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Kūkai
Kūkai (; 27 July 774 – 22 April 835Kūkai was born in 774, the 5th year of the Hōki era; his exact date of birth was designated as the fifteenth day of the sixth month of the Japanese lunar calendar, some 400 years later, by the Shingon sect (Hakeda, 1972 p. 14). Accordingly, Kūkai's birthday is commemorated on June 15 in modern times. This lunar date converts to 27 July 774 in the Julian calendar, and, being an anniversary date, is not affected by the switch to the Gregorian calendar in 1582. Similarly, the recorded date of death is the second year of the Jōwa era, on the 21st day of the third lunar month (Hakeda, 1972 p. 59), i.e. 22 April 835.), born Saeki no Mao (佐伯 眞魚), posthumously called , was a Japanese Buddhist monk, calligrapher, and poet who founded the esoteric Shingon school of Buddhism. He travelled to China, where he studied Tangmi (Chinese Vajrayana Buddhism) under the monk Huiguo. Upon returning to Japan, he founded Shingon—the Japanese branch o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kamakura Period
The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the Genpei War, which saw the struggle between the Taira and Minamoto clans. The period is known for the emergence of the samurai, the warrior caste, and for the establishment of feudalism in Japan. During the early Kamakura period, the shogunate continued warfare against the Northern Fujiwara which was only defeated in 1189. Then, the authority to the Kamakura rulers waned in the 1190s and power was transferred to the powerful Hōjō clan in the early 13th century with the head of the clan as regent (Shikken) under the shogun which became a powerless figurehead. The later Kamakura period saw the invasions of the Mongols in 1274 and again in 1281. To reduce the amount of chaos, the Hōjō rulers decided to decentralize power by allowing two imperial lines – Northern and Southern ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vajrayana Buddhism
Vajrayāna ( sa, वज्रयान, "thunderbolt vehicle", "diamond vehicle", or "indestructible vehicle"), along with Mantrayāna, Guhyamantrayāna, Tantrayāna, Secret Mantra, Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, are names referring to Buddhist traditions associated with Tantra and "Secret Mantra", which developed in the medieval Indian subcontinent and spread to Tibet, Nepal, other Himalayan states, East Asia, and Mongolia. Vajrayāna practices are connected to specific lineages in Buddhism, through the teachings of lineage holders. Others might generally refer to texts as the Buddhist Tantras. It includes practices that make use of mantras, dharanis, mudras, mandalas and the visualization of deities and Buddhas. Traditional Vajrayāna sources say that the tantras and the lineage of Vajrayāna were taught by Śākyamuni Buddha and other figures such as the bodhisattva Vajrapani and Padmasambhava. Contemporary historians of Buddhist studies meanwhile argue that this ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Emperor Kanmu
, or Kammu, was the 50th emperor of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 桓武天皇 (50) retrieved 2013-8-22. according to the traditional order of succession. Kanmu reigned from 781 to 806, and it was during his reign that the scope of the emperor's powers reached its peak. Traditional narrative Kanmu's personal name (''imina'') was .Brown, p. 277 He was the eldest son of Prince Shirakabe (later known as ), and was born prior to Shirakabe's ascension to the throne. According to the , Yamabe's mother, Yamato no Niigasa (later called |
Ōtomo Clan
was a Japanese samurai family whose power stretched from the Kamakura period through the Sengoku period, spanning over 400 years. The clan's hereditary lands lay in Kyūshū. Origins The first family head, Ōtomo Yoshinao (1172–1223), took the name from the Ōtomo territory in Sagami Province. The clan claims descent from Emperor Seiwa (850-881) through the Seiwa Genji lineage of the Minamoto clan. Although the clan genealogy claims Yoshinao to be an illegitimate son of Minamoto no Yoritomo, it has been concluded that he was in fact a descendant of the Fujiwara clan. History Following the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate in 1185, Yoshinao were granted the post of Constable (''Shugo'') of Bungo and Buzen Provinces in Kyūshū. As the Ōtomo were one of the major clans of Kyūshū, along with the Shōni and the Shimazu, they had a central role in organizing efforts against the Mongol invasions of Japan in 1274 and 1281. They also played an important role in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aristocracy (class)
The aristocracy is historically associated with "hereditary" or "ruling" social class. In many states, the aristocracy included the upper class of people (aristocrats) with hereditary rank and titles. In some, such as ancient Greece, ancient Rome, or India, aristocratic status came from belonging to a military caste. It has also been common, notably in African societies, for aristocrats to belong to priestly dynasties. Aristocratic status can involve feudal or legal privileges. They are usually below only the monarch of a country or nation in its social hierarchy. In modern European societies, the aristocracy has often coincided with the nobility, a specific class that arose in the Middle Ages, but the term "aristocracy" is sometimes also applied to other elites, and is used as a more generic term when describing earlier and non-European societies. Some revolutions, such as the French Revolution, have been followed by the abolition of the aristocracy. Etymology The term ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shikoku
is the smallest of the four main islands of Japan. It is long and between wide. It has a population of 3.8 million (, 3.1%). It is south of Honshu and northeast of Kyushu. Shikoku's ancient names include ''Iyo-no-futana-shima'' (), ''Iyo-shima'' (), and ''Futana-shima'' (), and its current name refers to the four former provinces that made up the island: Awa, Tosa, Sanuki, and Iyo. Geography Shikoku Island, comprising Shikoku and its surrounding islets, covers about and consists of four prefectures: Ehime, Kagawa, Kōchi, and Tokushima. Across the Seto Inland Sea lie Wakayama, Osaka, Hyōgo, Okayama, Hiroshima, and Yamaguchi Prefectures on Honshu. To the west lie Ōita and Miyazaki Prefectures on Kyushu. Shikoku is ranked as the 50th largest island by area in the world. Additionally, it is ranked as the 23rd most populated island in the world, with a population density of 193 inhabitants per square kilometre (500/sq mi). Mountains running east and west d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zentsū-ji
The is a Buddhist temple of the Shingon sect in Zentsūji, Kagawa, Japan. It was established in 807 by Kūkai, founder of Shingon Buddhism, who was born where the temple now stands. The oldest structure, the Shakadō Hall, dates to around 1677. Zentsū-ji is the 75th temple of the Shikoku Pilgrimage. It is also one of the three temples on the tour that Kūkai visited, the others being Tairyūji and Muroto Misaki, as Kūkai mentioned them by name in his writings. The temple is divided into the east precinct (''tō-in)'' centered around the main hall (the Kondō Hall) and the west precinct ''(sai-in)'', where the Mieidō Hall stands over Kūkai's birthplace. The temple grounds burned down in the 16th century during the war-torn Sengoku period, and many structures have been destroyed and rebuilt over the centuries. Notable buildings East precinct (''tō-in'') *Gojūnotō – five-storied pagoda and tallest temple structure. Current pagoda completed in 1902. An Important ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kobo Daishi
Kobo may refer to: Places * Kobo (woreda), a district in Ethiopia ** Kobo, Ethiopia, a town * Kōbo Dam, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan * Mount Kōbō, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan People First name * Kōbō Abe (1924–1993), pseudonym of Japanese writer, playwright, photographer and inventor Kimifusa Abe * Kōbō-Daishi, a posthumous name of Kūkai (774–835), Japanese monk, civil servant, scholar, poet, and artist * Kōbō Kenichi (1973–2021), Japanese sumo wrestler Surname * Bebo Kobo, Israeli businessman * O. D. Kobo (born 1975), Israeli businessman * Ronny Kobo (born 1980), American fashion designer Fictional characters * Kobo Tabata, title character of the manga ''Kobo, the Li'l Rascal'' (''Kobo-chan'') Other uses * Kobo language, a language of the Democratic Republic of Congo * KOBO, a radio station in California, US * Kobo Inc., a Canadian company, a subsidiary of Japanese e-commerce conglomerate Rakuten, that sells e-books and markets Kobo eReader hardware and software ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Painting Of Chigo Daishi With Goyuigo Inscription, 15th Century - Crop And Contrast
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and airbrushes, can be used. In art, the term ''painting ''describes both the act and the result of the action (the final work is called "a painting"). The support for paintings includes such surfaces as walls, paper, canvas, wood, glass, lacquer, pottery, leaf, copper and concrete, and the painting may incorporate multiple other materials, including sand, clay, paper, plaster, gold leaf, and even whole objects. Painting is an important form in the visual arts, bringing in elements such as drawing, composition, gesture (as in gestural painting), narration (as in narrative art), and abstraction (as in abstract art). Paintings can be naturalistic and representational (as in still life and landscape painting), photographic, abstract ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vajra
The Vajra () is a legendary and ritual weapon, symbolising the properties of a diamond (indestructibility) and a thunderbolt (irresistible force). The vajra is a type of club with a ribbed spherical head. The ribs may meet in a ball-shaped top, or they may be separate and end in sharp points with which to stab. The vajra is the weapon of Indra, the Vedic king of the devas and heaven. It is used symbolically by the dharmic traditions of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, often to represent firmness of spirit and spiritual power. According to Hinduism, the vajra is considered one of the most powerful weapons in the universe. The use of the vajra as a symbolic and ritual tool spread from Hinduism to other religions in India and other parts of Asia. Etymology According to Asko Parpola, the Sanskrit () and Avestan both refer to a weapon of the Godhead, and are possibly from the Proto-Indo-European root ''*weg'-'' which means "to be(come) powerful". It is related to Proto- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iroha
The is a Japanese poem. Originally the poem was attributed to the founder of the Shingon Esoteric sect of Buddhism in Japan, Kūkai, but more modern research has found the date of composition to be later in the Heian period (794–1179). The first record of its existence dates from 1079. It is famous because it is a perfect pangram, containing each character of the Japanese syllabary exactly once. Because of this, it is also used as an ordering for the syllabary, in the same way as the ''A'', ''B'', ''C'', ''D''... sequence of the Latin alphabet. Text The first appearance of the Iroha, in was in seven lines: six with seven morae each, and one with five. It was also written in man'yōgana. 以呂波耳本部止 千利奴流乎和加 餘多連曽津祢那 良牟有為能於久 耶万計不己衣天 阿佐伎喩女美之 恵比毛勢須 Structurally, however, the poem follows the standard 7–5 pattern of Japanese poetry (with one hypometric line), and in modern times it is g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kanji
are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are still used, along with the subsequently-derived syllabic scripts of ''hiragana'' and ''katakana''. The characters have Japanese pronunciation, pronunciations; most have two, with one based on the Chinese sound. A few characters were invented in Japan by constructing character components derived from other Chinese characters. After World War II, Japan made its own efforts to simplify the characters, now known as shinjitai, by a process similar to China's simplified Chinese characters, simplification efforts, with the intention to increase literacy among the common folk. Since the 1920s, the Japanese government has published character lists periodically to help direct the education of its citizenry through the myriad Chinese characte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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