|
Takaoka Castle
was a flatland-style Japanese castle in what is now the city of Takaoka, Toyama Japan. It was originally constructed in 1609, and was only used for a few years before being dismantled. The site of its ruins are now a park."Takaoka-Castle" J Caste http://jp.jcastle.info/castle/profile/273-Takaoka-Castle The castle is designated one of Japan's Top 100 Castles by the Japanese Castle Foundation. The ruins are protected as a National Historic Site. Background Takaoka Castle is located at the center of what is now the city of Takaoka, in the western part of Etchū Province. The Takaoka area was considered the center of Etchū Province until the Muromachi period, as it was the location of the provincial capital and was an important junction point for the ''Hokuriku kaidō'' highway and the road to Noto Province. The area came under the control of the Maeda clan under Maeda Toshiie of Kaga Domain of the Tokugawa shogunate from the early Edo period. Design Takaoka Castle was a rectangle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Japanese Castle
are fortresses constructed primarily of wood and stone. They evolved from the wooden stockades of earlier centuries, and came into their best-known form in the 16th century. Castles in Japan were built to guard important or strategic sites, such as ports, river crossings, or crossroads, and almost always incorporated the landscape into their defenses. Though they were built to last and used more stone in their construction than most Japanese buildings, castles were still constructed primarily of wood, and many were destroyed over the years. This was especially true during the Sengoku period (1467–1603), when many of these castles were first built. However, many were rebuilt, either later in the Sengoku period, in the Edo period (1603–1867) that followed, or more recently, as national heritage sites or museums. Today there are more than one hundred castles extant, or partially extant, in Japan; it is estimated that once there were five thousand. Some castles, such as the ones a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jurakudai
The Jurakudai or Jurakutei () was a palace constructed at the order of Toyotomi Hideyoshi in Kyoto, Japan. Construction began in 1586, when Hideyoshi had taken the post of , and required nineteen months to complete. Its total area was almost equal to the Imperial Palace Enclosure. It was decorated exceptionally lavishly, but had thick walls and a moat more reminiscent of fortresses such as that at Osaka. It was located in present-day Kamigyō, on the site where the Imperial palace had stood in the Heian period. In late 1587, following the Jurakudai's completion, Hideyoshi moved there from his castle at Osaka, just after his victory over the Shimazu family in Kyūshū. He made it the base for his administration and invited Go-Yōzei, the reigning emperor, to stay there in the first month of 1588. Maeda Geni, one of his Five Commissioners, studied previous receptions of emperors and the requisite protocols. The emperor was escorted by many Court nobles, mounted samurai (including ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kaga Province
was a province of Japan in the area that is today the south and western portion of Ishikawa Prefecture in the Hokuriku region of Japan. Kaga bordered on Echizen, Etchū, Hida, and Noto Provinces. It was part of Hokurikudō Circuit. Its abbreviated form name was . History was an ancient province of Japan and is listed as one of the original provinces in the '' Nihon Shoki''. The region as a whole was sometimes referred to as . In 701 AD, per the reforms of the Taihō Code, Koshi was divided into three separate provinces: Echizen, Etchū, and Echigo. In 823 AD, the two eastern districts of Echizen Province (Kaga and Enuma) were separated to form Kaga Province. Kaga was thus the last province to be created under the ''ritsuryō'' system. The same year, the northern portion of Enuma District became Nomi District, and the southern portion on Kaga District became Ishikawa District. Kaga District itself was renamed Kahoku District. The provincial capital and provincial temple ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Takayama Ukon
, born and also known as Dom Justo Takayama (c. 1552 – 3 or 5 February 1615) was a Catholic Church in Japan, Japanese Catholic Kirishitan daimyō and samurai who lived during the Sengoku period that witnessed anti-Catholic sentiment. Takayama had been baptized into the faith in 1564 when he was twelve, though over time neglected his faith due to his actions as a samurai. He eventually rekindled his faith just after his coming-of-age ritual near the age of 20. He abandoned his status to devote himself to his faith and was exiled to Manila, where he lived a life of holiness until his death two months later. His cause for sainthood began when he was declared a Servant of God. Reports in 2014 indicated that he would be beatified sometime in 2015 but Pope Francis later approved it on 21 January 2016; the beatification celebration occurred on 7 February 2017 in Osaka with Cardinal Angelo Amato presiding over the beatification on the pope's behalf. Biography Dom Justo Takayama wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tokugawa Hidetada
was the second ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty, who ruled from 1605 until his abdication in 1623. He was the third son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate. Early life (1579–1593) Tokugawa Hidetada was born to Tokugawa Ieyasu and the Lady Saigō on May 2, 1581. This was shortly before Lady Tsukiyama, Ieyasu's official wife, and their son Tokugawa Nobuyasu were executed on suspicion of plotting to assassinate Oda Nobunaga, who was Nobuyasu's father-in-law and Ieyasu's ally. By killing his wife and son, Ieyasu declared his loyalty to Nobunaga. In 1589, Hidetada's mother fell ill, her health rapidly deteriorated, and she died at Sunpu Castle. Later Hidetada with his brother, Matsudaira Tadayoshi, was raised by Lady Achaa, one of Ieyasu's concubines. His childhood name was , later becoming . The traditional power base of the Tokugawa clan was Mikawa. In 1590, the new ruler of Japan, Toyotomi Hideyoshi enlisted Tokugawa Ieyasu and others in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shōgun
, officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakura period, shoguns were themselves figureheads, with real power in hands of the Shikken of the Hōjō clan. The office of shogun was in practice hereditary, though over the course of the history of Japan several different clans held the position. The title was originally held by military commanders during Heian period in the eighth and ninth centuries. When Minamoto no Yoritomo gained political ascendency over Japan in 1185, the title was revived to regularize his position, making him the first shogun in the usually understood sense. The shogun's officials were collectively referred to as the ; they were the ones who carried out the actual duties of administration, while the Imperial court retained only nominal authority.Beasley, William G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maeda Toshitsune
was an early-Edo period Japanese samurai, and the 2nd ''daimyō'' of Kaga Domain in the Hokuriku region of Japan, and the 3rd hereditary chieftain of the Maeda clan. Toshitsune was a brother of Maeda Toshinaga and a son of Maeda Toshiie. He was the wealthiest ''daimyō'' within the Tokugawa shogunate, and his domain encompassed Etchū, Kaga, and Noto provinces. His childhood name was Saruchiyo (猿千代) later "Inuchiyo" (犬千代). Toshitsune was the fourth son of Maeda Toshiie, and was born to a concubine when Toshiie was aged 54 and was on campaign with Toyotomi Hideyoshi at Nagoya Castle during the Japanese invasion of Korea. He was largely raised by a retainer, Maeda Nagatane and was initially called Toshimitsu (利光). In 1600 he married Tama-hime, a daughter of Tokugawa Hidetada in a political marriage intended to secure the position of the Maeda clan with the growing power of the Tokugawa. In 1605, his elder brother Maeda Toshinaga officially retired, and appoint ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Toyama Castle
Toyama Castle moat is a flatland-style Japanese castle located in the city of Toyama, Toyama Prefecture, in the Hokuriku region of Japan. It is also called Azumi Castle (安住城 ''Azumi-jō''). Built in 1543, the castle and its surrounding land is maintained by the government of Japan as a public park. Background Toyama Castle is located at the center of modern current Toyama city. The surrounding area is roughly in the geographic center of Etchū Province and is a wide plain with a number of large rivers. A fortification was initially erected on this location in 1543 on the banks of the Jinzū River by the local Jinbō clan, who governed western Etchū Province as retainers of the Hatakeyama clan. Eastern Etchū Province was governed by their rivals, the Shiina clan, who were also retainers of the Hatakeyama. As the Hatakeyama waned in power and influence in the 15th century, the two clans waged a constant war for dominance over Etchū, with the ''Ikkō-ikki'' helping pl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kanazawa Castle
is a large, partially-restored Japanese castle in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. It is located adjacent to the celebrated Kenroku-en Garden, which once formed the castle's private outer garden. It was the headquarters of Kaga Domain, ruled by the Maeda clan for 14 generations from the Sengoku period until the coming of the Meiji Restoration in 1871. History During the late Muromachi period, the ''Ikkō-ikki'', followers of the teachings of priest Rennyo, of the Jōdo Shinshū sect, displaced the official governors of Kaga Province, the Togashi clan, and established a kind of theocratic republic later known as " The Peasants' Kingdom". Their principal stronghold was the Kanazawa Gobō, a fortified temple complex on the tip of the Kodatsuno Ridge. Backed by high hills and flanked on two sides by rivers, it was a natural fortress, around which a castle town developed. This was the start of what would become the city of Kanazawa. In 1580, Oda Nobunaga sent his general Sakuma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Daimyō
were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and nominally to the Emperor of Japan, emperor and the ''kuge''. In the term, means 'large', and stands for , meaning 'private land'. From the ''shugo'' of the Muromachi period through the Sengoku period, Sengoku to the ''daimyo'' of the Edo period, the rank had a long and varied history. The backgrounds of ''daimyo'' also varied considerably; while some ''daimyo'' clans, notably the Mōri clan, Mōri, Shimazu clan, Shimazu and Hosokawa clan, Hosokawa, were cadet branches of the Imperial family or were descended from the ''kuge'', other ''daimyo'' were promoted from the ranks of the samurai, notably during the Edo period. ''Daimyo'' often hired samurai to guard their land, and they paid the samurai in land or food as relatively few could aff ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maeda Toshinaga
was a Sengoku period Japanese samurai and the second early-Edo period ''daimyō'' of Kaga Domain in the Hokuriku region of Japan, and the 3rd hereditary chieftain of the Maeda clan. He was the eldest son of Maeda Toshiie. His childhood name was "Inuchiyo" (犬千代). Biography Toshinaga was born in what is now part of the city of Nagoya in Owari Province, where his father was in the service of Oda Nobunaga In 1581, he married one of Oda Nobunaga's daughters, Ei-hime, who was only six years old at the time. Nobunaga was assassinated the following year at the Honnō-ji Incident. In 1583, he assisted his father at the Battle of Shizugatake and after the death of Shibata Katsuie, he swore fealty to Toyotomi Hideyoshi and was awarded a 40,000 ''koku'' fief in Kaga Province. In 1585, he played a key role in Hideyoshi's campaign against Sassa Narimasa, and his holdings were greatly expanded to 320,000 ''koku'' across Kaga and Etchū Provinces. He led some 3,000 men in Toyotomi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yagura (tower)
is the Japanese word for "tower", "turret", "keep", or "scaffold". The word is most often seen in reference to structures in Japanese castle compounds but can be used in other situations as well. The bandstand tower erected for Bon Festival is often called a ''yagura'', as are similar structures used in other festivals. ''Yagura-daiko'' (''taiko'' drumming from atop a ''yagura'') is a traditional part of professional sumo competitions. Etymology There were signs that the first written form of kanji was (櫓) during ancient periods, simply being a character representing a tower before being changed to (矢倉) – in which the former replaced the latter once again. The term originally derives from the use of fortress towers as high/tall or arrow (矢, ...[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
.jpg "Click for more on -> Yagura (tower)")