Background In the waning months of the Boshin War of 1867-1868, a conflict between the forces of the Meiji Emperor and that of the Tokugawa Shogunate, the Shogun’s cause was quickly entering its death spiral. Despite the assistance of a cadre of French military officers led by Jules Brunet, the Shogun’s forces suffered defeat after … Continue reading
By Ryan Molloy A bit shorter this month, but I’d like to share a bit about my personal favorite part about Japan. If America is the birthplace of the music, then Japan is a bit like its adopted homeland. For nearly 100 years now, Japan has been putting out some great musicians, and as a … Continue reading
—If we were to ask the general population back in our home countries what they knew about the history of Japan, I’d be willing to bet that one strain of thought that would repeatedly come up time after time would be something along the lines of this: “Japan’s history is defined by its policies of … Continue reading
By Ryan Molloy In the past month, I came across a very intriguing article regarding the discovery of something amazing on the island of Okinawa. During an archaeological excavation of the Katsuren castle, a team of scientists discovered coins from the Roman empire dating from the 4th century CE. The coins feature busts of various emperors of … Continue reading
By Ryan Molloy Before we begin I’d like to talk a bit about what direction I’d like to take this blog in. While Japanese history isn’t necessarily my strongest field, I do plan on digging into it and sharing what I learn with the community. That being said, no society exists in a vacuum. I … Continue reading
Good Morning Aomori 