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Nezu Shrine
is a Shinto shrine located in the Bunkyō ward of Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1705, it is one of the oldest places of worship in the city, and several of the buildings on the shrine grounds have been designated as Important Cultural Property. It was built in the Ishi-no-ma-zukuri style of Shinto architecture, following the Tōshō-gū shrine in Nikkō. It is famous for its Azalea Festival (Tsutsuji Matsuri) which is held on its grounds from early April until early May, and it has been described as "Tokyo’s most beautiful shrine" and as one of the city's "most spectacular spring scenes". It is one of the . History According to the legend, the Nezu shrine was founded in Sendagi, just north of the current location, in the 1st century by Yamato Takeru (also known as Prince Ōsu), the son of Emperor Keikō. The chief deity of the shrine was Susanoo-no-Mikoto, the kami of the sea and storms. In 1705 the shrine was relocated to Nezu by Tokugawa Tsunayoshi (1646–1709), the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Honden
In Shinto shrine architecture, the , also called , or sometimes as in Ise Shrine's case, is the most sacred building at a Shinto shrine, intended purely for the use of the enshrined ''kami'', usually symbolized by a mirror or sometimes by a statue.JAANUS The building is normally in the rear of the shrine and closed to the general public. In front of it usually stands the ''Haiden (Shinto), haiden'', or Public speaking, oratory. The ''haiden'' is often connected to the ''honden'' by a ''Heiden (Shinto), heiden'', or hall of offerings. Physically, the ''honden'' is the heart of the shrine complex, connected to the rest of the shrine but usually raised above it, and protected from public access by a fence called ''tamagaki''. It usually is relatively small and with a gabled roof. Its doors are usually kept closed, except at matsuri, religious festivals. Kannushi, Shinto priests themselves enter only to perform rituals. The rite of opening those doors is itself an important part of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Storms
A storm is any disturbed state of the natural environment or the atmosphere of an astronomical body. It may be marked by significant disruptions to normal conditions such as strong wind, tornadoes, hail, thunder and lightning (a thunderstorm), heavy precipitation (snowstorm, rainstorm), heavy freezing rain (ice storm), strong winds (tropical cyclone, windstorm), wind transporting some substance through the atmosphere such as in a dust storm, among other forms of severe weather. Storms have the potential to harm lives and property via storm surge, heavy rain or snow causing flooding or road impassibility, lightning, wildfires, and vertical and horizontal wind shear. Systems with significant rainfall and duration help alleviate drought in places they move through. Heavy snowfall can allow special recreational activities to take place which would not be possible otherwise, such as skiing and snowmobiling. The English language, English word comes from Proto-Germanic ''*sturmaz'' m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Japanese Buddhist Architecture
Examples of Buddhist architecture in Japan Japanese Buddhist architecture is the architecture of Buddhist temples in Japan, consisting of locally developed variants of architectural styles born in China.p=716/ref> After Buddhism arrived from the continent via the Three Kingdoms of Korea in the 6th century, an effort was initially made to reproduce the original buildings as faithfully as possible, but gradually local versions of continental styles were developed both to meet Japanese tastes and to solve problems posed by local weather, which is more rainy and humid than in China. The first Buddhist sects were Nara's six ,The six sects were called Sanron-, Jōjitsu-, Hossō-, Kusha-, Ritsu-, and Kegon-shū. followed during the Heian period by Kyoto's Shingon and Tendai. Later, during the Kamakura period, in Kamakura were born the Jōdo and the native Japanese sect Nichiren-shū. At roughly the same time, Zen Buddhism arrived from China, strongly influencing all other sects in m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mon (architecture)
is a generic Japanese term for gate often used, either alone or as a suffix, in referring to the many gates used by Buddhist temples, Shinto shrines and traditional-style buildings and castles. Significance Unlike gates of secular buildings, most temple and shrine gates are purely symbolic elements of liminality, as they cannot be completely closed and just mark the transition between the mundane and the sacred. In many cases, for example that of the ''sanmon'', a temple gate has purifying, cleansing properties. Description Gate size is measured in ''ken'', where a ''ken'' is the interval between two pillars of a traditional-style building. A temple's ''rōmon'' for example can have dimensions from a maximum of 5x2 ''ken'' to a more common 3x2 ''ken'', down to even one ''ken''. The word is usually translated in English as "bay" and is better understood as an indication of proportions than as a unit of measurement. Like the temples they belong to, gates can be in the ''wayō ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rōmon
The is one of two types of two-storied gate used in Japan (the other one being the ''nijūmon'', see photo in the gallery below). Even though it was originally developed by Buddhist architecture, it is now used at both Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines. Its otherwise normal upper story is inaccessible and therefore offers no usable space. It is in this respect similar to the ''tahōtō'' (a two-storied pagoda) and the multi-storied pagoda, neither of which offers, in spite of appearances, usable space beyond the first story. In the past, the name also used to be sometimes applied to double-roof gates. This extremely common single-roof gate was developed from the double-roofed ''nijūmon'', replacing the flanking roof above the first floor with a very shallow balcony with a balustrade that skirts the entire upper story. Therefore, while the ''nijūmon'' has a series of brackets ('' tokyō'') supporting the roof's eaves both at the first and at the second story, in the ''rōmon' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Torii
A is a traditional Japanese gate most commonly found at the entrance of or within a Shinto shrine, where it symbolically marks the transition from the mundane to the sacred. The presence of a ''torii'' at the entrance is usually the simplest way to identify Shinto shrines, and a small ''torii'' icon represents them on Japanese road maps. The first appearance of ''torii'' gates in Japan can be reliably pinpointed to at least the mid-Heian period; they are mentioned in a text written in 922. The oldest existing stone ''torii'' was built in the 12th century and belongs to a Hachiman shrine in Yamagata Prefecture. The oldest existing wooden ''torii'' is a ''ryōbu torii'' (see description below) at Kubō Hachiman Shrine in Yamanashi Prefecture built in 1535. ''Torii'' gates were traditionally made from wood or stone, but today they can be also made of reinforced concrete, copper, stainless steel or other materials. They are usually either unpainted or painted vermilion with a bl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Torii
A is a traditional Japanese gate most commonly found at the entrance of or within a Shinto shrine, where it symbolically marks the transition from the mundane to the sacred. The presence of a ''torii'' at the entrance is usually the simplest way to identify Shinto shrines, and a small ''torii'' icon represents them on Japanese road maps. The first appearance of ''torii'' gates in Japan can be reliably pinpointed to at least the mid-Heian period; they are mentioned in a text written in 922. The oldest existing stone ''torii'' was built in the 12th century and belongs to a Hachiman shrine in Yamagata Prefecture. The oldest existing wooden ''torii'' is a ''ryōbu torii'' (see description below) at Kubō Hachiman Shrine in Yamanashi Prefecture built in 1535. ''Torii'' gates were traditionally made from wood or stone, but today they can be also made of reinforced concrete, copper, stainless steel or other materials. They are usually either unpainted or painted vermilion with a bl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tokyo Imperial Palace
The is the main residence of the Emperor of Japan. It is a large park-like area located in the Chiyoda district of the Chiyoda ward of Tokyo and contains several buildings including the where the Emperor has his living quarters, the where various ceremonies and receptions take place, some residences of the Imperial Family, an archive, museums and administrative offices. It is built on the site of the old Edo Castle. The total area including the gardens is . During the height of the 1980s Japanese property bubble, the palace grounds were valued by some to be more than the value of all of the real estate in the U.S. state of California. History Edo castle After the capitulation of the shogunate and the Meiji Restoration, the inhabitants, including the Shōgun Tokugawa Yoshinobu, were required to vacate the premises of the Edo Castle. Leaving the Kyoto Imperial Palace on 26 November 1868, the Emperor arrived at the Edo Castle, made it to his new residence and renamed it ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kyoto Imperial Palace
The is the former palace of the Emperor of Japan. Since the Meiji Restoration in 1869, the Emperors have resided at the Tokyo Imperial Palace, while the preservation of the Kyoto Imperial Palace was ordered in 1877. Today, the grounds are open to the public, and the Imperial Household Agency hosts public tours of the buildings several times a day. The Kyoto Imperial Palace is the latest of the imperial palaces built at or near its site in the northeastern part of the old capital of Heian-kyō (now known as Kyoto) after the abandonment of the larger original Heian Palace that was located to the west of the current palace during the Heian period. The Palace lost much of its function at the time of the Meiji Restoration, when the capital functions were moved to Tokyo in 1869. However, Emperor Taishō and Shōwa still had their enthronement ceremonies at the palace. Layout The Palace is situated in the , a large rectangular enclosure north to south and east to west. It also ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Emperor Meiji
, also called or , was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession. Reigning from 13 February 1867 to his death, he was the first monarch of the Empire of Japan and presided over the Meiji era. He was the figurehead of the Meiji Restoration, a series of rapid changes that witnessed Japan's transformation from an isolationist, feudal state to an industrialized world power. At the time of Emperor Meiji's birth in 1852, Japan was a feudal pre-industrial country dominated by the isolationist Tokugawa shogunate and the ''daimyō'' subject to it, who ruled over the country's 270 decentralized domains. By the time of his death, Japan had undergone an extensive political, economic, and social revolution and emerged as one of the great powers on the world stage. ''The New York Times'' summarized this transformation at the emperor's funeral in 1912: "the contrast between that which preceded the funeral car and that which followed it was striking indeed. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ienobu
(June 11, 1662 – November 12, 1712) was the sixth ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty of Japan. He was the eldest son of Tokugawa Tsunashige, thus making him the nephew of Tokugawa Ietsuna and Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, the grandson of Tokugawa Iemitsu, the great-grandson of Tokugawa Hidetada, and the great-great-grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu. All of Ienobu's children died young. Early life (1662–1694) Tokugawa Ienobu was born as the oldest son of Tokugawa Tsunashige, ''daimyō'' of Kōfu, in 1662. His mother was a concubine. Tsunashige was the middle brother of Tokugawa Ietsuna and Tokugawa Tsunayoshi and the second son of Tokugawa Iemitsu with his concubine, thus making Ienobu their nephew. In 1662, Ienobu's uncle, Ietsuna was ''shōgun'', and his father, Tsunashige, was ''daimyō'' of Kōfu, a very valuable piece of land to the Tokugawa. Before becoming ''shōgun'' his name was Tokugawa Tsunatoyo, the 4th ''daimyō'' of Kōfu Domain from the Tokugawa clan. His childhood name was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tokugawa Ienobu
(June 11, 1662 – November 12, 1712) was the sixth ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty of Japan. He was the eldest son of Tokugawa Tsunashige, thus making him the nephew of Tokugawa Ietsuna and Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, the grandson of Tokugawa Iemitsu, the great-grandson of Tokugawa Hidetada, and the great-great-grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu. All of Ienobu's children died young. Early life (1662–1694) Tokugawa Ienobu was born as the oldest son of Tokugawa Tsunashige, ''daimyō'' of Kōfu, in 1662. His mother was a concubine. Tsunashige was the middle brother of Tokugawa Ietsuna and Tokugawa Tsunayoshi and the second son of Tokugawa Iemitsu with his concubine, thus making Ienobu their nephew. In 1662, Ienobu's uncle, Ietsuna was ''shōgun'', and his father, Tsunashige, was ''daimyō'' of Kōfu, a very valuable piece of land to the Tokugawa. Before becoming ''shōgun'' his name was Tokugawa Tsunatoyo, the 4th ''daimyō'' of Kōfu Domain from the Tokugawa clan. His childhood name was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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