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Takashima Castle
is a Japanese castle located in Suwa, central Nagano Prefecture, Japan. At the end of the Edo period, Takashima Castle was home to the Suwa clan, ''daimyō'' of Takashima Domain. The castle is also known as or Situation Takashima Castle is originally built on a peninsula extending into Lake Suwa, with the lake itself forming part of its moats. This meant that only the side facing the shore had to have strong ramparts. The Main Bailey (''Honmaru'') was connected to the Second Bailey (''Ni-no-maru'') and Third Bailey (''San-no-Maru'') by bridges, with the Main Bastion (''Koromo-no-nami kuruwa'' (衣之波曲輪 )) containing the Main Gate (''Ōtemon'') facing the shore. During the Edo period, increasing sedimentation of Lake Suwa left the castle surrounded by land, and the site is now located the middle of the modern city of Suwa. Today, the area is a public park. Only the north and east side of the moat has been preserved. In 1970, some of the castle structures wer ...
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Suwa, Nagano
is a city located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 48,972 in 20698 households, and a population density of 452 persons per km². The total area of the city is . History The shores of Lake Suwa have been inhabited since at least the Japanese Paleolithic period. The Suwa clan ruled the area since the Nara period, and the area developed as a castle town for Suwa Domain under the Edo period Tokugawa shogunate and as a post station on the Kōshū Kaidō highway. In the post-Meiji restoration cadastral reforms of April 1, 1889, the village of Kamisuwa was established. Kawasuwa was elevated to town status on April 20, 1891. After merger with the villages of Shiga and Toyoda (from Suwa District), Kamisuwa was elevated to city status on August 10, 1941, changing its name to Suwa. Geography Suwa is located in central Nagano Prefecture, bordered on the north and west by Lake Suwa, approximately 100 kilometers south of the prefectural capital of N ...
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Takeda Clan
The was a Japanese samurai clan active from the late Heian period until the late 16th century. The clan was historically based in Kai Province in present-day Yamanashi Prefecture. The clan reached its greatest influence under the rule of Takeda Shingen, one of the most famous rulers of the period. History Origin The Takeda are descendants of the Emperor Seiwa (858–876), the 56th Emperor of Japan, and are a branch of the Minamoto clan (Seiwa Genji), by Minamoto no Yoshimitsu (1056–1127), son of the '' Chinjufu-shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoriyoshi (988-1075), and brother to the famous Minamoto no Yoshiie (1039–1106). Minamoto no Yoshikiyo (1075–1149), son of Yoshimitsu, was the first to take the name of Takeda, which he took when his father granted him Takeda domain in Hitachi Province; thereafter, he was known as Takeda Yoshikiyo. Kamakura to early Azuchi–Momoyama periods In the 12th century, at the end of the Heian period, the Takeda family-controlled Kai Province. Alon ...
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Shinto Shrine
A is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more ''kami'', the deities of the Shinto religion. Overview Structurally, a Shinto shrine typically comprises several buildings. The '' honden''Also called (本殿, meaning: "main hall") is where a shrine's patron ''kami'' is/are enshrined.Iwanami Japanese dictionary The ''honden'' may be absent in cases where a shrine stands on or near a sacred mountain, tree, or other object which can be worshipped directly or in cases where a shrine possesses either an altar-like structure, called a ''himorogi,'' or an object believed to be capable of attracting spirits, called a ''yorishiro,'' which can also serve as direct bonds to a ''kami''. There may be a and other structures as well. Although only one word ("shrine") is used in English, in Japanese, Shinto shrines may carry any one of many different, non-equivalent names like ''gongen'', ''-gū'', ''jinja'', ''jingū'', ''mori'', ''myōjin'', ''-sha'', ''taisha ...
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Abolition Of The Han System
The in the Empire of Japan and its replacement by a system of prefectures in 1871 was the culmination of the Meiji Restoration begun in 1868, the starting year of the Meiji period. Under the reform, all daimyos (, ''daimyō'', feudal lords) were required to return their authority to the Emperor Meiji and his house. The process was accomplished in several stages, resulting in a new centralized government of Meiji Japan and the replacement of the old feudal system with a new oligarchy. Boshin War After the defeat of forces loyal to the Tokugawa shogunate during the Boshin War in 1868, the new Meiji government confiscated all lands formerly under direct control of the Shogunate (''tenryō'') and lands controlled by daimyos who remained loyal to the Tokugawa cause. These lands accounted for approximately a quarter of the land area of Japan and were reorganized into prefectures with governors appointed directly by the central government. Return of the domains The second pha ...
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Meiji Government
The was the government that was formed by politicians of the Satsuma Domain and Chōshū Domain in the 1860s. The Meiji government was the early government of the Empire of Japan. Politicians of the Meiji government were known as the Meiji oligarchy, who overthrew the Tokugawa shogunate. Early developments After the Meiji Restoration, the leaders of the ''samurai'' who overthrew the Tokugawa shogunate had no clear agenda or pre-developed plan on how to run Japan. They did have a number of things in common; according to Andrew Gordon, “It was precisely their intermediate status and their insecure salaried position, coupled with their sense of frustrated ambition and entitlement to rule, that account for the revolutionary energy of the Meiji insurgents and their far-reaching program of reform”. most were in their mid-40s, and most were from the four '' tozama'' domains of western Japan (Chōshū, Satsuma, Tosa and Hizen). Although from lower-ranked ''samurai'' families, th ...
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Meiji Restoration
The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ruling emperors before the Meiji Restoration, the events restored practical abilities and consolidated the political system under the Emperor of Japan. The goals of the restored government were expressed by the new emperor in the Charter Oath. The Restoration led to enormous changes in Japan's political and social structure and spanned both the late Edo period (often called the Bakumatsu) and the beginning of the Meiji era, during which time Japan rapidly Industrialisation, industrialized and adopted Western culture, Western ideas and production methods. Foreign influence The Japanese knew they were behind the Western powers when US Commodore (United States), Commodore Matthew C. Perry came to Japan in 1853 in Black Ships, large warshi ...
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Tokugawa Ieyasu
was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, which ruled Japan from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was one of the three "Great Unifiers" of Japan, along with his former lord Oda Nobunaga and fellow Oda subordinate Toyotomi Hideyoshi. The son of a minor daimyo, Ieyasu once lived as a hostage under daimyo Imagawa Yoshimoto on behalf of his father. He later succeeded as daimyo after his father's death, serving as a vassal and general of the Oda clan, and building up his strength under Oda Nobunaga. After Oda Nobunaga's death, Ieyasu was briefly a rival of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, before declaring his allegiance and fighting on his behalf. Under Toyotomi, Ieyasu was relocated to the Kanto plains in eastern Japan, away from the Toyotomi power base in Osaka. He built his castle in the fishing village of Edo (now Tokyo). He became the most powerful daimyo and the most senior officer under the Toyotomi regime. Ieyasu preserved his strength i ...
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Suwa Domain
Takashima Castle, administrative centre of Suwa Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan. It was located in Shinano Province, Honshū. The domain was centered at Takashima Castle, located in what is now part of the town of Suwa in Nagano Prefecture. It was also known as . History The Suwa clan had ruled the area around Lake Suwa in Shinano Province since ancient times. The clan was defeated by Takeda Shingen in 1542. The final Suwa ruler, Suwa Yorishige was forced to commit '' seppuku''; however, his nephew, Suwa Yoritada was spared as hereditary ''kannushi'' of Suwa Shrine. After the Takeda clan was destroyed by an alliance of Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu, Suwa Yoritada went into the service of the Tokugawa. Following the Siege of Odawara (1590), he was elevated to the status of ''daimyō'' with Sōja Domain, a 10,000 ''koku'' holding in Kōzuke Province. This was subsequently raised to 27,000 ''koku''. In the meanwhile, Toyotomi Hidey ...
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Hineno Takayoshi
was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku period, and first daimyō of Suwa Domain under the Tokugawa Shogunate. Hineno was originally in the service of Saitō Dōsan of Mino Province; however, after the fall of the Saito he changed his allegiance to Oda Nobunaga, and subsequently to Toyotomi Hideyoshi. In 1590, for his services in storming Yamanaka Castle during the Siege of Odawara, he was awarded a 28,000 ''koku'' holding at Takashima in Shinano Province. Over the next seven years, he constructed Takashima Castle, otherwise known as the "floating castle of Suwa (ja: 諏訪の浮城). During the invasion of Korea, he remained on guard duty at Nagoya in Hizen Province. In 1600, during the Battle of Sekigahara, he supported the eastern Army under Tokugawa Ieyasu; however, he dies shortly before the battle at the age of 62. His grave is at the temple of Jiun-ji in Suwa, Nagano is a city located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 48,972 in 20698 ...
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Toyotomi Hideyoshi
, otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: Military Innovations that Changed the Course of History, Viking Press 1988. p. 68. Hideyoshi rose from a peasant background as a Affinity (medieval), retainer of the prominent lord Oda Nobunaga to become one of the most powerful men in Japan. Hideyoshi succeeded Nobunaga after the Honnō-ji Incident in 1582 and continued Nobunaga's campaign to unite Japan that led to the closing of the Sengoku period. Hideyoshi became the ''de facto'' leader of Japan and acquired the prestigious positions of Daijō-daijin, Chancellor of the Realm and Sesshō and Kampaku, Imperial Regent by the mid-1580s. Hideyoshi launched the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598), Japanese invasions of Korea in 1592 to initial success, but eventual military stalemate damaged his prestige before his death in 1 ...
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Honnō-ji Incident
The was an attempt to assassinate Japanese daimyo Oda Nobunaga at the Honnō-ji temple in Kyoto on 21 June 1582, resulting in the suicide by '' seppuku'' of both Nobunaga and his son Oda Nobutada. The unprotected Nobunaga was ambushed by his general Akechi Mitsuhide, an act of betrayal that ended Nobunaga's Sengoku period campaign to consolidate centralized power in Japan under his authority. Nobunaga's death was avenged two weeks later when his retainer Toyotomi Hideyoshi defeated Mitsuhide in the Battle of Yamazaki, paving the way for Hideyoshi to continue Nobunaga's endeavor to unify power in Japan during the 1580s and 1590s. Mitsuhide's motive for assassinating Nobunaga is unknown and there are multiple theories for his betrayal. Context By 1582, Oda Nobunaga was the most powerful daimyo in Japan and was continuing a sustained campaign of unification in the face of the ongoing political upheaval that characterized Japanese history during the Sengoku period. Nobunaga ha ...
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Kawajiri Hidetaka
was a Japanese samurai warrior during the Sengoku period , and was one of the vassals of Oda Nobunaga . He was the first samurai in the "Kuro-horo-shu" (bodyguard unit in black) elite troops selected from Nobunaga's aides, and later served as an assistant to Oda Nobutada, Nobunaga's eldest son. He was also the lord of Mino province, Mino Iwamura, and later became the lord of Kai Province, Kai province. There are few documents related to Hidetaka and Kawajiri clan , and many of his traces are recorded in ''Shinchō Kōki'', ''Koyo Gunkan'', and records related to Tokugawa clan. Biography Service under Nobuhide It is said that he was born in Iwasaki Village, Owari Province. Hidetaka served Oda Nobuhide from an early stage. His real name Hidetaka's "Hide"(''秀'') is considered to be a bias from Nobuhide's ''Hide''(''秀'') In August 1542, he was only 16 years old and participated in the first Battle of Azukizaka (1542), Battle of Azukizaka as a vassal of Nobuhide. At ...
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