buy custom Japan History essay

buy custom Japan History essay The Ashikaga era in Japan happened in the years 1336 to 1573, and marked the governance of the Ashikaga Shogunate or the Muromachi. This period was known as the Ashikaga period or the Muromachi period. The governance of the Ashikaga ahogunate was formally established in the year 1338. During the Ashikaga period, the first European merchant ships docked in Japan, with Portuguese traders in the year 1543. The Portuguese started trading in Japan and their business activities were referred to as the Nanban trade. The Nanban Trade which was also referred to as the Southern barbarian trade, started when the Europeans arrived to Japan. The Japanese considered the Europeans as unsophisticated because of their cultural and social behaviors. On the other side, the Europeans admired Japan, describing the country as a land which is rich in minerals (Mason Caiger 187). They were fascinated by the temples and palaces built on the land, and were greatly impressed by the abundant presence of surface ores which are common features of a volcanic land. This was before the start of commercial mining. These events led to commercial extraction of minerals and Japan soon became a major exporter of silver and cooper minerals to Europe. The Early Tokugawa Japan was a period that happened in the 17th century. The period was referred to as the Tokugawa period or the Edo period. In Japan history, the Tokugawa period was ruled by the shoguns from the Tokugawa family from 1603 to 1868. During this period, poetry went through many changes although the court poets were enviously fighting to maintain their monopoly (Morton Olenik 119). Poetry was greatly admired and was one of the major arts in the social scene. During this period, there existed a famous poet known as Basho. Basho was highly recognized for his unique works in the combined forms of haikai no renga. Bashos lifetime saw his recognition as a master of brief and clear Haiku. At his young age, Basho was introduced to poetry and he quickly became famous throughout Japan after integrating himself into intellectual scene of Edo. He worked as a teacher and gave up the luxurious social, city life of the literally groupings and he preferred to explore the whole countr y from the West to East, and went further into the northern side of the country to grow insight for his poetry writing. His creativity was influenced by his worldly encounters from his expedition. The late Tokugawa Japan happened at the final years of the Edo period when the reign of Tokugawa shogunate ended. Numerous major events characterized this period, the most notable being the isolationalist foreign policy which was also known as sakoku and its transition from a feudal shogunate to the Meiji administration (Mason Caiger 257). The Sakoku policy was enacted by the Tokugawa Shogunate throug an act of law and policies between the years 1633 to 1639 and remained in effect to the year 1853, on the arrival of Commodore Mathew Perry, and marked the opening of Japan. The policy restricted movement of people in and out of Japan, and thus restricted trade and foreign activities between Japan and the outside world. Tokugawa Japan: Economic Growth, Urbanization, and Cultural Change The period of Tokugawa in Japan witnessed numerous economic and cultural changes. During the Tokugawa period, trade and foreign affairs were yielding massive profits because the activities were monopolized by the shogunate, although the trading activities were also permitted to the Tsushima domains and to the Satsuma (Mason Caiger 222). The first trade exchanges were witnessed when European Nanban ships brought in Portuguese merchants. The European trade ships to the Nanban trade were later followed by traders who were Dutch, Spanish and English. The year 1603 marked the start of active foreign trade by Japan and in 1615, the Hasekura Tsunenaga allowed trade missions across the pacific to the New Spain and until the year 1635, the Shogun gave out various permits for the trade ships designed for the Asian markets. The move increased foreign trade and the economy recorded high gains due to the presence of foreign exchange. Christianity started spreading in Japan after the influence of European traders on the Japanese people. Some of the high ranking leaders embraced Christianity and the western culture. One Japanese leader known as Oda Nobunaga also embraced Christianity and the foreign Western technology because he wanted to use it as a strategy to curb Buddhism (Mason Caiger 106). In the year 1614, an ruler known as Leyasu promoted foreign trade and started relations with the Dutch and the English but on the other hand, the imposed suppression and discrimination of Christianity. Foreign trade between Japan and European countries boosted economic growth because the country became a major exporter of valuable minerals. During the Tokugawa period, Japan experienced development of large urban centers, education, productive agriculture and highly developed economic systems coupled with national economic structures. This trade resulted to introduction of Christianity and western culture to Japan. The Tokugawa period saw the growth of urban centers, increased export and import activities and expansion of domestic and foreign trades. Foreign trade led to the development of urban areas and as a result, this urbanization greatly influenced the cultural and social standards of Tokugawa Japan. Urbanization saw the development of prostitution and geisha. Geishas were famous female dancers, meant to entertain men. Merchantss enjoyed spending their luxury time in places that had Geishas. Prostitution became rampant because foreign merchants were used to the pressures of prostitutes. Crime increased in Tokugawa and presence of beggars who were seen as non human, were present in urban areas. Discontent in Tokugawa Japan In the mid 1800s of the Japan history, the country had faced numerous changes due to foreign influence. The country had many factions with differing opinions about their social and political ways, leading to discontent among the Japanese and foreign traders. Some leaders embraced western cultures while others fought to preserve their indigenous culture. The economic environment was stable although the political environment had many negative influences on Japan and the international world. The downfall of Tokugawa Shogunate led to the loss of previously enjoyed traditional rights of the Samurai. The Samurai were denied their traditional privileges of carrying two swords, the privileges of being exclusively military and the privileges of holding high bureaucratic positions. The Samurai were unsatisfied with the new governance that denied them their long-established civil liberties. In the mid 1800s, the sakoku policy was in effect and restricted any movement in or out of Japan. The policy was unwelcomed by the Japanese people and foreigners. Foreigners were discontented by the law that restricted them from doing free business with Japan, and the people of Japan felt land locked by the policy because traders wanted to do foreign trade with the west. The Sakoku policy was a major impediment to economic and social growth and was unwelcomed by the Japanese people and foreigners (Morton Olenik 168). After the mid 1800s, various Japanese factions had borrowed a lot of support from the west, and the Japanese people had adopted various aspects of the western culture. This borrowed culture led to the fading of the Japanese traditions and culture. The Japanese people realized that the foreign influence was a threat to their culture and felt unhappy (Morton Olenik 168). Towards the end of the 1800s, the Japanese people devised a strategy in admiration of their culture, a plan that was aimed at overseeing respect for Japan's time-honored culture, such as admiration for the Emperor. The Social, political and economic environments were all altered in order to incorporate foreign influences while trying to maintain stability. This era saw the employment of French military in efforts to modernize the military of the Bakufu (Morton Olenik 168). Extremists in Japan resulted to war against the Bakufu, the Han authorities and all foreigners in an effort to reclaim the emperor, as a figure of peace and unity. Buy custom Japan History essay

Population Decline in Russia

Population Decline in Russia Russian President Vladimir Putin recently directed his nations parliament to develop a plan to reduce the countrys falling birthrate. In a speech to parliament on May 10, 2006, Putin called the problem of Russias dramatically declining population, The most acute problem of contemporary Russia. The president called on parliament to provide incentives for couples to have a second child to increase the birth rate in order to stop the countrys plummeting population. Russias population peaked in the early 1990s (at the time of the end of the Soviet Union) with about 148 million people in the country. Today, Russias population is approximately 143 million. The United States Census Bureau estimates that Russias population will decline from the current 143 million to a mere 111 million by 2050, a loss of more than 30 million people and a decrease of more than 20%. The primary causes of Russias population decrease and loss of about 700,000 to 800,000 citizens each year are a high death rate, low birth rate, high rate of abortions, and a low level of immigration. High Death Rate Russia has a very high death rate of 15 deaths per 1000 people per year. This is far higher than the worlds average death rate of just under 9. The death rate in the U.S. is 8 per 1000 and for the United Kingdom its 10 per 1000. Alcohol-related deaths in Russia are very high and alcohol-related emergencies represent the bulk of emergency room visits in the country. With this high death rate, Russian life expectancy is low- the World Health Organization estimates the life expectancy of Russian men at 59 years while womens life expectancy is considerably better at 72 years. This difference is primarily a result of high rates of alcoholism among males. Low Birth Rate Understandably, due to these high rates of alcoholism and economic hardship, women feel less than encouraged to have children in Russia. Russias total fertility rate is low at 1.3 births per woman. This number represents the number of children each Russian woman has during her lifetime. A replacement total fertility rate to maintain a stable population is 2.1 births per woman. Obviously, with such a low total fertility rate Russian women are contributing to a declining population. The birth rate in the country is also quite low; the crude birth rate is 10 births per 1000 people. The world average is just over 20 per 1000 and in the U.S. the rate is 14 per 1000. Abortion Rates During the Soviet era, abortion was quite common and was utilized as a method of birth control. That technique remains common and quite popular today, keeping the countrys birth rate exceptionally low. According to a Russian news source, there are more abortions than births in Russia. The online news source mosnews.com reported that in 2004 1.6 million women had abortions in Russia while 1.5 million gave birth. In 2003, the BBC reported that Russia had, 13 terminations for every 10 live births. Immigration Additionally, immigration into Russia is low- immigrants are primarily a trickle of ethnic Russians moving out of former republics (but now independent countries) of the Soviet Union. Brain drain and emigration from Russia to Western Europe and other parts of the world is high as native Russians seek to better their economic situation. Putin himself explored the issues surrounding the low birth rate during his speech, asking What has prevented a young family, a young woman, from making this decision? The answers are obvious: low incomes, a lack of normal housing, doubts about the level of medical services and quality education. At times, there are doubts about the ability to provide enough food.