1.
Romania
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Romania is a sovereign state located in Southeastern Europe. It borders the Black Sea, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Hungary, Serbia and it has an area of 238,391 square kilometres and a temperate-continental climate. With over 19 million inhabitants, the country is the member state of the European Union. Its capital and largest city, Bucharest, is the sixth-largest city in the EU, the River Danube, Europes second-longest river, rises in Germany and flows in a general southeast direction for 2,857 km, coursing through ten countries before emptying into Romanias Danube Delta. The Carpathian Mountains, which cross Romania from the north to the southwest are marked by one of their tallest peaks, Moldoveanu, modern Romania was formed in 1859 through a personal union of the Danubian Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia. The new state, officially named Romania since 1866, gained independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1877, at the end of World War I, Transylvania, Bukovina and Bessarabia united with the sovereign Kingdom of Romania. Romania lost several territories, of which Northern Transylvania was regained after the war, following the war, Romania became a socialist republic and member of the Warsaw Pact. After the 1989 Revolution, Romania began a transition back towards democracy and it has been a member of NATO since 2004, and part of the European Union since 2007. A strong majority of the population identify themselves as Eastern Orthodox Christians and are speakers of Romanian. The cultural history of Romania is often referred to when dealing with artists, musicians, inventors. For similar reasons, Romania has been the subject of notable tourist attractions, Romania derives from the Latin romanus, meaning citizen of Rome. The first known use of the appellation was attested in the 16th century by Italian humanists travelling in Transylvania, Moldavia, after the abolition of serfdom in 1746, the word rumân gradually fell out of use and the spelling stabilised to the form român. Tudor Vladimirescu, a leader of the early 19th century. The use of the name Romania to refer to the homeland of all Romanians—its modern-day meaning—was first documented in the early 19th century. The name has been officially in use since 11 December 1861, in English, the name of the country was formerly spelt Rumania or Roumania. Romania became the predominant spelling around 1975, Romania is also the official English-language spelling used by the Romanian government. The Neolithic-Age Cucuteni area in northeastern Romania was the region of the earliest European civilization. Evidence from this and other sites indicates that the Cucuteni-Trypillian culture extracted salt from salt-laden spring water through the process of briquetage
2.
Meiji period
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The Meiji period, also known as the Meiji era, is a Japanese era which extended from October 23,1868 through July 30,1912. This period represents the first half of the Empire of Japan during which Japanese society moved from being a feudal society to its modern form. Fundamental changes affected its structure, internal politics, economy, military. The period corresponded with the reign of Emperor Meiji after 1868 and it was succeeded by the Taishō period upon the accession of Emperor Taishō to the throne. On February 3,1867, the 14-year-old Prince Mutsuhito succeeded his father, Emperor Kōmei, on November 9,1867, then-Shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu tendered his resignation to the Emperor, and formally stepped down ten days later. Imperial restoration occurred the year on January 3,1868. The fall of Edo in the summer of 1868 marked the end of the Tokugawa shogunate, and a new era, Meiji, was proclaimed. The first reform was the promulgation of the Five Charter Oath in 1868, implicit in the Charter Oath was an end to exclusive political rule by the bakufu, and a move toward more democratic participation in government. To implement the Charter Oath, a rather short-lived constitution with eleven articles was drawn up in June 1868, the Meiji government assured the foreign powers that it would follow the old treaties negotiated by the bakufu and announced that it would act in accordance with international law. Mutsuhito, who was to reign until 1912, selected a new reign title—Meiji, to further dramatize the new order, the capital was relocated from Kyoto, where it had been situated since 794, to Tokyo, the new name for Edo. Confirmed in their positions, the daimyo became governors. The han were replaced with prefectures in 1871, and authority continued to flow to the national government, officials from the favored former han, such as Satsuma, Chōshū, Tosa, and Hizen staffed the new ministries. Formerly old court nobles, and lower-ranking but more radical samurai, replaced bakufu appointees, in as much as the Meiji Restoration had sought to return the Emperor to a preeminent position, efforts were made to establish a Shinto-oriented state much like it was 1,000 years earlier. Furthermore, a new State Shinto had to be constructed for the purpose, in 1871, the Office of Shinto Worship was established, ranking even above the Council of State in importance. The kokutai ideas of the Mito school were embraced, and the ancestry of the Imperial House was emphasized. The government supported Shinto teachers, a small but important move, although the Office of Shinto Worship was demoted in 1872, by 1877 the Home Ministry controlled all Shinto shrines and certain Shinto sects were given state recognition. Shinto was released from Buddhist administration and its properties restored, although Buddhism suffered from state sponsorship of Shinto, it had its own resurgence. Christianity also was legalized, and Confucianism remained an important ethical doctrine, increasingly, however, Japanese thinkers identified with Western ideology and methods
3.
Fushimi-ku, Kyoto
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Fushimi is one of the eleven wards in the city of Kyoto, in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. Also of note is the Gokōgu shrine, which houses a stone used in the construction of Fushimi Castle, the water in the shrine is particularly famous and it is recorded as one of Japans 100 best clear water spots. Although written with different characters now, the name Fushimi originally comes from fusu + mizu, in other words, the location was known for good spring water. The water of Fushimi has particularly soft characteristics, making it a component to the particular type of sake brewed in Fushimi. This also explains why the area developed as a center in Kyoto. Today, Fushimi is the second greatest area of Japan in terms of sake production, the ward has a North Korean school, Kyoto Korean Elementary School
4.
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
5.
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
6.
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
7.
Emperor Jimmu
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Emperor Jimmu, (original birth name of Shinto, Kamu-Yamato-Iware-Biko no Mikoto, was the first Emperor of Japan, according to legend. His accession is dated as 660 BC. According to Japanese mythology, he is a descendant of the sun goddess Amaterasu, through her grandson Ninigi and he launched a military expedition from Hyuga near the Inland Sea, captured Yamato, and established this as his center of power. In modern Japan, Jimmus accession is marked as National Foundation Day on February 11, Jimmu is recorded as Japans first ruler in two early chronicles, Kojiki and Nihon Shoki. Nihon Shoki gives the dates of his reign as 660–585 BC, prior to this time, these rulers had been known as sumera no mikoto/ōkimi. This practice had begun under Empress Suiko, and took root after the Taika Reforms with the ascendancy of the Nakatomi clan. According to the account in the Kojiki, Emperor Jimmu was born on February 13,711 BC. Both the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki give Jimmus name as Kamu-yamato Iware-biko no mikoto, iware indicates a toponym whose precise purport is unclear. The Imperial House of Japan traditionally based its claim to the throne on its descent from the sun-goddess Amaterasu via Jimmus great grandfather Ninigi. In Japanese mythology, the Age of the Gods is the period before Jimmus accession, Jimmu figures as a direct descendant of the sun goddess, Amaterasu via the side of his father, Ugayafukiaezu. Amaterasu had a son called Ame no Oshihomimi no Mikoto and through him a grandson named Ninigi-no-Mikoto and she sent her grandson to the Japanese islands where he eventually married Konohana-Sakuya-hime. Among their three sons was Hikohohodemi no Mikoto, also called Yamasachi-hiko, who married Toyotama-hime and she was the daughter of Ryūjin, the Japanese sea god. They had a son called Hikonagisa Takeugaya Fukiaezu no Mikoto. The boy was abandoned by his parents at birth and consequently raised by Tamayori-hime and they eventually married and had four sons. The last of these, Kanyamato Iwarebiko, became Emperor Jimmu, according to the chronicles Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, Jimmus brothers were born in Takachiho, the southern part of Kyūshū in modern-day Miyazaki Prefecture. They moved eastward to find a more appropriate for administering the entire country. Jimmus older brother, Itsuse no Mikoto, originally led the migration, as they reached Naniwa, they encountered another local chieftain, Nagasunehiko, and Itsuse was killed in the ensuing battle. Jimmu realized that they had been defeated because they battled eastward against the sun, so he decided to land on the east side of Kii Peninsula and they reached Kumano, and, with the guidance of a three-legged crow, Yatagarasu, they moved to Yamato
8.
Yayoi period
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The Yayoi period is an Iron Age era in the history of Japan traditionally dated 300 BC–300 AD. Since the 1980s, scholars have argued that a previously classified as a transition from the Jōmon period should be reclassified are Early Yayoi. The date of the beginning of this transition is controversial, with estimates ranging from the 10th to the 6th centuries BC, the period is named after the neighborhood of Tokyo where archaeologists first uncovered artifacts and features from that era. Distinguishing characteristics of the Yayoi period include the appearance of new Yayoi pottery styles, a hierarchical social class structure dates from this period. Techniques in metallurgy based on the use of bronze and iron were also introduced to Japan in this period, the Yayoi followed the Jōmon period and Yayoi culture flourished in a geographic area from southern Kyūshū to northern Honshū. Archaeological evidence supports the idea that during this time, an influx of farmers from the Asian continent to Japan absorbed or overwhelmed the native hunter-gatherer population, the Yayoi period is traditionally dated from 300 BC to 300 AD. The earliest archaeological evidence of the Yayoi is found on northern Kyūshū, Yayoi culture quickly spread to the main island of Honshū, mixing with native Jōmon culture. Yayoi pottery was decorated and produced using the same coiling technique previously used in Jōmon pottery. Yayoi craft specialists made bronze ceremonial bells, mirrors, and weapons, by the 1st century AD, Yayoi farmers began using iron agricultural tools and weapons. As the Yayoi population increased, the society became more stratified and they wove textiles, lived in permanent farming villages, and constructed buildings with wood and stone. They also accumulated wealth through land ownership and the storage of grain, such factors promoted the development of distinct social classes. Contemporary Chinese sources described the people as having tattoos and other bodily markings which indicated differences in social status, Yayoi chiefs, in some parts of Kyūshū, appear to have sponsored, and politically manipulated, trade in bronze and other prestige objects. That was possible by the introduction of an irrigated, wet-rice culture from the Yangtze estuary in southern China via the Ryukyu Islands or Korean Peninsula, wet-rice agriculture led to the development and growth of a sedentary, agrarian society in Japan. Local political and social developments in Japan were more important than the activities of the authority within a stratified society. Direct comparisons between Jōmon and Yayoi skeletons show that the two peoples are noticeably distinguishable, the Jōmon tended to be shorter, with relatively longer forearms and lower legs, more wide-set eyes, shorter and wider faces, and much more pronounced facial topography. They also have strikingly raised brow ridges, noses, and nose bridges, Yayoi people, on the other hand, averaged an inch or two taller, with close-set eyes, high and narrow faces, and flat brow ridges and noses. By the Kofun period, almost all excavated in Japan except those of the Ainu are of the Yayoi type with Jomon admixture. The earliest archaeological sites are Itazuke or Nabata in the part of Kyūshū
9.
Kofun period
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The Kofun period is an era in the history of Japan from around 250 to 538 AD. The word kofun is Japanese for the type of burial mounds dating from this era, the Kofun and the subsequent Asuka periods are sometimes referred to collectively as the Yamato period. The Kofun period is divided from the Asuka period by its cultural differences, the Kofun period is characterized by a Shinto culture which existed prior to the introduction of Buddhism. Politically, the leader of a powerful clan won control over much of west Honshū and the northern half of Kyūshū and eventually established the Imperial House of Japan. Kofun are defined as the mounds built for the people of the ruling class during the 3rd to 7th centuries in Japan. The mounds contained large stone burial chambers, Kofun come in many shapes, with round and square being the most common. A distinct style is the keyhole-shaped kofun, with its square front, Kofun range in size from several meters to over 400 meters in length and unglazed pottery figures called Haniwa were often buried under the circumference of the kofun. The oldest Japanese kofun is said to be Hokenoyama Kofun located in Sakurai, Nara, in the Makimuku district of Sakurai, later keyhole kofuns were built around the early 4th century. The trend of the keyhole kofun first spread from Yamato to Kawachi, keyhole kofun disappeared later in the 6th century, probably because of the drastic reformation which took place in the Yamato court, Nihon Shoki records the introduction of Buddhism at this time. Due to the controversy over Yamataikoku the actual start of Yamato rule is disputed, however, it is usually believed to have been created around 250 CE. Regardless, it is agreed that Yamato rulers possessed keyhole kofun culture. Yamatos relationships with China are likely to have begun in the late 4th century, the Yamato polity, which emerged by the late 5th century, was distinguished by powerful clans. Each clan was headed by a patriarch who performed sacred rites to the kami to ensure the long-term welfare of the clan. Clan members were the aristocracy, and the line that controlled the Yamato court was at its pinnacle. Powerful clan leaders were awarded kabane, a title that denoted a political rank and this title was inherited, and used instead of the family name. Yamato and its dynasty however were just one rival polity among others throughout the Kofun era, Japanese archaeologists emphasise instead the fact that, in the first half of the Kofun period, other regional chieftainships, such as Kibi were in close contention for dominance or importance. The Tsukuriyama Kofun of Kibi is the fourth largest kofun in Japan, the Yamato court ultimately exercised power over clans in Kyūshū and Honshū, bestowing titles, some hereditary, on clan chieftains. The Yamato name became synonymous with all of Japan as the Yamato rulers suppressed the clans, based on Chinese models, they started to develop a central administration and an imperial court attended by subordinate clan chieftains but with no permanent capital
10.
Feliceni
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Feliceni is a commune in Harghita County, Romania, in the vicinity of Odorheiu Secuiesc. It forms part of the Székely Land, a region in eastern Transylvania. After World War I, by the terms of the Treaty of Trianon of 1920, as a result of the Second Vienna Award, the region belonged again to Hungary between 1940 and 1944. After World War II, it came under Romanian administration and became part of Romania in 1947, between 1952 and 1960, the villages formed part of the Hungarian Autonomous Province, then, of the Mureș-Hungarian Autonomous Province until it was abolished in 1968. Since then, the commune has been part of Harghita County, the commune has an absolute Székely majority. According to the 2002 census it has a population of 3,026 of which 99. 31% or 3,005 are Hungarian Polonița is located along the Polonița Creek in a narrow valley and it had 319 inhabitants in 2002, of whom 315 were Hungarians. The village was first mentioned in 1505 as Lengenfalwa when a certain Balthasar was elected judge at Udvarhely. In 1533, the name was recorded as Lengyelfalva, in 1899, the ethnonym Székely was added to the Hungarian placename in order to distinguish the locality from another Lengyelfalva of the historical Kingdom of Hungary. The Romanian name derives from the Hungarian one and was used as Lenghelfalău which was later Romanianized by translation. Its Roman Catholic church was built in 1802 replacing the medieval church
