This essay deals with the political upheavals which occurred in Japan with the Meiji Restoration of 1868 and its impact on the Samurai Class. This transitional period in Japanese history is portrayed in the film The Last Samurai from 2003, and it's the comparison between this Hollywood production and the current research on the subject on which this essay focuses. Two key figures who are portrayed in the film are Nathan Algren (Tom Cruise), an American soldier from the Indian Wars of the 1860/70s who travels to Japan to quell the Samurai rebellion but ends up in captivity; only to learn their codex of honor and way of life and eventually become a Samurai himself. The other character calls himself Katsumoto (Ken Watanabe) and becomes the representative of the Samurai's struggle for their existence. Their friendship and cultural exchanges will remain a cornerstone throughout the film. Katsumoto has his historical counterpart in Saigō Takamori – also known as The Last Samurai during the times of the Meiji Restoration and its aftermath. Closely intertwined with the Samurai come ideals in which the warrior must follow specific precepts and behavior patterns both on the battlefield and in civilian life. Bushidō (“the way of the warrior”) and the ritual suicide that is seppuku (“stomach-cutting”) therefore play a significant role in the film and become a symbol of the clash between the old values of the Samurai and the inevitable process of modernization according to Western standards. The film explores both the theoretical and practical dimension of bushidō and is a tribute to the Samurai; their ideals, living and learning philosophy and to their codex of honor. It also depicts the unexpected and forbidden friendship between a Samurai and a soldier with their separate Western and Eastern values – which ultimately results in their common defeat before the new age in Japan.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-08-20T14:23:46Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Luiz_Carlos_Coelho_Feijo_Dissertacao.pdf: 11471069 bytes, checksum: bd4bbc8369f8449f10591dd22c250e07 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-05-06 / Relatively recent in Brazil, the manga won fans of all ages and genres through titles like Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z, Rurouni Kenshin, One Piece and others. Many of its stories have historical background or reference parts of Japanese history, especially of samurai and shinobi (ninja), which has awakened the interest of Brazilian readers, hitherto accustomed to Western stories that mostly were purely fictional. All this notoriety gained by manga in the West drew the attention of Western scholars, among which we mention Sonia Bibe Luyten (2000); Paul Gravett (2006) and Robin Brenner (2007), leading them to conduct research ranging from appearance manga of the role played by them in Japanese culture today. Taking this into consideration, this study aimed at evaluating how three mangaká (Chrono Nanae, Watsuki Nobuhiro and Sorachi Hideaki) make use of their works to convey to his readers his view on certain events in the Meiji Restoration, whether through narrative or the representation of historical characters inserted into his plots / Relativamente recentes no Brasil, os mangás conquistaram fãs de diversas idades e gêneros através de títulos como Dragon Ball e Dragon Ball Z, Samurai X, One Piece entre outros. Muitas de suas histórias possuem fundo histórico ou fazem referência a partes da história japonesa, principalmente os de samurais e shinobis (ninjas), o que acabou despertando o interesse de leitores brasileiros, acostumados até então com histórias ocidentais que em sua grande maioria eram puramente ficcionais. Toda esta notoriedade adquirida pelos mangás no Ocidente chamou a atenção de estudiosos ocidentais, dentre os quais citam-se Sonia Bibe Luyten (2000); Paul Gravett (2006) e Robin Brenner (2007), levando-os a realizarem pesquisas que vão do surgimento dos mangás ao papel exercido por eles na cultura japonesa atual. Levando isto em consideração, este estudo tem por finalidade observar como três mangakás (Nanae Chrono, Hideaki Sorachi e Nobuhiro Watsuki) se utilizam de suas obras para transmitir a seus leitores a sua visão sobre determinados eventos ocorridos na Restauração Meiji, seja através da narrativa ou da representação de personagens históricas inseridas em suas tramas

中國與日本早在1866年就接到法國邀請參加1867年在巴黎舉行的世界博覽會，日本幕府組團參展，而中國的滿清政府以「曉諭商民參加」搪塞，並未組團，到了1873年方由海關洋員組團參加奧國舉辦的「維也納世界博覽會」。另日本明治政府於1877~1907年間共舉辦六次「內國勸業博覽會」，而中國卻遠落後30多年於1910年方首度舉辦等同規格的「南洋勸業會」，是什麼因素造成彼此間博覽會發展的延誤落差？有鑒於這方面的研究較少且深度尚淺，另有鑒於中日兩國現代化也有類似延誤落差的研究，大多限於某些狹小範圍的努力，可惜少了整體的解釋，我們需要一個關於中國現代化的綜合觀點，以深入全面的了解中國社會的變遷。本論文以中日兩國參與世博會事業進行案例研究(Case Study)，並兼論兩國現代化發展差異，方法上以歷程分析法(Process Analysis)，除了要分析影響博覽會事業成敗的關鍵活動成員(Player)，在接觸意會、參展學習及引進實做過程中的認知、能力與經驗之外，還要掌握關鍵活動成員和博覽會引進過程是被鑲崁在社會脈絡(context)，一些地理、經濟、社會、政治及文化等脈絡因素不容忽視。企求能從綜合的觀點進行歷程分析，釐清兩國博覽會事業落差，進而以此綜合觀點討論兩國現代化發展差異。

日本自古以來便自外於中華朝貢制度，為東亞之異例。至明治維新後，中日兩國外交糾紛不斷。近代中日間最初之外交衝突為台灣事件。中國因此事件察覺到日本之野心，開始提防日本。其結果，反刺激日本國內之強硬論者，兩國開始步向衝突。日本面對中國此一大國，不論是作為競爭對手，或是侵略對象，開始積極關注中國政治發展之動向。特別在引發中日甲午戰爭的朝鮮問題上，日本著力最多。本論文想一探甲午開戰前日本人對中國觀點的變化。 當時日本發行多份報紙。各家報社有其不同政治立場，其社論亦各有趣旨。筆者認為由報紙研究日本的對中國觀點，確有其價值。因此，本論文主要使用之史料為明治時期之報紙，以學界先進之研究為基礎，想由新聞報導中找出當時日本之對中國觀，再將報導中的對中國觀與當時日本政府之對中國政策比較分析，藉以探究日本政府之對中國觀。 本論文之研究範圍由1873年起，至1894年甲午戰爭爆發為止前後共21年。清日修好條規並未為中日雙方帶來長久的和平，隨即兩國外交關係日漸惡化，到甲午戰爭之時互相敵視終至無法挽回。本論文之目的是想探討日本輿論、政府與知識份子從清日修好條規到甲午戰爭這段期間，他們對中國觀點之轉化，究竟對兩國關係起了什麼樣的影響；關鍵何在？ / Japan was a unique state in East Asia because it kept away from the Chinese tributary system. Therefore, Japan had diplomatic issue with China after the Meiji Restoration. The first diplomatic issue was the Taiwan problem. After this affair, China noticed Japan’s ambition of oversea expansion and began to take keen interests in Japan’s ambitions. On the contrary, this result leads to conflict between both countries by the motivation of the Japanese domestic debaters. Consequently, Japan also viewing China as such a powerful country begun to observe it as a competitor or a target for invasion. Especially due to the Korea problem, which caused the first Sino-Japanese war, lasted for a period of over 20 years. And it is this situation and period that I want to conduct my research on by viewing the Japanese view of China during that period. A lot of newspapers were published in Japan at that period. And each one had different political positions and editorial intent. And I think Japan’s view of China as portrayed as in the newspapers of that time has its own value. So I intend to use the newspapers of the Meiji era as the primary source of historical material. And use the senior researcher’s study as background. I hope therefore, that I can find out Japanese view on China in the newspapers. In this case, I want to compare the newspaper’s view of China and the Japanese government’s view to analyze the whole Japan’s view of China. This thesis looks at the period from 1873 to 1894, which is from the treaty of amity between Qing Empire and Japan Empire to first Sino-Japanese war. Though a treaty has been signed, peace was still limited between the two countries. The two countries’ emotions to each other were getting worse and worse. Finally the two countries antagonized to a situation that could not be repaired. The purpose of this thesis is how the Japanese newspapers, the government and the highbrow’s view of China changed in those 21 years between the treaty of amity between Qing Empire and Japan Empire and the First Sino-Japanese war.