Blog Detail
East Asian Culture
http://eastasianculture.blogspot.com/
Study of East Asian history. This site offers insights into numerous areas of Asia: history, politics, economics, societies, cultures and languages. In what ways can we say that Asia exists and in what ways can we say that it is an artificial construction?
Recent Posts
War Without Mercy
If you are to read anything about the Pacific War during World War II I do very much recommend War Without Mercy written by John Dower. You may not agree to 100% of what he writes but it does really push a few buttons and make you think about the war...
itunes Hiragana application available
For those interested in learning the Hiragana alphabet in a new and innovative way this new program was just launched in the itunes store. The program is priced at $2.99 and aims to teach you the full hiragana alphabet, including all the 46 character...
The Sons of Heaven
The first Chinese rulers lived about 4,000 years ago. This early dynasty (period of rule) was known as the Xia. We know very little about Xia rulers, because this period of Chinese history has become mixed up with ancient myths and legends. Excavatio...
Shamisen, an amazing instrument
Shamisen or Samisen (三味線) is a Japanese three stringed musical instrument that is played with a specially designed plectrum. On the top and bottom of the instrument cat skin is stretched. The Shamisen is a development of the Sanshin, an Okinaw...
Poems, Letters and Novels
As mentioned in the previous post new ways of writing Japanese were invented around 800CE. This in turn led to the growth of forms of literature such as diaries, travel writing and poems. Elegant refined poetry called waka was very popular at the Emp...
