Introducing a pilot version of new content on the Learning About Asian History: Using Digital Records to Learn About Japan and Asia platform (Japanese Only)

In response to the 2018 revision of the national curriculum guidelines and growing interest in active learning and refresher courses, the Japan Center for Asian Historical Records (JACAR) launched the online Learning About Asian History: Using Digital Records to Learn About Japan and Asia platform (Japanese only) in 2020. Since then, we have continued to enhance the platform by adding new explanations and images of records. Now, with the 2022 curriculum guidelines having taken effect and high schools beginning to take new approaches to history education, we have decided to make additional revisions and additions to Learning About Asian History.

Our first update project is a pilot version of new content on the Russo-Japanese War, coinciding with this newsletter’s special-feature content marking the 120th anniversary of the Battle of Tsushima.

 

The home page of the Learning About Asian History platform divides the span from the 19th century to the mid-20th century into six chronological sections (tabs).

Image 1: Learning About Asian History home page

The pilot version centers on changes to the 1904 entry titled “Feb. 10: The Russo-Japanese War begins,” found on the “III. The First Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War“ tab.

[Image 2] Chronology page: “III. The First Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War”

 

[Image 3] Pre-update “Russo-Japanese War” Explanation page

 

[Image 4] Updated “Russo-Japanese War” Explanation page

The new version of the Explanation page includes substantial revisions and expansions of the previous content, offering background and context on the Russo-Japanese War.

Another new component of the pilot version is the Related Records section. Up to this point, the “View Images” portion of a page on the platform has typically featured just one item with connections to a given historical term. The new Related Records section, however, includes multiple records on the relevant topic. For each one, the platform also offers a Record Explanation sheet and a Transcription and Modern Translation sheet.

The Related Records for the updated Russo-Japanese War entry cover five topics: the First Anglo-Japanese Alliance, Imperial Edict on Declaration of War Against Russia, Japan–Korea Protocol of 1904, Treaty of Portsmouth, and Hibiya Incendiary Incident.

Clicking “Explanation” for a Related Records item opens the corresponding Record Explanation sheet, which provides information on the record and a link to the corresponding item (digital image, etc.) in the JACAR database.

It also features a Key Points section that highlights the record’s important passages and portions, accompanied by relevant images and explanatory notes.

The right half of the Record Explanation sheet contains two sections: About the Record and Record Summary. In the About the Record component, users can find details on the type and historical context of the record; the summary section, meanwhile, outlines the content of the record as a whole.

When a user clicks “Transcription and Modern Translation” next to an Explanation, they can bring up a separate sheet with links to an image of the record (including information on the record and a link to the corresponding item in the JACAR database) and the corresponding explanation page.

Underneath that information is a section that provides the original text of the record in classical Japanese (on the left) and a modern Japanese translation (on the right). These translations are tentative and aim to help users understand the text better; as such, they may involve paraphrasing or leave out some of the finer nuances.

 

[Image 5] Explanation sheet

 

[Image 6] Transcription and Modern Translation sheet

Through these updates, we have revised and expanded our explanations of the Russo-Japanese War and added a new Related Records section that features both Record Explanation and Transcription and Modern Translation sheets. We hope these resources will be useful for classroom instruction and self-study.

Moving ahead, JACAR will continue to enrich the content of the Learning About Asian History platform to spark intellectual curiosity and provide a helpful framework for both formal education and individual learning. We encourage you to explore and take advantage of what the platform has to offer.

 

Yakubo Noriyoshi, Assistant Researcher, and Kato Souichiro, Assistant Researcher, Japan Center for Asian Historical Records