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Utagawa Kuniyoshi
Utagawa Kuniyoshi ( ja, 歌川 国芳, ; January 1, 1798 – April 14, 1861) was one of the last great masters of the Japanese ukiyo-e style of woodblock prints and painting.Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric ''et al'' (2005). "Kuniyoshi" in He was a member of the Utagawa school.Nussbaum, "Utagawa-ryū" in The range of Kuniyoshi's subjects included many genres: landscapes, beautiful women, Kabuki actors, cats, and mythical animals. He is known for depictions of the battles of legendary samurai heroes.Lubow, Arthur "Everything But the Robots: A Kuniyoshi Retrospective Reveals the Roots of Manga,"''New York Magazine.'' March 7, 2010. His artwork incorporated aspects of Western representation in landscape painting and caricature. Life Kuniyoshi was born on January 1, 1798, the son of a silk-dyer, Yanagiya Kichiyemon,Robinson (1961), p. 5 originally named Yoshisaburō. Apparently he assisted his father's business as a pattern designer, and some have suggested that this experience influ ...
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Musashi Province
was a province of Japan, which today comprises Tokyo Metropolis, most of Saitama Prefecture and part of Kanagawa Prefecture. It was sometimes called . The province encompassed Kawasaki and Yokohama. Musashi bordered on Kai, Kōzuke, Sagami, Shimōsa, and Shimotsuke Provinces. Musashi was the largest province in the Kantō region. History Musashi had its ancient capital in modern Fuchū, Tokyo, and its provincial temple in what is now Kokubunji, Tokyo. By the Sengoku period, the main city was Edo, which became the dominant city of eastern Japan. Edo Castle was the headquarters of Tokugawa Ieyasu before the Battle of Sekigahara and became the dominant city of Japan during the Edo period, being renamed Tokyo during the Meiji Restoration. ''Hikawa-jinja'' was designated as the chief Shinto shrine (''ichinomiya'') of the province; and there are many branch shrines. The former province gave its name to the battleship of the Second World War. Timeline of important events * ...
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Chūshingura
is the title given to fictionalized accounts in Japanese literature, theater, and film that relate to the historical incident involving the forty-seven ''rōnin'' and their mission to avenge the death of their master, Asano Naganori. Including the early , the story has been told in kabuki, bunraku, stage plays, films, novels, television shows and other media. With ten different television productions in the years 1997–2007 alone, ''Chūshingura'' ranks among the most familiar of all historical stories in Japan. Historical events The historical basis for the narrative begins in 1701. The ruling ''shōgun'' Tokugawa Tsunayoshi placed Asano Takumi-no-kami Naganori, the ''daimyō'' of Akō, in charge of a reception of envoys from the Imperial Court in Kyoto. He also appointed the protocol official ('' kōke'') Kira Kōzuke-no-suke Yoshinaka to instruct Asano in the ceremonies. On the day of the reception, at Edo Castle, Asano drew his short sword and attempted to kill Kira. His ...
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Minamoto No Yoshitsune
was a military commander of the Minamoto clan of Japan in the late Heian and early Kamakura periods. During the Genpei War, he led a series of battles which toppled the Ise-Heishi branch of the Taira clan, helping his half-brother Yoritomo consolidate power. He is considered one of the greatest and the most popular warriors of his era, and one of the most famous samurai in the history of Japan. Yoshitsune perished after being betrayed by the son of a trusted ally. Early life Yoshitsune was the ninth son of Minamoto no Yoshitomo, and the third and final son and child that Yoshitomo would father with Tokiwa Gozen. Yoshitsune's older half-brother Minamoto no Yoritomo (the third son of Yoshitomo) would go on to establish the Kamakura shogunate. Yoshitsune's name in childhood was Ushiwakamaru or ''young bull'' (). He was born just before the Heiji Rebellion in 1160 in which his father and two oldest brothers were killed. He survived this incident by fleeing the capital with his ...
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Taira No Tomomori
(1152–1185) was the son of Taira no Kiyomori, and one of the Taira Clan's chief commanders in the Genpei War at the end of the Heian period of Japanese history. He was victorious at the Battle of Uji in 1180. He also became successful in the Battle of Yahagigawa in 1181. Tomomori was again victorious in the naval Battle of Mizushima two years later. At the Battle of Dan-no-ura, when the Taira were decisively beaten by their rivals, Tomomori joined many of his fellow clan members in committing suicide. He tied an anchor to his feet and leapt into the sea. Tomomori has become a popular subject for kabuki plays. Gallery Image:Yoshitoshi The Ghost of Taira no Tomomori.jpg, The ghost of Taira no Tomomori at Daimotsu Bay, in an 1891 print by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi Tsukioka Yoshitoshi ( ja, 月岡 芳年; also named Taiso Yoshitoshi ; 30 April 1839 – 9 June 1892) was a Japanese printmaker. Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric. (2005)"Tsukoka Kōgyō"in ''Japan E ...
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Genpei Seisuiki
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'') comes fr ...
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Heike Monogatari
is an epic account compiled prior to 1330 of the struggle between the Taira clan and Minamoto clan for control of Japan at the end of the 12th century in the Genpei War (1180–1185). Heike () refers to the Taira (), ''hei'' being the ''on'yomi'' reading of the first ''kanji'' and "ke" () means family. Note that in the title of the Genpei War, "hei" is in this combination read as "pei" and the "gen" () is the first kanji used in the Minamoto (also known as "Genji" which is also pronounced using ''on'yomi'', for example as in '' The Tale of Genji'') clan's name. It has been translated into English at least five times, the first by Arthur Lindsay Sadler in 1918–1921. A complete translation in nearly 800 pages by Hiroshi Kitagawa & Bruce T. Tsuchida was published in 1975. Also translated by Helen McCullough in 1988. An abridged translation by Burton Watson was published in 2006. In 2012, Royall Tyler completed his translation, which seeks to be mindful of the performance styl ...
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Kuniyoshi Utagawa, Tiger
Kuniyoshi (written: 国吉 or 國吉) is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Fumio Kuniyoshi (国吉 史生, born 1985), Japanese-German rapper *, Japanese footballer *, American painter and photographer *, Japanese baseball player Kuniyoshi (written: 邦嘉, 邦佳, 邦栄, 國義 or 國芳) is also a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese mixed martial artist *, Japanese painter, illustrator and photographer *, Japanese educational theorist and publisher *, Japanese scientist *, Japanese ''daimyō'' *, Japanese artist in woodblock printing and painting * Prince Kuni Kuniyoshi was a member of the Japanese imperial family and a field marshal in the Imperial Japanese Army during the Meiji and Taishō periods. He was the father of Empress Kōjun (who in turn was the consort of the Emperor Shōwa), and therefore, the mate ... (1873–1929), member of the Japanese imperial family and field marshal in the Imperia ...
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Shuihu Zhuan
''Water Margin'' (''Shuihu zhuan'') is one of the earliest Chinese novels written in vernacular Mandarin, and is attributed to Shi Nai'an. It is also translated as ''Outlaws of the Marsh'' and ''All Men Are Brothers''. The story, which is set in the Northern Song dynasty (around 1120), tells of how a group of 108 outlaws gather at Mount Liang (or ''Liangshan'' Marsh) to rebel against the government. Later they are granted amnesty and enlisted by the government to resist the nomadic conquest of the Liao dynasty and other rebels. While the book's authorship is traditionally attributed to Shi Nai'an (1296–1372), the first external reference to the novel only appeared in 1524 during the Jiajing reign of the Ming dynasty, sparking a long-lasting academic debate on when it was actually written and which historical events the author had witnessed that inspired him to write the book. It is considered one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature.Yenna Wu, "Full-Le ...
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Triptych
A triptych ( ; from the Greek language, Greek adjective ''τρίπτυχον'' "''triptukhon''" ("three-fold"), from ''tri'', i.e., "three" and ''ptysso'', i.e., "to fold" or ''ptyx'', i.e., "fold") is a work of art (usually a panel painting) that is divided into three sections, or three Wood carving, carved panels that are hinged together and can be folded shut or displayed open. It is therefore a type of polyptych, the term for all multi-panel works. The middle panel is typically the largest and it is flanked by two smaller related works, although there are triptychs of equal-sized panels. The form can also be used for pendant jewelry. Beyond its association with art, the term is sometimes used more generally to connote anything with three parts, particularly if integrated into a single unit. In art The triptych form appears in early Christian art, and was a popular standard format for altar paintings from the Middle Ages onwards. Its geographical range was from the easter ...
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Kunisada
Utagawa Kunisada ( ja, 歌川 国貞; 1786 – 12 January 1865), also known as Utagawa Toyokuni III (, ), was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist. He is considered the most popular, prolific and commercially successful designer of ukiyo-e woodblock printing in Japan, woodblock prints in 19th-century Japan. In his own time, his reputation far exceeded that of his contemporaries, Hokusai, Hiroshige and Utagawa Kuniyoshi, Kuniyoshi. Evaluation of Kunisada in art history At the end of the Edo period (1603–1867), Hiroshige, Kuniyoshi and Kunisada were the three best representatives of the Japanese color woodcut in Edo (capital city of Japan, now Tokyo). However, among European and American collectors of Japanese prints, beginning in the late 19th and early 20th century, all three of these artists were actually regarded as rather inferior to the greats of classical ukiyo-e, and therefore as having contributed considerably to the downfall of their art. For this reason, some referred to t ...
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Tatami
A is a type of mat used as a flooring material in traditional Japanese-style rooms. Tatamis are made in standard sizes, twice as long as wide, about 0.9 m by 1.8 m depending on the region. In martial arts, tatami are the floor used for training in a dojo and for competition. Tatami are covered with a weft-faced weave of (common rush), on a warp of hemp or weaker cotton. There are four warps per weft shed, two at each end (or sometimes two per shed, one at each end, to cut costs). The (core) is traditionally made from sewn-together rice straw, but contemporary tatami sometimes have compressed wood chip boards or extruded polystyrene foam in their cores, instead or as well. The long sides are usually with brocade or plain cloth, although some tatami have no edging. History The term ''tatami'' is derived from the verb , meaning 'to fold' or 'to pile'. This indicates that the early tatami were thin and could be folded up when not used or piled in layers.Kodansha Encyclope ...
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Bijin-ga
is a generic term for pictures of beautiful women () in Japanese art, especially in woodblock printing of the ukiyo-e genre. Definition defines as a picture that simply "emphasizes the beauty of women", and the ''Shincho Encyclopedia of World Art'' defines it as depiction of "the beauty of a woman's appearance". On the other hand, defines as pictures that explore "the inner beauty of women". For this reason, the essence of cannot always be expressed only through the depiction of a , a woman aligning with the beauty image. In fact, in ukiyo-e , it was not considered important that the picture resemble the facial features of the model, and the depiction of women in ukiyo-e is stylized rather than an attempt to create a realistic image; For example, throughout the Edo period (1603-1867), married women had a custom of shaving their eyebrows (), but in , there was a rule to draw the eyebrows for married women. History Ukiyo-e itself is a genre of woodblock prints and pain ...
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