|
Ishiyama-dera
is a Shingon temple in Ōtsu in Japan's Shiga Prefecture. This temple is the thirteenth of the Kansai Kannon Pilgrimage. History It was constructed around 747 CE, and is said to have been founded by Rōben. The temple contains a number of cultural assets. The temple possesses two fragments of manuscripts of the ''Records of the Grand Historian'' (''Shiji'' 史記), the first of China's 24 dynastic histories, which are the only known extant fragments that pre-date the Tang dynasty (618907). According to literature available at the temple complex, the guardian carvings at Sanmon/Todaimon are by Tankei and Unkei. Allegedly, Murasaki Shikibu began writing '' The Tale of Genji'' at Ishiyama-dera during a full moon night in August 1004. In commemoration, the temple maintains a Genji room featuring a life-size figure of Lady Murasaki and displays a statue in her honor. The temple features as "The Autumn Moon at Ishiyama" ( ') in the ''Eight Views of Ōmi'' thematic series in art and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Murasaki Shikibu
was a Japanese novelist, poet and lady-in-waiting at the Imperial court in the Heian period. She is best known as the author of '' The Tale of Genji,'' widely considered to be one of the world's first novels, written in Japanese between about 1000 and 1012. Murasaki Shikibu is a descriptive name; her personal name is unknown, but she may have been , who was mentioned in a 1007 court diary as an imperial lady-in-waiting. Heian women were traditionally excluded from learning Chinese, the written language of government, but Murasaki, raised in her erudite father's household, showed a precocious aptitude for the Chinese classics and managed to acquire fluency. She married in her mid-to late twenties and gave birth to a daughter before her husband died, two years after they were married. It is uncertain when she began to write ''The Tale of Genji'', but it was probably while she was married or shortly after she was widowed. In about 1005, she was invited to serve as a lady-in-wait ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kansai Kannon Pilgrimage
The is a pilgrimage of thirty-three Buddhist temples throughout the Kansai region of Japan, similar to the Shikoku Pilgrimage. In addition to the official thirty-three temples, there are an additional three known as . The principal image in each temple is Kannon, known to Westerners as the Bodhisattva of Compassion (or sometimes mistranslated as 'Goddess of Mercy') ; however, there is some variation among the images and the powers they possess. It is traditional for pilgrims to wear white clothing and conical straw hats and to carry walking sticks. While the route was historically traveled by foot, today pilgrims usually use cars or trains. Pilgrims record their progress with a , which the temple staff mark with red stamps and Japanese calligraphy indicating the temple number, the temple name, and the specific name of the Kannon image. Some pilgrims receive the stamps and calligraphy on wall scrolls (for a decorative hanging) and on their white coats (to be cremated in) as well. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of National Treasures Of Japan (ancient Documents)
The term "National Treasure" has been used in Japan to denote cultural properties since 1897. The definition and the criteria have changed since the introduction of the term. These ancient documents adhere to the current definition, and have been designated National Treasures since the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties came into effect on June 9, 1951. The items are selected by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, a special body of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, based on their "especially high historical or artistic value". "Ancient documents" is one of thirteen categories of National Treasures recognized by the agency. The list presents 62 documents or sets of documents from classical to early modern Japan, from the Asuka period to the Meiji period. The actual number of items is more than 62 because groups of related objects have been combined into single entries. The list contains items of various type such as letters, diaries, r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rōben
(689 – 773), also known as Ryōben, was a Japanese Buddhist monk of the Kegon sect, and clerical founder of the Tōdai-ji temple in Nara, Nara Prefecture, Japan. He is popularly known as the . His life spanned the late Asuka period (538 – 710) to the early Nara period (710 – 794), a period associated with the establishment of Buddhism in Japan. Early life According to tradition, Rōben was born either in either Ōmi Province in present-day Shiga Prefecture or Sagami Province in present-day Kanagawa Prefecture. Sagami is considered the more likely location. According to legend as a young baby, Rōben was snatched by an eagle and dropped off over a pine tree in front of what is now the Nigatsu-dō Hall. Rōben was raised as a monk, and reunited with his mother 30 years later. In one version of the story, Rōben wore an amulet of Kannon Bodhisattva since he was a baby, which his mother recognized when she came to Nara as a pilgrim. Records with the Ministry of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shiji
''Records of the Grand Historian'', also known by its Chinese name ''Shiji'', is a monumental history of China that is the first of China's 24 dynastic histories. The ''Records'' was written in the early 1st century by the ancient Chinese historian Sima Qian, whose father Sima Tan had begun it several decades earlier. The work covers a 2,500-year period from the age of the legendary Yellow Emperor to the reign of Emperor Wu of Han in the author's own time, and describes the world as it was known to the Chinese of the Western Han dynasty. The ''Records'' has been called a "foundational text in Chinese civilization". After Confucius and the First Emperor of Qin, "Sima Qian was one of the creators of Imperial China, not least because by providing definitive biographies, he virtually created the two earlier figures." The ''Records'' set the model for all subsequent dynastic histories of China. In contrast to Western historical works, the ''Records'' do not treat history as "a conti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shiga Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Shiga Prefecture has a population of 1,412,916 (1 October 2015) and has a geographic area of . Shiga Prefecture borders Fukui Prefecture to the north, Gifu Prefecture to the northeast, Mie Prefecture to the southeast, and Kyoto Prefecture to the west. Ōtsu is the capital and largest city of Shiga Prefecture, with other major cities including Kusatsu, Nagahama, and Higashiōmi. Shiga Prefecture encircles Lake Biwa, the largest freshwater lake in Japan, and 37% of the total land area is designated as Natural Parks, the highest of any prefecture. Shiga Prefecture's southern half is located adjacent to the former capital city of Kyoto and forms part of Greater Kyoto, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in Japan. Shiga Prefecture is home to Ōmi beef, the Eight Views of Ōmi, and Hikone Castle, one of four national treasure castles in Japan. History Shiga was known as Ōmi Province or Gōshū before the pref ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of National Treasures Of Japan (writings)
Lists of National Treasures of Japan cover different types of National Treasure of Japan. They include buildings and fine arts and crafts. Buildings and structures *List of National Treasures of Japan (castles), for structures that are part of a castle *List of National Treasures of Japan (miscellaneous structures), for other structures and buildings *List of National Treasures of Japan (residences), for residential buildings and structures *List of National Treasures of Japan (shrines), for structures that are part of a Shinto shrine *List of National Treasures of Japan (temples), for structures that are part of a Buddhist temple Fine Arts and Crafts *List of National Treasures of Japan (ancient documents), for ancient documents *List of National Treasures of Japan (archaeological materials), for archaeological finds *List of National Treasures of Japan (crafts) ** List of National Treasures of Japan (crafts: others), for craft items that are not swords ** List of National Treasu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kōjien
is a single-volume Japanese dictionary first published by Iwanami Shoten in 1955. It is widely regarded as the most authoritative dictionary of Japanese, and newspaper editorials frequently cite its definitions. As of 2007, it had sold 11 million copies. Izuru Shinmura ''Kōjien'' was the magnum opus of Shinmura Izuru, 1876–1967, a professor of linguistics and Japanese at Kyoto University. He was born in Yamaguchi Prefecture and graduated from the prestigious Tokyo University, where he was a student of . After studying in Germany, Ueda taught comparative linguistics and edited foreign-language dictionaries in the latter part of the Meiji era. Through his tutelage, Shinmura became involved in Japanese language lexicography. Even ''Kōjien'' editions published after his death credit Shinmura as the chief editor. History Jien The predecessor of ''Kōjien'' originated during the Great Depression in East Asia. In 1930, the publisher Shigeo Oka (岡茂雄, ''Oka Shigeo'', 18 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
8th-century Buddhist Temples
The 8th century is the period from 701 ( DCCI) through 800 ( DCCC) in accordance with the Julian Calendar. The coast of North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula quickly came under Islamic Arab domination. The westward expansion of the Umayyad Empire was famously halted at the siege of Constantinople by the Byzantine Empire and the Battle of Tours by the Franks. The tide of Arab conquest came to an end in the middle of the 8th century.Roberts, J., ''History of the World'', Penguin, 1994. In Europe, late in the century, the Vikings, seafaring peoples from Scandinavia, begin raiding the coasts of Europe and the Mediterranean, and go on to found several important kingdoms. In Asia, the Pala Empire is founded in Bengal. The Tang dynasty reaches its pinnacle under Chinese Emperor Xuanzong. The Nara period begins in Japan. Events * Estimated century in which the poem Beowulf is composed. * Classical Maya civilization begins to decline. * The Kombumerri burial grounds are founded. * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shingon
file:Koyasan (Mount Koya) monks.jpg, Shingon monks at Mount Koya is one of the major schools of Buddhism in Japan and one of the few surviving Vajrayana lineages in East Asia, originally spread from India to China through traveling monks such as Vajrabodhi and Amoghavajra. Known in Chinese as the Tangmi (; the Esoteric School in Tang Dynasty of China), these esoteric teachings would later flourish in Japan under the auspices of a Buddhist monk named Kūkai (), who traveled to Tang China to acquire and request transmission of the esoteric teachings. For that reason, it is often called Japanese Esoteric Buddhism, or Orthodox Esoteric Buddhism. The word ''shingon'' is the Kan-on, Japanese reading of the Traditional Chinese characters, Chinese word ('), which is the translation of the Sanskrit word ("mantra"). History Shingon Buddhist doctrine and teachings arose during the Heian period (794-1185) after a Buddhist monk named Kūkai traveled to China in 804 to study Esote ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tōji Shingon Temples
Tōji may refer to: * Tō-ji, a temple in Kyoto, Japan ** Tōji Station, a railway station on the Kintetsu Kyoto Line in Minami-ku, Kyoto, Japan that gives access to the temple * Dongzhi (solar term) in pīnyīn (Tōji in rōmaji), is the 22nd solar term in the traditional East Asian calendar * The job title of a Japanese sake brewer * Toji Suzuhara, a fictional character from the anime ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'' * Touji Sakata The following is a list of video game characters featured in the ''Fatal Fury'' fighting game series developed by SNK. The series consists of the original ''Fatal Fury'', '' Fatal Fury 2'', '' Fatal Fury Special'', ''Fatal Fury 3'', ''Real Bout ..., a fictional character from the fighting game ''Fatal Fury'' See also * Toji (other) {{disambiguation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Glossary Of Japanese Buddhism
This is the glossary of Japanese Buddhism, including major terms the casual (or brand-new) reader might find useful in understanding articles on the subject. Words followed by an asterisk (*) are illustrated by an image in one of the photo galleries. Within definitions, words set in boldface are defined elsewhere in the glossary. __NOTOC__ A * ''agyō''* (阿形) – A type of statue (of a Niō, komainu, etc.) with its mouth open to pronounce the sound "a", first letter of the Sanskrit alphabet and symbol of the beginning of all things. See also ''ungyō''. * Amida Nyorai (阿弥陀如来) – Japanese name of Amitabha, deity worshiped mainly by the Pure Land sect.''Kōjien Japanese dictionary'' * – A Hermitage. * arhat – see arakan. * ''arakan*'' (阿羅漢) – the highest level of Buddhist ascetic practice, or someone who has reached it. The term is often shortened to just ''rakan'' (羅漢). B *bay – see ken. *''bettō'' (別当) – Previously the title of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
