Mineko Iwasaki Biography Essay

The narrator, Katsu Kokichi, was a low ranking samurai during the end of the Tokugawa Period. He was the youngest out of all his siblings and as a child he ran away from home multiple times. Kokichi told his readers how he had to beg for food and even began to pose as a representative to a feudal lord. The readers learn that he has a wife and children but he often times would beat her and he also never got an official promotion and was forced to obtain a low income by dealing swords, selling protection to shopkeepers, and sometimes using his muscle (getting into fights) and tricking others. In Kokichi’s lifetime, readers see a man whose life was filled with dishonesty, corruption, poverty, blackmail, and even lawbreaking. His story shows the reality of a samurai’s life during the end of the Tokugawa

The author uses sensory details of sounds, smells and feelings to highlight to horror of the violence experienced by Chika. ‘…smell is sickening, of roasted fish, unlike that of any she has ever smelled’. And also author uses future tense and repetition ‘never find her sister’ to highlight the tragedy and horrific event of the war and violence. Throughout the story, the author demonstrates the futility of war and violence identifies that there is no positive affects to anyone at all.

Katsu Kokichi’s autobiography, “Musui’s Story,” documents the life of a samurai in Japan’s late Tokugawa period who adopted the name Musui in his retirement. Katsu is something of a black sheep within his family, being largely uneducated and deemed unfit for the bureaucratic office 's samurai of his standing were expected to hold. As such, he typifies in many ways the lower ronin, or masterless samurai, many of whom famously led roaming, directionless lives and wreaked havoc among the urban poor and merchant classes. The novel addresses the decaying power of samurai throughout the Tokugawa period and depicts their struggle to find purpose. Throughout the story, Katsu is impacted by three interconnected systems of power that impact his life

Yasumasa Morimura is an internationally respected and controversial Japanese artist who through his art, represents social changes in Japanese culture, such as Western influences, politics and gender values. Morimura explores how Japan interacts with the World through the lens of the artist and how the artist creates an identity within his culture and the global community.

On February 28, 1998 at 11:50 p.m. a baby was born in Moultrie, Georgia. Who was that baby you might ask, well that baby was me. At three pounds and four ounces, and almost a leap year baby I was born into the world as Iesha Monika Williams. I was the first child to parents, and the only girl as the time went on. Even though I was born in Moultrie, Georgia I was raised in Thomasville, Georgia and have been here ever since. I have two younger brothers, the ages of sixteen and seven, name Trey and Jamari. I have a puppy name seven or seven-eleven, he answers to both. I also have two parrots name pinky and binky.

Throughout history artists have used art as a means to reflect the on goings of the society surrounding them. Many times, novels serve as primary sources in the future for students to reflect on past history. Students can successfully use novels as a source of understanding past events. Different sentiments and points of views within novels serve as the information one may use to reflect on these events. Natsume Soseki’s novel Kokoro successfully encapsulates much of what has been discussed in class, parallels with the events in Japan at the time the novel takes place, and serves as a social commentary to describe these events in Japan at the time of the Mejeii Restoration and beyond. Therefore, Kokoro successfully serves as a primary

Most of Ieyasu’s childhood and young adult years were spent in and around danger due to wars that resulted over his family splitting to pursue different clans. He was constantly drawn into battle during these disputes. At five years old he was taken hostage by the leader of the Oda clan who opposed his father. He was then used as a bargaining chip for the clan so they could squeeze as much out of Ieyasu’s father as they could. Their main request was that he sever all ties with the Imagawa clan or they would kill Ieyasu.

Chiyo, a small town girl in Japan, is sent to become a geisha in the big town of Gion. Things take a bad turn, however, when she runs afowl of the okiya's chief geisha. Now, Chiyo must face Hatsumomo's wrath, and the busy world of Gion, to become a geisha.

It was my sophomore year in high school, I left my house just like every other Monday, Wednesday, and Friday to ride my bike to school. I had rode and still ride a Nishiki Pinnacle that my dad had received as a gift from my mom, yet he was too busy with working to have any leisure time to ride that bike; my mom maintained it regardless so when my brother needed a bike for college he took the beach cruiser that I had used the year before and I inherited the Pinnacle. When I left these rides were usually pretty quiet, with the occasional other bicyclist, runner, or landscaper. The wildlife of the river path that I followed is teeming with life; various lizards, prairie dogs, mourning doves, sometimes the illusive coyote. The path is shrouded

The author who brought to us The Tale of Genji, a novel now regarded as the first written novel in history, left behind an arguably more treasurable artifact: a diary that opens a window into history. The Diary of Lady Murasaki by Lady Murasaki Shikibu gives the reader a glimpse of the imperial court during eleventh century Japan and presents the past in an illuminated vision. Being an attendant in the imperial court, Lady Murasaki is frequently involved with the activities of elite Japanese women. Her day-to-day interaction with the nobles and elites enhance her account with the curious perspective of an elite female. As a woman, Lady Murasaki's descriptions are oriented around clothing

In the essentially dual religious system in Japan, ideologies and traditions play a heavy role in the everyday life of the Japanese people. Shintoism and Buddhism intertwine and complement themselves in Japanese culture, despite Buddhism coming in from mainland Asia. A particularly powerful idea from Buddhism is mono no aware, the realization and acknowledgment of the impermanence and its place in the world. This idea that nothing stays the same forever manifests itself heavily in Japanese literature, whether in personal writings or fictional works. Despite spanning hundreds of years, each work was shaped by and include manifestations of mono no aware. I intend to underline and pinpoint instances that mono no aware is influencing these works, and discuss similarities and differences between them. In this paper, I have three works that I will explore, each one corresponding to a different time period before the pre-industrial revolution; The Diary of Lady Murasaki comes from the classical period, Essays in Idleness from the medieval, and the immensely popular play Chushingura from the pre-modern era.

11, para. 2). Because the village of Umuofia is widely feared, Mbaino peacefully presents a fifteen year old boy and a virgin to Umuofia as retribution for the killing, and it is decided the boy, Ikemefuna, will stay with Okonkwo until the elders decide his fate. “Ikemefuna's stay in Okonkwo's home was supposed to be a temporary arrangement -- until the clan decided what was to be done with him -- but he ended up living as a member of the family for three years” (Akwani, 2011, para. 11). Okonkwo places Ikemefuna in the home of his most senior wife, who is also the mother of Okonkwo’s oldest son, Nwoye.

Aphra Behn’s novel, Oroonoko, gives a very different perspective on a slave narrative. Her characters embody various characteristics not usually given to those genders and races. Imoinda’s character represents both the modern feminist, as well as the subservient and mental characteristics of the typical eighteenth-century English woman. Oroonoko becomes an embodiment of what is normally a white man’s characteristic; he is the noble, princely, and sympathetic character that is not usually attributed to black men in general throughout most novels of slavery. The complete opposite character style is given to the slavers; the English are viewed as the barbaric, cunning, brutal characters that are usually portrayed in opposite and more generous

Natsume Soseki’s Kokoro illustrates the struggles of a young man (the narrator) who was alienated from his family and his loneliness as he pursues acceptance and love by building a friendship with an elder.  As a parallel to this, the elder (Sensei), sought an end to his social isolation through his love to a woman whose qualities were not tainted by modernity. K, Sensei’s childhood friend, had also hinted his struggles in isolation as he tried to keep to his idealistic principles. This paper will analyze the isolation and loneliness that was faced by the Japanese people during a period of significant modernization and how they approached it and attempted to solve the conflict between tradition and modernity.

The novel, Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage, written by Haruki Murakami, is a fictional narrative of Tsukuru Tazaki’s past and present life. At the very beginning of the book, the 20-year-old Tsukuru is desperately hopeless and overwhelmingly suicidal, “If there had been a door within reach that led straight to death, he wouldn’t have hesitated to push it open, without a second thought, as if it were just a part of ordinary life” (Murakami 3). A tragic drama, with a mix of a young man and enigmatic motives, always had an emotional pull on readers’ hearts and stirred up their curiosity and perplexity. With author’s manifestly unique perspective, enthralled realism, and vividly colorful narration, Tsukuru’s state of mind and his journey in search of his meaning of life are well composed and presented throughout the book. Born and raised by a well-off family in the city of Nagoya in Japan, Tsukuru has lived an easy life from his childhood to adolescence. During his high school years, Tsukuru has a close friendship with four of his schoolmates, which he considers the most valuable thing in his life. After graduating from high school and leaving his friends behind, Tsukuru goes to a university in Tokyo to pursue his engineering degree and the childhood fantasy of building railroad stations. Unexpectedly, in his sophomore year of university, the four best friends abruptly cut off the tie with him. As a consequence of the cutoff, Tsukuru’s life becomes