Imperial Household Agency
The Imperial Household Agency is an agency of the government of Japan in charge of state matters concerning the Imperial Family, keeping of the Privy Seal and State Seal of Japan. From around the 8th century AD up to the Second World War, it was named the Imperial Household Ministry; the agency is unique among conventional government agencies and ministries, in that it does not directly report to the Prime Minister at the cabinet level, nor is it affected by legislation that establishes it as an Independent Administrative Institution. The Agency is headed by the Grand Steward and he is assisted by the Vice-Grand Steward; the main elements of the organization are: the Grand Steward's Secretariat the Board of Chamberlains the Crown Prince's Household the Board of Ceremonies the Archives and Mausolea Department the Maintenance and Works Department the Kyoto OfficeThe current Grand Steward is Shin'ichirō Yamamoto. The Agency's headquarters is located within the grounds of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo.
The Agency's duties and responsibilities encompass the daily activities, such as state visits, organising events, preservation of traditional culture, administrative functions, etc. the agency is responsible for the various imperial residences scattered throughout the country. Visitors who wish to tour the Tokyo Imperial Palace, the Kyoto Imperial Palace, the Katsura Detached Palace, other sites, should register for guided tours with the agency first; the Agency has responsibility for the health and travel arrangements of the Imperial family, including maintaining the Imperial line. The Board of the Chamberlains, headed by the Grand Chamberlain, manages the daily life of the Emperor and the Empress, it keeps the Privy Seal and State Seal of Japan. A "Grand Master of the Board of the Crown Prince's Household" helps manage the schedules, dining menus, household maintenance of the Crown Prince and his family; the Imperial Household Agency can trace its origins back to the institutions established by the Taihō Code promulgated in 701–702 AD.
The Ritsuryō system established the namesake Ministry of the Imperial Household, a precursor to the present agency. The old code gave rise to the Ministry of Ceremonial which has its legacy in the Board of Ceremonies under the current agency, the Ministry of Civil Administration which oversaw the Bureau of Music that would now correspond to the Agency's Music Department; the basic structures remained in place until the Meiji Restoration. The early Meiji government installed Imperial Household Ministry on 15 August 1869. However, there is a convoluted history of reorganization around how the government bodies that correspond to constituent subdivisions of the current Agency were formed or empowered during this period; the Department of Shinto Affairs and the Ministry of Shinto Affairs were in existence and placed in charge of, e.g. the Imperial mausolea under the Office of Imperial Mausolea, one of the tasks designated to the Agency today. Meanwhile, the Meiji government created the Board of Ceremonies in 1871, soon renamed Bureau of Ceremonies in 1872.
And by 1872 the Ministry of Shinto Affairs was abolished, with the bulk of duties moved to the Kyōbu shō and the administration of formal ceremonial functions transferred to the aforementioned Board/Bureau of the Ceremonies. The Bureau of the Ceremonies was under the sway of the Great Council of State but was transferred to the control of the Imperial Household Ministry in September 1877; the Bureau underwent yet another name change to Board of Ceremonies in October 1884. Since the name remained unchanged and is, headed by the Master of Ceremonies. An Imperial Order in 1908 confirmed that the Imperial Household Minister, as the chief official was called, was responsible for assisting the Emperor in all matters concerning the Imperial House; the ministry oversaw the official appointments of Imperial Household Artists and commissioned their work. The Imperial Household Office was a downgraded version of the ministry, created pursuant to Imperial Household Office Law Law No. 70 of 1947 during the American Occupation of Japan.
Its staff size was downscaled from 6,200 to less than 1,500, the Office was placed under the Prime Minister of Japan. In 1949, Imperial Household Office became the Imperial Household Agency, placed under the fold of the newly created Prime Minister's Office, as an external agency attached to it. In 2001, the Imperial Household Agency was organizationally re-positioned under the Cabinet Office; the Agency has been criticized for isolating members of the Imperial Family from the Japanese public, for insisting on hidebound customs rather than permitting a more approachable, populist monarchy. These criticisms have become more muted in recent years. Prince Naruhito, in May 2004, criticised the then-Grand Steward of the Imperial Household, Toshio Yuasa, for putting pressure on Princess Masako, Naruhito's wife, to bear a male child. At a press conference, Naruhito said that his wife had "completely exhausted herself" trying to adapt to the imperial family's life, added "there were developments that denied Masako's career as well as her personality."
It has been stat
Hakuhō period
The Hakuhō period was an unofficial Japanese era name of Emperor Tenmu after Hakuchi and before Suchō. The duration of this discrete non-nengō timespan lasted from 673 through 686; the Hakuhō period is more used as a general term which describes a wider range of years. Hakuhō is conventionally used to identify a broad historical and artistic period of the late seventh century and early eighth century; the term is used in art history and is thought to have been introduced at the 1910 Japan–British Exhibition. In general historical contexts, the Asuka period is understood as overlapping the Hakuhō period; the Hakuhō period was marked by the rapid expansion of Buddhism and its dissemination throughout Japan. Artistically the period was influenced directly by the Sui and Tang dynasties, influenced indirectly by Gupta art from India. Beginning with the Taika Reforms, the period saw a shift towards more structured, more bureaucratic forms of government, based on Chinese models; the first "permanent" Imperial capital was established at Fujiwara-kyō in 694.
Though the capital was moved again only sixteen years this represented an important step in the development of the Yamato state, the seat of power of, quite transitory and nomadic up until this point. The decades of the Hakuhō period saw many other major developments in political structure and in culture, including the introduction of writing and development of calligraphy in Japan. Chinese characters had been seen and used in Japan for centuries prior, but it was during the 7th century that, as one scholar describes it, "writing and the art of its production—or calligraphy—has a sudden and spectacular flowering"; the term "Hakuhō period" is chiefly applied in discussions of architecture and painting. Hundreds of Buddhist temples were built in the Hakuhō period, including Kawara-dera, Daikandai-ji and Yakushi-ji in Fujiwara-kyō, in styles showing considerable Tang-dynasty China influence. Wakakusa-dera, which had burnt down in 670, was rebuilt at this time as Hōryū-ji, showing the same stylistic influences.
When Baekje was ruined in 660, The refugee was naturalized in Japan. And they played a major role in designing and constructing these temples, taught and trained their Japanese counterparts. At the time and bronze were the chief media used for Buddhist statues in Japan, would remain so on the continent for quite some time to come; the statues in Hōryū-ji serve as good examples of Hakuhō period sculpture. Most are made of wood, with a single block used for the bodies, separate blocks for secondary elements, such as demons upon which the deity treads and parts of the deities' skirts. All were painted and gilded, bear rounder forms with a stronger impact of three-dimensionality than the Asuka period statues of earlier decades. In these aspects and others, they reflect strong stylistic influences from Three Kingdoms of Korea, Tang-dynasty China, from the stylistic heritage of the Northern Qi and Sui Dynasties which came before. Another group of statues from the same temple show another important development, the first use of lacquer not as a protective or decorative coating for statues, but as a material from which accessories, such as a bodhisattva's jewellery, hair ornaments, hair, might be made, to be attached onto the wooden sculpture.
A series of mural paintings on the walls of the kondō of Hōryū-ji, depicting various Buddhist figures, represent some of the best extant examples of Hakuhō period painting. Though a 1949 fire left most of the paintings blackened to the point of illegibility, the process can still be determined. Plaster was applied to the walls layer by layer, each layer fine. Once the plaster was dry, holes were punched in the preliminary sketches for the painting, colored sand or powder was applied, passing through the holes and sticking to the surface of the wall, providing an outline or rough guideline for the painter to follow; these Hōryū-ji murals represent two painting elements distinctive of this period: the use of red rather than black to outline the figures and, on other sections, a consistent line lacking calligraphic flourish and known as "iron wire" line. Yakushi-ji was founded in the Hakuhō period in 680. A number of Buddhist statues at Yakushi-ji temple are counted among the finest extant examples of Hakuhō period sculpture, reflecting the influence of Tang Chinese styles more than their counterparts in Hōryū-ji.
A noteworthy Yakushi Triad consists of three sculptures representing the Yakushi Buddha and two bodhisattvas Nikkō and Gakkō) which are described as "full, fleshy figures conceived in the round and treated as natural forms". These three figures were cast in bronze; the bodhisattvas are posed in the "hip-slung" pose and other Chinese motifs including grape leaves and the Symbols of the Four Directions are prevalent. Mason, Penelope.. History of Japanese Art. New York: H. N. Abrams. ISBN 978-0-8109-1085-0. Japan encyclopedia. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5. Imperial Politics and Symbolics in Ancient Japan: the Tenmu Dynasty, 650-800. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 9780824832353
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies off the eastern coast of the Asian continent and stretches from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and the Philippine Sea in the south; the kanji that make up Japan's name mean "sun origin", it is called the "Land of the Rising Sun". Japan is a stratovolcanic archipelago consisting of about 6,852 islands; the four largest are Honshu, Hokkaido and Shikoku, which make up about ninety-seven percent of Japan's land area and are referred to as home islands. The country is divided into 47 prefectures in eight regions, with Hokkaido being the northernmost prefecture and Okinawa being the southernmost one; the population of 127 million is the world's tenth largest. 90.7 % of people live in cities. About 13.8 million people live in the capital of Japan. The Greater Tokyo Area is the most populous metropolitan area in the world with over 38 million people. Archaeological research indicates; the first written mention of Japan is in Chinese history texts from the 1st century AD.
Influence from other regions China, followed by periods of isolation from Western Europe, has characterized Japan's history. From the 12th century until 1868, Japan was ruled by successive feudal military shōguns who ruled in the name of the Emperor. Japan entered into a long period of isolation in the early 17th century, ended in 1853 when a United States fleet pressured Japan to open to the West. After nearly two decades of internal conflict and insurrection, the Imperial Court regained its political power in 1868 through the help of several clans from Chōshū and Satsuma – and the Empire of Japan was established. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, victories in the First Sino-Japanese War, the Russo-Japanese War and World War I allowed Japan to expand its empire during a period of increasing militarism; 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 Japanese surrender. Since adopting its revised constitution on May 3, 1947, during the occupation led by SCAP, the sovereign state of Japan has maintained a unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy with an Emperor and an elected legislature called the National Diet.
Japan is a member of the ASEAN Plus mechanism, UN, the OECD, the G7, the G8, the G20, is considered a great power. Its economy is the world's third-largest by nominal GDP and the fourth-largest by purchasing power parity, it is the world's fourth-largest exporter and fourth-largest importer. Japan benefits from a skilled and educated workforce. Although it has renounced its right to declare war, Japan maintains a modern military with the world's eighth-largest military budget, used for self-defense and peacekeeping roles. Japan is a developed country with a high standard of living and Human Development Index, its population enjoys the highest life expectancy and third lowest infant mortality rate in the world, but is experiencing issues due to an aging population and low birthrate. Japan is renowned for its historical and extensive cinema, influential music industry, video gaming, rich cuisine and its major contributions to science and modern technology; the Japanese word for Japan is 日本, pronounced Nihon or Nippon and means "the origin of the sun".
The character nichi means "sun" or "day". The compound therefore means "origin of the sun" and is the source of the popular Western epithet "Land of the Rising Sun"; the earliest record of the name Nihon appears in the Chinese historical records of the Tang dynasty, the Old Book of Tang. At the end of the seventh century, a delegation from Japan requested that Nihon be used as the name of their country; this name may have its origin in a letter sent in 607 and recorded in the official history of the Sui dynasty. Prince Shōtoku, the Regent of Japan, sent a mission to China with a letter in which he called himself "the Emperor of the Land where the Sun rises"; the message said: "Here, I, the emperor of the country where the sun rises, send a letter to the emperor of the country where the sun sets. How are you". Prior to the adoption of Nihon, other terms such as Yamato and Wakoku were used; the term Wa is a homophone of Wo 倭, used by the Chinese as a designation for the Japanese as early as the third century Three Kingdoms period.
Another form of Wa, Wei in Chinese) was used for an early state in Japan called Nakoku during the Han dynasty. However, the Japanese disliked some connotation of Wa 倭, it was therefore replaced with the substitute character Wa, meaning "togetherness, harmony"; the English word Japan derives from the historical Chinese pronunciation of 日本. The Old Mandarin or early Wu Chinese pronunciation of Japan was recorded by Marco Polo as Cipangu. In modern Shanghainese, a Wu dialect, the pronunciation of characters 日本; the old Malay word for Japan, Japun or Japang, was borrowed from a southern coastal Chinese dialect Fukienese or Ningpo – and this Malay word was encountered by Portuguese traders in Southeast Asia in the 16th century. These Early Portuguese traders brought the word
Nihon Shoki
The Nihon Shoki, sometimes translated as The Chronicles of Japan, is the second-oldest book of classical Japanese history. The book is called the Nihongi, it is more elaborate and detailed than the Kojiki, the oldest, has proven to be an important tool for historians and archaeologists as it includes the most complete extant historical record of ancient Japan. The Nihon Shoki was finished in 720 under the editorial supervision of Prince Toneri and with the assistance of Ō no Yasumaro dedicated to Empress Genshō; the Nihon Shoki begins with the Japanese creation myth, explaining the origin of the world and the first seven generations of divine beings, goes on with a number of myths as does the Kojiki, but continues its account through to events of the 8th century. It is believed to record the latter reigns of Emperor Tenji, Emperor Tenmu and Empress Jitō; the Nihon Shoki focuses on the merits of the virtuous rulers as well as the errors of the bad rulers. It describes diplomatic contacts with other countries.
The Nihon Shoki was written in classical Chinese. The Kojiki, on the other hand, is written in a combination of Chinese and phonetic transcription of Japanese; the Nihon Shoki contains numerous transliteration notes telling the reader how words were pronounced in Japanese. Collectively, the stories in this book and the Kojiki are referred to as the Kiki stories; the tale of Urashima Tarō is developed from the brief mention in Nihon Shoki that a certain child of Urashima visited Horaisan and saw wonders. The tale has plainly incorporated elements from the famous anecdote of "Luck of the Sea and Luck of the Mountains" found in Nihon Shoki; the developed Urashima tale contains the Rip Van Winkle motif, so some may consider it an early example of fictional time travel. Chapter 01: Kami no Yo no Kami no maki. Chapter 02: Kami no Yo no Shimo no maki. Chapter 03: Kan'yamato Iwarebiko no Sumeramikoto. Chapter 04: Kamu Nunakawamimi no Sumeramikoto. Shikitsuhiko Tamatemi no Sumeramikoto. Ōyamato Hikosukitomo no Sumeramikoto.
Mimatsuhiko Sukitomo no Sumeramikoto. Yamato Tarashihiko Kuni Oshihito no Sumeramikoto. Ōyamato Nekohiko Futoni no Sumeramikoto. Ōyamato Nekohiko Kunikuru no Sumeramikoto. Wakayamato Nekohiko Ōbibi no Sumeramikoto. Chapter 05: Mimaki Iribiko Iniye no Sumeramikoto. Chapter 06: Ikume Iribiko Isachi no Sumeramikoto. Chapter 07: Ōtarashihiko Oshirowake no Sumeramikoto. Waka Tarashihiko no Sumeramikoto. Chapter 08: Tarashi Nakatsuhiko no Sumeramikoto. Chapter 09: Okinaga Tarashihime no Mikoto. Chapter 10: Homuda no Sumeramikoto. Chapter 11: Ōsasagi no Sumeramikoto. Chapter 12: Izahowake no Sumeramikoto. Mitsuhawake no Sumeramikoto. Chapter 13: Oasazuma Wakugo no Sukune no Sumeramikoto. Anaho no Sumeramikoto. Chapter 14: Ōhatsuse no Waka Takeru no Sumeramikoto. Chapter 15: Shiraka no Take Hirokuni Oshi Waka Yamato Neko no Sumeramikoto. Woke no Sumeramikoto. Oke no Sumeramikoto. Chapter 16: Ohatsuse no Waka Sasagi no Sumeramikoto. Chapter 17: Ōdo no Sumeramikoto. Chapter 18: Hirokuni Oshi Take Kanahi no Sumeramikoto.
Take Ohirokuni Oshi Tate no Sumeramikoto. Chapter 19: Amekuni Oshiharaki Hironiwa no Sumeramikoto. Chapter 20: Nunakakura no Futo Tamashiki no Sumeramikoto. Chapter 21: Tachibana no Toyohi no Sumeramikoto. Hatsusebe no Sumeramikoto. Chapter 22: Toyomike Kashikiya Hime no Sumeramikoto. Chapter 23: Okinaga Tarashi Hihironuka no Sumeramikoto. Chapter 24: Ame Toyotakara Ikashi Hitarashi no Hime no Sumeramikoto. Chapter 25: Ame Yorozu Toyohi no Sumeramikoto. Chapter 26: Ame Toyotakara Ikashi Hitarashi no Hime no Sumeramikoto. Chapter 27: Ame Mikoto Hirakasuwake no Sumeramikoto. Chapter 28: Ama no Nunakahara Oki no Mahito no Sumeramikoto, Kami no maki. Chapter 29: Ama no Nunakahara Oki no Mahito no Sumeramikoto, Shimo no maki. Chapter 30: Takamanohara Hirono Hime no Sumeramikoto; the background of the compilation of the Nihon Shoki is that Emperor Tenmu ordered 12 people, including Prince Kawashima, to edit the old history of the empire. Shoku Nihongi notes that "先是一品舍人親王奉勅修日本紀。至是功成奏上。紀卅卷系圖一卷" in the part of May, 720.
It means "Up to that time, Prince Toneri had been compiling Nihongi on the orders of the emperor. The process of compilation is studied by stylistic analysis of each chapter. Although written in classical Chinese character, some sections use styles characteristic of Japanese editors; the Nihon Shoki is a synthesis of older documents on the records, continuously kept in the Yamato court since the sixth century. It includes documents and folklore submitted by clans serving the court. Prior to Nihon Shoki, there were Tennōki and Kokki compiled by Prince Shōtoku and Soga no Umako, but as they were stored in Soga's residence, they were burned at the time of the Isshi Incident; the work's contributors refer to various sources
Grave
A grave is a location where a dead body is buried. Graves are located in special areas set aside for the purpose of burial, such as graveyards or cemeteries. Certain details of a grave, such as the state of the body found within it and any objects found with the body, may provide information for archaeologists about how the body may have lived before its death, including the time period in which it lived and the culture that it had been a part of. In some religions, it is believed; the formal use of a grave involves several steps with associated terminology. Grave cutThe excavation. 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. However, most modern graves in the United States are only 4 feet deep as the casket is placed into a concrete box to prevent a sinkhole, to ensure the grave is strong enough to be driven over, to prevent floating in the instance of a flood. Excavated soilThe material dug up.
It is piled up close to the grave for backfilling and 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, so evidence is found of remaining soil. In cemeteries this may end up as a thick layer of soil overlying the original ground surface. Burial or intermentThe body may be placed in a coffin or other container, in a wide range of positions, by itself or in a multiple burial, with or without personal possessions of the deceased. Burial vaultA 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 family vault, retrieval of remains for transfer to an ossuary, or because it forms a monument. Grave backfillThe soil returned to the grave cut following burial; this material may contain artifacts derived from the original excavation and prior site use, deliberately placed goods or artifacts or material.
The fill may be mounded. Monument or markerHeadstones are best known, but they can be supplemented by decorative edging, foot stones, posts to support items, a solid covering or other options. Graveyards were established at the same time as the building of the relevant place of worship and were used by those families who could not afford to be buried inside or beneath the place of worship itself. In most cultures those who were vastly rich, had important professions, were part of the nobility or were of any other high social status were buried in individual crypts inside or beneath the relevant place of worship with an indication of the name of the deceased, date of death and other biographical data. In Europe this was accompanied with a depiction of their family coat of arms. Graveyards have been replaced by cemeteries. Burial at sea Cenotaph Christian burial Church monuments Cremation Crypt Dolmen Eco-Burial Funeral pyre Funerary art God's Acre Gravedigger Islamic burial Jewish burial Mass grave Mausoleum Monumental inscription Necropolis Premature burial Pyramid Tomb Tophet Tumulus Turn in one's grave War grave Media related to Graves at Wikimedia Commons Quotations related to Grave at Wikiquote The dictionary definition of grave at Wiktionary
Empress Jitō
Empress Jitō was the 41st monarch of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Jitō's reign spanned the years from 686 through 697. In the history of Japan, Jitō was the third of eight women to take on the role of empress regnant; the two female monarchs before Jitō were Kōgyoku/Saimei. The five women sovereigns reigning after Jitō were Genmei, Genshō, Kōken/Shōtoku, Meishō, Go-Sakuramachi. Empress Jitō was the daughter of Emperor Tenji, her mother was Ochi-no-Iratsume, the daughter of Minister Ō-omi Soga no Yamada-no Ishikawa Maro. She was the wife of Tenji's full brother Emperor Tenmu. Empress Jitō's given name was Unonosasara, or alternately Uno. Jitō took responsibility for court administration after the death of her husband, Emperor Tenmu, her uncle, she acceded to the throne in 687 in order to ensure the eventual succession of her son, Kusakabe-shinnō. Throughout this period, Empress Jitō ruled from the Fujiwara Palace in Yamato. In 689, Jitō prohibited Sugoroku, in 690 at enthronement she performed special ritual gave pardon and in 692 she travelled to Ise against the counsel of minister Miwa-no-Asono-Takechimaro.
Prince Kusakabe was named as crown prince to succeed Jitō. Kusakabe's son, Karu-no-o, was named as Jitō's successor, he would become known as Emperor Monmu. Empress Jitō reigned for eleven years. Although there were seven other reigning empresses, their successors were most selected from amongst the males of the paternal Imperial bloodline, why some conservative scholars argue that the women's reigns were temporary and that male-only succession tradition must be maintained in the 21st century. Empress Genmei, followed on the throne by her daughter, Empress Genshō, remains the sole exception to this conventional argument. In 697, Jitō abdicated in Mommu's favor. After this, her imperial successors who retired took the same title after abdication. Jitō continued to hold power as a cloistered ruler, which became a persistent trend in Japanese politics; the actual site of Jitō's grave is known. This empress is traditionally venerated at a memorial Shinto shrine at Nara; the Imperial Household Agency designates this location as Jitō's mausoleum.
It is formally named Ochi-no-Okanoe no misasagi. Kugyō is a collective term for the few most powerful men attached to the court of the Emperor of Japan in pre-Meiji eras. In general, this elite group included only three to four men at a time; these were hereditary courtiers whose experience and background would have brought them to the pinnacle of a life's career. During Jitō's reign, this apex of the Daijō-kan included: Daijō-daijin, Takechi-shinnō Sadaijin Udaijin Naidaijin Jitō's reign is not linked by scholars to any era or nengō; the Taika era innovation of naming time periods – nengō – languished until Mommu reasserted an imperial right by proclaiming the commencement of Taihō in 701. See Japanese era name – "Non-nengo periods" See Jitō period; however and Ishida's translation of Gukanshō offers an explanation which muddies a sense of easy clarity: "The eras that fell in this reign were: the remaining seven years of Shuchō. In the third year of the Taka era, Empress Jitō yielded the throne to the Crown Prince."
The Man'yōshū includes poems said to have been composed by Jitō: After the death of the Emperor Tenmu:Composed when the Empress climbed the Thunder Hill: One of the poems attributed to Empress Jitō was selected by Fujiwara no Teika for inclusion in the popular anthology Hyakunin Isshu: Emperor of Japan Imperial cult Japanese empresses List of Emperors of Japan Aston, William George.. Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A. D. 697. London: Kegan Paul, Trubner. OCLC 448337491 Brown, Delmer M. and Ichirō Ishida, eds.. Gukanshō: The Future and the Past. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-03460-0. "Hyakunin-Isshu: Single Songs of a Hundred Poets" in Transactions of the Asia Society of Japan. Tokyo: Asia Society of Japan.... Click link for digitized, full-text copy __________.. Kokka taikan. Tokyo: Teikoku Toshokan, Meiji 30–34. [reprinted Shinten kokka taikan, 10 vols. + 10 index vols. Kadokawa Shoten, Tokyo, 1983–1992. ISBN 978-4-04-020142-9 Nippon Gakujutsu Shinkōkai..
Man'yōshū. Tokyo: Iwanami shoten. [reprinted by Columbia University Press, New York, 1965. ISBN 0-231-08620-2. Rprinted by Dover Publications, New York, 2005. ISBN 978-0-486-43959-4 Ponsonby-Fane, Richard Arthur Brabazon.. The Imperial House of Japan. Kyoto: Ponsonby Memorial Society. OCLC 194887 Titsingh, Isaac.. Nihon Ōdai Ichiran. Paris: Royal Asiatic Society, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland. OCLC 5850691 Varley, H. Paul.. Jinnō Shōtōki: A Chronicle of Gods and Sovereigns. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-04940-5.
Iga Province
Iga Province was a province of Japan located in what is today part of western Mie Prefecture. Its abbreviated name was Ishū. Iga bordered on Ise, Ōmi, Yamashiro Provinces, it coincides with the modern municipalities of Iga and Nabari. Iga is classified as one of the provinces of the Tōkaidō. Under the Engishiki classification system, Iga was ranked as an "inferior country" and a "near country". Surrounded by mountains Iga Province was rather inaccessible due to poor road conditions. However, the area is now easy to access from nearby Nara and Kyoto, as well as the larger cities of Osaka and Nagoya. Iga was separated from Ise Province during the Asuka period, around 680 AD; the provincial capital was located in what is now part of the city of Iga, along with the ruins of the Kokubun-ji of Iga Province. The Ichinomiya of the province is the Aekuni Jinja, located in what is now part of the city of Iga. Little is known of the subsequent history of the province during the Kamakura periods. However, by the early Muromachi period, Iga became independent from its nominal feudal rulers and established a form of republic.
During this period, Iga came to be known as a center for ninjutsu, claiming to being one of the birthplaces of the ninja clans. In 1581, two years after a failed invasion led by his son, the warlord Oda Nobunaga launched a massive invasion of Iga, attacking from six directions with a force of 40,000 to 60,000 men which destroyed the political power of the ninja. With the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate, Iga was under the control of Iga-Ueno Domain, a 200,000-koku han during the rule of Tsutsui Sadatsugu, a former retainer of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. However, the Tsutsui clan was dispossessed in 1608, the territory of the domain was given to Tōdō Takatora, the daimyō of Tsu Domain, it remained a part of Tsu Domain until the Meiji Restoration. Notable Edo-period people from Iga included the famous samurai Hattori Hanzō and the haiku poet Matsuo Bashō. Iga Ueno Castle was retained by Tsu Domain as a secondary administrative center for the western portion of the domain. After the abolition of the han system in July 1871, Tsu Domain became "Tsu Prefecture", which became part of Mie Prefecture.
Mie Prefecture Ahai District – merged with Yamada District to become Ayama District on March 29, 1896 Iga District – merged with Nabari District to become Naga District on March 29, 1896 Nabari District – merged with Iga District to become Naga District on March 29, 1896 Yamada District – merged with Ahai District to become Ayama District on March 29, 1896 Iga-ryū, the Iga Ninja school of ninjutsu Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric and Käthe Roth.. Japan encyclopedia. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5. Annales des empereurs du Japon. Paris: Royal Asiatic Society, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland. OCLC 5850691. Media related to Iga Province at Wikimedia Commons Murdoch's map of provinces, 1903 Iga Province Ninja History