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Imai Sōkun
was a prominent weapons merchant in the Japanese port town of Sakai, and master of the Japanese tea ceremony. He was also known by the names Imai Hiratsuna and Imai Kanehisa. Sōkun was the son of weapons merchant and tea master Imai Sōkyū, and carried on from his father in both capacities. He also followed his father as an advisor and tea master to Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Following Hideyoshi's death in 1598, he served Tokugawa Ieyasu, who named him a ''hatamoto'' and granted him an estate worth 1,300 ''koku''. Sōkun also helped to organize the dispatch of red seal ships, trading ships formally authorized by the shogunate , officially , was the title of the military rulers of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, except during parts of the Kamak ... to trade with the Asian mainland. References *Frederic, Louis (2002). "Imai Sōkun." ''Japan Encyclopedia''. ...
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Sakai, Osaka
is a city located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. It has been one of the largest and most important seaports of Japan since the medieval era. Sakai is known for its ''kofun'', keyhole-shaped burial mounds dating from the fifth century. The ''kofun'' in Sakai include the largest grave in the world by area, Mozu Tombs, Daisen Kofun. Once known for Katana, swords, Sakai is now famous for the quality of its Japanese kitchen knife, cutlery. , the city had an estimated population of 819,965, making it the fourteenth most populous city in Japan (excluding Tokyo). Geography Sakai is located in southern Osaka Prefecture, on the edge of Osaka Bay and directly south of the city of Osaka. Neighboring municipalities Osaka Prefecture *Habikino, Osaka, Habikino *Izumi, Osaka, Izumi *Kawachinagano, Osaka, Kawachinagano *Matsubara, Osaka, Matsubara *Osaka *Ōsakasayama, Osaka, Ōsakasayama *Takaishi, Osaka, Takaishi Climate Sakai has a Humid subtropical climate (Köppen ''Cfa'') characterized by w ...
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Japanese Tea Ceremony
The Japanese tea ceremony (known as or lit. 'Hot water for tea') is a Culture of Japan, Japanese cultural activity involving the ceremonial preparation and presentation of , powdered green tea, the procedure of which is called . The term "Japanese tea ceremony" does not exist in the Japanese language. In Japanese the term is ''Sadō'' or ''Chadō'', which literally translated means "tea way" and places the emphasis on the Tao (道). The English term "Teaism" was coined by Okakura Kakuzō to describe the unique worldview associated with Japanese way of tea as opposed to focusing just on Tea ceremony, the presentation aspect, which came across to the first western observers as ceremonial in nature. In the 1500s, Sen no Rikyū revolutionized Japanese tea culture, essentially perfecting what is now known as the Japanese tea ceremony and elevating it to the status of an art form. He redefined the rules of the tea house, tea garden, utensils, and procedures of the tea ceremony with h ...
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Imai Sōkyū
was a 16th century merchant in the Japanese port town of Sakai, and a master of the tea ceremony. His ''yagō'' was Naya. Biography A relative of the Amago and Sasaki samurai clans, Sōkyū originally came from Yamato Province. After settling in Sakai, he studied the tea ceremony under Takeno Jōō, eventually marrying Jōō's daughter and inheriting his teawares and lineage as a tea master. In his business, Sōkyū traded primarily in firearms and ammunition. Around 1554, after donating a large sum to the Daitoku-ji, he organized a shake-up in the local merchant circles by which he climbed into a position of considerable influence, and became a member of the city's leadership council. He traveled to the capital in 1568, where he met with warlord Oda Nobunaga, and presented him with some tea accoutrements which had belonged to earlier masters. He thus earned Nobunaga's favor, and was granted a noble title. Shortly afterwards, when Nobunaga sought to lay claim to Sakai, ma ...
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Toyotomi Hideyoshi
, otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period, Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods and regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: Military Innovations that Changed the Course of History, Viking Press 1988. p. 68. Although he came from a peasant background, his immense power earned him the rank and title of and , the highest official position and title in the nobility class. He was the first person in history to become a ''Kampaku'' who was not born a noble. He then passed the position and title of ''Kampaku'' to his nephew, Toyotomi Hidetsugu. He remained in power as , the title of retired ''Kampaku'', until his death. It is believed, but not certain, that the reason he refused or could not obtain the title of , the leader of the warrior class, was because he was of peasant origin. Hideyoshi rose from a peasant background as a Affinity (medieval), retainer of the pr ...
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Tokugawa Ieyasu
Tokugawa Ieyasu (born Matsudaira Takechiyo; 31 January 1543 – 1 June 1616) was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, which ruled from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was the third of the three "Great Unifiers" of Japan, along with his former lord Oda Nobunaga, Oda Nobunaga and fellow Oda clan, Oda subordinate Toyotomi Hideyoshi. The son of a minor daimyo, Ieyasu once lived as a hostage under daimyo Imagawa Yoshimoto on behalf of his father. He later succeeded as daimyo after his father's death, serving as ally, vassal, and general of the Oda clan, and building up his strength under Oda Nobunaga. After Oda Nobunaga's death, Ieyasu was briefly a rival of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, before declaring his allegiance to Toyotomi and fighting on his behalf. Under Toyotomi, Ieyasu was relocated to the Kantō region, Kanto plains in eastern Japan, away from the Toyotomi power base in Osaka. He built Edo Castle, his castle in the fishing village of ...
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Hatamoto
A was a high ranking samurai in the direct service of the Tokugawa shogunate of feudal Japan. While all three of the Shōgun, shogunates in History of Japan, Japanese history had official retainers, in the two preceding ones, they were referred to as . However, in the Edo period, were the upper vassals of the Tokugawa house, and the were the lower vassals. There was no precise difference between the two in terms of income level, but a had the right to an audience (meeting), audience with the , whereas did not.Ogawa, p. 43. The word literally means "origin/base of the flag", with the sense of 'around the flag', it is described in Japanese as 'those who guard the flag' (on the battlefield) and is often translated into English as "bannerman". Another term for the Edo-era was , sometimes rendered as "direct shogunal ", which serves to illustrate the difference between them and the preceding generation of who served various lords. History The term originated in the Sengoku per ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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1552 Births
__NOTOC__ Year 1552 (Roman numerals, MDLII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. Events January–March * January 15 – Henry II of France and Maurice, Elector of Saxony, sign the Treaty of Chambord. * February 12 – Pedro de Valdivia founds the Chilean city of Valdivia (city), Valdivia, as ''Santa María la Blanca de Valdivia''. * February 24 – The privileges of the Hanseatic League are abolished in Kingdom of England, England. * March 26 – Guru Amar Das becomes the Third Sikh Guru. April–June * April 8 – Maurice, Elector of Saxony, liberates Augsburg and sets about to capture Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. * April 11 – Metz Cathedral is consecrated. * April 15 – The Act of Uniformity 1552, Act of Uniformity is given royal assent and imposes use of the Protestant Book of Common Prayer on Kingdom of England, England. * April 16 – Pedro de Valdivia founds the city of La Imperial, Chile. * April ...
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1627 Deaths
Events January–March * January 26 – The Netherlands, Dutch ship '''t Gulden Zeepaert (schip, 1626), 't Gulden Zeepaert'', skippered by François Thijssen, makes the first recorded sighting of the coast of South Australia. * February 15 – The administrative rural parish of Iisalmi () is established in Savonia (historical province), Savonia, by order of King Gustavus Adolphus, Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden. * February 17 – England lands the first European settlers on Barbados. * March 3 – After the First Manchu invasion of Korea, the Joseon dynasty of Korea becomes a tributary state of the Manchu people, Manchus, but still pays respects to the Ming dynasty of China. After rejecting a Manchu alteration to the original diplomatic terms in 1636, the Manchus invade again in 1637. * March 17 – Maurice, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel, is forced to abdicate after his spending brings Hesse-Kassel to bankruptcy. His son takes over as William V, Landgrav ...
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Japanese Tea Masters
Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspora, Japanese emigrants and their descendants around the world * Japanese citizens, nationals of Japan under Japanese nationality law ** Foreign-born Japanese, naturalized citizens of Japan * Japanese writing system, consisting of kanji and kana * Japanese cuisine, the food and food culture of Japan See also * List of Japanese people * * Japonica (other) * Japanese studies , sometimes known as Japanology in Europe, is a sub-field of area studies or East Asian studies involved in social sciences and humanities research on Japan. It incorporates fields such as the study of Japanese language, history, culture, litera ... {{disambiguation Language and nationality disambiguation pages ...
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