Christianity in Japan Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Christianity in Japan - Term Paper Example Missionaries who enter the nation appear to be unaware of this reality, so many of them may continue to use similar strategies applied in non-Japanese cultures. Their failure to take into account the perspectives and inclinations of the people of Japan may explain why so few Christians exist in the country and why the church has grown by only minuscule levels in this part of the world. In the early seventeenth century, Japan underwent a unification process in which they created a politically stable system for over 200 years. This need for stabilization came after prolonged periods of civil strife starting from the 12th to the 16th century under the leadership of the shogun, which was a military governor. The shogun was a representative of the Japanese emperor and had much political power; in fact, many argue that the emperor was a mere symbol as the real ruler was the shogun. The shogun also had retainers who got property and political control for offering military services, but this arrangement would prove to be ineffective as the two parties often conflicted amongst themselves. By the 16th century, it became clear that the system was unsustainable as it led people to enter into war amongst themselves (Reader 39). This civil war led political leaders to seek unification among various states through the efforts of military representatives; the process would lead to a series of social and cultural processes as well. The remaining chieftain in 1600 to 1616 was known as Tokugawa bakufu - a temporary military government – that had shoguns. These shoguns wanted to prevent civil war using the daimyo who were strong property owners found throughout the country. Daimyo also had their own schools, judiciary and military representatives within their territories; several of them worked on expanding their economies by foreign relationships with foreigners. They acquired the skill of weapons manufacture from European travelers and purchased firearms as well

Some Say I Was Poor Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Some Say I Was Poor - Essay Example This brought some joy of happiness in my life as we no longer had to dwell out for a bath. Like every rich child I did not receive bacon, sausage and eggs in my breakfast but rather settled for an oat meal which i never missed upon. My childhood had good memories of receiving good clothes from my elder siblings who stopped wearing them after a while. Again the clothes were not new but they were enough to make me happy for a while. All these problems arose because i belonged to a family who was not much educated. My father and mother both dropped out from their school at an early age and could not strive for a better job to earn their family a nice living. As i grew up in life i realized that i belonged to a lower class family in the United States. When i was a child there were certain times when i used to witness rich children and envy them because of their way of living but now at this age when i think of it i consider it as a blessing in disguise. Christmas was a time which i looke d forward to during my childhood as that was the time when i used to get presents. Some of my wishes did not come true during my childhood but i still don’t regret them. Altogether we were ten siblings living under one roof and being together was a pleasure for me as we always had the company of each other. We used to get along well and played games together which helped us to pass our time in a nice manner. Like every child we also had wished to have a big feast and in order to fulfil our wishes we used to play games in which we pretended as to we all were eating a large feast. At the age of eleven we all were required to go to the cotton field so we could earn for our family. On Friday we were all paid and this money would go to our parents so they could manage the house. Many people would consider this act to be a harmful act for the children but we were happy to do this for the cause of our family. As my father was not much educated himself he did not give specific direct ions to us so that we could study. My father preached us about God and helped us to know that he is the supreme being in the world. Success does not come instantly in life but it can be achieved on different levels. Growing up in a small town called Ferris located in Texas was not hard but one thing that i must admit is that we belonged to a poor community as a whole. In those times the neighbours had great respect for each other and in our town all our neighbours used to share things with each other. I still remember this as a positive gesture during my childhood which helped me to learn more about life and care. Gradually with time all of my siblings including me started walking on a path which led to a better future. We all have grown up to get used to the culture of the world today. Some of my siblings joined school whereas some went to trade schools only to become successful. With struggle and hope all of us have become professionals in the world today to lead a better life tha n we had when we were children. Although we can still not be classified in the upper class of the American Society today but we are happy with all that we have. All of us have become financially stable to earn a better future and now that we sit together we remember the times that we had during our childhood. I have learned on every step of life that we can become successful if we try. Education in my