Japan’s Edo Period (1603-1867) was a time of peace and stability when various arts and technologies became well developed. At the top of the social hierarchy was the samurai warrior class. So essential in wartime, they became the bureaucrats who administered the government and oversaw the prevailing social order. At…
Actor Naoto Takenaka s commanding presence grabbed my attention in Seiten wo Tsuke (Reach beyond the blue sky), Japan Broadcasting Corp. s (NHK) year-long historical TV drama series that started this past Sunday.
Takenaka presented an impassioned portrayal of Nariaki Tokugawa (1800-1860), a feudal daimyo who ruled the Mito Domain (present-day Ibaraki Prefecture).
I was always of the impression that Nariaki was one of the most uncompromising champions of nationalism and the Meiji Restoration.
But I learned recently that there was also a side of him that was surprisingly progressive or liberal, if you will.
When a cholera pandemic raged toward the end of the Edo Period (1603-1867), Nariaki published a manual that he hoped would help the entire nation, and distributed it to his people.