The Japanese art of Ukiyo-e developed in the city of Edo (now Tokyo) during the Tokugawa or Edo Period (1615-1868). These two names refer to the relatively peaceful 250 years during which the Tokugawa shoguns ruled Japan and made Edo the shogunal seat of power.

The social hierarchy of the day, officially established by shogun rulers, placed the merchants, the wealthiest segment of the population, at the lower end of the scale. With their political power effectively removed, the merchant class turned to art and culture as arenas in which they could participate on an equal basis with the elite upper classes (warriors, farmers, and artisans). It was the collaboration among the merchants, artists, publishers, and townspeople of Edo that gave Ukiyo-e its unique voice. In turn, Ukiyo-e provided these groups with a means of attaining cultural status outside the sanctioned realms of shogunate, temple, and court.

Although Ukiyo-e was initially considered “low” art, by and for the non-elite classes, its artistic and technical caliber is consistently remarkable. Reading the images demands an extremely high level of visual, textual, and cultural literacy. From its earliest days, Ukiyo-e images and texts frequently referred to themes from classical, literary, and historical sources. At the same time, Ukiyo-e constantly expanded to reflect contemporary tastes, concerns, and innovations over the two and a half centuries of its development. The result was an art that was both populist (of and for the people, readily accessible, plentiful, affordable) and highly sophisticated. In summary, Ukiyo-e presented both the historical and all that was current, fashionable, chic, and popular. In the hands of the Ukiyo-e artist, the ordinary was transformed into the extraordinary.

Cambodia Ancient HistoryArchaeological evidence indicates that parts of the region now called Cambodia were inhabited during the first and second millennia B.C. by peoples having a Neolithic culture. By the first century A.D., the inhabitants had developed relatively stable, organized societies, which had far surpassed the primitive stage in culture and technical skills. The most advanced groups lived along the coast and in the lower Mekong River valley and delta regions, where they cultivated irrigated rice and kept domesticated animals. 

Scholars believe that these people may have been Austro-Asiatic in origin and related to the ancestors of the groups who now inhabit insular Southeast Asia and many of the islands of the Pacific Ocean. They worked metals, including both iron and bronze, and possessed navigational skills. Mon-Khmer people, who arrived at a later date, probably intermarried with them. The Khmer who now populate Cambodia may have migrated from southeastern China to the Indochinese Peninsula before the first century A.D. They are believed to have arrived before their present Vietnamese, Thai, and Lao neighbors. 

CambodiaEarly Indianized Kingdom of FunanAt about the time that the ancient peoples of Western Europe were absorbing the classical culture and institutions of the Mediterranean, the peoples of mainland and insular Southeast Asia were responding to the stimulus of a civilization that had arisen in northern India during the previous millennium. The Britons, Gauls, and Iberians experienced Mediterranean influences directly, through conquest by and incorporation into the Roman Empire. In contrast, the Indianization of Southeast Asia was a slower process than the Romanization of Europe because there was no period of direct Indian rule and because land and sea barriers that separated the region from the Indian subcontinent are considerable. Nevertheless, Indian religion, political thought, literature, mythology, and artistic motifs gradually became integral elements in local Southeast Asian cultures. The caste system never was adopted, but Indianization stimulated the rise of highly-organized, centralized states. 

Funan, the earliest of the Indianized states, generally is considered by Cambodians to have been the first Khmer kingdom in the area. Founded in the first century A.D., Funan was located on the lower reaches of the Mekong River in the delta area. Its capital, Vyadhapura, probably was located near the present-day town of Phumi Banam in Prey Veng Province. The earliest historical reference to Funan is a Chinese description of a mission that visited the country in the third century A.D. The name Funan derives from the Chinese rendition of the old Khmer word bnam (meaning mountain). What the Funanese called themselves, however, is not known. 

During this early period in Funan’s history, the population was probably concentrated in villages along the Mekong River and along the Tonle Sab River below the Tonle Sap. Traffic and communications were mostly waterborne on the rivers and their delta tributaries. The area was a natural region for the development of an economy based on fishing and rice cultivation. There is considerable evidence that the Funanese economy depended on rice surpluses produced by an extensive inland irrigation system. Maritime trade also played an extremely important role in the development of Funan. The remains of what is believed to have been the kingdom’s main port, Oc Eo (now part of Vietnam), contain Roman as well as Persian, Indian, and Greek artifacts. 

By the fifth century A.D., the state exercised control over the lower Mekong River area and the lands around the Tonle Sap. It also commanded tribute from smaller states in the area now comprising northern Cambodia, southern Laos, southern Thailand, and the northern portion of the Malay Peninsula. 

Indianization was fostered by increasing contact with the subcontinent through the travels of merchants, diplomats, and learned Brahmans (Hindus of the highest caste traditionally assigned to the priesthood). Indian immigrants, believed to have arrived in the fourth and the fifth centuries, accelerated the process. By the fifth century, the elite culture was thoroughly Indianized. Court ceremony and the structure of political institutions were based on Indian models. The Sanskrit language was widely used; the laws of Manu, the Indian legal code, were adopted; and an alphabet based on Indian writing systems was introduced. 

Funan reached its zenith in the fifth century A.D.. Beginning in the early sixth century, civil wars and dynastic strife undermined Funan’s stability, making it relatively easy prey to incursions by hostile neighbors. By the end of the seventh century, a northern neighbor, the kingdom of Chenla, had reduced Funan to a vassal state.

The Sumo wrestlers are the largest and heaviest of athletes. And when they sprinkle the salt, stomp their feet and exchange intimidating positions to begin the bout, one gets to watch one of the most scintillating sights in the world of sport. This is among the features that has made Sumo wrestling so thrilling to the Japanese for centuries and now to the West. The biggest proof of this is the recent win of the highest Grand Champion title by the US-born Akebono.

There is no clear date when Sumo wrestling, Japan’s national sport, evolved as few written records have been maintained. Sumo is also regarded as the earliest of martial arts with Jujitsu being its direct descendant. Many believe it goes back 1,500 years, while some fans say that ancient paintings have revealed that the sport was played in 23 BC.

One thing is for sure that Sumo wrestling has its origins in religion. According to legend, the very origin of the Japanese race marked the victory of a God, Take-Mikazuchi, over his rival Take-Minakata in a Sumo fight. The Emperor of Japan traces his ancestry to Take-Mikazuchi. The bouts, along with dramas and dances, form part of the rituals and prayers dedicated to the Gods for a bountiful harvest.

In the beginning, these were held mostly in shrines and later moved to the forecourts of warlords, who used the event as another means to demonstrate power. In the 8^th Century, Sumo became an integral part of ceremonies of the Imperial Court and most of the rules and techniques then developed laid the foundations for the Sumo we know of today. Today’s Japanese Sumo Association has its direct origins in the professional Sumo groups first formed in the early 17^th Century.

The most fascinating thing is the wrestler’s gigantic size that is based on a scientific principle – the heavier the fighter, the lower his center of gravity and therefore that much tougher for a rival to force him out of the ring. To ensure this, the wrestler has an elaborate rice-based diet. For breakfast, he is served chanko – a fat-rich stew comprising pork, eggs, cabbage and bean sprouts. Then after training, it is lunch followed by a nap. Soon, they are ready for dinner. This process, too, is based on a principle that heavy eating followed by sleep results in weight gain. Not surprisingly, the champions weigh several hundred pounds. Though they look obese, they do pump a lot of iron.

Earlier, the contestant wore beautifully embroidered aprons indicating the feudal family he represented. 17^th Century onwards, the hair was tied into a topknot to cushion the fighter’s head during a fall. This tradition continues till date. Nowadays, wrestlers wear equally colorful aprons that denote their birthplace, ranking and the professional group they belong to.

The commencement of the game is preceded by a ring-purifying ceremony. Salt and sake (rice wine) are placed at the center, after which the priest blesses the ring. Salt is meant to purify the ring and rid it of evil spirits. Just before the bout, the wrestler rinses his mouth with water to symbolically cleanse his mind and body. The higher the ranking, the greater are the ritualistic obligations on the wrestler. For instance, the Grand Champion has to perform a dance before the bout. The steps are only extensions of his stretching exercises.

Sumo is said to be essentially a mind game, which is why there are occasions when opponents stare at each other far longer rather than engaging in the physical bout itself. In the 4.55-metre wide ring, there is much slapping and pushing. The aim here is to break the other’s concentration. Kicking in the groin or the chest or any move intended to injure the contestant is not allowed.

The wrestler’s dress is the mewashi or loincloth. Interestingly, these are never washed as belief has it that if washed, the wrestlers’ entire experience is washed away in the process. At the physical level of the bout, it is the mewashi that the rivals seek to hold in a vice-like grip so that he can try to have the rival’s body, other than the soles, touch the mat. Thereafter, it is simple – the winner goes up in rank and the loser is demoted. And no matter what, the wrestler would simply show no emotion.

In Japanese, the word Samurai refers to a both a member of the warrior class, and the entire class as a whole.

Japanese Samurai warriors first came to be in the 12^th century, during the bitter battles between two very powerful Japanese clans: Taira and Minamato. At that time, the military system of rule that was in power was the shogunate, also known as shogun. Shogun’s convention stated that the next up in the hierarchy were the daimyo, who were local rulers, like dukes and seigneurs in Europe. The duties of the samurai were to act as military retainers for these daimyo. This was true except for the ronin. Ronin are samurai without a master. Ronin occurred for the first time in the famous story of Chushingura, when the lord of the 47 ronin was forced to commit suicide.

Samurai were famous for their unique ethic code of behavior, called the bushido. Bushido literally means “the way of the warrior,” and its heart referred to the absolute loyalty the samurai had for their lord, the daimyo.

The battles between hostile clans were very fierce, and were usually based on a disagreement over land. Good land was very valuable in Japan, as only 20% of the rugged and mountainous terrain was conducive to agriculture.

As a samurai, a man was allowed certain very specific and special privileges. These privileges included wearing two swords - a long sword and a short sword. This was considered a privilege, as commoners were not allowed to wear weapons. It even came to the point when a samurai’s privileges allowed him to behead a commoner if he felt offended by them.

Within the social status as samurai, there were different ranks that held different privileges. By the 12^th century, a system was established with 3 primary ranks of Samurai. These ranks were:

• Kenin - housemen, whose duties were the same as administrators or vassals.
• Foot Soldiers
• Mounted Samurai - the highest rank of samurai, who were allowed to fight while on horseback.

By the end of the 15^th century, the shogunate lost power and the most influential feudal lords devastated Japan in a string of civil wars that continued for almost 100 years.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi was the man to finally unify Japan, and with this unification, he introduced many societal reforms, which drastically impacted the life of the samurai. Primarily, the samurai were to live permanently in castles. Until that point, they had been farmers of their own land during times of peace - now they were expected to be professionals. Of course, this system required financing, so he introduced a taxation system for rice, which every samurai warrior had to pay, depending on his samurai rank.

At the height of the samurai period, it is estimated that 8% of the overall population of Japan belonged to the samurai class. When they were finally abolished, the samurai did not know how to survive; many became businessmen, though frequently it meant that the samurai’s wives had to sell their services at brothels in order to support the family.

Though samurai do not have status in an official sense in Japan today, the descendants of the samurai still receive high esteem from other members of the Japanese population.

The word castle conjures up images of Europe, but it was the Japanese who adapted it to the changing times and blended strength with beauty and grace. Castles are also attributed to William the Conqueror whose invasion of England in 1066 triggered the stupendous erection of these structures. Six hundred years later, they began losing their value as a defense structure with the advent of potent gunpowder and artillery.

In Japan, the castle assumed its original form during the Nara Period of 545-794 AD. Then these structures made their transition from wood and stone fortifications to those having forts and moats as feudal warlords became increasingly belligerent. This was the underlying logic behind castle building – adapting to the requirements of the warlords and the changing times. The castle was primarily built for defense purposes. When under attack, the warlords and their men retreated into the towers, which also doubled as granaries and armories. The towers began to epitomize power and wealth – the bigger the tower, the mightier and wealthier the warlord. Soon enough, the castle became synonymous with both.

At one time, there were an awesome 30,000 to 40,000 castles in Japan built between 1333 and 1572. Hundreds of the mountaintop castles were constructed in the Sengoku Period, also known as the Warring States Period which witnessed the bloody civil wars. Though the castles were small, they had huge watch towers. Then the castles came to the plains. The Azuchi Castle was built in 1579 by Oda Nobunaga who later embarked upon the unification of larger sections of Japan. This process automatically rendered a majority of the medieval structures irrelevant which soon fell into disuse.

Azuchi changed the tenets of castle building in the country and reoriented the definition to have the structure demonstrate not just protection but also the builder’s status. The presence of a vantage point determined if the area was worthy of castle building. With this, the structures became more complex. The very planning became a detailed and time-consuming process. They had to be protective, at the same time artistic and grand to demonstrate the owner’s power and social standing. These aspects were enhanced by the growing influence of the Samurai clans. The Japanese were exposed to firearms in the mid-1500s and this further changed the castle from being a secure structure to one having military advantages.

Gradually, the castle began to encompass every aspect of daily life. Apart from its military significance, the castles became nerve centers of governments and army headquarters. These also accommodated typical palace politics of alliances and one-upmanship. The castles had huge grounds that evolved into entire townships, bringing in different people in areas of trade, crafts, agriculture and fine arts. The emergence of the castle township directly determined the prosperity of the area.

Peace became palpable during the Edo Period, 1603-1867 AD and Tokugawa Ieyasu unified all of Japan under one government. He built the Edo castle in Tokyo whose fortress was made of cedar. The roofs were made with copper to prevent fires that could be set off by the enemies’ flaming arrowheads. Soon after, the “Ikkoku Ichijoo” law was enacted that made it mandatory for every province to have just one castle. After this, several castles were razed. The 250-year reign of peace began the decline of the castles’ importance – first from a military standpoint and later, the social standpoint.

In 1873, the Meiji government passed the Castle Abolishment Law to mark the end of all those structures that served as a reminder of the feudal period. Within two years, at least 100 of the 170 Edo Period castles were destroyed. The ripped-up parts of the grand castles were sold as firewood and the stones used for dam and railway constructions. The rest were lost to earthquakes and fires. Whatever was left collapsed to World War II bombings. Today, a dozen of the original castles with their characteristic huge towers remain, though much of the adjoining lands and sprawling gardens have been lost with time.