Project Update 2

I am about half-way done, but still have a lot to do.

Project Update 1

I'm still in the research stage and about to start writing my paper. I have been going back and forth between choosing the Edo Period, but I have decided to stick with it. There are plenty of web sources and an excess of images to choose from. I fortunately have access to Gale Resources (it is an online library database) which has really helped me so far.

As I said before, I have a lot of images to choose from and here is a couple that I might use:

http://driwancybermuseum.wordpress.com/2012/02/07/the-japan-historic-collections-edo-period/

http://www.michaellovejoy.com/28mm/28mm.html

Project Idea

I knew that I wanted to study samurai, but it is way too broad because of the long history of samurai so I have narrowed it down to the Edo Period. Also known as the Tokugawa Period, this is when shoguns, who employed samurai, ruled Japan. This time period is right before the Meiji Restoration; the Meiji Restoration is the period where Westernization and industrialization occurs, bringing forth immense change which leads to the fall of the samurai.  

I want to focus on samurai because the Japanese are proud of their rich history and culture which samurai are deeply enrooted in. By studying this period, I will be able to focus on their latest armor and weapons, their way of life, and their code of conduct bushidō right before the Meiji Restoration.

Possible Sources:

http://www.lakelandschools.us/lh/modonnell/virtualjapan/edo.htm

http://www.daviddfriedman.com/Academic/Course_Pages/legal_systems_very_different_12/final_papers_06/Tokugawa.html

http://artofmanliness.com/2008/09/14/the-bushido-code-the-eight-virtues-of-the-samurai/

http://jasonoleinik.hubpages.com/hub/SamuraiWarriors

http://samurai-warriors.org/japanese-samurai-armor/