1.
Genpei War
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The Genpei War was a conflict between the Taira and Minamoto clans during the late-Heian period of Japan. It resulted in the fall of the Taira clan and the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate under Minamoto no Yoritomo in 1192, the name Genpei comes from alternate readings of the kanji Minamoto and Taira. The conflict is known in Japanese as the Jishō-Juei War. It followed a coup détat by the Taira in 1179 and call to arms against them led by the Minamoto in 1180, the ensuing Battle of Uji took place just outside Kyoto, starting a five-year-long war, concluding with a decisive Minamoto victory in the naval Battle of Dan-no-ura. The Genpei War was the culmination of a conflict between the two aforementioned clans over dominance of the Imperial court, and by extension, control of Japan. In the Hōgen Rebellion and in the Heiji Rebellion of earlier decades, in 1180, Taira no Kiyomori put his grandson Antoku on the throne after the abdication of Emperor Takakura. However, this ended with the deaths of Yorimasa and Mochihito. In June 1180, Kiyomori moved the seat of power to Fukuhara-kyō. The actions of Taira no Kiyomori having deepened Minamoto hatred for the Taira clan, not knowing who was behind this rally, Kiyomori called for the arrest of Mochihito, who sought protection at the temple of Mii-dera. The Mii-dera monks were unable to ensure him sufficient protection, so he was forced to move along and he was then chased by Taira forces to the Byōdō-in, just outside Kyoto. The war began thus, with an encounter on and around the bridge over the River Uji. This battle ended in Yorimasas ritual suicide inside the Byōdō-in and Mochihitos capture and it was at this point that Minamoto no Yoritomo took over leadership of the Minamoto clan and began traveling the country seeking to rendezvous with allies. Leaving Izu Province and heading for the Hakone Pass, he was defeated by the Taira in the battle of Ishibashiyama, however he successfully made it to the provinces of Kai and Kōzuke, where the Takeda and other friendly families helped repel the Taira army. Meanwhile, Taira no Kiyomori, seeking vengeance against the Mii-dera monks and others, besieged Nara, fighting continued the following year,1181. Minamoto no Yukiie was defeated by a led by Taira no Shigehira at the Battle of Sunomatagawa. However, the Taira could not follow up their victory, Taira no Kiyomori died from illness in the spring of 1181, and around the same time Japan began to suffer from a famine which was to last through the following year. The Taira moved to attack Minamoto no Yoshinaka, a cousin of Yoritomo, for nearly two years, the war ceased, only to resume in the spring of 1183. Both Minamoto leaders had little or no opposition in marching to the capital and now forced the Taira to flee the city
2.
Shimonoseki
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Shimonoseki is a city located in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. It is at the tip of Honshu, facing the Tsushima Strait. Nicknamed the Fugu Capital, it is known for the locally caught pufferfish and is the largest harvester of the pufferfish in Japan, as of October 1,2016, the city has an estimated population of 265,684 and a population density of 370 persons per km². The total area is 716.14 km², the Heike and Genji fought at Dan-no-ura near the present Kanmonkyo Bridge. The city prior to 1902 was commonly known as Bakan and formally Akamagaseki, on February 13,2005, Shimonoseki absorbed the towns of Hōhoku, Kikugawa, Toyota and Toyoura to create the new and expanded city of Shimonseki. Since October 1,2005, the city has designated as a core city by the Japanese Government. An Imperial decree in July 1899 established Shimonoseki as a port for trading with the United States. On January 7,2006, the station building at Shimonoseki station, which had dated back to 1942, was destroyed in a fire. Shimonoseki has a subtropical climate with hot summers and cool winters. Precipitation is significant throughout the year, but is heavier in summer, Shimonoseki Shipyard and Machinery Works Yamaguchi Financial Group, Inc. Yamaguchi Shimbun Minato Shimbun The Kanpu ferry to Pusan in South Korea regularly, the Gwangyang Beech to Gwangyang in South Korea regularly. The Orient ferry to Shanghai in China regularly, the Orient ferry to Qingdao in China was suspended in November 2015. Shin-Shimonoseki Station - Shin-Shimonoseki Station is a station on the Sanyō Shinkansen Line. Intercity bus services go to the destinations, Tokyo, Osaka, Kobe, Hiroshima, Fukuoka, Fukuoka Airport. It formerly housed two other North Korean schools, Yamaguchi Korean High School and Shimonoseki Korean Elementary and Junior High School, Fugu uni Sea urchin Whale Anko Goosefish Kawara Soba Ganryu Yaki Mentaiko Roe Fuku Chochin Akamagaseki Suzuri Jourou Ningyo Shimonoseki is home to many festivals that are held throughout the year. Of these, the most famous are Shimonoseki Kaikyo Festival and Shimonoseki Bakan Festival, a designated yakuza group, the Goda-ikka is the largest yakuza syndicate in Yamaguchi Prefecture. S. Shimonoseki City Tourism Promotion Film Shimonoseki City Official Channel
3.
Kanmon Straits
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The Kanmon Straits or the Straits of Shimonoseki is the stretch of water separating two of Japans four main islands. On the Honshu side of the water is Shimonoseki and on the Kyushu side is Kitakyushu, whose former city and present ward, Moji, gave the strait its mon. The straits silt up at the rate of about 15 centimetres per annum, the total population of the Kanmon area is about 1.3 million, counting the whole of Kitakyushu and Shimonoseki, although detailed definitions vary widely. The New Kitakyushu Airport opened in Kitakyushu on March 16,2006, the Kanmon Straits Summer Fireworks Festival is held in August every year. The Voyager pleasure boat departs from Moji-kō and cruises the straits, helicopter joyrides are available from Kaikyo Dramaship in Moji-kō. In October 2005, one of the worlds largest airships currently flying also passed through Moji on an all-Japan tour and this airship was purchased by Nippon Airship Corporation in June 2004 and was used in the Tokyo area and at the Aichi Expo 2005. The Kanmon Straits can be crossed in a number of ways, there is a car ferry between Nishiminato and Hikinoshima which takes about ten minutes, and a passenger ferry from Moji-ko to Shimonoseki. There is also a bridge carries an expressway. By far the most used method is a number of Kanmon Tunnels which carry the Sanyō Shinkansen, trains, cars, the first railway tunnel was opened on November 15,1942. The highway tunnel was opened on March 9,1958, the Kanmonkyo Bridge was opened to vehicles on November 14,1973. The Shinkansen tunnel was opened on March 10,1975, the Kanmon straits is also the connection between the Sea of Japan and the Inland Sea. It is used by cargo ships as a shortcut to Osaka and Tokyo from Korea. The New Kitakyushu Airport is also nearby
4.
Minamoto
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Minamoto clan was one of the surnames bestowed by the Emperors of Japan upon members of the imperial family who were demoted into the ranks of the nobility. The practice was most prevalent during the Heian Period, although its last occurrence was during the Sengoku Era, the Taira were another such offshoot of the imperial dynasty. The Minamoto clan is called the Genji, using the Sino–Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese characters for Minamoto. The Minamoto were one of four clans that dominated Japanese politics during the Heian period — the other three were the Fujiwara, the Taira, and the Tachibana. The first emperor to grant the surname Minamoto was Emperor Saga, in order to alleviate some of the pressure of supporting his unusually large family, he made many of his sons and daughters nobles instead of royals. He chose the word minamoto for their new surname in order to signify that the new clan shared the same origins as the royal family. Afterwards, Emperor Seiwa, Emperor Murakami, Emperor Uda, and Emperor Daigo, among others and these specific hereditary lines coming from different emperors developed into specific clans referred to by the emperors name followed by Genji, e. g. Seiwa Genji. According to some sources, the first to be given the name Minamoto was Minamoto no Makoto, in 814, Emperor Saga awarded the kabane Minamoto no Ason to his non-heir sons, thereafter, they and their descendants ceased to be members of the Imperial Family. Several subsequent emperors gave the Minamoto surname to their non-heir sons, the most prominent of the several Minamoto families, the Seiwa Genji, descended from Minamoto no Tsunemoto, a grandson of the 56th Emperor Seiwa. Tsunemoto went to the provinces and became the founder of a major warrior dynasty, Minamoto no Mitsunaka formed an alliance with their Fujiwara masters. Yorinobus son, Minamoto no Yoriyoshi, and grandson, Minamoto no Yoshiie, the Seiwa Genjis fortunes declined in the Hōgen Rebellion, when the Taira executed much of the line, including Minamoto no Tameyoshi. During the Heiji Disturbance, the head of the Seiwa Genji clan, Minamoto no Yoshitomo, Taira no Kiyomori seized power in Kyoto by forging an alliance with the retired emperors Shirakawa and Toba and infiltrating the kuge. He sent Minamoto no Yoritomo, the son of Minamoto no Yoshimoto of the Seiwa Genji. In 1180 Yoritomo mounted a rebellion against the Taira rule, culminating in the destruction of the Taira. In 1192 he received the title shogun and set up the first bakufu at Kamakura, also, its from the Seiwa Genji line that the later Ashikaga, Nitta, and Takeda clans come. The Genpei War is also the subject of the early Japanese epic The Tale of the Heike, many later clans were formed by members of the Minamoto clan, and in many early cases, progenitors of these clans are known by either family name. There are also known monks of Minamoto descent, these are noted in genealogies. There were 21 branches of the clan, each named after the emperor from whom it descended, some of these lineages were populous, but a few produced no descendants
5.
Taira clan
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Taira clan was a major Japanese clan of samurai. The Taira clan is often referred to as Heishi or Heike, offshoots of the imperial dynasty, some grandsons of Emperor Kanmu were first given the name Taira in 825 or later. Afterwards, descendants of Emperor Ninmyō, Emperor Montoku, and Emperor Kōkō were also given the surname, the specific hereditary lines from these emperors are referred to by the emperors posthumous name followed by Heishi, e. g. Kanmu Heishi. The Taira were one of the four important clans that dominated Japanese politics during the Heian period – the others were the Fujiwara clan, the Tachibana clan, a great-grandson of Heishi Takamochi, Taira no Korihira, moved to Ise Province and established a major daimyo dynasty. Masamoris son, Taira no Tadamori, became a supporter of the abdicated Emperor Shirakawa. Taira no Kiyomori, son and heir of Tadamori, rose to the position of daijō daijin following his victories in the Hōgen Disturbance, Kiyomori managed to enthrone his infant grandson as Emperor Antoku in 1180, an act which led to the Genpei War, the Taira-Minamoto War. Kiyomoris sons, the last of the family of the Kammu Heishi line, were eventually defeated by the 6 armies of Minamoto no Yoritomo at the Battle of Dan-no-ura. This story is told in the early Japanese epic, The Tale of the Heike and this Kammu Heishi had many branch families, including the Hōjō, Chiba, Miura, Tajiri and Hatakeyama. Another Kammu Heishi, Takamune-ō, the eldest son of Kazurahara-Shinnō, thus there were two Kammu Heishi families, one descended from Takamune and the other from his nephew, Takamochi. The Oda clan in the time of Oda Nobunaga claimed descent from the Taira, by Taira no Chikazane, a grandson of Taira no Shigemori
6.
Japan
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Japan is a sovereign island nation in Eastern Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies off the eastern coast of the Asia Mainland and stretches from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea, the kanji that make up Japans name mean sun origin. 日 can be read as ni and means sun while 本 can be read as hon, or pon, Japan is often referred to by the famous epithet Land of the Rising Sun in reference to its Japanese name. Japan is an archipelago consisting of about 6,852 islands. The four largest are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku, the country is divided into 47 prefectures in eight regions. Hokkaido being the northernmost prefecture and Okinawa being the southernmost one, the population of 127 million is the worlds tenth largest. Japanese people make up 98. 5% of Japans total population, approximately 9.1 million people live in the city of Tokyo, the capital of Japan. Archaeological research indicates that Japan was inhabited as early as the Upper Paleolithic period, the first written mention of Japan is in Chinese history texts from the 1st century AD. Influence from other regions, mainly China, followed by periods of isolation, from the 12th century until 1868, Japan was ruled by successive feudal military shoguns who ruled in the name of the Emperor. Japan entered into a period of isolation in the early 17th century. The Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937 expanded into part of World War II in 1941, which came to an end in 1945 following the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan is a member of the UN, the OECD, the G7, the G8, the country has the worlds third-largest economy by nominal GDP and the worlds fourth-largest economy by purchasing power parity. It is also the worlds fourth-largest exporter and fourth-largest importer, although Japan has officially renounced its right to declare war, it maintains a modern military with the worlds eighth-largest military budget, used for self-defense and peacekeeping roles. Japan is a country with a very high standard of living. Its population enjoys the highest life expectancy and the third lowest infant mortality rate in the world, in ancient China, Japan was called Wo 倭. It was mentioned in the third century Chinese historical text Records of the Three Kingdoms in the section for the Wei kingdom, Wa became disliked because it has the connotation of the character 矮, meaning dwarf. The 倭 kanji has been replaced with the homophone Wa, meaning harmony, the Japanese word for Japan is 日本, which is pronounced Nippon or Nihon and literally means the origin of the sun. The earliest record of the name Nihon appears in the Chinese historical records of the Tang dynasty, at the start of the seventh century, a delegation from Japan introduced their country as Nihon
7.
Minamoto clan
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Minamoto clan was one of the surnames bestowed by the Emperors of Japan upon members of the imperial family who were demoted into the ranks of the nobility. The practice was most prevalent during the Heian Period, although its last occurrence was during the Sengoku Era, the Taira were another such offshoot of the imperial dynasty. The Minamoto clan is called the Genji, using the Sino–Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese characters for Minamoto. The Minamoto were one of four clans that dominated Japanese politics during the Heian period — the other three were the Fujiwara, the Taira, and the Tachibana. The first emperor to grant the surname Minamoto was Emperor Saga, in order to alleviate some of the pressure of supporting his unusually large family, he made many of his sons and daughters nobles instead of royals. He chose the word minamoto for their new surname in order to signify that the new clan shared the same origins as the royal family. Afterwards, Emperor Seiwa, Emperor Murakami, Emperor Uda, and Emperor Daigo, among others and these specific hereditary lines coming from different emperors developed into specific clans referred to by the emperors name followed by Genji, e. g. Seiwa Genji. According to some sources, the first to be given the name Minamoto was Minamoto no Makoto, in 814, Emperor Saga awarded the kabane Minamoto no Ason to his non-heir sons, thereafter, they and their descendants ceased to be members of the Imperial Family. Several subsequent emperors gave the Minamoto surname to their non-heir sons, the most prominent of the several Minamoto families, the Seiwa Genji, descended from Minamoto no Tsunemoto, a grandson of the 56th Emperor Seiwa. Tsunemoto went to the provinces and became the founder of a major warrior dynasty, Minamoto no Mitsunaka formed an alliance with their Fujiwara masters. Yorinobus son, Minamoto no Yoriyoshi, and grandson, Minamoto no Yoshiie, the Seiwa Genjis fortunes declined in the Hōgen Rebellion, when the Taira executed much of the line, including Minamoto no Tameyoshi. During the Heiji Disturbance, the head of the Seiwa Genji clan, Minamoto no Yoshitomo, Taira no Kiyomori seized power in Kyoto by forging an alliance with the retired emperors Shirakawa and Toba and infiltrating the kuge. He sent Minamoto no Yoritomo, the son of Minamoto no Yoshimoto of the Seiwa Genji. In 1180 Yoritomo mounted a rebellion against the Taira rule, culminating in the destruction of the Taira. In 1192 he received the title shogun and set up the first bakufu at Kamakura, also, its from the Seiwa Genji line that the later Ashikaga, Nitta, and Takeda clans come. The Genpei War is also the subject of the early Japanese epic The Tale of the Heike, many later clans were formed by members of the Minamoto clan, and in many early cases, progenitors of these clans are known by either family name. There are also known monks of Minamoto descent, these are noted in genealogies. There were 21 branches of the clan, each named after the emperor from whom it descended, some of these lineages were populous, but a few produced no descendants
8.
Minamoto no Yoshitsune
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Minamoto no Yoshitsune was a nobleman and 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 and he is considered one of the greatest and the most popular warriors of his era, and one of the most famous samurai fighters in the history of Japan. Yoshitsune perished after being betrayed by the son of a trusted ally, Yoshitsune was the ninth son of Minamoto no Yoshitomo, and the third and final son and child that Yoshitomo would father with Tokiwa Gozen. Yoshitsunes older half-brother Minamoto no Yoritomo would go on to found the Kamakura shogunate, Yoshitsunes name in childhood was Ushiwakamaru. He was born just before the Heiji Rebellion of early 1160 in which his father and he survived this incident by fleeing the capital with his mother, while his half-brother Yoritomo was banished to Izu Province. At approximately age 10, Yoshitsune was placed in the care of the monks of Kurama Temple, a skillful swordsman, Yoshitsune defeated the legendary warrior monk Benkei in a duel. From then on, Benkei became Yoshitsunes right-hand man, eventually dying with him at the Siege of Koromogawa. In the ensuing war between the rival Minamoto and Taira samurai clans, known as the Genpei War, Yoshitsune joined Yoritomo, along with Minamoto no Noriyori and he finally destroyed them one month later at the Battle of Dan-no-ura in present-day Yamaguchi Prefecture. Following the Genpei War, Yoshitsune was appointed as Governor of Iyo and his suspicious brother Yoritomo, however, opposed the presentation of these titles, and nullified them. Yoshitsune then secured imperial authorization to ally with his uncle Minamoto no Yukiie in opposing Yoritomo, incurring Yoritomos wrath, Yoshitsune fled Kyoto in 1185. His faithful mistress, Shizuka Gozen, carrying his child, fled with him at first, but then was left behind. Yoshitsune eventually made his way to Hiraizumi, Mutsu, once again to the protection of Fujiwara no Hidehira, yasuhira then had Yoshitsunes head preserved in sake, placed in a black-lacquered chest, and sent to Yoritomo as proof of death. Historical sources differ as to the fate of Yoshitsunes mistress Shizuka, Yoshitsune is enshrined in the Shirahata Jinja, a Shinto shrine in the city of Fujisawa. The death of Yoshitsune has been very elusive, according to Ainu historical accounts, he did not commit seppuku, but instead escaped the siege at Koromogawa, fleeing to Hokkaido and assuming the name Okikurumi/Oinakamui. In Hokkaido, the Yoshitsune Shrine is erected in his honor in the town of Biratori and this letter was Yoshitsunes final appeal to Yoritomo of his loyalty. The letter is a mixture of bravado and an almost masochistic indulgence in misfortune, the Japanese term for sympathy for a tragic hero, Hōgan-biiki, comes from Yoshitsunes title Kurō Hōgan, which he received from the Imperial Court. Many of the pieces that Yoshitsune appears in are legend rather than historical fact. Legends pertaining to Yoshitsune first began to appear in the fourteenth century, in early works at that time, Yoshitsune was described as a sharp-witted military leader
9.
Taira no Munemori
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Taira no Munemori was heir to Taira no Kiyomori, and one of the Taira clans chief commanders in the Genpei War. As his father Taira no Kiyomori lay on his deathbed, Kiyomori declared, among his last wishes and his favorite, and eldest, son, Shigemori, had died, and so Munemori was next in line. In 1183, the rival Minamoto clan gained power, with Minamoto no Yoshinaka, following the defection of Emperor Go-Shirakawa to the Minamoto side, Munemori led his forces in escaping the capital city to the west, along with the young Emperor Antoku. In Sept. the Taira established a temporary Court in Kyūshū, Munemori took part in nearly every battle of the war, and was captured at the Battle of Dan-no-ura, and executed in 1185
10.
Taira no Tomomori
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Taira no Tomomori was the son of Taira no Kiyomori, and one of the Taira Clans chief commanders in the Genpei War at the end of the Heian period of Japanese history. Tomomori was again victorious over the Minamoto in a battle at Mizushima two years later. The Taira forces tied their ships together, to create a stable surface to fire arrows from. At the Battle of Dan-no-ura, when the Taira were decisively beaten by their rivals and he tied an anchor to his feet and leapt into the sea. Tomomori has become a subject for kabuki plays
11.
Battle of Uji (1180)
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The first battle of Uji is famous and important for having opened the Genpei War. In early 1180, Prince Mochihito, the Minamoto Clans favored claimant to the Imperial Throne, was chased by Taira forces to the Mii-dera, due to the interference of a Mii-dera monk with Taira sympathies, the Minamoto army arrived too late to help defend the temple. Minamoto no Yorimasa and Prince Mochihito, along with a few hundred men including the monks from Mii-dera. They crossed the Uji River, just outside the Byōdō-in, three warrior monks in particular are named in the Heike Monogatari, Gochi-in no Tajima, Tsutsui Jōmyō Meishū, and Ichirai Hōshi. These three, along with the monks of Mii-dera, fought with bow and arrow, a variety of swords and daggers. A young hero of 18 years old, Tadatsuna is remembered as having the strength of hundred men, a voice echoed over 10 li, describing it as such, Azuma Kagami further stated that there will be no warrior in future ages like this Tadatsuna. Led by their general, the Taira force soon began to ford the river. Tadatsuna was the first warrior on the frontline, and gallantly proclaimed his name and lineage before charging the enemies, Yorimasa tried to help the Imperial Prince get away, but was struck with an arrow in the right elbow. While his sons, Nakatsuna and Kanetsuna were dying to fend off the enemies eager for the old mans head, Yorimasa committed hara-kiri in a way that was to set the standard for generations to come. As for Prince Mochihito, he was captured and killed shortly afterwards by the Taira warriors
12.
Siege of Nara
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Following the 1180 Battle of the Uji, in which Minamoto no Yorimasa fought a small Taira army with the help of monks from the Mii-dera and other temples, the victorious Taira sought revenge. They burned the Miidera temple, before moving on to Nara, the Taira were opposed by warrior monks from nearly every major monastery and temple in Nara. Taira no Shigehira and Tomomori, both sons of Kiyomori, head of the clan, commanded the siege, the monks dug ditches in the roads, and build many forms of improvised defenses. They fought primarily with bow & arrow, and naginata, while the Taira were on horseback, despite the monks superior numbers, and their strategic defenses, their enemy succeeded in destroying nearly every temple in the city, including the Kōfuku-ji and Tōdai-ji. The Heike Monogatari laments the destruction the Tōdai-jis Daibutsu, In all,3,500 people died in the burning of Nara
13.
Battle of Ishibashiyama
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The Battle of Ishibashiyama was the first in which Minamoto Yoritomo, who was to become shogun less than a decade later, was commander of the Minamoto forces. The battle was fought on September 14,1180 in the southwest of present-day Odawara, Yoritomo was exiled by Taira no Kiyomori following the Heiji Rebellion of 1160. In the following years, the Taira clan attempted to consolidate their position, eventually forcing the Emperor Takakura to abdicate in favour of his infant son, Antoku, whose mother was a Taira. Prince Mochihito felt that the throne should have been his, and in May 1180, when Kiyomori heard that Yoritomo had left Izu Province for the Hakone Pass, he appointed Ōba Kagechika to stop him. Although there was sympathy for Yoritomos call to arms, the clans were wary of openly supporting him. A force from the Miura clan was prevented from reaching Yoritomo by the Sakawa River which was in flood, Kiyomori launched a night attack on the Minamato camp with 3,000 men. A further 300 under Itō Sukechika skirted around the camp and attacked from the rear, the defenders were aided by elements of Kiyomoris force who were secretly loyal to the Minamato and who could disrupt the battle without detection in the dark and stormy conditions. However, sheer weight of numbers soon told and the Minamato made a fighting retreat, when all was lost, Yoritomo is said to have hidden inside the tree trunk with a single companion. Here he was found by one of his allies and smuggled from the battlefield. Yoritomo fled by sea from Capa Manazuru to Awa Province in the south of present-day Chiba Prefecture on September 28,1180
14.
Battle of Sunomata-gawa
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The Battle of Sunomata-gawa took place in Japan on 6 August 1181, in the present-day town of Sunomata, Gifu Prefecture. The battle started when Minamoto no Yukiie attempted an attack against his enemies during the night. He found Taira no Tomomori and his army directly opposite from his, along the Sunomata River, near the borders of Owari and Mino provinces. The Minamoto warriors waded across, but their ambush failed when the Taira clan could distinguish dry friend from soaking, dripping wet foe, Yukiie and a number of other surviving Minamoto were forced back across the river. After crossing the river, the Minamoto went to the Yahagi River in Mikawa Province, but the Taira chased after them
15.
Battle of Uji (1184)
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Minamoto no Yoshinaka tried to wrest power from his cousins Yoritomo and Yoshitsune, seeking to take command of the Minamoto clan. To that end, he burned the Hōjūji Palace, and kidnapped Emperor Go-Shirakawa and this was an ironic reversal of the first Battle of the Uji, only four years earlier. Much as the Taira did in that first battle, Minamoto no Yoshitsune led his horsemen across the river, and defeated Yoshinaka
16.
Battle of Awazu
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Minamoto no Yoshinaka made his final stand at Awazu, after fleeing from his cousins armies, which confronted him after he attacked Kyoto, burning the Hōjūjiden, and kidnapping Emperor Go-Shirakawa. During the pursuit he was joined by his foster brother Imai Kanehira, during the battle, they fought valiantly, holding off Noriyoris large force of thousands of men for a time. However, in the end, they both died, Yoshinaka was struck dead by an arrow when his horse became mired in a paddy field. Kanehira committed suicide by leaping off his horse while holding his sword in his mouth
17.
Battle of Ichi-no-Tani
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Ichi-no-Tani was a Taira defensive position at Suma, to the west of present-day Kobe, Japan. It sat on a narrow strip of shore, between mountains on the north, and the sea to the south. This made it quite defensible, but also made it difficult to maneuver troops inside the fortress, the Taira suffered a crucial defeat to the forces of Yoshitsune and Noriyori. Yoshitsune split his force in two, noriyoris force attacked the Taira at Ikuta Shrine, in the woods a short distance to the east. A second detachment, no more than a hundred horsemen under Yoshitsune, at the chosen hour, the Minamoto forces attacked causing confusion amongst the Taira who neither deploy nor retreat. Only about 3000 Taira escaped to Yashima, while Tadanori was killed, also killed from the Taira clan were Lord Michimori, Tsunemasa, Noritsune, Atsumori, Moromori, Tomoakira, Tsunetoshi, and Moritoshi. Ichi-no-Tani is one of the most famous battles of the Genpei War, benkei, probably the most famous of all warrior monks, fought alongside the Minamoto Yoshitsune here, and many of the Tairas most important and powerful warriors were present as well. The death of Taira no Atsumori at the hand of Kumagai no Naozane is a famous passage in Heike Monogatari. It has been dramatized in noh and kabuki, and in popular fiction, the death of Atsumori is arguably among the most celebrated acts of single combat in all of Japanese history. Ichi-no-Tani is also the last recorded instance in which crossbows were used in a Japanese siege
18.
Battle of Yashima
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The naval Battle of Yashima took place on March 22,1185. Following a long string of defeats, the Taira clan retreated to Yashima, todays Takamatsu, here they had a fortress, and an improvised palace for Emperor Antoku and the imperial regalia, which they had taken earlier in the war. On the 18th, a Minamoto force tried to cross the sea, kajiwara Kagetoki then suggested adding reverse oars to the boats, which prompted an argument from Minamoto no Yoshitsune. Finally after the boats were repaired and despite the high winds, after arriving Tsubaki Bay, in Awa Province. Yoshitsune then advanced into Sanuki Province through the reaching the bay with the Imperial Palace at Yashima. The Taira were expecting an attack, and so Yoshitsune lit bonfires on Shikoku, essentially in their rear. They abandoned their palace, and took to their ships, along with Emperor Antoku, in a memorable account in the Heike monogatari, a very beautiful lady in a Heike boat, placed a fan atop a pole, and dared the Minamoto to knock it off. In one of the most famous archery feats in all of Japanese history, Nasu no Yoichi rode out into the sea on horseback, and did just that in one shot. The Minamoto were victorious, but the majority of the Taira fleet escaped to Dan-no-ura, where they were defeated one month later in the Battle of Dan-no-ura
19.
Honshu
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Honshu is the largest and most populous island of Japan, located south of Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyushu across the Kanmon Straits. The island separates the Sea of Japan, which lies to its north and west, from the North Pacific Ocean to its south and it is the seventh-largest island in the world, and the second-most populous after the Indonesian island of Java. Honshu had a population of 103 million as of 2005, mostly concentrated in the coastal lowlands, as the historical center of Japanese culture and political power, the island includes several past Japanese capitals, including Kyoto, Nara, and Kamakura. Much of the southern shore forms part of the Taiheiyō Belt. The island is linked to the three major Japanese islands by a number of bridges and tunnels. Its climate is humid and mild, the island is roughly 1,300 km long and ranges from 50 to 230 km wide, and its total area is 225,800 km2, 60% of the total area of Japan, making it slightly larger than Great Britain. Its land area has been increasing with land reclamation and coastal uplift in the north, Honshu has 5,450 kilometres of coastline. Mountainous and volcanic, Honshu experiences frequent earthquakes, the highest peak is the active volcano Mount Fuji at 3,776 m, which makes Honshu the worlds 7th highest island. There are many rivers, including the Shinano River, Japans longest, the northernmost point on Honshu is the tip of the Shimokita Peninsula in Ōma, Aomori, Cape Kure lies at the southern extreme in Kushimoto, Wakayama. The islands eastern extremity is Todogasaki in Miyako, Iwate, and its western one is Bishanohana in Shimonoseki, Honshu spans more than eight degrees of latitude and 11 degrees of longitude. Honshu is connected to the islands of Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku by tunnels or bridges, the island is divided into five nominal regions and contains 34 prefectures, including metropolitan Tokyo. Administratively, some islands are included within these prefectures, notably including the Ogasawara Islands, Sado Island, Izu Ōshima. Fruits, vegetables, grains, rice and cotton are grown in Honshu, niigata is noted as an important producer of rice. The Kantō and Nōbi plains produce rice and vegetables, yamanashi is a major fruit-growing area, and Aomori is famous for its apples. Rare species of the lichen genus Menegazzia are found only in Honshu, yields of zinc, copper, and oil have been found on Honshu
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Emperor Antoku
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Emperor Antoku was the 81st emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His reign spanned the years from 1180 through 1185, during this time, the imperial family was involved in a bitter struggle between warring clans. Yoritomo, with his cousin Yoshinaka, led a force from the Minamoto clan against the Taira, the conflict between the clans led to numerous legends and tales. Antokus tomb is said to be located in a number of places around western Japan, including the island of Iwo Jima, a result of the spreading of legends about the emperor, before his ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne, his personal name was Tokohito-shinnō. He was also known as Kotohito-shinnō and his mother, Taira no Tokuko, second daughter of Taira no Kiyomori, was later referred to as Empress Dowager Kenrei. Antoku was named crown prince at around one month of age and he ascended the throne at the age of two. Naturally, he held no power, but rather his grandfather Taira no Kiyomori ruled in his name, though not officially. 1180, In the 12th year of Takakura-tennō s reign, the emperor was forced to abdicate, and the succession was received by his infant son, shortly thereafter, Emperor Antoku is said to have acceded to the throne. In the year of his enthronement, the capital was moved to modern-day Kōbe, Hyōgo,1183, Go-Toba is proclaimed emperor by the Minamoto, and consequently, there were two proclaimed emperors, one living in Heian-kyō and another in flight towards the south. In 1183, when Minamoto no Yoshinaka entered the capital, the Taira clan fled with the young emperor, being defeated in ensuing battle, they fled westward. 1185, The Taira and the Minamoto clashed in the Battle of Dan-no-ura, Antokus grandmother, Taira no Tokiko, Kiyomoris widow, drowned herself along with the young emperor. His mother also drowned herself, but apparently, according to The Tale of the Heike, according to Yoshitsunes dispatch, the sacred seal was found, but the sacred sword was lost. The sword was one of the three sacred treasures, the story of Emperor Antoku and his mothers family became the subject of the Kamakura period epic poem The Tale of the Heike. Kugyō is a term for the very few most powerful men attached to the court of the Emperor of Japan in pre-Meiji eras. In general, this group included only three to four men at a time. These were hereditary courtiers whose experience and background would have them to the pinnacle of a lifes career. During Antokus reign, this apex of the Daijō-kan included, Sesshō, Konoe Motomichi, dainagon After his drowning, in order to mourn the body and placate any restless spirits, the Amidaji Goeidō was built. Later, Antoku was enshrined at the Kurume-Suitengū in Kurume, Fukuoka, and he came to be worshipped as Mizu-no-kami, the god of easy delivery at Suitengū everywhere
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Hand-to-hand combat
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Hand-to-hand combat is a lethal or non-lethal physical confrontation between two or more persons at very short range that does not involve the use of firearms or other distance weapons. Combat within close quarters is commonly termed close combat or close-quarters combat and it may include lethal and non-lethal weapons and methods depending upon the restrictions imposed by civilian law, military rules of engagement, or ethical codes. Close combat using firearms or other weapons by military combatants at the tactical level is modernly referred to as close quarter battle. Hand-to-hand combat is the most ancient form of fighting known, a majority of cultures have their own particular histories related to close combat, and their own methods of practice. There are many varieties within the arts, including boxing and wrestling. Other variations include the gladiator spectacles of ancient Rome and medieval tournament events such as jousting, military organizations have always taught some sort of unarmed combat for conditioning and as a supplement to armed combat. Soldiers in China were trained in unarmed combat as early as the Zhou Dynasty, by 1944 some German rifles were being produced without bayonet lugs. Close Quarters Combat, or World War II combatives, was codified by William Ewart Fairbairn. After the May Thirtieth Movement riots, which resulted in a massacre, Fairbairn was charged with developing an auxiliary squad for riot control. After absorbing the most appropriate elements from a variety of experts, from China, Japan and elsewhere. The aim of his system was simply to be as brutally effective as possible. It was also a system that, unlike traditional Eastern martial-arts that required years of intensive training, the method incorporated training in point shooting and gun combat techniques, as well as the effective use of more ad hoc weapons such as chairs or table legs. During the Second World War, Fairbairn was brought back to Britain, during this period, he expanded his Shanghai Method into the Silent Killing Close Quarters Combat method for military application. This became standard training for all British Special Operations personnel. He also designed the pioneering Fairbairn-Sykes fighting knife, which was adopted for use by British, in 1942, he published a textbook for close quarters combat training called Get Tough. U. S. Applegate published his work in 1943, called Kill or Get Killed, during the war, training was provided to British Commandos, the Devils Brigade, OSS, U. S. Army Rangers and Marine Raiders. The prevalence and style of combat training often changes based on perceived need. Elite units such as forces and commando units tend to place higher emphasis on hand-to-hand combat training
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Naval boarding
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Naval boarding is to come up against, or alongside, an enemy ship to attack by placing men aboard the enemy ship. The goal of boarding is to capture, or destroy, the enemy vessel, larger ships carried specially trained and equipped sailors, or marines, as boarders. A cutting out boarding is an attack by boats, preferably at night and against an unsuspecting. It became popular in the later 18th century, and was used during the Napoleonic Wars. This heralded the emphasis on stealth, and surprise, that would come to dominate future boarding tactics, an example is the successful cutting out of the Hermione which took place at Puerto Cabello, Venezuela, on 25 October 1799. In modern warfare, boarding by military forces almost always involves stealth and it may involve the use of small submarines or submersibles, or inflatable boats, or by scuba divers. All involve scaling the sides of the ship, when stealth is not as important, helicopters may be used to carry troops to the deck of the ship. Boarding is used in wartime as a way to seize a vessel without destroying it and it can also be used to aid in the collection of naval intelligence, as soldiers boarding a sinking, crippled, or surrendered vessel could possibly recover enemy plans, cipher codebooks or machines. For a boarding to be successful, it must occur without the knowledge of the crew of the defending ship, a nations Coast Guard could also board any suspicious ships that have been overfishing in such a nations territorial waters. Boarding is the oldest methods of securing an opposing ship, as the first cases were depicted when the Sea Peoples, for cultures that lack effective shipboard artillery, boarding is the main technique of ship-to-ship combat. However, in the era, boarding is still used. In all eras, boarding requires that the ship boarded be stable enough to withstand the impact of enemy personnel leaping or climbing onto the deck, the target ship must also have enough deck space for boarders to be able to stand and fight effectively. Instead, such vessels were used for the rapid transportation of troops and supplies. Throughout the classical and medieval periods, all naval ship-to-ship combat focused primarily on boarding, although ramming, Greek and Persian naval tactics emphasized ramming and boarding, notably at the Battle of Salamis. The earliest Roman naval battles against Carthage also emphasized boarding, since the Romans were primarily a land-based army, they could not effectively combat the Carthaginian navy, and subsequently lost several sea battles. The corvus, a ramp with two steel spikes, was the Roman answer to this problem. Roman sailors piloted their ship alongside a Carthaginian ship, dropped the corvus from one deck to the other, the Carthaginian navy, unprepared for this land combat on the oceans, lost several ships to this tactic. This invention secured Roman naval dominance in the Mediterranean Sea for several centuries, during the medieval period, boarding continued to be the dominant form of ship-to-ship combat
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Emperor of Japan
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The Emperor of Japan is the head of the Imperial Family and is the ceremonial head of state of Japans system of constitutional monarchy. According to the 1947 constitution, he is the symbol of the State, in Japanese, the Emperor is called Tennō, which means heavenly sovereign. In English, the use of the term Mikado for the Emperor was once common, currently, the Emperor of Japan is the only remaining monarch in the world reigning under the title of Emperor. The Imperial House of Japan is the oldest continuing hereditary monarchy in the world, in the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, it is said that Japan was founded in 660 BC by Emperor Jimmu. He acceded the Chrysanthemum Throne upon the death of his father, Emperor Shōwa, the role of the Emperor of Japan has historically alternated between a largely ceremonial symbolic role and that of an actual imperial ruler. Since the establishment of the first shogunate in 1192, the Emperors of Japan have rarely taken on a role as supreme battlefield commander, Japanese Emperors have nearly always been controlled by external political forces, to varying degrees. In fact, between 1192 and 1867, the shoguns, or their shikken regents in Kamakura, were the de facto rulers of Japan, although they were nominally appointed by the Emperor. After the Meiji Restoration in 1867, the Emperor was the embodiment of all power in the realm. His current status as a figurehead dates from the 1947 Constitution, since the mid-nineteenth century, the Imperial Palace has been called Kyūjō, later Kōkyo, and is located on the former site of Edo Castle in the heart of Tokyo. Earlier, Emperors resided in Kyoto for nearly eleven centuries, the Emperors Birthday is a national holiday. Unlike most constitutional monarchies, the Emperor is not the nominal Chief Executive, article 65 of the Constitution explicitly vests executive power in the Cabinet, of which the Prime Minister is the leader. The Emperor is also not the commander-in-chief of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, the Japan Self-Defense Forces Act of 1954 also explicitly vests this role with the Prime Minister. The Emperors powers are limited only to important ceremonial functions, article 4 of the Constitution stipulates that the Emperor shall perform only such acts in matters of state as are provided for in the Constitution and he shall not have powers related to government. It also stipulates that the advice and approval of the Cabinet shall be required for all acts of the Emperor in matters of state, article 4 also states that these duties can be delegated by the Emperor as provided for by law. Article 6 of the Constitution delegates the Emperor the following ceremonial roles, Appointment of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court as designated by the Cabinet. Dissolution of the House of Representatives, proclamation of general election of members of the Diet. Attestation of the appointment and dismissal of Ministers of State and other officials as provided for by law, attestation of general and special amnesty, commutation of punishment, reprieve, and restoration of rights. Attestation of instruments of ratification and other documents as provided for by law
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Taira no Kiyomori
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Taira no Kiyomori was a military leader of the late Heian period of Japan. He established the first samurai-dominated administrative government in the history of Japan, Kiyomori was born at Ise Province in 1118 as the first son of Taira no Tadamori. His mother Gion no Nyōgo was palace servant based from The Tale of the Heike, Kiyomori was son of Emperor Shirakawa with Gion no Nyogo who given to Tadamori. After the death of his father Taira no Tadamori in 1153, Kiyomori assumed control of the Taira clan, in 1156, he and Minamoto no Yoshitomo, head of the Minamoto clan, suppressed the Hōgen Rebellion. This established the Taira and Minamoto as the top samurai clans in Kyoto, however, this caused the allies to become bitter rivals which culminated three years later during the Heiji Rebellion in 1159. Kiyomori, emerging victorious with Yoshitomo and his two eldest killed, was now the head of the single most powerful warrior family/clan in Kyoto, however, his clans power and influence in the provinces at this time is a matter of debate. Kiyomori showed mercy and exiled a few of Yoshitomos sons, including Yoritomo, Noriyori and this had been a common practice for many years in the highest levels of Japanese government and in doing so Kiyomori was asserting what he felt was his strong position in the Kyoto government. However, many of the courtiers from traditional were less pleased with both Kiyomoris attainment of power, and how he comported himself with regard to other high ranking courtiers. In 1171, Kiyomori arranged a marriage between Emperor Takakura and his daughter Tokuko and their first son, the future Emperor Antoku, was born in 1178. The next year, in 1179, Kiyomori staged a coup détat forcing the resignation of his rivals from all government posts and he then filled the open government positions with his allies and relatives, and imprisoned the cloistered Emperor Go-Shirakawa. Finally, in 1180 Kiyomori forced the Takakura to abdicate and give Prince Tokihito the throne, becoming Emperor Antoku. With the exertion of Taira power and wealth and Kiyomoris new monopoly on authority, many of his allies, most of the provincial samurai, and even members of his own clan turned against him. Prince Mochihito, brother of Emperor Takakura, called on Kiyomoris old rivals of the Minamoto clan to rise against the Taira beginning the Genpei War in the middle of 1180. Kiyomori died early in the year from sickness, leaving his son Munemori to preside over the downfall. The Tales of the Heike states that as he lay dying, Taira no Kiyomori is the main character in the Kamakura period epic, the Tale of Heike. The opening introduction to the film, in its English subtitles, is Japan, but in the Twelfth century, Fujiwara influence began to wane, partly due to the double-monarchy. An Emperor would abdicate but continue to rule from behind the scenes, thus there was an Imperial Court and an ex-Emperors Cloister Court, both emperors being descended from the Sun Goddess. Inevitably, there was conflict between the courts, both began to depend on the warriors, the samurai
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Heikegani
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Heikegani is a species of crab native to Japan, with a shell that bears a pattern resembling a human face which many believed to be the face of an angry samurai hence the nickname Samurai Crab. It is locally believed that these crabs are reincarnations of the spirits of the Heike warriors defeated at the Battle of Dan-no-ura as told in The Tale of the Heike. Thus, the more closely the crabs resemble a samurai face and this idea has met with some skepticism, as noted by Joel W. Martin. He posits that humans dont use heikegani for food, and as there is no artificial pressure favoring face-like shell patterns. The pattern of ridges on the carapace serves a functional purpose as sites of muscle attachment. Similar patterns are found on species in parts of the world. On 24 the April,1185 AD, the two powerful Samurai clans fought to the death on the Dan-no-ura bay of Japan’s Inland Sea, the ruling Taira clan, was led by their child-Emperor, Antoku, and his grandmother. The Heike had ruled for decades, but now, massively outnumbered. His mother and grandmother followed him in their grief, Antoku came to be worshipped as Mizu-no-kami. This crucial battle was a cultural and political turning point in Japanese history, Minamoto Yoritomo became the first Shogun, or military ruler, Dan-no-ura marked the beginning of seven centuries, in which Japan was ruled by warriors and Shoguns instead of Emperors and aristocrats. Heike Ichizoku no Onryo – The Vengeful Ghosts of the Heike Clan at hyakumonogatari. com
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Japanese people
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Japanese people are an ethnic group native to Japan. Japanese people make up 98. 5% of the population of their country. Worldwide, approximately 129 million people are of Japanese descent, of these, people of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries are referred to as the Japanese diaspora. The term ethnic Japanese may also be used in some contexts to refer to ethnic groups, including the Yamato, Ainu. The Japanese language is a Japonic language that in the past was treated as a language isolate, the Japanese language has a tripartite writing system using Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji. Domestic Japanese people use primarily Japanese for daily interaction, the adult literacy rate in Japan exceeds 99%. Japanese religion has traditionally been syncretic in nature, combining elements of Buddhism, Shinto, a polytheistic religion with no book of religious canon, is Japans native religion. Mahayana Buddhism came to Japan in the century and evolved into many different sects. Today, the largest form of Buddhism among Japanese people is the Jōdo Shinshū sect founded by Shinran, most Japanese people profess to believe in both Shinto and Buddhism. Japanese peoples religion functions mostly as a foundation for mythology, traditions, Christianity in Japan is among the nations minority religions. Just under 2%, or about 2.5 million, of Japans population are Christians, many Japanese practice Christianity in the diaspora in Brazil, which is home to the largest Japanese population outside Japan. About 60% of Japanese Brazilians are Roman Catholics, while 90% of Japanese Mexicans are Roman Catholic, certain genres of writing originated in and are often associated with Japanese society. These include the haiku, tanka, and I Novel, although modern writers generally avoid these writing styles, historically, many works have sought to capture or codify traditional Japanese cultural values and aesthetics. Twentieth-century Japanese writers recorded changes in Japanese society through their works, some of the most notable authors included Natsume Sōseki, Junichirō Tanizaki, Osamu Dazai, Yasunari Kawabata, Fumiko Enchi, Yukio Mishima, and Ryōtarō Shiba. In contemporary Japan, popular authors such as Ryū Murakami, Haruki Murakami, decorative arts in Japan date back to prehistoric times. Jōmon pottery includes examples with elaborate ornamentation, in the Yayoi period, artisans produced mirrors, spears, and ceremonial bells known as dōtaku. Later burial mounds, or kofun, preserve characteristic clay haniwa, beginning in the Nara period, painting, calligraphy, and sculpture flourished under strong Confucian and Buddhist influences from China. Among the architectural achievements of this period are the Hōryū-ji and the Yakushi-ji, after the cessation of official relations with the Tang dynasty in the ninth century, Japanese art and architecture gradually became less influenced by China
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Imperial Regalia of Japan
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The Imperial Regalia of Japan, also known as the Three Sacred Treasures of Japan, consist of the sword Kusanagi, the mirror Yata no Kagami, and the jewel Yasakani no Magatama. The regalia represent the three virtues, valor, wisdom, and benevolence. Since 690, the presentation of items to the Emperor by the priests at the shrine has been a central element of the enthronement ceremony. This ceremony is not public, and these items are by tradition seen only by the Emperor, because of this, no known photographs or drawings exist. Two of the three treasures were last seen during the accession and enthronement of Emperor Akihito in 1989 and 1993 and these treasures were eventually said to be passed down to Emperor Jimmu, who was the first Emperor of Japan and was also Ninigis great-grandson. Traditionally, they were a symbol of the divinity as a descendant of Amaterasu. Susanoo later presented the sword Kusanagi to Amaterasu as a token of apology, he had obtained it from the body of an eight-headed serpent, Yamata no Orochi. At the conclusion of the Genpei War in 1185, the eight year-old Emperor Antoku and they were present when the Taira were defeated by the rival Minamoto clan at the Battle of Dan-no-ura, which was fought on boats in the shallow Kanmon Straits. The child-emperors grandmother threw herself, the boy, the sword, the mirror was recovered, but according to the main account of the battle, a Minamato soldier who tried to force open the box containing it was struck blind. The jewel was recovered shortly afterwards by divers, but the sword was lost, Regalia Chrysanthemum Throne Imperial House of Japan Japanese mythology National seals of Japan Order of the Sacred Treasure Shinto
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Kusanagi
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Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi is a legendary Japanese sword and one of three Imperial Regalia of Japan. It was originally called Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi, but its name was changed to the more popular Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi. In folklore the sword represents the virtue of valor, the history of the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi extends into legend. According to Kojiki, the god Susanoo encountered a family of kunitsukami headed by Ashinazuchi in Izumo Province. Susanoo investigated the creature, and after an encounter he returned with a plan to defeat it. In return, he asked for Kushinada-himes hand in marriage, which was agreed, transforming her temporarily into a comb to have her company during battle, he detailed his plan into steps. He instructed the preparation of eight vats of sake to be put on individual platforms positioned behind a fence with eight gates, the monster took the bait and put one of its heads through each gate. With this distraction, Susanoo attacked and slew the beast and he chopped off each head and then proceeded to the tails. In the fourth tail, he discovered a great sword inside the body of the serpent which he called Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi and these gifts came in handy when Yamato Takeru was lured onto an open grassland during a hunting expedition by a treacherous warlord. The lord had fiery arrows loosed to ignite the grass and trap Yamato Takeru in the field so that he would burn to death and he also killed the warriors horse to prevent his escape. In triumph, Yamato Takeru renamed the sword Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi to commemorate his narrow escape, eventually, Yamato Takeru married and later fell in battle with a monster, after ignoring his wifes advice to take the sword with him. Although the sword is mentioned in the Kojiki, this book is a collection of Japanese myths and is not considered an historical document, the first reliable historical mention of the sword is in the Nihonshoki. In the Nihonshoki, the Kusanagi was removed from the Imperial palace in 688, along with the jewel and the mirror, it is one of the three Imperial Regalia of Japan, the sword representing the virtue of valor. Kusanagi is allegedly kept at Atsuta Shrine but is not available for public display, per his account, a stone box was inside a wooden box of length 150 cm, with red clay stuffed into the gap between them. Inside the stone box was a log of a camphor tree, acting as another box. Above that was placed a sword, red clay was also stuffed between the stone box and the camphor tree box. The sword was about 82 cm long and its blade resembled a calamus leaf. The middle of the sword had a thickness from the grip about 18cm with an appearance like a fish spine, the sword was fashioned in a white metallic color, and well maintained
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Magatama
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Magatama, less frequently, are curved, comma-shaped beads that appeared in prehistoric Japan from the Final Jōmon period through the Kofun period, approximately ca.1,000 BC to the 6th century AD. The beads, also described as jewels, were made of stone and earthen materials in the early period. Magatama originally served as decorative jewelry, but by the end of the Kofun period functioned as ceremonial, archaeological evidence suggests that magatama were produced in specific areas of Japan and were widely dispersed throughout the Japanese archipelago via trade routes. They lack the uniformity of design found in magatama produced in later periods, Magatama from the Jōmon period were irregularly shaped, lacked continuity in form from region to region, and have been called Stone Age magatama for this reason. Magatama are thought to be an imitation of the teeth of animals, pierced with a hole. These resemble magatama, but more recent scholarship indicates that these early Jōmon may have simply had a decorative function, Magatama in the Jōmon period appear to have moved from the purely decorative to having a status and ceremonial function by the end of the period. A middle Jōmon exchange network may have existed, whereby magatama were produced in regions where materials for their manufacture were readily plentiful, examples of magatama from the Jōmon period have been discovered in large numbers at the Kamegaoka site in Tsugaru, Aomori Prefecture. The Kamegaoka remains are among the largest known Jōmon settlement in Japan, remains from the Karekawa site can be seen at the Karekawa Achaeogical Museum in Hachinohe. Numerous magatama at the site, Bungo-ōno, Ōita Prefecture, Kyūshū show signs of being used for ceremonial, rather than decorative. The Sannai-Maruyama site, excavated 1992 in Aomori, Aomori Prefecture, Magatama in the Yayoi period, ca.300 BC to AD300, are notably different from Jōmon-period magatama. The jewels moved from a primitive, non-standard form towards more polished, the technology to cut large gemstones and polish jewels notably advanced in the Yayoi period. Refined materials such as jadeite, serpentinite, and glass replaced the less sophisticated materials of the Jōmon period, Yayoi period magatama are noted for their reverse C-shaped form, which by the end of the period became an almost squared shape. From the Yayoi period on magatama uniformly feature a bored hole that allowed the jewels to be held on a string, the Yayoi period is marked by specific centers specializing in magatama and the widespread trade of magatama. The period is marked by the formation of power centers that came to be individual states, the development of weapons increased in this period to protect increasingly developed rice fields and fishing rights. Trade greatly increased in this period, as did the specialization of production of certain items, Magatama producing areas exchanged their product with other products, specifically rice, leading to the widespread distribution of magatama across Japan. Magatama were commonly used to create necklaces and bracelets worn on the wrists or ankles, the necklace was typically constructed of jadeite magatama separated by cylindrical bored-holed pieces of jasper. Small beads of glass are also not uncommon on the necklace. The bracelet was also used shells from the coastal areas of Shikoku and the Inland Sea, wood
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Atsuta Shrine
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Atsuta Shrine is a Shinto shrine traditionally believed to have been established during the reign of Emperor Keikō located in Atsuta-ku, Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture in Japan. The shrine is known as Atsuta-Sama or simply as Miya. Since ancient times, it has been revered, ranking with the Great Shrine of Ise. The 200,000 m² shrine complex draws over 9 million visitors annually, the Kojiki explains that Atsuta Shrine was founded to house the Kusanagi no Tsurugi, a legendary sword. According to traditional sources, Yamato Takeru died in the 43rd year of Emperor Keikos reign, the possessions of the dead prince were gathered together along with the sword Kusanagi, and his widow venerated his memory in a shrine at her home. Sometime later, these relics and the sword were moved to the current location of the Atsuta Shrine. Nihonshoki explains that this occurred in the 51st year of Keikos reign. From 1872 through 1946, the Kasuga Shrine was officially designated one of the Kanpei-taisha, the shrines buildings were maintained by donations from a number of benefactors, including well-known Sengoku period figures like Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and the Tokugawas. For example, the Nobunaga-Bei, a 7.4 m high roofed mud wall, was donated to the shrine in 1560 by Nobunaga as a token of gratitude for his victory at the Battle of Okehazama. In 1893, it was remodeled using the Shinmeizukuri architectural style, before a celebration in 1935, the shrines buildings as well as other facilities were completely rearranged and improved in order to better reflect the history and cultural significance of the shrine. During the bombings of World War II, however, many of Atsuta Shrines buildings were destroyed by fire, the shrines main buildings, such as the honden, were reconstructed and completed in 1955. Following the completion of buildings, construction of other buildings continued on the shrine grounds. In 1966 the Treasure Hall was completed in order to house the collection of objects, manuscripts and documents. This Shinto shrine is dedicated to the veneration of Atsuta-no-Ōkami, Atsuta is the traditional repository of Kusanagi no Tsurugi, the ancient sword that is considered one of the Three Sacred Treasures of Japan. Central to the Shinto significance of Atsuta Shrine is the sword which is understood to be a gift from Amaterasu Ōmikami. This unique object has represented the authority and stature of Japans emperors since time immemorial, Kusanagi is imbued with Amaterasus spirit. During the reign of Emperor Sujin, duplicate copies of the Imperial regalia were made in order to safeguard the originals from theft. This fear of theft proved to be justified during the reign of Emperor Tenji when the sword was stolen from Atsuta
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Minamoto no Yoritomo
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Minamoto no Yoritomo was the founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura Shogunate of Japan. He ruled from 1192 until 1199, Yoritomo was the third son of Minamoto no Yoshitomo, heir of the Minamoto clan, and his official wife, Urahime, a daughter of Fujiwara no Suenori, who was a member of the illustrious Fujiwara clan. Yoritomo was born in Atsuta in Owari Province, at that time Yoritomos grandfather Minamoto no Tameyoshi was the head of the Minamoto. In 1156, factional divisions in the court erupted into open warfare within the capital and this is known as the Hōgen Rebellion. The head of the clan, Tameyoshi, sided with Sutoku, his son, Yoshitomo, sided with Toba and Go-Shirakawa, in the end, the supporters of Go-Shirakawa won the civil war, thus ensuring victory for Yoshitomo and Kiyomori. Sutoku was placed under house arrest, and Yorinaga was fatally wounded in battle, Tameyoshi was executed, even after numerous pleas from Yoshitomo. Nonetheless, Go-Shirakawa and Kiyomori were ruthless, and Yoshitomo found himself as the head of the Minamoto, Yoritomo and the Minamoto clan descended from the imperial family on his fathers side. Nonetheless, in Kyoto, the Taira clan, now under the leadership of Kiyomori, Kiyomori was supported by Fujiwara no Michinori, while Yoshitomo was supported by Fujiwara no Nobuyori. This was known as the Heiji Rebellion, the ex-Emperors and Shinzeis mansions were burned, while Shinzei was captured and decapitated. Nonetheless, the Minamoto were not well prepared, and the Taira took control of Kyoto, Yoshitomo fled the capital but was later betrayed and executed by a retainer. In the aftermath, harsh terms were imposed on the Minamoto, only Yoshitomos three young boys remained alive, so that Kiyomori and the Taira clan were now the undisputed leaders of Japan. Yoritomo, the new head of the Minamoto, was exiled, Yoritomo was not executed by Kiyomori because of pleas from Kiyomoris stepmother. Yoritomos brothers, Minamoto no Noriyori and Minamoto no Yoshitsune were also allowed to live and he married into the Hōjō clan, led by Hōjō Tokimasa, marrying Tokimasas daughter, Hōjō Masako. Meanwhile, he was notified of events in Kyoto thanks to helpful friends, soon enough, Yoritomos passive exile was to be over. Yoritomo took part in this, especially after things escalated between the Taira and Minamoto after the death of Minamoto no Yorimasa and Prince Mochihito himself, Yoritomo set himself up as the rightful heir of the Minamoto clan, and he set up a capital in Kamakura to the east. Not all Minamoto thought of Yoritomo as rightful heir and his uncle Minamoto no Yukiie and his cousin Minamoto no Yoshinaka conspired against him. In September 1180, Yoritomo was defeated at the Battle of Ishibashiyama, his first major battle, Yoritomo spent the next six months raising a new army. In 1181, Taira no Kiyomori died, and the Taira clan was now led by Taira no Munemori, Munemori took a much more aggressive policy against the Minamoto, and attacked Minamoto bases from Kyoto in the Genpei War
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Minamoto Yoshitsune
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Minamoto no Yoshitsune was a nobleman and 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 and he is considered one of the greatest and the most popular warriors of his era, and one of the most famous samurai fighters in the history of Japan. Yoshitsune perished after being betrayed by the son of a trusted ally, Yoshitsune was the ninth son of Minamoto no Yoshitomo, and the third and final son and child that Yoshitomo would father with Tokiwa Gozen. Yoshitsunes older half-brother Minamoto no Yoritomo would go on to found the Kamakura shogunate, Yoshitsunes name in childhood was Ushiwakamaru. He was born just before the Heiji Rebellion of early 1160 in which his father and he survived this incident by fleeing the capital with his mother, while his half-brother Yoritomo was banished to Izu Province. At approximately age 10, Yoshitsune was placed in the care of the monks of Kurama Temple, a skillful swordsman, Yoshitsune defeated the legendary warrior monk Benkei in a duel. From then on, Benkei became Yoshitsunes right-hand man, eventually dying with him at the Siege of Koromogawa. In the ensuing war between the rival Minamoto and Taira samurai clans, known as the Genpei War, Yoshitsune joined Yoritomo, along with Minamoto no Noriyori and he finally destroyed them one month later at the Battle of Dan-no-ura in present-day Yamaguchi Prefecture. Following the Genpei War, Yoshitsune was appointed as Governor of Iyo and his suspicious brother Yoritomo, however, opposed the presentation of these titles, and nullified them. Yoshitsune then secured imperial authorization to ally with his uncle Minamoto no Yukiie in opposing Yoritomo, incurring Yoritomos wrath, Yoshitsune fled Kyoto in 1185. His faithful mistress, Shizuka Gozen, carrying his child, fled with him at first, but then was left behind. Yoshitsune eventually made his way to Hiraizumi, Mutsu, once again to the protection of Fujiwara no Hidehira, yasuhira then had Yoshitsunes head preserved in sake, placed in a black-lacquered chest, and sent to Yoritomo as proof of death. Historical sources differ as to the fate of Yoshitsunes mistress Shizuka, Yoshitsune is enshrined in the Shirahata Jinja, a Shinto shrine in the city of Fujisawa. The death of Yoshitsune has been very elusive, according to Ainu historical accounts, he did not commit seppuku, but instead escaped the siege at Koromogawa, fleeing to Hokkaido and assuming the name Okikurumi/Oinakamui. In Hokkaido, the Yoshitsune Shrine is erected in his honor in the town of Biratori and this letter was Yoshitsunes final appeal to Yoritomo of his loyalty. The letter is a mixture of bravado and an almost masochistic indulgence in misfortune, the Japanese term for sympathy for a tragic hero, Hōgan-biiki, comes from Yoshitsunes title Kurō Hōgan, which he received from the Imperial Court. Many of the pieces that Yoshitsune appears in are legend rather than historical fact. Legends pertaining to Yoshitsune first began to appear in the fourteenth century, in early works at that time, Yoshitsune was described as a sharp-witted military leader
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Kamakura shogunate
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The Kamakura shogunate was a Japanese feudal military government that ruled from 1185 to 1333. The heads of the government were the shoguns, the first three were members of the Minamoto clan. The next two were members of the Fujiwara clan, the last six were minor Imperial princes. These years are known as the Kamakura period, the period takes its name from the city where the Minamoto shoguns lived. After 1203, the Hōjō clan held the office of shikken, in effect, the shikken governed in the name of the shoguns. Military affairs were handled under the auspices of the civil government, however, after defeating the Taira clan in the Genpei War, Minamoto no Yoritomo seized super powers from the aristocracy. In 1192, Yoritomo and the Minamoto clan established a government in Kamakura. Eventually, Tokimasa deposed Yoriie, backed up his brother, Minamoto no Sanetomo, as a new shogun. The Minamoto clan remained the titular shoguns, with the Hōjō holding the real power, in 1219, Sanetomo was assassinated by his nephew Kugyō. Since Sanetomo died childless, the line of shoguns from the Minamoto clan ended with him, with the Regency, what was already an unusual situation became even more anomalous when the Hōjō usurped power from those who had usurped it from the Emperor in the first place. The new regime proved to be stable enough to last a total of 135 years,9 shoguns and 16 regents. With Sanetomos death in 1219, his mother Hōjō Masako became the Shogunates real center of power, as long as she lived, regents and shoguns would come and go, while she stayed at the helm. Since the Hōjō family did not have the rank to nominate a shogun from among its members, the problem was solved choosing Kujo Yoritsune, a distant relation of the Minamoto, who would be the fourth shogun and figurehead, while Hōjō Yoshitoki would take care of day-to-day business. However powerless, future shoguns would always be chosen from either Fujiwara or imperial lineage to keep the bloodline pure and this succession proceeded for more than a century. In 1221 Emperor Go-Toba tried to power in what would be called the Jōkyū War. The power of the Hōjō remained unchallenged until 1324, when Emperor Go-Daigo orchestrated a plot to overthrow them, the Mongols under Kublai Khan attempted sea-borne invasions in 1274 and 1281. The shogunate had rejected Kublais demands to submit with contempt, the Mongols returned in 1281 with a force of some 50,000 Mongol-Korean-Chinese along with some 100,000 conscripts from the defeated Song empire in south China. This force embarked and fought the Japanese for some seven weeks at several locations in Kyushu, but the defenders held, and the Mongols made no strategic headway
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Kamakura
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Kamakura is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, about 50 kilometres south-south-west of Tokyo. Kamakura was designated as a city on November 3,1939, as of September 1,2016, the modern city has an estimated population of 172,302 and a population density of 4,358.77 persons per km². The total area is 39.53 km2, as a coastal city with a high number of seasonal festivals, as well as ancient Buddhist and Shinto shrines and temples, Kamakura is a popular tourist destination within Japan. Surrounded to the north, east and west by hills and to the south by the water of Sagami Bay. The natural fortification made Kamakura an easily defensible stronghold, to the north of the city stands Mt. Genji, which then passes behind the Daibutsu and reaches Inamuragasaki and the sea. From Kamakuras alluvional plain branch off numerous narrow valleys like the Urigayatsu, Shakadōgayatsu, Ōgigayatsu, Kamegayatsu, Hikigayatsu, Kamakura is crossed by the Namerigawa river, which goes from the Asaina Pass in northern Kamakura to the beach in Yuigahama for a total length of about 8 kilometres. The river marks the border between Zaimokuza and Yuigahama, in administrative terms, the municipality of Kamakura borders with Yokohama to the north, with Zushi to the east, and with Fujisawa to the west. North-west of Kamakura lies Yamanouchi, commonly called Kita-Kamakura because of the presence of East Japan Railway Companys Kita-Kamakura Station, Yamanouchi, however, was technically never a part of historical Kamakura since it is outside the Seven Entrances. Yamanouchi was the border of the city during the shogunate. Its name at the used to be Sakado-gō. The border post used to lie about a hundred meters past todays Kita-Kamakura train station in Ofunas direction. Although very small, Yamanouchi is famous for its traditional atmosphere and these three great temples were built here because Yamanouchi was the home territory of the Hōjō clan, a branch of the Taira clan which ruled Japan for 150 years. Among Kita-Kamakuras most illustrious citizens were artist Isamu Noguchi and movie director Yasujirō Ozu, Kamakuras defining feature is Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū, a Shinto shrine in the center of the city. A1. 8-kilometre road runs from Sagami Bay directly to the shrine and this road is known as Wakamiya Ōji, the citys main street. Built by Minamoto no Yoritomo as an imitation of Kyotos Suzaku Ōji, Wakamiya Ōji used to be much wider, delimited on both sides by a 3 metre deep canal and flanked by pine trees. Walking from the beach toward the shrine, one passes through three torii, or Shinto gates, called respectively Ichi no Torii, Ni no Torii and San no Torii. Between the first and the second lies Geba Yotsukado which, as the name indicates, was the place where riders had to get off their horses in deference to Hachiman and his shrine. Approximately 100 metres after the second torii, the dankazura, a raised pathway flanked by trees that marks the center of Kamakura
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Kwaidan (film)
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Kwaidan is a 1965 Japanese anthology horror film directed by Masaki Kobayashi. It is based on stories from Lafcadio Hearns collections of Japanese folk tales, mainly Kwaidan, Stories and Studies of Strange Things, the film consists of four separate and unrelated stories. Kwaidan is a transliteration of Kaidan, meaning ghost story. It won the Special Jury Prize at the 1965 Cannes Film Festival, the Black Hair was adapted from The Reconciliation, which appeared in Hearns collection Shadowings. An impoverished swordsman living in Kyoto divorces his wife, a weaver and he takes his new wife to his new position as a district governor. However, despite his new status, the swordsmans second marriage proves to be unhappy. With his second wife being callous and shallow, the swordsman regrets leaving his more devoted, after lashing out at him for his ungrateful behavior, the second wife returns to her marriage chambers in humiliation. When he is told to go into the chambers to reconcile with her by a lady-in-waiting and he tells her that it is his foolish youth in being impoverished that made him marry his second wife. Admitting that he didnt love her, the tells the lady-in-waiting to inform his 2nd wife that their marriage is over. After a few years, the returns to Kyoto and finds the house in disrepair. He reconciles with his ex-wife, who refuses to let him punish himself. The wife understands he only divorced her so he can support her. Before going to bed, the swordsman promises her that they wont have to worry about poverty anymore because of his new resources and connections, the two happily exchange wonderful stories about the past and the future until the swordsman fell asleep. He wakes up the day, finding that he had been sleeping next to the rotted corpse of his wife. Rapidly aging and attacked by black hair, he leaves the house, the Woman of the Snow is an adaptation from Hearns Kwaidan, Stories and Studies of Strange Things. In the Musashi Province, a woodcutter named Minokichi takes refuge in a fishermans hut during a snowstorm alongside his mentor Mosaku, Minokichi finds Mosaku killed by a Yuki-onna, who spares Minokichi because of his youth. Yuki-onna warns him to never mention what happened or she will kill him, keeping his word, Minokichi later meets a young woman named Yuki who resembles the ghost he encountered. She reveals that she is on her way to Edo for she lost her family, Minokichi takes Yuki to his home to rest up
36.
Cosmos: A Personal Voyage
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Cosmos, A Personal Voyage is a thirteen-part television series written by Carl Sagan, Ann Druyan, and Steven Soter, with Sagan as presenter. It covers a range of scientific subjects, including the origin of life. The series was first broadcast by the Public Broadcasting Service in 1980, as of 2009, it was still the most widely watched PBS series in the world. It won two Emmys and a Peabody Award, and has since been broadcast in more than 60 countries, a book was also published to accompany the series. Cosmos, A Personal Voyage has been considered highly significant since its broadcast, Cosmos was produced in 1978 and 1979 by former Los Angeles PBS affiliate KCET on a roughly $6.3 million budget, with over $2 million additionally allocated to promotion. The programs format is similar to earlier BBC documentaries such as Kenneth Clarks Civilisation, Jacob Bronowskis The Ascent of Man, however, unlike those series, which were shot entirely on film, Cosmos used videotape for interior scenes and special effects, with film being used for exteriors. The BBC—a co-producer of Cosmos—later screened the series, but the episodes were cut to fit 50-minute slots, the series is notable for its groundbreaking use of special effects, which allow Sagan to seemingly walk through environments that are actually models rather than full-sized sets. The soundtrack includes pieces of music provided by Greek composer Vangelis, such as Alpha, Pulstar, and Heaven and Hell Part 1. Throughout the 13 hours of the series, many tracks from several 1970s albums are used, such as Albedo 0.39, Meddle, Spiral, Ignacio, Beaubourg, and China. The worldwide success of the series put Vangelis music in the homes of many. Turner Home Entertainment purchased Cosmos from series producer KCET in 1989, a 14th episode, consisting of an interview between Sagan and Ted Turner, was also produced. This new version of the series was released as a VHS box set. This same re-edited version was released on 12 LaserDisc. Two episodes were released per disc, one episode on each side, the LaserDiscs for the various episodes were sold separately, not in a boxed set.1 sound were included, as well as an alternative music and sound effects track. Despite being shown again on the Science Channel, the amount of time for the original 13 episodes was reduced 25% to 585 minutes in order to make room for commercials. In a 2009 UK release, Fremantle Media Enterprises digitally restored and remastered the series as a five-disc DVD set which included bonus science updates. The 1986 special edition of Cosmos features new animated sequences and filmed segments with Sagan. It includes content from Sagans book Comet and discussion of his theory of nuclear winter, the special edition premiered as one marathon program on the TBS network, and was later broadcast in Japan, Germany, Australia, Singapore, and Argentina
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Carl Sagan
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Carl Edward Sagan was an American astronomer, cosmologist, astrophysicist, astrobiologist, author, science popularizer, and science communicator in astronomy and other natural sciences. He is best known for his work as a science popularizer and his best known scientific contribution is research on extraterrestrial life, including experimental demonstration of the production of amino acids from basic chemicals by radiation. Sagan argued the now accepted hypothesis that the surface temperatures of Venus can be attributed to. Sagan published more than 600 scientific papers and articles and was author, co-author or editor of more than 20 books. He wrote many science books, such as The Dragons of Eden, Brocas Brain and Pale Blue Dot. The most widely watched series in the history of American public television, the book Cosmos was published to accompany the series. He also wrote the science fiction novel Contact, the basis for a 1997 film of the same name and his papers, containing 595,000 items, are archived at The Library of Congress. Sagan always advocated scientific skeptical inquiry and the method, pioneered exobiology. He spent most of his career as a professor of astronomy at Cornell University and he married three times and had five children. After suffering from myelodysplasia, Sagan died of pneumonia at the age of 62, Carl Sagan was born in Brooklyn, New York. His father, Samuel Sagan, was an immigrant garment worker from Kamianets-Podilskyi, then Russian Empire and his mother, Rachel Molly Gruber, was a housewife from New York. Carl was named in honor of Rachels biological mother, Chaiya Clara, in Sagans words and he had a sister, Carol, and the family lived in a modest apartment near the Atlantic Ocean, in Bensonhurst, a Brooklyn neighborhood. According to Sagan, they were Reform Jews, the most liberal of North American Judaisms four main groups, both Sagan and his sister agreed that their father was not especially religious, but that their mother definitely believed in God, and was active in the temple. During the depths of the Depression, his father worked as a theater usher, according to biographer Keay Davidson, Sagans inner war was a result of his close relationship with both of his parents, who were in many ways opposites. Sagan traced his later analytical urges to his mother, a woman who had extremely poor as a child in New York City during World War I. As a young woman she had held her own ambitions, but they were frustrated by social restrictions, her poverty, her status as a woman and a wife. Davidson notes that she therefore worshipped her only son, Carl and he would fulfill her unfulfilled dreams. However, he claimed that his sense of wonder came from his father, in his free time he gave apples to the poor or helped soothe labor-management tensions within New Yorks garment industry
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Artificial selection
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Domesticated animals are known as breeds, normally bred by a professional breeder, while domesticated plants are known as varieties, cultigens, or cultivars. Two purebred animals of different breeds produce a crossbreed, and crossbred plants are called hybrids, flowers, vegetables and fruit-trees may be bred by amateurs and commercial or non-commercial professionals, major crops are usually the provenance of the professionals. There are two approaches or types of selection, or selective breeding. The second is called controlled natural selection, which is natural selection in a controlled environment. In this, the breeder does not choose which individuals being tested survive or reproduce, there are also selection experiments, which is a third approach and these are conducted in order to determine the strength of natural selection in the wild. However, this is often an observational approach as opposed to an experimental approach. In animal breeding, techniques such as inbreeding, linebreeding, in plant breeding, similar methods are used. Charles Darwin discussed how selective breeding had been successful in producing change over time in his 1859 book and its first chapter discusses selective breeding and domestication of such animals as pigeons, cats, cattle, and dogs. Darwin used artificial selection as a springboard to introduce and support the theory of natural selection, the deliberate exploitation of selective breeding to produce desired results has become very common in agriculture and experimental biology. Selective breeding can be unintentional, e. g. resulting from the process of human cultivation, for example, in some grains, an increase in seed size may have resulted from certain ploughing practices rather than from the intentional selection of larger seeds. Most likely, there has been an interdependence between natural and artificial factors that have resulted in plant domestication, Selective breeding was practiced by the Romans. Treatises as much as 2,000 years old give advice on selecting animals for different purposes, the notion of selective breeding was later expressed by the Persian Muslim polymath Abu Rayhan Biruni in the 11th century. He noted the idea in his book titled India, which included various examples, the agriculturist selects his corn, letting grow as much as he requires, and tearing out the remainder. The forester leaves those branches which he perceives to be excellent, the bees kill those of their kind who only eat, but do not work in their beehive. Selective breeding was established as a practice by Robert Bakewell during the British Agricultural Revolution in the 18th century. Arguably, his most important breeding program was with sheep, using native stock, he was able to quickly select for large, yet fine-boned sheep, with long, lustrous wool. The Lincoln Longwool was improved by Bakewell, and in turn the Lincoln was used to develop the subsequent breed, named the New Leicester and it was hornless and had a square, meaty body with straight top lines. Bloodlines of these original New Leicesters survive today as the English Leicester, Bakewell was also the first to breed cattle to be used primarily for beef
Minamoto clan
Taira clan
Media related to Battle of Dan-no-ura at Wikimedia Commons