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Today in class the prof got to talking about the ways in which the Iranian/Persian warrior code resembled the Japanese concept of bushido- honor and loyalty were very strictly defined things, with heavy consequences for the betrayal of either. And there is historical evidence of (or at least strongly implying) interaction between Japan and pre-Islamic Persia or Classical Persia. (At the very least, it was well known that the Persian Empire had dealings with China, and China and Japan engaged pretty heavily in cultural exchange.)
The Shahnameh was written in the 11th century, but Esfandiyar's mother was a Byzantine Christian, and I find the idea of trying to date the heroic/historical sections of the Shahnahmeh dreadfully appealing.
I am, sadly, not very up to date on my Japanese history these days, and I do take the things this professor says about non-Middle Eastern cultures with a grain of salt. But it makes me feel like my desires to draw parallels between Sufi mysticism and Zen Buddhism might actually have ground to stand on. Not that it really matters if there was interaction between Japan and the Persian Empire- I still think the comparison would bear fruit, but I'd feel less guilty about wanting to make it.
...I am not allowed to give into the urge to use Assassin's Creed icons to talk about MES. That would be terrible. (But I may start dissecting the game and its portrayal of Arab characters and especially its use of Arab and Middle Eastern voice actors at some point because there are plenty of things to say there. (While I'm pleased to note that Alta'ir's VA is, actually, Middle Eastern, he still spoke with an American accent. He also kind of sucked in general, so I don't know if my irritation is over the Americanization of the character or the fact that the VA couldn't express any emotion other than "bored".)
The Shahnameh was written in the 11th century, but Esfandiyar's mother was a Byzantine Christian, and I find the idea of trying to date the heroic/historical sections of the Shahnahmeh dreadfully appealing.
I am, sadly, not very up to date on my Japanese history these days, and I do take the things this professor says about non-Middle Eastern cultures with a grain of salt. But it makes me feel like my desires to draw parallels between Sufi mysticism and Zen Buddhism might actually have ground to stand on. Not that it really matters if there was interaction between Japan and the Persian Empire- I still think the comparison would bear fruit, but I'd feel less guilty about wanting to make it.
...I am not allowed to give into the urge to use Assassin's Creed icons to talk about MES. That would be terrible. (But I may start dissecting the game and its portrayal of Arab characters and especially its use of Arab and Middle Eastern voice actors at some point because there are plenty of things to say there. (While I'm pleased to note that Alta'ir's VA is, actually, Middle Eastern, he still spoke with an American accent. He also kind of sucked in general, so I don't know if my irritation is over the Americanization of the character or the fact that the VA couldn't express any emotion other than "bored".)
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