What Was the Sword Hunt in Japan

In 1588, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the second of Japans three unifiers, issued a decree. Henceforth, farmers were forbidden to carry swords or other weapons. Swords would be reserved only for the samurai warrior class. What was the Sword Hunt or katanagari that followed? Why did Hideyoshi take this drastic step? In 1588, the kampaku of Japan, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, issued the following decree: Farmers of all provinces are strictly forbidden to have in their possession any swords, short swords, bows, spears, firearms, or other types of weapons. If unnecessary implements of war are kept, the collection of annual rent (nengu) may become more difficult, and without provocation, uprisings can be fomented. Therefore, those who perpetrate improper acts against samurai who receive a grant of land (kyunin) must be brought to trial and punished. However, in that event, their wet and dry fields will remain unattended, and the samurai will lose their rights (chigyo) to the yields from the fields. Therefore, the heads of the provinces, the samurai who receive a grant of land, and deputies must collect all the weapons described above and submit them to Hideyoshi’s government.The swords and short swords collected in the above manner will not be wasted. They will be used as rivets and bolts in the construction of the Great Image of Buddha. In this way, farmers will benefit not only in this life but also in the lives to come.If farmers possess only agricultural implements and devote themselves exclusively to cultivating the fields, they and their descendants will prosper. This compassionate concern for the well‑being of the farms is the reason for the issuance of this edict, and such a concern is the foundation for the peace and security of the country and the joy and happiness of all the people... Sixteenth year of Tensho [1588], seventh month, 8th day Why Did Hideyoshi Forbid Farmers from Carrying Swords? Prior to the late sixteenth century, Japanese of different classes carried swords and other weapons for self-defense during the chaotic Sengoku period, and also as personal ornaments. However, at times the people used these weapons against their samurai overlords in peasant revolts (ikki) and the even more threatening combined peasant/monk uprisings (ikko-ikki). Thus, Hideyoshis decree was aimed at disarming both the farmers and the warrior monks. To justify this imposition, Hideyoshi notes that farms end up untended when the farmers revolt and have to be arrested. He also asserts that the farmers will become more prosperous if they concentrate on farming rather than on rising up. Finally, he promises to use the metal from the melted-down swords to make rivets for a Grand Buddha statue in Nara, thus securing blessings to the involuntary donors. In fact, Hideyoshi sought to create and enforce a stricter four-tier class system, in which everyone knew their place in society and kept to it. This is rather hypocritical, since he himself was from a warrior-farmer background, and was not a true samurai. How Did Hideyoshi Enforce the Decree? In the domains that Hideyoshi controlled directly, as well as Shinano and Mino, Hideyoshis own officials went house to house and searched for weapons. In the other domains, the kampaku simply ordered the relevant daimyo to confiscate the swords and guns, and then his officers traveled to the domain capitals to collect the weapons. Some domain lords were assiduous in collecting all of the weapons from their subjects, perhaps out of fear of uprisings. Others deliberately did not comply with the decree. For example, letters  exist between members of the Shimazu family of the southern Satsuma domain, in which they agreed to send a paltry 30,000 swords up to Edo (Tokyo), even though the region was famed for the long swords carried by all adult males. Despite the fact that the Sword Hunt was less effective in some regions than others, its general effect was to solidify the four-tier class system. It also played a role in the cessation of violence after Sengoku, leading into the two and a half centuries of peace that characterized the Tokugawa shogunate.

The Success And Success Of A Small Business Owner - 754 Words

The goal of the majority of corporations, primarily the small businesses, is the continuous improvements in the manner in which they operate every year. This is a difficult feat many business owners find to be very difficult and challenging. The life of a small business owner is one filled with many challenges, both big and small. Many factors will determine the levels of confidence and success that a small business will experience. The small business optimism index consists of results compiled by a survey of small business owners, conducted on a monthly basis by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB). The surveys components are the result of ten factors that affect the success and progress of every business owner. These factors include: plans to increase employment, plans to make capital outlays, plans to increase inventories, expect economy to improve, expect real sales higher, current inventory, current job openings, expected credit conditions, now a good tim e to expand, and earnings trend. (MyPivots, 2010). Those factors assist the NFIB in analyzing and predicting a small businesses potential vitality, and their influence on the stock market. Although these factors seem to be comprehensive, many other factors also exist that could go overlooked which could be included and aide in presenting a much more comprehensive view for the Optimism’s report. Some of those factors will be focused on are consumer confidence, interest rates and inflation.Show MoreRelatedCritical Success Factors for Small Business Enterprises in Saudi Arabia854 Words   |  4 Pagesstudy which the critical success factors that are necessary for achieving success for a small business in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. 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Fahrenheit 451 Critical Essay Free Essays

Jamie Moseley 17, October, 2012 Ms. Telesca English 101H Fahrenheit 451 Analysis In all societies, knowledge breeds life and understanding about mankind and the world surrounding it. Without the purposeful application of knowledge, the entropy of ignorance sweeps civilization into ruin and decay. We will write a custom essay sample on Fahrenheit 451 Critical Essay or any similar topic only for you Order Now In Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury asserts the point that knowledge is the foundation of civilization and if removed, what is left is a decaying society ravaged by stupidity and immorality. War, technology, and paradox sculpt a world that treats lies as truth and knowledge as sin. The characters in Fahrenheit 451 use technology as a mirroring motif, reflecting the characteristics of the society that invents things like headphones, bio-purging systems, and grotesque mechanical beasts. At first, headphones seem like a harmless invention, but actually showcase the fruitless â€Å"knowledge† of the people who use it. Montag discovers this when he observes Mildred using â€Å"the little Seashells, the thimble radios tamped tight, and an electronic ocean of sound . . . coming in on the shore of her unsleeping mind† (Bradbury 10). What Mildred listens to is not knowledgeable information, but merely a bombardment of sound and useless facts used to asphyxiate her mind. The Seashell radios force information on the listener to block out thought and short-circuit the listener’s creative faculties. Again Mildred uses the radios, but Montag finds her â€Å"eyes wide and staring at the fathoms of blackness above her in the ceiling† (39), as though she is nothing but a shell. It is interesting that the radios are called Seashells for seashells mimic the sound of the ocean just as the listeners of the radios mimic the information of the ocean of sound. People become nothing more than seashells that echo back the same bogus facts as truth without question. This empty society not only depresses free thought, but also dehumanizes its citizens. In the beginning of the book, Montag walks home to find Mildred overdosing on sleeping pills and calls the emergency line. In no time, two men walk in with two machines that are used to purge Mildred’s system. One machine â€Å"slid[es] down into your stomach like a black cobra down an echoing well looking for all the old water . . † (11) while the other is like an eye giving the operator the ability to â€Å"gaze into the soul of a person whom he was pumping out†(11). These machines invade the victim’s body in a way that violates the person’s humanity. The blood transfusion results in the victim becoming a wind-up toy. This incident portrays the indifference toward an individual’s life because of the violation of one’s body and disregard for pers onal emotion. However, the best embodiment of Montag’s society is the mechanical hound. The hound is introduced as an almost undead creature, one that â€Å"live[s] but [does] not live in its gently humming . . . kennel in a dark corner of the firehouse† (21). Like the hound, its creators neither live nor die but simply exist in a dark, backwards existence and wait for their next orders. The game of bets and death the firemen play explains the hound’s purpose. The hound traps its prey, â€Å"gripp[ing] in gentling paws while a four-inch hollow steel needle plunge[s] down from the proboscis of the hound to inject massive jolts of morphine and procaine† (23). The people, or prey, of this civilization are trapped by a gentle, yet nightmarish circumstance which injects massive amounts of false pleasure and phony facts that create a surreal yet entertaining state of being like the side effects of morphine and procaine. After Montag witnesses the killing, he asks Beatty if the hound is alive. Beatty immediately responds: â€Å"’ Come off it. It doesn’t like or dislike. It just ‘functions’ . . . † (24). The masses merely â€Å"function† like the hound going day to day in a mindless state of existence like mechanical creations. Also, the hound with â€Å"its eight incredible insect legs . . . (23) exposes the distortion of reality that is believed by people who would call this monstrous creation a hound though there is almost no resemblance between it and a dog. It is one of the twisted machines that make up the dystopia Montag lives in. Underneath the futuristic advances of this civilization lies the t rue dystopian world that is Fahrenheit 451. Like George Orwell’s 1984, constant war in foreign regions is present in this culture as bombers fly overhead every night like the rocket bombs of Winston’s world. Montag, in the heat of rage, questions the war effort and asks â€Å"’ Why doesn’t someone want to talk about it! We’ve started and won two atomic wars since 2022! ’† (69). Even after two atomic wars, the bombers still fly in formation, striking fear into the populace and rallying it together to focus its attention on a greater cause instead of the quality of their lives. War is inescapable on the radio where Montag hears the radio announce that â€Å". . . war may be declared any hour . . . † (30), which keeps the population on alert and standing by to defend its borders rather than defending their individual lives from the invasion of ignorance. Killing also unveils the dilapidated social structure as Clarisse states, â€Å"’ I’m afraid of children my own age. They kill each other’† (27). Death no longer inhibits the actions of others, but instead becomes a common fact of everyday life like breathing. Even Mildred, who comments on Montag’s need to smash things, suggests taking the beetle for a spin. â€Å"’ It’s fun out in the country. You hit rabbits, sometimes you hit dogs. Go take the beetle’† (61). Killing has no consequence anymore whether one kills an animal or murders a human. Death, like war, distracts people through fear. Everyone fears for their own life, but cares nothing for the lives of others. Suicide, however, is the exception to this rule. When one â€Å"enjoys† their life so much, they commit suicide. One of the operators who saves Mildred from overdosing casually says â€Å"’ we get these cases nine or ten times a night’† (13), as if it is nothing serious. On top of that, he also states that â€Å"’ you take out the old [blood] and put in the new [blood] and you’re okay’† (12). The reason for suicide is that the people lead such hollow lives wrapped in cheap entertainment which leaves them without purpose. The lack of knowledge does not help because with knowledge, one can assume a purpose and make reason to life. Without it, there is no way to find a purpose and therefore people toss themselves away. However, they are given their meaningless lives back through transfusion and begin again the downward spiral surrounded by paradox and contradiction. To place the final nail in the coffin of free thought, paradoxical ideas are substituted for knowledge that leaves society vacuous. Like the Ministry of Love in 1984, the firemen are a contradiction of good and evil. Beatty tells Montag that they are â€Å"’ the Happiness Boys, the Dixie Duo . . . we stand against the small tide of those who want to make everyone unhappy . . ’† (59) though they bring destruction and even death wherever they are sent. Yet, they whole-heartedly believe that their duty is one of ultimate justice for the good of man whereas it is the opposite. This twisting of reality appears in the television shows like Mildred’s â€Å"family†. She feels like she belongs with them, crying out â€Å"à ¢â‚¬â„¢ my ‘family’ is people. They tell me things; I laugh, they laugh! ’† (69). The â€Å"family† creates a sense of belonging and inclusion that actually excludes and cuts the viewer off from the real world by satisfying the need for information. Watching television is an exclusive affair which Montag soon realizes. In frustration, Montag asks Mildred, â€Å"’ does your ‘family’ love, love you very much, love you with all their heart and soul, Millie? ’† (73). What Mildred feels for the ‘family’ is a surrogate set of emotions, substituting fact and truth with what she sees and hears, causing her to truly love the â€Å"family† even though it is merely a program. Beatty explains the constant attack of pseudo-knowledge and emotion: â€Å"’Cram them full of noncombustible data, chock them so damned full of ‘facts’ they feel stuffed , but absolutely brilliant with information’† (58). He goes on to say â€Å"’ if the drama is bad, if the film says nothing, if the play is hollow, sting me with the Theremin, loudly . . . I just like solid entertainment’† (58). What Beatty is alluding to is if the masses are overrun with useless information, paradoxical ideas, and false emotions, they will believe that they understand the world around them from what they have absorbed and consider it truth and live in stupid intelligence which is the greatest paradox presented. Like light and darkness, knowledge drives off ignorance. However, Bradbury creates a culture where knowledge is stifled in an impenetrable web of ignorance that dictates the lives of the characters in Fahrenheit 451. Murder, machines, and contradictions are used to give false purpose and reason to humanity in place of knowledge. The hero Montag journeys through this dangerous environment in an attempt to find himself and uncover the horrific truth that without reason, destruction and rot await to consume all who ignore intelligence. Works Cited Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1967. Print. How to cite Fahrenheit 451 Critical Essay, Essay examples

Apa Style Guide free essay sample

American Psychological Association (APA) APA Style Manual 6th Edition Quick Reference Writing-Style Handbook Strayer University March 1, 2010 Table of Contents INTRODUCTION4 CHAPTER 1 Basic Form and Appearance5 Margins5 Spacing5 Font Styles5 Page Numbers5 Page Headers6 Title Page6 Headings8 Numbers9 Lists10 Abbreviations10 Tables and Figures10 CHAPTER 2SUPPORTING DOCUENTATION FOR ACADEMIC PAPERS13 In–Text Citation13 Direct Quotations14 Works with no Author or with an Anonymous Author15 Work by Two Authors16 Work by Multiple Authors, five or more16 Paraphrasing17 Do Not Plagiarize18 Using Block Quotations19 Reference List: Basic Rules20 References within the Reference List20 Reference Examples for Periodicals 20 Reference Examples for Non-Periodicals21 Electronic Sources22 Examples for Internet Sources22 Miscellaneous Sources 24 CHAPTER 3 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES26 APA Writing Style Quick Reference Introduction This writing-style handbook is intended to provide basic examples of APA style, modeled after the 6th edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (2010). The intent is not to provide detailed instructions relative to every question that may arise. The quick reference is to help students become familiar with the APA style of writing academic papers in a university setting. The key is getting students to not fear writing assignments. Writing is like reading. Students need a lot of practice to help them master the skill. Chapter 1 BASIC FORM AND APPEARANCE Setting up the paper: Margins Set up all margins, using 1-inch margins on all sides of each page. Justify the left side of the page, leave the right side ragged. Spacing The first line of each paragraph should be indented five spaces. The text, throughout the paper, must be doubled-spaced. Use one or two spaces between sentences and one space between words. Be consistent throughout paper. Font Styles The text, throughout the paper, must be written in the same font: Use Time New Roman. Use 12-point size. For emphasis, italics may be used; do not use bold, underlining, or all-capital letters. Page Numbers Insert page numbers in the upper right-hand corner, 1† inside the margin of the paper and ? † from top of page (see Example 1). When inserting the page numbers, do not use the abbreviation P. or p. or the word page. All pages will be numbered in sequence, starting with the title page (page 1) and ending with the reference list. Page Headers Typically, the running head is required only for publication. Check with your instructor regarding the preference for using a running head. The words Running head, only appear on the title page. Use no more than the first 50 characters of the title, left justified of the page number, located in the page header of the paper, and located ? † from the top of the page and 1† from the right edge of the paper. Running-Page Header and Page Number Running head: TITLE OF PAPER1| Title Page A title page is included. When creating a title page, the following information must be centered on the page: Running head and page number Full title of the paper Author’s Name Strayer University Instructor Course (MKT500) Date Complete Title Page with Page Header and Running head Running head: APA QUICK REFERENCE 1 APA Quick Reference Writing-Style HandbookAuthorStrayer UniversityInstructorCourseDate| Headings To organize a paper using headings, establish a hierarchy of sections throughout the paper. This hierarchy functions as an outline, revealing the paper’s organizations. Add an extra space above headings, to set off new topics. Center-section headings contain no caps or underlining. Bold must be used. There are 5-heading levels, in APA, to separate and classify paper sections. The 6th edition of the APA manual revises and simplifies previous heading guidelines. Regardless of the number of levels, always use the headings in order, beginning with level one. The format of each level is illustrated below: APA Headings| Level| Format| 1| Centered, Boldface, Uppercase, and Lowercase Headings| 2| Left-aligned, Boldface, Uppercase, and Lowercase Heading| 3| Indented, boldface, and lowercase heading with period. | 4| Indented, boldface, italicized, and lowercase heading with period. Paraphrased: Passage rewritten to express the idea of the author, but in your own words: For many employees with health problems, often making the decision of whether or not to change jobs is based on the need to maintain the same health insurance coverage and not on the prospect of a better career opportunity (Baker, 2003) ** Three or more consecutive words directly from a source is considered a direct quote and must be cited as a direct quote. Citing Personal Communications: For letters, memos, e-mail, interviews:S. U. Varnes (personal communication, May 12, 2001). *Do not list on Reference page. | Using Block Quotations Block Quotes are identified as a freestanding quote with more than 40 words. Indent the Quote only five spaces from the left margin. Do not use quotation marks. * See the example for formatting block quotations. Note that the end punctuation, for a block quotation, follows the quotation, not the citation. * End the quotation with a period. Block Quotation Author’s name not given within sentence used to introduce quote: When we compare adult students who return to college after being in the workplace we find Adult students are often more dedicated to achieving their college education than many traditional students. Most adult students who make the choice to return to college are accustomed to prioritizing their tasks. These individuals have experienced the demands of juggling their responsibilities and are more willing and able to take the initiative to succeed in their academic career (Smith, 2002, p. 121). Many adults who have excelled in their professional lives know how to apply themselves in their new academic life. Author’s name used to introduce quote: Smith (2002) points out that adult student are often more dedicated to achieving their college education than many traditional students. Most adult students who make the choice to return to college are accustomed to prioritizing their tasks. These individuals have experienced the demands of juggling their responsibilities and are more willing and able to take the initiative to succeed in their academic career (p. 121). Many adults who have excelled in their professional lives know how to apply themselves in their new academic life. Reference List: Basic Rules and Format Your reference list should appear at the end of your paper. It provides the information necessary for a reader to locate and retrieve any source you cite in the body of the paper. Each source, you cite in the paper, must appear in your reference list; likewise, each entry in the reference list must be cited in your text. Your references should begin on a new page, separate from the text of the essay; label this page References centered at the top of the page. (Do NOT underline, or use quotation marks for the title. ) All text should be double-spaced just like the rest of your essay. Your references must be in alphabetical order and reverse indented when the references are more than one line. References within the Reference Page Reference Examples for Periodicals Magazine Article, No Author [article title. (year, month day). magazine name, volume (issue #, if applicable), page number(s). ] Duke Power understates earnings. (2003, May 1). Newsweek, 5(1), 23-24| Magazine Article, One Author [author last name, first initial. (year, month day). article title, magazine name, volume (issue number, if applicable), page number(s),] Smith, J. (2003, May 1). Duke Power understates earnings. Newsweek, 5(1), 23-24| Magazine Article, Multiple Authors If a magazine or journal article has more than two authors, identify all authors by name. Do not use et al.