Airi, about this email...

Oh, that. I replied the first time, so I'll also handle it this time around.

(They're going through our emails at a pretty good pace. It's nice that them taking care of all that is giving us time to study...)

(But we did just finish doing a shoot...)

Minori, can I turn to the next page...?

Or would you like to take a little break instead?

Huh?! N-No, I'm okay...!

Please, turn to the next page!

Are you sure? Then...

When the Onin War broke out in 1467, the head of the shogunate at the time was Ashikaga Yoshimasa...

...

(She still seems a little sleepy...

Oh, in that case...)

Minori, I have an idea.

An idea?

Yeah. It's hard to remember names and dates just from reading the textbook, so why don't we turn it into a game where we ask each other questions?

Our quiz is supposed to be all fill-in-the-blank, so it should help us prepare for it...

Oh, that sounds fun!

I wanna give it a try.

Thanks. Then, we'll cover what we'll be quizzed on. That's from the middle of the Muromachi period to the beginning of the Sengoku period.

Let's choose questions based on that and quiz each other.

Okay! Then, Haruka, you start!

Then...

When the Onin War broke out, the shogun at the time was _____. Whose name goes in the blank?

Oh, you just read that part a second ago. Um, it was... Ashikaga Yoshi...Yoshimasa!

Correct! You ask next, Minori.

Okay. Umm...

In 1485, in what is known today as Kyoto, a large uprising known as the _____ occurred. What was it called?

The Yamashiro uprising.

Correct! That's amazing! You got it so fast!

Hehe. Why don't we try some harder questions next?

In _____, the Meio Coup occurred.

What year was that?

Oh, that event sounds familiar, but I don't remember the year... Uhh... 1490!

Close! It was 1493.

Grr, darn...

*Sigh*

History's hard enough since we have to remember all these people with really similar names. But we have to memorize dates on top of that...

Mnemonics might make things easier.

For example, the Onin War started in 1467 because of a “vain act by man”, or “hito yo munashii” in Japanese.

Oh, I remember doing those in junior high. “The nightingale cries in Heian-kyo” was one of them.

Then, the Meio Coup took place in 1493, so... I-shi-ku-san...?

Oh, “Shizuku's a lovely person”!

“Ii Shizuku-san” in Japanese...!

Hm? Did I do something?

Hehe. We were just coming up with mnemonics for historical dates.

Oh, I see. Then, based on what you just said, you were referring to... 1...? 1...493...? So, 11493? Oh dear...

That's way in the future...

The answer's probably 1493, right?

Yeah, it is.

Oh, but it doesn't really work since it doesn't tie itself to the Meio Coup.

In those situations, you just gotta memorize it however you can.

I agree, since the ideas you come up with yourself are likely much easier to remember.

You think so? Then, I might just go with Shizuku being a lovely person.

Oh, Airi, since we've checked this many emails already, why don't we help Haruka and Minori study for their quiz?

Yeah, sounds good...

The Meio Coup means you're in the Muromachi period?

Yeah. Our quiz is supposed to cover everything from the middle of that period up until the beginning of the Sengoku period.

Yeah, that time in history's tough because of all the battles and people who were involved...

I agree. I remember having such a difficult time learning from just my textbook that I borrowed historical manga and novels from the library to try to remember everything.

Historical novels... Hehe. That's a good idea since you like to read so much, Shizuku.

Novels aren't always necessarily true to life, but they definitely made it much easier for me to imagine who these people were and what caused them to come into conflict.

Oh, the diagrams they have in encyclopedic references are also really helpful.

It's always nice to see them plainly lay out how certain events led to future events while this other thing was happening over here and such.

I agree. Lugging them around wouldn't have been easy, but I wish I'd brought some along on this trip since I knew I wanted to study.

Sorry, Minori, but we'll just have to make do with my textbook for now...

Oh...

Zzz... Zzz...

Hehe. She's sound asleep.

She did give it everything she had today. We should let her rest.

Mhm...

Shizuku, Airi, Haruka... You're all so lovely...

Huh? Is she dreaming about the mnemonic she just came up with?

I think so.

(Even in her dreams, she's doing the best she can. I think I'll try to come up with some mnemonics while she sleeps.)