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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 . 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 contemporary sta ...
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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''. He eventually rose to the rank of , leader of the Tendai. Jien eventually began to study and write Japanese history, his purpose being to "enlighten people who find it hard to understand the vicissitudes of life". His masterpiece, completed around 1220, was humbly entitled, '' Gukanshō'', which translates as ''Jottings of a Fool''. In it he tried to analyze the facts of Japanese history. The ''Gukanshō'' held a ''mappo'' and therefore pessimistic view of his age, the Feudal Period, and claimed that it was a period of religious decline and saw the disintegration of civilization. This is the viewpoint generall ...
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Emperor Juntoku
(October 22, 1197 – October 7, 1242) was the 84th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His reign spanned the years from 1210 through 1221. 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 (藤原位子), Bomon Nobukiyo’s daughter ...
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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 ''Kojiki'' 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 ...
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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 Nihong ...
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Tendai
, also known as the Tendai Lotus School (天台法華宗 ''Tendai hokke shū,'' sometimes just "''hokke shū''") is a Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition (with significant esoteric elements) officially established in Japan in 806 by the Japanese monk Saichō ( posthumously known as Dengyō Daishi). 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 (seeing it as corrupt) to establish their own "new" or "Kamakura" Buddhist schools such as Jōdo-shū, Nichiren-shū and Sōtō Zen. The destruction of the head temple of Enryaku-ji by Oda Nobunaga in 1571, ...
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Emperor Jimmu
was the legendary first emperor of Japan according to the '' Nihon Shoki'' and '' Kojiki''. 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 '''', Vol. 10, No. 1/2 (Winter 1954), pp. 107–26. . . In
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Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gradually spread throughout much of Asia via the Silk Road. It is the world's fourth-largest religion, with over 520 million followers (Buddhists) who comprise seven percent of the global population. The Buddha taught the Middle Way, a path of spiritual development that avoids both extreme asceticism and hedonism. It aims at liberation from clinging and craving to things which are impermanent (), incapable of satisfying ('), and without a lasting essence (), ending the cycle of death and rebirth (). A summary of this path is expressed in the Noble Eightfold Path, a training of the mind with observance of Buddhist ethics and meditation. Other widely observed practices include: monasticism; " taking refuge" in the Buddha, the , and th ...
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History Books About Japan
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well as the memory, discovery, collection, organization, presentation, and interpretation of these events. Historians seek knowledge of the past using historical sources such as written documents, oral accounts, art and material artifacts, and ecological markers. History is not complete and still has debatable mysteries. History is also an academic discipline which uses narrative to describe, examine, question, and analyze past events, and investigate their patterns of cause and effect. Historians often debate which narrative best explains an event, as well as the significance of different causes and effects. Historians also debate the nature of history as an end in itself, as well as its usefulness to give perspective on the problems of the p ...
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13th-century Books
The 13th century was the century which lasted from January 1, 1201 ( 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), the destruction of the House of Wisdom and the weakening of the Mamluks and Rums which, according to historians, caused the decline of the Islamic Golden Age. 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 Southern Song dynasty would begin the century as a prosperous kingdom but would eventually be invaded and annexed into the Yuan dynasty of the Mongols. The Kamakura Shogunate of Japan would be invaded by the Mongols. Goryeo resiste ...
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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, includi ...
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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, and has been officially headquartered at the university's flagship campus in Berkeley, California, since its inception. As the non-profit publishing arm of the University of California system, the UC Press is fully subsidized by the university and the State of California. A third of its authors are faculty members of the university. 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 University of California Press publishes in ...
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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 custo ...
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