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Hōsen-in
is a Buddhist temple of the Tendai-shū, located in Sakyō-ku of Kyoto-shi, in the prefecture of Kyoto, Japan. It is specified as a natural monument by the Kyoto government. History It was built in 1012 under the reign of Emperor Sanjō in the imperial year Chōwa 2. Its original purpose was to serve as temple quarters for priests from the nearby Shōrin'in temple. Structure One of the rooms features a blood stained ceiling that was originally a floorpiece from Fushimi Castle. The blood is from Torii Mototada, Tokugawa Ieyasu's retainer, and several other men who committed seppuku when the castle they were garrisoned in as being overrun by Ishida Mitsunari's forces during the siege of Fushimi castle. This battle delayed the Ishida forces, which gave Tokugawa Ieyasu time to prepare for the Battle of Sekigahara and eventually unify Japan under the Tokugawa Shogunate. Thus, Torii Mototada's act of valor is honored through having the bloody floorpiece serve as a piece of Hōsen- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Siege Of Fushimi
The siege of Fushimi was a crucial battle in the series leading up to the decisive Battle of Sekigahara which ended Japan's Sengoku period. Fushimi Castle was defended by a force loyal to Tokugawa Ieyasu's Eastern army, led by Torii Mototada. Knowing of his inevitable defeat, Torii's sacrifice diverted Ishida Mitsunari's attention, and part of his Western army, away from his Nakasendō fortresses, which were attacked by Tokugawa during the siege of Fushimi. Ultimately, the castle fell, but served a crucial role in allowing for greater strategic victories by Tokugawa. Background Fushimi was originally built several years earlier, as a luxurious palace for Toyotomi Hideyoshi, but was destroyed by an earthquake in 1596. Tokugawa Ieyasu rebuilt it and placed it under the care of Torii Mototada. As war with Ishida approached, Tokugawa saw that this would be a prime target for his enemies, as it stood quite close to Kyoto and guarded many of the approaches to, and past, the city. Visit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fushimi Castle
, also known as or Fushimi-Momoyama Castle, is a Japanese castle located in Fushimi Ward, Kyoto. Fushimi Castle was constructed from 1592 to 1594 by Toyotomi Hideyoshi at the end of the Sengoku period as his retirement residence. Fushimi Castle was destroyed in 1596 and rebuilt before eventually being demolished in 1623 and its site later used for the tomb of Emperor Meiji. The current Fushimi Castle is a replica constructed in 1964 near the original site in Fushimi. The Azuchi-Momoyama period of Japanese history partially takes its name from Fushimi Castle. History The construction of the original Fushimi Castle was begun in 1592, the year after Toyotomi Hideyoshi's retirement from the regency, and completed in 1594. Twenty provinces provided workers for the construction, which numbered between 20,000 and 30,000. Though bearing the external martial appearance of a castle, the structure was intended as a retirement palace for Hideyoshi, and was furnished and decorated as s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sakyō-ku, Kyoto
is one of the eleven Wards of Kyoto, wards in the Municipalities of Japan, city of Kyoto, Kyoto, Kyoto, in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. It is located in the northeastern part of the city. History The meaning of ''sakyō'' (左京) is "on the Emperor's left." When residing in the Kyoto Imperial Palace the Emperor of Japan, emperor would sit facing south, thus the eastern direction would be to his left. Similarly, there is a ward to the west called Ukyō-ku, Kyoto, Ukyō-ku (右京区), meaning "the ward on the Emperor's right." In old times, ''sakyō'' was referring to the eastern part of the capital, but the present Sakyō-ku is bounded to the west by the Kamo River and is thus outside the historical capital. It was created in 1929 when it was split off from Kamigyō-ku, Kyoto, Kamigyō-ku. Geography It is located in the north-east corner of Kyoto city. In the east, it borders the city of Ōtsu, Shiga, Ōtsu in Shiga Prefecture. In the south Sanjō Street separates it from Hi ... [...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] |
Suikinkutsu
A is a type of Japanese garden ornament and music device. It consists of an upside down buried pot with a hole at the top. Water drips through the hole at the top onto a small pool of water inside of the pot, creating a pleasant splashing sound that rings inside of the pot similar to a bell or Japanese zither, called a koto (musical instrument), koto. It is usually built next to a traditional Japanese stone basin called ''chōzubachi'', part of a ''tsukubai'' for washing hands before the Japanese tea ceremony. Traditional construction Constructing a is more difficult than it looks, because all components have to be finely tuned with each other to ensure a good Acoustics, sound. The most important piece of a is the jar, the upside down pot buried underground. Initially, jars that were readily available for storage of rice or water were utilized for the construction of a '. Both glazed and unglazed ceramic jars can be used. Recently, metal have also become commercially avai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shōmyō
is a style of Japanese Buddhist chant, used mainly in the Tendai and Shingon sects. There are two styles: ''ryokyoku'' and ''rikkyoku'', described as difficult and easy to remember, respectively. Shōmyō, like gagaku, employs the Yo scale, a pentatonic scale A pentatonic scale is a musical scale with five notes per octave, in contrast to the heptatonic scale, which has seven notes per octave (such as the major scale and minor scale). Pentatonic scales were developed independently by many ancien ... with ascending intervals of two, three, two, two, and three semitones. References Bibliography * Hill, Jackson (1982). Ritual Music in Japanese Esoteric Buddhism: Shingon Shōmyō, Ethnomusicology 26 (1), 27-39 External linksWhat Appears Through Chanting Tendai Shomyo Ryokyoku *http://jtrad.columbia.jp/eng/s_tendai.html *http://www.eastvalley.or.jp/eng/kyoku.html *http://sound.jp/tengaku/Shichseikai-e/shomyo-e4.html Buddhist music Japanese styles of music Buddhist c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sanzen-in
is a Tendai school monzeki temple in Ōhara, Kyoto, Japan. The Heian period triad of Amida Nyorai flanked by attendants is a National Treasure. Sanzenin Temple is the main attraction of the rural town of Ohara, which is located about an hour north of central Kyoto. The approach from Ohara bus stop to Sanzenin is lined with shops and restaurants catering to temple visitors, and there are a number of smaller temples in the vicinity. Sanzenin Temple itself has large temple grounds and a variety of buildings, gardens and walking paths. Sanzenin was founded by the monk Saicho who introduced Tendai Buddhism to Japan in 804. Sanzenin is a monzeki temple, one of only a few temples whose head priests used to be members of the imperial family. After entering the temple through the front gate, visitors to Sanzenin pass through a series of connected temple buildings. The first major building is the Kyakuden (guest hall), which displays works of Japanese calligraphy and paintings on slidin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Washitsu
A , meaning "Japanese-style room(s)", and frequently called a "tatami room" in English, is a Japanese room with traditional tatami flooring. also usually have sliding doors (), rather than hinged doors between rooms. They may have and, if the particular room is meant to serve as a reception room for guests, it may have a (alcove for decorative items). Traditionally, most rooms in a Japanese dwelling were in style. However, many modern Japanese houses have only one , which is sometimes used for entertaining guests, and most other rooms are Western-style. Many new construction Japanese apartments have no at all, instead using linoleum or hardwood floors. The size of a is measured by the number of tatami mats, using the counter word (), which, depending on the area, are between 1.5 m2 and 1.8 m2. (See tatami.) Typical room sizes are six or eight tatami mats in a private home. There are also half-sized mats, as in a 4.5-tatami room. People sit directly on the , on (a k ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tokugawa Shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 978.Nussbaum"''Edo-jidai''"at p. 167. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars of the Sengoku period following the collapse of the Ashikaga shogunate. Ieyasu became the ''shōgun,'' and the Tokugawa clan governed Japan from Edo Castle in the eastern city of Edo (Tokyo) along with the ''daimyō'' lords of the ''samurai'' class.Nussbaum"Tokugawa"at p. 976. The Tokugawa shogunate organized Japanese society under the strict Tokugawa class system and banned most foreigners under the isolationist policies of ''Sakoku'' to promote political stability. The Tokugawa shoguns governed Japan in a feudal system, with each ''daimyō'' administering a ''han'' (f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Sekigahara
The Battle of Sekigahara (Shinjitai: ; Kyūjitai: , Hepburn romanization: ''Sekigahara no Tatakai'') was a decisive battle on October 21, 1600 (Keichō 5, 15th day of the 9th month) in what is now Gifu prefecture, Japan, at the end of the Sengoku period. This battle was fought by the forces of Tokugawa Ieyasu against a coalition of Toyotomi loyalist clans under Ishida Mitsunari, several of which defected before or during the battle, leading to a Tokugawa victory. The Battle of Sekigahara was the largest battle of Japanese feudal history and is often regarded as the most important. Toyotomi's defeat led to the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate. Tokugawa Ieyasu took three more years to consolidate his position of power over the Toyotomi clan and the various ''daimyō'', but the Battle of Sekigahara is widely considered to be the unofficial beginning of the Tokugawa shogunate, which ruled Japan for another two and a half centuries until 1868. Background Toyotomi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ishida Mitsunari
Ishida Mitsunari (, 1559 – November 6, 1600) was a Japanese samurai and military commander of the late Sengoku period of Japan. He is probably best remembered as the commander of the Western army in the Battle of Sekigahara following the Azuchi–Momoyama period of the 16th century. He is also known by his court title, Jibu-no-shō (治部少輔). Early life He was born in 1559 at the north of Ōmi Province (which is now Nagahama city, Shiga Prefecture), and was the second son of Ishida Masatsugu, who was a retainer for the Azai clan. His childhood name was Sakichi (). The Ishida withdrew from service after the Azai's defeat in 1573 at the Siege of Odani Castle. According to legend, he was a monk in a Buddhist temple before he served Toyotomi Hideyoshi, but the accuracy of this legend is doubted since it only came about during the Edo period. Service under Hideyoshi Mitsunari met Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1577, when the former was still young and the latter was the ''daimy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tokugawa Ieyasu
was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, which ruled Japan from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was one of the three "Great Unifiers" of Japan, along with his former lord Oda Nobunaga and fellow Oda subordinate Toyotomi Hideyoshi. The son of a minor daimyo, Ieyasu once lived as a hostage under daimyo Imagawa Yoshimoto on behalf of his father. He later succeeded as daimyo after his father's death, serving as a vassal and general of the Oda clan, and building up his strength under Oda Nobunaga. After Oda Nobunaga's death, Ieyasu was briefly a rival of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, before declaring his allegiance and fighting on his behalf. Under Toyotomi, Ieyasu was relocated to the Kanto plains in eastern Japan, away from the Toyotomi power base in Osaka. He built his castle in the fishing village of Edo (now Tokyo). He became the most powerful daimyo and the most senior officer under the Toyotomi regime. Ieyasu preserved his strength i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
