As some of you may have guessed, my primary interest lies in Sino-Japanese relations. At the moment, my research is currently examining seventh century relations between the two states, centred around the Taika Reforms of 645/646. As an aide for myself, I compiled a timeline of Tang-Yamato relations, from the rise of the Tang dynasty to the end of the Yamato era. I figured it might prove an interesting resource for others too, so I thought I'd post it There might be some errors in there, but...

“Free will” and “determinism” are polar opposites in a certain recurring philosophical debate; neither abstraction accurately reflects reality. Humans actually exercise choice in a broader or narrower range of options when faced with a given situation. Therefore, “determinism” is simply too strong a word to describe the influence of any one aspect of human existence, even one as obviously pervasive as geography. It is clear that man does not have carte blanche to develop his ways of life as if his...

Of course I would submit a food-related blog on Thanksgiving.


Shikisankon.


In 1630, Tokugawa Iemitsu made a Shogunal visit to the daimyo of Satsuma, Shimazu Iehisa.

As was the custom, the banquet kicked off with shikisankon, "The Three Formal Rounds of Drinks." The drinks were, of course, sake, and they were also accompanied by a variety of snacks. Listed below are the...

A Supplement to the Journey to the West (西遊補) is a Chinese novel written around 1640 CE by Dong Yue (董說). It acts as an addendum to the famous Journey to the West (1592) and takes place between the end of chapter sixty-one and the beginning of chapter sixty-two.[1] In the story, the Monkey King is trapped in a dream world by the Qing Fish demon, an embodiment of desire, who wishes to eat his...

Hello,

Not only do I love history but I am a poet as well. Here are some of my poems dealing with history.

Bonnie Young Lad




In the Hills of Scotland lived a bonnie young lad
who watched over this flock faithfully
He had hair as black as cool and eyes as blue as the Loch
little did this bonnie lad know
that he had stolen the...