1.
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
2.
Emperor
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An emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the equivalent, may indicate an emperors wife, mother. Emperors are generally recognized to be of an honour and rank than kings. The Emperor of Japan is the currently reigning monarch whose title is translated into English as Emperor. Both kings and emperors are monarchs, but emperor and empress are considered the higher monarchical titles. In as much as there is a definition of emperor, it is that an emperor has no relations implying the superiority of any other ruler. Thus a king might be obliged to pay tribute to another ruler, or be restrained in his actions in some unequal fashion, although initially ruling much of Central Europe and northern Italy, by the 19th century the Emperor exercised little power beyond the German speaking states. In Eastern Europe the rulers of the Russian Empire also used translatio imperii to wield authority as successors to the Eastern Roman Empire. Their title of Emperor was officially recognised by the Holy Roman Emperor in 1514, in practice the Russian Emperors are often known by their Russian-language title Tsar, which may also used to refer to rulers equivalent to a king. Historians have liberally used emperor and empire anachronistically and out of its Roman and European context to any large state from the past or the present. Such pre-Roman titles as Great King or King of Kings, used by the Kings of Persia, however such empires did not need to be headed by an emperor. Empire became identified instead with vast territorial holdings rather than the title of its ruler by the mid-18th century, outside the European context, emperor was the translation given to holders of titles who were accorded the same precedence as European emperors in diplomatic terms. In reciprocity, these rulers might accredit equal titles in their languages to their European peers. Through centuries of international convention, this has become the dominant rule to identifying an emperor in the modern era, also the name of the position split in several branches of Western tradition, see below. Later new symbols of worldly and/or spiritual power, like the orb, rules for indicating successors also varied, there was a tendency towards male inheritance of the supreme office, but as well election by noblemen, as ruling empresses are known. Ruling monarchs could additionally steer the succession by adoption, as occurred in the two first centuries of Imperial Rome. Of course, intrigue, murder and military force could also mingle in for appointing successors, probably the epoch best known for this part of the imperial tradition is Romes third century rule. When Republican Rome turned into a de facto monarchy in the half of the 1st century BC
3.
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
4.
Grave
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A grave is a location where a dead body is buried. Graves are usually located in special areas set aside for the purpose of burial, such as graveyards or cemeteries. In some religions, it is believed that the body must be burned for the soul to survive, in others, the formal use of a grave involves several steps with associated terminology. Grave cut The excavation that formed the grave, excavations vary from a shallow scraping, to removal of topsoil to a depth of 6 feet, or more where a vault or burial chamber is to be constructed. Excavated soil The material dug up when the grave is excavated and it is often piled up close to the grave for backfilling and then returned to the grave to cover it. As soil decompresses when excavated and space is occupied by the burial not all the volume of soil fits back in the hole, in cemeteries this may end up as a thick layer of soil overlying the original ground surface. Burial or interment The body may be placed in a coffin or other container, in a range of positions, by itself or in a multiple burial. Burial vault A vault is a structure built within the grave to receive the body. It may be used to prevent crushing of the remains, allow for multiple burials such as a vault, retrieval of remains for transfer to an ossuary. Grave backfill The soil returned to the grave cut following burial and this material may contain artifacts derived from the original excavation and prior site use, deliberately placed goods or artifacts or later material. The fill may be level with the ground or mounded. Monument or marker Headstones are best known, but they can be supplemented by decorative edging, foot stones, posts to support items, in Europe this was often accompanied with a depiction of their family coat of arms. Later graveyards have been replaced by cemeteries
5.
Memorial
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A memorial is an object which serves as a focus for memory of something, usually a person or an event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or art objects such as sculptures, statues or fountains, the most common type of memorial is the gravestone or the memorial plaque. Also common are war memorials commemorating those who have died in wars, memorials in the form of a cross are called intending crosses. Online memorials and tributes are becoming popular especially with the increase in natural burial where the laying of gravestones. When somebody has died, the family may request that a gift be given to a designated charity. Those temporary or makeshift memorials are also called grassroots memorials, sometimes, when a high school student has died, the memorials are placed in the form of a scholarship, to be awarded to high-achieving students in future years
6.
Shinto
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Shinto practices were first recorded and codified in the written historical records of the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki in the 8th century. Still, these earliest Japanese writings do not refer to a unified Shinto religion, practitioners express their diverse beliefs through a standard language and practice, adopting a similar style in dress and ritual, dating from around the time of the Nara and Heian periods. The word Shinto was adopted, originally as Jindō or Shindō, from the written Chinese Shendao, the oldest recorded usage of the word Shindo is from the second half of the 6th century. Kami are defined in English as spirits, essences or gods, Kami and people are not separate, they exist within the same world and share its interrelated complexity. Shinto is the largest religion in Japan, practiced by nearly 80% of the population, Shinto has 81,000 shrines and 85,000 priests in the country. According to Inoue, In modern scholarship, the term is used with reference to kami worship and related theologies, rituals. In these contexts, Shinto takes on the meaning of Japans traditional religion, as opposed to religions such as Christianity, Buddhism, Islam. Shinto religious expressions have been distinguished by scholars into a series of categories, Shrine Shinto and it consists in taking part in worship practices and events at local shrines. Before the Meiji Restoration, shrines were disorganized institutions usually attached to Buddhist temples, the current successor to the imperial organization system, the Association of Shinto Shrines, oversees about 80,000 shrines nationwide. Folk Shinto includes the folk beliefs in deities and spirits. Practices include divination, spirit possession, and shamanic healing, some of their practices come from Buddhism, Taoism or Confucianism, but most come from ancient local traditions. Sect Shinto is a designation originally created in the 1890s to separate government-owned shrines from local organised religious communities. These communities originated especially in the Edo period, the basic difference between Shrine Shinto and Sect Shinto is that sects are a later development and grew self-consciously. They can identify a founder, a set of teachings. Sect Shinto groups are thirteen, and usually classified under five headings, pure Shinto sects, Confucian sects, mountain worship sects, purification sects, and faith-healing sects. Koshintō, literally Old Shinto, is a reconstructed Shinto from before the time of Buddhism, today based on Ainu religion and it continues the restoration movement begun by Hirata Atsutane. Many other sects and schools can be distinguished, Kami or shin is defined in English as god, spirit, spiritual essence, all these terms meaning the energy generating a thing. Since the Japanese language does not distinguish between singular and plural, kami refers to the divinity, or sacred essence, that manifests in multiple forms, rocks, trees, rivers, animals, places, and even people can be said to possess the nature of kami
7.
Shrine
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A shrine is a holy or sacred place, which is dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, daemon, or similar figure of awe and respect, at which they are venerated or worshipped. Shrines often contain idols, relics, or other objects associated with the figure being venerated. A shrine at which offerings are made is called an altar. Shrines can be found in various settings, such as churches, temples, cemeteries, or in the home, a shrine may become a focus of a cult image. Many shrines are located buildings and in the temples designed specifically for worship, such as a church in Christianity. A shrine here is usually the centre of attention in the building, in such cases, adherents of the faith assemble within the building in order to venerate the deity at the shrine. In classical temple architecture, the shrine may be synonymous with the cella, historically, in Hinduism, Buddhism and Roman Catholicism, and also in modern faiths, such as Neopaganism, a shrine can commonly be found within the home or shop. This shrine is usually a structure or a setup of pictures and figurines dedicated to a deity that is part of the official religion. Small household shrines are common among the Chinese and people from South and Southeast Asia, whether Hindu. Usually a small lamp and small offerings are kept daily by the shrine, Buddhist household shrines must be on a shelf above the head, Chinese shrines must stand directly on the floor. Small outdoor yard shrines are found at the bottom of many gardens, following various religions, including historically. Shrines are found in most, though not all, religions, Shrines therefore attract the practice of pilgrimage. Shrines are found in many, though not all, forms of Christianity, Roman Catholicism, the largest denomination of Christianity, has many shrines, as do Orthodox Christianity and Anglicanism. For a shrine to be described as national, the approval of the Episcopal Conference is necessary, for it to be described as international, the approval of the Holy See is required. Another use of the shrine in colloquial Catholic terminology is a niche or alcove in most – especially larger – churches used by parishioners when praying privately in the church. They were also called Devotional Altars, since they could look like small Side Altars or bye-altars, Shrines were always centered on some image of Christ or a saint – for instance, a statue, painting, mural or mosaic, and may have had a reredos behind them. However, Mass would not be celebrated at them, they were used to aid or give a visual focus for prayers. Side altars, where Mass could actually be celebrated, were used in a way to shrines by parishioners
8.
Nara, Nara
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Nara is the capital city of Nara Prefecture located in the Kansai region of Japan. The city occupies the part of Nara Prefecture, bordering Kyoto Prefecture. By the Heian period, a variety of different characters had been used to represent the name Nara, 乃楽, 乃羅, 平, 平城, 名良, 奈良, 奈羅, 常, 那良, 那楽, 那羅, 楢, 諾良, 諾楽, 寧, 寧楽 and 儺羅. A number of theories for the origin of the name Nara have been proposed, the second theory in the list, by notable folklorist Kunio Yanagita, is most widely accepted at present. The Nihon shoki suggests that Nara was derived from narasu, according to this account, in September in the tenth year of Emperor Sujin. leading selected soldiers went forward, climbed Nara-yama and put them in order. Now the imperial forces gathered and flattened trees and plants, therefore the mountain is called Nara-yama. This word gives rise to the verb narasu, adverb narashi, of course, the fact that historically Nara was also written 平 or 平城 as above is further support for this theory. The idea that Nara is derived from 楢 nara is the next most common opinion and this idea was suggested by a linguist, Yoshida Togo. This noun for the plant can be seen as early as in Manyōshū, the latter book states the place name Narahara in Harima derives from this nara tree, which might support Yoshidas theory. Note that the name of the city of Kashihara contains a semantically similar morpheme. Then, there is the idea that Nara is a word from Korean nara. This idea was put forward by a linguist Matsuoka Shizuo, however, almost nothing about the Old Korean language is known today. These 15th-century books used narah, an old form of nara in Korean, beckwith infers the Korean narak derives from the late Middle Old Chinese 壌, from early *narak, and has no connection with Goguryoic and Japanese na. Kusuhara et al. also points out this hypothesis cannot account for the fact there are lots of places named Nara, Naru, there is the idea that Nara is akin to Tungusic na. In some Tungusic languages such as Orok, na means earth, some have speculated about a connection between these Tungusic words and Old Japanese nawi, an archaic and somewhat obscure word that appears in the verb phrases nawi furu and nawi yoru. The Flat land theory is adopted by Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, various dictionaries for place names, history books on Nara and the like today, Nara was the capital of Japan from 710 to 794, lending its name to the Nara period. In 2010, Nara celebrated the 1, 300th anniversary of its ascension as Japans imperial capital, in the modern age, as the seat of the prefectural government, Nara has developed into a local center of commerce and government. The city was incorporated on February 1,1898
9.
Mausoleum
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A mausoleuma is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A monument without the interment is a cenotaph, a mausoleum may be considered a type of tomb, or the tomb may be considered to be within the mausoleum. A Christian mausoleum sometimes includes a chapel, the word derives from the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, the grave of King Mausolus, the Persian satrap of Caria, whose large tomb was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Historically, mausolea were, and still may be, large, however, smaller mausolea soon became popular with the gentry and nobility in many countries. In the Roman Empire, these were often ranged in necropoles or along roadsides, however, when Christianity became dominant, mausoleums were out of use. Later, mausolea became particularly popular in Europe and its colonies during the modern and modern periods. A single mausoleum may be permanently sealed, a mausoleum encloses a burial chamber either wholly above ground or within a burial vault below the superstructure. This contains the body or bodies, probably within sarcophagi or interment niches, modern mausolea may also act as columbaria with additional cinerary urn niches. Mausolea may be located in a cemetery, a churchyard or on private land, in the United States, the term may be used for a burial vault below a larger facility, such as a church. The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles, California, for example, has 6,000 sepulchral and it is known as the crypt mausoleum. In Europe, these vaults are sometimes called crypts or catacombs. Mausoleum of Mohammed V Bourguiba mausoleum The Dr. John Garang De Mabior mausoleum in Juba, agostinho Netos Mausoleum in Luanda, Angola. Omar Bongos Mausoleum in Franceville, Gabon, kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum Marien Ngouabis mausoleum and Pierre Savorgnan de Brazzas mausoleum in Brazzaville, The Republic of Congo. Mausoleum of the late president Felix Houphouet-Boigny in Yamoussoukro, Côte dIvoire, laurent Kabilas mausoleum in Kinshasa, The Democratic Republic of Congo. The pyramids of ancient Egypt and Nubian pyramids are also types of mausolea, Abdel Nasser Mosque, is the Mausoleum of Gamal Abdel Nasser, in Cairo, Egypt. Unknown Soldier Memorial Royal Mausoleum of Mauretania Al Hussein Mosque, Cairo – Holy Shrine and mausoleum, Qalawun Mausoleum is the Mausoleum of Qalawun, Located in Cairo, Egypt, it was regarded by scholars as the second most beautiful medieval mausoleum ever to be built. Jedars - thirteen ancient monumental Berber mausoleums located south of Tiaret, Late President Eyademas Family Mausoleum in Kara, Togo. Kamuzu Banda Mausoleum, in Lilongwe, Malawi, Dr. Bingu wa Mutharika, President of Malawi built a mausoleum in which his late first wife and Bingu himself are buried
10.
Chrysanthemum
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Chrysanthemums, sometimes called mums or chrysanths, are flowering plants of the genus Chrysanthemum in the family Asteraceae. They are native to Asia and northeastern Europe, most species originate from East Asia and the center of diversity is in China. There are countless horticultural varieties and cultivars, the name chrysanthemum is derived from the Ancient Greek, χρυσός chrysos and Ancient Greek, ἄνθεμον anthemon. The genus once included more species, but was several decades ago into several genera. The other species included in the narrow view of the genus Chrysanthemum are now transferred to the genus Glebionis. The other genera separate from Chrysanthemum include Argyranthemum, Leucanthemopsis, Leucanthemum, Rhodanthemum, wild Chrysanthemum taxa are herbaceous perennial plants or subshrubs. They have alternately arranged leaves divided into leaflets with toothed or occasionally smooth edges, the compound inflorescence is an array of several flower heads, or sometimes a solitary head. The head has a base covered in layers of phyllaries, the simple row of ray florets are white, yellow or red, many horticultural specimens have been bred to bear many rows of ray florets in a great variety of colors. The disc florets of wild taxa are yellow, the fruit is a ribbed achene. Chrysanthemums, also known as ‘mums’, are one of the prettiest varieties of perennials that start blooming early in the fall and this is also known as favorite flower for the month of November. Chrysanthemums were first cultivated in China as a flowering herb as far back as the 15th century BC, over 500 cultivars had been recorded by the year 1630. The plant is renowned as one of the Four Gentlemen in Chinese, the plant is particularly significant during the Double Ninth Festival. The flower may have brought to Japan in the eighth century AD. The Festival of Happiness in Japan celebrates the flower, Chrysanthemums entered American horticulture in 1798 when Colonel John Stevens imported a cultivated variety known as Dark Purple from England. The introduction was part of an effort to grow attractions within Elysian Fields in Hoboken, modern cultivated chrysanthemums are showier than their wild relatives. The flower heads occur in forms, and can be daisy-like or decorative. This genus contains many hybrids and thousands of cultivars developed for horticultural purposes, in addition to the traditional yellow, other colors are available, such as white, purple, and red. The most important hybrid is Chrysanthemum × morifolium, derived primarily from C. indicum, over 140 varieties of chrysanthemum have gained the Royal Horticultural Societys Award of Garden Merit
11.
Isaac Titsingh
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Isaac Titsingh FRS was a Dutch surgeon, scholar, merchant-trader and ambassador. During a long career in East Asia, Titsingh was an official of the Dutch East India Company. He represented the European trading company in exclusive official contact with Tokugawa Japan, traveling to Edo twice for audiences with the shogun and he was the Dutch and VOC governor general in Chinsura, Bengal. Titsingh worked with his counterpart, Charles Cornwallis, who was general of the British East India Company. In China, Titsingh effectively functioned as ambassador for his country at the time as he represented the Dutch East India Company as a trade representative. Isaac Titsingh was born in Amsterdam, the son of Albertus Titsingh and his baptism took place at the Amstelkerk in Amsterdam on 21 January 1745. His father, Albertus Titsingh was a successful and prominent Amsterdam surgeon and he thus possessed the means for Isaac Titsingh to be brought up with an ‘enlightened education’ of the 18th century. Isaac Titsingh became a member of the Amsterdam Chirurgijngilde and received the degree of a Doctor of Law from Leiden University in January 1765, in March 1764 Titsingh was appointed as a freeman and 1766 went within his employment to Batavia. Titsingh was the commercial Opperhoofd or chief factor in Japan between 1779-1780, 1781–1783, and in 1784, the singular importance of the head of the VOC in Japan during this period was enhanced by the Japanese policy of sakoku—imposed isolation. The sole exception to this door was the VOC factory on the island of Dejima in Nagasaki Bay. During this period of seclusion, Titsingh is believed to have been the first Freemason in Japan, in this highly controlled context, the traders became the sole official conduit for trade and for scientific-cultural exchanges between Europe and Japan. The VOC Opperhoofd was accorded the status of a tributary of the Shogun, nevertheless, the average Opperhoofd was not interested in the customs or culture of the Japanese. Titsingh showed an almost incredible interest and distinguished himself as an observer of Japanese civilization for a European of his time when compared to his colleagues in Dejima. Titsingh arrived in Nagasaki on 15 August 1779, where he took over the factory from Arend Willem Feith. During his first audience with Ieharu in Edo from 25 March 1780 until 5 April 1780 and he became incredibly prominent within the elite society of Edo and became friends with several daimyōs and retired daimyōs of the area. After a short return to Batavia in 1780, Titsingh returned to Nagasaki on 12 August 1781, there were no Dutch shipments from Batavia in 1782 due to the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War and thus the trading post in Dejima was cut off from communication with Java during this year. Titsingh stayed a total of three years and eight months in Japan before finally leaving Nagasaki at the end of November 1784 to return to Batavia, in 1785, Titsingh was appointed director of the trading post at Chinsura in Bengal. Titsingh was described by William Jones, the philologist and Bengal jurist, Titsingh’s return to Batavia led to new positions as Ontvanger-Generaal and later as Commissaris ter Zee
