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Now is the third turning point for Japan in the past 150 years.
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Since the 3/11 earthquake and the subsequent Fukushima incident happened last year, I've often heard that now is the third turning point for Japan in the past 150 years. The second one was when Japan lost the Second World War. The first one was the Meiji Restoration (Meiji-ishin /明治維新 in Japanese) in 1868. Have you ever heard of it? I'll describe it briefly.
In 1603, Ieyasu Tokugawa (徳川家康）ruled Japan and started the Tokugawa Shogunate (Tokugawa bakufu /徳川幕府) at the Edo Castle (Edo-jo / 江戸城) in Tokyo. The successive Tokugawa Shoguns ruled Japan until 1868. This period is called the Edo Era (Edo-jidai/江戸時代). In 1639, roughly speaking, the Tokugawa Shogunate closed Japan to foreign commerce. This national isolation policy lasted until the Treaty of Amity and Commerce (or the Harris Treaty) between Japan and the US was signed in 1854. Around this time, Japan was turbulent and chaotic because samurais, Japanese warriors, had differing opinions over the issue of how to deal with pressures put by some Western countries on Japan to open up the nation. Eventually, the Meiji Restoration, Meiji-Ishin revolution, happened in 1868. Although the revolution enabled Japan to shift to a modern nation status, ordinary people of the time saw it as a just shift of power from Tokugawa Shoguns to samurais from Satsuma (薩摩, which is currently Kagoshima Prefecture) and Choshu (長州, which is currently Yamaguchi Prefecture). After the revolution, the Emperor Meiji moved the aforementioned Edo Castle in Tokyo from Kyoto which had been the imperial capital for more than a thousand years. Now, the place is referred to as the Imperial Palace (Koukyo/皇居), and the Emperor and Empress reside there. On top of that, various ceremonies are held there. Some areas of the Palace are open to all people.
Recently, I've been reading some books related to the times around 1868 since I have been having this times in my mind. As I expected, the more I learn about this times, the more deeply I can understand the current situation in Japan.
By the way, the Imperial Palace is well known as a great site to view sakura (cherry blossoms). When I went there on the 8th and 13th of April, I took pictures of sakura. Please see pictures in the link below from top left to bottom right.
From the first to the forth: Somei-Yoshino, a popular kind of sakura, were in full bloom on the 8th of April.
The fifth: Sakura and the Tokyo Tower (the red one).
The sixth: Somei-Yoshino, a popular kind of sakura, were falling and scattering on the 13th of April.
From seventh to the last: Yaezakura, another popular kind of Sakura, were in full bloom.
http://lang-8.com/33465/photo_albums/454
In 1603, Ieyasu Tokugawa (徳川家康）ruled Japan and started the Tokugawa Shogunate (Tokugawa bakufu /徳川幕府) at the Edo Castle (Edo-jo / 江戸城) in Tokyo. The successive Tokugawa Shoguns ruled Japan until 1868. This period is called the Edo Era (Edo-jidai/江戸時代). In 1639, roughly speaking, the Tokugawa Shogunate closed Japan to foreign commerce. This national isolation policy lasted until the Treaty of Amity and Commerce (or the Harris Treaty) between Japan and the US was signed in 1854. Around this time, Japan was turbulent and chaotic because samurais, Japanese warriors, had differing opinions over the issue of how to deal with pressures put by some Western countries on Japan to open up the nation. Eventually, the Meiji Restoration, Meiji-Ishin revolution, happened in 1868. Although the revolution enabled Japan to shift to a modern nation status, ordinary people of the time saw it as a just shift of power from Tokugawa Shoguns to samurais from Satsuma (薩摩, which is currently Kagoshima Prefecture) and Choshu (長州, which is currently Yamaguchi Prefecture). After the revolution, the Emperor Meiji moved the aforementioned Edo Castle in Tokyo from Kyoto which had been the imperial capital for more than a thousand years. Now, the place is referred to as the Imperial Palace (Koukyo/皇居), and the Emperor and Empress reside there. On top of that, various ceremonies are held there. Some areas of the Palace are open to all people.
Recently, I've been reading some books related to the times around 1868 since I have been having this times in my mind. As I expected, the more I learn about this times, the more deeply I can understand the current situation in Japan.
By the way, the Imperial Palace is well known as a great site to view sakura (cherry blossoms). When I went there on the 8th and 13th of April, I took pictures of sakura. Please see pictures in the link below from top left to bottom right.
From the first to the forth: Somei-Yoshino, a popular kind of sakura, were in full bloom on the 8th of April.
The fifth: Sakura and the Tokyo Tower (the red one).
The sixth: Somei-Yoshino, a popular kind of sakura, were falling and scattering on the 13th of April.
From seventh to the last: Yaezakura, another popular kind of Sakura, were in full bloom.
http://lang-8.com/33465/photo_albums/454
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I think you mean "turning point" rather than "tuning point."
Nice to meet you, and thank you for reading the entry anyway. I hope that you'll stop by my page when you have time.
Now is the third turning point for Japan in the past 150 years.
I'm not certain, but I think you mean turning point rather than tuning. Tuning is something one would do to a musical instrument, for example. A turning point is a cusp, or a point in time when something changed.
Since the 3/11 earthquake and the subsequent Fukushima incident happened last year, I've often heard that now is the third turning point for Japan in the past 150 years.
Around 1639 the Tokugawa Shogunate closed Japan to foreign commerce.
This sounds more natural to me, but your original is grammatically correct.
Around this time, Japan was turbulent and chaotic because samurais, Japanese warriors, had differing opinions over the issue of about how to deal with pressures placed by some Western countries on Japan to open up the nation.
This sentence is awkward. Perhaps something like: "Japan went through a turbulent period around this time; samurai, or Japanese warriors, disagreed about how to deal with the pressures Western countries placed on Japan to open up the nation."
Although the revolution enabled Japan to shift to a modern nation status, ordinary people of the time saw it as just a shift of power from Tokugawa Shoguns to samurais from Satsuma (薩摩, which is currently Kagoshima Prefecture) and Choshu (長州, which is currently Yamaguchi Prefecture).
Recently, I have been interested in the time around 1868 in Japan, so I've been reading books about that era.
As I expected, the more I learn about this time, the more deeply I can understand the current situation in Japan.
From the first to the fourth: Somei-Yoshino, a popular kind of sakura, were in full bloom on the 8th of April.
This is a very interesting essay!
Now is the third turning point for Japan in the past 150 years.
In 1639, the Tokugawa Shogunate closed Japan to foreign commerce.
I think "roughly speaking" is extra here. You could say "Circa 1639" with circa being the latin word for "around" or "about." That's commonly used in English when quoting approximate dates in time.
Around this time, Japan was turbulent and chaotic because samurais, Japanese warriors, had differing opinions over the issue of how to deal with pressures applied by some Western countries on Japan to open up the nation.
After the revolution, the Emperor Meiji moved the aforementioned Edo Castle from Kyoto, which had been the imperial capital for more than a thousand years.
My interest in the events surrounding the year 1868 has led me to read some books relating to the period.
As I expected, the more I learn about this these times, the more deeply I can understand the current situation in Japan.
When I went there on between the 8th and 13th of April, I took pictures of sakura.
you should say "between" unless you went there only on April 8 and April 13.
Around this time, Japan was turbulent and chaotic because samurais, Japanese warriors, had differing opinions over the issue of how to deal with pressures put by some Western countries put on Japan to open up the nation.
After the revolution, the Emperor Meiji moved to the aforementioned Edo Castle in Tokyo from Kyoto which had been the imperial capital for more than a thousand years.
They were interesting times. I think some people in Japan are still not happy about the opening up of the country :)
>They were interesting times.
Yes. if coming generations look back on the current times in the future, will the find them interesting?
> I think some people in Japan are still not happy about the opening up of the country :)
hahaha it's true. I feel that more people in more countries has become less happy about the opening up of their countries because of the current economical situation.
In 1603, Tokugawa Ieyasu (徳川家康）ruled Japan and started the Tokugawa Shogunate (Tokugawa bakufu /徳川幕府) at the Edo Castle (Edo-jo / 江戸城) in Tokyo.
I've always heard historical Japanese figures referred to in the Japanese order, even in English, so I think this is the most common way to say it.
Around 1639, roughly speaking, the Tokugawa Shogunate closed Japan to foreign commerce.
Around this time, Japan was turbulent and chaotic because the samurais, Japanese warriors, had differing opinions over the issue of how to deal with the pressures from some Western countries for Japan to open up the nation.
Although the revolution enabled Japan to shift to the status of a modern nation status, ordinary people of the time just saw it as a just shift of power from the Tokugawa Shoguns to the samurais from Satsuma (薩摩, which is currently Kagoshima Prefecture) and Choshu (長州, which is currently Yamaguchi Prefecture).
I've never heard "samurai" used in the plural
After the revolution, the Emperor Meiji moved the aforementioned Edo Castle in Tokyo from Kyoto, which had been the Imperial capital for more than a thousand years.
Now, what was once Edo Castle is referred to as the Imperial Palace (Koukyo/皇居), and the Emperor and Empress reside there.
Some areas of the Palace are open to the public.
Recently, I've been reading some books related to the times around 1868 since I have had this era on on my mind.
As I expected, the more I learn about this period, the more deeply I can understand the current situation in Japan.
Please see the pictures in the link below from the top left to the bottom right.
The fifth: Sakura and the Tokyo Tower (the red building).
From the seventh to the last: Yaezakura, another popular kind of Sakura, were in full bloom.
I have been researching and writing about the Meiji era for my senior thesis, so this was interesting for me to read. What books have you been reading? How has it helped you better understand Japan today?
>I have been researching and writing about the Meiji era for my senior thesis
Oh, what do you think about the Meiji era? Have you hound the era interesting?
>What books have you been reading?
So far, mainly books written by 司馬遼太郎 and 半藤一利.
>How has it helped you better understand Japan today?
It's hard for me to explain it briefly in English. I think that there are many commons between that period and the current time. There are many things we can learn from that period. For example, 橋下徹/Toru hasimoto, Mayor of Osaka, has been drawing considerable attention and has gained widespread support from the public. Learning that period has me helped to understand the phenomenon.
My thesis is about how ideas of religion (Shinto and Buddhism) were reconstructed during that period, so I've been reading a lot about religion and ideology, and I haven't had much time to read other things, but even so I've learned a lot about Japanese history in general just in the past few months.
Me,too!! I recently read some books which I already read many years ago. What I leaned from them is different from that many years ago.
>My thesis is about how ideas of religion (Shinto and Buddhism) were reconstructed during that period,
Oh, this sounds interesting. To be honest, I don't know about it well.
"just shift of power from Tokugawa Shoguns to samurais from Satsuma ..."
That is a revelation for me. Very interesting.
I think that I should have used "restoration or reform instead of revolution. 明治維新/Meiji-ishin is hard to translated into English.
>That is a revelation for me
Anyway, this is a point. Unlike in some Western countries, in Japan, ordinary people hardly did anything to shift the nation to a modern nation status.