Tokugawa Japan and the Past, Present, and Future of Samurai
Since the late 19th century, many Japanese and non-Japanese observers have come to think of Tokugawa Japan as synonymous with Japan’s “pre-modern” past, for better and for worse.
In your third and final essay, you are asked to explore one aspect of Tokugawa Japan and analyze it by considering the entire breadth of the histories and ideas we’ve covered in class during the semester. In other words, you are asked to dig deeper into one key theme or aspect of Tokugawa Japan (everyday life, politics, culture, religion, etc.) and compare it to the previous periods in Japanese history. If relevant, you may also consider the subsequent evolution of your chosen topic in the modern era (1868–).
Your essay should focus on a single, book-length or similarly substantial primary source. The primary source can either be a larger portion of one of the assigned sources we have discussed in class or may be an entirely new source. The primary task for this paper is to analyze the selected primary source using contextual information provided by in-class lectures, discussions, assigned readings, and at least one additional chapter- or article-length scholarly source. Your primary source and outside secondary source(s) should be chosen in consultation with the instructor.
If you are taking this class as a Japanese-language option subject (21G.554), you are required to incorporate at least one Japanese language primary or secondary source into this essay. The source should be chosen in consultation with the instructor. When you submit your final paper, you are also required to submit a translated abstract (300–500 words) of your source.
Major Steps
Step 1: Conceptualize and decide on the main subject of your research.
- It might be helpful to start by looking through the assigned texts in the syllabus.
- Look through the Table of Contents in Japan Emerging, and take a quick look at any chapters that sound interesting. [Preview with Google Books]
- Look through the list of entries in Samurai: An Encyclopedia of Japan’s Cultured Warriors. [Preview with Google Books]
- Talk to your instructor!
Step 2: Decide on the main source that you will analyze.
Here are some historical sources that would make a good primary subject for this assignment:
- “Kirishitan monogatari” (The Tale of Christians) in George Elison, Deus Destroyed. (Harvard University Press, 1973). This volume also contains other sources, including translations of Japanese sources, on Christianity in 16th and 17th century Japan.
- Donald Keene (trans.), Chūshingura (The Treasury of Loyal Retainers). (Columbia University Press, 1971). The puppet play version of the 47-Ronin incident.
- Anne Walthall, trans. and ed., Peasant Uprisings in Japan. (University of Chicago Press, 1991). A collection of translated historical sources on the Tokugawa-era peasant rebellions against samurai rule. [Preview with Google Books]
- “Introduction.”
- E.g. the “Story of Sakura Sōgorō.”
- Stories by the Edo-period writer, Ihara Saikaku: Five Women Who Loved Love. (Tuttle Publishing, 1956.)
- Mark Teeuwen and Kate Wildman Nakai, eds., Lust, Commerce, and Corruption: An Account of What I have Seen and Heard, by an Edo Samurai. (Columbia University Press, 2014). An observation of the late Edo period by a high-ranking samurai. [Preview with Google Books]
- Musui’s Story: The Autobiography of a Tokugawa Samurai. (University of Arizona Press, 1988). The autobiography of an extremely colorful, misbehaving samurai. [Preview with Google Books]
- Remembering Aizu: The Testament of Shiba Goro. (University of Hawai’i Press, 1999). [Preview with Google Books]
- The Autobiography of Baron Chōkichi Kikkawa (1918). An autobiography of a young samurai prince who became one of the first Japanese graduates of Harvard College. Originally written in English.
- Nitobe Inazō, Bushido: The Soul of Japan (1907). The book that introduced “bushido” to the Western audience. Originally published in English.
- An Edo Anthology: Literature from Japan’s Mega-City, 1750–1850 (University of Hawai’i Press, 2013). A collection of Edo literature.
- The Land We Saw, the Times We Knew: An Anthology of Zuihitsu Writing from Early Modern Japan. (University of Hawai’i Press, 2018). A collection of Edo-era essays (zuihitsu). [Preview with Google Books]
- William Elliot Griffis, The Mikado’s Empire, Vol. 2, Personal Experiences, Observations, and Studies in Japan, 1870–1874 (1876). First-hand account of an American hired to teach in early Meiji Japan. Especially recommended chapters: Ch. 1 “First Glimpses of Japan” through Ch. 3 “In Tokio, the Eastern Capital” and Ch. 15 “The Last Year of Feudalism” in Japan.
Step 3: Find and select at least one chapter- or article-length scholarly sources that you will use to analyze your main source.
- If your main source has an “Introduction” or bibliography, those might be good places to start finding suggestions for additional scholarly sources.
- Look at the “Sources and Suggestions for Further Reading” sections at the end of the Japan Emerging chapter you’re interested in. It typically lists major historical and secondary sources that you might choose to read in depth.
- Each entry in the Samurai: An Encyclopedia of Japan’s Cultured Warriors book also has a “further reading” section at the end that lists additional sources.
- Talk to your instructor!
This essay is due during the final session and counts for 30% of the course grade.
Students will also make a presentation on this essay during the final session.
