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Wakakusa, Yamanashi
is an area located within the city of Minami-Alps in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. It was formerly a town within Nakakoma District. As of 2003 it has a population of 11,671. Geography Wakakusa is located approximately 12 kilometers from Kofu. It covers an area of 10.29 square kilometers and lies on latitude 35° north and longitude 138° east. Wakakusa is a relatively flat area with many rice fields and orchards. The Kamanashi River forms its eastern boundary. History Long ago there were many independent hamlets between the Kamanashi River and the Japan Alps. At the beginning of the Meiji Restoration three hamlets—Tōkaichiba (十日市場), Kagami (加賀美), and Terabe (寺部) merged to form a new village called Mitsue (三枝). After World War II, Mitsue merged with Tōda (籐田), Asabara, and Kagaminakajō (鏡中條) to form the village of Wakakusa. Wakakusa was independent until 2003 when the city leaders decided to merge with the towns of Kōsai, Kushiga ...
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Ashiyasu, Yamanashi
is a city located in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. , the city has an estimated population of 71,618 in 27,956 households, and a population density of 270 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Minami-Alps is Yamanashi Prefecture's third largest city. The city's name was chosen in September 2002 from among entries submitted by the general public. Geography The city is named for its location on the eastern foothills of the "Southern Alps". This mountain range includes Mount Kita, Japan's second-highest mountain, as well as a number of other mountains that top 3,000 meters. The urbanized zones lie along the three rivers running along these mountains: Midai River, Takizawa River, and Tsubo River. The area is noted for growing fruit, especially: cherries, peaches, plums, grapes, pears, persimmons, kiwi, and apples. Surrounding municipalities * Yamanashi Prefecture ** Nirasaki, Hokuto, Kai, Chūō, Ichikawamisato, Fujikawa, Hayakawa, Shōwa * Nagano Prefecture ** Ina ...
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Daruma Doll
A is a hollow, round, Japanese traditional doll modeled after Bodhidharma, the founder of the Zen tradition of Buddhism. These dolls, though typically red and depicting a bearded man ( Bodhidharma), vary greatly in color and design depending on region and artist. Though considered a toy by some, Daruma has a design that is rich in symbolism and is regarded more as a talisman of good luck to the Japanese. Daruma dolls are seen as a symbol of perseverance and good luck, making them a popular gift of encouragement. The doll has also been commercialized by many Buddhist temples to use alongside the setting of goals. Use When purchased, the figure's eyes are both blank white. The owner selects a goal or wish and paints in the left eye of the figure's two eyes with Chinese or Japanese ink. Once the goal is achieved, the right eye is filled in. Bodhidharma Bodhidharma was a Buddhist monk who lived during the 5th/6th century CE. He is traditionally credited as the transmitter of C ...
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Kii Peninsula
The is the largest peninsula on the island of Honshū in Japan. It is named after the ancient Kii Province. Overview The area south of the “ Central Tectonic Line” is called , and is home to reef-like coral communities which are amongst the northernmost in the world (apart from cold-water corals) due to the presence of the warm Kuroshio Current, though these are threatened by global warming and human interference. Because of the Kuroshio’s strong influence, the climate of Nankii is the wettest in the Earth’s subtropics with rainfall in the southern mountains believed to reach per year and averaging in the southeastern town of Owase, comparable to Ketchikan, Alaska or Tortel in southern Chile. When typhoons hit Japan, the Kii Peninsula is typically the worst affected area and daily rainfalls as high as are known so the Kii Peninsula is often referred to as the Typhoon Ginza (after Ginza in Tokyo). Most of the Kii Peninsula is dense temperate rainforest since ...
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Kamakura Period
The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first '' shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the Genpei War, which saw the struggle between the Taira and Minamoto clans. The period is known for the emergence of the samurai, the warrior caste, and for the establishment of feudalism in Japan. During the early Kamakura period, the shogunate continued warfare against the Northern Fujiwara which was only defeated in 1189. Then, the authority to the Kamakura rulers waned in the 1190s and power was transferred to the powerful Hōjō clan in the early 13th century with the head of the clan as regent ( Shikken) under the shogun which became a powerless figurehead. The later Kamakura period saw the invasions of the Mongols in 1274 and again in 1281. To reduce the amount of chaos, the Hōjō rulers decided to decentralize power by allowing two imperial lines – Northern and Sout ...
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Hokkaidō
is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The largest city on Hokkaidō is its capital, Sapporo, which is also its only ordinance-designated city. Sakhalin lies about 43 kilometers (26 mi) to the north of Hokkaidō, and to the east and northeast are the Kuril Islands, which are administered by Russia, though the four most southerly are claimed by Japan. Hokkaidō was formerly known as '' Ezo'', ''Yezo'', ''Yeso'', or ''Yesso''. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Hokkaidō" in Although there were Japanese settlers who ruled the southern tip of the island since the 16th century, Hokkaido was considered foreign territory that was inhabited by the indigenous people of the island, known as the Ainu people. While geographers such as Mogami Tokunai and Mamiya Rinzō explored ...
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Shingon
Shingon monks at Mount Koya is one of the major schools of Buddhism in Japan and one of the few surviving Vajrayana lineages in East Asia, originally spread from India to China through traveling monks such as Vajrabodhi and Amoghavajra. Known in Chinese as the Tangmi (; the Esoteric School in Tang Dynasty of China), these esoteric teachings would later flourish in Japan under the auspices of a Buddhist monk named Kūkai (), who traveled to Tang China to acquire and request transmission of the esoteric teachings. For that reason, it is often called Japanese Esoteric Buddhism, or Orthodox Esoteric Buddhism. The word ''shingon'' is the Japanese reading of the Chinese word ('), which is the translation of the Sanskrit word ("mantra"). History Shingon Buddhist doctrine and teachings arose during the Heian period (794-1185) after a Buddhist monk named Kūkai traveled to China in 804 to study Esoteric Buddhist practices in the city of Xi'an (), then called Chang-an, at A ...
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Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gradually spread throughout much of Asia via the Silk Road. It is the world's fourth-largest religion, with over 520 million followers (Buddhists) who comprise seven percent of the global population. The Buddha taught the Middle Way, a path of spiritual development that avoids both extreme asceticism and hedonism. It aims at liberation from clinging and craving to things which are impermanent (), incapable of satisfying ('), and without a lasting essence (), ending the cycle of death and rebirth (). A summary of this path is expressed in the Noble Eightfold Path, a training of the mind with observance of Buddhist ethics and meditation. Other widely observed practices include: monasticism; "taking refuge" in the Buddha, the , and the ...
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Nichiren
Nichiren (16 February 1222 – 13 October 1282) was a Japanese Buddhist priest and philosopher of the Kamakura period. Nichiren declared that the Lotus Sutra alone contains the highest truth of Buddhist teachings suited for the Third Age of Buddhism, insisting that the Sovereign of Japan and its people should support only this form of Buddhism and eradicate all others. He advocated the repeated recitation of its title, ''Nam(u)-myoho-renge-kyo'' as the only path to Buddhahood and held that Shakyamuni Buddha and all other Buddhist deities were extraordinary manifestations of a particular Buddha-nature termed ''Myoho-Renge'' that is equally accessible to all. He declared that believers of the Sutra must propagate it even under persecution. Nichiren was a prolific writer and his biography, temperament, and the evolution of his beliefs has been gleaned primarily from his own writings. He claimed the reincarnation of Jōgyō bodhisattva in a past life, and designated six s ...
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Hōzen-ji
, is a Buddhist temple belonging to the Shingon school of Japanese Buddhism, located in the city of Minami-Alps, Yamanashi, Japan. Its main image is a statue of Amida Nyōrai. History A temple named Eizen-ji founded in 802 AD in what is now part of the city of Hokuto, Yamanashi, but was relocated and re-founded by Kūkai in 822 AD. During the Heian period, the area came under the control of Kagami Tomomitsu (1143 - 1230), a local warlord and progenitor of the Takeda clan and became the Buddhist ''bettō'' temple controlling the nearby Shinto shrine of Takeda Hachiman-gu (in what is now Nirasaki, Yamanashi), the tutelary shrine of the spirits of the Takeda clan. The temple was relocated in 1208 to its present location. The temple continued to be sponsored by the Takeda clan through the Sengoku period, and was later protected by Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu after the fall of the Takeda clan. In the Edo period, Shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu confirmed the temple's landholding ...
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Onigawara
are a type of roof ornamentation found in Japanese architecture. They are generally roof tiles or statues depicting a Japanese ogre (''oni'') or a fearsome beast. Prior to the Heian period, similar ornaments with floral and plant designs ('' hanagawara'') preceded the ''onigawara''.onigawara 鬼瓦
" JAANUS. Retrieved on June 12, 2009.
The present design is thought to have come from a previous architectural element, the '' oni-ita'', which is a board painted with the face of an ''oni'' and was meant to stop roof leaks. During the the tile was decorated with other motifs, but later it acquired distinct ogre-like fe ...
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