Zeniarai Benzaiten Ugafuku Shrine
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Zeniarai Benzaiten Ugafuku Shrine
, popularly known simply as Zeniarai Benten, is a Shinto shrine in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Kanagawa prefecture, Japan. In spite of its small size, it is the second most popular spot in Kamakura, Kanagawa prefecture after Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū. Zeniarai Benzaiten is popular among tourists because the waters of a spring in its cave are said to be able to multiply the money washed in it. The object of worship is a syncretic ''kami'' which fuses a traditional spirit called with the Buddhist goddess of Indian origin Sarasvati, known in Japanese as Benzaiten. The shrine is one of the minority in Japan which still shows the fusion of native religious beliefs and foreign Buddhism (the so-called '' shinbutsu shūgō'') which was normal before the Meiji restoration (end of the 19th century). Zeniarai Benzaiten used to be an external ''massha'' of Ōgigayatsu'sThe ending "ヶ谷", common in Japanese place names and usually read "-gaya", in Kamakura is normally pronounced "-gayatsu", as in Shak ...
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Shinto
Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintoists'', although adherents rarely use that term themselves. There is no central authority in control of Shinto, with much diversity of belief and practice evident among practitioners. A polytheistic and animistic religion, Shinto revolves around supernatural entities called the . The are believed to inhabit all things, including forces of nature and prominent landscape locations. The are worshiped at household shrines, family shrines, and ''jinja'' public shrines. The latter are staffed by priests, known as , who oversee offerings of food and drink to the specific enshrined at that location. This is done to cultivate harmony between humans and and to solicit the latter's blessing. Other common rituals include the dances, rites of pass ...
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Kamakura Shogunate
The was the feudal military government of Japan during the Kamakura period from 1185 to 1333. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Kamakura-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 459. The Kamakura shogunate was established by Minamoto no Yoritomo after victory in the Genpei War and appointing himself as ''shōgun''. Yoritomo governed Japan as military dictator from the eastern city of Kamakura with the emperor of Japan and his Imperial Court in the official capital city of Heian-kyō (Kyoto) as figureheads. The Kamakura ''shōguns'' were members of the Minamoto clan until 1226, the Fujiwara clan until 1252, and the last six were minor princes of the imperial family.Nussbaum"Minamoto"at pp. 632–633. The Hōjō clan were the ''de facto'' rulers of Japan as ''shikken'' (regent) of the ''shōgun'' from 1203.Nussbaum"Fujiwara"at pp. 200–201. The Kamakura shogunate saw the Jōkyū War in 1221 and the Mongol invasions of Japan under Kublai Khan in 1274 and 1281. The Kamaku ...
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Tokugawa Mitsukuni
, also known as , was a Japanese daimyo who was known for his influence in the politics of the early Edo period. He was the third son of Tokugawa Yorifusa (who in turn was the eleventh son of Tokugawa Ieyasu) and succeeded him, becoming the second daimyo of the Mito Domain. Biography Tokugawa Mitsukuni was born on July 11, 1628, in Mito Domain, Hitachi Province as the third son of Tokugawa Yorifusa, the first daimyo of Mito Domain. His father was the eleventh son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate. At the age of six, his elder brother Yorishige became valetudinarian, and Mitsukuni was chosen to succeed his father. At the age of nine, he underwent ''genpuku'' (coming-of-age ceremony). He was responsible for assembling the Mitogaku scholars to compile a huge Japanese history, ''Dai Nihonshi''. In it, Japan was depicted as a nation under the Emperor, analogous to that in Chinese dynasties. This helped the rise of nationalism in the late shogu ...
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Kamakura's Seven Entrances
The city of Kamakura, Kanagawa in Japan, is closed off on three sides by very steep hills and on the fourth by the sea: before the construction of several modern tunnels and roads, the so-called Seven Entrances (''Nana-guchi''), or (all artificial) were its main links to the rest of the world.Kamakura Shōkō Kaigijo (2008: 54-56) The city was therefore a natural fortress and, according to the Azuma Kagami, it was chosen by Minamoto no Yoritomo as his base specifically for this reason. Historical Landmark - Asaina Pass (June 5, 1969) In 1240 the Kamakura shogunate ordered works to improve communications between the city and the important center of Mutsuura, and construction was started in April of the following year. The Shikken Hōjō Yasutoki himself directed the work and carried stones and dirt with his horse to speed it up. Mutsuura was then a center of salt production and an important port for the distribution of goods not only to and from Kantō centers like Awa, Kazusa ...
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Hōjō Tokiyori
Hōjō Tokiyori (, June 29, 1227 – December 24, 1263) was the fifth shikken (regent) of the Kamakura shogunate in Japan. Early life He was born to warrior monk Hōjō Tokiuji and a daughter of Adachi Kagemori. Rule Tokiyori became shikken following his brother Tsunetoki's death. Immediately after the succession, he crushed a coup plot by former ''shōgun'' Kujō Yoritsune and Tokiyori's relative Nagoe Mitsutoki. In the next year, he let Adachi Kagemori destroy the powerful Miura clan in the Battle of Hochi. He recalled his experienced grandfather's brother, Hōjō Shigetoki, from Kyoto and appointed him as rensho. In 1252, he replaced Shogun Kujō Yoritsugu with Prince Munetaka, and so successfully solidified the power base. Reforms Tokiyori has been praised for his good administration. He worked on reforms mainly by writing various regulations. He reduced service of the vassals to guard Kyoto. He worked toward resolving the increasing land disputes of his vassals. In 12 ...
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Shikken
The was a titular post held by a member of the Hōjō clan, officially a regent of the shogunate, from 1199 to 1333, during the Kamakura period, and so he was head of the ''bakufu'' (shogunate). It was part of the era referred to as . During roughly the first half of that period, the ''shikken'' was the ''de facto'' military dictator of Japan (not including the independent Northern Fujiwara). The title of ''shikken'' was modified, as second in command to the ''Tokusō'' in 1256, but by the Muromachi period (1333–1573) the position, though not abolished, did not even figure in the top ranks. The position ceased to exist after the Muromachi period. Etymology The word ''shikken'' is the on'yomi reading of the combination of the two kanji characters and , each meaning "to hold (something in the hand, or a service or ceremony); to administer", "power, authority" respectively. Therefore the word literally means "to hold power/authority". ''Shikken'' as supreme ruler (1199–1256) ...
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Shōka
is a form of ''ikebana''. Written with the same ''kanji'' characters, it is also pronounced and known as ''Shōka''. History The painter Sōami and the art patron and ''shōgun'' Ashikaga Yoshimasa were supporters of the style as early as the 15th century. It reached its peak of popularity and artistic development in the 18th century and was formalised in the late Edo period. Works that were published include the ''Sōka Hyakki'' (挿花百規), a collection of 100 drawings of ''shōka'' works by the 40th headmaster Ikenobō Senjō (池坊専定). Senjō himself selected these works published in 1820. The original drawings were made by Matsumura Keibun and Yokoyama Seiki, painters of the Shijō school. The ''Senshō Risshōkashū'' (専正立生華集) is a collection of 100 drawings of ''rikka'' and ''shōka'' works by the 42nd headmaster Ikenobō Senshō (池坊専正). In the West, ''Japanese flower arrangement (Ike-bana) applied to Western needs'' is a book written by ...
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Meiji Period
The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization by Western powers to the new paradigm of a modern, industrialized nation state and emergent great power, influenced by Western scientific, technological, philosophical, political, legal, and aesthetic ideas. As a result of such wholesale adoption of radically different ideas, the changes to Japan were profound, and affected its social structure, internal politics, economy, military, and foreign relations. The period corresponded to the reign of Emperor Meiji. It was preceded by the Keiō era and was succeeded by the Taishō era, upon the accession of Emperor Taishō. The rapid modernization during the Meiji era was not without its opponents, as the rapid changes to society caused many disaffected traditionalists from the former samurai ...
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Hotoke
The Japanese noun is a word of Buddhist origin and uncertain etymology. It has several meanings, all but a few directly linked to Buddhism. It can refer to: *A person who has achieved ''satori'' (state of enlightenment) and has therefore become a "buddha".Iwanami Japanese dictionary, 6th Edition (2008), DVD version (In Buddhism, the term "buddha" in the lower case refers to a person who has become enlightened (i.e., awakened to the truth).)New Oxford American Dictionary 2nd edition, 2005, Oxford University Press, Inc.The term is also sometimes used to represent Buddhism as a whole. For example, the expression {{nihongo, "''kami'' and ''hotoke''", 神と仏 draws a distinction between Japanese ''kami'' and the enlightened beings of foreign Buddhism. *The historical Gautama Buddha himself *The statue or the name of a buddha *The laws of Buddhism *Figuratively, the performing of a Buddhist memorial service. The ''Eiga Monogatari'' for example contains a sentence in which the term i ...
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Sexagenary Cycle
The sexagenary cycle, also known as the Stems-and-Branches or ganzhi ( zh, 干支, gānzhī), is a cycle of sixty terms, each corresponding to one year, thus a total of sixty years for one cycle, historically used for recording time in China and the rest of the East Asian cultural sphere. It appears as a means of recording days in the first Chinese written texts, the Shang dynasty, Shang oracle bones of the late second millennium BC. Its use to record years began around the middle of the 3rd century BC. The cycle and its variations have been an important part of the traditional calendrical systems in Chinese-influenced Asian states and territories, particularly those of Japanese calendar, Japan, Korean calendar, Korea, and Vietnamese calendar, Vietnam, with the old Chinese system still in use in Taiwanese calendar, Taiwan, and to a lesser extent, in Mainland China. This traditional method of numbering days and years no longer has any significant role in modern Chinese time-keeping ...
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Gregorian Calendar
The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years differently so as to make the average calendar year 365.2425 days long, more closely approximating the 365.2422-day 'tropical' or 'solar' year that is determined by the Earth's revolution around the Sun. The rule for leap years is: There were two reasons to establish the Gregorian calendar. First, the Julian calendar assumed incorrectly that the average solar year is exactly 365.25 days long, an overestimate of a little under one day per century, and thus has a leap year every four years without exception. The Gregorian reform shortened the average (calendar) year by 0.0075 days to stop the drift of the calendar with respect to the equinoxes.See Wikisource English translation of the (Latin) 1582 papal bull '' Inter gravissimas''. Second, ...
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