1.
Japanese castle
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Japanese castles were fortresses constructed primarily of wood and stone. They evolved from the wooden stockades of earlier centuries, and came into their best-known form in the 16th century. Castles in Japan were built to guard important or strategic sites, such as ports, river crossings, or crossroads, and almost always incorporated the landscape into their defenses. Though they were built to last and used more stone in their construction than most Japanese buildings, castles were constructed primarily of wood. This was especially true during the Sengoku period, when many of these castles were first built, however, many were rebuilt, either later in the Sengoku period, in the Edo period that followed, or more recently, as national heritage sites or museums. Today there are more than one hundred castles extant, or partially extant, in Japan, some castles, such as the ones at Matsue and Kōchi, both built in 1611, remain extant in their original forms, not having suffered any damage from sieges or other threats. Hiroshima Castle, on the end of the spectrum, was destroyed in the atomic bombing. The character for castle, 城, by itself read as shiro, is read as jō when attached to a word, thus, for example, Osaka Castle is called Ōsaka-jō in Japanese. Originally conceived as fortresses for military defense, Japanese castles were placed in locations, along trade routes, roads. Though castles continued to be built with these considerations, for centuries, fortresses were built as centres of governance. By the Sengoku period, they had come to serve as the homes of daimyōs, to impress and to intimidate rivals not only with their defences but also with their sizes, architecture, and elegant interiors. Azuchi served as the center of Odas territories, and as his lavish home. Before the Sengoku period, most castles were called yamajirō, though most later castles were built atop mountains or hills, these were built from the mountains. Trees and other foliage were cleared, and the stone and dirt of the mountain itself was carved into rough fortifications, ditches were dug, to present obstacles to attackers, as well as to allow boulders to be rolled down at attackers. Moats were created by diverting mountain streams, buildings were made primarily of wattle and daub, using thatched roofs, or, occasionally, wooden shingles. Small ports in the walls or planks could be used to deploy bows or fire guns from, the main weakness of this style was its general instability. Thatch caught fire more easily than wood, and weather. Eventually, stone began to be used, encasing the hilltop in a layer of fine pebbles
2.
Edo period
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The Edo period or Tokugawa period is the period between 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when Japanese society was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the countrys 300 regional daimyō. The period was characterized by growth, strict social order, isolationist foreign policies. The shogunate was established in Edo on March 24,1603. The period came to an end with the Meiji Restoration on May 3,1868, instrumental in the rise of the new bakufu was Tokugawa Ieyasu, the main beneficiary of the achievements of Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Already powerful, Ieyasu profited by his transfer to the rich Kantō area, after Hideyoshis death, Ieyasu moved quickly to seize control from the Toyotomi family. Ieyasus victory over the western daimyōs at the Battle of Sekigahara gave him control of all Japan. He rapidly abolished numerous enemy daimyō houses, reduced others, such as that of the Toyotomi, Ieyasu still failed to achieve complete control of the western daimyōs, but his assumption of the title of shogun helped consolidate the alliance system. After further strengthening his base, Ieyasu installed his son Hidetada as shogun. The Toyotomi were still a significant threat, and Ieyasu devoted the next decade to their eradication, in 1615, the Tokugawa army destroyed the Toyotomi stronghold at Osaka. The Tokugawa period brought 250 years of stability to Japan, the political system evolved into what historians call bakuhan, a combination of the terms bakufu and han to describe the government and society of the period. In the bakuhan, the shogun had national authority and the daimyōs had regional authority and this represented a new unity in the feudal structure, which featured an increasingly large bureaucracy to administer the mixture of centralized and decentralized authorities. The feudal hierarchy was completed by the classes of daimyō. Closest to the Tokugawa house were the shinpan, or related houses and they were twenty-three daimyōs on the borders of Tokugawa lands, all directly related to Ieyasu. The shinpan held mostly honorary titles and advisory posts in the bakufu, the second class of the hierarchy were the fudai, or house daimyōs, rewarded with lands close to the Tokugawa holdings for their faithful service. By the 18th century,145 fudai controlled such smaller han, members of the fudai class staffed most of the major bakufu offices. Ninety-seven han formed the group, the tozama, former opponents or new allies. The tozama were located mostly on the peripheries of the archipelago, because the tozama were least trusted of the daimyō, they were the most cautiously managed and generously treated, although they were excluded from central government positions. The Tokugawa not only consolidated their control over a reunified Japan, they also had unprecedented power over the emperor, the court, all daimyōs and the religious orders
3.
Kuroda Nagamasa
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Kuroda Nagamasa was a daimyo during the late Azuchi-Momoyama and Early Edo Period. He was the son of Kuroda Kanbei, Toyotomi Hideyoshis chief strategist, in 1577, when Nagamasa was a small child, his father was tried and sentenced as a spy by Oda Nobunaga. Nagamasa was kidnapped and nearly killed as a hostage, takenaka Hanbei ended up rescuing him. After Oda Nobunaga was killed in Honnō-ji Incident of 1582, Nagamasa served Toyotomi Hideyoshi with his father, Nagamasa also participated in the first Korean campaign, commanding the Third Division of 5000 men during the first invasion 1592-1593. In the second part of the campaign he held command in The Army of the Right and he took part in the Battle of Sekigahara in the year 1600 serving under Tokugawa Ieyasu. His men killed Shima Sakon, securing victory for the Eastern army, as a reward for his service at Sekigahara, Tokugawa granted Kuroda Najima, Buzen in exchange for his previous fief Nakatsu, Chikuzen. Later he participated in the Osaka Castle campaigns, Nagamasa is a playable character from the Eastern Army in the original Kessen. Kuroda is also a historical figure. His life, and his relationship to Tokugawa, has been dramatized many times in the annual NHK Taiga Drama series, Taikoki Hara no Sakamichi Ougon no Hibi Onna Taikoki Tokugawa Ieyasu Kasuga no Tsunobe Hideyoshi Aoi Tokugawa Sandai Komyo ga Tsuji Gunshi Kanbei
4.
Fukuoka
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Fukuoka is the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, situated on the northern shore of the Japanese island of Kyushu. It is the most populous city on the island, followed by Kitakyushu and it is the largest city and metropolitan area west of Keihanshin. The city was designated on April 1,1972, by government ordinance, Greater Fukuoka, with 2.5 million people, is part of the heavily industrialized Fukuoka–Kitakyushu zone as well as Northern Kyushu. As of 2015, Fukuoka is Japan’s fifth largest city, having passed the population of Kobe, as of July 2011, Fukuoka passed the population of Kyoto. Since the founding of Kyoto in 794, this marks the first time that a city west of the Kinki region has a population than Kyoto. In ancient times, however, the area near Fukuoka, the Chikushi region, was thought by historians to have possibly been even more influential than the Yamato region. Exchanges from the continent and the Northern Kyushu area date as far back as Old Stone Age and it has been thought that waves of immigrants arrived in Northern Kyushu from mainland Asia. Fukuoka was sometimes called the Port of Dazaifu, Dazaifu was an administrative capital in 663 A. D. but a historian proposed that a prehistoric capital was in the area. Ancient texts, such as the Kojiki, Kanyen and archaeology confirm this was a critical place in the founding of Japan. Some scholars claim that it was the first place outsiders and the Imperial Family set foot, Fukuoka is sometimes still referred to as Hakata, the central ward of the city. In 923, the Hakozaki-gū in Fukuoka was transferred from Daibu-gū in Daibu the origin of Usa Shrine, in Ooho, there are remains of a big ward office with a temple, because in ancient East Asia, an emperor must have three great ministries. In fact, there is a record in Chinese literature that a king of Japan sent a letter in 478 to ask the Chinese emperors approval for employing three ministries, in addition, remains of the Korokan were found in Fukuoka underneath a part of the ruins of Fukuoka Castle. Kublai Khan of the Mongol Empire turned his attention towards Japan starting in 1268, Kublai Khan first sent an envoy to Japan to make the Shogunate acknowledge Khans suzerainty. Mongolia repeatedly sent envoys thereafter, each time urging the Shogunate to accept their proposal, in 1274, Kublai Khan mounted an invasion of the northern part of Kyushu with a fleet of 900 ships and 33,000 troops, including troops from Goryeo on the Korean Peninsula. This initial invasion was compromised by a combination of incompetence and severe storms, after the invasion attempt of 1274, Japanese samurai built a stone barrier 20 km in length bordering the coast of Hakata Bay in what is now the city of Fukuoka. The wall, 2–3 metres in height and having a width of 3 metres, was constructed between 1276 and 1277, and was excavated in the 1930s. Kublai sent another envoy to Japan in 1279, at that time, Hōjō Tokimune of the Hōjō clan was the Eighth Regent. Not only did he decline the offer, but he beheaded the five Mongolian emissaries after summoning them to Kamakura, infuriated, Kublai organized another attack on Fukuoka Prefecture in 1281, mobilizing 140,000 soldiers and 4,000 ships
5.
Mudflat
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Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats, are coastal wetlands that form when mud is deposited by tides or rivers. They are found in sheltered areas such as bays, bayous, lagoons, mudflats may be viewed geologically as exposed layers of bay mud, resulting from deposition of estuarine silts, clays and marine animal detritus. Most of the sediment within a mudflat is within the intertidal zone, in the past tidal flats were considered unhealthy, economically unimportant areas and were often dredged and developed into agricultural land. Several especially shallow mudflat areas, such as the Wadden Sea, are now popular among those practising the sport of mudflat hiking. On the Baltic Sea coast of Germany in places, mudflats are exposed not by tidal action and these wind-affected mudflats are called windwatts in German. Tidal flats, along with salt marshes and mangrove forests, are important ecosystems. They are often of importance to migratory birds, as well as certain species of crabs, mollusks. In the United Kingdom mudflats have been classified as a Biodiversity Action Plan priority habitat, the maintenance of mudflats is important in preventing coastal erosion. However, mudflats worldwide are under threat from predicted sea level rises, land claims for development, dredging due to shipping purposes, in some parts of the world, such as East and South-East Asia, mudflats have been reclaimed for aquaculture, agriculture, and industrial development. For example, around the Yellow Sea region of East Asia, mudflat sediment deposits are focused into the intertidal zone which is composed of a barren zone, marsh and salt pan. Within these areas are various ratios of sand and mud that make up the sedimentary layers, the associated growth of coastal sediment deposits can be attributed to rates of subsidence along with rates of deposition and changes in sea level. Barren zones extend from the lowest portion of the zone to the marsh areas. Beginning in close proximity to the bars, sand dominated layers are prominent. Common bedding types include laminated sand, ripple bedding, and bay mud, bioturbation also has a strong presence in barren zones. Marshes contain an abundance of plants while the sediment layers consist of thin sand. Mudcracks are a common as well as wavy bedding planes, marshes are also the origins of coal/peat layers because of the abundant decaying plant life. Salt pans can be distinguished in that they contain thinly laminated layers of clayey silt, the main source of the silt comes from rivers. Dried up mud along with wind erosion forms silt dunes, when flooding, rain or tides come in, the dried sediment is then re-distributed
6.
Hakata-ku, Fukuoka
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Hakata-ku is a ward of the city of Fukuoka in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. Many of Fukuoka Prefecture and Fukuoka Citys principal government, commercial, retail, Hakata-ku is also the location of Fukuokas main train station, Hakata Station, Fukuoka Airport and the Hakata Port international passenger ship terminal. Hakata-ku is a ward of Fukuoka City located on its eastern edge and it is 31.47 km2 with a population of 206,629. Much of the consists of low-lying plains beside the Mikasa River. The northwestern end of the ward faces Hakata Bay, which includes both ferry and international cruise ship terminals Hakata Harbor, the northeast end of the ward is slightly elevated, and is named Higashihirao, with nearby Fukuoka Airport. Around Hakata Station is downtown, Nakasu is the main dining, Hakata-ku also houses the Fukuoka Prefectural office. Many Japanese companies have established offices in Hakata-ku due to its ease of access to local government offices as well transportation hubs such as Hakata Station. The headquarters of JR Kyūshū, Best Denki, and many companies are in the ward. Air Next, a subsidiary of All Nippon Airways, is headquartered on the grounds of Fukuoka Airport in Hakata-ku, link Airs has its headquarters in the Fukuoka Gion Daiichi Seimei Building in Hakata-ku. Cisco has an Asia-Pacific sales office on the 12th floor of the Fukuoka Gion Daiichi Seimei Building, prior to its dissolution, Harlequin Air was headquartered on the grounds of the airport in Hakata-ku. Hakatas economy was transformed in 1996 with the opening of Canal City Hakata. From the early 2010s Hakata became the beneficiary of significant growth in cruise ship tourism, in 2014,91 cruise ships travelled from China called at Hakata. In 2015,245 cruise ship calls were made at Hakata Port, after expansion and redevelopment of the port facilities, the number of cruise ship port calls in 2016 is expected to exceed 400. As of 2015, the largest passenger vessel making regular port calls at Hakata is the Royal Caribbean International owned MS Quantum of the Seas, partly as a result of growing international tourism, in 2015 Fukuoka reported the fastest rising tax revenues and population in Japan. Hakata is one of the oldest cities in Japan, in the Middle Ages Hakata, which faces onto the Genkai-Nada Channel dividing Japan from Korea, was a base for merchants who traded with China and Korea, and the city housed Japans first Chinatown. Taira no Kiyomori is said to have built the artificial harbor Sode-no-minato to increase commerce, Hakata was burned down by many wars, including the Mongol invasions. In the early Edo period, Kuroda Nagamasa, appointed the lord of Chikuzen Province, Kuroda Nagamasa changed the name of the area to Fukuoka after his home town, Fukuoka in Okayama Prefecture. He ordered Tachibana Castle and Najima Castle dismantled, and had Fukuoka Castle built using the stones from older castles
7.
Port
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A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land. Port locations are selected to optimize access to land and navigable water, for commercial demand, Ports with deeper water are rarer, but can handle larger ships. Since ports throughout history handled every kind of traffic, support and storage facilities vary widely, may extend for miles, some ports have an important military role. One of the worlds oldest known artificial harbors is at Wadi al-Jarf on the Red Sea, along with the finding of harbor structures, ancient anchors have also been found. Guangzhou was an important port during the ancient times as far back as the Qin Dynasty, canopus was the principal port in Egypt for Greek trade before the foundation of Alexandria. Athens port of Piraeus was the base for the Athenian fleet, lothal is one of the most prominent cities of the ancient Indus valley civilisation, located in the Bhāl region of the modern state of Gujarāt and dating from 3700 BCE. Ostia Antica was the port of ancient Rome with Portus established by Claudius, Ports often have cargo-handling equipment, such as cranes and forklifts for use in loading ships, which may be provided by private interests or public bodies. Often, canneries or other processing facilities will be located nearby, some ports feature canals, which allow ships further movement inland. Access to intermodal transportation, such as railroads and highways, is critical to a port, so that passengers, Ports with international traffic have customs facilities. Harbor pilots and tugboats may maneuver large ships in tight quarters when near docks, the terms port and seaport are used for different types of port facilities that handle ocean-going vessels, and river port is used for river traffic, such as barges and other shallow-draft vessels. An inland port is a port on a lake, river, or canal with access to a sea or ocean. An example of this is the St. Lawrence Seaway which allows ships to travel from the Atlantic Ocean several thousand kilometers inland to Great Lakes ports like Duluth-Superior, a fishing port is a port or harbor for landing and distributing fish. It may be a facility, but it is usually commercial. A fishing port is the port that depends on an ocean product. In recent decades, regulations to save fishing stock may limit the use of a fishing port, a dry port is an inland intermodal terminal directly connected by road or rail to a seaport and operating as a centre for the transshipment of sea cargo to inland destinations. A warm-water port is one where the water does not freeze in wintertime, because they are available year-round, warm-water ports can be of great geopolitical or economic interest. A seaport is further categorized as a port or a cargo port. Additionally, cruise ports are known as a home port or a port of call
8.
Castle town
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A castle town is a settlement built adjacent to or surrounding a castle. Castle towns were common in Medieval Europe, some examples include small towns like Alnwick and Arundel, which are still dominated by their castles. In Western Europe, and England particularly, it is common for cities, towns organized around Japanese castles are called jōkamachi. Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd
9.
Saitama Seibu Lions
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The Saitama Seibu Lions are a professional baseball team in Japans Pacific League based north of Tokyo in Tokorozawa, Saitama. Before 1979, they were based in Fukuoka in Kyushu, the team is owned by a subsidiary of Prince Hotels, which in turn is owned by the Seibu Group. Between 1978 and 2008, the logo and mascot were based on the adult version of Kimba the White Lion. In 2004, former Seibu Lions player Kazuo Matsui became the first Japanese infielder to play in Major League Baseball, in 1950, the team became a founding member of the Pacific League. It was then owned by Nishi-Nippon Railroad, which was based in Fukuoka, the team finished sixth that year, and at the end of the season was merged with the Nishi-Nippon Pirates to form the Nishitetsu Lions. The Nishitetsu Lions called Heiwadai Stadium home for their entire existence and they were one of a dominant team in the Pacific League during the 1950s, winning four pennants, including three straight Japan Series against the Yomiuri Giants behind famed manager Osamu Mihara. The team struggled through the decade and did not witness much success on the field. These losses decimated the team, which finished the 1970 season in last place, after a third straight last-place finish, in November 1972 the franchise was sold to the Fukuoka Baseball Corporation, also a part of Nishi-Nippon Railroad. Following the sale, the team was renamed the Taiheiyo Club Lions, Nishi-Nippon Railroad, founded by Nagayoshi Nakamura, owner of Lotte and the Orions, sold the teams sponsorship rights to Taiheiyo Club, a golf course and resort developer. Through the 1970s, the Lions finished no higher than third, at the end of the 1976 season, the Fukuoka Baseball Corporation announced that the teams new sponsor was Crown Gas Lighter. With this, the name for the upcoming season was changed to the Crown Lighter Lions. At the end of the 1978 season, the team was sold to Kokudo Keikaku, following the sale of the Crown Lighter Lions and their merging into Price Hotels, the team was renamed the Seibu Lions and relocated to a new ballpark in Tokorozawa, Saitama. The Lions finished in last place following the 1979 season, tatsuro Hirooka told the players that meat and other animal foods increase athletes susceptibility to injury, and decrease their ability to perform. He required all players to take up a strictly vegetarian diet, the team gained the moniker Invincible Seibu during the 1980s and 1990s due to their sustained domination of the league. The Lions had a lineup in this period, loaded with sluggers such as Kouji Akiyama, Kazuhiro Kiyohara. Their defense also benefited from the services of skilled players such as Romeo Calhoun, Hiromichi Ishige, Hatsuhiko Tsuji, among the pitchers employed by the Lions in this period was The Oriental Express Taigen Kaku, Kimiyasu Kudoh, Hisanobu Watanabe, and relievers Yoshitaka Katori and Tetsuya Shiozaki. In order to reinforce the affiliation between the team and their region, the Lions added the prefecture name Saitama to their team name in 2008. They were Pacific League Champions that year and went on to win the Japan Series
10.
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
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The Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks are a Japanese baseball team based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture. The team was bought on January 28,2005 by the SoftBank Corporation, the team was formerly known as the Nankai Hawks and was based in Osaka. In 1988, Daiei bought the team from Osakas Nankai Electric Railway Co. the franchises original name was Nankai when it joined the Japanese Baseball League in 1938, with the name originating with the Nankai Electric Railway Co. which owned the team at the time. The teams name was changed to Kinki Nippon in mid-1944 as it received partial sponsorship from Kinki Nippon Railway, after the 1945 hiatus in the JBL due to the Pacific War, in 1946 the teams name was changed to Kinki Great Ring and the team won the JBL championship. Throughout the name changes the club underwent between 1938 and 1946, Nankai Electric Railway Co. maintained ownership of the franchise, in mid-1947, Nankai settled upon its current moniker. In 1964, the Hawks team sent pitching prospect Masanori Murakami, on September 1 of that year Murakami became the first Japanese player to play in Major League Baseball when he appeared on the mound for the San Francisco Giants. Disputes over the rights to his contract led to the 1967 United States – Japanese Player Contract Agreement. Murakami returned to the Hawks in 1966, playing for them through 1974 and he contributed to the teams league championship in 1973. The team fell on hard times between 1978 and 1988, finishing no better than 4th place out of the 6 teams in the Pacific League in any year in the period. The team witnessed its fan base diminish as a result of the period of poor play, with attendance dropping. The change in the financial performance led Nankai Electric Railway to question the value of maintaining ownership. The companys board of directors and union leadership put pressure on Den Kawakatsu, then president of Nankai Railway and owner of the team, to sell the team, which he refused to do. However, Mr. Katsuya Nomura, Mutsuo Minagawa, Hiromitsu Kadota, after the franchise was acquired by department store chain Daiei, Inc. the Hawks were flush with new funds and a new home city in Fukuoka, the capital of the eponymous prefecture on Kyushu Island. However, in spite of efforts of the new ownership, the Hawks still were usually in the cellar of the Pacific League. The Hawks front office adopted a strategy of drafting and developing players, supplemented by free agent signings. Setoyamas most brilliant moves were the hiring of Sadaharu Oh to take the reins of manager, Oh replaced then-manager Rikuo Nemoto, who was named team president and held that position until his death in 1999. Also tapped was Akira Ishikawa, a former player, who was tasked with bringing in talented amateurs. Supplementing the amateur signings were some free-agent acquisitions, most of them former Seibu stars from their 1980s championship teams, among them were infielder Hiromichi Ishige, immensely popular outfielder and current manager Koji Akiyama, and ace left-handed pitcher Kimiyasu Kudoh
11.
Gate
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A gate or gateway is a point of entry to a space which is enclosed by walls. Gates may prevent or control the entry or exit of individuals, other terms for gate include yett and port. The word derives from the old Norse gata, meaning road or path, and originally referred to the gap in the wall or fence, rather than the barrier which closed it. The moving part or parts of a gateway may be called doors, a gate may have a latch to keep it from swinging and a lock for security. Larger gates can be used for a building, such as a castle or fortified town. Today, many doors are opened by an automated gate operator
12.
Heian period
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The Heian period is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. The period is named after the city of Heian-kyō, or modern Kyōto. It is the period in Japanese history when Buddhism, Taoism, the Heian period is also considered the peak of the Japanese imperial court and noted for its art, especially poetry and literature. Although the Imperial House of Japan had power on the surface, the power was in the hands of the Fujiwara clan. Many emperors actually had mothers from the Fujiwara family, the Heian period was preceded by the Nara period and began in 794 A. D. after the movement of the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō, by the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu. Kanmu first tried to move the capital to Nagaoka-kyō, but a series of disasters befell the city, prompting the emperor to relocate the capital a second time, a rebellion occurred in China in the last years of the 9th century, making the political situation unstable. The Japanese missions to Tang China was suspended and the influx of Chinese exports halted, therefore the Heian Period is considered a high point in Japanese culture that later generations have always admired. The period is noted for the rise of the samurai class. Nominally, sovereignty lay in the emperor but in power was wielded by the Fujiwara nobility. However, to protect their interests in the provinces, the Fujiwara and other noble families required guards, police, the warrior class made steady political gains throughout the Heian period. Still, a military takeover of the Japanese government was centuries away. The entry of the class into court influence was a result of the Hōgen Rebellion. At this time Taira no Kiyomori revived the Fujiwara practices by placing his grandson on the throne to rule Japan by regency and their clan, the Taira, would not be overthrown until after the Genpei War, which marked the start of the shogunate. The Kamakura period began in 1185 when Minamoto no Yoritomo seized power from the emperors, Nara was abandoned after only 70 years in part due to the ascendancy of Dōkyō and the encroaching secular power of the Buddhist institutions there. Kyōto had good access to the sea and could be reached by land routes from the eastern provinces. The early Heian period continued Nara culture, the Heian capital was patterned on the Chinese Tang capital at Changan, as was Nara, Kanmu endeavoured to improve the Tang-style administrative system which was in use. Known as the ritsuryō, this attempted to recreate the Tang imperium in Japan. Despite the decline of the Taika–Taihō reforms, imperial government was vigorous during the early Heian period, Kanmus avoidance of drastic reform decreased the intensity of political struggles, and he became recognized as one of Japans most forceful emperors
13.
Chikuzen Province
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Chikuzen Province was an old province of Japan in the area that is today part of Fukuoka Prefecture in Kyūshū. It was sometimes called Chikushū or Chikuyō, with Chikugo Province, Chikuzen bordered Buzen, Bungo, Chikugo, and Hizen Provinces. The original provincial capital is believed to be near Dazaifu, although Fukuoka city has become dominant in modern times, at the end of the 13th century, Chikuzen was the landing point for a Mongol invasion force. But the main force was destroyed by a typhoon, in April 1336, Kikuchi Taketoshi attacked the Shoni clan stronghold at Dazaifu. At the time, the Shoni were allied with Ashikaga Takauji in his battles against Go-Daigo, the Shoni were defeated, which led to the suicide of several clan members, including their leader Shoni Sadatsune. In the Meiji period, the provinces of Japan were converted into prefectures, maps of Japan and Chikuzen Province were reformed in the 1870s. At the same time, the continued to exist for some purposes. For example, Chikuzen is explicitly recognized in treaties in 1894 between Japan and the United States and between Japan and the United Kingdom, sumiyoshi-jinja and Hakosaki-gū were the chief Shinto shrines of Chikuzen. ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5, OCLC58053128 Papinot, Edmond, historical and Geographic Dictionary of Japan. OCLC77691250 Media related to Chikuzen Province at Wikimedia Commons Murdochs map of provinces,1903
14.
Battle of Sekigahara
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The Battle of Sekigahara was a decisive battle on October 21,1600 that preceded the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate. Japan had a period of peace after the battle. Oda Nobunaga had slowly consolidated control over much of Japan and was in control of the shogun, Ashikaga tried to escape this predicament in 1573 by attacking Oda, but failed and was exiled, thus ending his shogunate. Nobunaga ruled unopposed until he was betrayed by his own retainer Akechi Mitsuhide in 1582, while under attack in Kyoto, Nobunaga committed suicide by seppuku. Toyotomi Hideyoshi quickly avenged his master Nobunaga and consolidated control over Japan, Hideyoshi had risen from humble roots to become the ruler of Japan. The death of Hideyoshi created a vacuum in Japan, which ultimately was resolved by the outcome at Sekigahara. With no appointed shogun over the armies, this left a vacuum in the Japanese government. Most notably, Katō Kiyomasa and Fukushima Masanori were publicly critical of the bureaucrats, especially Ishida Mitsunari, Tokugawa Ieyasu took advantage of this situation, and recruited them, redirecting the animosity to weaken the Toyotomi clan. Tokugawa Ieyasu was unrivaled in terms of seniority, rank, reputation, rumors started to spread stating that Ieyasu, at that point the only surviving ally of Oda Nobunaga, would take over Hideyoshis legacy just as Nobunagas was taken. This was especially evident amongst the loyalist bureaucrats, who suspected Ieyasu of agitating unrest amongst Toyotomis former vassals. Later, a conspiracy to assassinate Ieyasu surfaced, and many Toyotomi loyalists, including Toshiies son, Toshinaga, were accused of taking part. However, Uesugi Kagekatsu, one of Hideyoshis appointed regents, defied Ieyasu by building up his military, afterwards, Ieyasu summoned the help of various supporters and led them northward to attack the Uesugi clan. Many of them were at that moment besieging Hasedō though, Ishida Mitsunari, grasping the opportunity created by the chaos, rose up in response and created an alliance to challenge Ieyasus supporters. Mitsunari, in his home Sawayama Castle, met with Ōtani Yoshitsugu, Mashita Nagamori, here, they forged the alliance, and invited Mōri Terumoto, who actually did not take part in Sekigahara, to be its head. Thus formed what came to be referred to as the Western Army, Mori seized Osaka Castle for their base of operations, since most of Tokugawa’s forces had vacated the area to attack Uesugi. Ishida wanted to reinforce Mori at the impregnable Osaka Castle and this would let Mitsunari control the traditional capital city of Kyoto and challenge Tokugawa’s power. To this end, Mitsunari’s forces headed for Gifu Castle in order to use it as an area to move on Kyoto. Back in Edo, Ieyasu received news of the situation in the Kansai region, Tokugawa himself commanded 30,000 men and his subordinates led another 40,000 men
15.
Najima Castle
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Najima Castle is a hilltop castle, located in Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. Today, only its ruins still stand, Najima Castle was located on a peninsula projecting into Hakata Bay on the north of the estuary of the Tatara River. The hon-maru, presumably the highest place in the castle, is now about 25 meters or 82 ft. above sea level, the castle was built by Kobayakawa Takakage, an illustrious Japanese general, in the late 16th century. On top of that, the castle was located far from Hakata, the Castle was demolished around 1601, and the stones and the wooden structures were re-used to build the Fukuoka Castle. Tachibana clan Kobayakawa clan Kuroda clan Japanese Castle Explorer - Najima Castle
16.
Edo Castle
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Edo Castle, also known as Chiyoda Castle, is a flatland castle that was built in 1457 by Ōta Dōkan. It is today part of the Tokyo Imperial Palace and is located in Chiyoda, Tokyo, then known as Edo, Toshima District, Tokugawa Ieyasu established the Tokugawa shogunate here. It was the residence of the shogun and location of the shogunate, after the resignation of the shogun and the Meiji Restoration, it became the Tokyo Imperial Palace. Some moats, walls and ramparts of the castle survive to this day, however, the grounds were more extensive during the Edo period, with Tokyo Station and the Marunouchi section of the city lying within the outermost moat. It also encompassed Kitanomaru Park, the Nippon Budokan Hall and other landmarks of the surrounding area, the warrior Edo Shigetsugu built his residence in what is now the Honmaru and Ninomaru part of Edo Castle, around the end of the Heian or beginning of the Kamakura period. The Edo clan perished in the 15th century as a result of uprisings in the Kantō region, and Ōta Dōkan, the castle later came under the control of the Late Hōjō clan in 1524 after the Siege of Edo. The castle was vacated in 1590 due to the Siege of Odawara, Tokugawa Ieyasu made Edo Castle his base after he was offered eight eastern provinces by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. He later defeated Toyotomi Hideyori, son of Hideyoshi, at the Siege of Osaka in 1615, Tokugawa Ieyasu received the title of Seii Taishōgun in 1603, and Edo became the center of Tokugawas administration. Initially, parts of the area were lying under water, the sea reached the present Nishinomaru area of Edo Castle, and Hibiya was a beach. The landscape was changed for the construction of the castle, most construction started in 1593 and was completed in 1636 under Ieyasus grandson, Tokugawa Iemitsu. By this time, Edo had a population of 150,000, the existing Honmaru, Ninomaru, and Sannomaru areas were extended with the addition of the Nishinomaru, Nishinomaru-shita, Fukiage, and Kitanomaru areas. The daimyōs were required by the shōgun to supply building materials or finances, large granite stones were moved from afar, the size and number of the stones depended on the wealth of the daimyōs. The wealthier ones had to contribute more and those who did not supply stones were required to contribute labor for such tasks as digging the large moats and flattening hills. The earth that was taken from the moats was used as landfill for sea-reclamation or to level the ground, thus the construction of Edo Castle laid the foundation for parts of the city where merchants were able to settle. At least 10,000 men were involved in the first phase of the construction, when construction ended, the castle had 38 gates. The ramparts were almost 20 meters high and the walls were 12 meters high. Moats forming roughly concentric circles were dug for further protection, some moats reached as far as Ichigaya and Yotsuya, and parts of the ramparts survive to this day. This area is bordered by either the sea or the Kanda River, various fires over the centuries damaged or destroyed parts of the castle, Edo and the majority of its buildings being made of timber
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Osaka Castle
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Osaka Castle is a Japanese castle in Chūō-ku, Osaka, Japan. The castle is one of Japans most famous landmarks and it played a role in the unification of Japan during the sixteenth century of the Azuchi-Momoyama period. The main tower of Osaka Castle is situated on a plot of land roughly one square kilometer and it is built on two raised platforms of landfill supported by sheer walls of cut rock, using a technique called Burdock piling, each overlooking a moat. The central castle building is five stories on the outside and eight stories on the inside, the basic plan was modeled after Azuchi Castle, the headquarters of Oda Nobunaga. In 1585 the Inner donjon was completed, Toyotomi continued to extend and expand the castle, making it more and more formidable to attackers. In 1597 construction was completed and Hideyoshi died, Osaka Castle passed to his son, Toyotomi Hideyori. In 1600 Tokugawa Ieyasu defeated his opponents at the Battle of Sekigahara, in 1614 Tokugawa attacked Toyotomi in the winter, starting the Siege of Osaka. Although the Toyotomi forces were outnumbered two to one, they managed to fight off Tokugawas 200, 000-man army and protect the castles outer walls. Ieyasu had the outer moat filled, negating one of the castles main outer defenses. During the summer of 1615, Hideyori began to restore the outer moat, Tokugawa, in outrage, sent his armies to Osaka Castle again, and routed the Toyotomi men inside the outer walls on June 4. Osaka Castle fell to Tokugawa, and the Toyotomi clan perished, in 1620, the new heir to the shogunate, Tokugawa Hidetada, began to reconstruct and re-arm Osaka Castle. He built a new elevated main tower, five stories on the outside and eight stories on the inside, the walls built in the 1620s still stand today, and are made out of interlocked granite boulders without mortar. Many of the stones were brought from quarries near the Seto Inland Sea. In 1660, lightning ignited the gunpowder warehouse and the explosion set the castle on fire. In 1665, lightning struck and burnt down the main tower, in 1843, after decades of neglect, the castle got much-needed repairs when the bakufu collected money from the people of the region to rebuild several of the turrets. In 1868, Osaka Castle fell and was surrendered to anti-bakufu imperial loyalists, much of the castle was burned in the civil conflicts surrounding the Meiji Restoration. Under the Meiji government, Osaka Castle became part of the Osaka Army Arsenal manufacturing guns, ammunition, in 1928, the main tower was restored after the mayor of Osaka concluded a highly successful fund-raising drive. During World War II, the arsenal became one of the largest military armories, bombing raids targeting the arsenal damaged the reconstructed main castle tower and, on August 14,1945, destroyed 90% of the arsenal and killed 382 people working there
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Kyushu
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Kyushu is the third biggest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Its alternative ancient names include Kyūkoku, Chinzei, and Tsukushi-no-shima, the historical regional name Saikaidō referred to Kyushu and its surrounding islands. In the 8th century Taihō Code reforms, Dazaifu was established as an administrative term for the region. As of 2016, Kyushu has a population of 12,970,479, the island is mountainous, and Japans most active volcano, Mt Aso at 1,591 metres, is on Kyushu. There are many signs of tectonic activity, including numerous areas of hot springs. The most famous of these are in Beppu, on the east shore, the island is separated from Honshu by the Kanmon Straits. The name Kyūshū comes from the nine ancient provinces of Saikaidō situated on the island, Chikuzen, Chikugo, Hizen, Higo, Buzen, Bungo, Hyūga, Osumi, excepting Oita and Miyazaki cities, the eastern seaboard shows a general decline in population. Designated cities Fukuoka Kitakyushu Kumamoto Core cities Kagoshima Ōita Nagasaki Miyazaki Naha Kurume Parts of Kyushu have a climate, particularly Miyazaki. Major agricultural products are rice, tea, tobacco, sweet potatoes, the island is noted for various types of porcelain, including Arita, Imari, Satsuma, and Karatsu. Heavy industry is concentrated in the north around Fukuoka, Kitakyushu, Nagasaki, and Oita and includes chemicals, automobiles, semiconductors, in 2010, the graduate employment rate in the region was the lowest nationwide, at 88. 9%. Besides the volcanic area of the south, there are significant mud hot springs in the part of the island, around Beppu. These springs are the site of occurrence of certain extremophile micro-organisms, the Kanmon Bridge also connects the island with Honshu. Railways on the island are operated by the Kyushu Railway Company, and Nishitetsu Railway
19.
Kumamoto
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Kumamoto is the capital city of Kumamoto Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, Japan. As of March 1,2010, the city has an population of 731,286. The total area is 389.53 km2, greater Kumamoto had a population of 1,460,000, as of the 2000 census. As of 2010, Kumamoto Metropolitan Employment Area has a GDP of US$39.8 billion and it is not considered part of the Fukuoka–Kitakyushu metropolitan area, despite their shared border. The city was designated on April 1,2012 by government ordinance, katō Kiyomasa, a contemporary of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, was made daimyo of half of the administrative region of Higo in 1588. After that, Kiyomasa built Kumamoto Castle, due to its many innovative defensive designs, Kumamoto Castle was considered impregnable, and Kiyomasa enjoyed a reputation as one of the finest castle-builders in Japanese history. After Kiyomasa died in 1611, his son, Tadahiro, succeeded him, the current administrative body of the City of Kumamoto was founded on April 1,1889. Near the end of World War II, Kumamto experienced several air raids, about one third of the city was burned, and more than 300 people died. On February 1,1991, the towns of Akita, Kawachi, Tenmei, on October 6,2008, the town of Tomiai was merged into Kumamoto. On March 23,2010, the town of Jōnan, a series of earthquakes struck the area beginning April 14,2016, including a tremor with moment magnitude 7.1 early in the morning of April 16,2016, local time. Kumamoto has a subtropical climate with hot summers and cool winters. Precipitation is significant throughout the year, but is much heavier around the summer, especially the months of June, the citys most famous landmark is Kumamoto Castle, a large and, in its day, extremely well fortified Japanese castle. It was during this time that the tradition of eating basashi originated, basashi remains popular in Kumamoto and, to a lesser extent, elsewhere in Japan, though these days it is usually considered a delicacy. Within the outer walls of Kumamoto Castle is the Hosokawa Gyobu-tei and this traditional wooden mansion has a fine Japanese garden located on its grounds. Miyamoto Musashi lived the last part of his life in Kumamoto and his tomb and the cave where he resided during his final years is situated close by. He penned the famous Go Rin no Sho whilst living here, Kumamoto is also home to Suizen-ji Jōju-en, a formal garden neighboring Suizenji Temple approximately 3 kilometers southeast of Kumamoto Castle. A notable shrine is Takahashi Inari Shrine, Suizenji Park is also home to the Suizenji Municipal Stadium, where the citys football team, Roasso Kumamoto used to play regularly, but nowadays they use the larger KKWing Stadium in Higashi Ward. The downtown area has a district centred on two shopping arcades, the Shimotori and Kamitori, which extend for several city blocks
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Dry stone
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Dry stone is a building method by which structures are constructed from stones without any mortar to bind them together. Dry stone structures are stable because of their construction method. Dry stone technology is best known in the context of wall construction, but dry stone artwork, buildings, bridges, Dry stone walls have been traditionally used in building construction as field boundaries and garden or churchyard walls, and on steep slopes as retaining walls for terracing. Some dry-stone wall constructions in north-west Europe have been dated back to the Neolithic Age, some Cornish hedges are believed by the Guild of Cornish Hedgers to date from 5000 BC, although there appears to be little dating evidence. In County Mayo, Ireland, a field system made from dry-stone walls. The cyclopean walls of the acropolis of Mycenae have been dated to 1350 BC, in Belize, the Mayan ruins at Lubaantun illustrate use of dry stone construction in architecture of the 8th and 9th centuries AD. When used as boundaries, dry stone structures often are known as dykes. Dry stone walls are characteristic of areas of Britain and Ireland where rock outcrops naturally or large stones exist in quantity in the soil. They are especially abundant in the West of Ireland, particularly Connemara and they may also be found throughout the Mediterranean, including retaining walls used for terracing. Such constructions are common where large stones are plentiful or conditions are too harsh for hedges capable of retaining livestock to be grown as field boundaries. Many thousands of miles of such walls exist, most of them centuries old, the technique of construction was brought to America primarily by English and Scots-Irish immigrants. The technique was taken to Australia and New Zealand. Similar walls also are found in the Swiss-Italian border region, where they are used to enclose the open space under large natural boulders or outcrops. The higher-lying rock-rich fields and pastures in Bohemias South-Western border range of Šumava are often lined by dry stone walls built of field-stones removed from the arable or cultural land and they serve both as cattle/sheep fences and the lots borders. Sometimes also the dry stone terracing is apparent, often combined with parts of masonry that are held together by a clay-cum-needles composite mortar. Great Zimbabwe is a city in the south-eastern hills of Zimbabwe, near Lake Mutirikwe. It was the capital of the Kingdom of Zimbabwe during the countrys Late Iron Age, construction on the monument began in the 11th century and continued until the 15th century. The exact identity of the Great Zimbabwe builders is at present unknown, the stone city spans an area of 722 hectares which, at its peak, could have housed up to 18,000 people
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Bizen Province
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Bizen Province was a province of Japan on the Inland Sea side of Honshū, in what is today the southeastern part of Okayama Prefecture. It was sometimes called Bishū, with Bitchū and Bingo Provinces, Bizen borders Mimasaka, Harima, and Bitchū Provinces. Bizens original center was in the city of Okayama. From an early time Bizen was one of Japans main centers for sword smithing, in the 3rd month of the 6th year of the Wadō era, the land of Bizen-no kuni was administratively separated from Mimasaka Province. In that same year, Empress Genmeis Daijō-kan continued to organize other cadastral changes in the map of the Nara period. In Wadō6, Tanba Province was sundered from Tango Province, in Wadō5, Mutsu Province had been severed from Dewa Province. In the Muromachi period, Bizen was ruled by the Akamatsu clan from Mimasaka and they were later supplanted by the Ukita clan, and Ukita Hideie was one of the regents Toyotomi Hideyoshi appointed for his son. After Kobayakawa Hideaki helped Tokugawa Ieyasu to win the Battle of Sekigahara over Ukita and others, he was granted Ukitas domains in Bizen, Bizen passed through a variety of hands during the Edo period before being incorporated into the modern prefecture system. Kibitsuhiko jinja was the chief Shinto shrine of Bizen, cambridge, Harvard University Press ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5, OCLC58053128 Titsingh, Isaac. Paris, Royal Asiatic Society, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain, OCLC5850691 Media related to Bizen Province at Wikimedia Commons Bizen Province at JapaneseCastleExplorer. com Murdochs map of provinces,1903
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Setouchi, Okayama
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Setouchi is a city located in southern Okayama Prefecture, Japan. As of January 1,2012, the city had an population of 39,232, with 14,735 households. The total area is 125.51 km2, the modern city of Setouchi was founded on November 1,2004, by the merger of the former towns of Oku, Osafune and Ushimado. Its city hall is the town hall of Oku. The name Setouchi is derived from Seto Inland Sea, the city faces the Inland Sea on its eastern and southern parts. Its main industries are fishery, agriculture, pottery, and sightseeing, port Ushimado was a famous port till the early modern era. It served messengers from Korea to the Tokugawa Shogunate, the port is today a good spot for sightseeing and sailing. Osafune was famous for the production of katana in the 12th century under the name of Bizen Osafune, the Fukuoka Market was recorded in the scroll Ippen Shonin Emaki, drawn in the 13th century. At the end of the Kamakura period a castle was built in Fukuoka, in the middle Muromachi period, the daimyō who governed Bizen province took this castle as their site, rebuilt and fortified it more than before. Because the Yoshii river changed its course and most of Fukuoka including the castle sank under the river, Setouchi is twinned with, Mytilene, Greece Horokanai, Hokkaidō, Japan Tsushima, Nagasaki, Japan Setouchi City official website
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Bakumatsu
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Bakumatsu refers to the final years of the Edo period when the Tokugawa shogunate ended. Between 1853 and 1867 Japan ended its isolationist foreign policy known as sakoku, the major ideological-political divide during this period was between the pro-imperial nationalists called ishin shishi and the shogunate forces, which included the elite shinsengumi swordsmen. Although these two groups were the most visible powers, many other factions attempted to use the chaos of Bakumatsu to seize personal power, the second was to be expressed in the phrase sonnō jōi, or revere the Emperor, expel the barbarians. The turning point of the Bakumatsu was during the Boshin War, frictions with foreign shipping led Japan to take defensive actions from the beginning of the 19th century. Western ships were increasing their presence around Japan due to whaling activities and they were hoping for Japan to become a base for supply or at least a place where shipwrecks could receive assistance. The violent demands made by the British frigate Phaeton in 1808 shocked many in Japan, in 1825, the Edict to expel foreigners at all cost was issued by the Shogunate, prohibiting any contacts with foreigners, it remained in place until 1842. Meanwhile, Japan endeavoured to learn about foreign sciences through rangaku and these domains also studied the manufacture of Western weapons. By 1852 Satsuma and Saga had reverbatory furnaces to produce the necessary for firearms. Following the Morrison incident involving the Morrison under Charles W. King in 1837, after the victory of the British over the Chinese in the 1840 Opium War, many Japanese realized that traditional ways would not be sufficient to repel Western intrusions. To resist Western military forces, Western guns were studied and demonstrations made in 1841 by Takashima Shūhan to the Tokugawa Shogunate, a national debate was already taking place about how to better avoid foreign domination. Some like Egawa claimed that it was necessary to use the techniques to repel them. Others, such as Torii Yōzō argued that only traditional Japanese methods should be employed and reinforced, Egawa argued that just as Confucianism and Buddhism had been introduced from abroad, it made sense to introduce useful Western techniques. A theoretical synthesis of Western knowledge and Eastern morality would later be accomplished by Sakuma Shōzan and Yokoi Shōnan, after 1839, however, traditionalists tended to prevail. Students of Western sciences were accused of treason, put under house arrest, forced to commit ritual suicide, Perrys four-ship squadron appeared in Edo Bay in July 1853, the bakufu was thrown into turmoil. Commodore Perry was fully prepared for hostilities if his negotiations with the Japanese failed and he gave them two white flags, telling them to hoist the flags when they wished a bombardment from his fleet to cease and to surrender. To demonstrate his weapons, Perry ordered his ships to several buildings around the harbor. The ships of Perry were equipped with new Paixhans shell guns, fortifications were established at Odaiba in Tokyo Bay in order to protect Edo from an American incursion. Industrial developments were soon started in order to build modern cannons
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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
25.
Kuroda Yoshitaka
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Kuroda Yoshitaka, also known as Kuroda Kanbei, was a Japanese daimyō of the late Sengoku through early Edo periods. Renowned as a man of great ambition, he was a chief strategist, Kuroda became a Christian when he was 38, and received Simeon Josui as a baptismal name. His quick wit, bravery, and loyalty were respected by his warriors, Kuroda Yoshitaka was born in Himeji on December 22,1546, the son of Kuroda Mototaka. The Kuroda clan are believed to have originated in Ōmi Province, yoshitakas grandfather Shigetaka brought the family to Himeji and took up residence at Gochaku Castle, east of Himeji Castle. When his father, Mototaka died, Kuroda became the head of the Kuroda family at the age of 21. Yoshitaka succeeded to the headship in 1567, the same year that he participated in the Siege of Inabayama Castle. A few years later, with Toyotomi Hideyoshi spearheading the Oda clans advance into the Chugoku region, Yoshitaka, together with the sickly Takenaka Hanbei, served as Hideyoshis strategists and assisted in the campaign against the Mōri clan. Shortly before 1587, Yoshitaka was ordered by Hideyoshi to lead an attack into Kyushu, along with him was the Christian daimyō Takayama Ukon. After seeing the thriving Christian population of Kyushu, under Ukons influence, while Ukon resisted the edict and lost his status, Yoshitaka gave up his new religion and adopted a monks habit, calling himself Josui. Like Naitō Joan, it is believed that Yoshitaka chose his new name from Josué, Kuroda was a frugal person, and he sold used military equipment and personal belongings to his vassals. He saved enough money to pay mercenaries in the Sekigahara War due to his thrifty mind and his last words were, Do not try to gain other peoples favor and do not wish for wealth. He was also involved in the project to build castles, Himeji castle, Nagoya castle, Osaka castle. According to a program about Japanese historical figures, Kuroda was simultaneously feared and his intelligence was under-estimated by his lord. This is because Kuroda helped Toyotomi to reign over the country as his shadow strategist. In addition, Kuroda deepened a friendship with Sen no Rikyū who was known as the founder of the Japanese tea ceremony wabi-cha when Kuroda joined Rikyūs tea ceremony with Toyotomi. In 1577, Arioka castles lord, Murashige Araki, concluded an alliance with the Mouri to revolt against the Oda clan, an ally, Masamoto Kodera, also framed a plot to cooperate with Araki. Then, Kuroda went to Arioka castle to prevail on Araki not to become a defector of Oda in 1578 Nevertheless, after Kuroda was imprisoned, he had a leg disorder and lost his eyesight in one eye because of the dungeon’s lack of space for sleeping and sitting. After his son Nagamasa succeeded him, Yoshitaka died on April 19,1604 and his grave is in the Namazuta area of Iizuka, Fukuoka, near the original site of Namazuta Castle
26.
Genko Borui
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The Genkō Bōrui was a defensive stone wall,20 kilometres long, constructed along Hakata Bay in Japan in preparation for an attack by Mongol forces of the Yuan Dynasty after the first attack of 1274. The second attack of 1281 was thwarted by a typhoon, or kamikaze, in the Edo era, some of the stones were reused for the construction of Fukuoka Castle, though Genkō Bōrui has remained intact at several points along the Hakata Bay. It was designated a historic site on March 30,1931. The Mongol invasions Genkō of Japan in 1274 and 1281 were major military efforts undertaken by Kublai Khan to conquer Japan. After the failure of the first invasion, the Kamakura shogunate initiated a series of projects in 1275 to prepare for the next invasion, which they felt was imminent. A defensive wall was planned and a tax was levied on the samurai, temples, the planned date of completion for most of the wall was August of the same year, but the deadline differed depending on the strategic importance of given locations. Construction of the wall was made by various Kyushu provinces. These provinces continued maintenance on the wall until the part of the Muromachi period. A part of Genkō Bōrui was completed before the second invasion, the invaders were forced to anchor their ships at Shikanoshima Island. The battles occurred over several months between several thousand evenly-matched combatants, takezaki Suenaga of Higo province joined the battles and had artists draw scrolls concerning the Battle of Kōan. This second attack of 1281 was finally thwarted by a typhoon, or kamikaze, even later, the defense system was continued, and remained intact until 1332. In the Edo period, most of the stones were used for the construction of Fukuoka Castle and it was designated a national historic site on March 30,1931. At first, battle-ready soldiers were excluded from taxation, but this policy was soon discontinued, the tax was usually one sun of the walls length per 1 tan of rice field, the weapons were one shield, one flag and 20 arrows per 1 jo of stone wall. The tax was in the form of men who constructed the wall and in the form of the items, the taxation continued to the early part of the Muromachi Bakufu. The Genkō Bōrui was typically 2 metres high and 2 metres wide, the western end was in Imazu, Nishiku, Fukuoka and the eastern end in Kashii, Higashiku, Fukuoka, and about 20 kilometres long. It was packed with small stones inside, the seaside steep, shields and flags were placed on the Genko Borui and stakes were planted in the sea at irregular intervals. The Genkō Bōrui was excavated at the locations listed below, all locations were along Hakata Bay, within the city of Fukuoka. In 1958, human bones corresponding to 200 bodies were found in Imazu near the defensive structure, comprehensive Database of Archaeological Site Reports in Japan, Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties
27.
Kuruwa
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Kuruwa is a Japanese term that refers to the walls of a Japanese castle, and the regions bounded by the arrangement of those walls. The term may also be written as 郭, and the maru is also used for castles built after the Edo period. Most castles built during the ages contain many kuruwa of small area. The western equivalent is the motte-and-bailey, the kuruwa regions were planned for after the basic layout of the castle grounds was decided. The three basic kuruwa regions are the honmaru, the core of the castle, and the ninomaru and sannomaru, there are three major styles of kuruwa arrangement, Rinkaku style The ninomaru and sannomaru surround the honmaru at the center. This arrangement increases the castles defense in every direction, but surrounding each kuruwa requires an area of land to be allotted to the castle grounds. Yamagata Castle is an example of a castle that uses this arrangement, renkaku style The honmaru and ninomaru are arranged side by side. This causes the depth of the castle to increase, but the sides and rear of the honmaru are exposed, matsuyama Castle and Morioka Castle both use this kuruwa arrangement. Teikaku style The honmaru is placed adjacent to the castle walls and this arrangement is suited for castles built along natural barriers like swamps, rivers, mountains, or cliffs, since the natural barrier can cover the exposed side of the honmaru. Many castles use a combination of the three styles, and may fit into multiple categories of arrangement. Some castles may not be categorizable at all, smaller kuruwa regions called obikuruwa and koshikuruwa were sometimes placed around the central kuruwa in some arrangements. Demaru refers to a kuruwa that is placed independent from the central kuruwa, see below for more related terms. Most of the take the form -kuruwa or -maru. Castles that use the naming -maru were built during the modern period. Many castles contain kuruwa named after people or places. Honmaru The honmaru is the region of the castle, and serves as the living quarters for the castle ruler. It may also be referred to by other names including ichi no kuruwa. Tenshumaru The tenshumaru is a smaller kuruwa often located within the honmaru which houses the tenshu, very few tenshu remain intact, and Kōchi Castle is the only castle that still contains its original tenshu
28.
Tenshu
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Tenshu is an architectural typology found in Japanese castle complexes. They are easily identifiable as the highest tower within the castle, further, tenshu are typically decorated with varying patterns of dormer gables, and are capped with hip-and-gabled roofs with shachihoko finials. Not all Japanese castles originally possessed tenshu, many castles have lost their tenshu. First, the term was reserved for those castles under the direct control of Nobunaga or one of his vassals. Second, in its earliest uses there was no standard for writing the term. The earliest variants include 天主, 殿主, 殿守, ” or phonetically as てんしゅ, the first known use of the current standard “天守” appears in a letter dated the 27th day, 10th month of Tensho 7 issued by Nobunaga. While this way of writing tenshu gradually became the standard during the reign of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the older manner of writing is preferred when discussing certain castles. One important example of this is the Azuchi Castle tenshu which is referred as “天主. ”The history of tenshu as an architectural typology seems to have begun earlier than the use of the term. Towers at Tamonyama Castle and Gifu Castle are known to have had the character of a tenshu. Azuchi Castle is often credited as the birthplace of the tenshu, given the earliest usages of the name, however, it seems more likely that Azuchi played a key role in linking the typology and the name. The Compact Nelson Japanese-English Dictionary, Charles E. Tuttle Company, Tokyo 1999, ISBN 4-8053-0574-6 Kenkyushas New Japanese-English Dictionary, Kenkyusha Limited, Tokyo 1991, ISBN 4-7674-2015-6
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Himeji Castle
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Himeji Castle is a hilltop Japanese castle complex located in the city of Himeji, Hyōgo, Japan. The castle is regarded as the finest surviving example of prototypical Japanese castle architecture, the castle is frequently known as Hakuro-jō or Shirasagi-jō because of its brilliant white exterior and supposed resemblance to a bird taking flight. Himeji Castle dates to 1333, when Akamatsu Norimura built a fort on top of Himeyama hill, the fort was dismantled and rebuilt as Himeyama Castle in 1346, and then remodeled into Himeji Castle two centuries later. Himeji Castle was then remodeled in 1581 by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Several buildings were added to the castle complex by Honda Tadamasa from 1617 to 1618. For over 400 years, Himeji Castle has remained intact, even throughout the bombing of Himeji in World War II. Himeji Castle is the largest and most visited castle in Japan, the area within the middle moat of the castle complex is a designated Special Historic Site and five structures of the castle are also designated National Treasures. Along with Matsumoto Castle and Kumamoto Castle, Himeji Castle is considered one of Japans three premier castles, in order to preserve the castle buildings, it underwent restoration work for several years and reopened to the public on March 27,2015. The works also removed decades of dirt and grime, restoring the formerly gray roof to its brilliant white color. Himeji Castles construction dates to 1333, when a fort was constructed on Himeyama hill by Akamatsu Norimura, in 1346, his son Sadanori demolished this fort and built Himeyama Castle in its place. In 1545, the Kuroda clan was stationed here by order of the Kodera clan, in 1580, Kuroda Yoshitaka presented the castle to Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and in 1581 Hideyoshi significantly remodeled the castle, building a three-story keep with an area of about 55 m2. Following the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, Tokugawa Ieyasu granted Himeji Castle to his son-in-law, Ikeda Terumasa, the expenditure of labor involved in this expansion is believed to have totaled 25 million man-days. Ikeda died in 1613, passing the castle to his son, in 1617, Honda Tadamasa and his family inherited the castle, and Honda added several buildings to the castle complex, including a special tower for his daughter-in-law, Princess Sen. In the Meiji Period, many Japanese castles were destroyed, Himeji Castle was abandoned in 1871 and some of the castle corridors and gates were destroyed to make room for Japanese army barracks. The entirety of the complex was slated to be demolished by government policy, but it was spared by the efforts of Nakamura Shigeto. A stone monument honoring Nakamura was placed in the complex within the first gate. Although Himeji Castle was spared, Japanese castles had become obsolete, when the han feudal system was abolished in 1871, Himeji Castle was put up for auction. The castle was purchased by a Himeji resident for 23 Japanese yen, the buyer wanted to demolish the castle complex and develop the land, but the cost of destroying the castle was estimated to be too great, and it was again spared
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Flower garden
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A flower/floral garden is any garden where flowers are grown and displayed. Besides organizing the flowers in bedding-out schemes limited to annual and perennial flower beds, careful design also takes the time. The labour time can be decreased by using such as mulching, companion planting. In the vicinity Flower color is another important feature of both the border and the mixed border that includes shrubs as well as herbaceous plants. Flower gardens are sometimes tied in function to other kinds of gardens, like knot gardens or herb gardens, many also having decorative function. Many, if not most, plants considered decorative flowers originated as weeds and this led to an artificial selection process, producing ever-prettier flowers. This is thought to have occurred for the history of agriculture, perhaps even slightly earlier. Once domesticated, though, most flowers were grown either separately or as part of gardens having some other primary function. In the West, the idea of dedicated to flowers did not become common until the 19th century. A functional garden used to grow flowers for use rather than outdoor display is known as a cutting garden. It is usually only a feature of large residences, the cutting garden is typically placed in a fertile and sunlight position out of public view and is not artistically arranged, as it contains flowers for cutting. The cutting garden may comprise a herb garden and ornamental vegetables as well, raised-bed gardening Bedding Herbaceous border National Garden Bureau National Gardening Association Winnipeg In Bloom Documentary produced by Prairie Public Television
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Nagoya Castle
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Nagoya Castle is a Japanese castle located in Nagoya, central Japan. Another way of pronouncing Nagoya Castle is Meijō and this name is used for many city institutions, such as Meijō Park, the metros Meijō Line and Meijo University, reflecting the cultural influence of this historic structure. It was located near the site of the later Ninomaru residence, Oda Nobuhide seized it from Imagawa Ujitoyo in March 1532, residing there and changing the name to Nagoya Castle. His son, Oda Nobunaga, was born there in 1534. After he defeated Oda Nobutomo at Kiyosu Castle in April 1555, around 1582, the castle at Nagoya was abandoned. After various upheavals in Japan, Tokugawa Ieyasu emerged victorious and decided in November 1609 to rebuild the castle at Nagoya, up until the Meiji Restoration, Nagoya Castle flourished as the castle where the Owari branch, the foremost of the three Tokugawa clan lineages, resided. Castle construction technology had been developed and consolidated since the construction of Azuchi Castle in 1576 by Oda Nobunaga. One of the architects who designed and directed the building of the castle was Nakai Masakiyo, who was previously involved in the construction of the Nijō, Fushimi, Edo. In January 1610, the site was roped off and work began, Tokugawa Ieyasu ordered various daimyōs to help with the construction of what was to become the new capital of the existing Owari Province. Katō Kiyomasa, Fukushima Masanori, and Maeda Toshimitsu were among the 20 feudal lords from the northern and western part of Japan who were assigned to assist in the project. The inscriptions of feudal lords and their vassals, carved on the stones they carried, are visible today. In June 1611 a canal that today is the Hori River was built, the source for much of the building material for the new castle was the smaller Kiyosu Castle, including its tenshu, which was rebuilt as the northwest turret. In mid-1612, the construction of Honmaru Palace began, and the donjon was completed in December of that year. Artists including Kano Sadanobu painted the walls, ceilings, and sliding doors of Honmaru Palace in 1614, construction of the gates and the Sannomaru moat were completed in July, and in November of that year the Shogun Tokugawa Hidetada came for an inspection. Honmaru Palace was finished in February 1615 and Ninomaru Palace in 1617, the Tōshō-gū shrine was established in the Sannomaru enceinte in 1619, and the northwest turret, the former Kiyosu Tower of the Ofukemaru, was completed. In 1620, Tokugawa Yoshinao moved into Ninomaru Palace, where in 1627, overall renovation began on Honmaru Palace in May 1633 in preparation of the upcoming visit of Shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu on his way to the imperial capital at Kyoto. Additional chambers, bathrooms, and halls, such as Jorakuden, kanō Tanyū and other artists painted the walls, ceilings, and sliding doors in the new extensions in 1634. Work was completed in June, just in time for the visit in July of that year
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Japanese units of measurement
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Shakkan-hō is the traditional Japanese system of measurement. The name shakkanhō originates from the name of two of the units, the shaku, a unit of length, and the kan, the system is Chinese in origin. The units originated in the Shang Dynasty in the 13th century BC, and eventually stabilized in the Zhou Dynasty in the 10th century BC and spread from there to Japan, South East Asia, and Korea. The units of the Tang Dynasty were officially adopted in Japan in 701, many Taiwanese units of measurement are derived from the shakkanhō system. From 1924, the system was replaced by the metric system. However, in instances the old system is still used. In carpentry and agriculture use of the terms is common. Tools such as Japanese chisels, spatels, saws, hammers are manufactured in sizes of sun, land is sold on the basis of price in tsubo. Until the 2005 Japanese census, people were able to give the area of their houses in either square metres or tsubo, the tsubo was not used in the 2010 census. There are several different versions of the shakkanhō, the tables below show the one in common use in the Edo period. In 1891 the most common units were given definitions in terms of the system, The basis of the shakkanhō length measurements is the shaku. The other units are all fixed fractions or multiples of this basic unit, various shaku developed for various purposes. The unit of all measurement, such as area, is shaku, to distinguish from other shaku, this unit is called the kanejaku. Kanejaku means carpenters square, and this shaku was used by Japanese carpenters, the kujirajaku, literally whale shaku, was a standard used in the clothing industry. The name, whale shaku, comes from the rulers, which were made from baleen, a kujirajaku is 25% longer than kanejaku. As well as the kanejaku and kujirajaku systems, other systems also existed. One example is the gofukujaku, which refers to traditional Japanese clothing, in the gofukujaku system, one shaku equals 1.2 times the kanejaku. Shaku units are used for construction materials in Japan
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Ninja
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A ninja or shinobi was a covert agent or mercenary in feudal Japan. The functions of the ninja included espionage, sabotage, infiltration, assassination and their covert methods of waging irregular warfare were deemed dishonorable and beneath the samurai-caste, who observed strict rules about honor and combat. Following the unification of Japan under the Tokugawa shogunate, the ninja faded into obscurity, a number of shinobi manuals, often based on Chinese military philosophy, were written in the 17th and 18th centuries, most notably the Bansenshukai. By the time of the Meiji Restoration, the tradition of the shinobi had become a topic of popular imagination, Ninja figured prominently in legend and folklore, where they were associated with legendary abilities such as invisibility, walking on water and control over the natural elements. As a consequence, their perception in popular culture is based more on such legend. Ninja is a reading of the two kanji 忍者. In the native kunyomi reading, it is pronounced shinobi. The word shinobi appears in the record as far back as the late 8th century in poems in the Manyōshū. The underlying connotation of shinobi means to steal away, to hide and — by extension — to forbear, hence its association with stealth and invisibility. Historically, the ninja was not in common use. Along with shinobi, some examples include monomi, nokizaru, rappa, kusa, in historical documents, shinobi is almost always used. Kunoichi, meaning a female ninja, supposedly came from the characters くノ一, in the West, the word ninja became more prevalent than shinobi in the post-World War II culture, possibly because it was more comfortable for Western speakers. In English, the plural of ninja can be either unchanged as ninja, reflecting the Japanese languages lack of grammatical number, despite many popular folktales, historical accounts of the ninja are scarce. Historian Stephen Turnbull asserts that the ninja were recruited from the lower class. Instead, war epics such as the Tale of Hōgen and the Tale of the Heike focus mainly on the aristocratic samurai, the title ninja has sometimes been attributed retrospectively to the semi-legendary 4th-century prince Yamato Takeru. In the Kojiki, the young Yamato Takeru disguised himself as a charming maiden, however, these records take place at a very early stage of Japanese history, and they are unlikely to be connected to the shinobi of later accounts. The first recorded use of espionage was under the employment of Prince Shōtoku in the 6th century, such tactics were considered unsavory even in early times, when, according to the 10th century Shōmonki, the boy spy Koharumaru was killed for spying against the insurgent Taira no Masakado. Later, the 14th century war chronicle Taiheiki contained many references to shinobi and it was not until the 15th century that spies were specially trained for their purpose
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Kan'ei
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Kanei was a Japanese era name after Genna and before Shōhō. This period spanned the years from February 1624 through December 1644, the reigning emperors and empress were Go-Mizunoo-tennō, Meishō-tennō and Go-Kōmyō-tennō. 1624 Kanei gannen, The era name was changed to mark the start of a new cycle of the Chinese zodiac, the previous era ended and a new one commenced in Genna 9, on the 30th day of the 2nd month. This era name is derived from 寛広、永長,1624, Construction of the Hōei-zan temple began. November 4,1626, Emperor Go-Mizunoo and the empress visited Nijō Castle, they were accompanied by Princes of the Blood, palace ladies, among the precedents for this was the Tenshō era visit of Emperor Go-Yōzei to Toyotomi Hideyoshis extravagant Heian-kyō mansion, Juraku-dai. 1627, The Purple Robe Incident —the Emperor was accused of having bestowed honorific purple garments to more than ten priests despite the edict which banned them for two years. The shogunate intervened making the bestowing of the garments invalid, December 22,1629, The emperor renounced the throne in favor of his daughter, Kyōshi March 14,1632, Former Shogun Hidetada died. February 28,1633, There was an earthquake in Odawara in the Sagami,1634, Shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu appeared at Court in Miyako, and he visited ex-emperor Go-Mizunoo. It entered in History under the name of Kanei Jōran Jiai and was judged by the two Kenjutsu instructor of the Shogun,1635, An ambassador from the King of Korea was received in Heian-kyō. 1637, There was a major Christian rebellion in Arima and Shimabara,1638, The Christian revolt was crushed, and 37,000 of the rebels are killed. The Christian religion is extirpated in Japan,1640, A Spanish ship from Macao brought a delegation of 61 people to Nagasaki. They arrived on July 6,1640, and on August 9, all of them were decapitated,1643, An ambassador from the King of Korea arrived in Heian-kyō. November 10,1643, In the 15th year of Empress Meishōs reign, the empress abdicated, December 15,1643, Emperor Go-Kōmyō acceded to the throne. Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric and Käthe Roth, kyoto, the Old Capital of Japan, 794–1869. Secret Memoirs of the Shoguns, Isaac Titsingh and Japan, 1779–1822, nihon Ōdai Ichiran, ou, Annales des empereurs du Japon. Paris, Royal Asiatic Society, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain, national Diet Library, The Japanese Calendar -- historical overview plus illustrative images from librarys collection Bank of Japan, Kanei Tsuho, Bunsen
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Kanbun (era)
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Kanbun was a Japanese era after Manji and before Enpō. This period spanned the years from April 1661 to September 1673, the reigning emperors were Go-Sai-tennō and Reigen-tennō. 1661 Kanbun gannen, The new era name of Kanbun was created to mark a number of disasters including a fire at the Imperial Palace. The previous era ended and a new one commenced in Manji 4, march 20,1662, There was a violent earthquake in Heian-kyō which destroyed the tomb of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. 1620, Emperor Gosai ordered Tosa Hiromichi, a Tosa-school disciple, to adopt the name Sumiyoshi, march 5,1663, Go-sai abdicated in favor of his younger brother, Satohito, aged 10, and then he lived in complete retirement until his death. June 6,1663, An earthquake struck in Ōmi Province,1665, Courts of inquiry were established in all the villages of the empire. These courts were charged with discovering the faith of the inhabitants,1668, A major fire broke out in Edo—a conflagration lasting 45 days. The disastrous fire was attributed to arson, residents of Edo and later historians of the period also called this the fire of the eighth year of Kanbun. Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric and Käthe Roth, ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5, OCLC48943301 Ponsonby-Fane, Richard Arthur Brabazon. Secret Memoirs of the Shoguns, Isaac Titsingh and Japan, 1779–1822, ISBN 978-0-203-09985-8, OCLC65177072 Tanaka, Hiroyuki. The Ogasawara Islands in Tokugawa Japan, Kaiji Shi Kenkyuu,50, June,1993, Tokyo, The Japan Society of the History of Maritime. Click link to digitized, full-text copy of this monograph Titsingh, nihon Ōdai Ichiran, ou, Annales des empereurs du Japon. Paris, Royal Asiatic Society, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland
