This terracotta figure of a merchant dates from seventh-to-eighth century Tang China and is testimony to the role of long-distance trade along the Silk Road and other conduits. I also think this guy looks like Dr. Strange, so there’s that.
My favorite time period in Japan (and there are many) is the Muromachi era, when a militarized aristocracy ruled in a de-centralized state. The shÅgun…
