Need some "school" help please!

[Justin Grant]

All,

 

At the ripe old age of 43, I have returned to complete my degree. So, I am taking an intensive writing course, and I have my final paper due in a few weeks. This is the first paper in class that has not had an "assigned" topic. For this paper, we had to pick a photo that "asked" a question and we are required to write a paper about the question.

 

I picked the following picture, and my topic is on the Satsuma Rebellion, my question is "was it worth it", and I am sure the question will change once the paper is moving along. However, I need to have 3-5 "Scholarly" resources as reference for my body of work. I have located an article from James H. Buck, which is based on his book of the Satsuma Rebellion, but I am looking for the book, I have the Mousey book, and will be using it as well.

Do you have any sources I can use to help build my thesis? Anyone have a link to where I can purchase the Buck book or a copy I can buy, rent, or borrow?

 

Thanks

 

Justin

 

http://ocw.mit.edu/ans7870/21f/21f.027/ ... atsuma.htm

[kusunokimasahige]

Hey Justin, scoured my Univ Library here in Leiden and the catalogue came up with the following titles (most in Japanese)

 

 

Titel Seinan sensō / Konishi Shirō

Auteur Konishi Shirō 1912-1996

Impressum Tōkyō : Kd̄ansha, 1977, Shōwa 52nen [=1977]

Vorm 139 p : ill ; 31 cm

Reeks Nishikie bakumatsu Meiji no rekishi ; 8.

Annotatie Met bibliogr.: p. 137

 

LOC Onderwerp Satsuma Rebellion, 1877 - Pictorial works

Color prints, Japanese - Meiji period, 1868-1912

 

Nishikie bakumatsu Meiji no rekishi

 

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Satsuma bushidō = Satsuma spirits / Satsuma Shikon no Kai hen. - Tōkyō : Nihon Keizai Shinbun Shuppansha Nikkei Jigyō Shuppan Sentā, 2011. - 198, 134 p., [8] p. of plates. : ill. ; 19 cm

 

 

- Dai 1-bu. Nanshū-ō ikun -- dai 2-bu. Jisshin-kō Iroha uta -- part I. The instructions of Saigō Nanshū -- part II. The Iroha verses of Shimazu Jisshinkō

- Translated by Tsutomu Hamaoka" -- English colophon

 

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Heisei Nijūichi Nendo Okinawa Kenritsu Hakubutsukan, Bijutsukan Tokubetsuten, Satsuma no Ryūkyū shinkō shihyakunen, Ryūkyū Shisetsu, Edo e iku! : Ryūkyū Keigashi, Shaonshi ikkō nisen kiro no tabiemaki / [henshū Okinawa Kenritsu Hakubutsukan, Bijutsukan]. - Okinawa-ken Naha-shi : Okinawa Kenritsu Hakubutsukan, Bijutsukan, Heisei 21 [2009]. - 75 p. : ill. ; 30 cm

 

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Hidemura Senzō Boek Bakumatsuki Satsuma-han no nōgyō to shakai : Ōsumi-no-kuni Kōyama gōshi Moriyake o megutte 2004

 

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Sasaki Suguru Boek Bakumatsu seiji to Satsuma-han 2004

 

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Cobbing, Andrew Boek The Satsuma students in Britain : Japan’s early search for the "essence of the West" 2000

 

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Haraguchi, Torao Boek The Status system and social organization of Satsuma : a translation of the Shūmon tefuda aratame jōmoku 1975

 

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Sakihara, Mitsugu Boek The significance of Ryukyu in Satsuma finances during the Tokugawa period 1971

 

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Ōnishi Shunsui Boek Homare no senbonmatsu : Satsuma gishi 1925

 

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KM

[Justin Grant]

I have narrowed my topic significantly, I posed the question for my paper "How did western influence affect the Samurai Class"

 

If you know of any "scholarly " works that will contribute to this topic, please let me know.

 

Thanks

[Lingonberry]

I'd say you broadened your subject a bit there. I'm not too sure you'll find any academic sources that specifically deal with how the West or Western powers influenced the Samurai but you may want to look for books dealing with the Boshin War and how the Satsuma, Tosa, and Choshu clans were equipped with modern Western weapons and military advisors. Depending on the historical scope you may also want to touch on the introduction of matchlocks(?) to Japan during the Sengoku Jidai and how some Daimyo bought European canon for castle seiges. I believe the Shogunate also attempted to hire a Portuguese ship to bombard a castle held by Christian rebels in the early 1600's.

 

I don't know of any specific books you could use but hopefully this gave you some help as to where to start looking.

[kusunokimasahige]

Of course you now can include many books by Western authors like Turnbull, Absolom, Bottomley

 

On scholarly matters you could delve into the dealings the VOC had with the Japanese as well as their involvement with the Shimabara uprising. If you just want to look at the Satsuma rebellion you should also delve into the way the Imperial forces modernized from 1868 onwards. A lot of books have been written on that also.

 

I agree with the above comment that you broadened your research subject, not narrowed it down. I know how that works, its my biggest problem also

 

KM

[Justin Grant]

I was referring to the 1860-1877 tineline. Sorry.

[John A Stuart]

Hi Justin, Here are some books recommended by Samurai Archives.

 

 

Book Recommendations (in English)

 

Connaughton, Richard. Rising Sun and Tumbling Bear. London: Cassell, 2003.

A detailed telling of the 1904-05 Russo-Japanese War (Meiji Period).

 

Feifer, George. Breaking Open Japan. New York, NY: Smithsonian Books, 2006.

Tells the story of Perry, Abe and the opening of Japan in 1853.

 

Hillsborough, Romulus. Ryoma – Life of a Renaissance Samurai. San Francisco, CA: Ridgeback Press, 1999.

A good biography of Sakamoto Ryoma but with a heavy dose of dramatics and some fiction thrown in.

 

Hillsborough, Romulus. Samurai Sketches. San Francisco, CA: Ridgeback Press, 1999.

A fun collection of short stories from the Bakumatsu period. Makes one hunger for a second edition!

 

Hillsborough, Romulus. Shinsengumi: The Shōgun’s Last Samurai Corps. North Clarendon, VT: Tuttle Publishing, 2005.

The only English-language book on the Shinsengumi with a propensity to...inform. May require a couple of readings and it is not recommended for readers with little to no previous understanding of the Bakumatsu period.

 

Jansen, Marius B. Sakamoto Ryoma and the Meiji Restoration. New York, NY: Columbia University Press, 2004.

A very good academic account of Sakamoto Ryoma and his role in the overthrow of the Tokugawa Bakufu.

 

Jansen, Marius B. The Making of Modern Japan. Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2000.

An exhaustive account of the history of Japan from Sekigahara in 1600 to the bursting of the economic Bubble in 1993. Don’t be fooled by the wide span covered in this massive book. Jansen does not disappoint with his telling of the downfall of the Tokugawa regime and the rise of the Meiji state. Don’t drop this book on your toes!

 

Keene, Donald. Emperor of Japan: Meiji and His World, 1852-1912. New York, NY: Columbia University Press, 2002.

A massive and comprehensive book that covers just about every millimeter of history from the tumultuous final years of Tokugawa rule through Meiji’s accession and the modern Japan that was forged in his name. Don’t drop this book on your toes!

 

LaFeber, Walter. The Clash: U.S.-Japanese Relations throughout History. New York, NY: W.W. Norton and Co., Inc., 1997.

A masterful telling of the ups and downs of Nichibei relations starting in 1853 through the 1990s. A must for diplomatic history buffs.

 

Miyoshi, Masao. As We Saw Them . Philadelphia, PA: Paul Dry Books, 2005.

All about the first Japanese embassy to the United States in 1860.

 

Ravina, Mark. The Last Samurai: The Life and Battles of Saigo Takamori. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2004.

Covers the real life of Saigo Takamori, not Tom Cruise. A useful book about one of the more colorful and powerful characters of the Bakumatsu and early Meiji periods.

 

Satow, Ernest. A Diplomat in Japan. New York, NY: ICG Muse, Inc. 2001.

First published in 1921, this is Sir Ernst Satow’s first hand account of how he saw the unraveling of the Tokugawa Bakufu and the rise of the Meiji state. He was in a good position to see these things as he actually played a role!

 

Shiba, Ryotaro. The Last Shogun. New York, NY: Kodansha International, 1998.

A very good and fairly accurate account of the life and times of Tokugawa Yoshinobu. This book is more history than fiction and highly recommended.

 

Shiba, Ryotaro. Drunk as a Lord. New York, NY: Kodansha International, 2001.

Shiba Ryotaro is revered in Japan for his historical fiction covering the Bakumatsu period. This book proves why he is so highly respected as he masterfully tells 4 short stories involving some of the Bakumatsu period’s more famous characters.

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