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Ōkubo Toshimichi
Ōkubo Toshimichi (; 26 September 1830 – 14 May 1878) was a Japanese statesman and samurai of the Satsuma Domain who played a central role in the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was one of the Three Great Nobles of the Restoration (維新の三傑, ''Ishin no Sanketsu''), alongside Kido Takayoshi and Saigō Takamori. Ōkubo was a key figure in the overthrow of the Tokugawa shogunate. Following the Restoration, he became a dominant force in the new Meiji government. As Home Minister and later ''de facto'' head of government, he spearheaded numerous reforms aimed at modernizing Japan, establishing a strong centralized state, and promoting industrial development. His policies, often characterized by realism and a focus on national strength ('' fukoku kyōhei''), earned him the informal title " Bismarck of Japan". He was instrumental in the abolition of the feudal domains ('' haihan chiken''), the establishment of a national army, and the promotion of Western technology and institu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Japanese Court Ranks, Positions And Hereditary Titles
The court ranks of Japan, also known in Japanese as ''ikai'' (位階), are indications of an individual's court rank in Japan based on the system of the state. ''Ikai'' as a system was the indication of the rank of bureaucrats and officials in countries that inherited (class system). Currently, the Japanese court ranks and titles are among the types of honours conferred to those who have held government posts for a long time and to those who have made distinguished achievements. In recent times, most appointments, if not all, are offered posthumously. A notable recipient of such a court rank is the late former prime minister Shinzo Abe, who received Junior First Rank (従一位, ''ju ichi-i'') on 8 July 2022. Court ranks The national system for ranking politicians and officials who served the Japanese dynasty began in 603 when Empress Suiko enacted the Twelve Level Cap and Rank System. Each rank was identified by the color of a crown the person with the rank wore. There wer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tokugawa Shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars of the Sengoku period following the collapse of the Ashikaga shogunate. Ieyasu became the ''shōgun,'' and the Tokugawa clan governed Japan from Edo Castle in the eastern city of Edo (Tokyo), Edo (Tokyo) along with the ''daimyō'' lords of the ''samurai'' class. The Tokugawa shogunate organized Japanese society under the strict Edo society, Tokugawa class system and banned most foreigners under the isolationist policies of ''Sakoku'' to promote political stability. The Tokugawa shoguns governed Japan in a feudal system, with each ''daimyō'' administering a ''Han system, han'' (feudal domain), although the country was still nominally organized as provinces of Japan, imperial provinces. Under the Tokugawa shogunate, Japan experienced rapid ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zen Buddhism
Zen (; from Chinese: '' Chán''; in Korean: ''Sŏn'', and Vietnamese: ''Thiền'') is a Mahayana Buddhist tradition that developed in China during the Tang dynasty by blending Indian Mahayana Buddhism, particularly Yogacara and Madhyamaka philosophies, with Chinese Taoist thought, especially Neo-Daoist. Zen originated as the Chan School (禪宗, ''chánzōng'', 'meditation school') or the Buddha-mind school (佛心宗'', fóxīnzōng''), and later developed into various sub-schools and branches. Chan is traditionally believed to have been brought to China by the semi-legendary figure Bodhidharma, an Indian (or Central Asian) monk who is said to have introduced dhyana teachings to China. From China, Chán spread south to Vietnam and became Vietnamese Thiền, northeast to Korea to become Seon Buddhism, and east to Japan, becoming Japanese Zen. Zen emphasizes meditation practice, direct insight into one's own Buddha nature (見性, Ch. ''jiànxìng,'' Jp. '' kenshō ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wang Yangming
Wang Shouren (, 26 October 1472 – 9 January 1529), courtesy name Bo'an (), art name Yangmingzi (), usually referred to as Wang Yangming (), was a Chinese statesman, general, and Neo-Confucian philosopher during the Ming dynasty. After Zhu Xi, he is commonly regarded as the most important Neo-Confucian thinker, for his interpretations of Confucianism that denied the rationalist dualism of the orthodox philosophy of Zhu Xi. Wang and Lu Xiangshan are regarded as the founders as the Lu–Wang school, or the School of the Mind. In China, Japan, and Western countries, he is known by his honorific name rather than his private name. Life and times Wang was born in Yuyao, Zhejiang Province, to a scholarly family with a tradition of bureaucratic service. His father, Wang Hua, was first (''Zhuangyuan'', 狀元) in the Imperial Examination of 1481, and rose to become the vice-minister of the Ministry of Rites, but was later demoted and subsequently expelled from government ser ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ryukyu Islands
The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Geography of Taiwan, Taiwan: the Ryukyu Islands are divided into the Satsunan Islands (Ōsumi Islands, Ōsumi, Tokara Islands, Tokara and Amami Islands, Amami) and Okinawa Prefecture (Daitō Islands, Daitō, Miyako Islands, Miyako, Yaeyama Islands, Yaeyama, Senkaku Islands, Senkaku, Okinawa Islands, Okinawa, Sakishima Islands (further divided into the Miyako Islands, Miyako and Yaeyama Islands), and Yonaguni as the westernmost). The larger ones are mostly volcanic islands and the smaller mostly coral island, coral. The largest is Okinawa Island. The climate of the islands ranges from humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification ''Cfa'') in the north to tropical rainforest climate (Köppen climate classification ''Af'') in the south. Precipitation is very high and is affected by the rainy season and typhoons. Except the outlying Daitō Islands, the island chain ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Han System
(, "domain") is a Japanese historical term for the Estate (land), estate of a daimyo in the Edo period (1603–1868) and early Meiji (era), Meiji period (1868–1912).Louis Frédéric, Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"Han"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 283. or (daimyo domain) served as a system of ''de facto'' administrative divisions of Japan alongside the ''de jure'' Provinces of Japan, provinces until they were abolished in the 1870s. History Pre-Edo period The concept of originated as the personal Estate (land), estates of prominent warriors after the rise of the Kamakura Shogunate in 1185, which also saw the rise of feudalism and the samurai noble warrior class in Japan. This situation existed for 400 years during the Kamakura Shogunate (1185–1333), the brief Kenmu Restoration (1333–1336), and the Ashikaga Shogunate (1336–1573). became increasingly important as ''de facto'' administrative divisions as subsequent Shoguns stripped the Imperial Provinces of Japan, pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Koku
The is a Chinese-based Japanese unit of volume. One koku is equivalent to 10 or approximately , or about of rice. It converts, in turn, to 100 shō and 1,000 gō. One ''gō'' is the traditional volume of a single serving of rice (before cooking), used to this day for the plastic measuring cup that is supplied with commercial Japanese rice cookers. The ''koku'' in Japan was typically used as a dry measure. The amount of rice production measured in ''koku'' was the metric by which the magnitude of a feudal domain ('' han'') was evaluated. A feudal lord was only considered ''daimyō'' class when his domain amounted to at least 10,000 ''koku''. As a rule of thumb, one ''koku'' was considered a sufficient quantity of rice to feed one person for one year. The Chinese equivalent or cognate unit for capacity is the ''shi'' or '' dan'' () also known as ''hu'' (), now approximately 103 litres but historically about . Chinese equivalent The Chinese 石 ''dan'' is equal to 10 ''d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Toshimichi Okubo
Toshimichi is a masculine Japanese given name. Written forms Toshimichi can be written using different combinations of kanji characters. Some examples: *敏道, "agile, way" *敏路, "agile, route" *敏通, "agile, pass through" *俊道, "talented, way" *俊路, "talented, route" *俊通, "talented, pass through" *利道, "benefit, way" *利路, "benefit, route" *利通, "benefit, pass through" *年道, "year, way" *年路, "year, route" *寿道, "long life, way" *寿路, "long life, route" The name can also be written in hiragana としみち or katakana トシミチ. Notable people with the name * Toshimichi Okubo (大久保 利通, 1830–1878), Japanese samurai. *Toshimichi Takatsukasa , son of Prince Nobusuke, was a Japanese researcher of railways and trains. Ancestry Son of Prince Nobusuke, a politician and ornithologist who later became head priest of the Meiji Shrine, and (1897-1976), a descendant of Tokugawa Yoshinao, ... (鷹司 平通, 1923–1966), Japanese ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Satsuma Rebellion
The Satsuma Rebellion, also known as the , was a revolt of disaffected samurai against the new imperial government of the Empire of Japan, nine years into the Meiji era. Its name comes from the Satsuma Domain, which had been influential in the Meiji Restoration, Restoration and became home to unemployed samurai after military reforms rendered their status obsolete. The rebellion lasted from 29 January until 24 September of 1877, when it was decisively crushed, and its leader, Saigō Takamori, was shot and mortally wounded. Saigō's rebellion was the last and most serious of a series of armed uprisings against the new government of the Empire of Japan, the predecessor state to modern Japan. The rebellion was very expensive for the government, which forced it to make numerous monetary reforms including leaving the gold standard. The conflict effectively ended the samurai class and ushered in modern warfare fought by conscript soldiers instead of military nobles. It is also th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Japanese Invasion Of Taiwan (1874)
The Japanese punitive expedition to Taiwan in 1874, referred to in Japan as the and in Taiwan and mainland China as the Mudan incident (), was a punitive expedition launched by the Japanese ostensibly in retaliation for the murder of 54 Ryukyuan sailors by Paiwan indigenous peoples near the southwestern tip of Taiwan in December 1871. In May 1874, the Imperial Japanese Army and Imperial Japanese Navy attacked the indigenous Taiwanese peoples in southern Taiwan and retreated in December after the Qing dynasty agreed to pay an indemnity of 500,000 taels, with Japan conceding that China had sovereignty over Taiwan. Some ambiguous wording in the agreed terms were later argued by Japan to be confirmation of Chinese renunciation of suzerainty over the Ryukyu Islands, paving the way for ''de facto'' Japanese incorporation of the Ryukyu in 1879. Background Mudan incident In December 1871, a Ryukyuan vessel shipwrecked on the southeastern tip of Taiwan and 54 sailors were killed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saga Rebellion
The was an 1874 uprising in Kyūshū against the new Meiji government of Japan.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Saga no ran" in . It was led by Etō Shinpei and Shima Yoshitake in their native domain of Hizen province, Hizen. Background Following the 1868 Meiji Restoration, many members of the former ''samurai'' class were disgruntled with the direction the nation had taken. The abolition of their former privileged social status under the feudal order had also eliminated their income, and the establishment of universal military conscription had eliminated much of their reason for existence. The very rapid modernization (Westernization) of the country was resulting in massive changes to Japanese culture, List of gairaigo and wasei-eigo terms, language, dress and society, and appeared to many samurai to be a betrayal of the ''jōi'' (“Expel the Barbarian”) portion of the ''Sonnō jōi'' justification used to overthrow the former Tokugawa shogunate. Hizen Province, with a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Haihan Chiken
The in the Empire of Japan and its replacement by a system of prefectures in 1871 was the culmination of the Meiji Restoration begun in 1868, the starting year of the Meiji period. Under the reform, all daimyos (, ''daimyō'', feudal lords) were required to return their authority to the Emperor Meiji and his house. The process was accomplished in several stages, resulting in a new centralized government of Meiji Japan and the replacement of the old feudal system with a new oligarchy. Boshin War After the defeat of forces loyal to the Tokugawa shogunate during the Boshin War in 1868, the new Meiji government confiscated all lands formerly under direct control of the Shogunate (''tenryō'') and lands controlled by daimyos who remained loyal to the Tokugawa cause. These lands accounted for approximately a quarter of the land area of Japan and were reorganized into prefectures with governors appointed directly by the central government. Return of the domains The second phas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
