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Kintarō
is a folk hero from Japanese folklore. A child of superhuman strength, he was raised by a yama-uba ("mountain witch") on Mount Ashigara. He became friendly with the animals of the mountain, and later, after catching Shuten-dōji, the terror of the region around Mount Ōe, he became a loyal follower of Minamoto no Yorimitsu under the new name . He is a popular figure in Bunraku and kabuki drama, and it is a custom to put up a Kintarō doll on Boy's Day in the hope that boys will become equally brave and strong. Kintarō is supposedly based on a real person, Sakata Kintoki, who lived during the Heian period and probably came from what is now the city of Minamiashigara, Kanagawa. He served as a retainer for the samurai Minamoto no Yorimitsu and became well known for his abilities as a warrior. As with many larger-than-life individuals, his legend has grown with time. Legend Several competing stories tell of Kintarō's childhood. In one, he was raised by his mother, Princess Yaegi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yama-uba
, Yamamba or Yamanba are variations on the name of a ''yōkai'' found in Japanese folklore. Description The word can also be written as 山母, 山姫, or 山女郎, and in the town of Masaeki, Nishimorokata District, Miyazaki Prefecture (now Ebino), a "yamahime" would wash her hair and sing in a lovely voice. Deep in the mountains of Shizuoka Prefecture, there is a tale that the "yamahime" would appear as a woman around twenty years of age and would have beautiful features, a small sleeve, and black hair, and that when a hunter encounters her and tries to shoot at it with a gun, she would repel the bullet with her hands. In Hokkaido, Shikoku, and the southern parts of Kyushu, there is also a yamajijii (mountain old man), and the yamauba would also appear together with a yamawaro (mountain child), and here the yamauba would be called "yamahaha" (mountain mother) and the yamajijii a "yamachichi" (mountain father). In Iwata District, Shizuoka Prefecture, the "yamababa" that ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Minamoto No Yorimitsu
, also known as Minamoto no Raikō, served the regents of the Fujiwara clan along with his brother Yorinobu, taking the violent measures the Fujiwara were themselves unable to take. He is one of the earliest Minamoto of historical note for his military exploits, and is known for quelling the bandits of Ōeyama. His loyal service earned him the governorships of Izu Province, Kozuke and a number of others in turn, as well as a number of other high government positions. Yorimitsu served as commander of a regiment of the Imperial Guard, and as a secretary in the Ministry of War. When his father Minamoto no Mitsunaka died, he inherited Settsu Province. Yorimitsu is usually accompanied by his four legendary retainers, known as the Shitennō (The Four Heavenly Kings). They were Watanabe no Tsuna, Sakata no Kintoki, Urabe no Suetake, and Usui Sadamitsu. Legends Yorimitsu featured in a number of legends and tales, including the legend of Kintarō (Golden Boy a.k.a. Sakata no Kintoki), ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mount Ashigara
Mount Ashigara (足柄山), also known as Mount Kintoki (金時山), is the northernmost peak of the Hakone caldera, on the border of Kanagawa and Shizuoka prefectures, in the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park in Japan. Ashigara is not a remnant of the collapse of the old Hakone volcano itself, but rather a parasitic cone growing from its flank. Mount Ashigara is the legendary birthplace of Kintarō. Etymology The kanji of the mountain's name mean "Leg Handle Mountain", but the written form is ''ateji'', meaning that the kanji were applied phonetically, and not for any symbolic representation of the mountain's characteristics or history. In old songs it is spelled out phonetically as ''asigari'' (阿之賀利) or ''asigara'' (安思我良). Access Hakone side * 90 minutes' walk from Sengoku bus stop Gotemba side * 120 minutes' walk from Otome Toge bus stop Minami Ashigara side * 90 minutes' walk from Ashigara Pass * 120 minutes' walk from Jizodo bus stop See also * Kintoki *As ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shuten-dōji
Shuten-dōji (, also sometimes called , or ) is a mythical ''oni'' or demon leader of Japan, who according to legend was killed by the hero Minamoto Raikō. Although decapitated, the demon's detached head still took a bite at the hero, who avoided death by wearing multiple helmets stacked on his head. Shuten-dōji had his lair at Mount Ōe () northwest of the city of Kyoto, or Mount Ibuki, depending on the version. It has also been theorized that the original mountain was Mount Ōe () on the western edge of the city of Kyoto. Texts The oldest surviving text of the legend is recorded in the 14th century ''Ōeyama Ekotoba'' (大江山絵詞 "Tale of Mount Ōe in Pictures and Words"), a picture scroll held by the Itsuō Art Museum. It was later incorporated into the corpus of ''Otogi-zōshi'' ("Companion tales"), and became widely read in the woodblock-printed versions of them called the ''Otogi Bunko'' (Companion Library), especially Shibukawa Seiemon editions (ca. 1720). The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Children's Day (Japan)
is a public holiday in Japan which takes place annually on May 5 and is the final celebration in Golden Week. It is a day set aside to respect children's personalities and to celebrate their happiness. It was designated a national holiday by the Japanese government in 1948, but has been a day of celebration in Japan since ancient times. History The day was originally called one of the five annual ceremonies held at the imperial courtand was celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth moon in the Chinese calendar. After Japan switched to the Gregorian calendar, the date was moved to May 5.Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005)''Japan Encyclopedia.''Cambridge: Harvard University Press. ; , p. 948 Until 1948, Children's Day was known as Boys' Day (also known as Feast of Banners), celebrating boys and recognizing fathers, as the counterpart to Hinamatsuri, or "Girl's Day" on . In 1948, the name was changed to Children's Day to include both male and female children, as we ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yoshitoshi The Giant Carp
Tsukioka Yoshitoshi ( ja, 月岡 芳年; also named Taiso Yoshitoshi ; 30 April 1839 – 9 June 1892) was a Japanese printmaker.Louis-Frédéric, Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric. (2005)"Tsukoka Kōgyō"in ''Japan Encyclopedia,'' p. 1000. Yoshitoshi has widely been recognized as the last great master of the ukiyo-e genre of Woodblock printing in Japan, woodblock printing and painting. He is also regarded as one of the form's greatest innovators. His career spanned two eras – the last years of Edo period Japan, and the first years of modern Japan following the Meiji Restoration. Like many Japanese, Yoshitoshi was interested in new things from the rest of the world, but over time he became increasingly concerned with the loss of many aspects of traditional Japanese culture, among them traditional woodblock printing. By the end of his career, Yoshitoshi was in an almost single-handed struggle against time and technology. As he worked on in the old manner, Japan was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kyoto
Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the city had a population of 1.46 million. The city is the cultural anchor of a substantially larger metropolitan area known as Greater Kyoto, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) home to a census-estimated 3.8 million people. Kyoto is one of the oldest municipalities in Japan, having been chosen in 794 as the new seat of Japan's imperial court by Emperor Kanmu. The original city, named Heian-kyō, was arranged in accordance with traditional Chinese feng shui following the model of the ancient Chinese capital of Chang'an/Luoyang. The emperors of Japan ruled from Kyoto in the following eleven centuries until 1869. It was the scene of several key events of the Muromachi period, Sengoku period, and the Boshin War, such as the Ōnin War, the Ho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Animal Language
Animal languages are forms of non-human animal communication that show similarities to human language. Animals communicate through a variety of signs, such as sounds or movements. Signing among animals may be considered complex enough to be a form of language if the inventory of signs is large, the signs are relatively arbitrary, and the animals seem to produce them with a degree of volition (as opposed to relatively automatic conditioned behaviors or unconditioned instincts, usually including facial expressions). In experimental tests, animal communication may also be evidenced through the use of lexigrams by chimpanzees and bonobos. Many researchers argue that animal communication lacks a key aspect of human language, the creation of new patterns of signs under varied circumstances. Humans, by contrast, routinely produce entirely new combinations of words. Some researchers, including the linguist Charles Hockett, argue that human language and animal communication differ so mu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Monster
A monster is a type of fictional creature found in horror, fantasy, science fiction, folklore, mythology and religion. Monsters are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive with a strange, grotesque appearance that causes terror and fear. Monsters usually resemble bizarre, deformed, otherworldly and/or mutated animals or entirely unique creatures of varying sizes, but may also take a human form, such as mutants, ghosts and spirits, zombies or cannibals, among other things. They may or may not have supernatural powers, but are usually capable of killing or causing some form of destruction, threatening the social or moral order of the human world in the process. Animal monsters are outside the moral order, but sometimes have their origin in some human violation of the moral law (e.g. in the Greek myth, Minos does not sacrifice to Poseidon the white bull which the god sent him, so as punishment Poseidon makes Minos' wife, Pasiphaë, fall in love with the bull. She copulat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sumo
is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (''dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by throwing, shoving or pushing him down). Sumo originated in Japan, the only country where it is practiced professionally and where it is considered the national sport. It is considered a ''gendai budō'', which refers to modern Japanese martial arts, but the sport has a history spanning many centuries. Many ancient traditions have been preserved in sumo, and even today the sport includes many ritual elements, such as the use of salt purification, from Shinto. Life as a wrestler is highly regimented, with rules regulated by the Japan Sumo Association. Most sumo wrestlers are required to live in communal sumo training stables, known in Japanese as ''heya'', where all aspects of their daily lives—from meals to their manner of dress—are dic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shitennō (Minamoto Clan)
Shitennō ( 四天王), a Japanese term normally referring to the Buddhist Four Heavenly Kings, is also applied to particularly famous or loyal retainers, in groups of four, to certain of Japan's most famous legendary and historical figures. The following four are referred to in legend as the ''Shitennō'' of Minamoto no Yorimitsu (also known as Raikō) (948–1021): * Sakata no Kintoki – known as Kaidomaru in his past. Kintoki originated from the House of Suzaku. * Urabe no Suetake – Originated from the House of Seiryū * Usui Sadamitsu – Originated from the House of Genbu. * Watanabe no Tsuna – Originated from the House of Byakko. Minamoto no Yoshitsune (1159–1189) was accompanied by the following four, his so-called ''Shitennō'', who are featured in the kabuki play ''Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura'' and other works: * Suruga Jirō Kiyoshige ( 駿河次郎清重) * Kamei Rokurō Shigekiyô ( 亀井六郎重清) * Kataoka Hachirō Tsuneharu ( 片岡八郎常春) * Ise Sabu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
-p000-frontispiece-oeyama.jpg "Click for more on -> Shuten-dōji")
