Write a five-page essay that uses the 2 primary sources (The Love Suicides at Sonezaki and Source of Japanese History). Show examples of East Asian culture in a specific national historical context (i.e. Tokugawa Japan). In other words, you will be explaining, among other things, how a given source reflects elements of Buddhism and/or Confucianism. You should also try to show how the sources you examine reflects its historical context and consider if the source provides evidence that would allow us to characterize that historical period as early modern. Given the nature of some of the sources we have looked at you may want to write about issues related to women and family, issues related to political and family governance, or tensions between social and/or political ideals and realities in a given historical context. You may use your textbook to help contextualize the document(s) you are analyzing, but the vast majority of material supporting your argument will need to be based on primary sources.

The papers should follow the following format: Papers must be double-spaced, use 12 point type and the Times New Roman font, with sources cited in parenthesis after a direct quote or when information from a source is used, i.e. (Ebrey, p. 16) or (SJH, pp. 224-225). Your papers should have page numbers and a title that indicates the topic of your paper. You should not use more than two or three single-spaced lines at the top of your paper for giving your name and the name of the class and the assignment (Essay One). Finally, your paper must have a concise one sentence thesis statement that explains what your paper will be about near the beginning of your introductory paragraph. And you should not spend too much space making generalizations or providing too much background information that is not directly relevant to your thesis and argument. PAPERS THAT DO NOT FOLLOW THESE GUIDELINES WILL RECEIVE A ONE POINT DEDUCTION PER INFRACTION.

I will upload the 2 sources that you will be using (The Love Suicide at Sonezaki and Source of Japanese History).