|
Akō Castle
is a flatland Japanese castle located in the city of Akō, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. Built by the Asano clan in the Edo period, it was the center of Akō Domain in western Harima Province. The castle was designated a National Historic Site in 1971, with the area under protection expanded in 2003. Within the castle grounds is the ''Nagayamon'' gate to the residence of Ōishi Kuranosuke, the ''karō'' of the domain under Asano Naganori. The house itself no longer exists, but its location has a separate National Historic Site designation. Both the Honmaru Garden and the Ni-no-Maru Gardens have been restored to an approximation of their appearance in the Edo period, and are collectively designated a National Place of Scenic Beauty in 20212. Overview Akō Castle is located on the southern seashore of Akō city, and guarded the border between former Harima Province and Bizen Province. It was originally a small fortification erected by the local Oka clan in the 15th century. Howe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Akō, Hyōgo
is a city located in southwestern Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 45,747 in 20563 households and a population density of 360 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Akō is located in far southwestern Hyōgo Prefecture. The city is on the border of the Hyōgo and Okayama prefectures, which also divides the Kinki and Chūgoku areas. On each side of the border, ancient Harima and Bizen provinces, which are now Akō and Bizen cities, respectively (except for the former village of Fukukawa, now part of Akō but formerly belonging to Bizen Province), have cultivated their own cultures. Therefore, even at the present days, dialects are vastly different on the sides of the border. A traveller from west to east on the JR San'yō Main Line will notice that the dialect of passengers suddenly changes between Kamigori station in Hyogo prefecture and Mitsuishi station in Okayama prefecture. In Akō, people speak a type of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bizen Province
was a province of Japan on the Inland Sea side of Honshū, in what is today the southeastern part of Okayama Prefecture. It was sometimes called , with Bitchū and Bingo Provinces. Bizen borders Mimasaka, Harima, and Bitchū Provinces. Bizen's original center was in the modern city of Okayama. From an early time Bizen was one of Japan's main centers for sword smithing. Historical record In the 3rd month of the 6th year of the '' Wadō era'' (713), the land of Bizen''-no kuni'' was administratively separated from Mimasaka Province (美作国). In that same year, Empress Genmei's ''Daijō-kan'' continued to organize other cadastral changes in the provincial map of the Nara period. In ''Wadō'' 6, Tanba Province (丹波国) was sundered from Tango Province (丹後国); and Hyūga Province (日向国) was divided from Ōsumi Province (大隈国).Titsingh, Isaac. (1834) In ''Wadō'' 5 (712), Mutsu Province (陸奥国) had been severed from Dewa Province (出羽国). In the M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mori Clan (Genji)
The {{nihongo, Mori clan, 森氏, Mori-shi was a family of Japanese people descended from the Seiwa Genji. Their line descended from Minamoto no Yoshiie (also known as Hachimantaro) through his seventh son, Minamoto no Yoshitaka, proprietor of Mōri-no- shō in Sagami Province. His son, Minamoto no Yoritaka, took Mori as his surname when he retired, and Yoritaka's son Yorisada continued to use the surname. During the Sengoku period, the Mori served under Oda Nobunaga. Mori Yoshinari fought with Nobunaga for Kiyosu Castle, and with his son Mori Yoshitaka joined the campaigns against the Saitō, Azai, and Asakura. Father and son died in the battle against the Azai-Asakura armies, and Mori Nagayoshi, second son of Yoshinari, became head of the house. Yoshinari's son Nagasada, known as Mori Ranmaru, died with Nobunaga in the Incident at Honnō-ji. The family became ''daimyōs'' under Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and for five generations headed the Tsuyama Domain in Mimasaka Province as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Forty-seven Rōnin
The revenge of the , also known as the or Akō vendetta, is a historical event in Japan in which a band of ''rōnin'' (lordless samurai) avenged the death of their master on 31 January 1703. The incident has since become legendary. It is one of the three major ''adauchi'' vendetta incidents in Japan, alongside the Revenge of the Soga Brothers and the Igagoe vendetta. The story tells of a group of samurai who were left leaderless after their ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) Asano Naganori was compelled to perform ''seppuku'' (ritual suicide) for assaulting a powerful court official named Kira Yoshinaka. After waiting and planning for a year, the ''rōnin'' avenged their master's honor by killing Kira, knowing full well that the authorities would likely not tolerate this vendetta's completion. They were then obliged to commit ''seppuku'' for the crime of murder. This true story was popularized in Japanese culture as emblematic of the loyalty, sacrifice, persistence, and honor that pe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tenshu
is an architectural typology found in Japanese castle complexes. They are easily identifiable as the highest tower within the castle. Common translations of ''tenshu'' include keep, main keep, or ''donjon''. ''Tenshu'' are characterized as typically timber-framed, having multiple stories, being seated on ''ishigaki'' (dry stone) foundations, and having individual floors delineated by surrounding tiled eaves. Further, ''tenshu'' are typically decorated with varying patterns of dormer gables (''chidori-hafu''), and are capped with hip-and-gabled roofs (''irimoya-hafu'') with ''shachihoko'' finials. Not all Japanese castles originally possessed ''tenshu'' (e.g. Sendai)'','' many well-known castles have lost their ''tenshu'' (e.g. Nijō, Edo), many have had the ''tenshu'' rebuilt on multiple occasions (e.g. Nagoya, Osaka). While both the term, ''tenshu'' and the emergence of ''tenshu'' as a distinct architectural typology occurred in the 1560s and 1570s, the early relationship ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Star Fort
A bastion fort or ''trace italienne'' (a phrase derived from non-standard French, literally meaning ''Italian outline'') is a fortification in a style that evolved during the early modern period of gunpowder when the cannon came to dominate the battlefield. It was first seen in the mid-fifteenth century in Italy. Some types, especially when combined with ravelins and other outworks, resembled the related star fort of the same era. The design of the fort is normally a polygon with bastions at the corners of the walls. These outcroppings eliminated protected blind spots, called "dead zones", and allowed fire along the curtain from positions protected from direct fire. Many bastion forts also feature cavaliers, which are raised secondary structures based entirely inside the primary structure. Origins Their predecessors, medieval fortresses, were usually placed on high hills. From there, arrows were shot at the enemies. The enemies' hope was to either ram the gate or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yagura (tower)
is the Japanese word for "tower", "turret", "keep", or "scaffold". The word is most often seen in reference to structures in Japanese castle compounds but can be used in other situations as well. The bandstand tower erected for Bon Festival is often called a ''yagura'', as are similar structures used in other festivals. ''Yagura-daiko'' (''taiko'' drumming from atop a ''yagura'') is a traditional part of professional sumo competitions. Etymology There were signs that the first written form of kanji was (櫓) during ancient periods, simply being a character representing a tower before being changed to (矢倉) – in which the former replaced the latter once again. The term originally derives from the use of fortress towers as high/tall or arrow (矢, ...[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jōkamachi
The term refers to a type of urban structures in Japan in which the city surrounds a feudal lord's castle. These cities did not necessarily form around castles after the Edo period; some are known as Jin'yamachi, cities that have evolved around Jin'ya or government offices that are not intended to provide military services. Defined broadly, Jokamachi includes Jin'yamachi. It is also referred to as Jōka as was common before the early modern period. History The advent of Jōkamachi dates back to the Sengoku period (period of warring states). Jokamachi functions both as a military base represented by the castle and an administrative and commercial city. Oda Nobunaga was the biggest contributor to the development of early-modern Jōkamachi. He aimed at promoting Heinobunri (distinguishing the samurai class from the rest by giving privileged status to samurai and disarming farmers and the rest) by forcing the samurai class to live in Jōkamachi, while establishing Rakuichi-rak ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kokudaka
refers to a system for determining land value for taxation purposes under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo-period Japan, and expressing this value in terms of ''koku'' of rice. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"Koku"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 549. One 'koku' (roughly equivalent to five bushels) was generally viewed as the equivalent of enough rice to feed one person for a year. The actual revenue or income derived holding varied from region to region, and depended on the amount of actual control the fief holder held over the territory in question, but averaged around 40 percent of the theoretical ''kokudaka''. pp. 14–15. The amount taxation was not based on the actual quantity of rice harvested, but was an estimate based on the total economic yield of the land in question, with the value of other crops and produce converted to their equivalent value in terms of rice. The ranking of precedence of the ''daimyō'', or feudal rulers, was determined in part by the ''kokudaka'' of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tokuhime (Tokugawa)
Tokuhime (督姫: 1565 – March 3, 1615) (''Hime'' means "princess", "lady") was a princess during the Sengoku and Edo periods of Japanese history. She was the second daughter of Tokugawa Ieyasu; her mother was Lady Nishigori (''西郡の方''), one of Ieyasu's concubines. Tokuhime was also known as Ofū, Tomiko, Harima-gozen, and Ryōshō-in. Life In 1582, the death of Oda Nobunaga in the Incident at Honnōji left Kai and Shinano Provinces without an overlord, and the struggle between Ieyasu and Hōjō Ujinao began. However, at that time, the two had nearly equal strength, and thinking that a serious war would weaken even the winner, they sought peace. As part of the accord, Ieyasu agreed to give Toku to Ujinao to be his wife. In 1590, Toyotomi Hideyoshi attacked the Hōjō stronghold at Odawara Castle in the Subjugation of Odawara, eradicating the Hōjō as a power. At that time, Ujinao appealed to his father-in-law Ieyasu, who prevailed upon Hideyoshi to spare Ujina ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Koku
The is a Chinese-based Japanese unit of volume. 1 koku is equivalent to 10 or approximately , or about . It converts, in turn, to 100 shō and 1000 gō. One ''gō'' is the volume of the "rice cup", the plastic measuring cup that is supplied with commercial Japanese rice cookers. The ''koku'' in Japan was typically used as a dry measure. The amount of rice production measured in ''koku'' was the metric by which the magnitude of a feudal domain (''han'') was evaluated. A feudal lord was only considered ''daimyō'' class when his domain amounted to at least 10,000 ''koku''. As a rule of thumb, one ''koku'' was considered a sufficient quantity of rice to feed one person for one year. The Chinese equivalent or cognate unit for capacity is the ''shi'' or ''dan'' ( also known as ''hu'' (), now approximately 103 litres but historically about . Chinese equivalent The Chinese ''shi'' or ''dan'' is equal to 10 ''dou'' () " pecks", 100 ''sheng'' () "pints". While the current ''shi' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Himeji Castle
is a hilltop Japanese castle complex situated in the city of Himeji which is located in the Hyōgo Prefecture of Japan. The castle is regarded as the finest surviving example of prototypical Japanese castle architecture, comprising a network of 83 rooms with advanced defensive systems from the feudal period. The castle is frequently known as ''Hakuro-jō'' or ''Shirasagi-jō'' ("White Egret Castle" or " White Heron Castle") because of its brilliant white exterior and supposed resemblance to a bird taking flight. Himeji Castle dates to 1333 when Akamatsu Norimura built a fort on top of Himeyama hill. The fort was dismantled and rebuilt as Himeyama Castle in 1346 and then remodeled into Himeji Castle two centuries later. Himeji Castle was then significantly remodeled in 1581 by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who added a three-story castle keep. In 1600, Tokugawa Ieyasu awarded the castle to Ikeda Terumasa for his help in the Battle of Sekigahara, and Ikeda completely rebuilt the castle from 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
.jpg "Click for more on -> Yagura (tower)")
