April 2023

The Japanese word “mai” translates to “dance,” but its meaning goes beyond that. ” mai” is a dance performed to please the gods, as indicated by its Chinese characters. It was also used to entertain the emperor. The movie “Myth,” starring Jackie Chan, offers a good example of this. In the movie, Qin Shi Huangdi, the emperor of China, collected beautiful princesses from neighboring countries to be kept in his palace. Among them were Korean princesses. One of the Korean…

Chinese characters are hieroglyphs whose origins can be traced back to the Cossack script. The Koukou script was written on shells and bones during the Shang Dynasty to the Warring States Period, from the 14th century B.C. to the 3rd century B.C., to record divination and rituals, and to manage finances and supplies. The Chinese character “道” is often used for “paving the way,” “mastering the way,” and “judo.” The “道” in the Koukouji character comes from the picture of…

During the Shang Dynasty in ancient China, people used to practice divination by burning tortoise shells and cattle scapulae over a fire and interpreting the cracks that formed on them as the will of the gods. These divinations were used to govern themselves. The turtle shells and animal bones used for divination were engraved with the date and time of the divination, the name of the diviner, the matter divined, and the result of the divination. These engravings are called…

The Boshin War was a Japanese civil war fought between Imperial and shogunate forces from 1868 to 1869. While many foreigners may view the Meiji Restoration that followed as a positive development, it is important to recognize the tragedies that befell the regions that were defeated in the war. In these regions, residents often lacked basic necessities such as food, and some samurai families were forced to sell their daughters into servitude in Tokyo, where they became mistresses of Meiji…

In 1936, a Labour government was formed in New Zealand, and the new Prime Minister, Michael Joseph, promised to improve relations with Samoa. The new government reviewed several rules and laws, including establishing Samoan associate judges in the courts and hiring Samoans and local Europeans in the public sector. They also set up a registry office to recognize land rights. In 1947, Samoan leaders sent a letter to the United Nations asking for autonomy. The UN sent a delegation to…

New Zealand governed Samoa from 1919 to 1962, but initially struggled to understand and rule the country effectively. Samoa had a self-governing system in which chiefs in each village held important roles and responsibilities. However, the New Zealand government forbade Samoans from fulfilling these roles and transferred power from the matai, or village chiefs, to the New Zealand government. The New Zealand government even had the power to revoke the title of matai, which was deeply hurtful to Samoans as…

After Samoa became a colony in 1925, the Colonial Act was implemented, causing many issues as it failed to acknowledge the realities of Samoa. In 1929, during protests, Prince Tamasese was killed by New Zealand violence, which led to increasing momentum to oppose the colonial law and pursue independence and self-government by Samoans. Samoa appealed to New Zealand and the United States for independence. In 1948, the Samoan flag was allowed to fly next to the New Zealand flag, and…

In the 1800s, people from many countries immigrated to Samoa. In 1857, German traders established plantations on the island of Upolu. The plantations flourished, and the German settlers gained more power. They then negotiated with the United States, Great Britain, and Tonga and signed the Berlin Agreement. As a result, the great chief of Upolu was overthrown, and the German settlers proclaimed themselves as kings. In 1914, World War I broke out, and New Zealand invaded Samoa, which was a…

Between 1000 B.C. and 400 A.D., Polynesian peoples began to settle on Pacific islands. Between 950 and 1250 A.D., Samoa came under the rule of the Kingdom of Tonga. Samoa then gained independence and experienced a golden age under Queen Salamagina around 1600 A.D. However, with the Age of Exploration, Europeans began to arrive to explore. The Germans arrived in 1772, followed by the French in 1787. In 1828, Christianity was introduced, and both the Anglican Church and the Catholic…

“Sechi” refers to the milestones in life, including New Year’s Day, the Peach Festival in March, the Iris Festival in May, the Tanabata Festival, and the Chou-you Festival. During these festivals, delicious food harvested during that time is offered to the gods. Afterward, the leftover food is enjoyed and shared among the people during the festivities. One of the most famous milestones is Oshogatsu, where we eat Osechi cuisine. The meaning of Osechi-ryori is that the gods are the first…

The saying “Good people bring out the good in other people” is attributed to Plutarch, an ancient Greek philosopher and biographer. This phrase suggests that in order to attract excellent talent, one must first be excellent themselves. In other words, if you do great work, you are more likely to attract similarly great people to work with you.   A similar statement was made by Cao Cao in China. 才子相聚，必有异人　（Chinese) 才子は才子を呼ぶ    (Japanese) This phrase means that in order to…