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Bushidō Literature
Japanese literature about samurai has a long and rich history, and includes written works such as medieval war chronicles, ''waka (poetry), waka'' poetry, and more. Early literature Kojiki The ''Kojiki'' is Japan's oldest extant book. Compiled in 712 AD, it contains passages about Yamato Takeru, the son of the emperor Keiko. It includes references to the use and admiration of the sword by Japanese warriors: :''The many-clouds-rising'' :''Izumo Takeru'' :''Wears a Sword'' :''With many vines wrapped around it,'' :''But no blade inside, alas.'' or this: :''Next to the maiden's'' :''Sleeping place'' :''I left'' :''The sabre, the sword —'' :''Alas, that sword.'' Yamato Takeru may be considered the rough ideal of the Japanese warrior to come. Most important, his portrayal in the ''Kojiki'' shows the ideal of harmonizing the literary with the martial may have been an early trait of Japanese civilization, appealing to the Japanese long before its introduction from Confucian China. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Japanese Literature
Japanese literature throughout most of its history has been influenced by cultural contact with neighboring Asian literatures, most notably China and its literature. Early texts were often written in pure Classical Chinese or , a Chinese-Japanese creole language. Indian literature also had an influence through the spread of Buddhism in Japan. During the Heian period, Japan's original culture () developed and literature also established its own style, with the significant usage and development of to write Japanese literature. Following the Perry Expedition which led to the end of the policy and the forced reopening of foreign trade, Western literature has also made influences to the development of modern Japanese writers, while Japanese literature has in turn become more recognized internationally, leading to two Japanese Nobel laureates in literature, namely Yasunari Kawabata and Kenzaburō Ōe. History Nara-period literature (before 794) Before the introduction of kanji f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sengoku
The was a period in Japanese history of near-constant civil war and social upheaval from 1467 to 1615. The Sengoku period was initiated by the Ōnin War in 1467 which collapsed the feudal system of Japan under the Ashikaga shogunate. Various samurai warlords and clans fought for control over Japan in the power vacuum, while the emerged to fight against samurai rule. The arrival of Europeans in 1543 introduced the arquebus into Japanese warfare, and Japan ended its status as a tributary state of China in 1549. Oda Nobunaga dissolved the Ashikaga shogunate in 1573 and launched a war of political unification by force, including the Ishiyama Hongan-ji War, until his death in the Honnō-ji Incident in 1582. Nobunaga's successor Toyotomi Hideyoshi completed his campaign to unify Japan and consolidated his rule with numerous influential reforms. Hideyoshi launched the Japanese invasions of Korea in 1592, but their eventual failure damaged his prestige before his death in 1598. Tokug ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shambhala Publications
Shambhala Publications is an independent publishing company based in Boulder, Colorado. According to the company, it specializes in "books that present creative and conscious ways of transforming the individual, the society, and the planet". Many of its titles deal with Buddhism and related topics in religion and philosophy. The company's name was inspired by the Sanskrit word Shambhala, referring to a mystical kingdom hidden beyond the snowpeaks of the Himalayas, according to the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. Its authors include Chögyam Trungpa, Pema Chödrön, Thomas Cleary, Ken Wilber, Fritjof Capra, A. H. Almaas, John Daido Loori, John Stevens, Edward Espe Brown and Natalie Goldberg. The company is unaffiliated with Shambhala Buddhism, Shambhala International, or '' Lion's Roar'' (previously entitled ''Shambhala Sun'') magazine. History Shambhala was founded in 1969 by Samuel Bercholz and Michael Fagan, in Berkeley, California. Its books are distributed by Penguin Random H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Go Rin No Sho
is a text on ''kenjutsu'' and the martial arts in general, written by the Japanese swordsman Miyamoto Musashi around 1645. Many translations have been made, and it enjoys an audience considerably broader than other martial artists and people across East Asia. For instance, some foreign business leaders find its discussion of conflict and taking the advantage to be relevant to their work in a business context. The modern-day Hyōhō Niten Ichi-ryū employs it as a manual of technique and philosophy. Musashi establishes a "no-nonsense" theme throughout the text. For instance, he repeatedly remarks that technical flourishes are excessive, and contrasts worrying about such things with the principle that all technique is simply a method of cutting down one's opponent. He also continually makes the point that the understandings expressed in the book are important for combat on any scale, whether a one-on-one duel or a massive battle. Descriptions of principles are often followed by a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Miyamoto Musashi
, also known as Shinmen Takezō, Miyamoto Bennosuke or, by his Buddhist name, Niten Dōraku, was a Japanese swordsman, philosopher, strategist, writer and rōnin, who became renowned through stories of his unique double-bladed swordsmanship and undefeated record in his 61 duels (next is 33 by Itō Ittōsai). Musashi, as he was often simply known, is considered a ''Kensei'', a sword-saint of Japan. He was the founder of the Niten Ichi-ryū, or Nito Ichi-ryū, style of swordsmanship, and in his final years authored and ''Dokkōdō'' (獨行道, ''The Path of Aloneness''). Both documents were given to Terao Magonojō, the most important of Musashi's students, seven days before Musashi's death. ''The Book of Five Rings'' deals primarily with the character of his Niten Ichi-ryū school in a concrete sense, i.e., his own practical martial art and its generic significance; ''The Path of Aloneness'', on the other hand, deals with the ideas that lie behind it, as well as his life's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fushimi Castle
, also known as or Fushimi-Momoyama Castle, is a Japanese castle located in Fushimi Ward, Kyoto. Fushimi Castle was constructed from 1592 to 1594 by Toyotomi Hideyoshi at the end of the Sengoku period as his retirement residence. Fushimi Castle was destroyed in 1596 and rebuilt before eventually being demolished in 1623 and its site later used for the tomb of Emperor Meiji. The current Fushimi Castle is a replica constructed in 1964 near the original site in Fushimi. The Azuchi-Momoyama period of Japanese history partially takes its name from Fushimi Castle. History The construction of the original Fushimi Castle was begun in 1592, the year after Toyotomi Hideyoshi's retirement from the regency, and completed in 1594. Twenty provinces provided workers for the construction, which numbered between 20,000 and 30,000. Though bearing the external martial appearance of a castle, the structure was intended as a retirement palace for Hideyoshi, and was furnished and decorated as s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Torii Mototada
was a Japanese Samurai and Daimyo of the Sengoku period through late Azuchi–Momoyama period, who served Tokugawa Ieyasu. Torii died at the siege of Fushimi where his garrison was greatly outnumbered and destroyed by the army of Ishida Mitsunari. Torii's refusal to surrender had a great impact on Japanese history; the fall of Fushimi bought Ieyasu some time to regroup and eventually win the Battle at Sekigahara. Early life Torii was born in Okazaki, the son of Torii Tadayoshi. As a boy, he was sent as hostage to the Imagawa clan. The young Mototada served the then- Matsudaira Takechiyo as a page. After Ieyasu's return from the Imagawa clan, and his unification of Mikawa Province, Mototada served as one of his chief generals. In 1572, Mototada succeeded the Torii family headship, following the death of his father. Service under Ieyasu In 1573, He fought at the Battle of Mikatagahara and Battle of Suwahara Castle the following year and was wounded in the legs, which rende ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yamamoto Tsunetomo
, Buddhist monastic name Yamamoto Jōchō (June 11, 1659 – November 30, 1719), was a samurai of the Saga Domain in Hizen Province under his lord Nabeshima Mitsushige. He became a Zen Buddhist priest and relayed his experiences, memories, lessons, ideas, and aphorisms to the samurai , who compiled them under the title ''Hagakure.'' Early life and education Yamamoto Tsunetomo was born 11 June 1659 to Yamamoto Jin'emon, then aged 71, and a woman whose maiden name was Maeda. He was the last born to the family, and regarded by his father as a superfluous addition who was intended to be given away to a salt merchant. For most of his childhood, Tsunetomo was sickly and claimed doctors told him he would not live past twenty years old. Despite his fragile health, he was employed at age 9 to be a page for Nabeshima Mitsuhige. Tsunetomo's skills in literature led Mitsuhige to have him study under noted man of letters Kuranaga Rihei. In his twenties, Tsunetomo studied under the Zen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hagakure
''Hagakure'' (Kyūjitai: ; Shinjitai: ; meaning ''Hidden by the Leaves'' or ''Hidden Leaves''), or , is a practical and spiritual guide for a warrior, drawn from a collection of commentaries by the clerk Yamamoto Tsunetomo, former retainer to Nabeshima Mitsushige (July 10, 1632 – July 2, 1700), the third ruler of what is now Saga Prefecture in Japan. Tashiro Tsuramoto compiled these commentaries from his conversations with Tsunetomo from 1709 to 1716; however, it was not published until many years afterwards. Written during a time when there was no officially sanctioned samurai fighting, the book grapples with the dilemma of maintaining a warrior class in the absence of war and reflects the author's nostalgia for a world that had disappeared before he was born. ''Hagakure'' was largely forgotten for two centuries after its composition, but it came to be viewed as the definitive guide of the armed forces of the Empire of Japan during the Pacific War. ''Hagakure'' is also known as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kyūshū
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] |
Nabeshima Naoshige
was a warlord of the Sengoku and early Edo periods and progenitor of the Nabeshima lords of the Saga Domain. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"Nabeshima Naoshige"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 680. Naoshige was the second son of . His mother was the daughter of . He was a vassal of the Ryūzōji clan during the Sengoku period of the 16th century. Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papinot, (2003).html" ;"title="DF 54 of 80">"Ryūzōji," ''Nobiliare du Japon'', p. 50 [PDF 54 of 80/nowiki>">DF 54 of 80">"Ryūzōji," ''Nobiliare du Japon'', p. 50 [PDF 54 of 80/nowiki> retrieved 2013-5-2. Biography Naoshige proved himself in battle as he led forces of Ryūzōji Takanobu. In 1570, Naoshige assisted Takanobu while at Saga Castle when it was surrounded by a 60,000-man Ōtomo clan army. However, Naoshige had only 5,000 troops, so he suggested a night raid on the enemies camp which successfully routed them. In 157 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stephen Turnbull (historian)
Stephen Richard Turnbull (born 6 February 1948) is a British historian concentrating on Japanese military history, especially the samurai period, and has published numerous books. He provides information and advice to media organizations about Japan. Biography Turnbull attended Cambridge University where he gained his first degree. He currently holds 2 MAs in Theology and Military History and a PhD from the University of Leeds where he is a lecturer in Far Eastern Religions. He was on the editorial board of the short-lived ''Medieval History Magazine'' (2003–2005), which was published in association with the Royal Armouries. He was a consultant for the widely successful PC game '' Shogun: Total War'' and also its well-received sequel '' Total War: Shogun 2'', both products of Creative Assembly, as well as historical advisor on the Hollywood film '' 47 Ronin'' starring Keanu Reeves. He was also a narrator for the Netflix documentary series '' Age of Samurai: Battle for Japan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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