Modern Japan Staff Ride

Nine cadets and two Department of History faculty members on the Modern Japan Staff Ride explored the nature of Japanese identity from the Tokugawa Era to present day. The ride began in Hawaii where they visited Pearl Harbor, the USS Missouri, and later hiked Koko Head to survey the topography of Oahu. Next, they went to Japan and visited the three major cities of Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto. In Japan the cadets explored firsthand how Japan has changed since the Meiji restoration by traveling on high speed "bullet trains," visiting Buddhist temples, travelling to Mount Fuji and visiting a military museum and shrine. The trip was enlightening and challenging personally and academically as cadets confronted a World War II "enemy" in Hawaii and in a military museum, but also interacted personally with a nation that has been a close ally since post War. The cadets were grateful for the experience to answer historical questions firsthand and wrote powerful essays about Japanese identity at the conclusion of the staff ride.