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Gukanshō
is a historical and literary work about the history of Japan. Seven volumes in length, it was composed by Buddhist priest Jien of the Tendai sect around 1220. Political problems arising from the relations between the Imperial government and the ''bakufu'' inspired Jien to write. Jien was the son of Fujiwara no Tadamichi, and his insider's perspective ensured that his work would have a distinct point of view. Rather than working towards an absence of bias, he embraced it; and ''Gukanshō'' is fairly described as a work of historical argument. The writer does try to approach Japan's past in a new way, but he does so under the influences of old historical and genealogical interests. Contents The text is composed of three major sections: # Volumes 1 and 2 consist of imperial chronicle beginning with Emperor Jimmu and concluding with Emperor Juntoku. # Volumes 3 through 6 present a historical description focusing on political transitions. # Volume 7 offers a summary of the co ...
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Jien
was a Japanese poet, historian, and Buddhist monk. Biography Jien was the son of Fujiwara no Tadamichi, a member of the Fujiwara clan of powerful aristocrats. His brother was the future regent Fujiwara no Kanezane. Jien became a Tendai monk early in his life, entering Shōren-in at age eleven. He first took the Buddhist name ''Dokaei'', and later changed it to ''Jien''. In 1192, with the recommendation of Minamoto no Yoritomo and Jien's elder brother Fujiwara no Kanezane, at the age of 38, Jien became the Daisōjō (大僧正), leader of the Tendai. However, his position was not stable as shown by the fact that he was appointed as Daisōjō four times back and forth following his brother Kanezane's ups and downs in the political world. This is because as the leader of Tendai, in addition to holding rituals and maintaining Buddhist monasteries, he also served politically as the guardian of Kujō Michiie, the grandson of his brother Kanezane. Jien put hopes on Michiie's so ...
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Emperor Juntoku
(22 October 1197 – 7 October 1242) was the 84th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His reign spanned the years from 1210 through 1221, a part of Japan's Kamakura Period. Genealogy Before his ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne, his personal name (his ''imina'') was . He was the third son of Emperor Go-Toba. His mother was Shigeko (重子), the daughter of Fujiwara Hanki (藤原範季) *Empress (''chūgū''): Kujō Fujiwara no Ritsushi (?) (九条(藤原)立子) later Higashiichijō-in (東一条院), Kujo Yoshitsune's daughter **Second daughter: Imperial Princess Taiko (諦子内親王; 1217–1243) later Gekgimon'in (明義門院) **Third son: Imperial Prince Kanenari (懐成親王) later Emperor Chūkyō *Lady-in-waiting: Toku-Naishi (督典侍), Fujiwara Norimitsu's Daughter **Fourth son: Prince Hikonari (彦成王; 1219–1286) **Sixth son: Imperial Prince Yoshimune (善統親王; 1233–1317) *Consort: Fujiwara Noriko (藤原位� ...
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Historiography Of Japan
The historiography of Japan ( ') is the study of methods and hypotheses formulated in the study and literature of the history of Japan. The earliest work of Japanese history is attributed to Prince Shōtoku, who is said to have written the ''Tennōki'' and the '' Kokki'' in 620CE. The earliest extant work is the of 712. The ''Nihon Shoki'' followed by 720. These two works formed the base of a history of the nation based in great part on Japanese mythology, in particular that of the Shinto religion. The works were inspired by Chinese historiography and were compiled with the support of the Japanese state. Five more works between 797 and 901 completed what had begun with the ''Nihon Shoki''; the six are known as the ''Rikkokushi'' ("six national histories"). An abandonment of Chinese inspiration and state support marks the historiographical writings of the period from the 9th to 16th centuries. A great number of historical tales called '' rekishi monogatari'' and war tales c ...
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Japanese Historical Text Initiative
Japanese Historical Text Initiative (JHTI) is a searchable online database of Japanese historical documents and English translations. It is part of the Center for Japanese Studies at the University of California at Berkeley. History Delmer M. Brown started the process of establishing JHTI in 1998. The development of JHTI involved negotiations with the University of Tokyo Press and the National Institute of Japanese Literature. Select list JHTI is an expanding online collection of historical texts. The original version of every paragraph is cross-linked with an English translation. The original words in Japanese and English translation are on the same screen. There are seven categories of writings, including Ancient chronicles These works were compiled by officials of the Imperial Court at the command of the emperors. * '' Kojiki'' (completed in 712 CE) with translation by Donald L. Philippi * '' Nihon Shoki'' (completed in 720) with translation by W. G. Aston * '' Shoku N ...
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Tendai
, also known as the Tendai Dharma Flower School (天台法華宗, ''Tendai hokke shū,'' sometimes just ''Hokkeshū''), is a Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition with significant esoteric elements that was officially established in Japan in 806 by the Japanese monk Saichō. The Tendai school, which has been based on Mount Hiei since its inception, rose to prominence during the Heian period (794–1185). It gradually eclipsed the powerful Hossō school and competed with the rival Shingon school to become the most influential sect at the Imperial court. By the Kamakura period (1185–1333), Tendai had become one of the dominant forms of Japanese Buddhism, with numerous temples and vast landholdings. During the Kamakura period, various monks left Tendai to found new Buddhist schools such as Jōdo-shū, Jōdo Shinshū, Nichiren-shū and Sōtō Zen. The destruction of the head temple of Enryaku-ji by Oda Nobunaga in 1571, as well as the geographic shift of the capital away from ...
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Emperor Jimmu
was the legendary first emperor of Japan according to the and . His ascension is traditionally dated as 660 BC.Kelly, Charles F"Kofun Culture" Japanese Archaeology
April 27, 2009.* Kitagawa, Joseph (1987). : "emphasis on the undisrupted chronological continuity from myths to legends and from legends to history, it is difficult to determine where one ends and the next begins. At any rate, the first ten legendary emperors are clearly not reliable historical records." * Boleslaw Szczesniak, "The Sumu-Sanu Myth: Notes and Remarks on the Jimmu Tenno Myth", in ''Monumenta Nipponica'', Vol. 10, No. 1/2 (Winter 1954), pp. 107–26. . . In Japanese mythology, he was a descendant of the sun goddess Amaterasu, through her grandson Ninigi-no-Mikoto, Ninigi, as well as a descendant of the storm god Susanoo-n ...
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Buddhist
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or 5th century Before the Common Era, BCE. It is the Major religious groups, world's fourth-largest religion, with about 500 million followers, known as Buddhists, who comprise four percent of the global population. It arose in the eastern Gangetic plain as a movement in the 5th century BCE, and gradually spread throughout much of Asia. Buddhism has subsequently played a major role in Asian culture and spirituality, eventually spreading to Western world, the West in the 20th century. According to tradition, the Buddha instructed his followers in a path of bhavana, development which leads to Enlightenment in Buddhism, awakening and moksha, full liberation from ''Duḥkha, dukkha'' (). He regarded this path as a Middle Way between extremes su ...
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History Books About Japan
History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some theorists categorize history as a social science, while others see it as part of the humanities or consider it a hybrid discipline. Similar debates surround the purpose of history—for example, whether its main aim is theoretical, to uncover the truth, or practical, to learn lessons from the past. In a more general sense, the term ''history'' refers not to an academic field but to the past itself, times in the past, or to individual texts about the past. Historical research relies on Primary source, primary and secondary sources to reconstruct past events and validate interpretations. Source criticism is used to evaluate these sources, assessing their authenticity, content, and reliability. Historians strive to integrate the perspectives o ...
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13th-century Books
The 13th century was the century which lasted from January 1, 1201 (represented by the Roman numerals MCCI) through December 31, 1300 (MCCC) in accordance with the Julian calendar. The Mongol Empire was founded by Genghis Khan, which stretched from Eastern Asia to Eastern Europe. The conquests of Hulagu Khan and other Mongol invasions changed the course of the Muslim world, most notably the Siege of Baghdad (1258) and the destruction of the House of Wisdom. Other Muslim powers such as the Mali Empire and Delhi Sultanate conquered large parts of West Africa and the Indian subcontinent, while Buddhism witnessed a decline through the conquest led by Bakhtiyar Khilji. The earliest Islamic states in Southeast Asia formed during this century, most notably Samudera Pasai. The Kingdoms of Sukhothai and Hanthawaddy would emerge and go on to dominate their surrounding territories. Europe entered the apex of the High Middle Ages, characterized by rapid legal, cultural, and religious ...
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Iwanami Shoten Publishing
is a Japanese publishing company based in Tokyo.Louis Frédéric, ''Japan Encyclopedia'', Harvard University Press, 2005, p. 409. Iwanami Shoten was founded in 1913 by Iwanami Shigeo. Its first major publication was Natsume Sōseki's novel '' Kokoro'', which appeared as a book in 1914 after being serialized in the ''Asahi Shimbun''. Iwanami has since become known for scholarly publications, editions of classical Japanese literature, dictionaries, and high-quality paperbacks. Since 1955, it has published the '' Kōjien'', a single-volume dictionary of Japanese that is widely considered to be authoritative. Iwanami's head office is at Hitotsubashi 2–5–5, Chiyoda, Tokyo. Company history Iwanami Shigeo founded the publishing firm Iwanami Shoten in the Kanda district of Tokyo in 1913. In its early years, the company published authors such as Natsume Sōseki, Kurata Hyakuzō and Abe Jiro. It also published academic and literary journals in the field of philosophy, i ...
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University Of California Press
The University of California Press, otherwise known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. It was founded in 1893 to publish scholarly and scientific works by faculty of the University of California, established 25 years earlier in 1868. As the publishing arm of the University of California system, the press publishes over 250 new books and almost four dozen multi-issue journals annually, in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences, and maintains approximately 4,000 book titles in print. It is also the digital publisher of Collabra and Luminos open access (OA) initiatives. The press has its administrative office in downtown Oakland, California, an editorial branch office in Los Angeles, and a sales office in New York City, New York, and distributes through marketing offices in Great Britain, Asia, Australia, and Latin America. A Board consisting of senior officers of the University of Cali ...
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Historiographical Institute Of The University Of Tokyo
The is a research institution affiliated with the University of Tokyo that is devoted to the analysis, compilation, and publication of historical source materials concerning Japan. Since its foundation in 1869, the Institute has been a major center of Japanese historical research, and makes historical sources available through its library, publications, and databases. History The Institute finds its origin in the , founded in 1793 by the blind monk Hanawa Hokiichi. In 1869, Emperor Meiji issued an Imperial rescript which explained the importance of historiography: Historiography is a for ever immortal state ritual (''taiten'') and a wonderful act of our ancestors. But after the Six National Histories it was interrupted and no longer continued .... Now the evil of misrule by the warriors since the Kamakura period has been overcome and imperial government has been restored. Therefore we wish that an office of historiography (''shikyoku'') be established, that the good cust ...
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