またまた課題に追われて、３時間睡眠で参加したJapanese Cultureの授業。本日のレクチャーは“明治維新”。いや〜、面白いよニッポン。なんで高校時代にもっと熱心に勉強しなかったんだろーか。↑押すと文字が変わるエンピツ投票ボタン今のこの授業では、わずか４ヵ月間で、日本のことをまったく知らない外国人が日本の概要を掴もうというものだから、ものすごいスピードで、重要なことだけにスポットを当てて進んで行く。西暦何年に何があったかなんて、語呂合わせで暗記する必要はないけれど、どんなことがあって、どんな人が何をして、それがその後にどんなふうに影響していくのかと、先生は自分で自分に「Shut up!」と言いながら猛烈に喋りまくる。それはまるで映画を見ているみたい。それになんといっても、アメリカ人が書いたこの教科書が面白い。日本で生まれ育った人物らしく、日本の歴史を正確に把握している上、外国人の目から客観的に見た日本人像というのが興味深いです。そうそう、今日の授業で先生が言っていたんですが、ぜひまた、今度は日本語字幕付きで見てみたいです。ところで、今日提出したサマリー（要約）の課題なんですが、実は半分しか終わってなくて、このクラスって、もしかして……（*￣∇￣*）------[Japanese Culture] Read&Write summaryChap.4; Early Japan・Ancient -- Japan's civilization was thousands of years behind Europe, the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent. Agriculture and using metal began in 2-3 cent.B.C.・A.D. 3 cent. -- There were sharp class divisions in Japan, and people were living by agriculture and fishing. Semireligious male chieftains dominated and suggested an originally matriarchal system. It was related to the mythological tradition of the descent of the historical imperial line from sun goddess.・3-6 cent. -- Japan seems to have been overrun by invaders from the Korea Peninsula, so cultural influences came from Korea. Many large mounds were built by powerful military aristocracies.・6 cent. -- A group established leadership in Yamato (Nara). Most of the land remained under the control of semiautonomous tribal units called "uji". The religious practices became Shinto. In the Yamato court, the supporters of Buddhism fought Shinto, and won. Buddhist monastery Prince Shotoku reigned and built Horyuji. He also encouraged Chinese culture. Taika-Reform was battle between Soga and Nakatomi (later Fujiwara). It involved land boundories, census, the levying of taxes, regulation of ministries and nobility ranks.・6 cent. -- Art, technology, and political skills surged came from China. So Japanese developed between them and native culture. Japan copied policy from China. Since then, Japanese emperor has in theory had the dual character and function for a religious leader of the native Shinto and the secular monarch of a Chinese-type state. ・7 cent. -- The first capital "Heijo-kyo" was established in Nara. It was copied Chinese style. Buddhism spread widely. Chinese writing system was adapted to Japanese. Ritsuryo system (system of penal and civil codes) was established.・ 8 cent. -- The capital moved to Kyoto and became "Heian-kyo". Much of the land gravitated from state control into private owners who were the court families, Buddhist monasteries, or Shinto shrines associated with the court.・9 cent. -- Kana syllabaries were invented. Recording became easy by Kana, so world's first novels "Tale of Genji" was written by Lady Murasaki. Literature and arts started to blossom. Powerful aristocratic family Fujiwara (before Nakatomi) established its dominance over the imperial family. Fujiwara family had the greatest number of private estates and monopoly of high government post.Chap.5; Feudalism Feudal Japan was in many basic ways more like Europe than like China. Powerful worriers, who were called "samurai", controlled government instead of imperial family and aristocracies. By the 12th cent. Japan's feudal developed (this feudal system had continued until the 19the cent.). Tribal islanders adopted the political institutions and land system of the Chinese Empire. As the authority and power of the central government declined, various groups of local leaders in the provinces banded together for mutual protection. Thus, many groups came to be led by cadet branches of the imperial family. They received the family names Taira or Minamoto and moved out to the provinces. These local groups were worriers, so the grew and strongly banded with government. Minamoto Yoritomo had swept Taira family who was a part of the imperial line. So Yoritomo became the military master of the land and made his base at Kamakura. Minamoto family's government gave direction to the whole group and administered justice on the basis of local customary law rather than the old Chinese-type law codes of the imperial court. This Kamakura system was a prot-feudal, but it wa efficient and lasted almost for 150 years. Chap.6; Centralize Feudalism In the 16th cent., the more efficient feudal domains grew through the subjugation and incorporation. Japan had become politically unified which was a type of centralizes. It was almost the antithesis of the decentralized feudalism of Europe. The political reunification was largely the work of 3 successive military leaders. Oda Nobunaga who had supported the last Ashikaga shogun subjugated the lesser lords of central Japan and destroyed the power of the great Buddhist monasteries. After Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi had established his authority over the whole country. He also started to conquer Korea, but it stopped by China. After Hideyoshi's death, Tokugawa Ieyasu became a governor at Edo because he won the great battle. Instead of moving to Kyoto, he retained his base of power in eastern Japan and devoted his energies to consolidating the supremacy of his family on the basis of the pattern Hideyoshi had made. He was successful in this, and his heirs remained the rulers of Japan until the middle of the 19th cent. During the Tokugawa period, overseas Japanese were prohibited. Japan had fallen technologically far behind the West, but isolation contributed to internal stability. Economic rapidly grew, arts and culture were developed among the common people. But agrarian of a feudal society suffered for heavy taxes, so Confucian doctrine from China spread over them. Its philosophy was potentially inimical to Tokugawa rule. 先週提出したサマリーが帰ってきたんですが、そこに書いてあった先生のコメントは、「Please practice writing in bullet format.」つまりは、「簡潔に箇条書きしろ！」ってことですな。そりゃそうでしょう。私のメチャクチャな英文で、しかも細かい字でだらだら書かれたら、先生だって読みたくないですよね〜(^^;■本日のHOMEWORKJapanese Culture: Read&write summary Chap.19
