19
votes
Why didn't the steppe bow spread further?
The questions (answered separately below):
So why wasn't the rest of the world, the world off the steppe, using it? I mean, maybe it didn't reach the classical world until the Huns brought it there,...
- 6,313
14
votes
Accepted
When would the Japanese have been able to recognize their archipelago?
Realistically speaking a reasonably knowledgeable Japanese person would've been able to spot Japan on a world map, based on the islands' relative position to Korea and China. This is probably true ...
- 97.4k
11
votes
What are the historical equivalents of cooperative storytelling like modern role-playing games?
This is only a partial answer (by challenging the frame) but way too long for a comment ...
I believe that there will be no clear answer because wargaming and RPGs influenced each other in ways that ...
- 16.8k
9
votes
What is a "barso"? (ref. Richard Cocks' diaries)
The meaning of "barso" is clearer than its origin. Samuli Kaislaniemi analyzed it in his PhD thesis Reconstructing Merchant Multilingualism : Lexical Studies of Early English East India ...
- 27.6k
7
votes
Accepted
Are fiefdoms near the Capital assigned to trusted allies or the opposite, and why?
It would be incorrect to say, ' ... China and Japan used a completely opposite rationale in assigning the fiefdoms and were both well chosen for the country'. It did happen this way but for the ...
- 6,313
6
votes
Are fiefdoms near the Capital assigned to trusted allies or the opposite, and why?
China is a large country with even larger borders. Enemies are likely to come from far away, and they are likely to be people that are "unlike" you. So you want your "last line of defense," nearest ...
- 104k
5
votes
Why didn't Japan expand into Ezo?
I think your presumption that Japanese power through military force was not employed in Ezo during Edo is wrong. You may read about
Sakushin's revolt
and it's suppression in 1669.
UPDATE: 9-18-...
- 216
5
votes
Accepted
What kind of political institutions existed in Sakai, Japan in the 500s and 600s AD?
Sakai did not exist as a geopolitical entity in your specified timeframe. Therefore, in one sense the "kind of political institution" that existed in 5th-6th century Sakai was of the non-existent ...
- 97.4k
4
votes
Was the Korean King Chungnyeol instrumental in persuading Kublai Khan to invade Japan?
Before I begin to answer your question a little information is required to set the appropriate background of discussion. In 1259 the Koreans, the Goreyo at the time, capitulated to the Mongolian ...
- 557
3
votes
Was the Horo Cavalry "Balloon cloak" effective?
Horo cloak Video
Greetings.Seeing as there has been much question concerning the presence and use of the Horo by many on the forums I thought perhaps I would provide this excerpt for the esteemed ...
MCW♦
- 32.3k
3
votes
Are fiefdoms near the Capital assigned to trusted allies or the opposite, and why?
TL;DR Chinese and Japanese feudal lords are very different in origin. The King of Zhou is tied to his subjects over trust and ritualistic relationships and had to assume most subjects are trustworthy, ...
- 454
3
votes
Why didn't Japanese infantrymen and samurai use shields?
Given there is an accepted answer, and (I believe) there remains some misconception in answers provided here, I hope to clarify a few points about the usage of defensive shields in Japanese warfare ...
- 6,313
3
votes
Map of Osaka Castle circa late 1600s
There are several images of the layout on the Japanese Wikipedia page for Osaka Castle: https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%A4%A7%E5%9D%82%E5%9F%8E. In the grouping of three images on the right, the top ...
- 31
2
votes
Was Nobunaga the founder of 3 lines of riflemen formation?
It's probably fair to say that Nobunaga was the founder of the three line formation in Japan. That is, it's quite possible that he discovered it independently of European commanders. That's more ...
- 104k
2
votes
Katabami mon (Japanese crests of wood sorrel) Crest family identity
I looked at other requests for family mons (as suggested by the help section) and found this excellent lengthy discussion on Family crests with lots of links and description. This answer led me to the ...
2
votes
Can someone give me the history on this Japanese Crest symbol
[Note: this became an answer because it was far too long to post as comments. It doesn't really answer the question, but will hopefully put OP or someone else on the right track.]
Some google image ...
- 23.2k
2
votes
How common were fires in pre-Edo Japan?
Fire was as common in pre-Edo (i.e., Nara, Heian, & Kamakura) Japan as after as the architectural basis for construction did not change on the large scale—though it seems that not as many studies ...
- 10.8k
1
vote
How did Japan do era names prior to the reign of Meiji?
I interpret the following quote to mean that there were multiple conflicting signals that would trigger a change to an era name, and that it may not be possible to clearly identify a system.
Prior to ...
MCW♦
- 32.3k
1
vote
Did ancient Chinese and/or Japanese scholars speculate about what lay across the Pacific?
Xu Fu, the most famous explorer in Asia to answer this question, DID have some voyages in the Pacific, but for a strange reason, and some superstitions, too!
In 219 BC, Xu Fu was sent with three ...
1
vote
What are the historical equivalents of cooperative storytelling like modern role-playing games?
In the study of historical games there is a strong evidentiary bias towards those that used physical artifacts. A board for ur or a drawing of senet probably predate evidence of a collaborative ...
- 27.6k
1
vote
Was the Horo Cavalry "Balloon cloak" effective?
Mike Loades did an episode on this and it was amazingly effective. With nothing but air backing the silk it deformed with the arrow and basically captured the arrow, causing it to fall away or worst ...
1
vote
Accepted
How did Heian Era Japanese Clans work? (esp. Taira vs. Minamoto)
(1) Was there a special rationale for assigning people to one over the other?
This “fork” of the family would have been inevitable because of population growth inside the imperial family. They must ...
1
vote
What is a "barso"? (ref. Richard Cocks' diaries)
My immediate assumption was that it was an anglicisation of Spanish vaso (pronounced /'baso/), meaning 'cup/glass/drinking vessel', since he also anglicises Spanish recado (message) as recardo:
“...
- 1,004
1
vote
Accepted
Was the Korean King Chungnyeol instrumental in persuading Kublai Khan to invade Japan?
Question:
As Japan does not seem to have been especially wealthy at the time and would thus not have provided anything like the economic benefits to the Mongols that southern China could have, what ...
- 6,313
1
vote
Why didn't Japan expand into Ezo?
Japan is a country with a broad range of weather conditions and a lot of difficulties if you are an average rice farmer who just wants to survive. The northern part of Honshu (Touhoku) and Hokkaido is ...
- 1,205
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