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Kusunoki Masasue
Kusunoki Masasue (Japanese: 楠木正季, died July 5, 1336) was a samurai warlord during the Nanboku-chō period, and the younger brother of Kusunoki Masashige. He died alongside his brother as part of the Battle of Minatogawa on July 5, 1336. He is famous for his last words ''Shichishō Hōkoku!'' (七生報國; "Would that I had seven lives to give for my country!"). Life Relatively little is known about Masasue compared to his much more famous older brother. Masasue fought alongside his Masahige throughout the Kenmu campaigns, including at the sieges of Akasaka and Chihaya castles, but other than his name, almost nothing is recorded about him in historical chronicles until his death at the Battle of Minatogawa. When Masashige was ordered by Emperor Go-Daigo to make a stand against the forces of Ashikaga Takauji at the Battle of Minatogawa in July 1336, Masasue went with him and perished in the battle. According to the war chronicle ''Taiheki is a concept of one's bodily tend ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Japanese Language
is spoken natively by about 128 million people, primarily by Japanese people and primarily in Japan, the only country where it is the national language. Japanese belongs to the Japonic or Japanese- Ryukyuan language family. There have been many attempts to group the Japonic languages with other families such as the Ainu, Austroasiatic, Koreanic, and the now-discredited Altaic, but none of these proposals has gained widespread acceptance. Little is known of the language's prehistory, or when it first appeared in Japan. Chinese documents from the 3rd century AD recorded a few Japanese words, but substantial Old Japanese texts did not appear until the 8th century. From the Heian period (794–1185), there was a massive influx of Sino-Japanese vocabulary into the language, affecting the phonology of Early Middle Japanese. Late Middle Japanese (1185–1600) saw extensive grammatical changes and the first appearance of European loanwords. The basis of the standard dialect moved f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Samurai
were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They had high prestige and special privileges such as wearing two swords and ''Kiri-sute gomen'' (right to kill anyone of a lower class in certain situations). They cultivated the '' bushido'' codes of martial virtues, indifference to pain, and unflinching loyalty, engaging in many local battles. Though they had predecessors in earlier military and administrative officers, the samurai truly emerged during the Kamakura shogunate, ruling from 1185 to 1333. They became the ruling political class, with significant power but also significant responsibility. During the 13th century, the samurai proved themselves as adept warriors against the invading Mongols. During the peaceful Edo period (1603 to 1868), they became the stewards and chamberlains of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Warlord
A warlord is a person who exercises military, economic, and political control over a region in a country without a strong national government; largely because of coercive control over the armed forces. Warlords have existed throughout much of history, albeit in a variety of different capacities within the political, economic, and social structure of states or ungoverned territories. The term is most often applied to China in the mid-19th century and the early 20th century. The term can also be used for any supreme military leader. Historical origins and etymology The first appearance of the word "warlord" dates to 1856, when used by American philosopher and poet Ralph Waldo Emerson in a highly critical essay on the aristocracy in England, "Piracy and war gave place to trade, politics and letters; the war-lord to the law-lord; the privilege was kept, whilst the means of obtaining it were changed." During the First World War, the term appeared in China as ''Junfa'' ( 軍閥), ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nanboku-chō Period
The Nanboku-chō period (南北朝時代, ''Nanboku-chō jidai'', "North and South court period", also known as the Northern and Southern Courts period), spanning from 1336 to 1392, was a period that occurred during the formative years of the Muromachi (Ashikaga) shogunate of Japanese history.During the early period, there existed a Northern Imperial Court, established by Ashikaga Takauji in Kyoto, and a Southern Imperial Court, established by Emperor Go-Daigo in Yoshino. Ideologically, the two courts fought for 50 years, with the South giving up to the North in 1392. However, in reality the Northern court was under the power of the Ashikaga shogunate and had little real independence. The destruction of the Kamakura shogunate of 1333 and the failure of the Kenmu Restoration in 1336 opened up a legitimacy crisis for the new shogunate. Institutional changes in the estate system ('' shōen'') that formed the bedrock of the income of nobles and warriors altered the status of the var ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kusunoki Masashige
was a Japanese samurai of the Kamakura period remembered as the ideal of samurai loyalty. Kusunoki fought for Emperor Go-Daigo in the Genkō War to overthrow the Kamakura shogunate and restore power in Japan to the Imperial Court. Kusunoki was a leading figure of the Kenmu Restoration in 1333 and remained loyal to the unpopular Emperor Go-Daigo after Ashikaga Takauji began to reverse the restoration in the Nanboku-chō wars three years later. Kusunoki attacked Takauji in Settsu at the command of the Emperor, an act of obedience surely to result in defeat, and died at the Battle of Minatogawa in 1336. Kusunoki became a popular legend in Japan representing loyalty and virtue, and associated with the phrase "Would that I had seven lives to give for my country!" (七生報國; "''Shichishō Hōkoku!''"). Kusunoki was posthumously awarded the highest court rank in Japan, Senior First Rank (''shō ichi-i)'', by the Meiji government in 1880, over 500 years after his death. Early ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Minatogawa
The Battle of Minatogawa (), also known as the Battle of Minato River, was a battle of the Nanboku-chō Wars fought near the Minato River in Settsu Province (present day Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture) on 5 July 1336. The Imperial forces loyal to Emperor Go-Daigo led by Kusunoki Masashige and Nitta Yoshisada attempted to intercept the Ashikaga forces led by Ashikaga Takauji in Settsu. The Ashikaga invaded from Kyushu after consolidating their forces at the Battle of Tatarahama and attacked the Imperial force at the Minato River from land and sea. The Imperial force was surrounded and destroyed by Ashikaga, killing Kusunoki and causing Yoshisada to retreat, and allowing the Ashikaga to march to Kyoto. The Battle of Minatogawa was a major defeat for the Imperial loyalists but became famous in Japanese mythology for the loyalty displayed by Kusunoki to the Emperor in the face of certain death and defeat. Background In February 1336, the defeat of the rebellious Ashikaga clan in the Na ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kenmu Restoration
The was a three-year period of Imperial rule in Japanese history between the Kamakura period and the Muromachi period from 1333 to 1336. The Kenmu Restoration was an effort made by Emperor Go-Daigo to overthrow the ruling Kamakura Shogunate and restore the Imperial House to power in Japan, returning to civilian government after 148 years of ''de facto'' military government from Kamakura.Sansom 1977: 22-42. Go-Daigo launched the Genkō War in 1331 against the Kamakura Shogunate but was defeated and exiled to the Oki Islands. Go-Daigo launched a second uprising, and with the assistance of the defected Kamakura general Ashikaga Takauji, defeated the Kamakura Shogunate at the siege of Kamakura in 1333. The Imperial House was restored to power but Go-Daigo's policies failed to satisfy his ''samurai'' supporters and most Japanese people. The Kenmu Restoration was ultimately overthrown when Takauji became ''Shōgun'' and founded the Ashikaga Shogunate in 1336, beginning the " North ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Emperor Go-Daigo
Emperor Go-Daigo (後醍醐天皇 ''Go-Daigo-tennō'') (26 November 1288 – 19 September 1339) was the 96th emperor of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'')後醍醐天皇 (96) retrieved 2013-8-28. according to the traditional order of succession. He successfully overthrew the Kamakura shogunate in 1333 and established the short lived Kenmu Restoration to bring the Imperial House back into power. This was to be the last time the emperor had real power until the Meiji Restoration in 1868.Sansom 1977: 22–42. The Kenmu restoration was in turn overthrown by Ashikaga Takauji in 1336, ushering in the Ashikaga shogunate, and split the imperial family into two opposing factions between the Ashikaga backed Northern Court situated in Kyoto and the Southern Court based in Yoshino led by Go-Daigo and his later successors. This 14th-century sovereign personally chose his posthumous name after the 9th-century Emperor Daigo and ''go-'' (後), translates as "later", and he is thu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ashikaga Takauji
was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Ashikaga shogunate."Ashikaga Takauji" in ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 625. His rule began in 1338, beginning the Muromachi period of Japan, and ended with his death in 1358. He was a male-line descendant of the samurai of the (Minamoto) Seiwa Genji line (meaning they were descendants of Emperor Seiwa) who had settled in the Ashikaga area of Shimotsuke Province, in present-day Tochigi Prefecture. According to Zen master and intellectual Musō Soseki, who enjoyed his favor and collaborated with him, Takauji had three qualities. First, he kept his cool in battle and was not afraid of death.Matsuo (1997:105) Second, he was merciful and tolerant. Third, he was very generous with those below him. Life His childhood name was Matagorō (又太郎). Takauji was a general of the Kamakura shogunate sent to Kyoto in 1333 to put down the Genkō War which had started i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taiheki
is a concept of one's bodily tendency in sensitivity, temperament, movement and personality. see Appendix for summary of Taiheki concept. The concept was established by , who was the founder and a teacher of in Japan. Noguchi said that man's tendency of sensitivity can be divided into five categories, each of which is divided into two types, one of which is active (odd-numbered types) whereas the other of which is passive (even-numbered types). In addition, there are two anomalous types. Thus, 12 types of ''Taiheki'' in total have been defined. Among them, odd-numbered types have a tendency to release compressed energy in an active way, whereas even-numbered types are passive and require others' attention to release compressed energy. The 12 types are like pure colours in colour, and there is a combination of two types in one person (this is called complex ''Taiheki''). The concept of ''Taiheki'' is somehow similar to the typology by Ernst Kretschmer, Enneagram of Personality ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yojijukugo
is a Japanese lexeme consisting of four kanji (Chinese characters). English translations of include "four-character compound", "four-character idiom", "four-character idiomatic phrase", and "four-character idiomatic compound". It is equivalent to the Chinese . Definition and classification in the broad sense refers to Japanese compound words consisting of four kanji characters. In the narrow or strict sense, however, the term refers only to four-kanji compounds that have a particular (idiomatic) meaning that cannot be inferred from the meanings of the components that make them up. Non-idiomatic There exists a very large number — perhaps tens of thousands — of four-character compounds. A great majority of them are those whose meanings can be easily deduced from the literal definition of their parts. These compounds may be called ''non-idiomatic'' . For example, the compound word is a non-idiomatic . It is made up of four characters: , , , and . Alternatively, it can ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1336 Deaths
Year 1336 ( MCCCXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events * February 25 ** Rather than be taken captive by the Teutonic Knights, 4,000 defenders of Pilėnai, Lithuania commit mass suicide. ** The Kenmu Restoration ends and the Muromachi period begins in Japan; start of the Nanboku-chō period. * April 18 (unconfirmed) – Brothers Harihara and Bukka Raya found the Vijayanagara Empire on the southern part of the Deccan Plateau in South India. * April 26 – The Ascent of Mount Ventoux is made by the Italian poet Petrarch: he claims to be the first since classical antiquity to climb a mountain for the view. * May 19 – The governor of Baghdad, Oirat 'Ali Padsah, defeats Arpa Ke'un near Maraga, contributing to the disintegration of the Ilkhanate. * July 4 – Battle of Minatogawa: Ashikaga Takauji defeats Japanese Imperial forces, under Kusunoki Masashige and Nitta Yoshisada. * July 21– 22 – Aberdeen, Sco ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
