Education About Asia: Online Archives

Web Gleanings: Asia: Biographies and Personal Stories, Part 1

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JAPAN

Emperor Hirohito Biography (video)
URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LDU33-SzQQ
Produced by the BBC, the almost-50-minute video focuses on the lifeof Hirohito during the years of World War II. The cinematic footage is interspersed with comments by scholars and others, including Professor Carol Gluck and the granddaughter of Tōjō.

Andō Hiroshige Biography
URL: http://www.hiroshige.org.uk/hiroshige/main/biography.htm
In this brief biography of Hiroshige, the essential facts of his life
are described. There are several links to many images of his works,such as the series 100 Famous Views of Edo and 69 Stations of the Kisokaidō.

Yasunari Kawabata—Biography
URL: http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/
laureates/1968/kawabata-bio.html
Kawabata received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1968. This page provides a brief biography of Kawabata. On the left-side pane are links to his Nobel Lecture, the Banquet Speech, and a video documentary showing the moment he received notice of the awarding of the Nobel Prize.

Oda Nobunaga
URL: http://www.samurai-archives.com/nobunaga.html
This lengthy biography of Oda Nobunaga begins with a look at the Oda family at the time of his birth in 1534 and during his early years. In addition, there are details of his battles, military exploits, and his attempts to unify Japan.

CHINA

The Last Emperor of China (video)
URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImZ4zBScFDE
A video biography of Pu-yi, the last emperor of China, traces his life in old photographs and film footage, beginning with his ascension to the throne at the age of two. It is a fascinating look at the last years of the Qing Empire after 258 years of power. The documentary lasts about one hour and forty minutes. For those interested in a dramatized version, directed by Bernardo Bertolucci in 1987 and running for almost three hours and forty minutes, it is also on YouTube at this URL:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJcofQrFuHE.