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Gunki Monogatari
, or "war tales," is a category of Japanese literature written primarily in the Kamakura and Muromachi periods that focus on wars and conflicts, especially the civil wars that took place between 1156 and 1568. Examples of this genre include the '' Hōgen Monogatari'' and the ''Heiji Monogatari.'' The most well known ''gunki monogatari'' is '' Heike Monogatari''. Authorship Unlike their Heian counterparts such as '' Genji Monogatari'', many of the medieval warrior tales have no identifiable authors and are generally composed by multiple people. The authors did not write the stories entirely from start to end but instead edited and re-wrote them multiple times. Distribution There were two forms in which ''gunki monogatari'' were transmitted: through ''yomimono'' (written texts) and through recitation by blind priests known as biwa hōshi. The oral practices had a ritual component, as they were thought to restore order to society and pacify the angry souls of warriors killed in batt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Japanese Literature
Japanese literature throughout most of its history has been influenced by cultural contact with neighboring Asian literatures, most notably China and its literature. Early texts were often written in pure Classical Chinese or , a Chinese-Japanese creole language. Indian literature also had an influence through the spread of Buddhism in Japan. During the Heian period, Japan's original culture () developed and literature also established its own style, with the significant usage and development of to write Japanese literature. Following the Perry Expedition which led to the end of the policy and the forced reopening of foreign trade, Western literature has also made influences to the development of modern Japanese writers, while Japanese literature has in turn become more recognized internationally, leading to two Japanese Nobel laureates in literature, namely Yasunari Kawabata and Kenzaburō Ōe. History Nara-period literature (before 794) Before the introduction of kanji f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Warrior
A warrior is a person specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracies, class, or caste. History Warriors seem to have been present in the earliest pre-state societies. Scholars have argued that horse-riding Yamnaya warriors from the Pontic–Caspian steppe played a key role during the Indo-European migrations and the diffusion of Indo-European languages across Eurasia. Most of the basic weapons used by warriors appeared before the rise of most hierarchical systems. Bows and arrows, clubs, spears, swords, and other edged weapons were in widespread use. However, with the new findings of metallurgy, the aforementioned weapons had grown in effectiveness. When the first hierarchical systems evolved 5000 years ago, the gap between the rulers and the ruled had increased. Making war to extend the outreach of their territories, rulers often forced men from lower orders ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Karma
Karma (; sa, कर्म}, ; pi, kamma, italic=yes) in Sanskrit means an action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences. In Indian religions, the term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect, often descriptively called the principle of karma, wherein intent and actions of an individual (cause) influence the future of that individual (effect): Good intent and good deeds contribute to good karma and happier rebirths, while bad intent and bad deeds contribute to bad karma and bad rebirths. As per some scripture, there is no link of rebirths with karma. The concept of karma is closely associated with the idea of rebirth in many schools of Indian religions (particularly Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism), as well as Taoism.Eva Wong, Taoism, Shambhala Publications, , pp. 193 In these schools, karma in the present affects one's future in the current life, as well as the nature and quality of future lives—one's '' saṃsāra''. This concept has ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mappō
The Three Ages of Buddhism, also known as the Three Ages of the Dharma (), are three divisions of time following Shakyamuni Buddha's death and passing into Nirvana in East Asian Buddhism. Three Ages The Three Ages of Buddhism are three divisions of time following Buddha's passing: # Former Day of the Dharma — also known as the “Age of the Right Dharma” (; Japanese: shōbō), the first thousand years (or 500 years) during which the Buddha's disciples are able to uphold the Buddha's teachings; # Middle Day of the Dharma — also known as the “Age of Semblance Dharma” (; Japanese: zōhō), the second thousand years (or 500 years), which only resembles the right Dharma; # Latter Day of the Dharma — also known as “the Degenerate Age of Dharma” (; Japanese: mappō), which is to last for 10,000 years during which the Dharma declines. In the Sutra of the Great Assembly (Sanskrit: ''Maha-Samnipata Sutra''; Japanese: ''Daijuku-kyō''), the three periods are further di ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Violence
Violence is the use of physical force so as to injure, abuse, damage, or destroy. Other definitions are also used, such as the World Health Organization's definition of violence as "the intentional use of physical force or Power (social and political), power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community, which either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment, or deprivation."Krug et al."World report on violence and health", World Health Organization, 2002. Internationally, violence resulted in deaths of an estimated 1.28 million people in 2013 up from 1.13 million in 1990. However, global population grew by roughly 1.9 billion during those years, showing a dramatic reduction in violence per capita. Of the deaths in 2013, roughly 842,000 were attributed to self-harm (suicide), 405,000 to interpersonal violence, and 31,000 to collective violence (war) and legal intervention. Fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amitābha
Amitābha ( sa, अमिताभ, IPA: ), also known as Amitāyus, is the primary Buddha of Pure Land Buddhism. In Vajrayana Buddhism, he is known for his longevity, discernment, pure perception, purification of aggregates, and deep awareness of emptiness for each phenomenon. According to a Pure Land Buddhist scripture, he possesses infinite merit that results from good deeds over countless past lives as Dharmākara. Doctrine Attainment of Buddhahood According to the '' Larger Sūtra of Immeasurable Life'', Amitābha was, in very ancient times and possibly in another system of worlds, a monk named Dharmākara. In some versions of the sūtra, Dharmākara is described as a former king who, having come into contact with Buddhist teachings through the buddha Lokeśvararāja, renounced his throne. He then resolved to become a Buddha and to create a ' (literally "buddha-field", often called a "Pureland" or "Buddha Land": a realm existing in the primordial universe outside ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buddhism
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 the ; ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
War Trophies
__NOTOC__ A war trophy is an item taken during warfare by an invading force. Common war trophies include flags, weapons, vehicles, and art. History In ancient Greece and ancient Rome, military victories were commemorated with a display of captured arms and standards. A trophy (from the Greek tropaion) was originally a war memorial assembled from such items on a battlefield. The Roman triumph also displayed these items as well as cultural objects, which later came to be called war trophies. Body parts of slain enemies have sometimes served as trophies since antiquity, in a practice called human trophy collecting. The recovery of Roman eagles taken as trophies by enemy forces sometimes inspired years of added warfare. In more recent times, it has been common for soldiers to return home with souvenirs, such as enemy weapons and flags, while larger military items captured in battle, particularly weaponry such as machine guns and artillery pieces, became the property of the state t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Duty
A duty (from "due" meaning "that which is owing"; fro, deu, did, past participle of ''devoir''; la, debere, debitum, whence "debt") is a commitment or expectation to perform some action in general or if certain circumstances arise. A duty may arise from a system of ethics or morality, especially in an honor culture. Many duties are created by law, sometimes including a codified punishment or Legal liability, liability for non-performance. Performing one's duty may require some sacrifice of Self, self-interest. Cicero, an early Roman philosopher who discusses duty in his work “On Duty", suggests that duties can come from four different sources: # as a result of being a human # as a result of one's particular place in life (one's family, one's country, one's job) # as a result of one's character # as a result of one's own moral expectations for oneself The specific duties imposed by law or culture vary considerably, depending on jurisdiction, religion, and social normalities. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Compassion
Compassion motivates people to go out of their way to relieve the physical, mental or emotional pains of others and themselves. Compassion is often regarded as being sensitive to the emotional aspects of the suffering of others. When based on notions such as fairness, justice and interdependence, it may be considered rational in nature. The word "compassion" comes from Middle English, and derives from Old French, via ecclesiastical Latin compassio(n- ), from compati (‘suffer with’). Compassion involves "feeling for another" and is a precursor to empathy, the "feeling as another" capacity (as opposed to sympathy, the "feeling towards another"). In common parlance, active compassion is the desire to alleviate another's suffering. Compassion involves allowing ourselves to be moved by suffering, and experiencing the motivation to help alleviate and prevent it. An act of compassion is defined by its helpfulness. Qualities of compassion are patience and wisdom; kindness and per ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Honor
Honour (British English) or honor (American English; see spelling differences) is the idea of a bond between an individual and a society as a quality of a person that is both of social teaching and of personal ethos, that manifests itself as a code of conduct, and has various elements such as valour, chivalry, honesty, and compassion. It is an abstract concept entailing a perceived quality of worthiness and respectability that affects both the social standing and the self-evaluation of an individual or institutions such as a family, school, regiment or nation. Accordingly, individuals (or institutions) are assigned worth and stature based on the harmony of their actions with a specific code of honour, and the moral code of the society at large. Samuel Johnson, in his ''A Dictionary of the English Language'' (1755), defined honour as having several senses, the first of which was "nobility of soul, magnanimity, and a scorn of meanness". This sort of honour derives from the percei ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sanemori
''Sanemori'' (Kyūjitai: ; Shinjitai: ) is a Noh play by Zeami Motokiyo about a troubled warrior spirit, unusual because of the great age of the warrior in question. Theme was a samurai warrior who fought in the Genpei War, and died at the Battle of Shinohara when he was seventy-three years old. In Zeami’s play, a travelling monk encounters a ghost who reveals himself to be Sanemori, having spent the two centuries since his death dwelling “among the Asuras/ Enduring pains too horrible to tell”. Redeemed by prayers to Amida Buddha, the ghost then tells the story of his last fight, and how the dyed locks on his severed head moved his adversaries to respect and awe at his courage in fighting despite his advanced age: “Alas for the old warrior! Utterly spent with fighting, Like a dying tree storm-smitten...” Later echoes Matsuo Bashō, Bashō wittily quoted from the Noh play in an early haiku – “The old-lady cherry / Is blossoming, a remembrance / Of years ago – wher ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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