Geishas (Blog #4)

I was looking for some action films to watch on Netflix and I kept going back to Asian films that included martial arts, samurais, and geishas. I was fascinated by the beauty of the way geishas dressed and did their hair with beautiful flowers and charms to adorn their hair. So, I wondered, what is a geisha exactly?

A geisha is a professional woman entertainer trained in Japanese arts, dance, music, and games. They are present at meals to entertain guests and to "lighten" the mood. In Japan, geishas are referred to as geikos. They are most prominently found in Kyoto, Japan. Woman as young as 15 (maikos) are trained and taught in various subjects and activities. Geishas live together in houses specifically for them called okiya. Geishas are often thought about as prostitutes but this is not necessarily the case. Unfortunately, they are thought of as prostitutes because actual prostitutes call themselves geishas to gain more business. Geishas are talented and intelligent women. Geishas still exist today in Japan for a high price. 

Here are a few links to refer to if you are interested:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2102.html
http://www.historyundressed.com/2008/08/history-and-culture-of-japanese-geisha.html

Chopsticks and All Their Glory (Blog #3)

My family and I love our fair share of Asian foods ranging from Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, Filipino, Indian, and Thai food. I noticed that every time we go out to eat, we usually lean towards Asian options. We were eating delicious ramen and my brother was having difficulty using his chopsticks and eventually gave up. So, I asked my parents if they knew when chopsticks came about and why. But, they didn't and we ended up having fun guessing why we think some of Asian cultures use chopsticks. I decided to actually learn the history of chopsticks and found a link on history.com (http://www.history.com/news/hungry-history/a-brief-history-of-chopsticks ) which I was totally surprised to find. It is estimated that the Chinese have been using chopsticks since around 1200 BC. Chopsticks were made out of bronze or other precious metals that could withstand boiling water. They were generally used for cooking and around 400 AD, they were used as eating utensils. The most interesting fact shared on this site is that in Japan, chopsticks were 8 inches long for men and 7 inches long for women. Happy eating everyone!

India's Caste System (Blog #2)

In class we discussed the importance of certain relationships in China that establish a patriarchal society. I decided that I wanted to look more into the importance of hierarchal societies by taking an extra look at India and its caste system. According to the small section in our book and the site that I found specifically about the caste system (http://www.ushistory.org/civ/8b.asp ), the caste system is commonly explained in terms of Brahman. The subgroups within the caste system are termed jatis. The first class being priests and teachers known as Brahmins. The second class is a warrior class referred to as the Kshatriyas and the third class of merchants known as Vaishyas. The fourth class is the working class called Sudras. The "fifth" class is the Untouchables or dalit. They have the worst of the worst jobs and are considered the most filthy people. People are only able to marry and eat with people within their own jatis. In modern day, the caste system is outlawed in India but there is still discrimination and less rights allocated to the Untouchables. Gandhi was a prominent leader and advocate of ending discrimination against the Untouchables. As of today, the Untouchables who call themselves Dalit are still fighting for equal rights and political involvement.

Jomon Culture, Prehistoric Japan (Blog #1)

If there is any part of Asia that I would love to explore, it would be Japan. Upon reading the introduction and chapter 1 of our textbook, I found myself more interested about Japan than the other countries mentioned. So I did a little bit of web surfing and I found more about Neolithic Japan and a culture named Jomon (https://www.britannica.com/topic/Jomon-culture). Like many of the countries mentioned in our reading, there are not exact dates as to when this culture came about but, some scholars would estimate around 10,500 BCE and lasting until approximately 300 BCE. The name Jomon refers to the type of pottery style found in Japan which had cordlike designs. The clay pottery is sophisticated despite not having any innovations such as the pottery wheel. The peoples here were much like those of Southeast Asia and even northern China.They mainly relied on hunting and gathering along with supplementing their diet with fish. Over the long period of time that this culture lasted, the pottery began to change and became more sophisticated. The pottery went from simple bowls to large vases, to figurines of fertility. I would love to see recreated sites and some of the pottery up close and personal. I feel that this is important when studying Asia because it shows which stages different countries were in around the same time and where people have migrated to and from. Here is another great site that has a sort of time line of the Jomon culture, http://jomon-japan.jp/en/jomon-cultur/ .