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Ishikozume
Ishikozume ( ja, 石子詰め) was a ritual method of execution performed in ancient Japan. The ritual is characterized by waist high burial in earth followed by lapidation (death by stoning). It has traditionally been associated with the ''yamabushi'', hermetic practitioners of the Shugendō religion, because they often used it when rules of their religion were violated. However, it has been observed in instances not involving the ''yamabushi'', and so its exact origins and nature has been debated by scholars. This execution method was used for crimes such as "adultery, rape, murder, theft, arson, blasphemy (killing a sacred deer), association with outcastes, aintainingunregistered rice fields, ndtreason." Sources There exist a variety of sources and traditions which relate the practice. One from Asuka Shrine in Nara claims that a yamabushi stole a stone statue (''koma-inu'') and was subsequently executed through ''ishikozume''. A clan tradition connected to the Uesugi clan of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lapidation
Stoning, or lapidation, is a method of capital punishment where a group throws stones at a person until the subject dies from blunt trauma. It has been attested as a form of punishment for grave misdeeds since ancient times. The Torah and Talmud prescribe stoning as punishment for a number of offenses. Over the centuries, Rabbinic Judaism developed a number of procedural constraints which made these laws practically unenforceable. Although stoning is not mentioned in the Quran, classical Islamic jurisprudence (''fiqh'') imposed stoning as a ''hadd'' (sharia-prescribed) punishment for certain forms of ''zina'' (illicit sexual intercourse) on the basis of hadith (sayings and actions attributed to the Islamic prophet Muhammad). It also developed a number of procedural requirements which made ''zina'' difficult to prove in practice. Stoning appears to have been the standard method of capital punishment in ancient Israel. Its use is attested in the early Christian era, but Jewish c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ritual
A ritual is a sequence of activities involving gestures, words, actions, or objects, performed according to a set sequence. Rituals may be prescribed by the traditions of a community, including a religious community. Rituals are characterized, but not defined, by formalism, traditionalism, invariance, rule-governance, sacral symbolism, and performance. Rituals are a feature of all known human societies. They include not only the worship rites and sacraments of organized religions and cults, but also rites of passage, atonement and ritual purification, purification rites, oaths of allegiance, dedication ceremonies, coronations and presidential inaugurations, marriages, funerals and more. Even common actions like handshake, hand-shaking and saying "hello" may be termed as ''rituals''. The field of ritual studies has seen a number of conflicting definitions of the term. One given by Kyriakidis is that a ritual is an outsider's or "Emic and etic, etic" category for a set activity (o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Execution
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the State (polity), state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that the person is responsible for violating norms that warrant said punishment. The sentence (law), sentence ordering that an offender is to be punished in such a manner is known as a death sentence, and the act of carrying out the sentence is known as an execution. A prisoner who has been sentenced to death and awaits execution is ''condemned'' and is commonly referred to as being "on death row". Crimes that are punishable by death are known as ''capital crimes'', ''capital offences'', or ''capital felonies'', and vary depending on the jurisdiction, but commonly include serious Offence against the person, crimes against the person, such as murder, mass murder, Aggravation (law), aggravated cases of rape (often including child s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yamabushi
are Japanese mountain ascetic hermits. They are generally part of the syncretic religion, which includes Tantric Buddhist, Shinto, and Japanese Taoist elements. Their origins can be traced back to the solitary Yama-bito and some (saints or holy persons) of the eighth and ninth centuries. According to author Frederik L. Schodt: Appearance of Yamabushi Yamabushi usually wear and bring the following cloths and items:(jaKotobanc Yamabushi/ref> * Yuigesa () * Kyahan () which guard both their feet. * Tokin () which is a small hat. * Shakujō (), a metal rod which they hold in hand. * Oi (tool) (), backpack. * Horagai () an instrument made of conch shell, which they blow. See also * Cunning folk * Mount Ōfuna * Shaolin Monastery * Yama-bito The term or sanjin, as understood in Japanese folklore, has come to be applied to a group, some scholars claim,Raja, 556. of ancient, marginalized people, dating back to some unknown date during the Jōmon period of the history of J ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shugendō
is a highly syncretic religion, a body of ascetic practices that originated in the Nara Period of Japan having evolved during the 7th century from an amalgamation of beliefs, philosophies, doctrines and ritual systems drawn from local folk-religious practices, Shinto mountain worship and Buddhism. The final purpose of ''Shugendō'' is for practitioners to find supernatural power and save themselves and the masses by conducting religious training while treading through steep mountain ranges. Practitioners are called or . The mountains where ''shugenja'' practiced were all over Japan, and include various mountains of the Ōmine mountain range such as Mount Hakkyō and Mount Ōmine. The ''Shugendō'' worldview includes a large pantheon of deities (which include Buddhist and Shinto figures). Some of the most important figures are the tantric Buddhist figures of Fudō Myōō and Dainichi Nyorai. Other key figures are , which are considered to be the manifestation of Buddhas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nara Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Nara Prefecture has a population of 1,321,805 and has a geographic area of . Nara Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the north, Osaka Prefecture to the northwest, Wakayama Prefecture to the southwest, and Mie Prefecture to the east. Nara is the capital and largest city of Nara Prefecture, with other major cities including Kashihara, Ikoma, and Yamatokōriyama. Nara Prefecture is located in the center of the Kii Peninsula on Japan's Pacific Ocean coast, and is one of only eight landlocked prefectures. Nara Prefecture has the distinction of having more UNESCO World Heritage listings than any other prefecture in Japan. History Nara Prefecture region is considered one of the oldest regions in Japan, having been in existence for thousands of years, and is widely viewed as the Japanese cradle of civilization. Like Kyoto, Nara was one of Imperial Japan's earliest capital cities. The current form of Nara Prefec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Japanese Sculpture
Sculpture in Japan began with the clay figure. Towards the end of the long Neolithic Jōmon period, some pottery vessels were "flame-rimmed" with extravagant extensions to the rim that can only be called sculptural, and very stylized pottery dogū figures were produced, many with the characteristic "snow-goggle" eyes. During the Kofun period of the 3rd to 6th century CE, haniwa terracotta figures of humans and animals in a simplistic style were erected outside important tombs. The arrival of Buddhism in the 6th century brought with it sophisticated traditions in sculpture, Chinese styles mediated via Korea. The 7th-century Hōryū-ji and its contents have survived more intact than any East Asian Buddhist temple of its date, with works including a ''Shaka Trinity'' of 623 in bronze, showing the historical Buddha flanked by two bodhisattvas and also the Guardian Kings of the Four Directions. Jōchō is said to be one of the greatest Buddhist sculptors not only in the Heian perio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Uesugi Clan
The is a Japanese samurai clan which was at its peak one of the most powerful during the Muromachi and Sengoku periods (14th to 17th centuries). Appert, Georges. (1888) ''Ancien Japon,'' p. 79./ref> At its height, the clan had three main branches: the Ōgigayatsu, Inukake, and Yamanouchi. Its most well-known member is the warlord Uesugi Kenshin (1530–1578). During the Edo period, the Uesugi were a '' tozama'' or outsider clan, in contrast with the '' fudai'' or insider ''daimyō'' clans which had been hereditary vassals or allies of the Tokugawa clan. History The clan claims descent from the Fujiwara clan, specifically Fujiwara no Yoshikado, Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papinot, (2003).html" ;"title="DF 71 of 80)">"Uesugi", ''Nobiliare du Japon'', p. 67 [PDF 71 of 80)/nowiki>">DF 71 of 80)">"Uesugi", ''Nobiliare du Japon'', p. 67 [PDF 71 of 80)/nowiki> retrieved 2013-5-11. who was a ''daijō-daijin'' during t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Echigo Province
was an old province in north-central Japan, on the shores of the Sea of Japan. It bordered on Uzen, Iwashiro, Kōzuke, Shinano, and Etchū Provinces. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Echigo''" in . It corresponds today to Niigata Prefecture, minus the island of Sado. Its abbreviated form name was , with Echizen and Etchū Provinces. Under the ''Engishiki'' classification system, Echigo was ranked as one of the 35 "superior countries" (上国) in terms of importance, and one of the 30 "far countries" (遠国) in terms of distance from the capital. Echigo and Kōzuke Province were known as the Jōetsu region. History In the late 7th century, during the reign of Emperor Monmu, the ancient province of was divided into three separate provinces: Echizen, Etchū, and Echigo. The new Echigo Province consisted of Iwafune and Nutari Districts, and was one of two border provinces of the Yamato state with the Emishi (the other being Mutsu). In 702, Echigo was give ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Burakumin
is a name for a low-status social group in Japan. It is a term for ethnic Japanese people with occupations considered as being associated with , such as executioners, undertakers, slaughterhouse workers, butchers, or tanners. During Japan's feudal era, acquired a hereditary status of untouchability, and became an unofficial caste of the Tokugawa class system during the Edo period. were victims of severe discrimination and ostracism in Japanese society, and lived as outcasts, in their own separate villages or ghettos. status was abolished officially after the Meiji Restoration in 1868, but the descendants of have since continued to experience stigmatization and discrimination in Japan. Terminology is derived from , a Japanese term which refers literally to a small, generally rural, commune or hamlet. People from regions of Japan where "discriminated communities" no longer exist (e.g. anywhere north of Tokyo) may refer to any hamlet as a , indicating use of the word ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prehistoric Japan
The first human inhabitants of the Japanese archipelago have been traced to prehistoric times around 30,000 BC. The Jōmon period, named after its cord-marked pottery, was followed by the Yayoi period in the first millennium BC when new inventions were introduced from Asia. During this period, the first known written reference to Japan was recorded in the Chinese ''Book of Han'' in the first century AD. Around the 3rd century BC, the Yayoi people from the continent immigrated to the Japanese archipelago and introduced iron technology and agricultural civilization. Because they had an agricultural civilization, the population of the Yayoi began to grow rapidly and ultimately overwhelmed the Jōmon people, natives of the Japanese archipelago who were hunter-gatherers. Between the fourth to ninth century, Japan's many kingdoms and tribes gradually came to be unified under a centralized government, nominally controlled by the Emperor of Japan. The imperial dynasty established ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
