I recognize that Korea gets used to play a role of victim overly while staying retro, which I also feel is too much sometimes. And I am concerned about the rise of negative nationalism like anti-America or anti-Japan, which lead them a blind hate against “the others” without a rational thinking of, for example, what justification they might have in criticizing Japanese pm’s visiting Yasukuni.

However, I really wonder on the other hand, why Japanese politicians like Koizumi make their neighbors pissed off by picking their historically most sensitive part. It is simply not wise for Japan to go in such a way.

Some Japanese seem to think that they have been doing well without their Asian counterparts’ helps and thus so will they as well. But just be realistic. Japan’s dependence on China in factory production and market has been growing enormaously (just look at the back of the light-industry products in Japan, can Japanese consumers live without “made-in-China”?” It is not that Japanese build factories and gives works to Chinese, they are inter-dependent)

What I think is that Japan does not need to show unwanted/pretended humblness to its Asian counterparts just because of its war-time atrocities (yes, the past is the past anyway), but she’d better not try to persuade them to accept or overlook its internal rhethoric for pm’s Yasukuni visit by its political and cultural relativism. That will worsen the situations. What merit is for Japan by doing so? Some piece of nationalism, patriotism, loyalty to its country?

“you don?€™t understand stand is that your brain is too small to comprehend what is really happening?€?.to make a long story short?€?Japan, a country that was ridiculed all through time by both China and Korea, tried to take Korea and china over?€?.but ultimately failed until ww2.”

This small minded Japanese nationalist at least knows that Japan took over Korea decades before WWII. Oh and thank you for the invaluable knowledge that Japan and Korea are equal in internet gaming. Call me enlightened.

where did japanese swords come from? hmmm? Japan? WRONG!

I believe you are talking about Pommel Swords which first appeared in the former Han Dynasty of China (200AD), not in Baekche. The pommel was used by tying on soldier’s hand or belt with string in fighting on horse. The Pommel Sword quickly spread into today’s Pyongyang area, where the Han Dynasty established the colony known as Lelang commandery. When Lelang was crushed by Goguryeo in the early part of the 4th century, the manufacturing method of pommel swords reached the southern part of the peninsula and even Japan. Lelang?€™s influence was so huge in today?€™s Korea and Japan that the situations had dramatically changed by all mean. The pommel sword was just one of these.

The manufacturing method of Japanese Sword, on the contrary, is totally different from pommel sword. While its origin is unknown, the word, Tatara (method), sounds very similar to Tatar, the Turkish tribe known for iron-working. This Tatara method produces highly impure and carbonized metal. Unlike the pommel sword, Japanese sword is not made by casting, but rather created by very unusual way of smelting: the inner layer of soft metal is surrounded by heavily pounded outer-layer of harder metal, making blade flexible yet harder to break. You see, when you refer the word ?€œJapanese sword?€? or ?€œKatana?€? it?€™s not really about the shape but the way it produced.

Where did the japanese learn to read and write some chinese? China? yea some but mostly through korea?€?

Chinese Character of course was born in China, and as alphabet had spread from SE Europe and widely accepted in the entire European nations, nobody doubts that Chinese characters migrated from west to east. There’s nothing more pathetic than some of Far Easterners today abandoned Chinese characters and wouldn?€™t be able to read its own historical records…very sad.

…pottery wonder where they got that?

Japanese pottery, I’m sure, owes lot to Choseon pottery makers. Some of these folks had found the suitable porcelain clay which at the time was little known to Japanese.

But believe or not, the Japanese porcelains had gotten even more significant influence from China. When the Ming dynasty collapsed in 1644, a Dutch merchant brought (or replanted for vital trading purpose) one Chinese pottery worker from whom Sakaida Kakiemon learned the drawing and baking. In a few years, Kakiemon quickly mastered and developed the pure-red inking technique which was not even available in China.

You can obtain more information by searching a keyword “Kakiemon” by Google, but the beauty of Kakiemon was unique to Japan at the time, and influenced heavily to the Western pottery, such as Meissen. I do give a credit to Choseon pottery makers for finding clays. They were as useful as French truffle-hunting pigs (this is a joke).

the japanese castles hm?€? where did that style come from?

You’ve never seen Japanese Castle? While the word “castle” in China and Korea is more like “fortress city”, Japanese Castle was closer to European castles, with the availability of structures such as Tenshukaku (the Keep). Unlike the most part of Asia, Japan didn’t have to protect the peasants since they traditionally fought over workforce, not the land itself. Burning and massacring, in my opinion, is very continental things.

hmm?€? the style of kendo ?€œsword fighting?€? came from korea. Kumdo.

Hahahaha. Bu-Do, Ju-Do, Iai-Do, Aiki-Do, Karate-Do, Cha-Do, Syo-Do, and Ken-Do… the word “Do” came from the fusion of Taoism and Zen. It wouldn?€™t be ?€“Do without this philosophy and practices. Any of these activities were passed down from a generation to generation that rules, methods, customs, wears and tools, and masters are all recorded though its history.

It’s so funny when Koreans try so hard to prove themselves that they were the origin to Japanese, but please go to the library first. The so-called Kumdo masters told at the court that Kumdo was a made-up legend in order to camouflage the very Japanese practices which they learned under the occupation, but didn?€™t want to abandon.

Tell me do you like what admiral Lee soon shin did to japan?

Lee Son Shin was a great commander for knowing its geography and how Japanese would fight. The ratio of Japanese army and navy was 10 to 1, and that was brilliant idea to crash transport ships so Japanese army in land wouldn’t be able to reach further into the Ming territory. It?€™s too bad he died while pursuing Shimadu after Japan and Ming made a pact?€??€?such an unnecessary loss, wasn?€™t it?

Yoda says let go of your hate- the road to the dark side it is.

Liked the vixen comment.

http://japundit.com/index.php

Could someone explain to me how to use the link button properly?

Did you learn this “fact” at the Yasukuni Museum?

Don’t call it “War shrine”.

Koizumi’s visit as an indivisual is guaranteed by constitution. Japanese people don’t have right to stop him.

Wasn’t Korean the very one who willingly killed Chinese people at WWII because it was the first time they can beat China. People say that Korean killed badly Chinese worse than Japaese souldiers. It’s time to investigate Korea’s crime.

But, he won’t. He is there to honor Japan’s glorious past. And, he is there to tell his constituents that Japan can do it again.