One of those Long Overdue Updates
I’ve made previous complaints about it, but back in September, my innards decided they didn’t like me, or something, and I’ve spent months now being sick off-and-on which puts a cramp in everything, and I still haven’t got a diagnosis. It’s pretty draining, and as a result, tumblr goes to the bottom of the to-do list. But I’m not updating just to complain.
I was browsing Reddit and fell in love with the Ask Historians subreddit, which is the best moderated subreddit I’ve ever seen with really high standards for answers and discussions. (I think it was the question: How many 16th century French laying hens would be required to feed Gaston his five dozen eggs? that drew me in). I got sucked in, saw a Japanese history question relevant to my interests, and started answering.
So, I’ve conducted an experiment over the last month, to see if the format and community could kick me back into writing and doing research. Results have been very positive, and last week, I was granted Expert Answer-er Flair for “Late Edo Period/Meiji Restoration” at Ask Historians. (Despite the name, you don’t actually have to be a historian to answer, amateur enthusiasts who can source their answers well are welcomed.) I was planning to see if I could get flair there, then revive this tumblr. So here are the posts I got the flair for:
Inflation in Tokugawa Shogunate Japan ( why samurai aren’t all rich and peasants sometimes are)
How accurate is this popular post about the first Japanese woman to go to college, Sutematsu Oyama?
How were illegitimate children or children of unmarried mothers treated in medieval Japan / during the Edo period? Maybe [NSFW]
When did refined grains (white rice/white wheat flour) replace whole grains in East Asian diets? (The history of white rice and beriberi disease)
To what degree was the Meiji Emperor personally involved in the modernization associated with his name?
and just the other day wrote a post that may interest readers here:
If the Satcho Alliance hated the West for ending Japan's isolationism, why did they replace the Shogunate with a Western-style government?
The audience for these answers is kind of small. Japanese history questions aren’t much upvoted on the subreddit, but the subreddit rules and culture really help me to write my best work, so I’ll probably be linking to more stuff I put out there, as well as getting back to posting here.
On the minus side, my laptop decided it was time to break down, so I’m currently a bit restricted with just a smartphone.