1.
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
2.
Emperor of Japan
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The Emperor of Japan is the head of the Imperial Family and is the ceremonial head of state of Japans system of constitutional monarchy. According to the 1947 constitution, he is the symbol of the State, in Japanese, the Emperor is called Tennō, which means heavenly sovereign. In English, the use of the term Mikado for the Emperor was once common, currently, the Emperor of Japan is the only remaining monarch in the world reigning under the title of Emperor. The Imperial House of Japan is the oldest continuing hereditary monarchy in the world, in the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, it is said that Japan was founded in 660 BC by Emperor Jimmu. He acceded the Chrysanthemum Throne upon the death of his father, Emperor Shōwa, the role of the Emperor of Japan has historically alternated between a largely ceremonial symbolic role and that of an actual imperial ruler. Since the establishment of the first shogunate in 1192, the Emperors of Japan have rarely taken on a role as supreme battlefield commander, Japanese Emperors have nearly always been controlled by external political forces, to varying degrees. In fact, between 1192 and 1867, the shoguns, or their shikken regents in Kamakura, were the de facto rulers of Japan, although they were nominally appointed by the Emperor. After the Meiji Restoration in 1867, the Emperor was the embodiment of all power in the realm. His current status as a figurehead dates from the 1947 Constitution, since the mid-nineteenth century, the Imperial Palace has been called Kyūjō, later Kōkyo, and is located on the former site of Edo Castle in the heart of Tokyo. Earlier, Emperors resided in Kyoto for nearly eleven centuries, the Emperors Birthday is a national holiday. Unlike most constitutional monarchies, the Emperor is not the nominal Chief Executive, article 65 of the Constitution explicitly vests executive power in the Cabinet, of which the Prime Minister is the leader. The Emperor is also not the commander-in-chief of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, the Japan Self-Defense Forces Act of 1954 also explicitly vests this role with the Prime Minister. The Emperors powers are limited only to important ceremonial functions, article 4 of the Constitution stipulates that the Emperor shall perform only such acts in matters of state as are provided for in the Constitution and he shall not have powers related to government. It also stipulates that the advice and approval of the Cabinet shall be required for all acts of the Emperor in matters of state, article 4 also states that these duties can be delegated by the Emperor as provided for by law. Article 6 of the Constitution delegates the Emperor the following ceremonial roles, Appointment of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court as designated by the Cabinet. Dissolution of the House of Representatives, proclamation of general election of members of the Diet. Attestation of the appointment and dismissal of Ministers of State and other officials as provided for by law, attestation of general and special amnesty, commutation of punishment, reprieve, and restoration of rights. Attestation of instruments of ratification and other documents as provided for by law
3.
Emperor Meiji
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Emperor Meiji, or Meiji the Great, was the 122nd Emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, reigning from February 3,1867 until his death on July 30,1912. By the time of his death in 1912, Japan had undergone a political, social, and industrial revolution at home and emerged as one of the great powers on the world stage. The New York Times summed up this transformation at his funeral in 1912, with the words, before it went old Japan, after it came new Japan. Having ruled during the Meiji period, the Emperor is thus known as the Meiji Emperor or simply Emperor Meiji. His personal name, which is not used in any formal or official context, the Tokugawa shogunate had established itself in the early 17th century. Under its rule, the shogun governed Japan, about 180 lords, known as daimyō, ruled autonomous realms under the shogun, who occasionally called upon the daimyō for gifts, but did not tax them. The shogun controlled the daimyō in other ways, only the shogun could approve their marriages, and the shogun could divest a daimyō of his lands. In 1615, the first Tokugawa shogun, Tokugawa Ieyasu, who had retired from his position, and his son Tokugawa Hidetada. Under it, the Emperor was required to devote his time to scholarship, the Emperors under the shogunate appear to have closely adhered to this code, studying Confucian classics and devoting time to poetry and calligraphy. They were only taught the rudiments of Japanese and Chinese history, the shogun did not seek the consent or advice of the Emperor for his actions. Emperors almost never left their compound, or Gosho in Kyoto. Few Emperors lived long enough to retire, of the Meiji Emperors five predecessors, only his grandfather lived into his forties, dying aged forty-six. The Imperial Family suffered very high rates of infant mortality, all five of the Emperors brothers and sisters died as infants, soon after taking control in the early seventeenth century, shogunate officials ended much Western trade with Japan, and barred missionaries from the islands. In addition to the substantial Chinese trade, only the Dutch continued trade with Japan, however, by the early 19th century, European and American vessels appeared in the waters around Japan with increasing frequency. Prince Mutsuhito was born on November 3,1852 in a house on his maternal grandfathers property at the north end of the Gosho. At the time, a birth was believed to be polluting, so imperial princes were not born in the Palace, the boys mother, Nakayama Yoshiko, was a concubine to his father Emperor Kōmei, and was the daughter of the acting major counselor, Nakayama Tadayasu. The young prince was given the name Sachinomiya, or Prince Sachi, the young prince was born at a time of change for Japan. This change was symbolized dramatically when Commodore Matthew Perry and his squadron of what the Japanese dubbed the Black Ships, Perry sought to open Japan to trade, and warned the Japanese of military consequences if they did not agree
4.
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
5.
Tokyo
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Tokyo, officially Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan and one of its 47 prefectures. The Greater Tokyo Area is the most populous area in the world. It is the seat of the Emperor of Japan and the Japanese government, Tokyo is in the Kantō region on the southeastern side of the main island Honshu and includes the Izu Islands and Ogasawara Islands. Formerly known as Edo, it has been the de facto seat of government since 1603 when Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu made the city his headquarters. It officially became the capital after Emperor Meiji moved his seat to the city from the old capital of Kyoto in 1868, Tokyo Metropolis was formed in 1943 from the merger of the former Tokyo Prefecture and the city of Tokyo. The Tokyo metropolitan government administers the 23 Special Wards of Tokyo, the metropolitan government also administers 39 municipalities in the western part of the prefecture and the two outlying island chains. The population of the wards is over 9 million people. The prefecture is part of the worlds most populous metropolitan area with upwards of 37.8 million people, the city hosts 51 of the Fortune Global 500 companies, the highest number of any city in the world. Tokyo ranked third in the International Financial Centres Development IndexEdit, the city is also home to various television networks such as Fuji TV, Tokyo MX, TV Tokyo, TV Asahi, Nippon Television, NHK and the Tokyo Broadcasting System. Tokyo ranked first in the Global Economic Power Index and fourth in the Global Cities Index. The city is considered a world city – as listed by the GaWCs 2008 inventory – and in 2014. In 2015, Tokyo was named the Most Liveable City in the world by the magazine Monocle, the Michelin Guide has awarded Tokyo by far the most Michelin stars of any city in the world. Tokyo ranked first in the world in the Safe Cities Index, the 2016 edition of QS Best Student Cities ranked Tokyo as the 3rd-best city in the world to be a university student. Tokyo hosted the 1964 Summer Olympics, the 1979 G-7 summit, the 1986 G-7 summit, and the 1993 G-7 summit, and will host the 2020 Summer Olympics, Tokyo was originally known as Edo, which means estuary. During the early Meiji period, the city was also called Tōkei, some surviving official English documents use the spelling Tokei. However, this pronunciation is now obsolete, the name Tokyo was first suggested in 1813 in the book Kondō Hisaku, written by Satō Nobuhiro. When Ōkubo Toshimichi proposed the renaming to the government during the Meiji Restoration, according to Oda Kanshi, Tokyo was originally a small fishing village named Edo, in what was formerly part of the old Musashi Province. Edo was first fortified by the Edo clan, in the twelfth century
6.
Enthronement of the Japanese Emperor
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The Enthronement of the Emperor of Japan is an ancient ceremony which marks the accession of a new ruler to the Chrysanthemum Throne, in the worlds oldest continuous hereditary monarchy. Various ancient imperial regalia are given to the new sovereign during the course of the rite, the Japanese enthronement ceremony consists of three main parts. The first is the simplest, and takes place immediately after the death of the preceding sovereign, unlike other monarchies, Japan has no crown in its regalia. These three objects were originally said to have given by the Sun Goddess, Amaterasu-ōmikami, to her grandson when he first descended to earth. The most important of these three treasures is the mirror Yata no Kagami, which is enshrined in the Ise Shrine as the go-shintai and it is permanently housed in the shrine, and is not presented to the Emperor for the enthronement ceremony. Imperial messengers and priests are sent to this shrine, as well as to the tomb-shrines of the four Emperors whose reigns immediately preceded his, to inform them of the new Emperors accession. The second part of the ceremony, called the Sokui-Rei, is the enthronement ritual itself and this ancient rite was traditionally held in Kyoto, the former capital of Japan, but in 1990, Emperor Akihito was enthroned in Tokyo. The 1990 enthronement was the first to be covered on television and it was done indoors, with the elevated stand placed inside the Imperial Palace complex. Only part of the ritual is public, and the regalia itself is seen only by the Emperor. This was followed by the enthronement itself, which place in an enclosure called the Takamikura. This was surrounded by a pavilion with curtains, surmounted by a great golden Phoenix. At the same time, the Empress of Japan, in full dress regalia, traditional drums were, at this point of the ceremony, beaten to start the proceddings. The new Emperor proceeded to the chair, where after being seated, a simple wooden sceptre was presented to the Emperor, who faced his Prime Minister standing in an adjacent courtyard, representing the Japanese people. The Emperor offered an address announcing his accession to the throne and his Prime Minister replied with an address promising fidelity and devotion, followed by a three cheers of Banzai from all of those present. The timing of this last event was synchronized, so that Japanese around the world could join in the Banzai shout at precisely the moment that it was being offered in Kyoto or in Tokyo. This moment of the ends with the firing of a 21-gun salute by the Japan Self-Defense Force. First, two special rice paddies are chosen and purified by elaborate Shinto purification rites, the families of the farmers who are to cultivate the rice in these paddies must be in perfect health. Once the rice is grown and harvested, it is stored in a special Shinto shrine as its goshintai, each kernel must be whole and unbroken, and is individually polished before it is boiled
7.
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
8.
Doshisha University
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Doshisha University, also referred to as Dodai, is a private university in Kyoto City, Japan. Established in 1875, it is one of Japans oldest private institutions of higher learning and it is one of the Japanese Global 30 universities and one of the Kankandoritsu, a group of the four leading private universities in western Japans Kansai region. Doshisha was founded by Joseph Hardy Neesima as Doshisha English School, the university now encompasses 14 faculties and 16 graduate schools with numerous affiliated institutions including Doshisha Womens College of Liberal Arts. Doshisha University was founded in 1875 as Doshisha English School by Protestant educator Niijima Jō, as a young man, Niijima left Japan for the United States in 1864, despite the ban on overseas travel then imposed on Japanese nationals. He studied at Phillips Academy and Amherst College, and returned to Japan in 1874, the next year, Niijima established the Doshisha School with the assistance of Canadian Methodist missionary G. G. Cochran. Niijima served as president of the university from 1875 to 1890, by 1920, Doshisha was granted university status and developed into a full-fledged university in the Anglo-American academic tradition. During World War II, its buildings were given Japanese names, the prewar conditions were restored after the surrender of Japan. The first graduate programs were instituted in 1953. Doshisha also houses the Kyoto Consortium for Japanese Studies, another program affiliated with American universities, Doshisha University is one of the most prestigious universities in Japan today, with particularly strong influence in the Kansai region. The university has been ranked 12th and 14th in 2009 and 2010 respectively in the ranking Truly Strong Universities by Toyo Keizai, the university is considered one of the most selective private universities in Japan. The acceptance rate for the 40,924 applicants for the 2014 academic year was 35. 6%, the libraries at the Imadegawa and Kyotanabe campuses hold more than 2.5 million volumes. As of 2013, Doshisha University employs 777 full-time and 1,411 part-time faculty members across its Kyoto campuses, in terms of research, Doshisha has filed the 36th-highest number of patents in the nation. Doshisha University has two campuses at Imadegawa in central Kyoto and at Kyotanabe in southern Kyoto. Imadegawa is the campus, located in the former residence of Satsuma Domain. It has been in use since the school was founded, located in the center of Kyoto City, the campus is situated next to Shōkoku-ji, overlooking Kyoto Imperial Palace. Five buildings in the Imadegawa campus have been designated as Important Cultural Properties of Japan, including Doshisha Chapel and this campus is primarily for the liberal arts, business, theology, and law faculties. The Kyotanabe Campus was opened in 1986, in Kyōtanabe, Kyoto and is part of Kansai Science City, over 195 acres in area, it serves primarily as the campus for the science and engineering faculties. In 2012, a new Karasuma Campus was established approximately 300 meters from the Imadegawa Campus, the Karasuma Campus houses the International Education Institute, the Graduate School of Global Studies, and the Faculty of Global and Regional Studies
9.
Fenghuang
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Fenghuang are mythological birds of East Asia that reign over all other birds. The fenghuang is also called the August Rooster since it takes the place of the Rooster in the Chinese zodiac. In the West, it is called the Chinese phoenix or simply Phoenix. A common depiction of fenghuang was of it attacking snakes with its talons and its wings spread. The fenghuangs body symbolizes the celestial bodies, the head is the sky, the eyes are the sun, the back is the moon, the wings are the wind, the feet are the earth, the fenghuang is said to have originated in the sun. Its body contain the five colors, black, white, red, yellow. It sometimes carries scrolls or a box with sacred books and it is sometimes depicted with a fireball. It is sometimes depicted as having three legs and it is believed that the bird only appears in areas or places that are blessed with utmost peace and prosperity or happiness. Chinese tradition cites it as living atop the Kunlun Mountains in northern China, some believe they may have been a good-luck totem among eastern tribes of ancient China. During the Han dynasty two phoenixes, one a male and the other a female were often shown together facing one other. Later, during the Yuan dynasty the two terms were merged to become fenghuang, but the King of Birds came to symbolize the empress when paired with a dragon as a dragon represented the emperor. Also during this period, the fenghuang was used as a representing the direction south. This was portrayed through a male and female facing each other and their feathers were of the five fundamental colors, black, white, red, green, and yellow. The phoenix represented power sent from the heavens to the Empress, if a phoenix was used to decorate a house it symbolized that loyalty and honesty were in the people that lived there. Or alternatively, a phoenix only stays when the ruler is without darkness, the fenghuang has very positive connotations. It is a symbol of virtue and grace. The fenghuang also symbolizes the union of yin and yang, in ancient and modern Chinese culture, they can often be found in the decorations for weddings or royalty, along with dragons. This is because the Chinese considered the dragon and phoenix symbolic of blissful relations between husband and wife, another common yang and yin metaphor
10.
Sudare
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They are sometimes called misu as well, particularly if they have a green fabric hem. Sudare are made of horizontal slats of wood, bamboo, or other natural material woven together with simple string, colored yarn. They could be rolled or folded up out of the way. Yoshizu, non-hanging type sudare, are made of vertical slats of Common reed and used as screen, sudare are used in many Japanese homes to shield the verandah and other openings of the building from sunlight, rain, and insects. They are normally put up in spring and taken again in autumn. Their light structure allows breezes to pass through, a benefit in the hot Japanese summers, since the building materials are easy to find, sudare can be made cheaply. Elaborate sudare for palaces and villas used high-quality bamboo, with expensive silk, sometimes they featured paintings, most often on the inside, some Chinese screens had symbols painted on the outside as well. Sudare protect the inhabitants of the not only from the elements. They are featured prominently in The Tale of Genji, during the Heian Era, a court lady would conceal herself behind a screen when speaking with a man outside her immediate family. She could peep through it and see her interlocutor, but because he had to remain at a distance from it, only with her permission might he step closer and only she would ever raise the screen. Any unwarranted moves on the part were seen as a grave breach of etiquette. Sudare were also used in imperial audiences, since looking directly at the tennō was forbidden, he would sit hidden behind a screen in the throne hall, with only his shoes showing. This practice fell out of use as imperial power declined, with the dawn of modernity, the production of sudare went into decline and became a traditional handicraft, but they still are sold and shipped abroad by various companies. A museum in Amano-cho, Kawachinagano, Osaka traces the history of sudare, tools and machines used to manufacture them, as well as sudare from other countries, are on display
