HOME
*



picture info

Kunimi (practice)
The ancient Japanese practice of , ''lit.'' "viewing the realm", involved climbing a mountain to survey the land, often before praising it in song. It also often uses spatial elements and metaphors to affirm prosperity and power of a ruler. It is documented in the early chronicles the '' Kojiki'' and '' Nihon Shoki'' as well as in a number of poems in the Man'yōshū. Origins Close association with the Imperial House may suggest that ''kunimi'' was an agricultural rite imported from China; alternatively it may have been a folk practice. The "blood relationship" between emperor and land gives ''kunimi'' added significance. The earliest documented occurrence was in 663 BC, when Emperor Jimmu ascended a mountain in Uda and spotted 80 bandits on Kunimi Hill. He is advised by the kami to subdue them by gathering clay from Mount Kagu and creating from it sacred vessels for propitiatory sacrifice accompanied by incantation. In 630 Jimmu himself ascended the hill of Wakigami no Hohoma ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

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]  


picture info

Japanese Culture
The culture of Japan has changed greatly over the millennia, from the country's prehistoric Jōmon period, to its contemporary modern culture, which absorbs influences from Asia and other regions of the world. Historical overview The ancestry of Japanese people remains mysterious; however, there are two competing hypotheses that try to explain the lineage of the Japanese people. The first hypothesis proposes a dual-structure model, in which Japanese populations are descendants of the indigenous Jomon people and later arrivals of people from the East Eurasian continent, known as the Yayoi people. Japan's indigenous culture originates primarily from the Yayoi people who settled in Japan between 1000 BCE and 300 CE. Yayoi culture spread to the main island of Honshū, mixing with the native Jōmon culture. Modern Japanese have an estimated 80% Yayoi and 20% Jōmon ancestry. The second hypothesis posits a tripartite model of genomic origin. This hypothesis proposes that co ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Iwanami Shoten, Publishers
is a Japanese publishing company based in Tokyo.Louis Frédéric, ''Japan Encyclopedia'', Harvard University Press, 2005, p. 409. Iwanami Shoten was founded in 1913 by Iwanami Shigeo. Its first major publication was Natsume Sōseki's novel ''Kokoro'', which appeared as a book in 1914 after being serialized in the ''Asahi Shimbun''. Iwanami has since become known for scholarly publications, editions of classical Japanese literature, dictionaries, and high-quality paperbacks. Since 1955, it has published the ''Kōjien'', a single-volume dictionary of Japanese that is widely considered to be authoritative. Iwanami's head office is at Hitotsubashi 2–5–5, Chiyoda, Tokyo. Company history Iwanami Shigeo founded the publishing firm Iwanami Shoten in the Kanda district of Tokyo in 1913. In its early years, the company published authors such as Natsume Sōseki, Kurata Hyakuzō and Abe Jiro. It also published academic and literary journals in the field of philosophy, includ ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Emperor Jomei
was the 34th emperor of Japan,Kunaichō 斉明天皇 (34)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. Jomei's reign spanned the years from 629 through 641. Traditional narrative Before Jomei's ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne, his personal name (''imina'') was or . As emperor, his name would have been ''Okinagatarashihi Hironuka Sumeramikoto'' (息長足日広額天皇). He was a grandson of Emperor Bidatsu, both paternally and maternally. His father was Prince Oshisakanohikohito-no-Ōe, his mother was Princess Nukate-hime, who was a younger sister of his father. Events in Jomei's reign He succeeded his great aunt, Empress Suiko. Suiko did not make it clear who was to succeed her after her death. Before her death, she called Tamura and Prince Shōtoku's son, Prince Yamashiro-no-Ōe, and gave some brief advice to each of them. After her death the court was divided into two factions, each supporting one of the princes for the throne. Soga no Emishi, the head ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Emperor Yūryaku
(418 - 8 September 479) was the 21st legendary Emperor of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 雄略天皇 (21) retrieved 2013-8-28. according to the traditional order of succession. He is remembered as a patron of sericulture.Nippon Gakujutsu Shinkokai (1969). ''The Manyōshū,'' p. 317. No firm dates can be assigned to this Emperor's life or reign, but he is conventionally considered to have reigned from 25 December 456 to 8 September 479. Legendary narrative Yūryaku was a 5th-century monarch. The reign of Emperor Kinmei ( – 571 AD), the 29th Emperor,Titsinghpp. 34–36 Brown pp. 261–262 Varley, pp. 123–124. is the first for which contemporary historiography is able to assign verifiable dates; however, the conventionally accepted names and dates of the early Emperors were not to be confirmed as "traditional" until the reign of Emperor Kanmu (737–806), the 50th sovereign of the Yamato dynasty. According to the '' Kojiki'', this Emperor is said to ha ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Emperor Ōjin
, also known as (alternatively spelled 譽田別命, 誉田別命, 品陀和気命, 譽田分命, 誉田別尊, 品陀別命) or , was the 15th (possibly legendary) Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. No firm dates can be assigned to Ōjin's life or reign, but he is traditionally considered to have reigned from 270 to 310. According to the Shinto religion and Buddhism in Japan, Emperor Ōjin is the divine spirit of the deity Hachiman (八幡神). Legendary narrative The Japanese have traditionally accepted this sovereign's historical existence, and a mausoleum (misasagi) for Ōjin is currently maintained. The following information available is taken from the pseudo-historical '' Kojiki'' and '' Nihon Shoki'', which are collectively known as or ''Japanese chronicles''. These chronicles include legends and myths, as well as potential historical facts that have since been exaggerated and/or distorted over time. The circumstances surrounding the f ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Yamato Sanzan
or "the three mountains of Yamato", in Kashihara, Nara Prefecture, Japan, are , , and . Celebrated in Japanese poetry, they have been jointly designated a Place of Scenic Beauty. Jimmu, first Emperor of Japan, is said to have built his palace on the southeast side of Mt Unebi; he is enshrined at Kashihara Jingū. Archaeological study in the 1990s has shown that, rather than their surrounding Fujiwara-kyō on three sides, the "palace-city" was so large as to encompass the three mountains. File:Kaguyama-mt.jpg, Mt Kagu (152.4 m) File:Kashihara-unebi.JPG, Mt Unebi (199.2 m) File:Miminashi-yama.jpg, Mt Miminashi (139.7 m) See also * Monuments of Japan * List of Special Places of Scenic Beauty, Special Historic Sites and Special Natural Monuments * Meisho * Utamakura * Kunimi (practice) The ancient Japanese practice of , ''lit.'' "viewing the realm", involved climbing a mountain to survey the land, often before praising it in song. It also often uses spatial elements and me ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Uda, Nara
is a city located in northeastern Nara Prefecture, Japan. The modern city of Uda was established on January 1, 2006, the towns of Haibara, Ōuda and Utano, and the village of Murō (all from Uda District). As of December 29, 2005, the city had an estimate population of 38,648 and a population density of 155.35 persons per km². As of April 1, 2015, the city has an estimated population of 31,274 and 13,128 households. The population density is 145.64 persons per km², and the total area is 247.62 km². Each former town became a ward. The wards here are ordinary wards of a city, unlike the 23 special wards of Tokyo. Geography Located in the Yamato Plateau in northeastern Nara Prefecture, it is surrounded by mountains in all directions. The Kintetsu Osaka Line has a major role in transportation in Uda. Neighboring municipalities * Nara Prefecture ** Nara ** Soni ** Sakurai ** Yamazoe ** Yoshino ** Higashiyoshino * Mie Prefecture ** Nabari Climate Uda has a humid su ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Japanese Poetry
Japanese poetry is poetry typical of Japan, or written, spoken, or chanted in the Japanese language, which includes Old Japanese, Early Middle Japanese, Late Middle Japanese, and Modern Japanese, as well as poetry in Japan which was written in the Chinese language or '' ryūka'' from the Okinawa Islands: it is possible to make a more accurate distinction between Japanese poetry written in Japan or by Japanese people in other languages versus that written in the Japanese language by speaking of Japanese-language poetry. Much of the literary record of Japanese poetry begins when Japanese poets encountered Chinese poetry during the Tang dynasty (although the Chinese classic anthology of poetry, ''Shijing'', was well known by the literati of Japan by the 6th century). Under the influence of the Chinese poets of this era Japanese began to compose poetry in Chinese '' kanshi''); and, as part of this tradition, poetry in Japan tended to be intimately associated with pictorial painting, p ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Emperor Jimmu
was the legendary first emperor of Japan according to the '' Nihon Shoki'' and '' Kojiki''. His ascension is traditionally dated as 660 BC.Kelly, Charles F"Kofun Culture" Japanese Archaeology
April 27, 2009.* Kitagawa, Joseph (1987). : "emphasis on the undisrupted chronological continuity from myths to legends and from legends to history, it is difficult to determine where one ends and the next begins. At any rate, the first ten legendary emperors are clearly not reliable historical records." * Boleslaw Szczesniak, "The Sumu-Sanu Myth: Notes and Remarks on the Jimmu Tenno Myth", in '''', Vol. 10, No. 1/2 (Winter 1954), pp. 107–26. . . In
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]