Not taught in school! A roundup of historical trivia and fun facts
History that everyone studied in school.
Some people aren’t good at it, while others feel a sense of romance in a worldview completely different from today’s.
Most of what we learn in school focuses on major historical events, and it’s common not to touch on the small episodes around them.
So in this article, we’ll introduce trivia and fun facts about history that you wouldn’t cover in class.
We’ve focused on the surprising anecdotes of great figures and incidents that happened behind historical events—the interesting side of history you can’t learn in lessons.
Whether you love history or not, be sure to check it out!
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You won’t learn this in school! A roundup of historical trivia and fun facts (21–30)
The dining manners of ancient Roman aristocrats were vulgar.
It is said that the dining manners of ancient Roman nobles were considered vulgar.
They ate while reclining, and since forks did not exist, they ate with their hands.
When they became full, they would vomit and then move on to the next course.
Mealtimes were in the morning, at midday, and in the evening, and burping or passing gas was regarded as a sign of satisfaction with the meal.
Although this differs greatly from modern table manners and many people today might find it crude, at the time it was considered natural and befitting of the nobility.
Akechi Mitsuhide was good at shooting.
Akechi Mitsuhide is one of the warlords of the Sengoku period, best known for bringing down Oda Nobunaga.
He had a somewhat unexpected specialty.
In 1562, Asakura Yoshikage heard rumors that Mitsuhide was a master marksman and ordered him to demonstrate his skill.
Mitsuhide then set up one hundred targets and, from a distance, hit every single one of them.
Since matchlock guns of the time were inferior to modern firearms, we can surmise that his skill was truly exceptional.
Although Mitsuhide is often disliked as a traitor, this might change your image of him a little.
Midwives and couriers were allowed to cross a feudal lord’s procession.
You know about daimyo processions, right? They’re the retinues that accompanied a daimyo when traveling, such as for the sankin-kotai system.
These processions could stretch over about 4 kilometers or more, and it was taboo to obstruct them.
However, certain people were allowed to cross a daimyo procession: doctors, midwives, couriers, and others whose work could be a matter of life and death.
Incidentally, there was a rule that if an ordinary person crossed a daimyo procession, they could be cut down.
That said, it’s believed that such killings were actually rare.
The first person to wear glasses in Japan was Tokugawa Ieyasu.
It is said that Tokugawa Ieyasu was the first person in Japan to wear glasses.
At the time, they were not called “megane” (glasses) but “meki” (eye device), and rather than hooking over the ears as modern glasses do, they were the type that rested on the nose.
Incidentally, there is also a strong theory that Ōuchi Yoshitaka was actually the first to wear glasses in Japan.
He reportedly received a pair as a gift from Francis Xavier and tried them on.
However, since he didn’t regularly use them in daily life, it might be hard to say he truly “wore” them.
The first person in Japan to use a pen name was Murasaki Shikibu.
When publishing their writing, people sometimes use a pen name different from their real name.
It’s said that the first person to do so was Murasaki Shikibu, known as the author of The Tale of Genji.
Her pen name derives from Murasaki, a character in the tale, and from her father’s court title, Shikibu-no-jō, reflecting her deep attachment to the work.
In an era when women of the Heian period revealed their real names only to their husbands, her chosen name conveys Murasaki Shikibu’s strong determination to leave behind her writings.
