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Byakkotai (2007 Drama)
The was a group of around 305 young teenage samurai of the Aizu Domain, who fought in the Boshin War (1868–1869) on the side of the Tokugawa shogunate. History The Byakkotai was part of Aizu's four-unit military, formed in April 1868 in the domain's drive to finalize its military modernization, in the wake of the Battle of Toba–Fushimi. The other three units were the Genbutai (Black Tortoise Unit), the Seiryūtai ( Azure Dragon Unit), and the Suzakutai ( Vermilion Bird Unit). Each of the four was named after the protecting gods of compass directions. Byakkotai was meant to be a reserve unit, as it was composed of the young, 16- to 17-year-old sons of Aizu samurai. It was subdivided further, along the lines of rank within the domain's samurai population: two squads were from the upper (''shichū'') rank, two from the middle rank (''yoriai''), and two from the lowest (''ashigaru''). Twenty of the members of the 2nd ''shichū'' squad, cut off from the rest of their unit in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
:Category:Japanese Words And Phrases
{{Commons Words and phrases by language Words Words A word is a basic element of language that carries an objective or practical meaning, can be used on its own, and is uninterruptible. Despite the fact that language speakers often have an intuitive grasp of what a word is, there is no consen ... Words ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dewa Shigetō
Baron was a Japanese admiral in the early days of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Biography Dewa was born as the son of a ''samurai'' of the Aizu domain (present day Fukushima prefecture). As a youth, he enlisted in the ''Byakkotai,'' a reserve unit of the Aizu domain's official military. The ''Byakkotai'' was called into action, and Dewa served at the Battle of Aizu in the Boshin War. Dewa attended the 5th class of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy, graduating 6th out of 43 cadets. He was appointed a midshipman on 16 August 1878, promoted to ensign on 12 August 1880 and promoted to sub-lieutenant on 27 February 1883. He served as a junior officer on several vessels of the early Japanese Navy, including the corvette , ironclad warship , sloop ''Hōshō'', ironclad warship , corvette , and cruisers , and . He was promoted to lieutenant on 7 April 1886 and to lieutenant-commander on 16 October 1890. From 1886-1890, he was executive officer on the cruiser . From 1893-1893, he was ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yamakawa Kenjirō
was a Japanese samurai, politician, physicist, academic administrator, and author of several histories of the Boshin War. He served as president of Tokyo Imperial University, Kyushu Imperial University, and Kyoto Imperial University. He also served as a Privy Councilor and a member of the House of Peers. Though his name is commonly written "Yamakawa," he himself wrote it as "Yamagawa" in English. Biography Yamakawa was born as the third son to Yamakawa Naoe, a senior ''samurai'' of the Aizu Domain (present day Fukushima Prefecture). He became a member of the '' Byakkotai,'' a unit of the newly reorganized Aizu domain army composed mostly of boys aged 15 to 17 years, who fought in defense of Aizu during the Boshin War. After the Meiji Restoration, through the mediation of the Zen monk Kawai Zenjun, Yamakawa was placed in the care of Chōshū retainer Okudaira Kensuke. Yamakawa was sent by the new Meiji government to study physics at Yale University, where he was the first s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Meiji Era
The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization by Western powers to the new paradigm of a modern, industrialized nation state and emergent great power, influenced by Western scientific, technological, philosophical, political, legal, and aesthetic ideas. As a result of such wholesale adoption of radically different ideas, the changes to Japan were profound, and affected its social structure, internal politics, economy, military, and foreign relations. The period corresponded to the reign of Emperor Meiji. It was preceded by the Keiō era and was succeeded by the Taishō era, upon the accession of Emperor Taishō. The rapid modernization during the Meiji era was not without its opponents, as the rapid changes to society caused many disaffected traditionalists from the former samurai cl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Waka (poetry)
is a type of poetry in classical Japanese literature. Although ''waka'' in modern Japanese is written as , in the past it was also written as (see Wa, an old name for Japan), and a variant name is . Etymology The word ''waka'' has two different but related meanings: the original meaning was "poetry in Japanese" and encompassed several genres such as ''chōka'' and ''sedōka'' (discussed below); the later, more common definition refers to poetry in a 5-7-5-7-7 metre. Up to and during the compilation of the ''Man'yōshū'' in the eighth century, the word ''waka'' was a general term for poetry composed in Japanese, and included several genres such as , , and . However, by the time of the '' Kokinshūs compilation at the beginning of the tenth century, all of these forms except for the ''tanka'' and ''chōka'' had effectively gone extinct, and ''chōka'' had significantly diminished in prominence. As a result, the word ''waka'' became effectively synonymous with ''tanka'', and t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sendai
is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Miyagi Prefecture, the largest city in the Tōhoku region. , the city had a population of 1,091,407 in 525,828 households, and is one of Japan's 20 Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated cities. The city was founded in 1600 by the ''daimyō'' Date Masamune. It is nicknamed the ; there are Japanese zelkova trees lining many of the main thoroughfares such as and . In the summer, the Sendai Tanabata Festival, the largest Tanabata festival in Japan, is held. In winter, the trees are decorated with thousands of lights for the , lasting through most of December. On 11 March 2011, coastal areas of the city suffered catastrophic damage from a 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, magnitude 9.0 offshore earthquake,UK Foreign Office 9.0 assessment [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iinuma Sadakichi
was a Japanese military officer of the Imperial Japanese Army and former member of the Byakkotai of the Aizu Domain. History He lied about his age to join the military, and was assigned to the Byakkotai division - essentially a reserve division of young teenagers only meant to be deployed in emergency. He was the sole survivor of group after the Byakkotai committed suicide on Iimori Hill during the Battle of Aizu. Iimori Hill overlooked the Aizuwakamatsu Castle and they thought the flames meant their lord Matsudaira Katamori and families were deceased. Thus they committed seppuku to demonstrate defiance.Yamakawa, ''Aizu Boshin Senshi'', p. 522. The events were not widely known at the time due to the victorious Imperial army not wishing to glorify rebels. After the war Sadakichi relocated to Sendai. He served in the government and Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shinoda Gisaburō
was a Japanese samurai of the late Edo period who served the Matsudaira clan of Aizu. He was the leader of a detachment of Byakkotai troops who got separated from their main unit, and arrived at the top of Iimori Hill. From Iimori Hill they thought they saw Tsuruga Castle , also known as Tsuruga Castle (鶴ヶ城 ''Tsuru-ga-jō'') is a concrete replica of a traditional Japanese castle in northern Japan, at the center of the city of Aizuwakamatsu, in Fukushima Prefecture. Background Aizu Wakamatsu Castle is loca ... on fire, and committed suicide in despair. References * * * 1852 births 1868 deaths Seppuku from Meiji period to present People from Aizu People of the Boshin War Aizu-Matsudaira retainers 1860s suicides {{samurai-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Matsudaira Katamori
Matsudaira Katamori after the Meiji restoration was a samurai who lived in Bakumatsu period and the early to mid Meiji period Japan. He was the 9th ''daimyō'' of the Aizu Domain and the Kyoto Shugoshoku (Military Commissioner of Kyoto). He initiated and established the Shinsengumi in 1863 (initially named Mibu Roshigumi). During the Boshin War, he led Aizu Domain against the incipient Meiji government, but was severely defeated at the Battle of Aizu. Katamori's life was spared, and he later became the head ''kannushi'' of the Nikkō Tōshō-gū shrine. He, along with his three brothers Matsudaira Sadaaki, Tokugawa Yoshikatsu, and Tokugawa Mochiharu, had highly influential roles during the Meiji restoration and were called the "four Takasu brothers" (Takasu yon-kyōdai ). Early life Matsudaira Katamori was born in the Yotsuya district of Edo, on February 15, 1836, at the residence of the Takasu Domain He was the seventh son of Matsudaira Yoshitatsu, ''daimyō'' of Takasu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Seppuku
, sometimes referred to as hara-kiri (, , a native Japanese kun reading), is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment. It was originally reserved for samurai in their code of honour but was also practised by other Japanese people during the Shōwa period (particularly officers near the end of World War II) to restore honour for themselves or for their families. As a samurai practice, ''seppuku'' was used voluntarily by samurai to die with honour rather than fall into the hands of their enemies (and likely be tortured), as a form of capital punishment for samurai who had committed serious offences, or performed because they had brought shame to themselves. The ceremonial disembowelment, which is usually part of a more elaborate ritual and performed in front of spectators, consists of plunging a short blade, traditionally a ''tantō'', into the belly and drawing the blade from left to right, slicing the belly open. If the cut is deep enough, it can sever the abdominal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aizuwakamatsu Castle
, also known as Tsuruga Castle (鶴ヶ城 ''Tsuru-ga-jō'') is a concrete replica of a traditional Japanese castle in northern Japan, at the center of the city of Aizuwakamatsu, in Fukushima Prefecture. Background Aizu Wakamatsu Castle is located in the center of the Aizu basin and at crossroads to Kōriyama to the north and Yonezawa to the east and Murakami on the Sea of Japan coast. During the Nanboku-cho period, the area was ruled by the Ashina clan. Ashina Naomori built within the Aizu basin in 1384. This castle was the predecessor of what later became Aizuwakamatsu Castle. It was ruled by Ashina Moriuji until 1561, when he turned his domain over to his son. The Ashina clan also built Mukaihaguroyama Castle, a huge mountain castle 10 kilometers south of Aizu Wakamatsu. However, by the Sengoku period, the power of the Ashina clan had weakened. Date Masamune, the greatest warlord of the Tōhoku area, who had struggled against the Ashina clan for years, and finally captured ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
