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Natsume Sōseki
, born , was a Japanese novelist. He is best known for his novels ''Kokoro'', ''Botchan'', ''I Am a Cat'', ''Kusamakura (novel), Kusamakura'' and his unfinished work ''Light and Darkness (novel), Light and Darkness''. He was also a scholar of British literature and writer of haiku, ''Kanshi (poetry), kanshi'' poetry and fairy tales. Early years Natsume Kinnosuke was born on 9 February 1867 in the town of Babashita, Ushigome, Edo (present Kikuichō, Kikui, Shinjuku, Tokyo), the fifth son of village head (''nanushi'') Natsume Kohē Naokatsu and his wife Chie. His father, a powerful and wealthy ''nanushi'', owned all land from Ushigome to Takadanobaba in Edo and handled most Lawsuit, civil lawsuits at his doorstep. He was a descendant of Natsume Yoshinobu, a Sengoku period samurai and Kashindan, retainer of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Sōseki began his life as an unwanted child, born to his mother late in her life, forty years old and his father then fifty-three. When he was born, he already h ...
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Emperor Meiji
, posthumously honored as , was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the List of emperors of Japan, traditional order of succession, reigning from 1867 until his death in 1912. His reign is associated with the Meiji Restoration of 1868, which ended the Tokugawa shogunate and began rapid changes that transformed Japan from an isolationist, feudal state to an industrialized great power, world power. Emperor Meiji was the first monarch of the Empire of Japan, and presided over the Meiji era. At the time of Mutsuhito's birth, Japan was a feudal and pre-industrial country dominated by the isolationist Tokugawa shogunate and the ''daimyō'' subject to it, who ruled over Japan's 270 decentralized han (Japan), domains. The opening of Japan to the West from 1854 fueled domestic demands for modernization, and when Mutsuhito became emperor after the death of his father Emperor Kōmei in 1867, it triggered the Boshin War, in which samurai (mostly from the Chōshū Domain, Chōshū and Sa ...
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Light And Darkness (novel)
Light, visible light, or visible radiation is electromagnetic radiation that can be perceived by the human eye. Visible light spans the visible spectrum and is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400–700 nanometres (nm), corresponding to frequencies of 750–420 terahertz. The visible band sits adjacent to the infrared (with longer wavelengths and lower frequencies) and the ultraviolet (with shorter wavelengths and higher frequencies), called collectively '' optical radiation''. In physics, the term "light" may refer more broadly to electromagnetic radiation of any wavelength, whether visible or not. In this sense, gamma rays, X-rays, microwaves and radio waves are also light. The primary properties of light are intensity, propagation direction, frequency or wavelength spectrum, and polarization. Its speed in vacuum, , is one of the fundamental constants of nature. All electromagnetic radiation exhibits some properties of both particles and waves. Si ...
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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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Kashindan
was an institution of the retainers (''kashin'') of the shogun or a ''daimyo'' in Japan that became a class of samurai. It was divided into the military commanders (''bankata'') and the civil officers (''yakukata''). In the Nanboku-chō and Muromachi periods, the ''kashindan'' began to include members of the clan that it served. In the Sengoku period, in response to the need for a strong military organization with a centralized power structure, the daimyo organized their own ''kashindan'' as a standing army. By the Edo period, they had become a discrete class of samurai, and each family was paid an annual stipend according to its rank. The ''kashindan'' was abolished in 1871 as part of the Meiji Restoration. History Medieval period In and before the Kamakura period, the clan head and its members, who were related to the clan head, had one type of a cooperative relationship comparable to that of a kin community. However, during the Nanboku-chō and Muromachi periods, the ...
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Samurai
The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court downsized the national army and delegated the security of the countryside to these privately trained warriors. Eventually the samurai clans grew so powerful that they became the ''de facto'' rulers of the country. In the aftermath of the Gempei War (1180-1185), Japan formally passed into military rule with the founding of the first shogunate. The status of samurai became heredity by the mid-eleventh century. By the start of the Edo period, the shogun had disbanded the warrior-monk orders and peasant conscript system, leaving the samurai as the only men in the country permitted to carry weapons at all times. Because the Edo period was a time of peace, many samurai neglected their warrior training and focused on peacetime activities such as a ...
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Sengoku Period
The was the period in History of Japan, Japanese history in which civil wars and social upheavals took place almost continuously in the 15th and 16th centuries. The Kyōtoku incident (1454), Ōnin War (1467), or (1493) are generally chosen as the period's start date, but there are many competing historiographies for its end date, ranging from 1568, the date of Oda Nobunaga#Ise campaign, Omi campaign, and march to Kyoto, Oda Nobunaga's march on Kyoto, to the suppression of the Shimabara Rebellion in 1638, deep into what was traditionally considered the Edo period. Regardless of the dates chosen, the Sengoku period overlaps substantially with the Muromachi period (1336–1573). This period was characterized by the overthrow of a superior power by a subordinate one. The Ashikaga shogunate, the ''de facto'' central government, declined and the , a local power, seized wider political influence. The people rebelled against the feudal lords in revolts known as . The period saw a break ...
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Natsume Yoshinobu
(1517–1573) was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku period who served the Matsudaira clan (later known as the Tokugawa clan). When Tokugawa forces had to retreat at the Battle of Mikatagahara, Natsume charged into enemy ranks declaring himself to be Ieyasu; he was then killed in battle. Early life Natsume Yoshinobu was the son of Natsume Yoshihisa and was born in the Hazori District, Mikawa Province, Mikawa (modern day Kōta, Aichi). His legal alias was Jirō-Saemon. His family ancestor was the third child of Minamoto no Mitsuyoshi and his children branched off into various families in the east, including the Takeda and Ii families. Yoshinobu's family line descended from a branch that stayed within Mikawa and was one of the Seiwa Genji descendants serving the Matsudaira family. During the Mikawa-Hachiman Conflicts between the Imagawa, Takeda, and Matsudaira families, he participated in the military forces at Nagasawa Castle and helped Itakura Shigezane attack another castle in 1 ...
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Lawsuit
A lawsuit is a proceeding by one or more parties (the plaintiff or claimant) against one or more parties (the defendant) in a civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used with respect to a civil action brought by a plaintiff (a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's actions) who requests a legal remedy or equitable remedy from a court. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint or else risk default judgment. If the plaintiff is successful, judgment is entered in favor of the plaintiff, and the court may impose the legal or equitable remedies available against the defendant (respondent). A variety of court orders may be issued in connection with or as part of the judgment to enforce a right, award damages or restitution, or impose a temporary or permanent injunction to prevent an act or compel an act. A declaratory judgmen ...
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Takadanobaba
is a neighborhood in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. History Originally, the area's name was read ''Takatanobaba'' and many Tokyo residents in their 50s or older pronounce it as such. However, younger Tokyoites and residents who have come from outside Tokyo, use the pronunciation ''Takadanobaba''. The area is also often referred to simply as "Baba". The area was previously and officially known as Totsuka (戸塚). In 1636, the ''shōgun'' Tokugawa Iemitsu built in the area a ''baba'', a ground for horseback riding and horse racing. ''Takata'' was the family name of the mother of Matsudaira Tadateru (the sixth son of Iemitsu's grandfather, the previous shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu) who favored the area as a sightseeing spot. The name stuck to prevent confusion with nearby Totsuka town near Yokohama, Kanagawa, Yokohama (now Totsuka-ku, Yokohama). In 1694, Nakayama Yasubei (later Horibe Yasubei, one of the forty-seven rōnin, forty-seven ''rōnin'') took part in a battle (the Takadanobaba Ke ...
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Nanushi
''Nanushi'' (Japanese: 名主) were officials in Japan who administered villages (''mura'') under a district magistrate (''gun-dai'') in the Edo period. The most powerful ''nanushi'', the ''ōjōya'' (大庄屋), administered up to several dozen villages, and were sometimes allowed privileges traditionally associated with the samurai class. The duties of a ''nanushi'' included tax collection and serving as the most local administrator of a rural village in direct contact with the villagers. The term ''nanushi'' was used in Kantō, while the official was called ''shōya'' (庄屋) in Kansai and ''kimoiri'' (肝煎) in Tōhoku and Hokuriku. Overview The duties of ''nanushi'' included tax collection, general village administration, management of public natural resources (such as mountain, field, river and ocean) of a village called ''iriai'', as well as negotiating with the territorial lord as the representative of the villagers. The most powerful ''nanushi'', the ''ōjōya'', ad ...
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Kikuichō
is a district located in the northern part of Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. Geography Kikuichō is bordered by eight other districts of Shinjuku: (clockwise, from the north) Babashitachō, Waseda-tsurumakichō, Waseda-minamichō, Bentenchō, Haramachi-itchōme, Haramachi-nichōme, Wakamatsuchō, and Toyama-itchōme. It is primarily a residential area. Shops, restaurants and several temples are located along the main thoroughfare, Natsumezaka-dōri. The closest train stations are Waseda Station (Tokyo Metro) on the Tokyo Metro Tozai Line and Ushigome-yanagichō Station on the Toei Oedo Line. Land Price The average land price in Kikuichō was ¥1,230,000/m2 as of September 2023. By comparison, the average price across all of Shinjuku was ¥1,365,000/m2 as of March 2024. Addresses Addresses in Kikuichō do not implement the modern format, and there is no division into . Instead, the older system based on lot numbers remains in use. Due to subdivision, multiple buildings often sh ...
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Fairy Tale
A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, household tale, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic, enchantments, and mythical or fanciful beings. In most cultures, there is no clear line separating myth from folk or fairy tale; all these together form the literature of preliterate societies. Fairy tales may be distinguished from other folk narratives such as legends (which generally involve belief in the veracity of the events described) and explicit moral tales, including beast fables. Prevalent elements include dragons, dwarfs, elves, fairies, giants, gnomes, goblins, griffins, merfolk, monsters, monarchy, pixies, talking animals, trolls, unicorns, witches, wizards, magic, and enchantments. In less technical contexts, the term is also used to describe something blessed with unusual happiness, as in "fairy-tale ending" (a happy ending) or "fairy-tale romance". ...
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