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Kanda Shrine
, is a Shinto shrine located in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The shrine dates back 1,270 years, but the current structure was rebuilt several times due to fire and earthquakes. It is situated in one of the most expensive estate areas of Tokyo. Kanda Shrine was an important shrine to both the warrior class and citizens of Japan, especially during the Edo period, when ''shōgun'' Tokugawa Ieyasu paid his respects at Kanda Shrine. Due in part to the proximity of the Kanda Shrine to Akihabara, the shrine has become a mecca for technophiles who frequent Akihabara. History Kanda Shrine was first built in the second year of the Tenpyō Era (730 AD), in the fishing village of Shibasaki, near the modern Ōtemachi district. In order to accommodate the expansion of Edo Castle, the shrine was later moved to the former Kanda ward in 1603, then moved once again to its modern site on a small hill near Akihabara in 1616. The shrine has been rebuilt and restored many times. The current structu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Honden
In Shinto shrine architecture, the , also called , or sometimes as in Ise Shrine's case, is the most sacred building at a Shinto shrine, intended purely for the use of the enshrined ''kami'', usually symbolized by a mirror or sometimes by a statue.JAANUS The building is normally in the rear of the shrine and closed to the general public. In front of it usually stands the ''Haiden (Shinto), haiden'', or Public speaking, oratory. The ''haiden'' is often connected to the ''honden'' by a ''Heiden (Shinto), heiden'', or hall of offerings. Physically, the ''honden'' is the heart of the shrine complex, connected to the rest of the shrine but usually raised above it, and protected from public access by a fence called ''tamagaki''. It usually is relatively small and with a gabled roof. Its doors are usually kept closed, except at matsuri, religious festivals. Kannushi, Shinto priests themselves enter only to perform rituals. The rite of opening those doors is itself an important part of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Technophilia
Technophilia (from Greek language, Greek τέχνη - ''technē'', "art, skill, craft" and φίλος - ''philos'', "beloved, dear, friend") refers generally to a strong enthusiasm for technology, especially new technologies such as personal computers, the Internet, mobile phones, and home cinema."Technophilia." The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. 2003. Houghton Mifflin Company 23 Sep. 2012 http://www.thefreedictionary.com/technophilia The term is used in sociology to examine individuals' interactions with society and is contrasted with technophobia. On a psychodynamic level, technophilia generates the expression of its opposite, technophobia.Richards, Barry. "Technophobia and Technophilia." British Journal of Psychotherapy 10.2 (1993): 188–95. Print. Technophilia and technophobia are the two extremes of the relationship between technology and society. The technophile regards most or all technology positively, adopts new forms of technolo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Daikokuten
Daikokuten ( 大黒天) is a syncretic Japanese deity of fortune and wealth. Daikokuten originated from Mahākāla, the buddhist version of the Hindu deity Shiva, conflated with the native Shinto god Ōkuninushi. Overview Mahākāla in East Asian Buddhism The Sanskrit term 'Mahākāla' ("Great Black ne, "Great Time" or "Great Death") was originally one of the epithets of the Hindu god Shiva in his aspect as time (''kāla''), the ultimate destroyer of all things. This title and aspect of Shiva was eventually adopted by Buddhism, where Mahākāla became reinterpreted as a '' dharmapāla'' or a protector of the Buddhist dharma but also as a terrifying deity who roams the forests at night with hordes of ghouls and demons in his train. Mahākāla is mentioned in many Chinese Buddhist texts, although iconographic depictions of him in China were rare during the Tang and Song periods. He eventually became the center of a flourishing cult after the 9th century in the kingdoms of Nanz ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kami
are the deities, divinities, spirits, phenomena or "holy powers", that are venerated in the Shinto religion. They can be elements of the landscape, forces of nature, or beings and the qualities that these beings express; they can also be the spirits of venerated dead people. Many ''kami'' are considered the ancient ancestors of entire clans (some ancestors became ''kami'' upon their death if they were able to embody the values and virtues of ''kami'' in life). Traditionally, great leaders like the Emperor could be or became ''kami''. In Shinto, ''kami'' are not separate from nature, but are of nature, possessing positive and negative, and good and evil characteristics. They are manifestations of , the interconnecting energy of the universe, and are considered exemplary of what humanity should strive towards. ''Kami'' are believed to be "hidden" from this world, and inhabit a complementary existence that mirrors our own: . To be in harmony with the awe-inspiring aspects of nature ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gongen
A , literally "incarnation", was believed to be the manifestation of a buddha in the form of an indigenous kami, an entity who had come to guide the people to salvation, during the era of shinbutsu-shūgō in premodern Japan.Encyclopedia of Shinto''Gongen''accessed on October 5, 2008Tamura (2000:87) The words and are synonyms for gongen. is the term for belief in the existence of gongen. The gongen concept is the cornerstone of the honji suijaku theory, according to which Buddhist deities choose to appear to the Japanese as native kami in order to save them, which is based on the Mahayana Buddhist notion of upaya, "expedient means". History It is sometimes assumed that the word ''gongen'' derives from Tokugawa Ieyasu's posthumous name (Tōshō Daigongen). However, the term was created and started being used in the middle of the Heian period in an effort to harmonize Buddhism and indigenous religious practice in what is called shinbutsu-shūgō or "syncretism of kami and bud ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Irimoya
The East Asian hip-and-gable roof (''Xiēshān'' (歇山) in Chinese, ''Irimoya'' (入母屋) in Japanese, and ''Paljakjibung'' (팔작지붕) in Korean) also known as 'resting hill roof', consists of a hip roof that slopes down on all four sides and integrates a gable on two opposing sides. It is usually constructed with two large sloping roof sections in the front and back respectively, while each of the two sides is usually constructed with a smaller roof section. The style is Chinese in origin, and has spread across much of East and Continental Asia. The original Chinese style and similar styles are not only found in the traditional architectures of Japan and Korea but also other Continental Asian countries such as India, Vietnam, Mongolia, Tibet, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Kalmykia. It also influenced the style of the bahay na bato of the Philippines. Etymology It is known as () in Chinese, in Japanese, and () in Korean. East Asia ''Xieshan'' in China In China, the hip-and- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cypress
Cypress is a common name for various coniferous trees or shrubs of northern temperate regions that belong to the family Cupressaceae. The word ''cypress'' is derived from Old French ''cipres'', which was imported from Latin ''cypressus'', the latinisation of the Greek κυπάρισσος (''kyparissos''). Cypress trees are a large classification of conifers, encompassing the trees and shrubs from the cypress family (Cupressaceae) and many others with the word “cypress” in their common name. Many cypress trees have needle-like, evergreen foliage and acorn-like seed cones. Species Species that are commonly known as cypresses include: Most prominently: *Cypress (multiple species within the genus '' Cupressus'') Otherwise: *African cypress (''Widdringtonia'' species), native to Southern Africa *Bald, Pond, and Montezuma cypresses (''Taxodium'' species), native to North America *Chinese swamp cypress (''Glyptostrobus pensilis''), Vietnam, critically endangered *Cordilleran ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Omamori
are Japanese amulets commonly sold at Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples, dedicated to particular Shinto as well as Buddhist figures, and are said to provide various forms of luck and protection. Origin and usage The word means 'protection', with being the (honorific) form of the word. Originally made from paper or wood, modern amulets are small items usually kept inside a brocade bag and may contain a prayer, religious inscription of invocation. are available at both Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples with few exceptions and are available for sale, regardless of one's religious affiliation. are then made sacred through the use of ritual, and are said to contain (spiritual offshoots) in a Shinto context or (manifestations) in a Buddhist context. While are intended for temple tourists' personal use, they are mainly viewed as a donation to the temple or shrine the person is visiting. Visitors often give as a gift to another person as a physical form of well-wishi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis powers. World War II was a total war that directly involved more than 100 million personnel from more than 30 countries. The major participants in the war threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. Aircraft played a major role in the conflict, enabling the strategic bombing of population centres and deploying the only two nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II was by far the deadliest conflict in human history; it resulted in 70 to 85 million fatalities, mostly among civilians. Tens of millions died due to genocides (including the Holocaust), starvation, ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bombing Of Tokyo
The was a series of firebombing air raids by the United States Army Air Force during the Pacific campaigns of World War II. Operation Meetinghouse, which was conducted on the night of 9–10 March 1945, is the single most destructive bombing raid in human history. of central Tokyo were destroyed, leaving an estimated 100,000 civilians dead and over one million homeless. In comparison, the atomic bombing of Nagasaki resulted in the immediate death of between 39,000 and 80,000 people. The US first mounted a seaborne, small-scale air raid on Tokyo (the "Doolittle Raid") in April 1942. Strategic bombing and urban area bombing began in 1944 after the long-range B-29 Superfortress bomber entered service, first deployed from China and thereafter the Mariana Islands. B-29 raids from those islands began on 17 November 1944, and lasted until 15 August 1945, the day of Japanese surrender. Over 50% of Tokyo's industry was spread out among residential and commercial neighborhoods; fi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1923 Great Kantō Earthquake
The struck the Kantō Plain on the main Japanese island of Honshū at 11:58:44 JST (02:58:44 UTC) on Saturday, September 1, 1923. Varied accounts indicate the duration of the earthquake was between four and ten minutes. Extensive firestorms and even a fire whirl added to the death toll. Civil unrest after the disaster (i.e., the Kantō Massacre) has been documented. The earthquake had a magnitude of 7.9 on the moment magnitude scale (), with its focus deep beneath Izu Ōshima Island in Sagami Bay. The cause was a rupture of part of the convergent boundary where the Philippine Sea Plate is subducting beneath the Okhotsk Plate along the line of the Sagami Trough. Since 1960, September 1 has been designated by the Japanese government as , or a day in remembrance of and to prepare for major natural disasters including tsunami and typhoons. Drills, as well as knowledge promotion events, are centered around that date as well as awards ceremonies for people of merit. Earthquake T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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