|
Ejima-Ikushima Affair
The {{nihongo, Ejima-Ikushima affair, 江島生島事件, Ejima Ikushima jiken was the most significant scandal in the Ōoku, the Tokugawa shōgun's harem during the Edo period of the history of Japan, that occurred in February 1714. Background The Ōoku was a complex of Edo Castle, the seat of the ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate, that served as a residence for women connected to the reigning ''shōgun''. It functioned as a harem with different sections that housed the ''shōguns official wife (''Midaidokoro'') and her children, his concubines and their children, widows of previous ''shōgun'' (''Ōmidaidokoro''), his mother, and their various servants. The Ōoku was highly regimented and controlled, resident women were held to strict standards, and adult men were forbidden from entering without the ''shōgun''. Incident On the twelfth day of the first month of the fourth year of the Shōtoku era (February 26, 1714, by the Western calendar), Ejima, a high-ranking lady in th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ōoku
The refers to the women's quarters of Edo Castle, the section where the women connected to the reigning resided. Similar areas in the castles of powerful , such as the Satsuma Domain, were also referred to by this term. History The ''Ōoku'' was built inside the ''Honmaru'' enceinte of Edo Castle in 1607 by Tokugawa Hidetada, who passed a special law to separate the ''Ōoku'' completely from the outside world. By this law, noblewomen living in the Ōoku could not leave the castle without permission, and no women within the Ōoku were permitted to have a relationship with man. This system lasted for nearly 200 years. Structure No male adults were admitted onto the floor of the ''Ōoku'' without the ''shōgun''. The corridor through which the ''shōgun'' entered was called , derived from the custom of ringing of the '' suzu'' bells to announce the entrance of the ''shōgun''. This corridor was the only route which connected the Ōoku to rest of Edo Castle, and it was usual ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tokugawa Yoshimune
was the eighth ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, ruling from 1716 until his abdication in 1745. He was the son of Tokugawa Mitsusada, the grandson of Tokugawa Yorinobu, and the great-grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Lineage Yoshimune was not the son of any former ''shōgun''. Rather, he was a member of a cadet branch of the Tokugawa clan. Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate, well aware of the extinction of the Minamoto line in 1219, had realized that his direct descendants might die out, leaving the Tokugawa family at risk of extinction. Thus, while his son Tokugawa Hidetada was the second ''shōgun'', he selected three other sons to establish the ''gosanke,'' hereditary houses which would provide a ''shōgun'' if there were no male heir. The three ''gosanke'' were the Owari, Kii, and Mito branches. Yoshimune was from the branch of Kii. The founder of the Kii house was one of Tokugawa Ieyasu's sons, Tokugawa Yorinobu. Ieyasu appointed him ''daimyō ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Asakusa
is a district in Taitō, Tokyo, Japan. It is known as the location of the Sensō-ji, a Buddhist temple dedicated to the bodhisattva Kannon. There are several other temples in Asakusa, as well as various festivals, such as the . History The development of Asakusa as an entertainment district during the Edo period came about in part because of the neighboring district, Kuramae. Kuramae was a district of storehouses for rice, which was then used as payment for servants of the feudal government. The keepers () of these storage houses initially stored the rice for a small fee, but over the years began exchanging the rice for money or selling it to local shopkeepers at a margin. Through such trading, many came to have a considerable amount of disposable income and as result theaters and geisha houses began to spring up in nearby Asakusa. For most of the 20th century, Asakusa remained a major entertainment district in Tokyo. The or "Sixth District" was in particular famous as a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Izu Ōshima
is an inhabited volcanic island in the Izu archipelago in the Philippine Sea, off the coast of Honshu, Japan, east of the Izu Peninsula and southwest of Bōsō Peninsula. As with the other islands in the Izu Island group, Izu Ōshima forms part of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park. Izu Ōshima, at is the largest and closest of Tokyo's outlying islands, which also include the Ogasawara Islands. Geography The island is a stratovolcano with a basaltic composite cone, dating from the late Pleistocene period, between 10,000 and 15,000 years ago. It rises from an ocean floor with a depth of between . The island has a roughly circular coastline of approximately in length. The highest elevation, , is an active volcano with a height of . The mountain has been recorded to have erupted numerous times through history and is mentioned as far back as Nara period written records. Major eruptions occurred in 1965 and 1986, each forcing the temporary evacuation of the inhabitants. Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Miyake-jima
is an inhabited volcanic island in the Izu archipelago in the Philippine Sea approximately southeast of Tokyo, Japan. As with the other islands in the Izu Island group, Miyake-jima forms part of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park. Etymology There are many theories about the origin of Miyake-jima's name. One theory claims a manuscript about the island's genesis called the ''Miyakeki'' (三宅記), written by a Shinto priest from the island, influenced the name. The manuscript explains how a deity, ''Mashima (三嶋)'', constructed his palace on the island after having built two other houses on neighbouring islands. Each of the houses had their backs facing the palace, thus giving a lined up impression. This belief is known as the 'three house theory'. Another hypothesis says that the shrines on Miyake-jima are historically related to those on Miyajima, an island in Hiroshima Bay. As there are many more speculations, the true origin cannot be known. Geography The island is a ... [...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] |
Takatō Domain
was a domain of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1600 to 1871. The Takatō Domain was based at Takatō Castle in Shinano Province, in the modern city of Ina, located in the Chūbu region of the island of Honshu. The Takatō Domain was ruled by the '' fudai'' ''daimyō'' of the Hoshina clan from 1600 to 1636, the Torii clan from 1636 to 1689, and the Naitō clan from 1691 to 1871, with a ''Kokudaka'' value of 33,000 ''koku''. The Takatō Domain was dissolved in the abolition of the han system in 1871 by the Meiji government and its territory was absorbed into Nagano Prefecture. History The territory around Takatō was ruled during the Sengoku period by Takatō Yoritsugu (d. 1552). After his castle fell to Takeda Shingen in the Siege of Takatō in 1545, it was given over to one of Shingen's sons, Nishina Morinobu. Takatō then came under the control of Hoshina Masatoshi, a retainer of Tokugawa Ieyasu, following the defeat and subsequent destruction of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Machi-bugyō
were ''samurai'' officials of the Tokugawa shogunate in Edo period Japan, this was amongst the senior administrative posts open to those who were not ''daimyō''.Beasley, William G. (1955). ''Select Documents on Japanese Foreign Policy, 1853–1868'', p. 325. Conventional interpretations have construed these Japanese titles as "commissioner" or "overseer" or "governor". This ''bakufu'' title identifies a magistrate or municipal administrator with responsibility for governing and maintaining order in what were perceived to be important cities. The ''machi-bugyō'' were the central public authority in the Japanese urban centers of this period. These ''bakufu''-appointed officers served in a unique role, which was an amalgam of chief of police, judge, and mayor. The ''machi-bugyō'' were expected to manage a full range of administrative and judicial responsibilities.Cunningham, Don. (2004) ''Taiho-Jutsu: Law and Order in the Age of the Samurai'', p. 42./ref> The ''machi-bugyō'' w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tokugawa Tsunayoshi
was the fifth ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty of Japan. He was the younger brother of Tokugawa Ietsuna, as well as the son of Tokugawa Iemitsu, the grandson of Tokugawa Hidetada, and the great-grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Tokugawa, Tsunayoshi''" in ; n.b., Louis-Frédéric is pseudonym of Louis-Frédéric Nussbaum, ''see'Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Authority File. Tsunayoshi is known for instituting animal protection laws, particularly for dogs. This earned him the nickname of "the dog ''shōgun''". He had a dog named Takemaru. Early years (1646–1680) Tokugawa Tsunayoshi was born on February 23, 1646, in Edo. He was the son of Tokugawa Iemitsu by one of his concubines, named Otama, later known as Keishōin 桂昌院 (1627–1705). Tsunayoshi had an elder brother already five years old, who would become the next shogun after Iemitsu's death, Tokugawa Ietsuna. Tsunayoshi was born in Edo and after his birth moved in with his mother to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rōjū
The , usually translated as '' Elder'', was one of the highest-ranking government posts under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan. The term refers either to individual Elders, or to the Council of Elders as a whole; under the first two ''shōguns'', there were only two ''Rōjū''. The number was then increased to five, and later reduced to four. The ''Rōjū'' were appointed from the ranks of the ''fudai daimyōs'' with domains of between 25,000 and 50,000 ''koku''. Duties The ''Rōjū'' had a number of responsibilities, most clearly delineated in the 1634 ordinance that reorganized the government and created a number of new posts: :#Relations with the Emperor, the Court, and the Prince-Abbots. :#Supervision of those ''daimyō'' who controlled lands worth at least 10,000 ''koku''. :#Managing the forms taken by official documents in official communications. :#Supervision of the internal affairs of the Shogun's domains. :#Coinage, public works, and enfiefment. :#Governmental ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fudai Daimyō
was a class of ''daimyō'' (大名) in the Tokugawa Shogunate (徳川幕府) of Japan who were hereditary vassals of the Tokugawa before the Battle of Sekigahara. ''Fudai daimyō'' and their descendants filled the ranks of the Tokugawa administration in opposition to the ''tozama daimyō'' and held most of the power in Japan during the Edo period. Origins ''Fudai daimyōs'' originated from the families and clans who had served the prominent Tokugawa clan before its rise to national primacy during the Azuchi–Momoyama period in the late Sengoku period, including the Honda, Sakai, Sakakibara, Ii, Itakura, and Mizuno clans. A number of other clans which were not retainers of the Tokugawa before the Azuchi–Momoyama period also came to be counted as ''fudai'', such as the Ogasawara and the Doi. Honda Tadakatsu, Sakakibara Yasumasa, Sakai Tadatsugu, and Ii Naomasa — Tokugawa Ieyasu's " Four Great Generals" — were all pre-Edo period ''fudai'' who went on to become ''fudai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
.jpg "Click for more on -> Asakusa")
