{"id":294,"date":"2012-09-22T10:34:10","date_gmt":"2012-09-22T14:34:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/guidedhistory\/?page_id=294"},"modified":"2012-11-29T22:59:25","modified_gmt":"2012-11-30T02:59:25","slug":"fall-of-samurai","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/guidedhistory\/historians-craft\/fall-of-samurai\/","title":{"rendered":"The Fall of the Samurai in Late Tokugawa Japan"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Research Guide By Elisa Kim<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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Samurai of the Satsuma clan during the 1868-1869 Boshin War<\/p><\/div>\n

Introduction<\/strong><\/h2>\n

This guide is created to be a helpful resource in the process of researching the decline of the samurai class during the late Tokugawa shogunate. Before the beginning of the Meiji Restoration in 1868, samurai were an integral part of Japanese lifestyle and culture. For centuries, many had prominent roles in political and military realms and instilled Confucianistic values in Japanese society. However, with the decline of the Tokugawa regime, social, political, military, and economic aspects of domestic Japan began to change–ushering in the Meiji Restoration. The “modern” Meiji period no longer sought the seemingly “traditional” samurai and their swords, and so began a new era of Japanese history.<\/p>\n

This guide consists of seven sections of valuable resources, which includes mediums in the form of books, journal articles, websites, databases, archives, directories, libraries, and museums. It starts with a general historical overview of Japanese history, before the Meiji period, and background on the samurai class. The second section–Samurai Life–is divided into sub-sections of societal (bushido and duty), military, and political aspects of samurai culture. The next three sections include historical time frames: late Tokugawa period, early Meiji period, and transition from Tokugawa to Meiji period. The sixth section includes information about influential samurai in Japanese history and related books. Lastly, the final section includes related resources that may be of additional help for researching this topic, including resources to databases, archives, directories, guides, libraries, and museums.<\/p>\n

General Background<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Japan Emerging: Premodern History to 1850<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

It is beneficial to begin background research on this topic with a work by Karl Friday, as he is a highly respected expert in classical and medieval Japanese history and also serves as a Professor at The University of Georgia. This volume of writings from leading authorities, which Friday compiles, serves as a sufficient introductory resource into Japanese history. It explores the main developments of the Japanese lifestyle, without being too concerned with names and dates, and depicts the evolution of Japanese political, social, economic, and intellectual life.<\/p>\n