Dr. Londo's Japanese History Lecture

This past Friday our cultural instructor, Dr. Londo, gave a lecture on Japanese history. Before one can even begin to look at Japanese history, one has to take Japan's geographical orientation into consideration. Being one of the few Asian countries completed isolated from the Asian mainland, Japan was able to form a culture quite distinct from its mainland Asian counterparts. Surely, there are cultural similarities, but Japan has developed its own unique heritage by virtue of its isolation.

What I found most interesting about Dr. Londo's talk was his description of the Japanese capital city of Edo (now Tokyo) during the 15th and 16th centuries. He compared Edo/Tokyo to London at that time, and it is apparent that the Japanese were much better at maintaining and beautifying their cities. The Japanese had an elaborate plumbing system in the city of Edo at that time, whereas in London they dumped their waste out of their windows and onto the street below.

While there may have been distinct differences between Japan and the rest of the world in terms of architecture, food, language, and societal cleanliness standards, there are many similarities as well. Like virtually every other society, Japan was structured like a class hierarchy with warriors, farmers, artisans, and merchants, listed from most respected to least, respectively.

I look forward to seeing the remains of Japan's ancient culture in the 21st century. It is currently one of the most modernized economies in the world and is a leading manufacturer of some of the world's finest products. I will get to experience this synchronization of the ancient with the modern firsthand while studying supply chain management practices currently being implemented throughout Japan.

Hey guys,
my trip to Japan is from May 14th - 28th. The group I am going with consists of Dr. Ross from the Supply Chain Management Dept., Dr. Londo from the Asian Studies Center, and 20 other students. The purpose of our trip is to study supply chain management firsthand by touring the factories, corporate headquarters, and shipping centers of some of Japan's finest food manufacturers. For those of you who don't know, supply chain is the study of transferring a product from one business or business segment to another until it is finally ready for purchase by an end customer. We'll be touring the factory headquarters of Kikkoman Corporation and the Tsukiji Fish Market (where some of the finest sushi fish is sold), as well as discussing transportation logistics with Japanese academicians and businessmen.


Our trip will take us to Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, and Hiroshima. Interestingly, at various times throughout the trip we will meet up with MSU alumni who are currently living in Japan so they can give us greater insights into how Japanese business styles differ from those in America. Our cultural experiences will include a Japanese tea ceremony, a few visits to some temples and shrines, getting canned coffee from street vending machines, and, more relevant to us as Americans, a visit to Hiroshima, where we will tour the memorials dedicated to those who lost their lives during the atomic bombing. Look for more to come...