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Taira No Kiyomori
was a military leader and ''kugyō'' of the late Heian period of Japan. He established the first samurai-dominated administrative government in the history of Japan. Early life Kiyomori was born in Heian-kyō, Japan, in 1118 as the first son of Taira no Tadamori, who was the head of the Taira clan. It has been speculated that Kiyomori was actually an illegitimate son of Emperor Shirakawa. His mother, Gion no Nyogo, was a palace servant according to '' The Tale of the Heike''. Family * Father: Taira no Tadamori * Mother: Gion no Nyogo (d. 1147) *Concubines and regents: **Wife: N/A *** Taira no Shigemori *** Taira no Munemori *** Taira no Tomomori *** Taira no Tokuko *** Taira no Shigehira Career After the death of his father in 1159, Kiyomori assumed control of the Taira clan and ambitiously entered the political realm in which he had previously only held a minor post. Before that though, in 1156, he and Minamoto no Yoshitomo, head of the Minamoto clan, suppressed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heian-kyō
Heian-kyō was one of several former names for the city now known as Kyoto. It was the official capital of Japan for over one thousand years, from 794 to 1868 with an interruption in 1180. Emperor Kanmu established it as the capital in 794, moving the Imperial Court there from nearby Nagaoka-kyō at the recommendation of his advisor Wake no Kiyomaro and marking the beginning of the Heian period of Japanese history. According to modern scholarship, the city is thought to have been modelled after the urban planning for the Tang dynasty Chinese capital of Chang'an (modern-day Xi'an).. It remained the chief political center until 1185, when the samurai Minamoto clan defeated the Taira clan in the Genpei War, moving administration of national affairs to Kamakura and establishing the Kamakura shogunate. Though political power would be wielded by the samurai class over the course of three different shogunates, Heian remained the site of the Imperial Court and seat of Imperial ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Minamoto No Yoshitomo
(1123 – 11 February 1160) was the head of the Minamoto clan and a general of the late Heian period of Japanese history. His son Minamoto no Yoritomo became ''shōgun'' and founded the Kamakura shogunate, the first shogunate in the history of Japan. His Dharma name was Shōjō Juin (勝定寿院). Hōgen Rebellion With the outbreak of the Hōgen Rebellion in 1156, the members of the Minamoto and Taira samurai clans were beckoned into the conflict. Yoshitomo sided along with Taira no Kiyomori in support of the Emperor Go-Shirakawa and Fujiwara no Tadamichi, while his father Minamoto no Tameyoshi sided with the retired Emperor Sutoku and Fujiwara no Yorinaga. Yoshitomo, defeating his father and the forces of Sutoku and Yorinaga, became head of the Minamoto and established himself as a political power in the capital of Kyoto. However, despite his attempts to have his father pardoned, Tameyoshi was executed. Also, the outcome of the Hōgen rebellion established the Minam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yoshitoshi The Fever
Tsukioka Yoshitoshi ( ja, 月岡 芳年; also named Taiso Yoshitoshi ; 30 April 1839 – 9 June 1892) was a Japanese printmaker. Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric. (2005)"Tsukoka Kōgyō"in ''Japan Encyclopedia,'' p. 1000. Yoshitoshi has widely been recognized as the last great master of the ukiyo-e genre of woodblock printing and painting. He is also regarded as one of the form's greatest innovators. His career spanned two eras – the last years of Edo period Japan, and the first years of modern Japan following the Meiji Restoration. Like many Japanese, Yoshitoshi was interested in new things from the rest of the world, but over time he became increasingly concerned with the loss of many aspects of traditional Japanese culture, among them traditional woodblock printing. By the end of his career, Yoshitoshi was in an almost single-handed struggle against time and technology. As he worked on in the old manner, Japan was adopting Western mass reproduction methods li ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heian Palace
The was the original imperial palace of (present-day Kyoto), the capital of Japan, from 794 to 1227. The palace, which served as the imperial residence and the administrative centre for most of the Heian period (from 794 to 1185), was located at the north-central location of the city in accordance with the Chinese models used for the design of the capital. The palace consisted of a large, walled, rectangular Greater Palace (the ), which contained several ceremonial and administrative buildings including the government ministries. Inside this enclosure was the separately walled residential compound of the emperor, or the Inner Palace (). In addition to the emperor's living quarters, the Inner Palace contained the residences of the imperial consorts and official or ceremonial buildings more closely linked to the person of the emperor. The original role of the palace was to manifest the centralised government model adopted by Japan from China in the 7th century – the and its ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Daijō-daijin
The was the head of the ''Daijō-kan'' (Great Council of State) during and after the Nara period and briefly under the Meiji Constitution. Equivalent to the Chinese (Grand Preceptor). History Emperor Tenji's favorite son, Prince Ōtomo, was the first to have been accorded the title of ''Daijō-daijin'' during the reign of his father. The Asuka Kiyomihara Code of 689 marks the initial appearance of the ''Daijō Daijin'' in the context of a central administrative body composed of the three ministers: the ''Daijō-daijin'' (Chancellor), the ''Sadaijin'' (Minister of the Left), and the ''Udaijin'' (Minister of the Right). These positions were consolidated under the Code of Taihō in 702.Hall, John Whitney ''et al.''. (1993)''The Cambridge History of Japan'', p. 232 As the Fujiwara clan—which dominated the regency—gained influence, the official government offices diminished in power. By the 10th century, chancellors had no power to speak of unless they were simultaneously r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Courtier
A courtier () is a person who attends the royal court of a monarch or other royalty. The earliest historical examples of courtiers were part of the retinues of rulers. Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the official residence of the monarch, and the social and political life were often completely mixed together. Background Monarchs very often expected the more important nobles to spend much of the year in attendance on them at court. Not all courtiers were noble, as they included clergy, soldiers, clerks, secretaries, agents and middlemen with business at court. All those who held a court appointment could be called courtiers but not all courtiers held positions at court. Those personal favourites without business around the monarch, sometimes called the camarilla, were also considered courtiers. As social divisions became more rigid, a divide, barely present in Antiquity or the Middle Ages, opened between menial servants and other classes at cou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Emperor Nijō
was the 78th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His reign spanned the years from 1158 through 1165. Genealogy Before his ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne, his personal name (his ''imina'') was Morihito''-shinnō'' (守仁親王). He was the eldest son of Emperor Go-Shirakawa. He was the father of Emperor Rokujō. *Empress: Imperial Princess Yoshiko (姝子内親王) later Takamatsu-in (高松院), Emperor Toba’s daughter. *Empress: Fujiwara no Ikushi (藤原育子), Fujiwara no Tadamichi’s daughter *Tai-Kōtaigō: Fujiwara Masuko (藤原多子) Later Grand Empress Dowager Omiya, Tokudaiji Kin'yoshi's daughter. *Toku-no-Kimi (督の君), Minamoto Tadafusa’s daughter also Fujiwara no Narichika’s Wife *Kasuga-dono (春日殿), Nakahara Moromoto’s daughter ** First Daughter: Imperial Princess Yoshiko (僐子内親王; 1159-1171) *Umeryo-kimi (右馬助), Minamoto Mitsunari’s daughter ** First Son: Imperial Prince Priest Son'e (� ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Go-Shirakawa
was the 77th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His de jure reign spanned the years from 1155 through 1158, though arguably he effectively maintained imperial power for almost thirty-seven years through the ''insei'' system – scholars differ as to whether his rule can be truly considered part of the ''insei'' system, given that the Hōgen Rebellion undermined the imperial position. However, it is broadly acknowledged that by politically outmaneuvering his opponents, he attained greater influence and power than the diminished authority of the emperor's position during this period would otherwise allow. Posthumously, this 12th-century sovereign was named after the 11th-century Emperor Shirakawa. ''Go-'' (後), translates literally as "later"; and thus, he is sometimes called the "Later Emperor Shirakawa", or in some older sources, may be identified as "Shirakawa, the second" or as "Shirakawa II". Unusually, the years of Go-Shirakawa's reign are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Minamoto No Yoshitsune
was a military commander of the Minamoto clan of Japan in the late Heian and early Kamakura periods. During the Genpei War, he led a series of battles which toppled the Ise-Heishi branch of the Taira clan, helping his half-brother Yoritomo consolidate power. He is considered one of the greatest and the most popular warriors of his era, and one of the most famous samurai in the history of Japan. Yoshitsune perished after being betrayed by the son of a trusted ally. Early life Yoshitsune was the ninth son of Minamoto no Yoshitomo, and the third and final son and child that Yoshitomo would father with Tokiwa Gozen. Yoshitsune's older half-brother Minamoto no Yoritomo (the third son of Yoshitomo) would go on to establish the Kamakura shogunate. Yoshitsune's name in childhood was Ushiwakamaru or ''young bull'' (). He was born just before the Heiji Rebellion in 1160 in which his father and two oldest brothers were killed. He survived this incident by fleeing the capital with his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Minamoto No Noriyori
was a late Heian period general, who fought alongside his brothers Minamoto no Yoritomo and Minamoto no Yoshitsune at a number of battles of the Genpei War. He was the sixth son of Minamoto no Yoshitomo. Early life As children, he and his brothers Yoritomo and Yoshitsune were spared by Taira no Kiyomori in 1160, following the death of their father, Minamoto no Yoshitomo, after their mother Tokiwa became Kiyomori's concubine. Genpei War Noriyori seemingly disappears from any record until 1180, when he served his brother Yoritomo in Kamakura. Beginning in 1184, four years into the Genpei War, he was sent out from Kamakura by Yoritomo, and made his way to the Taira strongholds of Shikoku. Noriyori helped defeat the wayward Minamoto no Yoshinaka, his cousin, at the Second Battle of the Uji and the Battle of Awazu, before moving on to play a central role in the Battle of Ichi-no-Tani. The Taira were pushed back, and the war fell into a lull for about six months, during which No ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Minamoto No Yoritomo
was the founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura shogunate of Japan, ruling from 1192 until 1199.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Minamoto no Yoriie" in . He was the husband of Hōjō Masako who acted as regent (''shikken'') after his death. Yoritomo was the son of Minamoto no Yoshitomo and belonged to Seiwa Genji's prestigious Kawachi Genji family. After setting himself the rightful heir of the Minamoto clan, he led his clan against the Taira clan from his capital in Kamakura, beginning the Genpei War in 1180. After five years of war, he finally defeated the Taira clan in the Battle of Dan-no-ura in 1185. Yoritomo thus established the supremacy of the warrior samurai caste and the first shogunate ('' bakufu'') at Kamakura, beginning the feudal age in Japan, which lasted until the mid-19th century. Early life Yoritomo was the third son of Minamoto no Yoshitomo, heir of the Minamoto (Seiwa Genji) clan, and his official wife, Yura-Gozen, daughter of Fujiwara no Su ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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