#history reference

[inloveanddest]

but does anything matter if you’re already dead?

[talesofedo]

I came across two photos of Katsu Kaishu that I haven't seen before, taken in 1867 by Charles Leander Weed, who is actually mostly known for his landscape photography.

In the first (left) image, Katsu Kaishu is standing in the back row, next to Ambassador Robert Van Valkenburgh, on the far left.

In the second photo, Katsu Kaishu is standing in the back row, third from right. The second image also identifies the other individuals (tentatively), left to right: Ezure Akinori (Foreign Office), Robert Van Valkenburgh, Ishikawa Jukei, Inaba Masami (daimyo of Tateyama Domain), Katsu Kaishu (Minister of the Army), Matsudaira Taro (Commander-in-Chief of the Army), and Ozeki Masuhiro (daimyō of Kurobane Domain).

I'm assuming that the occasion of these photos has something to do with the shogunate's purchase of the ironclad Kotetsu, in 1867. Van Valkenburgh prevented its delivery, and it was later sold to the new government forces during the Boshin War, where it was used against shogunate forces.

On 6 May 1869, Kaiten rammed Kotetsu as planned, and the elite Shinsengumi began boarding Kotetsu. However, the nine-foot difference in deck height greatly impeded the boarding team, giving the Kotetsu’s crew time to overcome the shock of surprise and turn the Gatling gun on the boarding team, which was slaughtered, including the boarding team commander. (Via)

[glueandmorphemes]

disrespectfully and also out of curiosity, who eats kernels? my delicate enamel placeholders cannot survive such harshness. they are not meant for such torture, for such resistance. they have the strength and integrity of a french aristocrat during the revolution. as in the integrity of their necks before the guillotineh

[deadpresidents]

If Walz wins he'll be the third vp in 50 years from MN. If VA is the cradle of presidents what is the cradle of vps??

Virginia is barely holding on to the title of "Cradle of the Presidents". There have been eight Presidents born in Virginia (Washington; Jefferson; Madison; Monroe; W.H. Harrison; Tyler; Taylor; and Wilson), and seven Presidents born in Ohio, all of whom served in the White House in the 52 years before the 1868 and 1920 elections (Grant; Hayes; Garfield; B. Harrison; McKinley; Taft; and Harding).

As for Vice Presidents, New York is, by far, the "Cradle of the Vice Presidents". Eight Vice Presidents were born in New York (G. Clinton; Tompkins; Van Buren; Fillmore; Colfax. Wheeler; T. Roosevelt; and Sherman). And New York was the official state of residency for eleven Vice Presidents (Burr; G. Clinton; Tompkins; Van Buren; Fillmore; Wheeler; Arthur; Morton; T. Roosevelt; Sherman; and Rockefeller).

Here's a quick look at the state of birth for each of our Vice Presidents, as well as the state they represented (which was their official state of residency at the time of their election):

[askingprofduncan]

Divorced 🫵

Beheaded, Died, Divorced, Beheaded, Survived.

[new-vales]

Chadwick (left) and Kilroy (right)

One npc and one PC in our MnM campaign dressing up for their college debut ball !! Don't worry, the girls will be posted soon

This art was done in collaboration with one of the party members!

[districtfourmermaid]

Katniss gets outside after the bombing of District 13 and asks what day it is. Boggs says, "September begins next week." And that's such a Roman way to say the date. I love all the references to Rome in these books. Because they also wouldn't say August 26th. The Romans would say 6 days before the September kalends.

[thevexinator]

i'm surprised more people haven't referenced this yet

welcome back 28.06.1914.

[comparatorclock]

so, apparently the CCP's mandate of heaven may be in peril?

[talesofedo]

The article below is from Chris Glenn's awesome Samurai History and Culture page, it's one of many free articles available. (Direct link to the article here.)

Please consider subscribing to his page to support his work, if you can.

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Hojojutsu

A Unique Samurai Law Enforcement System for Capturing, Binding and Restraining an Opponent With Rope or Cord

Hojojutsu 捕縄術 literally, “rope-binding techniques”, also known as Torinawajutsu 捕縄術, restraining rope techniques, and simply as Nawajutsu 縄術, or rope techniques, is a unique samurai martial and law enforcement rope tying system for capturing, binding and restraining an opponent with rope or cord.

Edo period book showing various restraining methods.

During the Edo period, before the introduction of modern handcuffs, there were over 150 schools with numerous cord tying styles and tactics, and the arts were widely used as part of the constabulary’s arrest and restraining techniques. These schools of the rope binding arts were passed down in various regions and were actively taught by most police organizations even after the 1868 Meiji Restoration, however, since the widespread use of modern handcuffs during the Showa period, (1925-1989) the art was deemed unnecessary, and although the basics are taught to modern day police officers, is no longer included in the subjects of arrest techniques. As such, many of the techniques have been lost

Edo period law-enforcement officers called Yoriki and in particular Doshin carried a torinawa or capture-rope, a small, specially wound cord, easily carried and deployed easily, as it quickly unwound as the bundled end of the cord was passed around the arrested person’s body, neck and arms. So effective were the methods that this could be performed by a single lawman while the prisoner was actively resisting and had to be restrained quickly. For the capture and restraint of a prisoner a hayanawa, 早縄 or fast rope, a strong, thin cord with a diameter of around 3–4 millimetres and sometimes the sageo, the cord attached to the saya, or scabbard of a samurai’s sword was used.

Doshin arrest a couple employing binding techniques

Whereas most constraints around the world and throughout history concentrated simply on the effectiveness, in typical Japanese style, visual and aesthetic details were also considered. These Japanese rope binding techniques were not just effective at confining a prisoner but also showed a certain artistic flair, and importantly a deep understanding of human anatomy and physics, introducing such techniques as where limbs are tied in positions that decrease the forces generated, or those where constricting cords looped around the neck and limbs put pressure on blood vessels and nerves numbing the extremities, discouraging the captured person from struggling.

The techniques are broadly divided into Hayanawa methods for the quick restraint of a captured enemy, and Honnawa for formal or ceremonial use, and methods for inflicting torture with the tied ropes. The thickness, length, and material of the rope used varied greatly depending on the school and purpose. Incidentally, the Edo Magistrate's Office changed the colour of the rope with each season.

Hayanawa

Hayanawa incorporates not only techniques for restraining an opponent after subduing them with Jujutsu or Jujitsu, but also various combat techniques that use the rope as a weapon. In order to make a quick restraint, iron rings or hooks were often attached to the rope. Honnawa methods were mainly used when escorting or presenting criminals to the magistrates, and different methods of tying are prepared depending on the status and occupation of the arrested, their gender, and their crime. For example, a person accused of — but not yet convicted — of a crime would be inclosed using methods which securely constrained them, but without securing knots. Instead of tying knots, the arresting officer or Doshin held on to the rope from behind the prisoner, keeping them under control. In such a case, the ropes were not tied to prevent the prisoner from suffering the shame of being publicly restrained.

While under arrest criminals are held tight by well tied cords.

The other style used one, and occasionally two honnawa ropes, which, like the hayanawa, came in different lengths, but was usually made of hemp and averaged a diameter of six millimetres or more, and as long as 25 meters. This provided more secure binding than the hayanawa styles, making it ideal for restraining criminals requiring restraint at judicial hearings, being taken to prison, of for ensuring the prisoner was securely held for public display prior to execution.

Honnawa

Honnawa styled binding techniques were often tied by a small group of warriors or constables at once, allowing for more intricate, ornate and artistic roping patterns than could be achieved with hayanawa. Both forms provided effective restraint with a distinct visual aesthetic.

There are currently almost no classical horowajutsu schools remaining, only martial arts schools where the techniques are taught in conjunction with jujitsu grappling and jojutsu, the art of the staff, to the degree that many of the traditional methods have been partially lost. The traditional martial Koryu schools maintaining the art of bondage include Bo Ryu, Koden Enshin Ryu Iaijutsu, Kurokawa Ryu Ninjutsu, Kuruma Yoshin Ryu Jujutsu, Seigo Ryu Jujutsu, Seishin Ryu Jujutsu, Nanbu Handen Hojo Jutsu, Nagano Ryu Heihou, Mitsuo Muteki Ryu, and Tenfu Muso Ryu. These traditional techniques maintained by these schools and the methods of tying are rarely demonstrated outside Japan.

Bondage restraining methods

Blood Ropes of Aichi

The best restraining ropes were made from hemp fibres which have been pounded soft. Ropes braided with three thin strands are said to be best. After it is braided, rope dyed with blood, called Ketsu Some in Japanese, is considered to be the best. The reason is because it is long-lasting because the salt in blood prevents it from rotting. In addition, bovine blood-dyed ropes are very easy to tie. Ropes dyed with astringent dyes tend to rot quickly and can come undone easily. Ropes made of silk are strong and easy to tie, however the knots come untied easily. In the Edo Era the most highly prized rope was made at Sanshu Hozo Temple, located in modern day Aichi Prefecture, and believed to be where a young Tokugawa Ieyasu was taught to read and write. This temple was founded in the year 701 by the monk Gyoki 行基 (668-749.)

Fujita Seiko (1898- 1966) was a martial arts researcher and Koka Ryu Ninjutsu master whose written works included Zukai Torinawajutsu, and particularly the excellent Fukai Torinawa (Hojo) Jutsu 図解捕縄術An Illustrated Guide to Samurai Bondage, which are considered the bibles of the rope arts, and featured hundreds of knots and binds from many different schools.

The many different styles and techniques, lengths and materials, and many different schools of hojojutsu, promoting many different effective ways to rope tie an opponent or person under arrest is a quintessentially Japanese art that is a unique product of samurai history and culture.

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You can purchase Fujita Seiko's Illustrated Guide to Samurai Bondage here (Amazon). Christian Rosso's Hojojutsu book is also pretty good, available here (Amazon). They're both also on zLib, but the Fujita book is only available there in Japanese.

[harfblarf]

This isn't an accident or stupidity. This is a threat. It's designed to menace potential protestors into silence. The protests threaten the blood money our politicians and institution leaders line their pockets with, and so they are creating ways to silence them and manufacture cause for arrest.

Oh my god???????

[fishbloc]

real life

my piece for @hermitszine's grian zine in the life series category

[deadpresidents]

Do you have a list of which states the presidents were born and lived in like the list of vice presidents you posted earlier?

You're referencing this list that I posted a few days ago of the states where the Vice Presidents of the United States were born and the states they represented at the time of their election.

Here's a similar list for each of the Presidents of the United States. The state "represented" is official state of residency at the time of their election or succession to the Presidency:

*Note that three Presidents changed their official state of residency during their respective Presidencies: -When Dwight D. Eisenhower was first elected in 1952 he was living in New York where he was president of Columbia University. Prior to his reelection in 1956, Eisenhower changed his state of residency to Pennsylvania where he had a farm in Gettysburg. -Richard Nixon was born in California and represented California in Congress and as Vice President. When he was elected in 1968 he was living in New York where was practicing law. Prior to his reelection in 1972, Nixon changed his official state of residency back to California. -Donald Trump was living in New York at the time of his election in 2016. Prior to his unsuccessful bid for reelection in 2020 Trump changed his official state of residency to Florida. Trump continued to use his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida as his primary residence during the 2024 election.

[weirdsociology]

hey writers we have to talk.

if you've read any romance or fanfic in the past twenty years (i know you have), you know that there are a certain number of scents associated with hot dudes. you can probably recite the list of Things Men in Fic smell like in your sleep: leather, black pepper, pine, sandalwood, "something uniquely him", clean sweat, and if the character has ever fucking been within 50 yards of a firearm, something called "cordite".

here's the thing.

NO ONE SMELLS LIKE CORDITE.

cordite was a highly specific type of smokeless gunpowder developed in the 1890s by england specifically and used mostly in wwi.

if your good-smelling guy is not (a) english (b) using a very specific type of british rifle (c) dying in a trench in flanders, he does not smell like cordite. technically even if he does meet all those conditions he still doesn't smell like cordite because he smells like trenchfoot.

the point is, cordite is so far from universal that no one but the most hardcore gun nerds give a single shit about it. making your Sexy Hero smell like cordite is like naming a cassette-only bootleg live recording from the 1970s as your favorite grateful dead album. everyone at the party hates you immediately and knows you're doing it for clout. also, it's just factually... wrong. please stop. i know everyone else is doing it, but you can do the right thing here, i believe in you.

so what do people who are using guns smell like?

well if your story is set before the late 1880s, the smell of a fired gun is black powder, which, unfortunately, smells like seventeen flatulent cows have been shoved in a tire factory. trust me, you do not want your Hot Dude to smell like black powder. it's b a d.

if your story is set after the late 1880s, guns are using some variety of modern 'smokeless' powder - which speaking broadly doesn't really have a ton of scent when used. it does have some, but it's sort of non-descript: the best way i can describe it is the sweet, ozone, hot-plate smell of popping your car hood with a warm engine.

people who use guns a lot don't smell like fired guns all the time anyway, so while those scents might work in a fight scene, they're not realistic all the time. but there are some things that your Sexy Shootist will smell like basically 24/7 and that's metal and gun oil. metal you can go and sniff (i recommend non-stainless steel), but if you want a reference, most gun oils have a sharp, organic smell that's not dissimilar to canola oil but muskier and with a tang overtop. it's not unlikely leather is in the mix as well due to routine handling of leather equipment and gear. modern gear also tends to have a certain smell although it varies by production country and storage conditions - lots of opportunities there.

in conclusion: gunslingers and hired killers and military folks can be sexy and smell great on page, but i am begging you not to say "cordite" when you mean "gunpowder" ever again. we can do this. we are writers and therefore pedants. i believe in us!

[lesbworth]

i feel like the tumblr perverts need to be aware of the forcefem novel written in 1901 by a trans woman patient of magnus hirschfeld, wherein:

a lesbian hypnotises her girly stepson into believing he is a woman

then she hypnotises his father her husband into shooting himself when he tries to stop her

then she proceeds to live as a man and convince her stepson that he is HER WIFE

AND THEN WHEN THE COUPLE WANT KIDS (AS SHE HYPNOTISED HIM TO) SHE HAS HIS CHILD AND CONVINCES HIM THAT HE GAVE BIRTH TO IT

AND DECIDES TO RAISE THE BABY AS A GIRL EVEN THOUGH IT WAS BORN MALE

AND THEN FINALLY ON HER DEATHBED CONFESSES EVERYTHING TO HER WIFE

WHO REFUSES TO BELIEVE ANY OF IT

the author's pen name is luz fraumann (yes she actually named herself "woman-man") and i wish i could tell her she's literally insane for this bestie and also how hard she would do numbers on tumblr dot com

(link to hirschfeld's profile of fraumann and extract from her novel, in german)

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Topics List: Sweets

Word lists may be helpful for some people to overcome writer's block.

CAKES

CANDY

CHOCOLATE

CONFECTIONS

COOKIES

Source ⚜ More: Word Lists ⚜ Topics Lists ⚜ Part 2 ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs