AIZU HISTORY PROJECT

"A Multimedia History
from the Aizu Point of View"


A team of historians and computer specialists from the University of Aizu (Aizu-Wakamatsu, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan) and from Applied Cad/Art (Eugene, Oregon, USA) is developing educational software on Japanese history, focusing on the Aizu region. We are using hypertext and hypermedia to promote free form exploration of text and audiovisual materials, including movies and animation. Our goal is to develop multimedia software which encourages original exploration of the available data by students. The software is planned for a variety of platforms accessible to university students and other learners, including Worldwide Web, Macintosh, and PC.

By focusing on the Aizu region, our treatment departs from the standard emphasis on centers of political power in Kyoto and Edo (Tokyo). Not only do standard treatments slight important matters in the relationship between center and periphery, they actually offer a skewed depiction of historical development: in fact, it can be argued that regions such as Aizu were far more typical of Japan as a whole than were the centers of power. Studying Aizu, therefore, can arm us with fresh questions and a fresh viewpoint for the study of Japanese history.

We have launched our project with a segment on Buddhism in the Aizu Region.

This entire site is "under construction" and may change from day to day. Topics intended for full treatment (with their own separate pages) in the near future are designated by capital letters in the text.

Except where otherwise noted, the copyright for this material is held by the Aizu History Project. You may utilize these pages freely for teaching and research, but in the unlikely event that you find a profit-making use for them, contact jan@cs.csustan.edu for permission.

To make comments and suggestions, also contact jan@cs.csustan.edu
Return to menu page.