Taoism, or Daoism depending on which transliteration system you want to use, like many Chinese imports, mixed with Japan’s culture and the native religion Shinto. Although calling Shinto a unified religion is an oversimplification, let’s just go with it for now. Like Taoism’s venture into the West, the philosophy took root in Japan more than…
Category: History
No More Wars: the Edo Period’s Final Rebellions
After Japan was unified under Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and finished with Tokugawa Ieyasu, the Tokugawa government declared there would be no more wars. The final war is a two-part rebellion of Christian samurai, farmers, and other impoverished people. The second part of the rebellion remains the best remembered because of how it ended in…
Basho’s Travel Memoir, “The Narrow Road of the Interior”
Matsuo Basho is known for his haiku, poetry consisting of 17 syllables divided into lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables. However, he is also famous for his travel memoirs, especially The Narrow Road of the Interior. Basho (1644-1694) was the son of a minor samurai and studied poetry, Zen Buddhism, Chinese learning, history, and Japanese literature….
That Was How Much?! The Surpising Cost of Things in Japan During the 1900s
This seems like a strange question, but examining costs of items and salaries can offer interesting insights into history. I came across this information while I worked on approximating a reasonable cost for an item in one of my stories. The detail matters for the plotline, so I wanted some accuracy. The data in this…
The Diary of Lady Murasaki
Murasaki Shikibu wasn’t her name. Like many female writers in history, we don’t know her real name. Murasaki, however, is a nickname derived from her greatest work The Tale of Genji. She lived during the Heian period, a cultural flowering period in Japan between 794-1192. She was a contemporary with Sei Shonagon and Akazome Emon, two of…
Miyamato Musashi’s “The Way to be Followed Alone” (Dokkodo)
Miyamato Musashi’s work “The Way to be Followed Alone,” or Dokkodo, is the samurai’s lesser known work next to The Book of Five Rings (Gorin no Sho). Musashi is a ronin, or masterless samurai, and considered to be the best samurai who lived. Musashi was born around 1584. His father was named Hirata Munisai, and his mother was called…