Giō is a female dancer loved and abandoned by the powerful and ruthless military leader Taira no Kiyomori. Her story appears for the first time in the Tale of the Heike, a 14th century narrative, but is soon appropriated by numerous literary and artistic genres such as Noh theater and illustrated hand scrolls and albums. Although Giō might have never existed, at least four tombs in Japan carry her name, and a Buddhist temple near Kyoto dedicated to her is visited every year by thousands of...

Giō is a female dancer loved and abandoned by the powerful and ruthless military leader Taira no Kiyomori. Her story appears for the first time in the Tale of the Heike, a 14th century narrative, but is soon appropriated by numerous literary and artistic genres such as Noh theater and illustrated hand scrolls and albums. Although Giō might have never existed, at least four tombs in Japan carry her name, and a Buddhist temple near Kyoto dedicated to her is visited every year by thousands of...

The lecture will provide an introduction and overview into Japanese woodblock prints from the 17th to 19th century, commonly called ukiyo-e. Arguably the most recognizable of all Japanese art forms, ukiyo-e have spread over the world and become very popular outside of Japan. Works like Hokusai's Great Wave, large head beauties by Utamaro, and striking actors by Sharaku, were all produced with the same techniques, as were hundreds of thousands of other designs. At first the printing was done...

Wayne Van Horne, Associate Professor of Anthropology explains and demonstrates Karate.

Wayne Van Horne, Associate Professor of Anthropology explains and demonstrates Karate.

For almost a hundred years Japanese fighting men were employed across a wide area of Southeast Asia as mercenaries in the service of the kings of Siam, Cambodia, Arakan, Spain and Portugal and for the directors of the Dutch East India Company. This activity is described and discussed in the context of contemporary international relations and the spread of European colonialism in the region, noting in particular the impact on the recruitment and activity of mercenaries caused by Japan’s...

For almost a hundred years Japanese fighting men were employed across a wide area of Southeast Asia as mercenaries in the service of the kings of Siam, Cambodia, Arakan, Spain and Portugal and for the directors of the Dutch East India Company. This activity is described and discussed in the context of contemporary international relations and the spread of European colonialism in the region, noting in particular the impact on the recruitment and activity of mercenaries caused by Japan’s...

For many people their introduction to the samurai – Japan’s hereditary warrior class - happens when they visit a museum and see a suit of Japanese armour. It often looks like a very ornate beetle, and one of the most interesting parts is the face mask with its grinning teeth and horse-hair moustaches. This item often provokes a common question, ‘Why would anyone want to fight in this?’ In this talk I will go ‘behind the mask’ to examine the truth about these legendary warriors. The use of the...

A student panel leads discussion on Japanese culture and experiences while in Japan.

A student panel leads discussion on Japanese culture and experiences while in Japan.

In the late 19th century Japanese religion was forever transformed by a government fiat declaring that Buddhism and Shinto were two separate religious traditions. This political order, officially distinguishing the deities, rituals, images, texts, and clergy of the two traditions, sought to erase and redefine the religious landscape of the previous millennium. The institutional and ideological effects of this action are still felt today in the common understanding of Buddhism and Shinto as...

In the late 19th century Japanese religion was forever transformed by a government fiat declaring that Buddhism and Shinto were two separate religious traditions. This political order, officially distinguishing the deities, rituals, images, texts, and clergy of the two traditions, sought to erase and redefine the religious landscape of the previous millennium. The institutional and ideological effects of this action are still felt today in the common understanding of Buddhism and Shinto as...

This lecture aims at revealing the connection between the rise of Indian economic nationalism in British India and the formation of international economic order of Asia at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, mainly focusing on the activities and views of prominent early Indian nationalists of moderate factions, like Dadabhai Naoroji, and the economic activities of Indian merchants to accelerate Indian overseas trade. I interpret the activities of early Indian nationalists as...

Abstract: This lecture explores new approaches to the creation of global history, by introducing several attempts to create world/global history studies by Japanese scholars from non-European Asian perspectives. Such studies of world history in Japan started with comparative histories of economic development and modernization in Eurocentric structures and paradigms in the late 1940s. According to the Digital Library (book reviews) of the Research Institute for World History in Tokyo, Japanese...

This lecture explores new approaches to the creation of global history, by introducing several attempts to create world/global history studies by Japanese scholars from non-European Asian perspectives. Such studies of world history in Japan started with comparative histories of economic development and modernization in Eurocentric structures and paradigms in the late 1940s. According to the Digital Library (book reviews) of the Research Institute for World History in Tokyo, Japanese scholars...

This lecture explores new approaches to the creation of global history, by introducing several attempts to create world/global history studies by Japanese scholars from non-European Asian perspectives. Such studies of world history in Japan started with comparative histories of economic development and modernization in Eurocentric structures and paradigms in the late 1940s. According to the Digital Library (book reviews) of the Research Institute for World History in Tokyo, Japanese scholars...

Pradyumna P. Karan, Professor of Geography, University of Kentucky, discusses how Japanese geography shapes Japanese society. Earthquake, tsunami and the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl: The triple disasters of March 2011 hit Japan when it was already feeling vulnerable, its confidence shaken by debt, deflation and political inertia. And yet, those terrible days also revealed Japan’s strengths, most notably the sense of community that created order and dignity amidst the rubble. The...

Pradyumna P. Karan, Professor of Geography, University of Kentucky, discusses how Japanese geography shapes Japanese society. Earthquake, tsunami and the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl: The triple disasters of March 2011 hit Japan when it was already feeling vulnerable, its confidence shaken by debt, deflation and political inertia. And yet, those terrible days also revealed Japan’s strengths, most notably the sense of community that created order and dignity amidst the rubble. The...