You might try the first volume of
A History of Japan to 1334. by George Sansom
It starts with the rise of Japan from the floor of the
sea several million years ago. This should help you
with the Japanese/Chinese/Korean aspects of your
story. 

Vol.  II 1334-1615
Vol. III 1615-1867

The great struggle between the Taira and the Minamoto
started about 1156. This might be considered a
'typical' Samurai period.(what ever that is.)
A better bet might be to make 'them' Korean/Chinese.
Korean because, genetically they are the stock 'race'
for present day Japanese. Chinese because they were
advanced enought in culture and wealth to be traveling
around the world. The Shang dynasty, about 770BC was a
pretty sophisticated bronze age culture. The Han,
about 140BC were much more sophisticated. All, in all,
if you want world travelers better pick the Chinese.
And, starting that far back they could easily be the
ancestors of 'THEM'. (actually, going THAT far back
you could give them Viking ancestors. 2,700 + years
allows for a LOT of genetic dillution. ^_^ OR start
with a Roman family that flees to Japan. 

--- Scott Johnson <zagyg@io.com> wrote:

On Mon, 5 Jul 1999, William Morse wrote:

Hi all.
I'm doing a bit of research for a Ranma idea I'm

playing around with as a 

respite from my current major work which will be

posted sometime next week 

(God willing) Anyway I was hoping to pick the

collective brains of the FFML 

for some directions to go on this questions.

Can anyone think of a plausible explanation for a

Japanese family (you know 

which one) to be living in an insula in republican

Rome?

The best (okay, only) thing I've been able to

think of is that Soun and his 

wife took the silk road but since I know next to

nothing about Japanese 

history before Tales of the Genji I don't want to

open up that can of worms 

just yet.

It's pretty unlikely.  Keep in mind, first of all,
that the oldest
recorded Japanese history is around 600 CE. 
Mythological history
(unverified except through semi-legendary sources)
goes a bit farther,
back to around 660 BC.  In either case, however,
what existed at the time
would be barely recognizable as Japanese culture to
a modern observer.
This was long before bushido, samurai, katanas,
possibly even (depending
on the era; I don't know exact dates for republican
Rome) a single
Emperor.  The earliest Chinese records,
substantiated by archaeological
evidence, suggest that there were a large number of
clans/villages/nations
called uji, most of which were ruled by a priest or
priestess.  They were
very primitive by Chinese standards (but then, most
places were),
generally a bronze-age agricultural people. It might
be possible, given
the Saotome luck, to have the clan flee Japan, make
it to China, and then
flee farther through there to Rome, but it'd almost
require a story
in itself.  But you'd likely have to rethink a heck
of a lot about each of
the characters.  No martial arts, a different view
of family honor... but
there is potential there.  I can see the Saotomes
and the Tendous as a
small uji led by the high priest Happosai...


-- 
Scott Johnson |
zagyg@io.com  |       This space intentionally left
blank.

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