Judo to Education, by Jigoro Kano.
Origins of the Samurai. Fundamental Principles of Judo, by Kenji Tomki.
Ki Sayings, by Koichi Tohei Discovering the Body, by T.K. Chiba
Budoshoshinshu: The Code of the Samurai, by Daidojo Yuzan Tao Te Ching
36 Strategies The Bhagavad-Gita
6.
Samurai Warriors
Want to learn more about them? You have to visit this site! Samurai Warriors
The samurai lived by their own code. Search the following sites to gather information on the history of Japan's samurai warriors. Learn about their training, ideals, and influence on Japanese culture. Imagine that you are a samurai living in the Tokugawa period, and that you are dealing with an issue that a samurai might have faced. In a journal, describe the issue and your reactions to it, using samurai values.
7.
ULU Jitsu
Here's a sampling of what you will find. Definitely visit this site! The methods of combat known as Jitsu are at least 2000 years old, with mention in Japanese mythology. The beginnings of Jitsu can be traced to the turbulent period of Japanese history between the 8th and 16th Century. During this time, there was almost constant civil war in Japan and the classical weaponry systems were developed and honed on the battlefield. Close fighting techniques were developed as part of these systems to be used in conjunction with weapons against armoured, armed opponents.
The birth of Jitsu probably coincided with the origins of the Samurai class in 792 AD. The army at that time consisted of foot soldiers armed with spears. Officers were recruited from the young sons of the high families and schooled in archery, swordsmanship, and unarmed combat.
The Emperor Kammu built the Butokuden (Hall of the Virtues of War) as a formal school for these officers who became known as Samurai. Their name comes from the Japanese word for service, saburaui. To be a samurai you had to be born into a family that had samurai history. The samurai worked for their masters, called shogun, who dominated political life from 1185 until 1868.
Medieval samurai were generally illiterate, rural landowners who farmed between battles. The progression from rural workers to 'samurai' took many centuries as they were increasingly called and relied on to defend the ruling classes. The word samurai means 'those who serve' and had come into use by the end of the 8th century.
The Mongols invaded Japan in the late 1200's and the Samurai eventually defeated them after many years of fierce fighting. The Samurai developed a style of formation combat and depended on the sword as a primary weapon in battle. In the 1400's, Master swordsmen established schools to teach their style of ken-jutsu (The Art of the Sword). In 1467-77 the Onin War saw the decline of the Shogun's power and began the Sengoku Jidai (The Age of the Country at War) which lasted 150 years.
8.
What do your really know about Samurais?
Learn more. Many of us have been exposed to images of samurai from movies, novels, popular history (e.g., Shogun, in both printed and video forms), and the like. One of the approaches we will utilize is to "test" the extent to which these popular images accord with the "reality" of samurai life and the role of samurai in Japanese history.
The basic emphasis of classes will be on discussion, not lecture. That means students are responsible for proper preparation for each class. In addition, I want to encourage discussion outside of class and will set up an e-mail reflector list for the class. All students are expected to participate in e-mail discussion. (More on this later.)
While some members of the class may have some general knowledge about samurai, I assume that many if not all of you have virtually no formal background in Japanese history. Nonetheless, we are going to start right out with some substantial works on the formation of samurai in Japanese history. So it is important for you to stay focused on the questions that I will give to guide your readings, and not to get tied down in insignificant details. If you have questions about what you are reading, you can deal with them either by raising them in the e-mail reflector list or by raising them in class. I guarantee that for 95% of the questions that will come up in these forums, you will not be the only person who has that question. Make sure the question gets asked, and don't hold back!
More
Samurai Information links
Jintachi Swords
These swords are approximately 44"
overall when sheathed. Out of it's sheath (or holder) the actual sword
is 43" long with a 28" Stainless Steel blade sharpened to
a fine edge. All in all, a quite impressive work of art worthy of display
in any collection.
SW0044 Jintachi sword in red. Click on picture for additional information.
