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Chūjō-hime
(also written Chūjō Hime or Hase-Hime) (c. 753?–781?) was by most accounts a daughter of the court noble Fujiwara no Toyonari who escaped persecution at the hands of her stepmother by becoming a nun at the Taima-dera in Nara. There she took on the name Zenshin-ni or the Dharma name Honyo (法如). She has become a folk heroine, the subject of numerous Japanese folktales which celebrate her filial piety. She is sometimes called the Japanese Cinderella. Folklore She is said to be the daughter of an imperial minister of the Fujiwara clan and a royal princess. Different stories disagree on her date of birth: most place it in the 8th century, during Emperor Shōmu's reign, and suggest she was the daughter of Fujiwara no Toyonari; however, a few state she was the daughter of Fujiwara no Toyoshige, a century earlier.Ashkenazy, Michael. ''Handbook of Japanese Mythology''. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-Clio, 2003. 129–130 It is said that the childless couple had appealed to Kan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taima Mandala
The Taima Mandala (當麻曼荼羅,綴織当麻曼荼羅図) is an 8th century mandala in Japanese Pure Land Buddhism. It depicts Sukhavati, the western Pure Land, with the Buddha Amitābha (Japanese: Amida) in the center. The original copy was made around 763 AD, and is currently kept at Taima-dera temple in Nara. Many copies have been made since, and the original work has degraded considerably. According to popular legend, Chūjō-hime witnessed the creation of the mandala, crafted from fibers of lotus stems by two nuns who were thought to be Amida and Kannon in disguise. The imagery on the painting is largely based on the '' Sutra of the Contemplation of Amitayus'', and has been the subject of several doctrinal commentaries in Japanese Buddhism. The mandala was designated a national treasure of Japan on April 27, 1961. Description The central image is Sukhavati, the Pure Land of the west. The left, right, and lower borders are lined with images from the Contemplation Sutra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taima-dera
''Taima-dera'' (當麻寺) is a Buddhist temple in Katsuragi, Nara, Japan. The temple legend says it was built originally in 612 by the Imperial Prince Maroko, the brother of Prince Shotoku. The temple was moved to its present location in 681 by the grandson of Prince Maroko, and served as the head temple, or ''honzan'' (本山) of the Hosso sect although currently the temple is jointly administrated by Shingon Buddhism, Shingon and Jōdo-shū, Jodo schools. The temple's main object of veneration is maitreya, Maitreya Bodhisattva, but the most popular attraction is the Taima Mandala, a graphical representation of the Sukhavati, Sukhavati Pure Land, and pilgrimage site for Pure Land Buddhists. It is believed that the Taima Mandala was woven in one day by Chūjō-hime, Princess Chujo-hime. Architecture Taima-dera is the only temple in Japan to have its original twin pagodas intact, which date from around AD 710. The surrounding gardens are renowned for peonies in May and a large ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taema (Noh Play)
is a Noh play of the fifth category, Kiri Noh, attributed to Zeami, and centred around the origin legend of the Taema Temple in Nara Prefecture, Japan. Background The play draws the traditional stories of otogizoshi, with their merger of elite and popular concerns, and their focus on miracles and origin stories. In particular, it is concerned with the role of Princess Chujo-hime in creating the Taima Mandala. Plot A relatively undramatic play, Taema recounts how an old man visits the temple and learns the legend of the Princess from an old nun, who is revealed as the Bodhisattva Kannon. Thereafter the Princess herself appears, and dances in a representation of the Pure land. Recent history Though rarely performed, 2012 saw a performance in Japan featuring (equally rarely) a central role for a female actor. See also * Mandala * Pure Land Buddhism Pure Land Buddhism (; ja, 浄土仏教, translit=Jōdo bukkyō; , also referred to as Amidism in English,) is a broad bran ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mandala
A mandala ( sa, मण्डल, maṇḍala, circle, ) is a geometric configuration of symbols. In various spiritual traditions, mandalas may be employed for focusing attention of practitioners and adepts, as a spiritual guidance tool, for establishing a sacred space and as an aid to meditation and trance induction. In the Eastern religions of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Shinto it is used as a map representing deities, or especially in the case of Shinto, paradises, kami or actual shrines. A mandala generally represents the spiritual journey, starting from outside to the inner core, through layers. Hinduism In Hinduism, a basic mandala, also called a ''yantra'', takes the form of a square with four gates containing a circle with a center point. Each gate is in the general shape of a T. Mandalas often have radial balance. A ''yantra'' is similar to a mandala, usually smaller and using a more limited colour palette. It may be a two- or three-dimensional geometric compos ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fujiwara Clan
was a powerful family of imperial regents in Japan, descending from the Nakatomi clan and, as legend held, through them their ancestral god Ame-no-Koyane. The Fujiwara prospered since the ancient times and dominated the imperial court until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. They held the title of Ason. The abbreviated form is . The 8th century clan history ''Tōshi Kaden'' (藤氏家伝) states the following at the biography of the clan's patriarch, Fujiwara no Kamatari (614–669): "Kamatari, the Inner Palace Minister who was also called ‘Chūrō'',''’ was a man of the Takechi district of Yamato Province. His forebears descended from Ame no Koyane no Mikoto; for generations they had administered the rites for Heaven and Earth, harmonizing the space between men and the gods. Therefore, it was ordered their clan was to be called Ōnakatomi" The clan originated when the founder, Nakatomi no Kamatari (614–669) of the Nakatomi clan, was rewarded by Emperor Tenji with the honori ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
781 Deaths
__NOTOC__ Year 781 ( DCCLXXXI) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 781 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years. Events By place Europe * King Charlemagne has his son Carloman (renamed Pepin) anointed "King of Italy", and he is crowned by Pope Adrian I with the Iron Crown of Lombardy. His younger brother Charles I is anointed king of Aquitaine, and Louis the Pious (only 3-years old) is appointed sub-king of Italy and Aquitaine, following the conversion of Aquitaine from a Duchy to a sub-kingdom. * Charlemagne meets Alcuin, Anglo-Saxon missionary, in Italy, and invites him to Aachen, where he becomes Charlemagne's chief adviser on religious and educational matters (approximate date). * The Frankish currency called the ''livre carolingienne'' is minted for the first time (approximate date). Asia * Yang Yan, Chinese st ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
750s Births (the 75, or, French 75)
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75 may refer to: * 75 (number) * one of the years 75 BC, AD 75, 1875 CE, 1975 CE, 2075 CE * ''75'' (album), an album by Joe Zawinul * M75 (other), including "Model 75" * Highway 75, see List of highways numbered 75 *Alfa Romeo 75, a car produced by Alfa Romeo See also * * * * 1975 (other) * 1875 (other) * Canon de 75 modèle 1897 The French 75 mm field gun was a quick-firing field artillery piece adopted in March 1898. Its official French designation was: Matériel de 75mm Mle 1897. It was commonly known as the French 75, simply the 75 and Soixante-Quinze (Frenc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shinobu Orikuchi
, also known as , was a Japanese ethnologist, linguist, folklorist, novelist, and poet. As a disciple of Kunio Yanagita, he established an original academic field named , which is a mixture of Japanese folklore, Japanese classics, and Shintō. He produced many works in a diversity of fields covering the history of literature, folkloric performing arts, folklore itself, Japanese language, the classics study, Shintōology, ancient study, and so on. Yukio Mishima once called him the "Japanese Walter Pater". Biography Orikuchi was born in the former Nishinari, Ōsaka (now part of Naniwa-ku, Osaka). After graduating with a degree in Japanese literature from Kokugakuin University in 1910, he started to teach Japanese and Chinese classics at junior high schools. In 1919, he was employed as a part-time instructor in Kokugakuin University. In 1922, he was promoted to professor. In 1924, he was hired as a professor at Keio University as well; afterward, he taught at two different universit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Matsunosuke Onoe
, sometimes known as Medama no Matchan (''"Eyeballs" Matsu''), was a Japanese actor. His birth name is Tsuruzo Nakamura. He is sometimes credited as Yukio Koki, Tamijaku Onoe, or Tsunusaburo Onoe, and as a kabuki artist he went by the name Tsurusaburo Onoe. He gained great popularity, appearing in over 1,000 films, and has been called the first superstar of Japanese cinema. Career Onoe was initially an actor with an itinerant kabuki troupe. In his autobiography, he claimed that he had made his stage debut as early as 1880, in a performance given by the Tamizo Onoe company. Fascinated by the stage, he left his home by the age of 14 to travel with a troupe, and by 1892, he was acting under the stage name Tsurusaburo Onoe. In 1905, he adopted the more prestigious name Matsunosuke Onoe. His troupe regularly performed at a theater in Kyoto owned by Shozo Makino, and as a kabuki actor, he was known for his extravagant stage tricks. In 1909, Makino was approached by Yokota Sh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Silent Film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when necessary, be conveyed by the use of title cards. The term "silent film" is something of a misnomer, as these films were almost always accompanied by live sounds. During the silent era that existed from the mid-1890s to the late 1920s, a pianist, theater organist—or even, in large cities, a small orchestra—would often play music to accompany the films. Pianists and organists would play either from sheet music, or improvisation. Sometimes a person would even narrate the inter-title cards for the audience. Though at the time the technology to synchronize sound with the film did not exist, music was seen as an essential part of the viewing experience. "Silent film" is typically used as a historical term to describe an era of cinema pri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zeami Motokiyo
(c. 1363 – c. 1443), also called , was a Japanese aesthetician, actor, and playwright. His father, Kan'ami Kiyotsugu, introduced him to Noh theater performance at a young age, and found that he was a skilled actor. Kan'ami was also skilled in acting and formed a family theater ensemble. As it grew in popularity, Zeami had the opportunity to perform in front of the Shōgun, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu. The Shōgun was impressed by the young actor and began to compose a love affair with him. Zeami was introduced to Yoshimitsu's court and was provided with an education in classical literature and philosophy while continuing to act. In 1374, Zeami received patronage and made acting his career. After the death of his father in 1385, he led the family troupe, a role in which he found greater success. Zeami mixed a variety of Classical and Modern themes in his writing, and made use of Japanese and Chinese traditions. He incorporated numerous themes of Zen Buddhism into his works and lat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ippen
was a Japanese Buddhist itinerant preacher (''hijiri'') who founded the branch of Pure Land Buddhism. Life Ippen was born at Hōgon-ji, a temple in Iyo Province (modern Ehime Prefecture) on the island of Shikoku. He was originally named . He first studied Tendai at Mount Hiei, Kyoto, and then Jōdo-shū at Dazaifu, Fukuoka on Kyushu. When his father died, the 25-year old Ippen returned to secular life and assumed family responsibilities. He got married and became head of the household. During a pilgrimage to the Kumano Shrines, the kami enshrined there revealed to Ippen that enlightenment was determined by Amitābha and that Ippen should devote himself to preaching the importance of reciting his name, a practice called nembutsu. Ippen and a band of followers then travelled throughout the country proselytizing with their ecstatic ''nembutsu'' dance, and won a wide following among common people. Other practices associated with the Ji-shū include scheduled sessions of chanting ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
