Oleg Benesch

Five books are lying on the floor. One is open and shows an image on the upper left page.

Unpacking. It’s finally here. Best of all: you can share the excitement for free, as the book is open access. Follow the link in the post below to download a PDF or EPUB version.
Happy reading and happy strolling through Japanese garden history!

Having spent a bit of time trying to pin down what "medieval" means in Indian historiography, I sympathise with the guy who just put "(though no one agrees)" after his proposed date range

Interior shot of the Hofkirche with tomb of Maximilian and statues

🧵 of my favourite sixteenth-century bronze statues flanking the empty tomb of Maximilian I in the Innsbruck Hofkirche

Hurrah!! Brilliant new book from my wonderful department colleague!

Inventing the Way of the Samurai by @olegb.bsky.social explores the concept of “Bushido” from genesis in 19th C Japan as an “invented tradition” in response to European concepts to its postwar rehabilitation.

This is wonderful 👇

Teachers/Profs, etc. who use video games as part of your course materials: how do you do it? You can't require everyone to own a gaming system, and lord knows your school isn't providing them to students. I see lots written about how to integrate game content, but not much on the logistics.

Definitely - my students are almost exclusively history majors, with my Japan classes being just a small part of their overall study.

IIRC, the cutscenes for Ghost of Tsushima ran over an hour in total, so plenty of material there! A minority of my students would be playing samurai games, so I prefer those other options rather than the game itself, although students who do play the game can then share their own experiences.

I also find that playthrough videos and cutscene compilations are very useful, especially if you're focused on content and are concerned about accessibility.

Concrete reconstruction of the Fushimi Momoyama Castle keep

Torii in front of the Meiji emperor's tomb

A rusted sign with an image of Fushimi Momoyama Castle

The entrance gate to the Nogi Shrine in Fushimi

For anyone interested in castles, emperors, and theme parks, Ran Zwigenberg and my article on the modern history of Fushimi Momoyama Castle in Kyoto has just come out from Japan Review. www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/japa...

A light blue diagram depicting the sea, with the water's surface at the top, and just below it is an outline of the Mary Rose, with the depth (12m, 40ft or 6.7 fathoms). There is a line showing the seabed, which takes a rapid dive into the vertical...

On the anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, we thought we'd answer a question that's often asked,

"If they raised the Mary Rose, why not raise the Titanic?"

Allow our scaled diagram to explain...

This looks great!

Azuchi Castle: The Ultimate Fortress Podcast Episode · Echoes of History · 03/17/2025 · 46m

Listening now to @olegb.bsky.social's interview with Matt Lewis of Echoes of History about Azuchi Castle, and unsurprisingly it's great!

Give it a listen on your podcast platform of choice!

Thanks for sharing!!

Graphic Narratives and History in the Americas In recent years, graphic narratives have gained greater recognition within the historical profession. University presses publish series of graphic historie

As a lifelong comics fan, I'm excited that our discussion of "Graphic Narratives and History in the Americas" has just appeared Open Access in the latest issue of the American Historical Review from @historians.org. It's been a lot of fun with some incredible people!
academic.oup.com/ahr/article/...

Thanks! The Return to Camelot is fantastic, with wonderful illustrations. It's been very influential for my own work.

Thanks for the plug! In terms of Edwardian chivalry, perhaps Girouard's _The Return to Camelot_ or Goebel's _The Great War and Medieval Memory_? Both of those are excellent.

Table showing the foreign population breakdown by Tokyo wards. The ten largest national groups are separately enumerated. Namely, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Nepalese, Filipino, Myanmarese, Taiwanese, American, Indian and Indonesian.

This table has the January 2025 foreign population breakdown by Tokyo wards. There's data for the 10 largest national groups, then all other nationalities are lumped together. Those ten groups are much changed from 25 years ago. www.toukei.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/gaikoku/2025...

Good morning!

East Asian Studies at Sheffield is also home to historians who contribute to joint programmes and teach for colleagues in the History department.

Sheffield's is one of the largest interdisciplinary groupings of East Asia specialists in the UK and one of the most important globally.

Photo of samurai armour with French cuirass

Photo of samurai armour with French cuirass

Drawing of four French soldiers in 1857 uniforms

I just came across this samurai armour that seems to have been produced in the 19th century by modifying and decorating a recent French armour. The cuirass seems to be the same type as in the colour image. The armour is held by the Royal Armouries in Leeds. royalarmouries.org/collection/o...

Sheffield Uni Needs East Asian Studies! The University of Sheffield has been a global leader in East Asian Studies since its inception as the national centre for modern Japanese Studies in 1963. Korean Studies was introduced in 1979 and mai...

East Asian Studies at Sheffield University is an amazing school. We held our 2023 Martial Arts Studies Conference there - for precisely that reason. Please add your voice to fight for East Asian Studies at Sheffield Uni. The UK needs MORE schools like this!
www.megaphone.org.uk/petitions/sh...

I'm thrilled about this!

The Scientist and the South Seas: Micronesians in the Japanese Imperial Gaze - Grassroots Operations of the Japanese Empire Introduction by Ruselle Meade, Cardiff University In 1914, shortly after the outbreak of World War I, Japan seized Germany’s territories in the North Pacific, having invoked its formal alliance with t...

A new entry alert!! Dr. Ruselle Meade has kindly contributed this translation of a Japanese scientist describing indigenous people and life in Nan'yo. I can think of many ways of using this resource in class already!

japaneseempire.info/the-scientis...

There's a frequent comparison between medieval Europe and Japan, which can result in interesting insights. I've been especially interested in how this trend of comparison and definition emerges in the late 19th century, and its subsequent development.

2024/25 John Howes Lecture in Japanese Studies: Samurai, Knights, and Nationalisms: Japan and the Medievalization of the Modern World - Department of Asian Studies With Professor Oleg Benesch (University of York)

I'll be back in Vancouver for the first time in far too long on Jan 30 give a talk on how samurai became a global icon and how societies around the world also searched their own supposedly medieval pasts to find similar symbols and ideals (livestream also available)
asia.ubc.ca/events/event...

A Baker's Dozen of Books Wot I Liked in 2024.

Honourable mentions: the Slow Horses books, Butter by Asako Yuzuki, Osamu Dazai's No Longer Human, Seichi Matsumoto's various crime fictions, Alasdair Gray's Poor Things, Times Echo, A History of the World in 47 Borders, Kim Wagner's book on Bud Daro.

Thanks! I'm very happy that you found it of interest!

Good to know - thanks!!