1.
Japan
–
Japan is a sovereign island nation in Eastern Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies off the eastern coast of the Asia Mainland and stretches from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea, the kanji that make up Japans name mean sun origin. 日 can be read as ni and means sun while 本 can be read as hon, or pon, Japan is often referred to by the famous epithet Land of the Rising Sun in reference to its Japanese name. Japan is an archipelago consisting of about 6,852 islands. The four largest are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku, the country is divided into 47 prefectures in eight regions. Hokkaido being the northernmost prefecture and Okinawa being the southernmost one, the population of 127 million is the worlds tenth largest. Japanese people make up 98. 5% of Japans total population, approximately 9.1 million people live in the city of Tokyo, the capital of Japan. Archaeological research indicates that Japan was inhabited as early as the Upper Paleolithic period, the first written mention of Japan is in Chinese history texts from the 1st century AD. Influence from other regions, mainly China, followed by periods of isolation, from the 12th century until 1868, Japan was ruled by successive feudal military shoguns who ruled in the name of the Emperor. Japan entered into a period of isolation in the early 17th century. The Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937 expanded into part of World War II in 1941, which came to an end in 1945 following the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan is a member of the UN, the OECD, the G7, the G8, the country has the worlds third-largest economy by nominal GDP and the worlds fourth-largest economy by purchasing power parity. It is also the worlds fourth-largest exporter and fourth-largest importer, although Japan has officially renounced its right to declare war, it maintains a modern military with the worlds eighth-largest military budget, used for self-defense and peacekeeping roles. Japan is a country with a very high standard of living. Its population enjoys the highest life expectancy and the third lowest infant mortality rate in the world, in ancient China, Japan was called Wo 倭. It was mentioned in the third century Chinese historical text Records of the Three Kingdoms in the section for the Wei kingdom, Wa became disliked because it has the connotation of the character 矮, meaning dwarf. The 倭 kanji has been replaced with the homophone Wa, meaning harmony, the Japanese word for Japan is 日本, which is pronounced Nippon or Nihon and literally means the origin of the sun. The earliest record of the name Nihon appears in the Chinese historical records of the Tang dynasty, at the start of the seventh century, a delegation from Japan introduced their country as Nihon
Japan
–
The
Golden Hall and
five-storey pagoda of
Hōryū-ji, among the oldest wooden buildings in the world,
National Treasures, and a
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Japan
Japan
–
Samurai warriors face Mongols, during the
Mongol invasions of Japan. The
Kamikaze, two storms, are said to have saved Japan from Mongol fleets.
Japan
–
Samurai could
kill a commoner for the slightest insult and were widely feared by the Japanese population.
Edo period, 1798
2.
Philology
–
Philology is the study of language in written historical sources, it is a combination of literary criticism, history, and linguistics. It is more defined as the study of literary texts and written records, the establishment of their authenticity and their original form. A person who pursues this kind of study is known as a philologist, in older usage, especially British, philology is more general, covering comparative and historical linguistics. Indo-European studies involves the comparative philology of all Indo-European languages, Philology, with its focus on historical development, is contrasted with linguistics due to Ferdinand de Saussures insistence on the importance of synchronic analysis. The contrast continued with the emergence of structuralism and Chomskyan linguistics alongside its emphasis on syntax, the term changed little with the Latin philologia, and later entered the English language in the 16th century, from the Middle French philologie, in the sense of love of literature. The adjective φιλόλογος meant fond of discussion or argument, talkative, in Hellenistic Greek also implying an excessive preference of argument over the love of true wisdom, as an allegory of literary erudition, Philologia appears in 5th-century post-classical literature, an idea revived in Late Medieval literature. The meaning of love of learning and literature was narrowed to the study of the development of languages in 19th-century usage of the term. Most continental European countries still maintain the term to designate departments, colleges, position titles, J. R. R. Tolkien opposed the nationalist reaction against philological practices, claiming that the philological instinct was universal as is the use of language. Based on the critique of Friedrich Nietzsche, US scholars since the 1980s have viewed philology as responsible for a narrowly scientistic study of language. The comparative linguistics branch of philology studies the relationship between languages, similarities between Sanskrit and European languages were first noted in the early 16th century and led to speculation of a common ancestor language from which all these descended. Philology also includes the study of texts and their history and it includes elements of textual criticism, trying to reconstruct an authors original text based on variant copies of manuscripts. Since that time, the principles of textual criticism have been improved and applied to other widely distributed texts such as the Bible. Scholars have tried to reconstruct the original readings of the Bible from the manuscript variants and this method was applied to Classical Studies and to medieval texts as a way to reconstruct the authors original work. A related study method known as higher criticism studies the authorship, date, as these philological issues are often inseparable from issues of interpretation, there is no clear-cut boundary between philology and hermeneutics. When text has a significant political or religious influence, scholars have difficulty reaching objective conclusions, some scholars avoid all critical methods of textual philology, especially in historical linguistics, where it is important to study the actual recorded materials. Supporters of New Philology insist on a diplomatic approach, a faithful rendering of the text exactly as found in the manuscript. Another branch of philology, cognitive philology, studies written and oral texts and this science compares the results of textual science with the results of experimental research of both psychology and artificial intelligence production systems. In the case of Bronze Age literature, philology includes the prior decipherment of the language under study and this has notably been the case with the Egyptian, Sumerian, Assyrian, Hittite, Ugaritic and Luwian languages
Philology
–
Cover of Indo-European philology historical and comparative by
William Burley Lockwood
3.
Philosophy
–
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems concerning matters such as existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. The term was coined by Pythagoras. Philosophical methods include questioning, critical discussion, rational argument and systematic presentation, classic philosophical questions include, Is it possible to know anything and to prove it. However, philosophers might also pose more practical and concrete questions such as, is it better to be just or unjust. Historically, philosophy encompassed any body of knowledge, from the time of Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle to the 19th century, natural philosophy encompassed astronomy, medicine and physics. For example, Newtons 1687 Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy later became classified as a book of physics, in the 19th century, the growth of modern research universities led academic philosophy and other disciplines to professionalize and specialize. In the modern era, some investigations that were part of philosophy became separate academic disciplines, including psychology, sociology. Other investigations closely related to art, science, politics, or other pursuits remained part of philosophy, for example, is beauty objective or subjective. Are there many scientific methods or just one, is political utopia a hopeful dream or hopeless fantasy. Major sub-fields of academic philosophy include metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, aesthetics, political philosophy, logic, philosophy of science, since the 20th century, professional philosophers contribute to society primarily as professors, researchers and writers. Traditionally, the term referred to any body of knowledge. In this sense, philosophy is related to religion, mathematics, natural science, education. This division is not obsolete but has changed, Natural philosophy has split into the various natural sciences, especially astronomy, physics, chemistry, biology and cosmology. Moral philosophy has birthed the social sciences, but still includes value theory, metaphysical philosophy has birthed formal sciences such as logic, mathematics and philosophy of science, but still includes epistemology, cosmology and others. Many philosophical debates that began in ancient times are still debated today, colin McGinn and others claim that no philosophical progress has occurred during that interval. Chalmers and others, by contrast, see progress in philosophy similar to that in science, in one general sense, philosophy is associated with wisdom, intellectual culture and a search for knowledge. In that sense, all cultures and literate societies ask philosophical questions such as how are we to live, a broad and impartial conception of philosophy then, finds a reasoned inquiry into such matters as reality, morality and life in all world civilizations. Socrates was an influential philosopher, who insisted that he possessed no wisdom but was a pursuer of wisdom
Philosophy
–
René Descartes
Philosophy
–
Thomas Aquinas
Philosophy
–
Jeremy Bentham
Philosophy
–
Thomas Hobbes
4.
Tokugawa period
–
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 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. The emperor was held up as the source of political sanction for the shogun
Tokugawa period
–
Nikkō Tōshō-gū
Tokugawa period
–
Tokugawa Ieyasu, first
shogun of the
Tokugawa shogunate
Tokugawa period
–
The
San Juan Bautista is represented in
Claude Deruet 's painting of
Hasekura Tsunenaga in Rome in 1617, as a galleon with Hasekura's flag (red swastika on orange background) on the top mast.
Tokugawa period
–
Itinerary and dates of the travels of Hasekura Tsunenaga
5.
China
–
China, officially the Peoples Republic of China, is a unitary sovereign state in East Asia and the worlds most populous country, with a population of over 1.381 billion. The state is governed by the Communist Party of China and its capital is Beijing, the countrys major urban areas include Shanghai, Guangzhou, Beijing, Chongqing, Shenzhen, Tianjin and Hong Kong. China is a power and a major regional power within Asia. Chinas landscape is vast and diverse, ranging from forest steppes, the Himalaya, Karakoram, Pamir and Tian Shan mountain ranges separate China from much of South and Central Asia. The Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, the third and sixth longest in the world, respectively, Chinas coastline along the Pacific Ocean is 14,500 kilometers long and is bounded by the Bohai, Yellow, East China and South China seas. China emerged as one of the worlds earliest civilizations in the basin of the Yellow River in the North China Plain. For millennia, Chinas political system was based on hereditary monarchies known as dynasties, in 1912, the Republic of China replaced the last dynasty and ruled the Chinese mainland until 1949, when it was defeated by the communist Peoples Liberation Army in the Chinese Civil War. The Communist Party established the Peoples Republic of China in Beijing on 1 October 1949, both the ROC and PRC continue to claim to be the legitimate government of all China, though the latter has more recognition in the world and controls more territory. China had the largest economy in the world for much of the last two years, during which it has seen cycles of prosperity and decline. Since the introduction of reforms in 1978, China has become one of the worlds fastest-growing major economies. As of 2016, it is the worlds second-largest economy by nominal GDP, China is also the worlds largest exporter and second-largest importer of goods. China is a nuclear weapons state and has the worlds largest standing army. The PRC is a member of the United Nations, as it replaced the ROC as a permanent member of the U. N. Security Council in 1971. China is also a member of numerous formal and informal multilateral organizations, including the WTO, APEC, BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the BCIM, the English name China is first attested in Richard Edens 1555 translation of the 1516 journal of the Portuguese explorer Duarte Barbosa. The demonym, that is, the name for the people, Portuguese China is thought to derive from Persian Chīn, and perhaps ultimately from Sanskrit Cīna. Cīna was first used in early Hindu scripture, including the Mahābhārata, there are, however, other suggestions for the derivation of China. The official name of the state is the Peoples Republic of China. The shorter form is China Zhōngguó, from zhōng and guó and it was then applied to the area around Luoyi during the Eastern Zhou and then to Chinas Central Plain before being used as an occasional synonym for the state under the Qing
China
–
Yinxu, ruins of an ancient
palace dating from the
Shang Dynasty (14th century BCE)
China
–
Flag
China
–
Some of the thousands of life-size
Terracotta Warriors of the
Qin Dynasty, c. 210 BCE
China
–
The
Great Wall of China was built by several dynasties over two thousand years to protect the sedentary agricultural regions of the
Chinese interior from incursions by
nomadic pastoralists of the northern
steppes.
6.
Confucian
–
Confucianism, also known as Ruism, is described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or simply a way of life. In the Han dynasty, Confucian approaches edged out the proto-Taoist Huang-Lao, the disintegration of the Han political order in the second century CE opened the way for the doctrines of Buddhism and Neo-Taoism, which offered spiritual explanations lacking in Confucianism. A Confucian revival began during the Tang dynasty of 618-907, in the late Tang, Confucianism developed in response to Buddhism and Taoism and was reformulated as Neo-Confucianism. This reinvigorated form was adopted as the basis of the imperial exams, the abolition of the examination system in 1905 marked the end of official Confucianism. The New Culture intellectuals of the twentieth century blamed Confucianism for Chinas weaknesses. In the late twentieth century Confucian work ethic has been credited with the rise of the East Asian economy, with particular emphasis on the importance of the family and social harmony, rather than on an otherworldly source of spiritual values, the core of Confucianism is humanistic. While Tiān has some characteristics that overlap the category of deity, it is primarily an impersonal absolute principle, Confucianism focuses on the practical order that is given by a this-worldly awareness of the Tiān. Confucian thought focuses on the cultivation of virtue and maintenance of ethics, Some of the basic Confucian ethical concepts and practices include rén, yì, and lǐ, and zhì. Rén is the essence of the human being which manifests as compassion and it is the virtue-form of Heaven. Yì is the upholding of righteousness and the disposition to do good. Lǐ is a system of norms and propriety that determines how a person should properly act in everyday life according to the law of Heaven. Zhì is the ability to see what is right and fair, or the converse, Confucianism holds one in contempt, either passively or actively, for failure to uphold the cardinal moral values of rén and yì. In the 20th century Confucianisms influence diminished greatly, in the last decades there have been talks of a Confucian Revival in the academic and the scholarly community and there has been a grassroots proliferation of various types of Confucian churches. In late 2015 many Confucian personalities formally established a national Holy Confucian Church in China to unify the many Confucian congregations, strictly speaking, there is no term in Chinese which directly corresponds to Confucianism. In the Chinese language, the character rú 儒 meaning scholar or learned man is used both in the past and the present to refer to things related to Confucianism. The character rú in ancient China has diverse meanings, Some examples include, weak, soft, to tame, to comfort and to educate or to refine. Rújiā contains the character jiā, which means family. Rújiào and Kǒngjiào contain the Chinese character jiào, the teaching or transmission, used in such terms as education
Confucian
–
Temple of Confucius of
Jiangyin,
Wuxi,
Jiangsu. This is a wénmiào (文庙), that is to say a temple where
Confucius is worshipped as Wéndì (文帝), "God of Culture".
Confucian
–
Confucianism
Confucian
–
Gates of the wenmiao of
Datong,
Shanxi.
Confucian
–
Confucius, circa 1770.
7.
Buddhist
–
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
Buddhist
–
Standing Buddha statue at the
Tokyo National Museum. One of the earliest known representations of the
Buddha, 1st–2nd century CE.
Buddhist
–
The Dharmachakra
Buddhist
–
Relic depicting Gautama leaving home. The Great Departure, c.1–2nd century. (
Musée Guimet)
Buddhist
–
Ascetic
Gautama with his five companions, who later comprised the first
Sangha. (Painting in
Laotian temple)
8.
Motoori Norinaga
–
Motoori Norinaga was a Japanese scholar of Kokugaku active during the Edo period. He is probably the best known and most prominent of all scholars in this tradition, Norinaga was born in what is now Matsusaka in Ise Province as the second son of an Otsu merchant house. After his elder brother’s death, Norinaga succeeded to the Ozu line, at one stage he was adopted out to a paper-making family but the bookish boy was not suited to business. It was at his mothers suggestion that, at the age of 22, in Kyoto, he also studied Chinese and Japanese philology under the neo-Confucianist Hori Keizan. It was at time that Norinaga became interested in the Japanese classics and decided to enter the field of Kokugaku under the influence of Ogyū Sorai. Life in Kyoto also instilled in the young Norinaga a love of traditional Japanese court culture, returning to Matsusaka, Norinaga opened a medical practice for infants while devoting his spare time to lectures on The Tale of Genji and studies of the Nihon Shoki. At the age of 27, he bought several books by Kamo no Mabuchi, as a doctor, he adopted the name of one of his samurai ancestors, Motoori. In 1763, Norinaga met Mabuchi in person when the latter visited Matsusaka, Norinaga took the occasion to ask Mabuchi to supervise his annotations of the Kojiki. Mabuchi suggested that Norinaga should first tackle the annotations to the Manyōshū in order to accustom himself to the ancient kana usage known as the manyōgana. This was the meeting between the two men, but they continued to correspond and, with Mabuchi’s encouragement, Norinaga later went on to full-fledged research into the Kojiki. Norinaga’s disciples included Ishizuka Tatsumaro, Nagase Masaki, Natsume Mikamaro, Takahashi Mikiakira, although overshadowed by his activities as a Kokugaku scholar, Norinaga spent 40 years as a practicing doctor in Matsusaka and was seeing patients until 10 days before his death in 1801. Norinaga’s most important works include the Kojiki-den, made over a period of around 35 years, Norinaga took the view that the heritage of ancient Japan was one of natural spontaneity in feelings and spirit, and that imported Confucianism ran counter to such natural feelings. He criticized Ogyū Sorai for his worship of Chinese civilization and thought and his ideas were influenced by the Chinese intellectual Wang Yangming, who had argued for innate knowing, that mankind had a naturally intuitive ability to distinguish good and evil. 1730 - Born as second son Education, At the age of seven could already read and write 11 years old reciting Noh theatre pieces, visiting the shrine of Yoshino 16y. Advanced Confucian training 1748 - Norinaga is adopted by the Imaida family,1752 - Goes to Kyoto to study medical science 1752–57 - Some scholars note his productivity. Motoori produces 2000 Waka and 40 books and copies 15 others,1757 - Reads Kamo no Mabuchis first book, Kanji kō. Lacking money he returns to his hometown to open a medical practice,1760 - Enters arranged marriage with Murata Mika, divorced after 3 months. 1762 - Marries Kusubuka Tami and one year later their son Haruniwa is born,1763 - Meets Kamo no Mabuchi who tells him to read the Nihonshoki and the Manyōshū 1764–71 - Studies the Kojiki, and begins to spread his teachings
Motoori Norinaga
–
Self-portrait by Motoori
Motoori Norinaga
–
Motoori Norinaga home, preserved as a museum
9.
Shinto
–
Shinto practices were first recorded and codified in the written historical records of the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki in the 8th century. Still, these earliest Japanese writings do not refer to a unified Shinto religion, practitioners express their diverse beliefs through a standard language and practice, adopting a similar style in dress and ritual, dating from around the time of the Nara and Heian periods. The word Shinto was adopted, originally as Jindō or Shindō, from the written Chinese Shendao, the oldest recorded usage of the word Shindo is from the second half of the 6th century. Kami are defined in English as spirits, essences or gods, Kami and people are not separate, they exist within the same world and share its interrelated complexity. Shinto is the largest religion in Japan, practiced by nearly 80% of the population, Shinto has 81,000 shrines and 85,000 priests in the country. According to Inoue, In modern scholarship, the term is used with reference to kami worship and related theologies, rituals. In these contexts, Shinto takes on the meaning of Japans traditional religion, as opposed to religions such as Christianity, Buddhism, Islam. Shinto religious expressions have been distinguished by scholars into a series of categories, Shrine Shinto and it consists in taking part in worship practices and events at local shrines. Before the Meiji Restoration, shrines were disorganized institutions usually attached to Buddhist temples, the current successor to the imperial organization system, the Association of Shinto Shrines, oversees about 80,000 shrines nationwide. Folk Shinto includes the folk beliefs in deities and spirits. Practices include divination, spirit possession, and shamanic healing, some of their practices come from Buddhism, Taoism or Confucianism, but most come from ancient local traditions. Sect Shinto is a designation originally created in the 1890s to separate government-owned shrines from local organised religious communities. These communities originated especially in the Edo period, the basic difference between Shrine Shinto and Sect Shinto is that sects are a later development and grew self-consciously. They can identify a founder, a set of teachings. Sect Shinto groups are thirteen, and usually classified under five headings, pure Shinto sects, Confucian sects, mountain worship sects, purification sects, and faith-healing sects. Koshintō, literally Old Shinto, is a reconstructed Shinto from before the time of Buddhism, today based on Ainu religion and it continues the restoration movement begun by Hirata Atsutane. Many other sects and schools can be distinguished, Kami or shin is defined in English as god, spirit, spiritual essence, all these terms meaning the energy generating a thing. Since the Japanese language does not distinguish between singular and plural, kami refers to the divinity, or sacred essence, that manifests in multiple forms, rocks, trees, rivers, animals, places, and even people can be said to possess the nature of kami
Shinto
–
Takachiho-gawara. Here is the sacred ground of the
descent to earth of
Ninigi-no-Mikoto (the grandson of
Amaterasu).
Shinto
–
Shinto
priest and
priestess.
Shinto
–
Yutateshinji ceremony performed at the
Miwa Shrine.
10.
Japanese literature
–
Early works of Japanese literature were heavily influenced by cultural contact with China and Chinese literature, often written in Classical Chinese. Indian literature also had an influence through the Diffusion of Buddhism in Japan, since Japan reopened its ports to Western trading and diplomacy in the 19th century, Western and Eastern literature have strongly affected each other and continue to do so. Before the introduction of kanji from China, Japanese had no writing system and it is believed that Chinese characters came to Japan at the very beginning of the fifth century, brought by immigrants from the mainland of Korean and Chinese descent. Chinese characters were further adapted, creating what is known as manyōgana. The earliest literary works in Japan were created in the Nara period, one of the stories they describe is the tale of Urashima Tarō. The Heian period has been referred to as the era of art. During this era, literature became centered on an elite of nobility. The imperial court patronized the poets, most of whom were courtiers or ladies-in-waiting. Reflecting the aristocratic atmosphere, the poetry was elegant and sophisticated and expressed emotions in a rhetorical style, editing the resulting anthologies of poetry soon became a national pastime. The iroha poem, now one of two standard orderings for the Japanese syllabary, was developed during the early Heian period. Genji Monogatari written in the early 11th century by a woman named Murasaki Shikibu is considered the pre-eminent masterpiece of Heian fiction, other important writings of this period include the Kokin Wakashū, a waka-poetry anthology, and Makura no Sōshi. The Pillow Book was written by Sei Shōnagon, Murasaki Shikibus contemporary and rival, as an essay about the life, loves, another notable piece of fictional Japanese literature was Konjaku Monogatarishū, a collection of over a thousand stories in 31 volumes. The volumes cover various tales from India, China and Japan, the 10th-century Japanese narrative, Taketori Monogatari, can be considered an early example of proto-science fiction. The protagonist of the story, Kaguya-hime, is a princess from the Moon who is sent to Earth for safety during a celestial war and she is later taken back to her extraterrestrial family in an illustrated depiction of a disc-shaped flying object similar to a flying saucer. During the Kamakura period, Japan experienced many civil wars led to the development of a warrior class, and subsequent war tales, histories. Work from this period is notable for its more sombre tone compared to the works of previous eras, with themes of life and death, simple lifestyles, and redemption through killing. A representative work is Heike monogatari, an account of the struggle between the Minamoto and Taira clans for control of Japan at the end of the twelfth century. Other important tales of the period include Kamo no Chōmeis Hōjōki, despite a decline in the importance of the imperial court, aristocratic literature remained the center of Japanese culture in the beginning of the Kamakura period
Japanese literature
–
Murasaki Shikibu, the author of
The Tale of Genji.
Japanese literature
–
Self-Portrait by
Miyamoto Musashi (1584-1645), a swordsman, writer, and artist. As the author of
The Book of Five Rings.
11.
Culture of Japan
–
Japanese is the official and primary language of Japan. Japanese is relatively small but has a lexically distinct pitch-accent system, early Japanese is known largely on the basis of its state in the 8th century, when the three major works of Old Japanese were compiled. The earliest attestation of the Japanese language is in a Chinese document from 252 AD, Japanese is written with a combination of three scripts, hiragana, derived from the Chinese cursive script, katakana, derived as a shorthand from Chinese characters, and kanji, imported from China. The Latin alphabet, rōmaji, is often used in modern Japanese, especially for company names and logos, advertising. The Hindu-Arabic numerals are used for numbers, but traditional Sino-Japanese numerals are also very common. Early works of Japanese literature were influenced by cultural contact with China and Chinese literature. Indian literature also had an influence through the spread of Buddhism throughout Japan, eventually, Japanese literature developed into a separate style in its own right as Japanese writers began writing their own works about Japan. Since Japan reopened its ports to Western trading and diplomacy in the 19th century, Western and Eastern literature have strongly affected each other, the music of Japan includes a wide array of performers in distinct styles both traditional and modern. The word for music in Japanese is 音楽, combining the kanji 音 on with the kanji 楽 gaku. Japan is the second largest music market in the world, behind the United States, and the largest in Asia, local music often appears at karaoke venues, which is on lease from the record labels. Traditional Japanese music is different from Western Music and is based on the intervals of human breathing rather than mathematical timing. In 1873, a British traveler claimed that Japanese music, exasperates beyond all endurance the European breast. Painting has been an art in Japan for a long time, the brush is a traditional writing and painting tool. Japanese painters are often categorized by what they painted, as most of them constrained themselves solely to subjects such as animals, landscapes, Chinese papermaking was introduced to Japan around the 7th century. Later, washi was developed from it, native Japanese painting techniques are still in use today, as well as techniques adopted from continental Asia and from the West. Famous Japanese painters include Kanō Sanraku, Maruyama Ōkyo, and Tani Bunchō, the flowing, brush-drawn Japanese rendering of text itself is seen as a traditional art form as well as a means of conveying written information. The written work can consist of phrases, poems, stories, the style and format of the writing can mimic the subject matter, even to the point of texture and stroke speed. In some cases, it can take one hundred attempts to produce the desired effect of a single character
Culture of Japan
–
Pine Trees,
Hasegawa Tōhaku
Culture of Japan
–
Fūjin-raijin-zu by
Tawaraya Sōtatsu, with
Raijin shown on the left and
Fūjin right. 17th century.
Culture of Japan
–
The Great Wave at Kanagawa Carved by
Hokusai.
12.
Japanese poetry
–
Much of the literary record of Japanese poetry begins when Japanese poets encountered Chinese poetry during the Tang dynasty. For example, in the Tale of Genji both kanshi and waka are frequently mentioned, since the middle of the 19th century, the major forms of Japanese poetry have been tanka, haiku and shi or western-style poetry. Today, the forms of Japanese poetry include both experimental poetry and poetry that seeks to revive traditional ways. Poets writing in tanka, haiku and shi may seldom write poetry other than in their specific chosen form, although some active poets are eager to collaborate with poets in other genres. Also, much of Japanese poetry features short verse forms, often collaborative, older forms of Japanese poetry include kanshi, which shows a strong influence from Chinese literature and culture. Kanshi literally means Han poetry and it is the Japanese term for Chinese poetry in general as well as the written in Chinese by Japanese poets. Kanshi from the early Heian period exists in the Kaifūsō anthology, Waka are composed in Japanese, and are contrasted with poetry composed by Japanese poets in Classical Chinese, which are known as kanshi. The Manyōshū anthology preserves from the eighth century 265 chōka,4,207 tanka, one tan-renga, one bussokusekika, four kanshi, and 22 Chinese prose passages. However, by the time of the tenth century Kokinshū anthology, waka had become the term used for short poems of the tanka form. Tanka are poems written in Japanese with five lines having a 5-7-5-7-7 metre, the tanka form has shown some modern revival in popularity. As previously stated, it used to be called waka, much traditional Japanese poetry was written as the result of a process of 2 or more poets contributing verses to a larger whole piece, such as in the case of the renga form. Typically, the honored guest would begin by composing a few beginning lines and this initial sally would be followed by a stanza composed by the host. This process could continue, sometimes with many composed by numerous other guests. Other collaborative forms of Japanese poetry also evolved, such as the renku form, haiku are a short, 3-line verse form, which have achieved significant global popularity, and the haiku form has been adapted from Japanese into other languages. Typical of the form is the metrical pattern of 3 lines with a distribution of 5,7. Other features include the juxtaposition of two images or ideas with a kireji between them, and a kigo, or seasonal reference, usually drawn from a saijiki, much of Japanese poetry has been transmitted historically through published anthologies, many of them with imperial patronage. Important collections are the Manyōshū, Kokin Wakashū, Shin Kokin Wakashū, the history of Japanese poetry is tied to the history of Japanese literature, that is in the purely historical sense of having extant written records. However, the early pre-history and mythology of Japan involve or include some references to poetry, and, the earliest preserved works in the Japanese language also preserve some previous poetry from this earlier period
Japanese poetry
–
Edition of the
Kokin Wakashū anthology of classic Japanese poetry with wood-carved cover, 18th century.
Japanese poetry
–
Illustration of the "32 Persons of Different Occupations Poetry Competition", 1494
Japanese poetry
–
Book of Odes Dainembutsuji, commentary fragment (
Shijing commentary fragment, 毛詩鄭箋残巻, mōshi teisen zankan). Before 1185.
Japanese poetry
–
Sugawara no Michizane is revered as the god of learning, as seen on this
ema at a
Shintō shrine.
13.
History of Japan
–
It is widely accepted that first Human habitation in the Japanese archipelago traced back to prehistoric times. The Jōmon period, named after its cord-marked pottery, was followed by the Yayoi in the first millennium BC, during this period, in the first century AD, the first known written reference to Japan was recorded in the Chinese Book of Han. Between the fourth century and the century, Japans many kingdoms and tribes gradually came to be unified under a centralized government. The imperial dynasty established at this time continues to reign over Japan to this day, in 794, a new imperial capital was established at Heian-kyō, marking the beginning of the Heian period, which lasted until 1185. The Heian period is considered an age of classical Japanese culture. Japanese religious life from time and onwards was a mix of Buddhism. Over the following centuries the power of the Emperor and the imperial court gradually declined and passed to the military clans, the Minamoto clan under Minamoto no Yoritomo emerged victorious from the Genpei War of 1180–85. After seizing power, Yoritomo set up his capital in Kamakura, in 1274 and 1281, the Kamakura shogunate withstood two Mongol invasions, but in 1333 it was toppled by a rival claimant to the shogunate, ushering in the Muromachi period. During the Muromachi period regional warlords called daimyō grew in power at the expense of the shogun, eventually, Japan descended into a period of civil war. Over the course of the sixteenth century, Japan was reunified under the leadership of the daimyō Oda Nobunaga. After Hideyoshis death in 1598, Tokugawa Ieyasu came to power and was appointed shogun by the Emperor, the Tokugawa shogunate, which governed from Edo, presided over a prosperous and peaceful era known as the Edo period. The Tokugawa shogunate imposed a strict class system on Japanese society, the American Perry Expedition in 1853–54 ended Japans seclusion, this in turn contributed to the fall of the shogunate and the return of power to the Emperor in 1868. The new national leadership of the following Meiji period transformed their isolated, underdeveloped island country into an empire that closely followed Western models and became a world power. Although democracy developed and modern civilian culture prospered during the Taishō period, Japans powerful military had great autonomy, the military invaded Manchuria in 1931, and from 1937 the conflict escalated into a prolonged war with China. Japans attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 led to war with the United States, Japans forces soon became overextended, but the military held out in spite of Allied air attacks that inflicted severe damage on population centers. Japans unconditional surrender was announced by Emperor Hirohito on 14 August 1945 following the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Allies occupied Japan until 1952, during which a new constitution was enacted in 1947 that transformed Japan into a constitutional monarchy, after 1955, Japan enjoyed very high economic growth, and became a world economic powerhouse. Since the 1990s, economic stagnation has been a major issue, an earthquake and tsunami in 2011 caused massive economic dislocations and a serious nuclear power disaster
History of Japan
–
History of Japan
History of Japan
–
Jōmon period pottery
History of Japan
–
A Yayoi period
bronze bell, third century AD
History of Japan
–
Daisenryō Kofun,
Osaka
14.
Hirata Atsutane
–
Hirata Atsutane was a Japanese scholar, conventionally ranked as one of the Four Great Men of Kokugaku studies, and one of the most significant theologians of the Shintō religion. Hirata was born to a samurai family of Akita domain in the Tōhoku region of northern Japan. His father was named Ōwada Yoshitane, and Hirata was adopted by Matsuyama retainer Hirata Tōbei, little is known of his early life, but Hirata was a student of the Neo-Confucianism of Yamazaki Ansai in Edo. He later turned towards Daoism as found in the works of the Chinese philosopher Zhuangzi, Hirata laid particular emphasis on reaching the average man, and adapted his own style to them by employing at times the vernacular idiom. Hirata claimed later to have received the mantle of kokugaku teacher in a dream directly from Motoori Norinaga, hiratas interest in kokugaku postdates Motooris own death. Representative works in the study of ancient Japanese traditions include Tama no mihashira, Koshi seibun, Kodō taii and Zoku Shintō taii, and the commentaries Koshi-chō and Koshi-den. He is also noted for his studies of ancient Indian and Chinese tradition and his early work Honkyō gaihen indicates an acquaintance with Christian literature that had been authored by Jesuits in China. Hirata frequently expressed hostility to the Confucian and Buddhist scholars of the day, the contents of his 1841 treatise Tenchō mukyūreki angered the ruling Tokugawa bakufu government, and he was sentenced to confinement in Akita until his death in 1843. Hiratas activities eventually attracted over 500 pupils, including Okuni Takamasa and his nationalist writings had considerable impact on the samurai who supported the Sonnō jōi movement and who fought in the Boshin War to overthrow the Tokugawa Shogunate during the Meiji Restoration. Atsutanes influence on kokugaku has recently thought to be overestimated. While he is called one of the four men of kokugaku. His work more often influenced religious groups than the government in the Empire of Japan, among Atsutanes more enduring contributions to Japanese thought was the idea that all Japanese were descended from the gods, not only the Imperial family and certain aristocratic families. As he put it, this, our glorious land, is the land in which the gods have their origin, a Modern History of Japan, From Tokugawa Times to the Present. ISBN9780195110609, ISBN9780195110616, OCLC49704795 Jansen, Marius B, ISBN9780674003347, OCLC44090600 McNally, Mark. Proving the Way, Conflict and Practice in the History of Japanese Nativism
Hirata Atsutane
–
Atsutane's Portrait by his pupil
15.
Sinocentrism
–
Sinocentrism refers to the historical ideology that China is the cultural center of the world. Depending on the context, sinocentrism can refer to either the ethnocentrism of the Han society and culture. It was popular among the Chinese elites up to the Qing dynasty, in modern times, it sometimes can take the form of according China significance or supremacy compared to other nations. The Sinocentric system was a system of international relations that prevailed in East Asia before the adoption of the Westphalian system in modern times. Areas outside the Sinocentric influence were called Huawaizhidi, meaning uncivilized lands, at the center of the system stood China, ruled by the dynasty that had gained the Mandate of Heaven. Under this scheme of relations, only China had an Emperor or Huangdi. The Japanese use of the term Heavenly Emperor or tennō for the ruler of Japan was a subversion of this principle, throughout history, the Koreans sometimes refer to their hierarchy as King, conforming with traditional Korean belief of Posterity of Heaven. Identification of the heartland and the legitimacy of succession were both essential aspects of the system. Originally the center was synonymous with the Central Plain, an area that was expanded through invasion, outside the center were several concentric circles. Local ethnic minorities were not regarded as foreign countries, however, they were governed by their own leaders called Local Commanders, subject to recognition by the Emperor, and were exempt from the Chinese bureaucratic system. Outside this circle were the states which offered tribute to the Emperor of China. Under the Ming Dynasty, when the system entered its peak. The southeastern barbarians included some of the states of East Asia and Southeast Asia, such as Korea, Japan, the Ryūkyū Kingdom, Annam, Đại Việt, Siam, Champa. A second group of southeastern barbarians covered countries like Sulu, Malacca, many of these are independent states in modern times. In addition, there were northern barbarians, northeastern barbarians, the situation was complicated by the fact that some tributary states had their own tributaries. Laos was a tributary of Vietnam and the Ryūkyū Kingdom paid tribute to both China and Japan, tsushima was also a tributary of Goryeo and Joseon dynasties of Korea. Beyond the circle of tributary states were countries in a relationship with China. The Portuguese, for instance, were allowed to trade with China from leased territory in Macau, while Sinocentrism tends to be identified as a politically inspired system of international relations, in fact it possessed an important economic aspect
Sinocentrism
–
Zhou Dynasty cosmography of
Huaxia and the
Siyi:
Dongyi in the east,
Nanman in the south,
Xirong in the west, and
Beidi in the north.
16.
Neo-Confucianism
–
Although the Neo-Confucianists were critical of Taoism and Buddhism, the two did have an influence on the philosophy, and the Neo-Confucianists borrowed terms and concepts from both. Neo-Confucianism has its origins in the Tang Dynasty, the Confucianist scholars Han Yu, the Song Dynasty philosopher Zhou Dunyi is seen as the first true pioneer of Neo-Confucianism, using Daoist metaphysics as a framework for his ethical philosophy. Neo-Confucianism developed both as a renaissance of traditional Confucian ideas, and as a reaction to the ideas of Buddhism, although the Neo-Confucianists denounced Buddhist metaphysics, Neo-Confucianism did borrow Daoist and Buddhist terminology and concepts. One of the most important exponents of Neo-Confucianism was Zhu Xi and he was a rather prolific writer, maintaining and defending his Confucian beliefs of social harmony and proper personal conduct. One of his most remembered was the book Family Rituals, where he provided detailed advice on how to conduct weddings, funerals, family ceremonies, Buddhist thought soon attracted him, and he began to argue in Confucian style for the Buddhist observance of high moral standards. It is reputed that he wrote many essays attempting to explain how his ideas were not Buddhist or Taoist, after Xi Ling, Wang Yangming is commonly regarded as the most important Neo-Confucian thinker. Wangs interpretation of Confucianism denied the rationalist dualism of Zhus orthodox philosophy, a well known Neo-Confucian motif is paintings of Confucius, Buddha, and Lao Tzu all drinking out of the same vinegar jar, paintings associated with the slogan The three teachings are one. While Neo-Confucianism incorporated Buddhist and Taoist ideas, many Neo-Confucianists strongly opposed Buddhism and Taoism, indeed, they rejected the Buddhist and Taoist religions. One of Han Yus most famous essays decries the worship of Buddhist relics, nonetheless, Neo-Confucian writings adapted Buddhist thoughts and beliefs to the Confucian interest. Neo-Confucianism is a social and ethical philosophy using metaphysical ideas, some borrowed from Taoism, the rationalism of Neo-Confucianism is in contrast to the mysticism of the previously dominant Chan Buddhism. But the spirit of Neo-Confucian rationalism is diametrically opposed to that of Buddhist mysticism, whereas Buddhism insisted on the unreality of things, Neo-Confucianism stressed their reality. Buddhism and Taoism asserted that existence came out of, and returned to, non-existence, Buddhists, and to some degree, Taoists as well, relied on meditation and insight to achieve supreme reason, the Neo-Confucianists chose to follow Reason. The importance of li in Neo-Confucianism gave the movement its Chinese name, Neo-Confucianism was a heterogeneous philosophical tradition, and is generally categorized into two different schools. In medieval China, the mainstream of Neo-Confucian thought, dubbed the Tao school, had long categorized a thinker named Lu Jiuyuan among the unorthodox, non-Confucian writers. However, in the 15th century, the esteemed philosopher Wang Yangming took sides with Lu and critiqued some of the foundations of the Tao school, albeit not rejecting the school entirely. Objections arose to Yangmings philosophy within his lifetime, and shortly after his death, Chen Jian grouped Wang together with Lu as unorthodox writers, as a result, Neo-Confucianism today is generally categorized into two different schools of thought. The school that remained dominant throughout the medieval and early modern periods is called the Cheng-Zhu school for the esteem it places in Cheng Yi, Cheng Hao, the less dominant, opposing school was the Lu–Wang school, based on its esteem for Lu Jiuyuan and Wang Yangming. In contrast to this model, the New Confucian Mou Zongsan argues that there existed a third branch of learning
Neo-Confucianism
–
Bronze statue of Zhou Dunyi(周敦颐) in
White Deer Grotto Academy (白鹿洞書院)
Neo-Confucianism
–
Portrait of Jo Gwang-jo
17.
Tokugawa shogunate
–
The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the Tokugawa bakufu and the Edo bakufu, was the last feudal Japanese military government, which existed between 1600 and 1868. The head of government was the shogun, and each was a member of the Tokugawa clan, the Tokugawa shogunate ruled from Edo Castle and the years of the shogunate became known as the Edo period. This time is called the Tokugawa period or pre-modern. Following the Sengoku period, the government had been largely re-established by Oda Nobunaga during the Azuchi–Momoyama period. After the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, central authority fell to Tokugawa Ieyasu, society in the Tokugawa period, unlike the shogunates before it, was supposedly based on the strict class hierarchy originally established by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. The daimyō were at the top, followed by the warrior-caste of samurai, with the farmers, artisans, and traders ranking below. In some parts of the country, particularly smaller regions, daimyō and samurai were more or less identical, since daimyō might be trained as samurai, otherwise, the largely inflexible nature of this social stratification system unleashed disruptive forces over time. Taxes on the peasantry were set at fixed amounts which did not account for inflation or other changes in monetary value, as a result, the tax revenues collected by the samurai landowners were worth less and less over time. This often led to confrontations between noble but impoverished samurai and well-to-do peasants, ranging from simple local disturbances to much bigger rebellions. None, however, proved compelling enough to challenge the established order until the arrival of foreign powers. The Tokugawa Shogunate came to an end in 1868 with the resignation of the 15th Tokugawa Shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu. The bakuhan taisei was the political system in the Edo period of Japan. Baku is an abbreviation of bakufu, meaning military government—that is, the han were the domains headed by daimyō. Vassals held inherited lands and provided service and homage to their lords. The bakuhan taisei split feudal power between the shogunate in Edo and provincial domains throughout Japan, provinces had a degree of sovereignty and were allowed an independent administration of the han in exchange for loyalty to the shogun, who was responsible for foreign relations and national security. The shogun and lords were all daimyō, feudal lords with their own bureaucracies, policies, the shogun also administered the most powerful han, the hereditary fief of the House of Tokugawa. Each level of government administered its own system of taxation, the emperor, nominally a religious leader, held no real power, this was invested in the shogun. The shogunate had the power to discard, annex, and transform domains, the sankin kōtai system of alternative residence required each daimyō to reside in alternate years between the han and the court in Edo
Tokugawa shogunate
–
Shogun
Tokugawa Ieyasu
Tokugawa shogunate
–
Flag
Tokugawa shogunate
–
Hideyoshi and Ieyasu played
Go on this board.
Tokugawa shogunate
–
A 1634 Japanese
Red seal ship
18.
Meiji Restoration
–
The Meiji Restoration, also known as the Meiji Ishin, Renovation, Revolution, Reform, or Renewal, was an event of change that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were Emperors before the Meiji Restoration, the events restored practical abilities, Meiji government also made education compulsory for both boys and girls at minimal fees. The goals of the government were expressed by the new emperor in the Charter Oath. The Restoration led to changes in Japans political and social structure. In Japan however, unlike China, foreign ideas were not associated with opium addiction. Figures like Shimazu Nariakira concluded that if we take the initiative, we can dominate, if we do not, we will be dominated, leading Japan to throw open its doors to foreign technology. Observing Japans response to the powers, Li Hongzhang considered Japan Chinas principal security threat as early as 1863. The word Meiji means enlightened rule and the goal was to modern advances with traditional eastern values. The main leaders of this were Itō Hirobumi, Matsukata Masayoshi, Kido Takayoshi, Itagaki Taisuke, Yamagata Aritomo, Mori Arinori, Ōkubo Toshimichi, and Yamaguchi Naoyoshi. The foundation of the Meiji restoration was the 1866 Satsuma-Chōshū Alliance between Saigō Takamori and Kido Takayoshi, leaders of the reformist elements in the Satsuma Domain and Chōshū Domain. These two leaders supported the Emperor Kōmei and were brought together by Sakamoto Ryōma for the purpose of challenging the ruling Tokugawa shogunate, after Emperor Kōmeis death on January 30,1867, Emperor Meiji ascended the throne on February 3. This period also saw Japan change from being a society to having a market economy. The Tokugawa Shogunate came to its end on November 9,1867, when Tokugawa Yoshinobu. Shortly thereafter in January 1868, the Boshin War started with the Battle of Toba–Fushimi in which Chōshū and this forced the Emperor to strip Yoshinobu of all power, setting the stage for official restoration. We shall henceforward exercise supreme authority in all the internal and external affairs of the country, consequently the title of Emperor must be substituted for that of Taikun, in which the treaties have been made. Officers are being appointed by us to the conduct of foreign affairs and it is desirable that the representatives of the treaty powers recognize this announcement. All Tokugawa lands were seized and placed under control, thus placing them under the prerogative of the new Meiji government. With Fuhanken sanchisei, the areas were split into three types, urban prefectures, rural prefectures and the already existing domains
Meiji Restoration
–
History of Japan
Meiji Restoration
–
A teenage
Emperor Meiji with foreign representatives at the end of the
Boshin War, 1868-1870.
Meiji Restoration
–
Allegory of the New fighting the Old in early Meiji Japan, circa 1870.
Meiji Restoration
–
The
Tokyo Koishikawa Arsenal was established in 1871.
19.
Japanese nationalism
–
Japanese nationalism is the nationalism that asserts that the Japanese are a nation and promotes the cultural unity of the Japanese. Some prominent daimyō promoted the concept of fukko, while others promoted ōsei, the terms were not mutually exclusive, merging into the sonnō jōi concept, which in turn was a major driving force in starting the Meiji Restoration. The Meiji Constitution of 1889 defined allegiance to the State as the citizens highest duty, the extreme disparity in economic and military power between Japan and the Western colonial powers was a great cause for concern for the early Meiji leadership. The motto Fukoku kyōhei symbolized Meiji period nationalistic policies to provide government support to strengthen strategic industries, Government policies also laid the basis of later industrialist empires known as the zaibatsu. As a residue of its use in propaganda during the 19th century, military nationalism in Japan was often known as bushidō. An important early role was played by Yamaga Sokō in theorizing a Japanese military ethos, the Imperial Rescript for Seamen and Soldiers, presented Japan as a sacred nation protected by the gods. Sadao Araki played an important role in adapting a doctrine of seishin kyōiku as a backbone for army personnel. As Minister of Education, he supported the integration of the code into the national education system. This Restoration Shintōist Movement began with Motoori Norinaga in the 18th century, Motoori Norinaga, and later Hirata Atsutane, based their research on the Kojiki and other classic Shintō texts which teach the superiority of the Sun Goddess Amaterasu. This formed the basis for State Shintōism, as the Japanese emperor claimed direct descent from Amaterasu, the emperor himself was therefore sacred, and all proclamations of the emperor had thus a religious significance. In 1890, the Imperial Rescript on Education was issued, the practice of emperor worship was further spread by distributing imperial portraits for esoteric veneration. The hakko ichiu philosophy became popular during the Second Sino-Japanese War and this came to be regarded by militarists as a doctrine that the emperor was the center of the phenomenal world, lending religious impetus to ideas of Japanese territorial expansion. The principal educational emphasis from the Meiji period was on the importance of traditional national political values, religion. The Japanese state modernized organizationally, but preserved its national idiosyncrasies, the attitude reinforced from 1905 was that Japan was to be a powerful nation, equal at least to the Western powers. During the Shōwa period the system was used for supporting the militarized state. The government published official text books for all levels of student, emphasis on the texts such as the Kokutai-no-shugi in schools was intended to emphasize the uniqueness of Japan from ancient centuries. These cultural courses were supplemented with military and survival courses against foreign invasion, apart from indoctrination in nationalism and religion, children and school students received military drills. These were taken further by the Imperial Youth Federation, college students were trained, young women received first aid training
Japanese nationalism
–
The
Yasukuni Shrine built in the 19th century to honour those who died on behalf of the emperor of Japan.
Japanese nationalism
–
Flag of Japan
Japanese nationalism
–
Naval ensign of the battleship
Mikasa
Japanese nationalism
–
Bow of the battleship
Mikasa
20.
Rangaku
–
Altogether, thousands of such books were published, printed, and circulated. In the large cities some shops, open to the general public, the first phase of Rangaku was quite limited and highly controlled. After the relocation of the Dutch trading post to Dejima, trade as well as the exchange of information, Western books were prohibited, with the exemption of books on nautical and medical matters. Initially, a group of hereditary Japanese–Dutch translators labored in Nagasaki to smooth communication with the foreigners. The Dutch were requested to give updates of world events and to supply novelties to the Shogun every year on their trips to Edo. Finally, the Dutch factories in Nagasaki, in addition to their official work in silk. A small, lucrative market for Western curiosities thus developed, focused on the Nagasaki area, with the establishment of a permanent post for a surgeon at the Dutch trading post Dejima, high-ranking Japanese officials started to ask for treatment in cases when local doctors were of no help. One of the most important surgeons was Caspar Schamberger, who induced a continuing interest in books, instruments, pharmaceuticals. Although most Western books were forbidden from 1640, rules were relaxed under Shogun Tokugawa Yoshimune in 1720, one example is the 1787 publication of Morishima Chūryō’s Sayings of the Dutch, recording much knowledge received from the Dutch. Between 1804 and 1829, schools opened throughout the country by the Bakufu as well as terakoya helped spread the new ideas further, by that time, Dutch emissaries and scientists were allowed much more free access to Japanese society. The German physician Philipp Franz von Siebold, attached to the Dutch delegation and he invited Japanese scientists to show them the marvels of Western science, learning, in return, much about the Japanese and their customs. In 1824, von Siebold began a school in the outskirts of Nagasaki. Soon this Narutaki-juku grew into a place for about fifty students from all over the country. While receiving a medical education they helped with the naturalistic studies of von Siebold. The Rangaku movement became involved in Japans political debate over foreign isolation. The Rangaku increasingly disseminated contemporary Western innovations, the incident was provoked by actions such as the Morrison Incident, in which an unarmed American merchant ship was fired upon under the Edict to Repel Foreign Ships. The edict was eventually repealed in 1842, Rangaku ultimately became obsolete when Japan opened up during the last decades of the Tokugawa regime. Students were sent abroad, and foreign employees came to Japan to teach and advise in large numbers, leading to an unprecedented and this openness could partly explain Japan’s success in its radical and speedy modernization following the opening of the country to foreign trade in 1854
Rangaku
–
A meeting of Japan, China, and the West,
Shiba Kōkan, late 18th century.
Rangaku
–
Account of Foreign Countries (増補華夷通商考, Zōho Kaitsū Shōkō
?),
Nishikawa Joken, 1708.
Tokyo National Museum.
Rangaku
–
Painting by Kawahara Keiga: Arrival of a Dutch Ship.
Philipp Franz von Siebold at
Dejima with his Japanese wife Otaki (later: Kusumoto Otaki) and their baby daughter
Ine observing a VOC-ship in the Nagasaki Bay using a teresukoppu (
telescope).
Rangaku
–
The
Myriad year clock, a Japanese-made perpetual clock-watch (
wadokei), made by
Tanaka Hisashige in 1851 (
National Museum of Nature and Science,
Tokyo).
21.
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
International Standard Book Number
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A 13-digit ISBN, 978-3-16-148410-0, as represented by an
EAN-13 bar code
22.
Kamo no Mabuchi
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Kamo no Mabuchi was a Japanese poet and philologist of the Edo period. Mabuchi conducted research into the spirit of ancient Japan through his studies of the Manyōshū, a disciple of Kada no Azumamaro, Mabuchi is regarded as one of the four greats of Kokugaku. Mabuchi’s works include commentaries on the Manyōshū, norito, kagura, the Tale of Genji, the meaning of poems and his disciples included Motoori Norinaga, Arakida Hisaoyu, Kato Chikage, Murata Harumi, Katori Nahiko, Hanawa Hokiichi, Uchiyama Matatsu, and Kurita Hijimaro. Mabuchi was born in 1697 as the son of the Hamamatsu Shinto priest Okabe Masanobu. The Okabe were a branch of Kamo Shrine in Kyoto. At the age of 37, Mabuchi moved to Kyoto and became a disciple of Kada no Azumamaro, following the master’s death in 1736, Mabuchi moved to Edo in 1738 where he taught Kokugaku. In 1763, while Mabuchi was on his way to Ise Shrine, Motoori Norinaga sought him out and became a disciple. This single night of discussions, later known as the night in Matsuzaka, was the occasion on which Norinaga directly received teaching from Mabuchi. An explanatory marker stands at the site of Mabuchi’s residence in Edo and his grave can be found in the Tokaiji cemetery in Shinagawa. A museum stands beside the house where he was born in Hamamatsu, Kokugaku Manyōshū Shinto Kada no Azumamaro Japanese nationalism Keichū Motoori Norinaga Ueda Akinari
Kamo no Mabuchi
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Mabuchi's portrait by his student
Kamo no Mabuchi
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Bust of Mabuchi in Hamamatsu
23.
Ueda Akinari
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Ueda Akinari or Ueda Shūsei was a Japanese author, scholar and waka poet, and a prominent literary figure in 18th century Japan. He was a writer in the yomihon genre and his two masterpieces, Ugetsu Monogatari and Harusame Monogatari, are central to the canon of Japanese literature. Born to an Osaka prostitute and a father, Ueda was adopted in his fourth year by a wealthy merchant who reared him in comfort. As a child he became ill with smallpox, and although he survived. During his illness, his parents prayed to the god of the Kashima Inari Shrine and he inherited the Ueda family oil and paper business when his adoptive father died. However, he was not a merchant, and he lost the business to a fire after running it unhappily for ten years. During this time, he published several stories in the ukiyo-zōshi style. In 1776 he began to practice medicine and also published Ugetsu Monogatari, in addition to his fiction, Ueda was involved in the field of research known as kokugaku, the study of philology and classical Japanese literature. Kokugaku was often typified by a rejection of foreign influences on Japanese culture, notably Chinese language, Buddhism and Confucianism. In the years after his wifes death in 1798 he suffered temporary blindness. It was at time that he began working on his second yomihon. Harusame is quite different from Ugetsu Monogatari, among other differences, Harusame does not invoke the supernatural, and the stories are of greatly varied length. The story titled Hankai is about a disreputable ruffian who suddenly converts to Buddhism, in 1809, Ueda died at the age of 76 in Kyoto. Ugetsu Monogatari Harusame Monogatari Kyokutei Bakin Edo period Ugetsu
Ueda Akinari
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Portrait of Ueda Akinari by Koga Bunrei
24.
Date Munehiro
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Date Munehiro or Chihiro（Japanese, 伊達 宗広 or 千広, June 24,1802 – May 18, 1877）was a Samurai of Kii Domain and Scholar of Kokugaku, living during the late Edo Period and early Meiji Era. He was father of Mutsu Munemitsu（陸奥 宗光 and his penname was Jitoku ． In 1802, he was born the son of Usami Sukenaga, a samurai of Kii Domain, and he became an adoptive son of his uncle, Date Moriaki. He inherited a patrimony by 12 years old, and was appointed Kansatsu by 18 years old and he assisted Karō of Kii Domain, and promoted the reform of that domain, and took the lead in the Sonnō jōi movement. In 1852, he was arrested by an opponent for his dangerous Sonnō jōi activity and was imprisoned for nearly 10 years in the town of Tanabe, in 1861, he was released by the agency of Yamanouchi Yodo who was a Daimyo of Tosa Domain. He transferred his patrimony to his son, Date Muneoki （伊達 宗興）. But he returned to the Sonnō jōi movement with Muneoki and they were arrested by Kii Domain officials, and were imprisoned again in 1865. After the Meiji Restoration, he was released in 1869, in his later years, he lived in Fukagawa, Tokyo with his son, Mutsu Munemitsu. Almost all of Date Munehiros works were formed while in confinement and he learned at Motoori Ōhira（本居大平）when he was young. He despised Buddhism because he was an active person. But when he was imprisoned in Kii Tanabe, he borrowed the Issai-Sūtra from a temple in the neighborhood, one day he experienced Buddhist enlightenment. Taizei Santenkō, Japanese name The essay on history Waka zenwa, Japanese name In the form of the poem, manimani Gusa, Japanese name Essays on Buddhism, Waka-Poem, and Chinese-Poem
Date Munehiro
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Date Chihiro
25.
National Diet Library
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The National Diet Library is the only national library in Japan. It was established in 1948 for the purpose of assisting members of the National Diet of Japan in researching matters of public policy, the library is similar in purpose and scope to the United States Library of Congress. The National Diet Library consists of two facilities in Tokyo and Kyoto, and several other branch libraries throughout Japan. The Diets power in prewar Japan was limited, and its need for information was correspondingly small, the original Diet libraries never developed either the collections or the services which might have made them vital adjuncts of genuinely responsible legislative activity. Until Japans defeat, moreover, the executive had controlled all political documents, depriving the people and the Diet of access to vital information. The U. S. occupation forces under General Douglas MacArthur deemed reform of the Diet library system to be an important part of the democratization of Japan after its defeat in World War II. In 1946, each house of the Diet formed its own National Diet Library Standing Committee, hani Gorō, a Marxist historian who had been imprisoned during the war for thought crimes and had been elected to the House of Councillors after the war, spearheaded the reform efforts. Hani envisioned the new body as both a citadel of popular sovereignty, and the means of realizing a peaceful revolution, the National Diet Library opened in June 1948 in the present-day State Guest-House with an initial collection of 100,000 volumes. The first Librarian of the Diet Library was the politician Tokujirō Kanamori, the philosopher Masakazu Nakai served as the first Vice Librarian. In 1949, the NDL merged with the National Library and became the national library in Japan. At this time the collection gained a million volumes previously housed in the former National Library in Ueno. In 1961, the NDL opened at its present location in Nagatachō, in 1986, the NDLs Annex was completed to accommodate a combined total of 12 million books and periodicals. The Kansai-kan, which opened in October 2002 in the Kansai Science City, has a collection of 6 million items, in May 2002, the NDL opened a new branch, the International Library of Childrens Literature, in the former building of the Imperial Library in Ueno. This branch contains some 400,000 items of literature from around the world. Though the NDLs original mandate was to be a library for the National Diet. In the fiscal year ending March 2004, for example, the library reported more than 250,000 reference inquiries, in contrast, as Japans national library, the NDL collects copies of all publications published in Japan. The NDL has an extensive collection of some 30 million pages of documents relating to the Occupation of Japan after World War II. This collection include the documents prepared by General Headquarters and the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers, the Far Eastern Commission, the NDL maintains a collection of some 530,000 books and booklets and 2 million microform titles relating to the sciences
National Diet Library
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Tokyo Main Library of the National Diet Library
National Diet Library
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Kansai-kan of the National Diet Library
National Diet Library
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The National Diet Library
National Diet Library
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Main building in Tokyo
