Japan - Revision history

Saitotakauji: /* The Differences Between Samurai and Knight */

2007-12-21T08:00:49Z

The Differences Between Samurai and Knight

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:00, 21 December 2007
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	Samurai is a noble class, not a job description; Knight is a job description, not a social class.		Samurai is a noble class, not a job description; Knight is a job description, not a social class.


	== Why Everyone is a Sengoku Jidai Junkie ==		== Why Everyone is a Sengoku Jidai Junkie ==

Saitotakauji at 07:59, 21 December 2007

2007-12-21T07:59:31Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:59, 21 December 2007
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	[[Japan]] is a group of volcanic islands situated east of Korea. Home to the [[samurai]] ~~(an~~ ~~approximate equivalent~~ of the ~~[[Europe\|European]]~~ ~~[[knight]]~~). Most of the landmass (approximately 80%) is mountainous and unsuitable for [[farming]] or residential uses.		[[Japan]] is a group of volcanic islands situated east of Korea. Home to the [[samurai]], a caste of nobles (for the differences between a Knight and a Samurai see below). Most of the landmass (approximately 80%) is mountainous and unsuitable for [[farming]] or residential uses.

	== Brief Japanese History ==		== Brief Japanese History ==
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	As for the '''wrong'''ness of it, simply remind anyone who says this about what Corpora says. 'Western Europe or '''civilizations they had contact with before 1600''' ". The Portuguese made contact with Japan in the 1400s; in 1592 Hideyoshi (mentioned above) and his son played with an Elephant given to them by the Spanish in order to smooth over some strained relations, especially after the Expulsion Edicts when they were all kicked out and several nuns and priests were (ironically) crucified. So it is no more wrong then any other non Western European country playing in the SCA.		As for the '''wrong'''ness of it, simply remind anyone who says this about what Corpora says. 'Western Europe or '''civilizations they had contact with before 1600''' ". The Portuguese made contact with Japan in the 1400s; in 1592 Hideyoshi (mentioned above) and his son played with an Elephant given to them by the Spanish in order to smooth over some strained relations, especially after the Expulsion Edicts when they were all kicked out and several nuns and priests were (ironically) crucified. So it is no more wrong then any other non Western European country playing in the SCA.


			== The Differences Between Samurai and Knight ==

			One of the most common misconceptions about the role of the Samurai is that they are a rough Eastern analogue of the European Knight; this is based on the belief that the Samurai themselves were a purely military aristocracy. This is not the case. Samurai, as stated above, means 'to Serve' and was (at its' height) the whole ruling bureaucracy of Japan. They were an aristocracy promulgated, propagated, served and (in the early years) controlled by warriors, and theoretically one had to know how to fight if one was a male, but there were Samurai non-combatants and Samurai who simply did not know how to fight. The most basic way of putting it is this: The Samurai (or Buke) represented the top caste in the Japanese caste system during their time, representing the top tier of nobility along with the Kuge or traditional court nobles.

			At the height of the Chivalric Knights, a Knight was a fighting man in a feudal system, not a whole class of people. A knight's wife in British precedence is referred to as a Lady, but she herself is not a Knight unless knighted as such for her own merit. A knight's children are not automatically entered in to the Knighthood just because their father was. This is not true for a Samurai. A Samurai's wife is a Samurai, and their children are automatically Samurai because of this. And yes, there were women Samurai and due to the social restrictions, most were not fighters; this did not remove their nobility.

			Samurai is a noble class, not a job description; Knight is a job description, not a social class.


	== Why Everyone is a Sengoku Jidai Junkie ==		== Why Everyone is a Sengoku Jidai Junkie ==

Spearweasel at 01:45, 14 September 2007

2007-09-14T01:45:40Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 11:45, 14 September 2007
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	*''[http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sca-jml SCA Japanese Mailing List]		*''[http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sca-jml SCA Japanese Mailing List]
	*''[http://tousando.proboards18.com Tousando Discussion Board]		*''[http://tousando.proboards18.com Tousando Discussion Board]

			=== Resources ===
			*[[SCA Asian Persona Survey]] - A collection of links and contact info for those playing Asian personae in the SCA.

	''See also:''		''See also:''

Sarah Van Der Goes: added category

2007-07-11T20:11:58Z

added category

← Older revision		Revision as of 06:11, 12 July 2007
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	[[category:places]][[category:countries]]		[[category:places]][[category:countries]]
			[[category:japan]]

Cian: Reverted edits by 204.38.89.11 (Talk); changed back to last version by 71.164.227.90

2007-03-22T22:52:18Z

Reverted edits by 204.38.89.11 (Talk); changed back to last version by 71.164.227.90

@@ Line 16: / Line 16: @@
 Yoritomo founded the Muromachi bakufu (lit. 'tent government'), so-called because of where they set up the Shogunate government (muromachi). When Yoritomo died the title of Shogun passed to the clan that had adopted him, the Hojo clan, who ruled until they were cast off.
 ===The Sengoku/Period of the Nation at War (1477-1600)===
@@ Line 30: / Line 34: @@
 Several years in to it, however, things came to a head, and Ieyasu was put in the position of essentially having to rebel and take over--which is likely what he had been waiting for. Modern academics believe that Ieyasu may not have been quite as tactically brilliant as the previous two men, although he was more so than Ishida, but he had significantly more patience than either of his predecessors. And so, in 1600, Ishida's Army of the West and Ieyasu's Arm of the East clashed at Sekigahara, where Tokugawa Ieyasu won and became the Shogun.
 == Why Everyone is a Sengoku Jidai Junkie ==

204.38.89.11: /* Misconceptions on Samurai */

2007-03-22T18:08:28Z

Misconceptions on Samurai

← Older revision		Revision as of 04:08, 23 March 2007
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	Several years in to it, however, things came to a head, and Ieyasu was put in the position of essentially having to rebel and take over--which is likely what he had been waiting for. Modern academics believe that Ieyasu may not have been quite as tactically brilliant as the previous two men, although he was more so than Ishida, but he had significantly more patience than either of his predecessors. And so, in 1600, Ishida's Army of the West and Ieyasu's Arm of the East clashed at Sekigahara, where Tokugawa Ieyasu won and became the Shogun.		Several years in to it, however, things came to a head, and Ieyasu was put in the position of essentially having to rebel and take over--which is likely what he had been waiting for. Modern academics believe that Ieyasu may not have been quite as tactically brilliant as the previous two men, although he was more so than Ishida, but he had significantly more patience than either of his predecessors. And so, in 1600, Ishida's Army of the West and Ieyasu's Arm of the East clashed at Sekigahara, where Tokugawa Ieyasu won and became the Shogun.

			dont belive this stufff!!!!!! :)
	== Misconceptions on Samurai==
	The first misconception is that the Samurai existed for thousands of years. This is completely and patently untrue. Essentially the Samurai existed from 1591 and Toyotomi's Sword Hunt and acts banning social mobility and removing the tradition of ji-samurai (warriors that fought during war, and worked as farmers during the rest of the year). So while Samurai are period, just barely, the Samurai that we think of when we watch Kurosawa films only existed for a few years in period. While there were proto-samurai before that, there was much more social mobility, and the Golden Age of the Samurai didn't exist until out of period.

	Second biggest misconception is that the Samurai [[Sword]] ([[Katana]]) could cut through anything, never broke, and were basically the best swords in the world. While I do prefer them to [[Europe]]an swords personally, they could break, they couldn't cut through anything, and they were not the super uber sword everyone likes to think they are. People were gifted with swords from their Lord, and obviously if you have more than one son both of them can't have your three hundred year old ancestral sword, because the King Solomon trick just doesn't work.

	Third misconception is the 'Samurai Worship' thing that seems to go around, believing that all Samurai were avid followers of Bushido and didn't ever do anything wrong Just like not all European [[knight]]s were bastions of [[chivalry]], some Samurai were downright bastards. Greedy, angry, bitter Samurai did exist, as did Samurai who wanted nothing more than to have lots of sex and own all the best in life, spurning the minimalist ideals and rejection of material goods that Buddhism teaches us.

	Another misconception is what exactly it means to be Samurai. Samurai, literally, means 'to serve' and it is a social class. Someone who fights is called a Bushi; all Bushi are Samurai, but not all Samurai are Bushi. There were Samurai bureaucrats, Samurai Ladies-in-waiting and Samurai who had absolutely no talent for the art of warfare and did not want to die. So you can be Samurai and not fight which is the major distinction between a Samurai and a historical Knight. Calling yourself a Samurai in the [[SCA]] is fine, because that is just calling yourself a Nobleman/Noblewoman since it is a social class.

	The final misconception is directly related to the [[SCA]]. That is that it is Difficult, Impossible, or Wrong to play a Japanese persona in the SCA--after all, we are a European organization. Wrong, so very wrong. First, it is not more difficult to play any persona more than others; you may need to explain your Persona a little bit more than the Celtic guy would, but depending on how historically accurate you want to be it is no more difficult. If you want to be a generic Japanese guy, be prepared to have some odd looks, but it isn't terribly different.

	As for the '''wrong'''ness of it, simply remind anyone who says this about what Corpora says. 'Western Europe or '''civilizations they had contact with before 1600''' ". The Portuguese made contact with Japan in the 1400s; in 1592 Hideyoshi (mentioned above) and his son played with an Elephant given to them by the Spanish in order to smooth over some strained relations, especially after the Expulsion Edicts when they were all kicked out and several nuns and priests were (ironically) crucified. So it is no more wrong then any other non Western European country playing in the SCA.

	== Why Everyone is a Sengoku Jidai Junkie ==		== Why Everyone is a Sengoku Jidai Junkie ==

204.38.89.11: /* Ashikaga Shogunate through the Onin War (1333-1477) */

2007-03-22T18:07:11Z

Ashikaga Shogunate through the Onin War (1333-1477)

← Older revision		Revision as of 04:07, 23 March 2007
Line 16:		Line 16:
	Yoritomo founded the Muromachi bakufu (lit. 'tent government'), so-called because of where they set up the Shogunate government (muromachi). When Yoritomo died the title of Shogun passed to the clan that had adopted him, the Hojo clan, who ruled until they were cast off.		Yoritomo founded the Muromachi bakufu (lit. 'tent government'), so-called because of where they set up the Shogunate government (muromachi). When Yoritomo died the title of Shogun passed to the clan that had adopted him, the Hojo clan, who ruled until they were cast off.

	===Ashikaga Shogunate through the Onin War (1333-1477)===

			== Headline text ==
	In 1333 the Emperor Go-Daigo decided that he wished to claim the power for himself and, after returning from an exile, enlisted the help of Ashikaga Takauji, who threw his support behind the Emperor. When they succeeded, Takauji expected to be named Shogun, but Go-Daigo was understandably concerned about giving supreme military power to someone when he had just shaken off the same thing. Takauji, affronted, turned on his master and succeeded in conquering half of the country. The other half would hold out for several years (North and South Japan each had an Imperial Court) before being tricked in to coming to Takauji's court and getting consumed.
			'''Bold text'''UR MOM

	The Ashikaga shogunate would technically last until the Tokugawa Shogunate, its' power to rule the country was broken in 1467 by the onset of the Onin war. The Onin War was a succession dispute for the Shogun that was used as a front for two warring families to go at it like pitbulls. They each backed a different candidate for Shogun, and beat the tar out of each other. It is important to note that at a time when in Western Europe a large army was 3000 men, during one of the battles of the Onin War one side had 70,000 people...and the other had 80,000.

	The war, which lasted until 1477, crippled the power of the Shogunate and launched a new era of feudal lords vying for power and the seat of Shogun.

	===The Sengoku/Period of the Nation at War (1477-1600)===		===The Sengoku/Period of the Nation at War (1477-1600)===

71.164.227.90: /* Misconceptions on Samurai */

2007-01-23T23:29:03Z

Misconceptions on Samurai

← Older revision		Revision as of 09:29, 24 January 2007
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	Third misconception is the 'Samurai Worship' thing that seems to go around, believing that all Samurai were avid followers of Bushido and didn't ever do anything wrong Just like not all European [[knight]]s were bastions of [[chivalry]], some Samurai were downright bastards. Greedy, angry, bitter Samurai did exist, as did Samurai who wanted nothing more than to have lots of sex and own all the best in life, spurning the minimalist ideals and rejection of material goods that Buddhism teaches us.		Third misconception is the 'Samurai Worship' thing that seems to go around, believing that all Samurai were avid followers of Bushido and didn't ever do anything wrong Just like not all European [[knight]]s were bastions of [[chivalry]], some Samurai were downright bastards. Greedy, angry, bitter Samurai did exist, as did Samurai who wanted nothing more than to have lots of sex and own all the best in life, spurning the minimalist ideals and rejection of material goods that Buddhism teaches us.

	Another misconception is what exactly it means to be Samurai. Samurai, literally, means 'to serve' and it is a social class. Someone who fights is called a Bushi; all Bushi are Samurai, but not all Samurai are Bushi. There were Samurai bureaucrats, Samurai Ladies-in-waiting and Samurai who had absolutely no talent for the art of warfare and did not want to die. So you can be Samurai and not fight which is the major distinction between a Samurai and a historical Knight. Calling yourself a Samurai in the [[SCA]]is fine, because that is just calling yourself a Nobleman/Noblewoman since it is a social class.		Another misconception is what exactly it means to be Samurai. Samurai, literally, means 'to serve' and it is a social class. Someone who fights is called a Bushi; all Bushi are Samurai, but not all Samurai are Bushi. There were Samurai bureaucrats, Samurai Ladies-in-waiting and Samurai who had absolutely no talent for the art of warfare and did not want to die. So you can be Samurai and not fight which is the major distinction between a Samurai and a historical Knight. Calling yourself a Samurai in the [[SCA]] is fine, because that is just calling yourself a Nobleman/Noblewoman since it is a social class.

	The final misconception is directly related to the [[SCA]]. That is that it is Difficult, Impossible, or Wrong to play a Japanese persona in the SCA--after all, we are a European organization. Wrong, so very wrong. First, it is not more difficult to play any persona more than others; you may need to explain your Persona a little bit more than the Celtic guy would, but depending on how historically accurate you want to be it is no more difficult. If you want to be a generic Japanese guy, be prepared to have some odd looks, but it isn't terribly different.		The final misconception is directly related to the [[SCA]]. That is that it is Difficult, Impossible, or Wrong to play a Japanese persona in the SCA--after all, we are a European organization. Wrong, so very wrong. First, it is not more difficult to play any persona more than others; you may need to explain your Persona a little bit more than the Celtic guy would, but depending on how historically accurate you want to be it is no more difficult. If you want to be a generic Japanese guy, be prepared to have some odd looks, but it isn't terribly different.

Conrad Leviston: then -> than

2006-10-30T12:39:55Z

then -> than

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:39, 30 October 2006
Line 32:		Line 32:
	Toyotomi had three major problems in his reign. The first was the first invasion of Korea, which failed. The second was the second invasion of Korea, which failed just as miserably. And the third problem was that he had his son too late in his reign; when he died, the boy was only an infant. Toyotomi did the best he could in order to try to preserve his son's reign by creating a Council of Regents in order to watch over the country until his son was old enoigh. And then he stocked the Council with political enemies such as Mitsunari Ishida, and Tokugawa Ieyasu.		Toyotomi had three major problems in his reign. The first was the first invasion of Korea, which failed. The second was the second invasion of Korea, which failed just as miserably. And the third problem was that he had his son too late in his reign; when he died, the boy was only an infant. Toyotomi did the best he could in order to try to preserve his son's reign by creating a Council of Regents in order to watch over the country until his son was old enoigh. And then he stocked the Council with political enemies such as Mitsunari Ishida, and Tokugawa Ieyasu.

	Several years in to it, however, things came to a head, and Ieyasu was put in the position of essentially having to rebel and take over--which is likely what he had been waiting for. Modern academics believe that Ieyasu may not have been quite as tactically brilliant as the previous two men, although he was more so than Ishida, but he had significantly more patience ~~then~~ either of his predecessors. And so, in 1600, Ishida's Army of the West and Ieyasu's Arm of the East clashed at Sekigahara, where Tokugawa Ieyasu won and became the Shogun.		Several years in to it, however, things came to a head, and Ieyasu was put in the position of essentially having to rebel and take over--which is likely what he had been waiting for. Modern academics believe that Ieyasu may not have been quite as tactically brilliant as the previous two men, although he was more so than Ishida, but he had significantly more patience than either of his predecessors. And so, in 1600, Ishida's Army of the West and Ieyasu's Arm of the East clashed at Sekigahara, where Tokugawa Ieyasu won and became the Shogun.

	== Misconceptions on Samurai==		== Misconceptions on Samurai==
	The first misconception is that the Samurai existed for thousands of years. This is completely and patently untrue. Essentially the Samurai existed from 1591 and Toyotomi's Sword Hunt and acts banning social mobility and removing the tradition of ji-samurai (warriors that fought during war, and worked as farmers during the rest of the year). So while Samurai are period, just barely, the Samurai that we think of when we watch Kurosawa films only existed for a few years in period. While there were proto-samurai before that, there was much more social mobility, and the Golden Age of the Samurai didn't exist until out of period.		The first misconception is that the Samurai existed for thousands of years. This is completely and patently untrue. Essentially the Samurai existed from 1591 and Toyotomi's Sword Hunt and acts banning social mobility and removing the tradition of ji-samurai (warriors that fought during war, and worked as farmers during the rest of the year). So while Samurai are period, just barely, the Samurai that we think of when we watch Kurosawa films only existed for a few years in period. While there were proto-samurai before that, there was much more social mobility, and the Golden Age of the Samurai didn't exist until out of period.

	Second biggest misconception is that the Samurai [[Sword]] ([[Katana]]) could cut through anything, never broke, and were basically the best swords in the world. While I do prefer them to [[Europe]]an swords personally, they could break, they couldn't cut through anything, and they were not the super uber sword everyone likes to think they are. People were gifted with swords from their Lord, and obviously if you have more ~~then~~ one son both of them can't have your three hundred year old ancestral sword, because the King Solomon trick just doesn't work.		Second biggest misconception is that the Samurai [[Sword]] ([[Katana]]) could cut through anything, never broke, and were basically the best swords in the world. While I do prefer them to [[Europe]]an swords personally, they could break, they couldn't cut through anything, and they were not the super uber sword everyone likes to think they are. People were gifted with swords from their Lord, and obviously if you have more than one son both of them can't have your three hundred year old ancestral sword, because the King Solomon trick just doesn't work.

	Third misconception is the 'Samurai Worship' thing that seems to go around, believing that all Samurai were avid followers of Bushido and didn't ever do anything wrong Just like not all European [[knight]]s were bastions of [[chivalry]], some Samurai were downright bastards. Greedy, angry, bitter Samurai did exist, as did Samurai who wanted nothing more ~~then~~ to have lots of sex and own all the best in life, spurning the minimalist ideals and rejection of material goods that Buddhism teaches us.		Third misconception is the 'Samurai Worship' thing that seems to go around, believing that all Samurai were avid followers of Bushido and didn't ever do anything wrong Just like not all European [[knight]]s were bastions of [[chivalry]], some Samurai were downright bastards. Greedy, angry, bitter Samurai did exist, as did Samurai who wanted nothing more than to have lots of sex and own all the best in life, spurning the minimalist ideals and rejection of material goods that Buddhism teaches us.

	Another misconception is what exactly it means to be Samurai. Samurai, literally, means 'to serve' and it is a social class. Someone who fights is called a Bushi; all Bushi are Samurai, but not all Samurai are Bushi. There were Samurai bureaucrats, Samurai Ladies-in-waiting and Samurai who had absolutely no talent for the art of warfare and did not want to die. So you can be Samurai and not fight which is the major distinction between a Samurai and a historical Knight. Calling yourself a Samurai in the [[SCA]]is fine, because that is just calling yourself a Nobleman/Noblewoman since it is a social class.		Another misconception is what exactly it means to be Samurai. Samurai, literally, means 'to serve' and it is a social class. Someone who fights is called a Bushi; all Bushi are Samurai, but not all Samurai are Bushi. There were Samurai bureaucrats, Samurai Ladies-in-waiting and Samurai who had absolutely no talent for the art of warfare and did not want to die. So you can be Samurai and not fight which is the major distinction between a Samurai and a historical Knight. Calling yourself a Samurai in the [[SCA]]is fine, because that is just calling yourself a Nobleman/Noblewoman since it is a social class.

	The final misconception is directly related to the [[SCA]]. That is that it is Difficult, Impossible, or Wrong to play a Japanese persona in the SCA--after all, we are a European organization. Wrong, so very wrong. First, it is not more difficult to play any persona more ~~then~~ others; you may need to explain your Persona a little bit more ~~then~~ the Celtic guy would, but depending on how historically accurate you want to be it is no more difficult. If you want to be a generic Japanese guy, be prepared to have some odd looks, but it isn't terribly different.		The final misconception is directly related to the [[SCA]]. That is that it is Difficult, Impossible, or Wrong to play a Japanese persona in the SCA--after all, we are a European organization. Wrong, so very wrong. First, it is not more difficult to play any persona more than others; you may need to explain your Persona a little bit more than the Celtic guy would, but depending on how historically accurate you want to be it is no more difficult. If you want to be a generic Japanese guy, be prepared to have some odd looks, but it isn't terribly different.

	As for the '''wrong'''ness of it, simply remind anyone who says this about what Corpora says. 'Western Europe or '''civilizations they had contact with before 1600''' ". The Portuguese made contact with Japan in the 1400s; in 1592 Hideyoshi (mentioned above) and his son played with an Elephant given to them by the Spanish in order to smooth over some strained relations, especially after the Expulsion Edicts when they were all kicked out and several nuns and priests were (ironically) crucified. So it is no more wrong then any other non Western European country playing in the SCA.		As for the '''wrong'''ness of it, simply remind anyone who says this about what Corpora says. 'Western Europe or '''civilizations they had contact with before 1600''' ". The Portuguese made contact with Japan in the 1400s; in 1592 Hideyoshi (mentioned above) and his son played with an Elephant given to them by the Spanish in order to smooth over some strained relations, especially after the Expulsion Edicts when they were all kicked out and several nuns and priests were (ironically) crucified. So it is no more wrong then any other non Western European country playing in the SCA.

Cian: clothing

2006-08-30T04:53:30Z

clothing

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:53, 30 August 2006
Line 78:		Line 78:
	*''[http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sca-jml SCA Japanese Mailing List]		*''[http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sca-jml SCA Japanese Mailing List]
	*''[http://tousando.proboards18.com Tousando Discussion Board]		*''[http://tousando.proboards18.com Tousando Discussion Board]

			''See also:''
			* [[Japanese clothing]]

	[[category:places]][[category:countries]]		[[category:places]][[category:countries]]