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Minamoto No Yoshitsune
was a military commander of the Minamoto clan of Japan in the late Heian and early Kamakura periods. During the Genpei War, he led a series of battles which toppled the Ise-Heishi branch of the Taira clan, helping his half-brother Yoritomo consolidate power. He is considered one of the greatest and the most popular warriors of his era, and one of the most famous samurai in the history of Japan. Yoshitsune perished after being betrayed by the son of a trusted ally. Early life Yoshitsune was the ninth son of Minamoto no Yoshitomo, and the third and final son and child that Yoshitomo would father with Tokiwa Gozen. Yoshitsune's older half-brother Minamoto no Yoritomo (the third son of Yoshitomo) would go on to establish the Kamakura shogunate. Yoshitsune's name in childhood was Ushiwakamaru or ''young bull'' (). He was born just before the Heiji Rebellion in 1160 in which his father and two oldest brothers were killed. He survived this incident by fleeing the capital with his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Koromo River
The Battle of Koromo River took place during the opening years of the Kamakura period (12th century) of Japan. After the destruction of the Heike, Minamoto no Yoshitsune conflicted with his brother Minamoto no Yoritomo, and fled into Hiraizumi, Mutsu Province. He was sheltered by Northern Fujiwara's 3rd ruler Fujiwara no Hidehira. Hidehira appointed Yoshitsune as general to be opposed to Yoritomo, but he died of illness on October 29, 1187. Yoritomo strongly pressured Fujiwara no Yasuhira was the fourth ruler of Northern Fujiwara in Mutsu Province, Japan, the second son of Hidehira. At first protecting Yoshitsune, according to his father's will, he was finally forced by Minamoto no Yoritomo to attack Yoshitsune. Yoshitsune, rat ..., the 2nd son and successor of Hidehira, through the Imperial Court to arrest Yoshitsune. Against the will of his father, Yasuhira succumbed to the repeated pressure of Yoritomo. On June 15, 1189, he led 500 soldiers to attack Yoshitsune an ... [...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] |
Fujiwara No Hidehira
was the third ruler of Northern Fujiwara in Mutsu Province, Japan, the grandson of Fujiwara no Kiyohira. During the Genpei War, he controlled his territory independently of the central government; however, he was the official imperial governor for Mutsu Province as of 1181. He offered shelter to the young Minamoto no Yoshitsune, who had escaped from Kyoto. For many years, Hidehira was Yoshitsune's benefactor and protector, and it was from Hidehira's territory that Yoshitsune joined his brother at the start of the Genpei War. Later, when Yoshitsune incurred his brother Minamoto no Yoritomo's wrath, he returned to Hiraizumi, and lived undisturbed for a time. Yoshitsune was still Hidehira's guest when the latter died in 1187. Hidehira had his son, Fujiwara no Yasuhira, promise to continue to shelter Yoshitune and his retainer Benkei, but Yasuhira gave in to Yoritomo and surrounded the castle with his troops, forcing Yoshitsune to commit seppuku and resulting in the famous standi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mutsu Province
was an old province of Japan in the area of Fukushima, Miyagi, Iwate and Aomori Prefectures and the municipalities of Kazuno and Kosaka in Akita Prefecture. Mutsu Province is also known as or . The term is often used to refer to the combined area of Mutsu and the neighboring province Dewa, which together make up the entire Tōhoku region. History Invasion by the Kinai government Mutsu, on northern Honshū, was one of the last provinces to be formed as land was taken from the indigenous Emishi, and became the largest as it expanded northward. The ancient regional capital of the Kinai government was Tagajō in present-day Miyagi Prefecture. * 709 ('' Wadō 2, 3rd month''), an uprising against governmental authority took place in Mutsu and in nearby Echigo Province. Troops were dispatched to subdue the revolt. * 712 (''Wadō 5''), Mutsu was separated from Dewa Province. Empress Genmei's ''Daijō-kan'' made cadastral changes in the provincial map of the Nara period ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hiraizumi, Iwate
is a town located in Nishiiwai District, Iwate Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 7,408 and a population density of in 2,616 households. The total area of the town was . It is noted for the Historic Monuments and Sites of Hiraizumi, which achieved UNESCO World Heritage Site status in 2011. Geography Hiraizumi is the smallest municipality in Iwate Prefecture in terms of area. Located in a basin in south-central Iwate Prefecture in the Tōhoku region of northern Honshu, the town is surrounded by the Kitakami Mountains. Neighboring municipalities Iwate Prefecture *Ichinoseki *Ōshū Climate Hiraizumi has a humid climate (Köppen climate classification ''Cfa'') characterized by mild summers and cold winters. The average annual temperature in Hiraizumi is 10.8 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1265 mm with September as the wettest month and February as the driest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 24.4 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Six Secret Teachings
The ''Six Secret Teachings'' (), is a treatise on civil and military strategy traditionally attributed to Lü Shang (aka Jiang Ziya), a top general of King Wen of Zhou, founder of the Zhou dynasty The Zhou dynasty ( ; Old Chinese ( B&S): *''tiw'') was a royal dynasty of China that followed the Shang dynasty. Having lasted 789 years, the Zhou dynasty was the longest dynastic regime in Chinese history. The military control of China by th ..., at around the eleventh century BC. Modern historians nominally date its final composition to the Warring States period (c. 475–221 BC), but some scholars believe that it preserves at least vestiges of ancient Qi (state), Qi political and military thought. Because it is written from the perspective of a statesman attempting to overthrow the ruling Shang dynasty, it is the only one of the Seven Military Classics explicitly written from a revolutionary perspective. Chapter Summary # The Civil Strategy: The Civil Strategy provides the n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kiichi Hōgen
Kiichi Hōgen and fellow poet Oumaya Kisanta Kiichi Hōgen (jp. 鬼一法眼) is a legendary Japanese monk and warrior from the 1100s who appeared in "Gikeiki" (a military epic about the life of Minamoto no Yoshitsune) written in the early Muromachi period. Hōgen is a honorific title for a monk, not a name, with Kiichi Hōgen literally meaning "Priest the First Demon". He was an onmyoji who resided at Horikawa-dori in Heian-kyō (Kyoto), and was an authority on the magical art of warfare called Rikuto-heiho. It is believed that he excelled both in academics and military art. He is well-known for the legend that Yoshitsune stole his family heirloom military book '' Rikuto'' in collaboration with his daughter, Mizuru-hime. Due to his legendary status, he is sometimes identified with Kurama Tengu, also a sage (a tengu instead of a human) of Mount Kurama credited in some versions with teaching young Minamoto-no-Yoshitsune swordsmanship, tactics, and magic. He is revered as the fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sōjōbō
In Japanese folklore and mythology, is the mythical king and god of the ''tengu'', legendary creatures thought to inhabit the mountains and forests of Japan. Sōjōbō is a specific type of ''tengu'' called ''daitengu'' and has the appearance of a yamabushi, a Japanese mountain hermit. ''Daitengu'' have a primarily human form with some bird-like features such as wings and claws. The other distinctive physical characteristics of Sōjōbō include his long, white hair and unnaturally long nose. Sōjōbō is said to live on Mount Kurama. He rules over the other ''tengu'' that inhabit Mount Kurama in addition to all the other ''tengu'' in Japan. He is extremely powerful, and one legend says he has the strength of 1,000 normal ''tengu''. Sōjōbō is perhaps best known for the legend of his teaching the warrior Minamoto no Yoshitsune (then known by his childhood name Ushiwaka-maru or Shanao) the arts of swordsmanship, tactics, and magic. Etymology Most ''tengu'' are referred to ... [...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] |
Kurama-dera
is a temple in the far north of Kyoto, Japan which houses some National Treasures of Japan. It was a member of the Tendai sect and subordinate to Shōren-in from the 12th century until 1949 when it founded its own religious body. The object of worship is esoteric and unique to the temple. It is said to have been founded by a disciple of Jianzhen. Situated in secluded wilderness at the base of Mount Kurama, it is accessible by its own cable car line, the Kurama-dera Cable. History The temple was founded in the 8th century AD. Its origins are historically unclear, but it is said that the Chinese monk Jianzhen initiated a disciple into the Buddhist path, who saw in a dream in 772 that Mount Kurama had a spiritual power and built an esoteric temple to concentrate and control this power. It was burned down many times throughout the medieval era but the Buddhist statues and treasures inside it were always rescued and are today National Treasures. It is still believed today that teng ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Izu Province
was a province of Japan in the area of Shizuoka Prefecture. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Izu''" in . Izu bordered on Sagami and Suruga Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was . The mainland portion of Izu Province, comprising the Izu Peninsula, is today the eastern portion of Shizuoka Prefecture and the Izu Islands are now part of Tokyo. History In 680 A.D., two districts of Suruga Province, Tagata District and Kamo District, were separated into the new Izu Province. At some point between the year 701 and 710, Naka District was added. The capital of the new province was established at Mishima, which also had the ''Kokubun-ji'' and the Ichinomiya ( Mishima Taisha) of the province. Under the ''Engishiki'' classification system, Izu was ranked as a "lesser country" (下国). Under the ''ritsuryō'' legal system, Izu was one of the preferred locations for exile for those convicted of political crimes by the Heian period court. In the Kamakura period, Izu was rule ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
