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Ochimusha
An means "fallen warrior" in the sense that a samurai on the defeated side has fallen out of his retinue. Such Ochimusha were often hunted after his army was defeated and cannot be protected among his men, and their mission was to make it back to their side safely. The word comes from the greatest massacre of the defeated Heike clan samurai by the victorious Minamoto clan, the ''Heike no Ochudo'' (平家の落人) that happened right after the Genpei War in the Heian Period. Fallen out of their retinue, ''ochimusha'' were hunted by peasants who wanted back the expensive samurai equipment paid with exorbitant peasant taxes, or take their severed heads to the opposing side after a battle, which was often encouraged with bounties. For example, in the Sengoku period, the act of hunting down ''ochimusha'' by the local peasants had been officially recognized. In some cases some even elevated in social rank from hunting down such samurai.Imatani , Akira, 戦国期の畿内周辺で ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heike Clan
The Taira was one of the four most important clans that dominated Japanese politics during the Heian, Kamakura and Muromachi Periods of Japanese history – the others being the Fujiwara, the Tachibana, and the Minamoto. The clan is divided into four major groups, named after the emperor they descended from: Kanmu Heishi, Ninmyō Heishi, Emperor Montoku, Montoku Heishi, and Emperor Kōkō, Kōkō Heishi. The clan is commonly referred to as or , using the character's Kanji#On'yomi (Chinese reading), On'yomi for ''Taira'', while means "Uji (clan), clan", and is used as a suffix for "extended family". History Along with the Minamoto was one of the surnames bestowed by the Emperors of Japan upon members of the imperial family who were excluded from the line of succession and demoted into the ranks of the nobility from 1192 to 1333. The practice was most prevalent during th ..., Taira was one of the honorary surnames given by the emperors of the Heian Period (794– ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Minamoto Clan
was one of the surnames bestowed by the Emperors of Japan upon members of the imperial family who were excluded from the line of succession and demoted into the ranks of the nobility from 1192 to 1333. The practice was most prevalent during the Heian period (794–1185 AD), although its last occurrence was during the Sengoku period. The Taira were another such offshoot of the imperial dynasty, making both clans distant relatives. The Minamoto clan is also called the , or less frequently, the , using the on'yomi reading for Minamoto. The Minamoto were one of four great clans that dominated Japanese politics during the Heian period—the other three were the Fujiwara, the Taira, and the Tachibana. History The first emperor to grant the surname Minamoto was Minamoto no Makoto, seventh son of Emperor Saga. The most prominent of the several Minamoto families, the Seiwa Genji, descended from Minamoto no Tsunemoto (897–961), a grandson of Emperor Seiwa. Tsunemoto went to the p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Genpei War
The was a national civil war between the Taira and Minamoto clans during the late Heian period of Japan. It resulted in the downfall of the Taira and the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate under Minamoto no Yoritomo, who appointed himself as ''Shōgun'' in 1192, governing Japan as a military dictator from the eastern city of Kamakura. It followed a ''coup d'état'' by the Taira in 1179 with the removal of rivals from all government posts, and subsequently banishing them, and a call to arms against the Taira, led by the Minamoto in 1180. The ensuing Battle of Uji took place just outside Kyoto, starting a five-year-long war, concluding with a decisive Minamoto victory in the naval Battle of Dan-no-ura. However, it has been pointed out that the Battle of Ōshū in 1189 was the last battle during this period of civil war, as it completed Yoritomo's nationwide domination through the annexation of Northeast Japan. The name "Genpei" (sometimes romanized as ''Gempei'') come ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heian Period
The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese. It is a period in Japanese history when the Chinese influences were in decline and the national culture matured. The Heian period is also considered the peak of the Japanese imperial court and noted for its art, especially poetry and literature. Two types of Japanese script emerged, including katakana, a phonetic script which was abbreviated into hiragana, a cursive alphabet with a unique writing method distinctive to Japan. This gave rise to Japan's famous vernacular literature, with many of its texts written by court women who were not as educated in Chinese compared to their male counterparts. Although the Imperial House of Japan had power on the surface, the real power was in the hands of the Fujiwara clan, a powerful aristocratic f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nagano, Nagano
is the capital and largest city of Nagano Prefecture, located in the Nagano Basin (Zenkoji Daira) in the central Chūbu region of Japan. Nagano is categorized as a core city of Japan. Nagano City is the highest prefectural capital in Japan, with an altitude of . The city is surrounded by mountains, the highest of which is Mount Takatsuma (2,353m), and is near the confluence of the Chikuma River - the longest and widest river in Japan - and the Sai River. , the city had an estimated population of 370,632 in 160,625 households, and a population density of 444 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Overview Nagano City, located in the former Shinano Province, developed from the Nara period (AD 710 to 794) as a temple town (''monzen machi''). The city of Nagano is home to Zenkō-ji, a 7th-century Buddhist temple that is listed as a Japanese national treasure. Zenkō-ji was established in its current location in 642 AD. The location of Zenkō-ji is approximately 2 kilometer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gifu Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Gifu Prefecture has a population of 1,991,390 () and has a geographic area of . Gifu Prefecture borders Toyama Prefecture to the north; Ishikawa Prefecture to the northwest, Fukui Prefecture and Shiga Prefecture to the west, Mie Prefecture to the southwest, Aichi Prefecture to the south, and Nagano Prefecture to the east. Gifu is the capital and largest city of Gifu Prefecture, with other major cities including Ōgaki, Kakamigahara, and Tajimi. Gifu Prefecture is located in the center of Japan, one of only eight landlocked prefectures, and features the country's center of population. Gifu Prefecture has served as the historic crossroads of Japan with routes connecting the east to the west, including the Nakasendō, one of the Five Routes of the Edo period. Gifu Prefecture was a long-term residence of Oda Nobunaga and Saitō Dōsan, two influential figures of Japanese history in the Sengoku period, spawning ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kansai Region
The or the , lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshū. The region includes the prefectures of Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo and Shiga, often also Mie, sometimes Fukui, Tokushima and Tottori. The metropolitan region of Osaka, Kobe and Kyoto ( Keihanshin region) is the second-most populated in Japan after the Greater Tokyo Area. Name The terms , , and have their roots during the Asuka period. When the old provinces of Japan were established, several provinces in the area around the then-capital Kyoto were collectively named Kinai and Kinki, both roughly meaning "the neighbourhood of the capital". Kansai (literally ''west of the tollgate'') in its original usage refers to the land west of the Osaka Tollgate (), the border between Yamashiro Province and Ōmi Province (present-day Kyoto and Shiga prefectures).Entry for . Kōjien, fifth edition, 1998, During the Kamakura period, this border was redefined to include Ōmi and Iga Provinces. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chonmage
The is a type of traditional Japanese topknot haircut worn by men. It is most commonly associated with the Edo period (1603–1867) and samurai, and in recent times with sumo wrestlers. It was originally a method of using hair to hold a samurai kabuto helmet steady atop the head in battle, and became a status symbol among Japanese society. In a traditional Edo-period , the top of the head is shaved. The remaining hair was oiled and waxed before being tied into a small tail folded onto the top of the head in the characteristic topknot. History The origins of the can be traced back to the Heian period. During this period, aristocrats wore special cap like crowns as part of their official clothing. To secure the crown in place, the hair would be tied near the back of the head. Between the 1580s (towards the end of the Warring States period, 1467–1615) and the 1630s (the beginning of the Edo period, 1603–1867), Japanese cultural attitudes to men's hair shifted; where a fu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
