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Yagura (tombs)
are artificial caves used during the Middle Ages in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, as tombs and cenotaphs.Kamakura Shōkō Kaigijo, (2008, 35–38)Kawano (2005: 171) It is likely that they were used only as tombs in the beginning, and were later used as cenotaphs. The dead are mostly from the samurai class, but the names of priests and artisans have also been found.Kawano (2005: 173) These tombs are extremely numerous in the hills surrounding Kamakura, and estimates of their number range from 1,500 to over 5,000. The total number will remain unknown, as many have been destroyed and others may not yet have been found. ''Yagura'' can be found either isolated, as in the case of the ''Harakiri Yagura'', or in clusters of almost 200 caves.A Guide to Kamakura, ''Terminology'' Groups of yagura are labeled with the suffix . The most conveniently seen ''yagura'' for most tourists are those at Jufuku-ji, near Kamakura station. Its cemetery has many yagura, including those with the cen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jufuku-ji Kamakura Yagura
, usually known as Jufuku-ji, is a temple of the Kenchō-ji branch of the Rinzai sect and the oldest Zen temple in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Ranked third among Kamakura's prestigious Five Mountains, it is number 24 among the pilgrimage temples and number 18 of the temples. Its main object of worship is Shaka Nyorai. History The temple was founded by Hōjō Masako (1157–1225), a great historical figure familiar enough to the Japanese to appear on television ''jidaigeki'' dramas, in order to enshrine her husband Minamoto no Yoritomo (1147–1199), founder of the Kamakura shogunate, who died falling from his horse in 1199. Having chosen Jufuku-ji's present site because it used to be Yoritomo's father's residence, she invited Buddhist priest Myōan Eisai to be its founding priest. Eisai is important in the history of Zen because it was he who, after being ordained in China, introduced it to Japan. He is also known for introducing green tea to the country. Ostracized ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ōtomo Clan
was a Japanese samurai family whose power stretched from the Kamakura period through the Sengoku period, spanning over 400 years. The clan's hereditary lands lay in Kyūshū. Origins The first family head, Ōtomo Yoshinao (1172–1223), took the name from the Ōtomo territory in Sagami Province. The clan claims descent from Emperor Seiwa (850-881) through the Seiwa Genji lineage of the Minamoto clan. Although the clan genealogy claims Yoshinao to be an illegitimate son of Minamoto no Yoritomo, it has been concluded that he was in fact a descendant of the Fujiwara clan. History Following the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate in 1185, Yoshinao were granted the post of Constable (''Shugo'') of Bungo and Buzen Provinces in Kyūshū. As the Ōtomo were one of the major clans of Kyūshū, along with the Shōni and the Shimazu, they had a central role in organizing efforts against the Mongol invasions of Japan in 1274 and 1281. They also played an important role in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tōshō-ji
was the Hōjō clan's family temple (''bodaiji'') in Kamakura during the Kamakura period. Its founder was Taikō Gyōyū and it was constructed in 1237 by Hōjō Yasutoki in memory of his mother, who had her tomb there. According to the Taiheiki, from its foundation until the end of the Kamakura shogunate every regent (''shikken'') was buried there. The temple no longer exists, since it was set on fire by the Hōjō themselves when the entire family committed suicide after Nitta Yoshisada's invasion of Kamakura on July 4, 1333. Its ruins were found in the Kasaigayatsu valley in today's Ōmachi.Kamiya Vol. 1 (2006/08: 53- 55) Tōshō-ji very probably used to occupy the entire valley. Standing at the top of a narrow valley shut off at its base by the Nameri river's deep gorge and by steep hills on the other three sides, and besides offering a clear view of the only road that crossed the river, it was a fortress surely valuable to the family also from the military point of view. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zuisen-ji
is a Buddhist temple of the Rinzai sect in Nikaidō's in Kamakura, Japan.Kamiya (2008:98-102) During the Muromachi period it was the family temple of the Ashikaga rulers of Kamakura (the ''Kantō kubō''): four of the five ''kubō'' are buried there in a private cemetery closed to the public and first ''kubō'' Ashikaga Motouji's is also known by the name .Yasuda (1990:26) Designed by prominent Zen religious figure, poet and Zen garden designer Musō Soseki (also known as Musō Kokushi), the temple lies on top of an isolated hill and is famous for both its garden and its Zen rock garden. The beauty and the quantity of its plants have gained it since antiquity the nickname . The main object of worship is Jizō Bosatsu.Nihon Rekishi Chimei Taikei Zuisen-ji is an Historic Site and contains numerous objects classified as Important Cultural Properties and Places of Scenic Beauty. History Musō Soseki was not only the temple's founding priest, but also its main designer.Harada (2 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hōjō Takatoki
was the last '' Tokusō'' and ruling Shikken (regent) of Japan's Kamakura shogunate; the rulers that followed were his puppets. A member of the Hōjō clan, he was the son of Hōjō Sadatoki, and was preceded as ''shikken'' by Hōjō Morotoki. Biography Takatoki became regent at the age of eight, and thus actual power was held for a time by Adachi Tokiaki, his grandmother, and Nagasaki Takasuke, a minister assigned to him. Takatoki fell ill in 1326, at the age of twenty-three, some time after having taken power himself; the shogunate was under attack at this time, and would fall within a few years. Takatoki retired and became a Buddhist monk, though he still held some influence at shogunate. That same year, the shogunal government asked Emperor Go-Daigo to abdicate in favor of his successor, in order to continue the tradition of cloistered rule and the alternation of branches of the Imperial family within the line of succession; Go-Daigo chose to maintain rule, and the ensuin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hiragana
is a Japanese syllabary, part of the Japanese writing system, along with ''katakana'' as well as ''kanji''. It is a phonetic lettering system. The word ''hiragana'' literally means "flowing" or "simple" kana ("simple" originally as contrasted with kanji). Hiragana and katakana are both kana systems. With few exceptions, each mora in the Japanese language is represented by one character (or one digraph) in each system. This may be either a vowel such as ''"a"'' (hiragana あ); a consonant followed by a vowel such as ''"ka"'' (か); or ''"n"'' (ん), a nasal sonorant which, depending on the context, sounds either like English ''m'', ''n'' or ''ng'' () when syllable-final or like the nasal vowels of French, Portuguese or Polish. Because the characters of the kana do not represent single consonants (except in the case of ん "n"), the kana are referred to as syllabic symbols and not alphabetic letters. Hiragana is used to write ''okurigana'' (kana suffixes following a kanji ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hōkyōintō
A is a Japanese pagoda, so called because it originally contained the .Iwanami Kōjien Japanese dictionary A Chinese variant of the Indian stūpa, it was originally conceived as a cenotaph of the King of Wuyue – Qian Liu. Structure and function Usually made in stone and occasionally metal or wood, ''hōkyōintō'' started to be made in their present form during the Kamakura period. Like a ''gorintō'', they are divided in five main sections called (from the bottom up) , or "inverted flower seat", , or base, , or body, , or umbrella, and , or pagoda finial. The ''tōshin'' is the most important part of the ''hōkyōintō'' and is carved with a Sanskrit letter. The ''sōrin'' has the same shape as the tip of a five-storied pagoda. The ''kasa'' can also be called , or roof. It's decorated with four characteristic wings called or . Different structures exist, and the ''hōkyōintō'' property of the Yatsushiro Municipal Museum in Kyushu for example is divided in just four parts, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bedrock
In geology, bedrock is solid Rock (geology), rock that lies under loose material (regolith) within the crust (geology), crust of Earth or another terrestrial planet. Definition Bedrock is the solid rock that underlies looser surface material. An exposed portion of bedrock is often called an outcrop. The various kinds of broken and weathered rock material, such as soil and subsoil, that may overlie the bedrock are known as regolith. Engineering geology The surface of the bedrock beneath the soil cover (regolith) is also known as ''rockhead'' in engineering geology, and its identification by digging, drilling or geophysics, geophysical methods is an important task in most civil engineering projects. Superficial deposition (geology), deposits can be very thick, such that the bedrock lies hundreds of meters below the surface. Weathering of bedrock Exposed bedrock experiences weathering, which may be physical or chemical, and which alters the structure of the rock to leave ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crypt
A crypt (from Latin ''crypta'' "vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, sarcophagi, or religious relics. Originally, crypts were typically found below the main apse of a church, such as at the Abbey of Saint-Germain en Auxerre, but were later located beneath chancel, naves and transepts as well. Occasionally churches were raised high to accommodate a crypt at the ground level, such as St Michael's Church in Hildesheim, Germany. Etymology The word "Crypt" developed as an alternative form of the Latin "vault" as it was carried over into Late Latin, and came to refer to the ritual rooms found underneath church buildings. It also served as a vault for storing important and/or sacred items. The word "Crypta", however, is also the female form of ''crypto'' "hidden". The earliest known origin of both is in the Ancient Greek '' κρύπτω'' (krupto/krypto), the first person singular indicative of the verb "to conc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
