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Basil Hall Chamberlain and His Works on the Loochoo and Ainu Culture

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Basil Hall Chamberlain and his works on the Loochoo and Ainu culture By: Wakana, Kohei, Megumi, Hina Readings from this week Reading A Reading B “On the Manners and “Reply to Mr. Batchelor on Customs of the the Words ‘Kamui’ and Loochooans”, ‘Aino’”, Transactions of the Asiatic Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan v21 Society of Japan v16 (1893) pp. 271-89. (1889) pp. 33-8. Basil Hall Chamberlain Basil Hall Chamberlain Who was Basil Hall Chamberlain? ● Hired Foreigner お雇い外国人 ● 18 October 1850 – 15 February 1935 ● Landed in Japan on 29 May 1873 (23 years old) ● 1874 - Professor at the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy teaching English ● Visited Okinawa for one month in March 1893 (43 years old) ● Left Japan in 1911 (61 years old) ● 1886 - Professor at Tokyo Imperial University teaching Japanese studies and Linguistics ● Lived in Japan for a total of 38 years Captain Basil Hall ● Grandfather of Chamberlain ● Captain of British Laval Ship ‘Lyra’ ● Visited Okinawa in 1816 ● Wrote 『琉球航海記』”Ryukyu Voyage” ● Hall discussed Okinawa with Napoleon ○ “I could only reply, that as far as we had been able to discover, they had never had any war, but remained in a state of internal and external peace. “No wars!” cried he, with a scornful and incredulous expression, as if the existence of any people under the sun without wars was a monstrous anomaly.” (Basil Hall) ○ “We never saw any punishment inflicted at Loochoo; a tap with a fan, or an angry look, was the severest chastisement ever resorted to, as far as we could discover.” (Basil Hall) ○ → Ryukyuan pacifism The Geographic Journal (1895) The Luchu Islands and Their Inhabitants “In some important respects the “The most prominent race-characteristic of country really deserved the title the Luchuans is not a physical, but a moral bestowed upon it by a Chinese one. It is their gentleness of spirit, their emperor in 1579, and is still proudly yielding and submissive disposition, their inscribed on the gate of its capital city, hospitality and kindness, their aversion to the title of “The Land of Propriety.” violence and crime. Every visitor has come There were no lethal weapons in away with the same favourable Luchu, no feudal factions, few if any impression—Captain Broughton, whom they crimes of violence. Confucius’ treated so hospitably on the occasion of his ideal was carried out—a government shipwreck in 1797; Captain Basil Hall, Dr purely civil, at once absolute and McLeod, Dr, Guillemard—even the patriarchal, resting not on any missionaries, poor as was their success, armed force, but on the theory that and all the Japanese. For myself, I met with subjects owe unqualified obedience to nothing but kindness from high and low their rulers…” (Basil Hall alike.” (Basil Hall Chamberlain) Chamberlain) Asiatic Society of Japan （一般社団法人日本アジア協会） ● Non-profit organization of Japanology Logo of the Asiatic Society of Japan What did they do? ● Collect and publish information on subjects relating to Japan and other Asiatic Countries Who were they? ● Physicians, scientists, teachers, engineers, military officers, lawyers, and diplomats ● Dr. James Curtis Hepburn; Josiah Conder; John Milne, Edward Divers, James Main Dixon, Charles Dickinson West, Henry Faulds of the Tsukiji Hospital, Basil Hall Chamberlain, William George Aston, and Ernest Mason Satow. Chamberlain’s works 古事記（こじき kojiki、ふることふみ furukotofumi） 712 AD Chamberlain’s works First published: 1890 (40 years old) “Things Japanese” or “Japanese Things” Chamberlain’s works Ryukyu Kingdom (Loochooans) 琉球國 (Ryukyukoku) 1429 - 1879 Ruled over the Amami Islands and the islands of Okinawa. About the life of the Loochooans Trade with China and the Kingdom of Malacca in Southeast Asia 士族 (Shizoku); Gentry Chinese-style names - 向象賢(shou shouken) Rulers of the Loochoos First Sho Clan Second Sho Clan Satsuma Domain The end of the Ryukyukoku 1871 - Ryukyu kingdom under the jurisdiction of Kagoshima prefecture. The Loochooans kept their cultures and did not stop trading with china. Meiji government intimidated the Loochoans to hand over the Shuri castle. 琉球処分(Ryukyu Shobun): Ryukyu Disposal Tombs in Okinawa 亀甲墓(Kikkoubaka) 破風墓(Hafubaka) 掘り込み墓(Horikomibaka) Tombs in Okinawa Bright White in Color = White tuff 白色凝灰岩(Hakushoku Gyoukai Gan) Horse Shoe Shaped = Tortoise Shell 亀甲墓 representing the women’s womb Shimi Festival Official term is 御清明祭(Ushimi-sai). Relatives come together and visit the ancestor’s grave in April. Which is when the ancestor’s “come back” to earth. They say visit the grave, but it is more like a picnic in Okinawa. Weddings in Okinawa Mainly held with each other’s family members; traditional ceremonies. Today, Okinawans invite an average of 200-300 friends and families to the wedding. Okinawan Looks Okinawan women’s “faces are firm, square, and often hard in expression. Which being an unpleasing contrast to the graceful felinity of the Japanese.” ”young mens were to shave their faces until the age of 25, and after that moustache and beard are allowed to grow, though the cheeks mostly continue to be shaven.” Religion in Okinawa 琉球神道 (Ryukyu Shinto) polytheistic religion that has been worshiped mainly in the Ryukyu Kingdom. “Noro” and “Utah” Chinese influence = Taoism Food Culture in Okinawa Culture of eating pigs “women walking from markets with a sucking-pig on her head.” Greasy food “てびち” Discussion Topics ● To what extent do you think Chamberlain influenced the West’s perspective towards Japanese culture? What sort of image did he create of Japan? (can be based on our readings) ● Were there things you didn’t but now know about Okinawa’s history and culture? ● Do you think it was the right decision for the Japanese government to forcefully take over the Ryukyu Kingdom and make Okinawa part of their country? ● Looking back at the presentation, what were some differences between Japanese culture and Okinawan culture? Reply to Mr. Batchelor on the words “Kamui”and “Aino” By B.H. Chamberlain Presenter: Kohei Shoji Batchelor VS Chamberlain Batchelor Chamberlain ● “Kamui” does not come from “Kami” ● “Kamui” is a borrowed word from because the idea of a borrowed word Japan’s “Kami”. A borrowed word becoming a big part of their culture is becoming a big part of culture is not improbable. unlikely. ● People should stop saying “Aino” and ● There is nothing wrong with saying start saying “Ainu”, because it’s the “Aino”, because Europeans have been correct way to say it. saying “Aino” for 250 years, and it’s been established as the English way to say “Ainu”. Who is Mr. Batchelor? John Batchelor Birth: 1855, March 20th in Uckfield, Sussex, England. Death: 1944, April 2nd Spent more than 60 years as a missionary in Japan, mostly with the Ainu While Batchelor was not a linguist, he was one of the first people to start studying the Ainu language. History of the Ainu language Even in 2020, no theory provides enough evidence to prove where the Ainu language came from. From the Meiji Era, political measures were taken to “Japanize” the Ainu people. The Ainu children received education in Japanese, and parents taught their children Japanese instead of Ainu, thinking about their future. As a result, the Ainu language became a severely endangered language. UNESCO declared it a critically endangered language, which is the worst level in Endangered languages Some people are working on preserving the Ainu language. Ainu Language The Ainu language does not have any letters, so there was no way of writing it However, around the Taisho Era, The Ainu themselves started using Hiragana, Katakana, and Romaji to write and preserve their own language. The language has three dialects. The Hokkaido Ainu, the Kuril （千島） Ainu, and Sakhalin（樺太） Ainu. The Kuril and Sakhalin Ainu dialect is said to have become extinct, and there is only ten people that fluently speak the Hokkaido Ainu dialect. (However, this research was done in 2007) History of the Ainu Just like the language, not much is known about Ainu history due to a lack of research. Around B.C. 300, when the people in the mainland started rice farming and entered the Yayoi Era, The people in the north stayed in the Jyo-mon Era due to the climate there being unfitting for rice farming. It is said that the Ainu culture was founded in the 12-13th century, but the existence of the Ainu can only be seen from the 15th century in documents that exist of today. The Ainu produced seaweed, dried salmon, and herring, and traded them with Japan and China in exchange for steel tools, sake, and ceramics. https://www.akarenga-h.jp/hokkaido/kaitaku/k-01/ https://www.ff-ainu.or.jp/web/learn/culture/together/details/post_ 5.html Quarrels with the Japanese - Koshamine In 1456, a blacksmith in Hakodate got into a fight over a sword with a young Ainu. The blacksmith killed the Ainu person, which caused Koshamine, an Ainu leader, to start an uprising. The Japanese leaders (Daimyo) had 12 bases in Ainu territory. Koshamine and others destroyed 10 of them, until Koshamine and his son were deceived and killed by a warlord named Nobuhiro Takeda. Nobuhiro Takeda’s descendants founded the Matsumae Clan, and monopolized trade with the Ainu, making it so that nobody except people from their clan could trade with the Ainu, and vice versa. Quarrels with the Japanese - Shakshine In 1669, Ainu leader Shakshine and others started a war with the Matsumae Clan. The two powers proved equal in strength, and a peace treaty was suggested by the Matsumae Clan. Shakshine agreed to this. However, he was poisoned and killed during the peace banquet that the Matsumae Clan held for the Ainu. This caused the Ainu to succumb to the Matsumae Clan.
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