1.
Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto
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Higashiyama is one of the eleven wards in the city of Kyoto, in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. It was created in 1929 when it was split off from Shimogyō-ku, during the years 1931 to 1976 it also covered the area of present-day Yamashina-ku, which was an independent town until its merger into the city in 1931. The name literally means Eastern Mountain District, due to the restrictions against urban development, the population inside the ward is continually decreasing. Higashiyama-ku has the lowest population of all the wards in Kyoto, interposed between the Kamo River and the Higashiyama mountain range, Higashiyama-ku is roughly bounded by the Sanjō street in the north, and the Jūjō street in the south. Historically, this area lay outside the boundaries of the city of Kyoto. The western part consists mainly of residential areas, whereas the part is covered by forests. In the north, between the Kamo River and Higashi-oji street, there is a district, and in the south there is a semi-industrial zone. Many of the central to the development of 15th-century Japanese culture known as Higashiyama Bunka are found here or in Sakyō-ku. Other temples and shrines in the ward include Tōfuku-ji, Kennin-ji, Kōdai-ji, the Kyoto National Museum is also located inside Higashiyama-ku, as well as the Namikawa Cloisonne Museum. Kyoto Womens University Kyoto Kacho University Kacho College Educational Foundation Kyoto International School is in the ward, kyoto/Higashiyama travel guide from Wikivoyage Media related to Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto at Wikimedia Commons Official website
2.
Kyoto
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Kyoto is a city located in the central part of the island of Honshu, Japan. It has a close to 1.5 million. Kyoto is also known as the thousand-year capital, in Japanese, the city has been called Kyō, Miyako, or Kyō no Miyako. In the 11th century, the city was renamed Kyoto, after the Chinese word for capital city, after the city of Edo was renamed Tokyo in 1868, and the seat of the Emperor was transferred there, Kyoto was known for a short time as Saikyō. Obsolete spellings for the name include Kioto, Miaco and Meaco. Another term commonly used to refer to the city in the period was Keishi. His last choice for the site was the village of Uda, the new city, Heian-kyō, a scaled replica of the then Tang capital Changan, became the seat of Japans imperial court in 794, beginning the Heian period of Japanese history. The city suffered destruction in the Ōnin War of 1467–1477. Battles between samurai factions spilled into the streets, and came to involve the court nobility and religious factions as well, nobles mansions were transformed into fortresses, deep trenches dug throughout the city for defense and as firebreaks, and numerous buildings burned. The city has not seen such widespread destruction since, Hideyoshi also built earthwork walls called odoi encircling the city. Teramachi Street in central Kyoto is a Buddhist temple quarter where Hideyoshi gathered temples in the city, throughout the Edo period, the economy of the city flourished as one of three major cities in Japan, the others being Osaka and Edo. The Hamaguri rebellion of 1864 burnt down 28,000 houses in the city, the modern city of Kyoto was formed on April 1,1889. The construction of Lake Biwa Canal in 1890 is one taken to revive the city. The population of the city exceeded one million in 1932, stimson, Secretary of War in the Roosevelt and Truman administrations, the city was removed from the list of targets and replaced by Nagasaki. The city was spared from conventional bombing as well, although small-scale air raids did result in casualties. As a result, the Imperial City of Kyoto is one of the few Japanese cities that still have an abundance of prewar buildings, however, modernization is continually breaking down the traditional Kyoto in favor of newer architecture, such as the Kyōto Station complex. Kyoto became a city designated by government ordinance on September 1,1956, in 1997, Kyoto hosted the conference that resulted in the protocol on greenhouse gas emissions that bears the citys name. Kyoto is located in a valley, part of the Yamashiro Basin, in the part of the mountainous region known as the Tamba highlands
3.
Kyoto Prefecture
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Kyoto Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan in the Kansai region of the island of Honshu. The capital is the city of Kyoto, until the Meiji Restoration, the area of Kyoto Prefecture was known as Yamashiro. For most of its history, the city of Kyoto was Japans Imperial capital, the citys history can be traced back as far as the 6th century. In 544, the Aoi Matsuri was held in Kyoto to pray for good harvest, Kyoto did not start out as Japans capital. A noteworthy earlier capital was Nara, in 741, Emperor Shōmu moved the capital briefly to Kuni-kyo, between the cities of Nara and Kyoto, in present-day Kyoto Prefecture. In 784, the capital was moved to Nagaokakyō, also in present-day Kyoto Prefecture, in 794, Emperor Kanmu moved the capital to Heian-kyo, and this was the beginning of the current-day city of Kyoto. Even today, almost all of the streets, houses, stores, temples and shrines in Kyoto exist where they were placed in this year, Imperial rule was briefly restored in 1333, but another samurai clan established a new shogunate in Kyoto three years later. In 1467, a civil war, the Ōnin no Ran, took place inside Kyoto. Japan plunged into the age of warring feudal lords, a new strong man, Tokugawa Ieyasu, established the shogunate at Edo in 1603. In the 15th century AD, tea-jars were brought by the shoguns to Uji in Kyoto from the Philippines which was used in the Japanese tea ceremony, the Meiji Restoration returned Japan to imperial rule in 1868. Emperor Meiji, who was now the absolute sovereign, went to stay in Tokyo during the next year, the imperial court has not returned to Kyoto since then. During the instigation of Fuhanken Sanchisei in 1868, the received its suffix fu. The subsequent reorganization of the old provincial system merged the former Tango Province, Yamashiro Province, although many Japanese major cities were heavily bombed by U. S. bombers during World War II, the old capital escaped such devastating bombing. Sixth Army was headquartered in Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture is almost in the center of Honshu and of Japan. It covers an area of 4,612.71 square kilometres, to the north, it faces the Sea of Japan and Fukui Prefecture. To the south, it faces Osaka and Nara Prefectures, to the east, it faces Mie and Shiga Prefectures. To the west, it faces Hyōgo Prefecture, the prefecture is separated in the middle by the Tanba Mountains. This makes its climate very different in the north and south, fifteen cities are located in Kyoto Prefecture, These are the towns and villages in each district, The city of Kyoto is famous for tourism
4.
Deity
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A deity is a concept conceived in diverse ways in various cultures, typically as a natural or supernatural being considered divine or sacred. A male deity is a god, while a female deity is a goddess, the Oxford reference defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divine. Various cultures have conceptualized a deity differently than a monotheistic God, a plain deity need not be omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, omnibenevolent, or eternal, however an almighty monotheistic God generally does have these attributes. Monotheistic religions typically refer to God in masculine terms, while other religions refer to their deities in a variety of ways – masculine, feminine, androgynous, some Avestan and Vedic deities were viewed as ethical concepts. In Indian religions, deities have been envisioned as manifesting within the temple of every living beings body, as sensory organs, but in Indian religions, all deities are also subject to death when their merit runs out. The English language word deity derives from Old French deité, the Latin deitatem or divine nature, deus is related through a common Proto-Indo-European language origin to *deiwos. Deva is masculine, and the feminine equivalent is devi. Etymologically, the cognates of Devi are Latin dea and Greek thea, in Old Persian, daiva- means demon, evil god, while in Sanskrit it means the opposite, referring to the heavenly, divine, terrestrial things of high excellence, exalted, shining ones. The closely linked term god refers to supreme being, deity, which states Douglas Harper, is derived from Proto-Germanic *guthan, from PIE *ghut-, guth in the Irish language means voice. The term *ghut- is also the source of Old Church Slavonic zovo, Sanskrit huta-, from the root *gheu- An alternate etymology for the term god traces it to the PIE root *ghu-to-, the term *gheu- is also the source of the Greek khein to pour. Originally the German root was a noun, but the gender of the monotheistic God shifted to masculine under the influence of Christianity. In contrast, all ancient Indo-European cultures and mythologies recognized both masculine and feminine deities, the term deity often connotes the concept of sacred or divine, as a god or goddess, in a polytheistic religion. However, there is no accepted consensus concept of deity across religions and cultures. Huw Owen states that the deity or god or its equivalent in other languages has a bewildering range of meanings. Some engravings or sketches show animals, hunters or rituals, the Venus of Willendorf, a female figurine found in Europe and dated to about 25,000 BCE has been interpreted as an exemplar of a prehistoric divine feminine. In Buddhist mythology, devas are beings inhabiting certain happily placed worlds of Buddhist cosmology and these beings are mortal and numerous. It is also common for iṣṭadevatās to be called deities, although the nature of Yidams is distinct from what is meant by the term. Buddhism does not believe in a creator deity, however, deities are an essential part of Buddhist cosmology, rebirth and Saṃsāra doctrines
5.
Sakanoue no Tamuramaro
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Sakanoue no Tamuramaro was a general and shogun of the early Heian period of Japan. He was the son of Sakanoue no Karitamaro, serving Emperor Kanmu, he was appointed shogun and given the task of conquering the Emishi, a people native to the north of Honshū, which he subjugated. However, many Emishi remained in the Tōhoku region as subjects of the expanding Japanese Empire, after Emperor Kammus death, the general continued to serve Emperor Heizei and Emperor Saga as Major Counselor and Minister of War. He was the man to be given the title of shogun. The first to receive this title was Ōtomo no Otomaro and these annual matsuri are called the Nebuta festival in Aomori City and Neputa festival in Hirosaki City. They feature a number of gigantic, specially-constructed, illuminated paper floats and these huge festival structures are colorfully painted with mythical figures, and teams of men carry them through the streets as crowds shout encouragement. Aomoris great nebuta lanterns are said to back to Tamuramaros innovative strategy in that early ninth century campaign. Until the mid-1990s the prize awarded for the best float of the parades was called the Tamuramaro Prize, however, there is no historical record that Tamuramaro went farther north than Iwate Prefecture. Tamuramaros name is linked with payments for construction projects at Kiyomizu Temple in the late 8th century and his bow, arrows, quiver and sword were placed in his coffin by order of the Emperor. According to the Shoku Nihongi, an historical record, The Sakanoue clan is descended from Emperor Ling of Han China. The Sakanoue clans family tree shows that Tamuramaro is a 14th-generation descendant of Ling. 000261°N135. 787655°E /35.000261,135.787655
6.
Kanji
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Kanji, or kanji, are the adopted logographic Chinese characters that are used in the modern Japanese writing system along with hiragana and katakana. The Japanese term kanji for the Chinese characters literally means Han characters and is using the same characters as the Chinese word hànzì. Chinese characters first came to Japan on official seals, letters, swords, coins, mirrors, the earliest known instance of such an import was the King of Na gold seal given by Emperor Guangwu of Han to a Yamato emissary in 57 AD. Chinese coins from the first century AD have been found in Yayoi-period archaeological sites, however, the Japanese of that era probably had no comprehension of the script, and would remain illiterate until the fifth century AD. The earliest Japanese documents were written by bilingual Chinese or Korean officials employed at the Yamato court. For example, the correspondence from King Bu of Wa to Emperor Shun of Liu Song in 478 has been praised for its skillful use of allusion. Later, groups of people called fuhito were organized under the monarch to read, during the reign of Empress Suiko, the Yamato court began sending full-scale diplomatic missions to China, which resulted in a large increase in Chinese literacy at the Japanese court. The Japanese language had no form at the time Chinese characters were introduced. Chinese characters also came to be used to write Japanese words, around 650 CE, a writing system called manyōgana evolved that used a number of Chinese characters for their sound, rather than for their meaning. Manyōgana written in cursive style evolved into hiragana, or onna-de, that is, ladies hand, major works of Heian-era literature by women were written in hiragana. Katakana emerged via a path, monastery students simplified manyōgana to a single constituent element. Thus the two writing systems, hiragana and katakana, referred to collectively as kana, are descended from kanji. Katakana are mostly used for representing onomatopoeia, non-Japanese loanwords, the names of plants and animals, and for emphasis on certain words. In 1946, following World War II and under the Allied Occupation of Japan and this was done with the goal of facilitating learning for children and simplifying kanji use in literature and periodicals. The number of characters in circulation was reduced, and formal lists of characters to be learned during each grade of school were established, some characters were given simplified glyphs, called shinjitai. Many variant forms of characters and obscure alternatives for common characters were officially discouraged and these are simply guidelines, so many characters outside these standards are still widely known and commonly used, these are known as hyōgaiji. The kyōiku kanji are 1,006 characters that Japanese children learn in elementary school, originally the list only contained 881 characters. This was expanded to 996 characters in 1977 and it was not until 1982 the list was expanded to its current size
7.
Hiragana
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Hiragana is a Japanese syllabary, one component of the Japanese writing system, along with katakana, kanji, and in some cases rōmaji. It is a lettering system. The word hiragana literally means ordinary or simple kana, Hiragana and katakana are both kana systems. With one or two exceptions, each sound in the Japanese language is represented by one character in each system. Because the characters of the kana do not represent single consonants, words that do have common kanji renditions may also sometimes be written instead in hiragana, according to an individual authors preference, for example to impart an informal feel. Hiragana is also used to write furigana, a reading aid that shows the pronunciation of kanji characters, There are two main systems of ordering hiragana, the old-fashioned iroha ordering and the more prevalent gojūon ordering. Of the 50 theoretically possible combinations, yi and wu do not exist in the language, wo is usually pronounced as a vowel in modern Japanese, and is preserved in only one use, as a particle. Romanization of the kana does not always follow the consonant-vowel scheme laid out in the table. For example, ち, nominally ti, is very often romanised as chi in an attempt to represent the actual sound in Japanese. These basic characters can be modified in various ways, by adding a dakuten marker, a voiceless consonant is turned into a voiced consonant, k→g, ts/s→z, t→d, h→b and ch/sh→j. Hiragana beginning with an h can also add a handakuten marker changing the h to a p, a small version of the hiragana for ya, yu or yo may be added to hiragana ending in i. This changes the i vowel sound to a glide to a, u or o, for example, き plus ゃ becomes きゃ. Addition of the small y kana is called yōon, a small tsu っ, called a sokuon, indicates that the following consonant is geminated. In Japanese this is an important distinction in pronunciation, for example, the sokuon also sometimes appears at the end of utterances, where it denotes a glottal stop, as in いてっ. However, it cannot be used to double the na, ni, nu, ne, no syllables consonants – to double these, Hiragana usually spells long vowels with the addition of a second vowel kana, for example, おかあさん. In informal writing, small versions of the five vowel kana are used to represent trailing off sounds. Standard and voiced iteration marks are written in hiragana as ゝ and ゞ respectively, the following table shows the complete hiragana together with the Hepburn romanization and IPA transcription in the gojūon order. Hiragana with dakuten or handakuten follow the gojūon kana without them, obsolete and normally unused kana are shown in gray
8.
Romanization of Japanese
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The romanization of Japanese is the application of the Latin script to write the Japanese language. This method of writing is referred to in English as rōmaji. There are several different romanization systems, the three main ones are Hepburn romanization, Kunrei-shiki romanization, and Nihon-shiki romanization. Variants of the Hepburn system are the most widely used, Japanese is normally written in a combination of logographic characters borrowed from Chinese and syllabic scripts which also ultimately derive from Chinese characters. It is also used to transliterate Japanese terms in text written in English on topics related to Japan, such as linguistics, literature, history, and culture. Rōmaji is the most common way to input Japanese into word processors and computers, all Japanese who have attended elementary school since World War II have been taught to read and write romanized Japanese. The word rōmaji literally means Roman letters, and in Japan it is often used to refer to the Latin alphabet itself than to any specific form of romanized Japanese. The earliest Japanese romanization system was based on the Portuguese orthography and it was developed around 1548 by a Japanese Catholic named Yajiro. Jesuit priests used the system in a series of printed Catholic books so that missionaries could preach and teach their converts without learning to read Japanese orthography. The most useful of these books for the study of early modern Japanese pronunciation and early attempts at romanization was the Nippo jisho, in general, the early Portuguese system was similar to Nihon-shiki in its treatment of vowels. The latter continued to be printed and read after the suppression of Christianity in Japan, the Hepburn system included representation of some sounds that have since changed. The Nihon-shiki romanization was an outgrowth of that movement, several Japanese texts were published entirely in rōmaji during this period, but it failed to catch on. Today, the use of Nihon-shiki for writing Japanese is advocated by the Oomoto sect, during the Allied occupation of Japan, the government of the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers made it official policy to romanize Japanese. However, that failed and a more moderate attempt at Japanese script reform followed. Hepburn romanization generally follows English phonology with Romance vowels and it is an intuitive method of showing Anglophones the pronunciation of a word in Japanese. It was standardized in the USA as American National Standard System for the Romanization of Japanese, Hepburn is the most common romanization system in use today, especially in the English-speaking world. The Revised Hepburn system of romanization uses a macron to indicate long vowels. For example, the name じゅんいちろう, is written with the kana characters ju-n-i-chi-ro-u, without the apostrophe, it would not be possible to distinguish this correct reading from the incorrect ju-ni-chi-ro-u
9.
Buddhism
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Buddhism is a religion and dharma that encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs and spiritual practices largely based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. Buddhism originated in India sometime between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE, from where it spread through much of Asia, two major extant branches of Buddhism are generally recognized by scholars, Theravada and Mahayana. Buddhism is the worlds fourth-largest religion, with over 500 million followers or 7% of the global population, Buddhist schools vary on the exact nature of the path to liberation, the importance and canonicity of various teachings and scriptures, and especially their respective practices. In Theravada the ultimate goal is the attainment of the state of Nirvana, achieved by practicing the Noble Eightfold Path, thus escaping what is seen as a cycle of suffering. Theravada has a following in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia. Mahayana, which includes the traditions of Pure Land, Zen, Nichiren Buddhism, Shingon, rather than Nirvana, Mahayana instead aspires to Buddhahood via the bodhisattva path, a state wherein one remains in the cycle of rebirth to help other beings reach awakening. Vajrayana, a body of teachings attributed to Indian siddhas, may be viewed as a branch or merely a part of Mahayana. Tibetan Buddhism, which preserves the Vajrayana teachings of eighth century India, is practiced in regions surrounding the Himalayas, Tibetan Buddhism aspires to Buddhahood or rainbow body. Buddhism is an Indian religion attributed to the teachings of Buddha, the details of Buddhas life are mentioned in many early Buddhist texts but are inconsistent, his social background and life details are difficult to prove, the precise dates uncertain. Some hagiographic legends state that his father was a king named Suddhodana, his mother queen Maya, and he was born in Lumbini gardens. Some of the stories about Buddha, his life, his teachings, Buddha was moved by the innate suffering of humanity. He meditated on this alone for a period of time, in various ways including asceticism, on the nature of suffering. He famously sat in meditation under a Ficus religiosa tree now called the Bodhi Tree in the town of Bodh Gaya in Gangetic plains region of South Asia. He reached enlightenment, discovering what Buddhists call the Middle Way, as an enlightened being, he attracted followers and founded a Sangha. Now, as the Buddha, he spent the rest of his teaching the Dharma he had discovered. Dukkha is a concept of Buddhism and part of its Four Noble Truths doctrine. It can be translated as incapable of satisfying, the unsatisfactory nature, the Four Truths express the basic orientation of Buddhism, we crave and cling to impermanent states and things, which is dukkha, incapable of satisfying and painful. This keeps us caught in saṃsāra, the cycle of repeated rebirth, dukkha
10.
Yasugi, Shimane
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Yasugi is a city located in Shimane Prefecture, Japan. As of March 1,2017, the city has an population of 38,875. The total area is 420.97 km2, Yasugi was elevated to city status on April 4,1954. The ruins of Gassantoda Castle are in Yasugi, Yasugi steel is the brand name made by Hitachi Metals, Ltd. The city was an ancient steel-making center, according to legend, the goddess Izanami was buried here. In Shinto, both holy and negative concept exists, yasugibushi, which is as known famous for folk song in Japan. On October 1,2004, the towns of Hakuta and Hirose were merged into Yasugi, there is a free shuttle between JR Yasugi Station and the museum. Other sightseeing spots include, Soil scoop experience dojo place Yasugi Bushi Art Center Yasugi is twinned with, Miryang, South Korea Yasugi City official website Adachi Museum of Art
11.
Nichiren
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Nichiren, born as Zennichimaro, was a Japanese Buddhist priest who lived during the Kamakura period. Nichiren is known for his devotion to the Lotus Sutra. Nichiren believed that the Lotus Sutra contained the essence of all of Shakyamuni Buddhas teachings related to the laws of causality, karma, the fundamental practice shared by all of them is the chanting of Nam Myōhō Renge Kyō. Nichiren was born on 16 February 1222 in the village of Kominato, Nagase District, Nichirens father, a fisherman, was Mikuni-no-Tayu Shigetada, also known as Nukina Shigetada Jiro and his mother was Umegiku-nyo. On his birth, his parents named him Zennichimaro which has variously been translated into English as Splendid Sun, the exact site of Nichirens birth is believed to be submerged off the shore from present-day Kominato-zan Tanjō-ji, a temple in Kominato that commemorates Nichirens birth. In his own words, Nichiren stated that he was the son of a family who lived near the sea in Tojo in Awa Province. However, I began doubting this practice, making a vow to study all the Buddhist sutras, commentaries on them by Bodhisattvas, Nichiren began his Buddhist study at a nearby temple of the Tendai school, Seichō-ji, at age 11. He was formally ordained at 16 and took the Buddhist name Zeshō-bō Renchō where Renchō means Lotus Growth, after having persuaded himself that devotion to Amitabha Buddha was not the true Buddhist doctrine, he passed to the study of Zen, which had become popular in Kamakura and Kyōto. During this time, he became convinced of the pre-eminence of the Lotus Sutra and in 1253, on April 28,1253, he expounded the daimoku teachings for the first time, marking his Sho Tempōrin. With this, he proclaimed that devotion and practice based on the Lotus Sutra was the form of Buddhism for the current time. At the same time he changed his name to Nichiren, nichi meaning sun and this choice, as Nichiren himself explained, was rooted in passages from the Lotus Sutra. He gained a large following there, consisting of both priests and laity. Many of his lay believers came from among the samurai class and it is claimed that in 1253 Nichiren predicted the Mongol invasions of Japan, a prediction which was validated in 1274. This true and correct form of Buddhism, as Nichiren saw it, entailed regarding the Lotus Sutra as the fullest expression of the Buddhas teachings and putting those teachings into practice. Nichiren thought this could be achieved in Japan by withdrawing lay support so that the deviant monks would be forced to change their ways or revert to laymen to prevent starving. Based on prophecies made in several sutras, Nichiren attributed the occurrence of the famines, disease, Nichiren submitted his treatise in July 1260. Though it drew no response, it prompted a severe backlash. Nichiren was harassed frequently, several times with force, and often had to change dwellings, Nichiren was exiled to the Izu Peninsula in 1261, and pardoned in 1263
12.
Adolfo Farsari
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Adolfo Farsari was an Italian photographer based in Yokohama, Japan. His studio, the last notable foreign-owned studio in Japan, was one of the countrys largest and most prolific commercial photographic firms, largely due to Farsaris exacting technical standards and his entrepreneurial abilities it had a significant influence on the development of photography in Japan. Following a brief career, including service in the American Civil War, he became a successful entrepreneur. His photographic work was regarded, particularly his hand-coloured portraits and landscapes. Adolfo Farsari was born in Vicenza, Lombardy-Venetia and he married an American, but the marriage failed and in 1873 he left his wife and two children and moved to Japan. Based in Yokohama, Farsari formed a partnership with E. A. Sargent, the creator of these photographs remains unknown, but Farsari was the maker of at least some of the maps, notably of Miyanoshita and Yokohama. The firm was among the most prolific publishers of materials to aid travellers, Farsari expanded his business interests into commercial photography and taught himself photography in 1883. In 1885 he formed a partnership with photographer Tamamura Kozaburō to acquire the Stillfried & Andersen studio, the studios stock included images by Felice Beato that it had acquired along with Beatos studio in 1877. It is not clear how long the partnership of Tamamura and Farsari lasted, Farsari further expanded his business in 1885 when the Yokohama Photographic Company folded and Farsari acquired its premises and moved in. In addition to his Yokohama studio, Farsari likely had agents in Kobe, by the end of 1886, Farsari and Chinese photographer Tong Cheong were the only foreign commercial photographers still operating in Japan, and by the following year even Tong Cheong had gone. In February 1886 a fire destroyed all of Farsaris negatives, and he reopened his studio in 1887. Despite his losses in the fire, by 1889 Farsaris stock comprised about 1,000 Japanese landscapes, following the innovations of Felice Beato and Baron Raimund von Stillfried, Farsari further developed the trade in photograph albums. His studio generally produced sepia monochrome albumen prints that were hand-coloured and mounted on album leaves and these pages were often hand decorated and bound between covers of silk brocade or lacquer boards inlaid with ivory, mother-of-pearl and gold. Like his contemporaries, Farsari usually captioned and numbered his photographs in the images, Farsari sold many of these photograph albums, particularly to foreign residents and visitors. He employed excellent artists who each produced high-quality work at a pace of two or three hand-coloured prints per day, Farsari ensured that the colours were true to life and that the best materials were used. Accordingly, his work was expensive, yet popular and often praised by clients and visitors to Japan and that same year, Farsari presented a deluxe photograph album to the King of Italy. By the 1890s, the high reputation earned it exclusive rights to photograph the Imperial Gardens in Tokyo. Prospective colourists at A. Farsari & Co. were interviewed by Farsari himself, once hired, they were given unpaid instruction for several months, and then a basic salary that steadily increased as Farsari became satisfied with their work
13.
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
14.
Tokugawa Iemitsu
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Tokugawa Iemitsu was the third shogun of the Tokugawa dynasty. He was the eldest son of Tokugawa Hidetada, and the grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu and it is debatable whether Iemitsu can be considered a kinslayer for making his younger brother Tadanaga commit suicide by seppuku. Tokugawa Iemitsu was born on 12 August 1604 and he was the eldest son of Tokugawa Hidetada and grandson of the last great unifier of Japan, the first Tokugawa Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu. He was the first member of the Tokugawa family born after Tokugawa Ieyasu became shogun, not much is known of Iemitsus early life, his childhood name was Takechiyo. He had two sisters, Senhime and Masako, and a brother, who would become a rival, however, Ieyasu made it clear that Iemitsu would be next in line as shogun after Hidetada. An obsolete spelling of his name is Iyemitsu. He also was installed officially as the heir to the Tokugawa shogunate, the only person to contest this position was his younger brother Tokugawa Tadanaga. A fierce rivalry began to develop between the brothers, from an early age Iemitsu practiced the shūdō tradition. However, in 1620, he had an out with his homosexual lover, Sakabe Gozaemon, a childhood friend and retainer, aged twenty one. He married Takatsukasa Takako, daughter of Takatsukasa Nobufusa at 12th December 1623, in 1623, when Iemitsu was nineteen, Hidetada abdicated the post of shogun in his favor. Hidetada continued to rule as Ōgosho, but Iemitsu nevertheless assumed a role as head of the bakufu bureaucracy. In 1626, Shogun Iemitsu and retired Shogun Hidetada visited Emperor Go-Mizunoo, Empress Masako, Shogun Iemitsu made lavish grants of gold and money to the court nobles and the court itself. The shogunate intervened, making the bestowing of the garments invalid, when the wet nurse of Iemitsu and Masako broke a taboo by visiting the imperial court as a commoner, Go-Mizunoo abdicated, embarrassed, and Meisho became empress. The shogun was now the uncle of the sitting monarch, in Kanei 9, on the 24th day of the 2nd month, Ōgosho Hidetada died, and Iemitsu could assume real power. Worried that his brother Tokugawa Tadanaga might assassinate him, however, Hidetada left his advisors, all veteran daimyōs, to act as regents for Iemitsu. In 1633, after his brothers death, he dismissed these men, in place of his fathers advisors, Iemitsu appointed his childhood friends. With their help Iemitsu created a strong, centralized administration and this made him unpopular with many daimyōs, but Iemitsu simply removed his opponents. His sankin-kōtai system forced daimyōs to reside in Edo in alternating sequence, spending an amount of time in Edo
15.
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
16.
O-mikuji
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O-mikuji are random fortunes written on strips of paper at Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples in Japan. Literally sacred lot, these are received by making a small offering and randomly choosing one from a box. As of 2011 coin-slot machines sometimes dispense o-mikuji, the o-mikuji is scrolled up or folded, and unrolling the piece of paper reveals the fortune written on it. When the prediction is bad, it is a custom to fold up the strip of paper and attach it to a pine tree or a wall of metal wires alongside other bad fortunes in the temple or shrine grounds. A purported reason for this custom is a pun on the word for pine tree and the verb to wait, o-mikuji are available at most shrines, and remain one of the traditional activities related to shrine-going. Compare perhaps the custom of writing a prayer on a wooden block called an ema
17.
Bon Festival
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Obon or just Bon is a Japanese Buddhist custom to honor the spirits of ones ancestors. It has been celebrated in Japan for more than 500 years and traditionally includes a dance, the festival of Obon lasts for three days, however its starting date varies within different regions of Japan. When the lunar calendar was changed to the Gregorian calendar at the beginning of the Meiji era, the localities in Japan reacted differently, shichigatsu Bon is based on the solar calendar and is celebrated around 15 July in eastern Japan, coinciding with Chūgen. Hachigatsu Bon is based on the calendar, is celebrated around the 15th of August and is the most commonly celebrated time. Kyū Bon is celebrated on the 15th day of the month of the lunar calendar. Kyū Bon is celebrated in areas like the part of the Kantō region, Chūgoku region, Shikoku. These three days are not listed as public holidays but it is customary that people are given leave, Obon is a shortened form of Ullambana. It is Sanskrit for hanging upside down and implies great suffering, the Japanese believe they should ameliorate the suffering of the Urabanna. Bon Odori originates from the story of Maha Maudgalyayana, a disciple of the Buddha and he discovered she had fallen into the Realm of Hungry Ghosts and was suffering. Greatly disturbed, he went to the Buddha and asked how he could release his mother from this realm, Buddha instructed him to make offerings to the many Buddhist monks who had just completed their summer retreat, on the fifteenth day of the seventh month. The disciple did this and, thus, saw his mothers release and he also began to see the true nature of her past selflessness and the many sacrifices that she had made for him. The disciple, happy because of his mothers release and grateful for his mothers kindness, from this dance of joy comes Bon Odori or Bon Dance, a time in which ancestors and their sacrifices are remembered and appreciated. As Obon occurs in the heat of the summer, participants traditionally wear yukata, many Obon celebrations include a huge carnival with rides, games, and summer festival food like watermelon. Families sent their ancestors back to their permanent dwelling place under the guidance of fire. Fire, which marked the commencement as well as the closing of the festival, Bon Odori, meaning simply Bon dance, is a style of dancing performed during Obon. Originally a Nenbutsu folk dance to welcome the spirits of the dead, each region has a local dance, as well as different music. The music can be songs specifically pertinent to the message of Obon. Consequently, the Bon dance will look and sound different from region to region, hokkaidō is known for a folk-song known as Sōran Bushi
18.
New7Wonders of the World
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New7Wonders of the World was an initiative started in 2000 to choose Wonders of the World from a selection of 200 existing monuments. The popularity poll was led by Canadian-Swiss Bernard Weber and organized by the New7Wonders Foundation based in Zurich, Switzerland, the New7Wonders Foundation claimed that more than 100 million votes were cast through the Internet or by telephone. Voting via the Internet was limited to one vote for seven monuments per person/identity, hence the poll was considered unscientific. According to John Zogby, founder and current President/CEO of the Utica, New York-based polling organization Zogby International, the New7Wonders Foundation, established in 2001, relied on private donations and the sale of broadcast rights and received no public funding or taxpayers money. After the final announcement, New7Wonders said it didnt earn anything from the exercise, although N7W describes itself as a not-for-profit organization, the company behind it—the New Open World Corporation —is a commercial business. All licensing and sponsorship money is paid to NOWC, the foundation has run two subsequent programs, New7Wonders of Nature, the subject of voting until 2011, and New7WondersCities, which wound up in 2014. In 2007 the New7Wonders Foundation contracted a partnership with the United Nations in recognition of the efforts to promote the UNs Millennium Development Goals. However, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, in a release on June 20,2007. The list of the 8 New Wonders of the World will be the result of an undertaking, reflecting only the opinions of those with access to the Internet. This initiative cannot, in any significant and sustainable manner, contribute to the preservation of sites elected by this public, additionally, leading corporate sponsors including Banco Bradesco and Rede Globo spent millions of reals in the effort to have the statue voted into the top seven. Newsweek reports the campaign was so pervasive that, One morning in June, Rio de Janeiro residents awoke to a text message on their cell phones, Press 4916. According to an article in Newsweek, around 10 million Brazilians had voted in the contest by early July and this number is estimated as the New7Wonders Foundation never released such details about the campaign. An airplane message, with a huge inscription 4916 VOTE FOR CHRIST flew in Rio de Janeiro for a month. An intensive campaign led by the Peruvian Ministry of Commerce and Tourism in Peru had an impact in the media. The announcement of the new World Wonders generated great expectation and the election of Machu Picchu was celebrated nationwide. The Chilean representative for Easter Islands Moais, Alberto Hotus, said Weber gave him a letter saying that the Moais had finished eighth and were one of the New Seven Wonders. Hotus said he was the participant to receive such an apology. A campaign to publicize the Taj Mahal in India gathered speed and it reached a climax in July 2007 with news channels, radio stations, queen Rania Al-Abdullah of Jordan joined the campaign to back Petra, Jordans national treasure
19.
Kshitigarbha
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Ksitigarbha is a bodhisattva primarily revered in East Asian Buddhism and usually depicted as a Buddhist monk. His name may be translated as Earth Treasury, Earth Store, Earth Matrix, usually depicted as a monk with a halo around his shaved head, he carries a staff to force open the gates of hell and a wish-fulfilling jewel to light up the darkness. Ksitigarbha is one of the four principal bodhisattvas in East Asian Mahayana Buddhism, the others are Samantabhadra, Manjusri, and Avalokiteśvara. At the pre-Tang dynasty grottos in Dunhuang and Longmen, he is depicted in a classical bodhisattva form, after the Tang, he became increasingly depicted as a monk carrying Buddhist prayer beads and a staff. His full name in Chinese is Dayuan Dizang Pusa, or Bodhisattva King Kṣitigarbha of the Great Vow, pronounced Daigan Jizō Bosatsu in Japanese, because of this important role, shrines to Ksitigarbha often occupy a central role in temples, especially within the memorial halls or mausoleums. The story of Ksitigarbha was first described in the Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva Pūrvapraṇidhāna Sūtra and this sutra is said to have been spoken by the Buddha towards the end of his life to the beings of the Trāyastriṃśa Heaven as a mark of gratitude and remembrance for his beloved mother, Maya. However, some scholars have suspected that instead of being translated, part of the reason for suspicion is that the text advocates filial piety, which was stereotypically associated with Chinese culture. It stated that Ksitigarbha practised filial piety as a mortal, which led to making great vows to save all sentient beings. Since then, other such as Gregory Schopen have pointed out that Indian Buddhism also had traditions of filial piety. Currently there is no evidence indicating either an Indian or Chinese origin for the text. In the Kṣitigarbha Sūtra, the Buddha states that in the distant past eons and she was deeply troubled when her mother died, because she had often been slanderous towards the Three Jewels. She prayed fervently that her mother be spared the pains of hell, while she was pleading for help at the temple, she heard the Buddha telling her to go home, sit down, and recite his name if she wanted to know where her mother was. Sacred Girl was greatly relieved and would have been extremely happy and she vowed to do her best to relieve beings of their suffering in her future lives for kalpas. There is a legend about how Ksitigarbha manifested himself in China and chose his bodhimaṇḍa to be Mount Jiuhua, during the reign of Emperor Ming of Han, Buddhism started to flourish, reaching its peak in the Tang and eventually spreading to Korea. At the time, monks and scholars arrived from countries to seek the dharma in China. One of these pilgrims was a prince from Silla named Kim Gyo-gak. He went to Mount Jiuhua in present-day Anhui, after ascending, he decided to build a hut in a deep mountain area so that he could cultivate the dharma. According to records, Jijang was bitten by a snake but he did not move
20.
Torii
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A torii is a traditional Japanese gate most commonly found at the entrance of or within a Shinto shrine, where it symbolically marks the transition from the profane to the sacred. The presence of a torii at the entrance is usually the simplest way to identify Shinto shrines, and they are however a common sight at Japanese Buddhist temples too, where they stand at the entrance of the temples own shrine, called chinjusha and are usually very small. Their first appearance in Japan can be pinpointed to at least the mid-Heian period because they are mentioned in a text written in 922. The oldest existing stone torii was built in the 12th century, the oldest wooden torii is a ryōbu torii at Kubō Hachiman Shrine in Yamanashi prefecture built in 1535. Torii were traditionally made from wood or stone, but today they can be made of reinforced concrete, copper. They are usually either unpainted or painted vermilion with a black upper lintel, Inari shrines typically have many torii because those who have been successful in business often donate in gratitude a torii to Inari, kami of fertility and industry. Fushimi Inari-taisha in Kyoto has thousands of torii, each bearing the donors name. The function of a torii is to mark the entrance to a sacred space, for this reason, the road leading to a Shinto shrine is almost always straddled by one or more torii, which are therefore the easiest way to distinguish a shrine from a Buddhist temple. If the sandō passes under multiple torii, the outer of them is called ichi no torii, the following ones, closer to the shrine, are usually called, in order, ni no torii and san no torii. Other torii can be found farther into the shrine to represent increasing levels of holiness as one nears the inner sanctuary, Also, because of the strong relationship between Shinto shrines and the Japanese Imperial family, a torii stands also in front of the tombs of each Emperor. Whether torii existed in Japan before Buddhism or, to the contrary, arrived with it is, however, in the past torii must have been used also at the entrance of Buddhist temples. Even today, as prominent a temple as Osakas Shitennō-ji, founded in 593 by Shōtoku Taishi, many Buddhist temples include one or more Shinto shrines dedicated to their tutelary kami, and in that case a torii marks the shrines entrance. Benzaiten is a syncretic goddess derived from the Indian divinity Sarasvati which unites elements of both Shinto and Buddhism, for this reason halls dedicated to her can be found at both temples and shrines, and in either case in front of the hall stands a torii. The goddess herself is sometimes portrayed with a torii on her head, finally, until the Meiji period torii were routinely adorned with plaques carrying Buddhist sutras. The association between Japanese Buddhism and the torii is therefore old and profound, yamabushi, Japanese mountain ascetic hermits with a long tradition as mighty warriors endowed with supernatural powers, sometimes use as their symbol a torii. The torii is also used as a symbol of Japan in non-religious contexts. For example, it is the symbol of the Marine Corps Security Force Regiment, the origins of the torii are unknown and there are several different theories on the subject, none of which has gained universal acceptance. They may, for example, have originated in India from the gates in the monastery of Sanchi in central India
21.
Shinto shrine
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A Shinto shrine is a structure whose main purpose is to house one or more Shinto kami. Its most important building is used for the safekeeping of sacred objects, structurally, a Shinto shrine is usually characterized by the presence of a honden or sanctuary, where the kami is enshrined. The honden may however be completely absent, as for example when the stands on a sacred mountain to which it is dedicated. There may be a haiden and other structures as well, however, a shrines most important building is used for the safekeeping of sacred objects rather than for worship. Miniature shrines can occasionally be found on roadsides, large shrines sometimes have on their precincts miniature shrines. The portable shrines which are carried on poles during festivals enshrine kami and are therefore true shrines. in 927 CE and this work listed all of the 2,861 Shinto shrines existing at the time, and the 3,131 official-recognized and enshrined Kami. Certainly, that number has grown and greatly exceeded this figure through the following generations, in Agency for Cultural Affairs in Japan placed the number of shrines at 79,467, mostly affiliated with the Association of Shinto Shrines. Some shrines, such as the Yasukuni Shrine are totally independent of any outside authority, the number of Shinto shrines in Japan is estimated to be around 100,000. This figure may, or may not, include private shrines in homes and owned by groups, abandoned or derelict shrines. Ancestors are kami to be worshiped, yayoi-period village councils sought the advice of ancestors and other kami, and developed instruments to evoke them. Yoshishiro means approach substitute and were conceived to attract the kami to allow them physical space, village-council sessions were held in quiet spots in the mountains or in forests near great trees or other natural objects that served as yorishiro. These sacred places and their yorishiro gradually evolved into todays shrines, whose origins can be seen in the Japanese words for mountain and forest. Many shrines have on their grounds one of the original great yorishiro, the first buildings at places dedicated to worship were surely huts built to house some yorishiro. A trace of this origin can be found in the term hokura, deity storehouse, which evolved into hokora, true shrines arose with the beginning of agriculture, when the need arose to attract kami to ensure good harvests. These were, however, just temporary structures built for a particular purpose, Ōmiwa Shrine in Nara, for example, contains no sacred images or objects because it is believed to serve the mountain on which it stands. Those images or objects are therefore unnecessary, for the same reason, it has a worship hall but no place to house the kami. Archeology confirms that, during the Yayoi period, the most common shintai in the earliest shrines were nearby mountain peaks that supplied water to the plains where people lived. Besides the already mentioned Ōmiwa Shrine, another important example is Mount Nantai, significantly, the name Nantai means mans body
22.
Pagoda
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Some pagodas are used as Taoist houses of worship. Most pagodas were built to have a function, most commonly Buddhist. In some countries, the term may refer to other religious structures, the modern pagoda is an evolution of the Stupa which originated in Ancient India. Stupas are a structure where sacred relics could be kept safe. The architectural structure of the stupa has spread across Asia, taking on diverse forms as details specific to different regions are incorporated into the overall design. Another proposed etymology is Persian butkada, from but, idol and kada, temple, another etymology, found in many English language dictionaries, is modern English pagoda from Portuguese, from Sanskrit bhavati, feminine of bhagavatt, blessed from bhag, good fortune. The origin of the pagoda can be traced to the stupa, the stupa, a dome shaped monument, was used as a commemorative monument associated with storing sacred relics. In East Asia, the architecture of Chinese towers and Chinese pavilions blended into pagoda architecture, the pagodas original purpose was to house relics and sacred writings. This purpose was popularized due to the efforts of Buddhist missionaries, pilgrims, rulers, and ordinary devotees to seek out, distribute, on the other side, the stupa emerged as a distinctive style of Newari architecture of Nepal and was adopted in Southeast and East Asia. Nepali architect Araniko visited China and shared his skills to build stupa buildings in China and these buildings became prominent as Buddhist monuments used for enshrining sacred relics. Chinese iconography is noticeable in Chinese pagoda as well as other East Asian pagoda architectures, the image of the Shakyamuni Buddha in the abhaya mudra is also noticeable in some Pagodas. Buddhist iconography can be observed throughout the pagoda symbolism, Pagodas attract lightning strikes because of their height. Many pagodas have a decorated finial at the top of the structure, and when made of metal, also Pagodas come in many different sizes, as some may be small and others may be large. Pagodas traditionally have an odd number of levels, an exception being the eighteenth century pagoda folly designed by Sir William Chambers at Kew Gardens in London. The pagodas in Burma, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia are very different from Chinese and Japanese pagodas, Pagodas in those countries are derived from South Indian Dravidian architecture. Tiered towers with eaves, Songyue Pagoda on Mount Song, Henan, China. Miruksa Temple Pagoda at Iksan, Korea, built in the early 7th century, bunhwangsa at Gyeongju, Korea, built in 634. Xumi Pagoda at Zhengding, Hebei, China, built in 636, daqin Pagoda in China, built in 640
23.
Glossary of Japanese Buddhism
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This is the glossary of Japanese Buddhism, including major terms the casual reader might find useful in understanding articles on the subject. Words followed by an asterisk are illustrated by an image in one of the photo galleries, within definitions, words set in boldface are defined elsewhere in the glossary. Agyō* - A type of statue with its open to pronounce the sound a, first letter of the Sanskrit alphabet. Amida Nyorai - Japanese name of Amitabha, deity worshiped mainly by the Pure Land sect. arhat - see arakan, arakan* - the highest level of Buddhist ascetic practice, or someone who has reached it. The term is shortened to just rakan. Bay - see ken. bettō - Previously the title of the head of powerful temples, e. g. Tōdai-ji, Kōfuku-ji, etc. Also a monk who was present at Shinto shrines to perform Buddhist rites until the Meiji period, bodai - from the Pāli and Sanskrit word for way or knowledge. satori, or Buddhist enlightenment. Ceremonies and other efforts to ensure someones happiness in the next world, a temple which, generation after generation, takes care of a familys dead giving them burial and performing ceremonies in their favor. See for example the Tokugawas Kanei-ji, Bon - See Bon Festival bosatsu A bodhisattva The historical Gautama Buddha, before enlightenment. In Mahayana Buddhism, someone who could enter paradise but chooses not to, to help others achieve enlightenment, someone who is in pursuit of satori. During the shinbutsu-shūgō period, a used for Japanese kami. Buddha - the term Buddha in the case can refer to, Shakyamuni Buddha, Indian spiritual and philosophical teacher and founder of Buddhism. One who has become enlightened Any of the other Buddhas named in Buddhist scriptures, a statue or image of any Buddha. Buddha - the term buddha in the lower case refers not to Gautama Buddha but to, Buddhas footprints - see bussokuseki bussokuseki* - lit. A stone carved with footprints representing Buddha, before the instruction of the human figure, Buddha was represented only indirectly through his footprints. Seems to have two stories, but has in fact one and measures either 3x3 or 5x5 bays. Any building enshrining the statue of Buddha or of a bodhisattva, butsudan* - a tabernacle used in homes to install Buddhist images and tablets recording the posthumous names of deceased family members. Buppō - see hō buttō - a stupa or one of its relatives, See also tō, pagoda, gorintō, hōkyōintō, sotoba, sekitō and tahōtō
24.
Tourism in Japan
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Japan attracted 19.73 million international tourists in 2015. Japan has 19 World Heritage Sites, including Himeji Castle, Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto, the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2015 ranks Japan 9th out of 141 countries overall, which was the best in Asia. Japan gained relatively high scores in almost all aspects, especially health and hygiene, safety and security, cultural resources, despite these restrictions, porter stations and horse stables, as well as places for lodging and food were available on well-traveled routes. During this time, Japan was a country to foreigners. Its early leaders included Shibusawa Eiichi and Ekida Takashi, in 2016,24,039,000 foreign tourists visited Japan. Domestic tourism remains a part of the Japanese economy and Japanese culture. Children in many middle schools see the highlight of their years as a visit to Tokyo Disneyland or perhaps Tokyo Tower, in inbound tourism, Japan was ranked 28th in the world in 2007. In 2009, the Yomiuri Shimbun published a modern list of famous sights under the name Heisei Hyakkei, neighbouring South Korea is Japans most important source of foreign tourists. In 2010, the 2.4 million arrivals made up 27% of the tourists visiting Japan, the Japanese government hopes to receive 40 million foreign tourists every year by 2020. They are parts of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara, ikaruga — Hōryū-ji and Hōki-ji are Buddhist Monuments in the Hōryū-ji Area. Yoshino — Kimpusen-ji, Yoshimizu Shrine, Yoshino Mikumari Shrine, etc and they are parts of the Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range. Shingū — Kumano Hayatama Taisha and Kumano River Nachikatsuura — Nachi Falls, Kumano Kodō and they are parts of the Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu. In September 2011 some 539,000 foreign people visited Japan and this decline was largely attributed to the Fukushima nuclear accident and the stronger yen made a visit to Japan more expensive. To boost tourism the Japanese Tourism Agency announced in October 2011 a plan to give 10,000 round-trip air tickets to Japan to encourage visitors to come, in 2012 free tickets would be offered if the winners would write online about their experiences in Japan. They also would need to some questions about how they felt while visiting Japan after the earthquake. About US$15 million would be spent on this program, on December 26,2011, The Japan Tourism Agency reported on their site that the Fly to Japan. Project, which would have given out 10,000 round-trip tickets to Japan, was not approved by the government for fiscal year 2012. jnto. go. jp/eng/ttp/sta/PDF/E2016
25.
International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
26.
Daigo-ji
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Daigo-ji is a Shingon Buddhist temple in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, Japan. Daigo, literally ghee, is used figuratively to mean crème de la crème and is a metaphor of the most profound part of Buddhist thoughts, Daigo-ji was founded in the early Heian period. In 874, Rigen-daishi founded the temple, after having fallen ill and abdicated in 930, Emperor Daigo entered Buddhist priesthood at this temple. As a monk, he took the Buddhist name Hō-kongō, and shortly thereafter and he was buried in the temple, which is why his posthumous name was Daigo. Several structures, including the kondō and the pagoda, are National Treasures of Japan. The temple possesses 18 specifically designated national treasures, including the buildings and other works as well, wall paintings at the temple were the subject of academic research which earned the Imperial Prize of the Japan Academy in 1960. As part of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto, it is designated as a World Heritage Site, the five-storey pagoda at Daigoji temple was built in 951 and is the oldest building in Kyoto. It was one of few buildings to survive the Onin War in the 15th century, more than seven centuries after its founding, Toyotomi Hideyoshi held a famous cherry blossom viewing party called Daigo no hanami in 1598 at the Sambō-in sub-temple. The bright colors of maple leaves attract tourists and others in the autumn season, Emperor Suzakus mausoleum, known as Daigo no misasagi, is located near Daigo-ji. Daigo-ji is laid out in three parts, Sambō-in, Shimo-Daigo, and Kami-Daigo and these are progressively older, wilder, and further up the mountain. Sambō-in is a collection of walled complexes, connected by streets lined with cherry blossoms and it contains the temple proper, a museum, and other complexes, and is very lively during cherry blossom season. Shimo-Daigo is one enclosure, containing detached halls, including the oldest surviving building in Kyoto. Kami-Daigo, other than a cluster of buildings at the base, is located on top of the mountain. The entrance to Kami-Daigo can be reached by passing through Shimo-Daigo, there is a path with stairs up to the top, which takes about one hour to reach the main complex, halfway up there is a resting point and small shrine. At the entrance to the complex is Daigo-Sui, a spring of holy water. A further fifteen-minute walk reaches the summit, which contains other halls, notably the Kaisan-dō, beyond the summit, the back of the mountain is almost completely undeveloped, primarily featuring hiking trails. There is, however, the Oku-no-in, a grotto with a few statues, due to difficulty reaching, this is rarely visited by tourists, though a temple event is held there on the first Sunday in March. Near the Oku-no-in is an outlook, the Higashi-no-nozoki, which offers another view, on August 24,2008, the Juntei Kannon-dō at the top of the hill on the east of the temple was struck by lighting and burned down
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Ginkaku-ji
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Ginkaku-ji, officially named Jishō-ji, is a Zen temple in the Sakyo ward of Kyoto, Japan. It is one of the constructions that represents the Higashiyama Culture of the Muromachi period, Ashikaga Yoshimasa initiated plans for creating a retirement villa and gardens as early as 1460, and after his death, Yoshimasa would arrange for this property to become a Zen temple. The temple is associated with the Shokoku-ji branch of Rinzai Zen. The two-storied Kannon-den, is the temple structure. Its construction began February 21,1482, the structures design sought to emulate the golden Kinkaku-ji which had been commissioned by his grandfather Ashikaga Yoshimitsu. It is popularly known as Ginkaku, the Silver Pavilion because of the plans to cover its exterior in silver foil. During the Ōnin War, construction was halted, despite Yoshimasas intention to cover the structure with a distinctive silver-foil overlay, this work was delayed for so long that the plans were never realized before Yoshimasas death. The present appearance of the structure is understood to be the same as when Yoshimasa himself last saw it and this unfinished appearance illustrates one of the aspects of wabi-sabi quality. Like Kinkaku-ji, Ginkaku-ji was originally built to serve as a place of rest, during his reign as Shogun, Ashikaga Yoshimasa inspired a new outpouring of traditional culture, which came to be known as Higashiyama Bunka. Having retired to the villa, it is said Yoshimasa sat in the pavilion, contemplating the calm and beauty of the gardens as the Ōnin War worsened, in 1485, Yoshimasa became a Zen Buddhist monk. After his death on January 27,1490, the villa and gardens became a Buddhist temple complex, after extensive restoration, started February 2008, Ginkaku-ji is again in full glory to visit. The garden and temple complex are open to the public, there is still no silver foil used. After much discussion, it was decided to not refinish the lacquer to the original state, the lacquer finish was the source of the original silver appearance of the temple, with the reflection of silver water of the pond on the lacquer finish. In addition to the famous building, the property features wooded grounds covered with a variety of mosses. The Japanese garden, supposedly designed by the landscape artist Sōami. The sand garden of Ginkaku-ji has become well known. The Glossary of Japanese Buddhism for an explanation of terms concerning Japanese Buddhism, Japanese Buddhist art, Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto List of National Treasures of Japan List of Special Places of Scenic Beauty, Special Historic Sites and Special Natural Monuments Tourism in Japan Keene, Donald. Yoshimasa and the Silver Pavilion, The Creation of the Soul of Japan, ISBN 978-0-231-13056-1, OCLC52268947 Titsingh, Isaac, ed. Nipon o daï itsi ran, ou, Annales des empereurs du Japon
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Kamo Shrine
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Kamo Shrine is a general term for an important Shinto sanctuary complex on both banks of the Kamo River in northeast Kyoto. It is centered on two shrines, the two shrines, an upper and a lower, lie in a corner of the old capital which was known as the devils gate due to traditional geomancy beliefs that the north-east corner brought misfortune. Because the Kamo River runs from the north-east direction into the city, the Kamo Shrine encompasses what are now independent but traditionally associated jinja or shrines, the Kamo-wakeikazuchi Shrine in Kyotos Kita Ward, and the Kamo-mioya Shrine in Sakyo Ward. They are amongst the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto which have been designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, the jinja name identifies the clustered kami or deities who are venerated at the Kamo Shrine, and the name refers to the ambit of shrines encircling woods. The shrine name references the areas early inhabitants, the Kamo clan. The Kamo are credited with establishing this Shinto sacred place, the formal names of corollary jinja memorialize vital roots in a history which pre-dates the founding of Japans ancient capital. Although now incorporated within boundaries of the city, the Tadasu no Mori location was a site planning factor and it is theorized that this forest was the primeval forest home of the sacerdotal Kamo clan, who were the exclusive caretakers of the shrine from prehistoric times. The boundaries of todays smaller forest encompasses approximately 12.4 hectares, the woods of this sacred grove are designated by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage site along with other Shinto shrines in its environs. The shrines annual festival, Kamo no Matsuri, also called Aoi Matsuri, is the oldest of Kyotos three major festivals, the others are Jidai Matsuri and Gion Matsuri. The popular name for Kamo-wakeikazuchi jinja is the Kamigamo jinja or Kamigamo Shrine, in part, it is called the upper shrine because it is situated on the east bank of the Kamo River up-stream from its non-identical twin. The more commonly used name for Kamo-mioya jinja is the Shimogamo jinja or Shimogamo Shrine, in part, it is called the lower shrine because it is situated at the confluence of the Takano River and the Kamo River down-stream from its twin. At the Kamigamo Shrine, Kamo Wake-ikazuchi, the kami of thunder, is the focus of attention, Shimogamo Shrine is dedicated to the veneration of Kamo Wake-ikazuchis mother, Kamo Tamayori-hime. Shimogamo is also dedicated to Kamo Taketsune, who is the father of Kamo Taayori-hime, all feature prominently in the annual Aoi Festival, which occurs in May. Featured in this event are a procession between the two shrines, horse races, and demonstrations of mounted archery, Kamigamo Shrines two large conical sand mounds memorialize the holy trees that once served to welcome spirits. Shimogama Shrine has since become one of the key shrines in the area, the Shrine is located within Tadasu no Mori, the forest of truth, a primeval forest that is reputed to have never been burned down. The forest has, in fact, suffered damage over the centuries when all of Kyoto was burned during successive revolts and wars. Tadasu no mori is left to grow in its natural state and it is neither planted nor pruned. Although Kamigamo and Shimogamo shrines are considered to be paired or twinned, the Kamogawa river descnds from an ill-omened direction, and the shrines along the flow were positioned in order to prevent demons from using the river to enter the city
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Kinkaku-ji
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Kinkaku-ji, officially named Rokuon-ji, is a Zen Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan. It is one of the most popular buildings in Japan, attracting a number of visitors annually. It is designated as a National Special Historic Site and a National Special Landscape, the site of Kinkaku-ji was originally a villa called Kitayama-dai, belonging to a powerful statesman, Saionji Kintsune. Kinkaku-jis history dates to 1397, when the villa was purchased from the Saionji family by Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, when Yoshimitsu died, the building was converted into a Zen temple by his son, according to his wishes. During the Onin war, all of the buildings in the complex aside from the pavilion were burned down. On July 2,1950, at 2,30 am, the pavilion was burned down by a 22-year-old novice monk, Hayashi Yoken and he survived, and was subsequently taken into custody. The monk was sentenced to seven years in prison, but was released because of mental illnesses on September 29,1955, during the fire, the original statue of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu was lost to the flames. A fictionalized version of events is at the center of Yukio Mishimas 1956 book The Temple of the Golden Pavilion. The present pavilion structure dates from 1955, when it was rebuilt, the pavilion is three stories high, approximately 12.5 meters in height. The reconstruction is said to be a close to the original. In 1984, the coating of Japanese lacquer was found a little decayed, additionally, the interior of the building, including the paintings and Yoshimitsus statue, were also restored. Finally, the roof was restored in 2003, the name Kinkaku is derived from the gold leaf that the pavilion is covered in. Gold was an important addition to the pavilion because of its underlying meaning, the gold employed was to mitigate and purify any pollution or negative thoughts and feelings towards death. Other than the meaning behind the gold leaf, the Muromachi period heavily relied on visual excesses. The Golden Pavilion is a building on the grounds of the Rokuon-ji temple complex. The top two stories of the pavilion are covered with gold leaf. The pavilion functions as a shariden, housing relics of the Buddha, the building was an important model for Ginkaku-ji, and Shōkoku-ji, which are also located in Kyoto. When these buildings were constructed, Ashikaga Yoshimasa employed the used at Kinkaku-ji and even borrowed the names of its second
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Ninna-ji
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Ninna-ji is the head temple of the Omuro school of the Shingon Sect of Buddhism. Located in western Kyoto, Japan, it was founded in AD888 by the retired Emperor Uda and it is part of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Ninna-ji was founded in the early Heian period, in 886, Emperor Kōkō ordered the construction of the Nishiyama Goganji Temple to bless the nation and propagate Buddhist teachings, but he did not live to see its completion. Emperor Uda saw the construction to its completion in 888 and named it Ninna after the year of the late Emperor Kōkōs reign. From 888 to 1869 it was traditional for reigning Emperors to send a son to the temple to take over as head priest when a vacancy arose, after retiring from his throne, Emperor Uda became the first Monzeki, or aristocratic priest, of Ninna-ji. From then on until the end of the Edo period, the temple saw a succession of priests of imperial lineage. In 1467, the temple was destroyed by fire and fighting in the Ōnin War and it was rebuilt roughly 150 year later, thanks to the eldest son of Emperor Go-Yōzei, Kakushin Hosshinnō, who enlisted the help of Tokugawa Iemitsu, the third shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate. The resurrection coincided with the rebuilding of the Imperial Palace in Kyoto, the tradition of having aristocratic or persons of imperial lineage serve as chief of the temple ended with the 30th Monzeki, Junnin Hosshinnō in the late Edo period. Most of the buildings date from the 17th century, and include a five-story pagoda. The temple itself features some beautifully painted walls, and a beautiful walled garden. Ninna-ji official website Photos of Ninna-ji
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Nishi Hongan-ji
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Nishi Hongan-ji Western Temple of the Original Vow is one of two temple complexes of Jōdo Shinshū in Kyoto, Japan, the other being Higashi Honganji, or Eastern Temple of the Original Vow. Jōdo Shinshū is a school of Pure Land Buddhism, and today Nishi Hongan-ji serves as the temple of the Jōdo Shinshū organization. As with many sites in Kyoto, they have more casual names, Nishi Honganji was established in 1602 by the Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu. Ieyasu split the main Honganji in Kyoto into two temples, Nishi Hongan-ji and Higashi Hongan-ji, in order to diminish the power of the Jōdo Shinshu sect, Nishi Hongan-ji is listed as one of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Nishi Hongan-ji occupies almost all of an area bounded by Hanayachō-dōri to the north, Horikawa-dōri to the east, A Shichijō-dōri to the south. The main entrance to Nishi Hongan-ji is to the east on Horikawa-dōri, as the name of the temple implies, it is located to the west of Higashi Hongan-ji. Nishi Hongan-ji is older than the latter and has a more integral architecture, the Karamon is a gate of Nishi Hongan-ji designated a National Treasures of Japan. It is constructed as a gate with karahafu gables of undulating curves on the front. The Karamon gate has a roof in the style, a style of hip roof sloping down on all four sides. The roof is covered by shingles made from hinoki cypress. The gate dates to 1573 and was constructed early in the Momoyama period
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Ujigami Shrine
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Ujigami Shrine is a Shinto shrine in the city of Uji in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. The shrine was built as a shrine for the nearby Byōdō-in. In 1994, it was registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site as one of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto, the honden and haiden have been designated by the Agency for Cultural Affairs as National Treasures in the category shrines. The Ujigami Shrine is dedicated to the Emperor Ōjin and his sons, Uji no Wakiiratsuko committed suicide to solve a dispute over the imperial succession, and the shrine was built in his honor. The honden of the Ujigami Shrine is known as the oldest example of style of shrine architecture in Japan. In this style of architecture the three inner shrine structures are built side-by-side, with the structure in the middle being larger than those to the left, the honden dates to the late Heian period. The haiden is built in the style, and its roof in the sugaruhafu style. The haiden dates to the Kamakura period, the Kasuga Shrine, also within the shrine precinct, dates to the same period. The shrine is noted for its freshwater spring, Ujigami Shrine was found via digital dendrochronology to be the oldest original Shinto shrine in Japan. The Nara Research Institute for Cultural Properties determined that the shrine was built in approximately 1060, until the Meiji Period the Uji and Ujigami shrines were collectively known as the Rikyukamisha. The annual festival of the Ujigami Shrine is held on May 5, Uji Shrine Ujigami Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto Byōdō-in
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Enryaku-ji
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Enryaku-ji is a Tendai monastery located on Mount Hiei in Ōtsu, overlooking Kyoto. It was founded during the early Heian period, the temple complex was established by Saichō, also known as Dengyō Daishi, who introduced the Tendai sect of Mahayana Buddhism to Japan from China. Enryaku-ji is the headquarters of the Tendai sect and one of the most significant monasteries in Japanese history, as such, it is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto. The founders of Jōdo-shū, Sōtō Zen, and Nichiren Buddhism all spent time at the monastery, Enryaku-ji is also the home of the marathon monks. With the support of Emperor Kanmu, the Buddhist monk Saichō ordained a hundred disciples in 807, maintaining a strict discipline on Mt. Hiei, his monks lived in seclusion for twelve years of study and meditation. After this period, the best students were retained in positions in the monastery, at the peak of its power, Enryaku-ji was a huge complex of as many as 3,000 sub-temples and a powerful army of warrior monks. In the tenth century, succession disputes broke out between Tendai monks of the line of Ennin and Enchin and these disputes resulted in opposing Tendai centers at Enryaku-ji and at Mii-dera, known respectively as the Mountain Order and the Temple Order. Warrior monks were used to settle the disputes, and Tendai leaders began to hire mercenary armies who threatened rivals, Enryaku-jis current structures date from the late 16th century through the first half of the 17th century, when the temple was reconstructed following a change of government. Only one minor building survived, the Ruri-dō, which is located down a long, unmarked path from the Sai-tō complex, it is marked on maps, however. During reconstruction, some buildings were transferred from other temples, notably Mii-dera, today, most of Enryaku-jis buildings are clustered in three areas, Tō-dō, Sai-tō, and Yokokawa. The monasterys most important buildings are concentrated in Tō-dō, Sai-tō is a 20-minute walk away, primarily downhill from Tō-dō, and also features several important buildings. Yokokawa is more isolated and less visited, about a 1,30 walk, and is most easily reached by bus, on April 4,2006, Enryaku-ji performed a ceremony for former leaders of Yamaguchi-gumi, by far the largest Yakuza organization in Japan. Because such temple ceremonies have been used for Yamaguchi-gumi fund-raising and demonstrations of power, rejecting the request, Enryaku-ji received crime-related money for the ceremony and allowed nearly 100 upper-level Yamaguchi-gumi leaders to attend. After reports in the Asahi Shimbun and Yomiuri Shimbun newspapers, Enryaku-ji faced a nationwide scandal, the temple was also criticized by the Japan Buddhist Temple Association, which led a movement against the Yakuza. Finally on May 18, all directors of Enryaku-ji resigned, apologizing on their website. Kyoto, The Old Capital of Japan, 794-1869, official website Japan Atlas, Enryaku-Ji Temple Photos of Mount Hiei and the three precincts of Enryaku-ji Temple
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