|
Takechi Hanpeita
, (October 24, 1829 – July 3, 1865), also known as , was a samurai of Tosa Domain during the Bakumatsu period in Japan. Influenced by the effects of the Perry Expedition, Takechi formed the Tosa Kinnō-tō (土佐勤王党, Tosa Imperialism party) which was loyal to the ideals of the sonnō Jōi movement. The Kinnō-tō killing of Yoshida Tōyō on 6 May 1862, led to ''sonnō jōi'' becoming the prevalent philosophy of Tosa Domain, but he was later imprisoned and forced to commit '' seppuku'' by the former ''daimyō'' of Tosa Domain Yamauchi Yōdō. Biography Takechi was born in Fukii Village, Tosa Province (now Niida, Kōchi City, Kōchi Prefecture) as the son of an upper-class samurai of Tosa Domain. The Takechi family had originally been lower-class samurai, but five generations previously had become wealthy through farming and had successfully petitioned to have their official status changed. In 1841, he became a disciple of the Nakanishi-ha Ittō-ryū style of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kōchi, Kōchi
is the capital city of Kōchi Prefecture located on the island of Shikoku in Japan. With over 40% of the prefectural population, Kōchi is the main commercial and industrial centre and the "primate city" of the prefecture. , the city had an estimated population of 320,513 in 164650 households, and a population density of 1000 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Overview A symbol of the city is its most famous dish, katsuo ''tataki'', made by lightly searing and seasoning bonito. Cityscape File:Kochi Japan.jpg, Skyline of Kōchi City（2006） File:080229 Obiyamachi Street Kochi Kochi pref Japan01s.jpg, Obiyamachi in Downtown Kōchi City（2008） File:Nichiyoichi.jpg, Sunday street markets（2009） File:Kochi-City.jpg, CBD of Kōchi City（2010） File:高知城 天守からの景色3 Kochi Castle - panoramio.jpg, Views from Kōchi Castle Keep Tower（2013） File:Kochi Castle, enkei.jpg, Kōchi Castle（2020） Geography Kōchi is located on the southern ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sakamoto Ryōma
was a Japanese ''samurai'', a '' shishi'' and influential figure of the ''Bakumatsu'' and establishment of the Empire of Japan in the late Edo period. He was a low-ranking ''samurai'' from the Tosa Domain on Shikoku and became an active opponent of the Tokugawa Shogunate after the end of Japan's ''sakoku'' isolationist policy. Ryōma under the alias worked against the Bakufu, the government of the Tokugawa shogunate, and was often hunted by their supporters and the ''Shinsengumi''. Ryōma advocated for democracy, Japanese nationalism, return of power to the Imperial Court, abolition of feudalism, and moderate modernization and industrialization of Japan. Ryōma successfully negotiated the Satchō Alliance between the powerful rival Chōshū and Satsuma domains and united them against the Bakufu. Ryōma was assassinated in December 1867 with his companion Nakaoka Shintarō, shortly before the Boshin War and the Meiji Restoration. Early life Sakamoto Ryōma was born on 3 Ja ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Takasugi Shinsaku
was a samurai from the Chōshū Domain of Japan who contributed significantly to the Meiji Restoration. He used several aliases to hide his activities from the Tokugawa shogunate. Early life Takasugi Shinsaku was born in the castle town Hagi, the capital of the Chōshū Domain (present-day Yamaguchi Prefecture) as the first son of Takasugi Kochūta, a middle-ranked samurai of the domain and his mother . He would have three younger sisters by the name of , and . He had smallpox at the age of ten, but fortunately he had recovered from it. Takasugi joined the ''Shōka Sonjuku'', the famous private school of Yoshida Shōin. Takasugi devoted himself to the modernization of Chōshū's military, and became a favorite student of Yoshida. In 1858, he entered the '' Shōheikō'' (a military school under direct control of the ''shōgun'' at Edo). When his teacher was arrested during the Ansei Purge in 1859, Takasugi visited him in jail. Shōin was later executed on 21 November 1859. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kusaka Genzui
, (born Kusaka Hidezaburō; May 1840 – 20 August 1864) was a samurai of the Japanese domain of Chōshū who was active during the Bakumatsu period and a key proponent of the ''sonnō jōi'' movement. Early life He was born Kusaka Hidezaburō in 1840 in Hagi, a town in Nagato Province in Chōshū Domain. He was the third son of the physician Kusaka Ryōteki and Tomiko; their eldest son was named Genki, and their second died while still young. The family belonged to a 7th-rank samurai family, but received a stipend of only 25 koku of rice. From a young age Kusaka learned the Four Books by rote at a private ''juku'' that Takasugi Shinsaku also attended. He then attended the domain's Kōseikan medical school. At fourteen his mother died, and the following year so did his brother Genki and then mere days later his father as well. As the sole surviving member of his family Genzui became the head of the family and the family's medical practice; he thus shaved his head a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kido Takayoshi
, formerly known as , was a Japanese statesman, samurai and '' shishi'' who is considered one of the three great nobles who led the Meiji Restoration. Early life Born Wada Kogorō on August 11, 1833 in Hagi, Chōshū Domain (present-day Yamaguchi Prefecture) as the son of a samurai physician and his second wife . In 1840, due to his brother-in-law already being the head of the Wada family, he was later adopted into the Katsura family at age seven and was known as . The Katsura family's stipend was originally 150 ''koku'', but due to the late nature of his adoption which took place as his adoptive father was already on his deathbed, who died ten days later, it was reduced to 90 ''koku''. Katsura Kogorō thus became the head of the Katsura family. A year later in 1841, his adoptive mother also died, months later he was returned to his old home. In 1848, he lost his mother and elder half-sister Yaeko to illnesses. Katsura was educated at Meirinkan, in which he later became i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hirata Atsutane
was a Japanese scholar, conventionally ranked as one of the Four Great Men of Kokugaku (nativist) studies, and one of the most significant theologians of the Shintō religion. His literary name was , and his primary assumed name was . He also used the names , , and . His personal name was . Biography Early life Hirata was born as the fourth son of , an ''Obangashira'' (low-ranking) ''samurai'' of Kubota Domain, in what is now part of the city of Akita in northern Japan. Little is known of his early childhood, but it appears he was impoverished and faced hostility from his step-mother. He left home in 1795, renouncing his ties to his family and to the Domain and traveled to Edo and worked as a laborer and as a servant, while pushing opportunities to study ''rangaku'', geography, and astronomy. In 1800, at the age of 25, he caught the attention of Hirata Tōbē (平田藤兵衛), a scholar and instructor in the Yamaga school of military strategy, formerly of Bitchū-Matsuyama Do ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kokugaku
''Kokugaku'' ( ja, 國學, label=Kyūjitai, ja, 国学, label=Shinjitai; literally "national study") was an academic movement, a school of Japanese philology and philosophy originating during the Tokugawa period. Kokugaku scholars worked to refocus Japanese scholarship away from the then-dominant study of Chinese, Confucian, and Buddhist texts in favor of research into the early Japanese classics. History What later became known as the ''kokugaku'' tradition began in the 17th and 18th centuries as ''kogaku'' ("ancient studies"), ''wagaku'' ("Japanese studies") or ''inishie manabi'', a term favored by Motoori Norinaga and his school. Drawing heavily from Shinto and Japan's ancient literature, the school looked back to a golden age of culture and society. They drew upon ancient Japanese poetry, predating the rise of medieval Japan's feudal orders in the mid-twelfth century, and other cultural achievements to show the emotion of Japan. One famous emotion appealed to by the '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kyushu
is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surrounding islands. Kyushu has a land area of and a population of 14,311,224 in 2018. In the 8th-century Taihō Code reforms, Dazaifu was established as a special administrative term for the region. Geography The island is mountainous, and Japan's most active volcano, Mount Aso at , is on Kyushu. There are many other signs of tectonic activity, including numerous areas of hot springs. The most famous of these are in Beppu, on the east shore, and around Mt. Aso in central Kyushu. The island is separated from Honshu by the Kanmon Straits. Being the nearest island to the Asian continent, historically it is the gateway to Japan. The total area is which makes it the 37th largest island in the world. It's slightly larger than Taiwan island . ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sonnō Jōi
was a ''yojijukugo'' (four-character compound) phrase used as the rallying cry and slogan of a political movement in Japan in the 1850s and 1860s during the Bakumatsu period. Based on Neo-Confucianism and Japanese nativism, the movement sought to overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate and restore the power of the Emperor of Japan. Etymology During the Spring and Autumn period of China, Chancellor Guan Zhong of Qi initiated a policy known as ''Zunwang Rangyi'' (尊王攘夷 ; lit. "Revere the King, Expel the Barbarians"), in reference to the Zhou kings. Adopting and adhering to it, Duke Huan of Qi assembled the Chinese feudal lords to strike down the threat of barbarians from China. For it, Confucius himself praised Guan Zhong for the preservation of Chinese civilization through the example of the contrast in the hairstyles and clothing styles between them and barbaric peoples. Through the ''Analects'' of Confucius, the Chinese expression came to be transmitted to Japan as ''sonn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sakuradamon Incident (1860)
The was the assassination of Ii Naosuke, Chief Minister (Tairō) of the Tokugawa Shogunate, on March 24, 1860 by ''rōnin'' ''samurai'' of the Mito Domain and Satsuma Domain, outside the Sakurada Gate of Edo Castle. Context Ii Naosuke, a leading figure of the Bakumatsu period and a proponent of the reopening of Japan after more than 200 years of seclusion, was widely criticized for signing the 1858 Treaty of Amity and Commerce with the United States Consul Townsend Harris and, soon afterwards, similar treaties with other Western countries. From 1859, the ports of Nagasaki, Hakodate and Yokohama became open to foreign traders as a consequence of the Treaties. Ii was also criticized for reinforcing the authority of the Tokugawa shogunate against regional ''daimyōs'' through the Ansei Purge. He also made strong enemies in the dispute for the succession of Shōgun Tokugawa Iesada, and because he forced retirement on his opponents, specifically the retainers of Mito, Hizen, Ow ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hitotsubashi Yoshinobu
Prince was the 15th and last ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan. He was part of a movement which aimed to reform the aging shogunate, but was ultimately unsuccessful. He resigned of his position as shogun in late 1867, while aiming at keeping some political influence. After these efforts failed following the defeat at the battle of Toba-Fushimi in early 1868, he went into retirement, and largely avoided the public eye for the rest of his life. Early life Tokugawa Yoshinobu was born in Edo as the seventh son of Tokugawa Nariaki, ''daimyō'' of Mito. Mito was one of the ''gosanke'', the three branch families of the Tokugawa clan which were eligible to be chosen as ''shōgun''. His birth name was Matsudaira Shichirōmaro (七郎麻呂) His mother, Princess Arisugawa Yoshiko, was a member of the Arisugawa-no-miya, a cadet branch of the imperial family; through her, he was a third cousin (once removed) of the then-Emperor Ninkō. Shichirōmaro was brought up under str ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ii Naosuke
was ''daimyō'' of Hikone (1850–1860) and also Tairō of the Tokugawa shogunate, Japan, a position he held from April 23, 1858, until his death, assassinated in the Sakuradamon Incident on March 24, 1860. He is most famous for signing the Harris Treaty with the United States, granting access to ports for trade to American merchants and seamen and extraterritoriality to American citizens. He was also an enthusiastic and accomplished practitioner of the Japanese tea ceremony, in the Sekishūryū style, and his writings include at least two works on the tea ceremony. Under Ii Naosuke’s guidance, the Tokugawa shogunate navigated past a particularly difficult conflict over the succession to the ailing and childless Tokugawa Iesada. Ii Naosuke managed to coerce the Tokugawa shogunate to the last brief resurgence of its power and position in Japanese society before the start of the Meiji period. Ii was assassinated in the Sakuradamon incident by a group of 17 Mito and 1 Satsuma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
