The concept for this project started all the way back on the streets of Kyoto itself in the month of May. Originally, my project was going to be a database of battles during the Sengoku Period, the warring states period from 1450-1600 since that would be a good era to map out making the map more visually appealing. However, it’s safe to day walking along the streets of Kyoto, seeing the sites of all the places I’ve visited, seeing the shops selling Shinsengumi merchandise, it convinced me that I could do something different. So, this summer in between going and working at camp at Penn, I continued my usual studies on the Bakumatsu period, but diving deeper into specific events I knew I’d want to use for my project, as well as how these events shaped the future of Japan and their memory of the men of this era.
Why was I able to eat at a Shinsengumi themed restaurant? Why was I able to buy a coffee mug with a portrait of Sakamoto Ryoma on it? Why in almost every samurai era anime that I watch, do I see Okita Souji and Hijikata Toshizo? Why would Tom Cruise be in a movie about Saigo Takamori? Why the heck did so many people in Japan love this era? I’ve realized there are two answers to this, the more complex one, is that in the following years into the Meiji Restoration, the new Meiji Government had descended into an Oligarchy, and in the drafting of their constitution, they needed a way to unite people. When was the last time they were reunited? The end of the Edo Period during the Bakumatsu. So, the heroes of the Bakumatsu on both sides became venerated, as the government invoked their names with nostalgia to help spur together national unity. However, a much more simple answer, lies in the Japanese culture and mindset itself. In Japan, Confucian veneration of the family and ancestors is extremely relevant, themes like honor, sacrifice, ‘samurai honor’, were pillars of their society. So, it’s only natural that for years to come, the samurai of old who shaped their country would become venerated by the people.
In terms of finishing up the timeline and StoryMap, all of the information is down. I added in a clean navigation bar, and used the preview feature to see what it would look like on an actual computer. I’ve adjusted the size of some of the maps, and saw how much I need to cut out of some of my descriptions. This entire week now, is going to be purely dedicated to editing down my descriptions, and FINALLY getting some images and pictures into it, and I believe most are going to come from my own trip to Kyoto.
I also made the decision to include in some of the descriptions, the results of a very small and informal survey I took for fun in Kyoto. I asked twenty locals who I met while in the city, who their favorite member of the Shinsengumi was, and sure enough all twenty had answers, that data is going to be included to help show the popularity of the group, and the veneration the people of Kyoto have for them now.
Then, over the weekend, is when I will put together my presentation, while in theory it should be easy, the harder part will be deciding what to say for each slide, however, I’ve learned over years of giving presentations that I work best when there is no script in front of me. The hard part will certainly be only keeping it to around ten minutes, normally I’d try to keep the slides minimalistic, but I find when I try to limit myself I more often then not cut TOO much, so I’ll try and find a good balance over the weekend.
Either way, nearly six months of work is finally coming to a head next week, it’s a crazy feeling. I just know I’ll need a long nap afterwards.
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