Reference no: EM133488685
Case Study: This course is an ambitious survey of over five hundred years of history of a regionwith diverse peoples, cultures, and traditions. Inevitably, some topics and themes donot receive as much discussion in course lectures as might be merited. Thisassignment will introduce you to one of these themes and the major impact on theregion and period under study.The early Yamato state in Japan is believed to have had strong cultural and politicalties to the Korean peninsula, although the nature of those relations are oftendebated. One theory, first expressed in 1949 by Japanese historian Egami Namio,argues that the formation of the early Japanese state occurred after the invasion byKorean horsemen in the late fourth or early fifth century A.D. This essay will requireyou to summarize and describe some of the connections between early Korea andJapan, and to critically evaluate Egami's "Horserider Thesis" and the critiques madeagainst it. Starting with the brief introduction contained in the Jinwung Kim reading,use the remaining four articles to summarize both sides of this theory and to constructyour own argument.The essay will ask you to critically discuss the following:
Question i. What sources of evidence is there to determine the relations of early Korea and the Yamato state in Japan? What pitfalls do these sources bring?
Question ii. What influences did Korean peoples, politics, and technologies have on earlystate formation in Japan?
Question iii. What is Egami Namio's "Horserider Thesis"? What evidence is there to supportthis theory?
Question iv. How have authors like William W. Farris and Walter Edwards critiqued the"Horserider Thesis," and what evidence have they used?
Question v. What side of the debate do you agree with? Explain, with examples andevidence, why you think so.