Author: Jonathan Dresner
Open Thread: Election Results
Lots of folks are pretty sure that the success of Koizumi’s rejuvenated LDP in yesterday’s elections [here’s a good summary] means something. ...
For this you need an expert?
[via Simon World] An expert has outlined the six most significant problems facing China, which is to say, facing China’s government: Demographics Energy a...
What's Under Tiananmen?
A huge underground complex, according to this site which a student sent me (He’s working on an urban history project). Is this common knowledge among thos...
Define "Successful"
There are signs that China’s government is going to resurrect Confucianism as a source of social ethics and harmony [via Simon World]. It was, after all, ...
51st State?
From a formal legal standpoint, the United States never ceded possession of Taiwan [via Simon World], which it took from Japan in 1945, to the Nationalist gover...
"Big Eyes" and Chinese Children
This is a fascinating essay about a famous Chinese picture known as Big Eyes [Via Simon World]. The followups are fascinating: a bit uncontextualized, but histo...
The Lost Tribe
Ralph Luker sent me a link which I’d seen before, but lost: Arimasa Kubo’s “Israelites Came To Ancient Japan” pages. It’s a great ...
Speaking of Japanese Korean relations….
I know as well as anyone that the blogosphere is a self-selected and decidedly non-standard sample of any population (except, of course, bloggers). But, apropos...
Last Prince
The last surviving heir of the Korean Yi dynasty has died. [hat tip to Jerry West] Born in 1931 in Japan to the former Crown Prince of Korea, Yi Ku also died in...
Summer Reading Note: Ninja
I’ve finished Stephen Turnbull’s Ninja: the True Story of Japan’s Secret Warrior Cult, and I have good news for current and prospective gradua...