During the Meiji restoration, there were many changes in the Imperial households as well.
Notably, Emperor got the new uniform for the ceremonial purpose, he was relocated from Kyoto to Tokyo, and became a public figure.
So, did he like these hanges?
Hello!
I'm doing a bunch of reading for an alternate history story I plan to write, and the more I dig into things, the more I see possibilities falling into place. Here's what I've found on my own:
What I'm planning to write involves Japan sending trade ships north along continental Asia and eventually finding Alaska before they continue to trade down the west coast of North America. Obviously, they didn't know it was over there, but I just want to know if I'm overlooking something big.
Thanks!
Found in old letter. Is this post war?
I'm trying to identify the origin, period, and cultural context of this
textile bag, which was kept as a personal keepsake by a British woman born
in 1927 in Chatham, Kent.
**What I can see:**
- Embroidered or printed scenic panel featuring Mount Fuji, Japanese pine
trees, ocean waves, and a sailing or fishing vessel
- The artistic style appears to reference ukiyo-e woodblock print
aesthetics
- Envelope-style clutch format with a scalloped flap
- A chain of small elephant figurines attached — appear to be moulded
resin or early plastic, tinted pink/ivory
**My questions:**
Any expertise in Japanese textiles, export goods, or interwar decorative
arts would be very welcome. Happy to provide additional detail or
photographs.
To be clear, I’m not defending or glorifying Japanese colonialism or the brutal atrocities they inflicted. I’m just curious why they seemed much stronger and more sophisticated relative to the rest of their continent, which allowed them to impose themselves for decades.
​
I’ve recently been learning more about Imperial Japan’s actions in China and Korea during the first half of the 20th century, including the Nanjing Massacre and the suffering of people under Japanese occupation.
It honestly surprised me how little I had learned about these events compared with Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. In school and in mainstream discussions, Hitler and Nazi Germany seem to receive vastly more attention, while Japan’s wartime atrocities are often mentioned only briefly.
Why is that? Is it mainly because of differences in school curricula, Western historical perspectives, postwar politics, or something else?
I’m genuinely asking because I’d like to understand why these parts of WWII history seem less prominent in what many of us are taught. Also, for people who grew up in China, Korea, Japan, or elsewhere in Asia, was this history taught more extensively in your schools?
What happen to Cheng-zhu school of neo-confucianism after it lost its status as state ideology and its supporter Tokugawa shogunate after Meiji restoration? We see lot of japanese followers of Lu-wang school during meiji era but somehow cheng-zhu school dissappeared completely from history.
Title. AI is unreliable so asking here, for a detailed story.
Rare Korean Historical Document — Korea from Within (Original 1905 Edition)
A scarce original 1905 edition documenting Japanese observations, accounts, and commentary on Korea during the Russo-Japanese War.
稀见朝鲜文献，1905年原版《里面之韩国》，此书为日俄战争期间日本人关于朝鲜的观察/记叙与评论文献。
In chinese culture there is ancestor worshipping and burning joss items and papers, leaving offerings on the floor something called “hungry ghosts festival”. Where the gates of hell open and spirits come out to look for food
Ive seen that alot in malaysia and singapore, people left food on the floor, burning joss sticks and paper
in same period as obon
I'm watching a Japanese drama called Jin. There's a lot of going back and forth between Tokyo and Kyoto. While the characters went to Kyoto by ship once or twice, it seems like they also walk there a lot.
Was it seriously common to just carry all your stuff and walk between Kyoto and Edo? It would take at least a couple weeks, I'd think. Or did people use horses to travel long distances as well? I know I've seen horse-mounted samurai, but I can't remember seeing paintings of horse drawn carriages.
The Shaguma/Haguma was the type of headgear worn by the officers of the Imperial Japanese Army troops in the Boshin War. Even, before the Boshin war, Samurais already decorated their helmets with the fur from various animals.
The question is that was there any relation between the Shaguma/Haguma and the Plume?
Considering their choice of colour, type, and the limited usage, it seems that adopting the plume was somewhat a revival version of the Shaguma/Haguma.
For exmaple, in terms of the colour choice, only Red and White plumes were selected. There were many other colours for the plumes, but only these two colours that were used on the Shaguma/Haguma were selected.
In terms of the type, there were generally 3 types of plumes at the time.
The first one was the pillar shape with a bushy vibe like the image above.
The second one was the bush shape that was used on the Bicorne hat.
The third one was the plume with unaltered feathers.
(If you do not get the third one, I am reffering this, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Constable\_Dannatt.jpg.)
Despite the third one was widely used as much as the other two types, only two types, which had a bushy vibe were adopted.
These two had the same or smiliar texture with the Shaguma/Haguma.
In terms of the limited usage, only the High ranking officers in the IJA got the plume for their uniforms. It is quite odd since the Plume was not necessarily exclusive for the High Ranking officals.
In the French Army, the army that the IJA modelled after, the plumes were widely worn by common, lower- ranking enlisted soldiers across various branches of the army in the 1860s and the 1870s.
However, in terms of the IJA, they were already using plumes for the High Ranking officers only.
Due to all these, I would like to know whether there was a relation between the Plumes and the Shaguma/Haguma or not.
Some people argue that Japan’s response was pragmatic because it prioritised long-term national survival and economic reconstruction over historical grievance.
That is, Japan traded its lack of diplomatic action against the U.S. for guaranteed military security.
However, others argue that post-war Japan completely betrayed the memory of more than 200,000 victims of the bombings while at the same time choosing to be a subservient puppet of the U.S.
I'm a writer and I'm writing a story set in Japan. I was captivated by the atmosphere of the Edo period, so I made my protagonist a fisherman and former shinobi(ninja) from that era. However, I don't know much about that time. I want to learn more about the lives of river fishermen in the countryside there, what their clothing and boats were like, and how they fished. I want to know the basics so no one can ridicule me after I finish writing the story. And please don't tell me I should look it up on Wikipedia or AI; I'm tired of that and it's pointless.
