1.
National Diet
–
The National Diet is Japans bicameral legislature. It is composed of a house called the House of Representatives. Both houses of the Diet are directly elected under parallel voting systems, in addition to passing laws, the Diet is formally responsible for selecting the Prime Minister. The Diet was first convened as the Imperial Diet in 1889 as a result of adopting the Meiji Constitution, the Diet took its current form in 1947 upon the adoption of the post-war constitution and is considered by the Constitution to be the highest organ of state power. The National Diet Building is located in Nagatachō, Chiyoda, Tokyo, the houses of the Diet are both elected under parallel voting systems. Voters are also asked to cast two votes, one for a candidate in a constituency, and one for a party list. Any national of Japan at least 18 years of age may vote in these elections, Japans parallel voting system is not to be confused with the Additional Member System used in many other nations. House of Councillors, Of 242 members,146 are elected from 47 prefectural constituencies by means of the Single Non-Transferable Vote, the remaining 96 are elected by open list PR from a single national list. However it does guarantee universal adult suffrage and a secret ballot and it also insists that the electoral law must not discriminate in terms of race, creed, sex, social status, family origin, education, property or income. Generally, the election of Diet members is controlled by statutes passed by the Diet and this is a source of contention concerning re-apportionment of prefectures seats in response to changes of population distribution. For example, the Liberal Democratic Party had controlled Japan for most of its post-war history, in recent elections the malapportionment ratio amounted to 4.8 in the House of Councillors and 2.3 in the House of Representatives. Candidates for the house must be 25 years old or older and 30 years or older for the upper house. All candidates must be Japanese nationals, under Article 49 of Japans Constitution, Diet members are paid about ¥1.3 million a month in salary. Article 41 of the Constitution describes the National Diet as the highest organ of State power and this statement is in forceful contrast to the Meiji Constitution, which described the Emperor as the one who exercised legislative power with the consent of the Diet. The Diets responsibilities include not only the making of laws but also the approval of the national budget that the government submits. It can also initiate draft constitutional amendments, which, if approved, the Diet may conduct investigations in relation to government. The Prime Minister must be designated by Diet resolution, establishing the principle of legislative supremacy over executive government agencies, the government can also be dissolved by the Diet if it passes a motion of no confidence introduced by fifty members of the House of Representatives. Government officials, including the Prime Minister and Cabinet members, are required to appear before Diet investigative committees, the Diet also has the power to impeach judges convicted of criminal or irregular conduct
National Diet
National Diet
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National Diet of Japan 日本国の国会 Nippon-koku no Kokkai
National Diet
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Joint session of the Diet of Japan
National Diet
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Buildings housing the Diet in 1905.
2.
Chiyoda, Tokyo
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Chiyoda is a special ward located in central Tokyo, Japan. In English, it is called Chiyoda City, Chiyoda consists of the Imperial Palace and a surrounding radius of about a kilometer. As of May 2015, the ward has an population of 54,462. The total area is 11.66 km², of which the Imperial Palace, Hibiya Park, National Museum of Modern Art, often called the political center of the country, Chiyoda, literally meaning field of a thousand generations, inherited the name from the Chiyoda Castle. Akihabara, a known for being an otaku cultural center. The Chiyoda ward was created on March 15,1947 by the unification of Kanda Ward and it has been a site of a number of historical events. In 1860, the assassination of Ii Naosuke took place outside the Sakurada Gate of the Imperial Palace, in 1932, assassins attacked and killed prime minister Inukai Tsuyoshi. In 1936, an attempted coup détat, the February 26 Incident, in 1960, Socialist Party leader Inejirō Asanuma was assassinated in Hibiya Hall. In 1995, members of Aum Shinrikyo carried out the Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway, Chiyoda is located at the very heart of former Tokyo City in eastern mainland Tokyo. The central area of the ward is occupied by the Imperial Palace. The east side of the ward, bordering Chūō, is the location of Tokyo Station, the south side, bordering Minato, encompasses Hibiya Park and the National Diet Building. It is almost exclusively occupied by administrations and agencies, the west and northwest are primarily upper class residential, the Yasukuni Shrine is also there. To the north and northeast are several neighborhoods and the Akihabara commercial district. Chiyoda is run by an elected mayor and a city assembly of 25 elected members. The current mayor is Masami Ishikawa, an independent, for the Metropolitan Assembly, Chiyoda forms a single-member electoral district. In the 2013 election, no Democrat contested the seat and Uchida won back the district against a Communist, the Tokyo Fire Department has its headquarters in Ōtemachi in Chiyoda. For the national House of Representatives, Chiyoda, together with Minato and Shinjuku, the district is currently represented by Liberal Democrat Miki Yamada. The ward is home to the Diet of Japan, the Supreme Court of Japan
Chiyoda, Tokyo
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The
National Diet Building, Chiyoda, Tokyo
Chiyoda, Tokyo
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Chiyoda ward office building.
Chiyoda, Tokyo
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National Diet Building in Chiyoda
Chiyoda, Tokyo
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Hibiya Park
3.
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
Tokyo
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Clockwise from top:
Nishi-Shinjuku,
Rainbow Bridge,
National Diet Building,
Shibuya,
Tokyo Skytree
Tokyo
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Satellite photo of Tokyo's 23 Special wards taken by
NASA 's
Landsat 7
Tokyo
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Tokugawa Ieyasu
Tokyo
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Ginza area in 1933
4.
House of Representatives (Japan)
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The House of Representatives is the lower house of the National Diet of Japan. The House of Councillors is the upper house, the House of Representatives has 475 members, elected for a four-year term. Of these,180 members are elected from 11 multi-member constituencies by a party-list system of proportional representation,238 seats are required for a majority. The overall voting system used to elect the House of Representatives is a parallel system, under a parallel system the allocation of list seats does not take into account the outcome in the single seat constituencies. Therefore, the allocation of seats in the House of Representatives is not proportional. In contrast, in such as the German Bundestag the election of single-seat members and party list members is linked. The House of Representatives is the powerful of the two houses, able to override vetoes on bills imposed by the House of Councillors with a two-thirds majority. It can be dissolved by the Prime Minister at will, the most recent was by Shinzō Abe on November 21,2014, japanese nationals aged 18 years and older may vote. Japanese nationals aged 25 years and older may run for office in the lower house, the House of Representatives has several powers not given to the House of Councillors. If a bill is passed by the house but is voted down by the upper house the House of Representatives can override the decision of the House of Councillors by a two-thirds vote in the affirmative. However, in the case of treaties, the budget, and the selection of the minister, the House of Councillors can only delay passage. As a result, the House of Representatives is considered the more powerful house. Members of the House of Representatives, who are elected to a maximum of four years, sit for a shorter term than members of the House of Councillors, who are elected to full six-year terms. The lower house can also be dissolved by the Prime Minister or the passage of a nonconfidence motion, thus the House of Representatives is considered to be more sensitive to public opinion, and is termed the lower house. While the legislative term is nominally 4 years, early elections for the house are very common. Parties who vote with the government in the Diet, but are not part of the cabinet are not shaded, the elected House of Representatives served as the lower house of the Imperial Diet. The government and the minister leading it were neither responsible to nor elected by the Imperial Diet. But the right to vote on legislation and more importantly the budget gave the House of Representatives leverage to force the government into negotiations
House of Representatives (Japan)
House of Representatives (Japan)
5.
House of Councillors (Japan)
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The House of Councillors is the upper house of the National Diet of Japan. The House of Representatives is the lower house, the House of Councillors is the successor to the pre-war House of Peers. If the two houses disagree on matters of the budget, treaties, or designation of the prime minister, in other decisions, the House of Representatives can override a vote of the House of Councillors only by a two-thirds majority of members present. The House of Councillors has 242 members who each serve six-year terms, Councillors must be at least 30 years old, compared with 25 years old in the House of Representatives. The House cannot be dissolved, as half of its membership is elected at each election. Of the 121 members subject to each time,73 are elected from the 47 prefectural districts and 48 are elected from a nationwide list by proportional representation with open lists. For a list of members, see the List of members of the Diet of Japan. The House initially had 250 seats, two seats were added to the House in 1970 after the agreement on the repatriation of Okinawa, increasing the House to a total of 252. Legislation aimed at addressing malapportionment that favoured less-populated prefectures was introduced in 2000, further reforms to address malapportinoment took effect in 2007 and 2016, but did not change the total number of members in the house. From 1947 to 1983, the House had 100 seats allocated to a national block and it was originally intended to give nationally prominent figures a route to the House without going through local electioneering processes. Shintaro Ishihara won a record 3 million votes in the block in the 1968 election. The national block was last seen in the 1980 election and was replaced with a proportional representation block in the 1983 election. The national proportional representation block was reduced to 96 members in the 2000 reforms, List of Speakers of the House of Councillors of Japan List of districts of the House of Councillors of Japan Specific Bibliography Hayes, L. D.2009. ISBN 978-0-7656-2279-2 House of Councillors Website House of Councillors internet TV - Official site
House of Councillors (Japan)
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House of Councillors 参議院 Sangiin
6.
Pneumatic tube
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Pneumatic tubes are systems that propel cylindrical containers through networks of tubes by compressed air or by partial vacuum. They are used for transporting solid objects, as opposed to conventional pipelines, Pneumatic tube networks gained acceptance in the late 19th and early 20th centuries for offices that needed to transport small, urgent packages over relatively short distances. Some installations grew to great complexity, but were mostly superseded, in some settings, such as hospitals, they remain widespread and have been further extended and developed in recent decades. A small number of transportation systems were also built for larger cargo, to compete with more standard train. Pneumatic capsule transportation was invented by William Murdoch and it was considered little more than a novelty until the invention of the capsule in 1836. The Victorians were the first to use capsule pipelines to transmit telegrams, in 1854, Josiah Latimer Clark was issued a patent for conveying letters or parcels between places by the pressure of air and vacuum. In 1853, he installed a 220-yard pneumatic system between the London Stock Exchange in Threadneedle Street, London, and the offices of the Electric Telegraph Company in Lothbury, the system is known as Pneumatic Dispatch. It was once envisaged that networks of these massive tubes might be used to transport people, the technology is still used on a smaller scale. While its use for communicating information has been superseded, pneumatic tubes are used for transporting small objects, or where convenience. In the United States, drive-up banks often use pneumatic tubes to transport cash, some U. S. hospitals have a computer-controlled pneumatic tube system to deliver drugs, documents and specimens to and from laboratories and nurses stations. Many factories use them to deliver parts quickly across large campuses, many larger stores use systems to securely transport excess cash from checkout stands to back offices, and to send change back to cashiers. NASAs original Mission Control Center had pneumatic tubes connecting controller consoles with staff support rooms, Pneumatic tube systems are used in science, to transport samples during neutron activation analysis. Samples must be moved from the reactor core, in which they are bombarded with neutrons. As some of the isotopes in the sample can have very short half-lives. Pneumatic post or pneumatic mail is a system to deliver letters through pressurized air tubes and it was invented by the Scottish engineer William Murdoch in the 19th century and was later developed by the London Pneumatic Despatch Company. Pneumatic post systems were used in large cities starting in the second half of the 19th century. A major network of tubes in Paris was in use until 1984, in Prague, in the Czech Republic, the network extended approximately 60 kilometres. Pneumatic post stations usually connect post offices, stock exchanges, banks, italy was the only country to issue postage stamps specifically for pneumatic post
Pneumatic tube
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Pneumatic tubes in use at a drive-through bank.
Pneumatic tube
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NASA
Mission Control Center during the
Apollo 13 mission. Note pneumatic tube canisters in console to the right.
Pneumatic tube
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Pneumatic tube letter from Berlin, Germany, 1904
7.
Hermann Ende
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Hermann Gustav Louis Ende was a German architect noted for his work in Germany, Japan and elsewhere. Ende was born in Landsberg an der Warthe, Prussia and his studies were interrupted for a year by military service, and by another year spent travelling abroad with his friend Wilhelm Böckmann. In 1860, he established the firm, “Böckmann and Ende”. From 1874, he was a member of the Akademie der Künste, from 1895 to 1904 was the President of the Akademie der Künste. Ende exercised an influence upon the development of architecture in Berlin. The numerous buildings constructed by him were in the neighborhood of Berlin, especially villas in district of Tiergarten and he was also active in the residential areas of Potsdam Neubabelsberg and designed various buildings for the Berlin Zoo. Few of these buildings have survived World War II, Böckmann was invited to Japan by the Meiji government in 1886 to develop a plan to rebuild Tokyo into a modern national capital. He spent two months investigating the terrain and put together a plan with an outline for a new Supreme Court building. He plan was for a magnificent Baroque city comparable to Paris or Berlin and his visit was followed in 1887 by his partner, Ende, who brought designs for other governmental buildings, including the Ministry of Justice building and a new Diet building. However, the project was derailed by Inoue Kaoru for budgetary reasons. Ende was sent home and plans for an office of Böckmann. The Japanese government, however, did keep his designs for the new Ministry of Justice building, back on Germany, Ende continued his architectural design work. He died in 1907 at Wannsee, ISBN 0-7007-1747-1 Conant, Ellen P. Reassessing the Rokumeikan. Thurston, H. T. Colby, F. M. eds, photos of Ministry of Justice, Tokyo
Hermann Ende
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old Ministry of Justice in Tokyo
8.
Masonry
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Masonry is the building of structures from individual units, which are often laid in and bound together by mortar, the term masonry can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of construction are brick, building stone such as marble, granite, travertine, and limestone, cast stone, concrete block, glass block. Masonry is generally a durable form of construction. However, the used, the quality of the mortar and workmanship. A person who constructs masonry is called a mason or bricklayer, Masonry is commonly used for walls and buildings. Brick and concrete block are the most common types of masonry in use in industrialized nations, Concrete blocks, especially those with hollow cores, offer various possibilities in masonry construction. They generally provide great strength, and are best suited to structures with light transverse loading when the cores remain unfilled. Filling some or all of the cores with concrete or concrete with steel reinforcement offers much greater tensile, the use of material such as bricks and stones can increase the thermal mass of a building and can protect the building from fire. Masonry walls are resistant to projectiles, such as debris from hurricanes or tornadoes. Extreme weather, under circumstances, can cause degradation of masonry due to expansion. Masonry tends to be heavy and must be built upon a foundation, such as reinforced concrete. Other than concrete, masonry construction does not lend well to mechanization. Masonry consists of components and has a low tolerance to oscillation as compared to other materials such as reinforced concrete, plastics, wood. Masonry has high compressive strength under vertical loads but has low tensile strength unless reinforced, the tensile strength of masonry walls can be increased by thickening the wall, or by building masonry piers at intervals. Where practical, steel reinforcements such as windposts can be added, a masonry veneer wall consists of masonry units, usually clay-based bricks, installed on one or both sides of a structurally independent wall usually constructed of wood or masonry. In this context the brick masonry is primarily decorative, not structural, the brick veneer is generally connected to the structural wall by brick ties. There is typically an air gap between the veneer and the structural wall. Concrete blocks, real and cultured stones, and veneer adobe are sometimes used in a very similar veneer fashion
Masonry
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A mason laying mortar on top of a finished course of blocks, prior to placing the next course.
Masonry
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Dry set masonry supports a rustic
log bridge, where it provides a well-drained support for the log (which will increase its service life).
Masonry
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Masonry repair work done to a brick wall.
Masonry
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Concrete masonry units (CMUs) or blocks in a basement wall before burial.
9.
Kokyo
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The Tokyo Imperial Palace is the primary residence of the Emperor of Japan. It is built on the site of the old Edo Castle, the total area including the gardens is 3.41 square kilometres. During the height of the 1980s Japanese property bubble, the grounds were valued by some to be more than the value of all of the real estate in the state of California. After the capitulation of the shogunate and the Meiji Restoration, the inhabitants, leaving the Kyoto Imperial Palace on 26 November 1868, the Emperor arrived at the Edo Castle, made it to his new residence and renamed it to Tōkei Castle. At this time Tōkyō had also been called Tōkei and he left for Kyōto again, and after coming back on 9 May 1869, it was renamed to Imperial Castle. Previous fires had destroyed the Honmaru area containing the old donjon, on the night of 5 May 1873, a fire consumed the Nishinomaru Palace, and the new imperial Palace Castle was constructed on the site in 1888. A non-profit Rebuilding Edo-jo Association was founded in 2004 with the aim of a historically correct reconstruction of at least the main donjon, a reconstruction blueprint had been made based on old documents. The Imperial Household Agency at the time had not indicated whether it would support the project, in the Meiji era, most structures from the Edo Castle disappeared. Some were cleared to make way for other buildings while others were destroyed by earthquakes, for example, the wooden double bridges over the moat were replaced with stone and iron bridges. The buildings of the Imperial Palace constructed in the Meiji era were constructed of wood and their design employed traditional Japanese architecture in their exterior appearance while the interiors were an eclectic mixture of then-fashionable Japanese and European elements. The ceilings of the chambers were coffered with Japanese elements, however, Western chairs, tables. The floors of the rooms had parquets or carpets while the residential spaces used traditional tatami mats. The main audience hall was the part of the palace. It was the largest building in the compound, guests were received there for public events. The floor space was more than 223 tsubo or approximately 737.25 m2, in the interior, the coffered ceiling was traditional Japanese-style, while the floor was parquetry. The roof was styled similarly to the Kyoto Imperial Palace, but was covered with copper plates rather than Japanese cypress shingles, in the late Taishō and early Shōwa period, more concrete buildings were added, such as the headquarters of the Imperial Household Ministry and the Privy Council. These structures exhibited only token Japanese elements, from 1888 to 1948, the compound was called Palace Castle. On the night of 25 May 1945, most structures of the Imperial Palace were destroyed in the Allied firebombing raid on Tokyo
Kokyo
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Panorama of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo
Kokyo
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Aerial photograph of Imperial Palace of Japan in 1979
Kokyo
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The Kyūden (宮殿
?) shortly after its completion in the late 1800s
Kokyo
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Meiji-era palace structures, destroyed during World War II
10.
Inoue Kaoru
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Marquis Inoue Kaoru, GCMG was a member of the Meiji oligarchy during the Meiji period Empire of Japan. As one of the statesman in Japan during that period, he had a tremendous influence on the selection of the nations leaders. Born Yakichi to a samurai family in Yuda, Chōshū Domain. He was a boyhood friend of Itō Hirobumi who later became Japans first prime minister. In 1858, he studied rangaku, artillery and swordsmanship in Edo, in the Bakumatsu period, Inoue emerged as a leader of the antiforeigner movement in his native Chōshū. Desiring to rid Japan of foreigners, he and Takasugi Shinsaku set fire to the British legation in Edo in January 1863. Recognizing Japans need to learn from the powers, Inoue joined the Chōshū Five and was smuggled out of Japan to study at University College. When he returned with Itō Hirobumi, he tried to prevent war between the Chōshū and the western naval powers over the closing of the Straits of Shimonoseki to foreign shipping. Later, he fought against the forces of the Tokugawa shogunate in the 1864 First Chōshū expedition and he later played a key role in the formation of the Satchō Alliance against the Tokugawa shogunate. After the Meiji restoration, Inoue served in important positions in the new Meiji government. Inoue took part in the Osaka Conference of 1875 to support the creation of a national assembly. In 1876, Inoue was asked to assist in the field of foreign affairs and he returned to government as Minister of Public Works in 1878 and Lord of Foreign Affairs in 1879 under the early Meiji Dajō-kan Cabinet. In 1884, he was elevated to the rank of count under the new peerage system. In December 1885, Inoue officially became Japan’s first Minister of Foreign Affairs bearing that title in the first Itō Hirobumi cabinet. Later he served as Minister of Agriculture and Commerce in the Kuroda administration, as Home Minister in the second Itō administration, from 1901 onwards, Inoue served as most senior of the genrō, and considered himself the governments foremost advisor on financial affairs. He was advanced to the title of marquis in 1907, and died in 1915 at his home at Okitsu-juku. Michael and St. George Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour of France List of Ambassadors from Japan to South Korea Akamatsu, Meiji 1868, Revolution and Counter-Revolution in Japan. The Rise of Modern Japan, Political, Economic and Social Change Since 1850, craig, Albert M. Chōshū in the Meiji Restoration
Inoue Kaoru
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Inoue Kaoru
Inoue Kaoru
–
Inoue Kaoru as a young samurai.
Inoue Kaoru
11.
Ralph Adams Cram
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Ralph Adams Cram was a prolific and influential American architect of collegiate and ecclesiastical buildings, often in the Gothic Revival style. Cram & Ferguson and Cram, Goodhue & Ferguson are partnerships in which he worked, together with an architect and artist, he is honored on December 16 as a feast day in the Episcopal Church of the United States. Cram was a fellow of the American Institute of Architects, Cram was born on December 16,1863 at Hampton Falls, New Hampshire to the Rev. William Augustine and Sarah Elizabeth Cram. He was educated at Augusta, Hampton Falls, Westford Academy, which he entered in 1875, and Exeter. At age 18, Cram moved to Boston in 1881 and worked for five years in the office of Rotch & Tilden. During an 1887 Christmas Eve mass in Rome, he had a conversion experience. For the rest of his life, he practiced as a fervent Anglo-Catholic who identified as High Church Anglican, in the 1890s, Cram was a key figure in social-controversial-inspirational groups including the Pewter Mugs and the Visionists. In 1900, Cram married Elizabeth Carrington Read at New Bedford and she was the daughter of Clement Carrington Read and his wife. Read had served as a captain in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War, Elizabeth and Ralph had three children, Mary Carrington Cram, Ralph Wentworth Cram and Elizabeth Strudwick Cram. The family burial site is at the St. Elizabeths Memorial Churchyard, the churchyard is adjacent to St Elizabeths Chapel, which Cram designed. Cram and business partner Charles Wentworth started business in Boston in April 1889 as Cram and they had landed only four or five church commissions before they were joined by Bertram Goodhue in 1892 to form Cram, Wentworth and Goodhue. Goodhue brought a commission in Dallas and brilliant drafting skills to the Boston office. Wentworth died in 1897 and the name changed to Cram. Cram and Goodhue complemented each others strengths at first but began to compete, the firm won design of the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1902, a major milestone in their career. They set up the firms New York office, where Goodhue would preside, Crams acceptance of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine commission in 1911 heightened the tension between the two. Architectural historians have attributed most of their projects to one partner or the other, based on the visual and compositional style, the Gothic Revival Saint Thomas Church was designed by them both in 1914 on Manhattans Fifth Avenue. It is the last example of their collaboration, and the most integrated, Goodhue began his solo career on August 14,1913. Cram and Ferguson continued with major church and college commissions through the 1930s, particularly important work includes the original campus of Rice University, Houston, as well as the library and first city hall of that city
Ralph Adams Cram
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Ralph Adams Cram, 1911
Ralph Adams Cram
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Cover of Time magazine (December 13, 1926)
Ralph Adams Cram
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Hunt Memorial Library, c. 1906,
Nashua, New Hampshire
Ralph Adams Cram
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Lucius Beebe Memorial Library, Wakefield, Massachusetts
12.
Hibiya
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Hibiya is a geographic name covering a part of Chiyoda Ward in Tokyo. The area along Hibiya Street from Yūrakuchō to Uchisaiwaichō is Hibiya district, Hibiya is used in some local place names such as Hibiya Park and Hibiya Station. Hibiya was a ward named Kōjimachi before Tokyo City was restructured, the outskirts of this district are reclaimed from the ocean, so the name of hibi of Hibiya is derived from the facility for the laver of nori made of bamboo whose name is also hibi. After the end of the Meiji Restoration Hibiya, the city of Tokyo had become a city for there were many buildings including the Imperial Hotel, Rokumeikan, Tokyo city hall. In the 1930s, the first Japanese electric traffic light appeared at a Hibiya crossing point, the once fashionable district has changed into a business street. Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line, a Tokyo Metro subway line runs through the area
Hibiya
–
Hibiya Park
Hibiya
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Buildings in Hibya
13.
Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
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The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus or Tomb of Mausolus was a tomb built between 353 and 350 BC at Halicarnassus for Mausolus, a satrap in the Persian Empire, and his sister-wife Artemisia II of Caria. The structure was designed by the Greek architects Satyros and Pythius of Priene, the Mausoleum was approximately 45 m in height, and the four sides were adorned with sculptural reliefs, each created by one of four Greek sculptors—Leochares, Bryaxis, Scopas of Paros and Timotheus. The finished structure of the mausoleum was considered to be such a triumph that Antipater of Sidon identified it as one of his Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It was destroyed by successive earthquakes from the 12th to the 15th century, the word mausoleum has now come to be used generically for an above-ground tomb. In the 4th century BC, Halicarnassus was the capital of a regional kingdom within the Achaemenid Empire on the western coast of Asia Minor. In 377 BC, the ruler of the region, Hecatomnus of Milas, died and left the control of the kingdom to his son. Hecatomnus, a local satrap under the Persians, took control of several of the neighboring cities, after Artemisia and Mausolus, he had several other daughters and sons, Ada, Idrieus and Pixodarus. Mausolus extended its territory as far as the southwest coast of Anatolia, Artemisia and Mausolus ruled from Halicarnassus over the surrounding territory for 24 years. Mausolus, although descended from people, spoke Greek and admired the Greek way of life. He founded many cities of Greek design along the coast and encouraged Greek democratic traditions, Mausolus decided to build a new capital, one as safe from capture as it was magnificent to be seen. He chose the city of Halicarnassus, Artemisia and Mausolus spent huge amounts of tax money to embellish the city. They commissioned statues, temples and buildings of gleaming marble, in 353 BC, Mausolus died, leaving Artemisia to rule alone. As the Persian satrap, and as the Hecatomnid dynast, Mausolus had planned for himself an elaborate tomb, when he died the projects was continued by his siblings. The tomb became so famous that Mausoluss name is now the eponym for all stately tombs, Artemisia lived for only two years after the death of her husband. The urns with their ashes were placed in the yet unfinished tomb. As a form of sacrifice ritual the bodies of a number of dead animals were placed on the stairs leading to the tomb. It is likely that Mausollos started to plan the tomb before his death, as part of the works in Halicarnassus. Artemisia spared no expense in building the tomb and she sent messengers to Greece to find the most talented artists of the time
Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
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The ruins of the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus
Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
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Scale model of a reconstruction of the Mausoleum, one of many widely differing versions, at
Miniatürk, Istanbul
Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
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The design of the
Shrine of Remembrance in
Melbourne was inspired by that of the Mausoleum.
Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
–
The Masonic
House of the Temple of the Scottish Rite, Washington, DC,
John Russell Pope, architect, 1911–15, another scholarly version.
14.
House of the Temple
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The House of the Temple is a Masonic temple in Washington, D. C. United States that serves as the headquarters of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, Southern Jurisdiction, designed by John Russell Pope, it stands at 1733 16th Street, N. W. in the Dupont Circle neighborhood, about one mile directly north of the White House. On May 31,1911,110 years after the founding of the Supreme Council, Grand Commander James D. Richardson broke ground on the spot where the House of the Temple now stands in Washington, D. C. Grand Master J. Claude Keiper, of the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia, the temple was designed by noted architect John Russell Pope, who modeled it after the tomb of Mausolus at Halicarnassus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The building was dedicated four years later on October 18,1915, the buildings design was widely praised by contemporary architects, and it won Pope the Gold Medal of the Architectural League of New York in 1917. In his 1920 book LArchitecture aux Etatis-Unis, French architect Jacques Gréber described it as a monument of remarkable sumptuousness, the ensemble is an admirable study of antique architecture stamped with a powerful dignity. Fiske Kimballs 1928 book American Architecture describes it as an example of the triumph of form in America. In the 1920s, a panel of architects named it one of the three best public buildings in the United States, along with the Nebraska State Capitol and the Pan American Union Building in Washington, D. C. In 1932, it was ranked as one of the ten top buildings in the country in a poll of federal government architects. In 1944, the remains of Albert Pike were removed from Oak Hill Cemetery in the Georgetown section of Washington, D. C. the remains of Past Grand Commander John Henry Cowles were entombed in the temple in 1952, after his 31-year reign as Grand Commander. The Temple also holds one of the largest collections of related to Scottish poet and Freemason Robert Burns in its library. The House of the Temple is designated as a property to the Sixteenth Street Historic District. From 1990 to 2011, the temple hosted a community garden on its grounds, the Temple Garden occupied about 0. 25-acre, divided into about 70 small plots worked by nearby residents. In fall 2011, the Temple closed the garden in order to use the space to stage equipment for a rehabilitation project. In the 1951 science fiction film The Day the Earth Stood Still, in the 2009 novel The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown, the building is the setting for several key scenes. List of Masonic buildings List of museums in Washington, D. C
House of the Temple
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House of the Temple in
Washington, D.C.
House of the Temple
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House of the Temple rear view
House of the Temple
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House of the Temple library
House of the Temple
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Temple at night
15.
Los Angeles City Hall
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It is located in the Civic Center district of downtown Los Angeles in the city block bounded by Main, Temple, First, and Spring streets. The building was designed by John Parkinson, John C, martin, Sr. and was completed in 1928. Dedication ceremonies were held on April 26,1928.2 earthquake, the concrete in its tower was made with sand from each of Californias 58 counties and water from its 21 historical missions. City Halls distinctive tower was based on the shape of the Mausoleum of Mausolus, an image of City Hall has been on Los Angeles Police Department badges since 1940. City Hall has a deck, free to the public. The peak of the pyramid at the top of the building is a beacon named in honor of Colonel Charles A. Lindbergh. Circa 1939, there was an art gallery, in Room 351 on the third floor, the building was designated a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument in 1976. Prior to the completion of the current structure, the L. A, the Mayor of Los Angeles has an office in room 300 of this building and every Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday at 10, 00am, the Los Angeles City Council meets in its chambers. City Hall and the adjacent federal, state, and county buildings are served by the Civic Center station on the LA Metro Red Line, an observation level is open to the public on the 27th floor. The Mayor Tom Bradley Room, as this large space is named, is used for ceremonies. At the time the TV program was broadcast, the shows Daily Planet building was frequently confused with the similarly designed Pennsylvania Power & Light Building in Allentown, additionally, the exact design of this building is used as the Newstime magazine headquarters in the Superman comic books. Alias, A CIA black ops unit is located behind a door at Civic Station. Dragnet, The building appears as itself in the TV series, the first episode of Dragnet Season 1, Episode 1, The Human Bomb, Original Air Date,16 December 1951, was filmed at Los Angeles City Hall. Joe Fridays famous badge number 714 that was displayed under the credits, perry Mason, The City Hall building appears in the view from Perrys office window. This has led viewers of the show to speculate where the office would have been located in downtown Los Angeles. L. A. Confidential, The police in the 1997 neo-noir film operate out of the City hall, tower of Terror, In this 1997 made-for-TV movie, the main characters love interest works at a fictional newspaper, The Los Angeles Banner. The newspapers logo is based on the top of the city hall, adam-12, During the seventh season opening credits montage, City Hall is shown directly at the end, as the building that officers Reed and Malloy drive away from. It is also shown on the embossed badges numbered 744 and 2430, the 2003 Dragnet series used the L. A
Los Angeles City Hall
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Los Angeles City Hall
Los Angeles City Hall
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1931 photograph of then new City Hall with the now-demolished 10-story
International Savings Bank to the immediate left.
Los Angeles City Hall
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The City Hall from Hill Street
Los Angeles City Hall
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Detailed top of City Hall.
16.
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
17.
Tokyo University of the Arts
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Tokyo University of the Arts or Geidai is an art school in Japan. Located in Ueno Park, it also has facilities in Toride, Ibaraki, Yokohama, Kanagawa, the university owns two halls of residence, one in Adachi, Tokyo, and the other in Matsudo, Chiba. The university was formed in 1949 by the merger of the Tokyo School of Fine Arts, originally male-only, the schools began to admit women in 1946. The graduate school opened in 1963, and began offering degrees in 1977. After the National University Corporations were formed on April 1,2004, on April 1,2008, the university changed its English name from Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music to Tokyo University of the Arts. Schneider Takashi Shimizu Kanzan Shimomura Masaaki Suzuki Toru Takahashi Kōun Takamura Kenji Watanabe Yoshiaki Watanabe Koji Yamamoto List of National Treasures of Japan Official website
Tokyo University of the Arts
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Tokyo University of the Arts
Tokyo University of the Arts
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Film director
Teshigahara Hiroshi (1927-2001)
Tokyo University of the Arts
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Composer
Sakamoto Ryuichi (born 1952)
Tokyo University of the Arts
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Traditional Japanese composer
Taki Rentaro (1879–1903)
18.
Lake Towada
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Lake Towada is the largest crater lake in Honshū island, Japan. Located on the border between Aomori and Akita prefectures, it lies 400 meters above sea level and is 327 m deep, with a surface area of 61.1 km², Towada is Japans 12th largest lake, its bright blue color is due to its great depth. The lake is circular, with two peninsulas extending from its southern shore approximately one-third into the center of the lake. The lake is a popular tourist destination, Lake Towada occupies the caldera of an active volcano, with large scale volcanic eruptions occurring approximately 55,000,25,000 and 13,000 years ago. The most recent eruption left traces of pyroclastic flows as far away as the city of Aomori. The lake is a caldera in that the inlet between its two peninsulas is the remnant of a secondary caldera which erupted and collapsed approximately 5400 years ago. In 1903, largely through the efforts of Wainai Sadayuki, princess trout were introduced into Lake Towada, the lake now also has rainbow trout, cherry salmon, carp, Carassius, Japanese eel. The surrounding forests are deciduous, and are primarily Erman’s birch. The lake was selected by the Tokyo Nichi Nichi Shimbun and Osaka Mainichi Shimbun as one of the Eight Scenic Views of Japan in 1927, in 1936, the lake and surrounding areas became part of Towada National Park. It was the last work by noted sculptor. A wartime Tachikawa Ki-54 aircraft of the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force which crashed in 1943 was found at the bottom of Lake Towada on 13 August 2010 and it was recovered on September 5,2012 and has been placed on display. List of Special Places of Scenic Beauty, Special Historic Sites and Special Natural Monuments Tourism in Japan Southerland, Mary and Britton, ISBN 4-7700-1971-8 Towada - Japan Meteorological Agency Towada, National catalogue of the active volcanoes in Japan. - Japan Meteorological Agency Towada - Geological Survey of Japan Towada, Global Volcanism Program - Smithsonian Institut
Lake Towada
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Lake Towada 十和田湖
Lake Towada
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Towada Caldera
Lake Towada
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Lake Towada
19.
Itagaki Taisuke
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His image is on Japans 1953 100-yen banknote. During the Boshin War, he emerged as the political figure from Tosa domain. Itagaki was appointed a Councilor of State in 1869, and was involved in several key reforms, as a sangi, he ran the government temporarily during the absence of the Iwakura Mission. These rights are by Nature bestowed upon all men, and, therefore and this anti-government stance appealed to the discontented remnants of the samurai class and the rural aristocracy and peasants. Itagakis involvement in liberalism lent it political legitimacy in Japan, and these included the Risshisha and the Aikokusha in 1875. After funding issues led to stagnation, the Aikokusha was revived in 1878 and agitated with increasing success as part of the Freedom. The Movement drew the ire of the government and its supporters, in 1882, Itagaki was almost assassinated by a right-wing militant, to whom he allegedly said, Itagaki may die, but liberty never. Itagaki created the Liberal Party together with Numa Morikazu in 1881, during this period, a rift developed in the movement between the lower class members and the aristocratic leadership of the party. Itagaki became embroiled in controversy when he took a trip to Europe believed by many to have been funded by the government, the trip turned out to have been provided by the Mitsui Company, but suspicions that Itagaki was being won over to the government side persisted. Consequently, radical groups proliferated, undermining the unity of the party. Itagaki was offered the title of Count in 1884, as the new system known as kazoku was formed. The Liberal Party dissolved itself on 20 October 1884 and it was reestablished shortly before the opening of the Imperial Diet in 1890 as the Rikken Jiyūtō. In April 1896, Itagaki joined the second Itō administration as Home Minister, in 1898, Itagaki joined with Ōkuma Shigenobu of the Shimpotō to form the Kenseitō, and Japans first party government. Ōkuma became Prime Minister, and Itagaki continued serving as Home Minister, the Cabinet collapsed after four months of squabbling between the factions, demonstrating the immaturity of parliamentary democracy at the time in Japan. Itagaki retired from life in 1900 and spent the rest of his days writing. He died of causes in 1919. Itagaki is credited as being the first Japanese party leader and an important force for liberalism in Meiji Japan and he was elevated to the peerage posthumously, and given the rank of hakushaku. His portrait has appeared on the 50-sen and 100-yen banknotes issued by the Bank of Japan, Inui family（Itagaki family） Their clan name is Minamoto
Itagaki Taisuke
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Itagaki Taisuke
Itagaki Taisuke
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Jinshotai (From the left in the bottom row: Ban Gondayu, Itagaki Taisuke, Tani Otoi (young boy),
Yamaji Motoharu. From the left in the middle row: Tani Shigeki (Sinbei),
Tani Tateki (Moribe), Yamada Kiyokado (Heizaemon), Yoshimoto Sukekatsu (Heinosuke). From the left in the top row: Kataoka Masumitsu (Kenkichi), Manabe Masayoshi (Kaisaku), Nishiyama Sakae, Kitamura Shigeyori (Chobei), Beppu Hikokuro.)
Itagaki Taisuke
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"Advocacy of a punitive expedition to Korea" (1877 painting by Suzuki Toshimoto)
Itagaki Taisuke
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When Itagaki Taisuke was attacked by a thug in Gifu, he said "Itagaki may die, but liberty never!"
20.
Mitsukoshi
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Mitsukoshi, Ltd. is an international department store chain with headquarters in Tokyo, Japan. It is a subsidiary of Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings, which owns the Isetan department store chain. It was founded in 1673 with the yagō Echigoya, selling kimonos, ten years later in 1683, Echigoya took a new approach to marketing. Instead of selling by going door-to-door, they set up a store where buyers could purchase goods on the spot with cash, mitsukoshimae Station on the Tokyo Metro is named after the adjacent Mitsukoshi department store. Mitsukoshi is the root of Mitsui group, in the 1970s, Mitsukoshi bought the Oriental Nakamura department store in Nagoya and re-branded them as Mitsukoshi Nagoya. Genichiro Inokuma designed the wrapping paper in white and red, in August 2007, it was announced that Mitsukoshi would merge into Isetan, a major department store in Japan. Mitsukoshi TYO,2779 was unlisted on March 26,2008, nihonbashi Main Branch 日本橋本店 Ginza Mitsukoshi 銀座三越 Ebisu Mitsukoshi 恵比寿三越 Tama Center Mitsukoshi 多摩センター三越 Chiba Mitsukoshi 千葉三越 Sapporo Store 札幌店 - Sapporo Mitsukoshi Ltd. Sendai Store 仙台店 - Sendai Mitsukoshi Ltd, Nagoya Sakae Main Branch 名古屋栄本店 - Nagoya Mitsukoshi Ltd. Hoshigaoka Mitsukoshi 星ヶ丘三越 - Nagoya Mitsukoshi Ltd, Niigata Mitsukoshi 新潟三越 - Niigata Isetan Mitsukoshi Ltd. JR Osaka Isetan Mitsukoshi JR大阪三越伊勢丹 Hiroshima Mitsukoshi 広島三越 - Hiroshima Mitsukoshi Ltd, Takamatsu Mitsukoshi 高松三越 - Takamatsu Mitsukoshi Ltd. Matsuyama Mitsukoshi 松山三越 - Matsuyama Mitsukoshi Ltd, fukuoka Mitsukoshi 福岡三越 - Iwataya Mitsukoshi Ltd. The first Shin Kong Mitsukoshi store opened at Nanjing Road in Taipei in 1991, a second store opened in 1988 in the Sun Arcade in Tsim Sha Tsui, but it closed in 1995. Mitsukoshi closed its original Causeway Bay store on 17 September 2006, dalian closed at the end of the Second World War Shanghai In 1930, Mitsukoshi opened their department store in downtown Seoul. After the liberation of Korea and the defeat of Japan in 1945, Samsung took over this store, rome London - The London store opened in 1979 and closed in 2013. It was a shopping destination for Japanese visitors, and also incorporated a restaurant. It was located on Lower Regent Street, alongside the Japan Centre, at the end of June 2013 a large red poster was displayed in the window of Mitsukoshi London department store which read 34年間ありがとうございます Closing Down Sale which means Thank you for 34 Years. The three German stores of Düsseldorf, Frankfurt and Munich as well as the Milan shop closed in 2008 and 2009, the Paris shop closed in 2010. In 1991, Mitsukoshi bought that space, as well as 30,000 sq ft of additional adjoining space, and opened a larger outlet
Mitsukoshi
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The Mitsukoshi Department Store in the Nihonbashi section of Tokyo
Mitsukoshi
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Utagawa Hiroshige printed an
Ukiyoe with
Mt. Fuji and Echigoya as landmarks. Echigoya is the former name of Mitsukoshi named after the
former province of Echigo. The Mitsukoshi headquarters are located on the left side of the street.
Mitsukoshi
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Nihonbashi main branch
21.
Kajima
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Kajima Corporation is a Japanese construction company. Founded in 1840, the company has its headquarters in Motoakasaka, Minato, the company is known for its DIB-200 proposal. The company stock is traded on four leading Japanese stock exchanges and is a constituent of the Nikkei 225 stock index, one of the five leading general contractors in Japan, that are also referred to as super general contractor. As well as being one of the key leaders, also from its top-class domestic construction revenue. Corporate slogan is Company that builds 100 years and this method is safer, and allows for a more efficient recycling process. The Kasumigaseki Building, built by Kajima, is the subject of the film Chōkōsō no Akebono
Kajima
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Kajima head office
Kajima
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Kajima Corporation
22.
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
Emperor of Japan
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Emperor of Japan
Emperor of Japan
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Imperial Standard
Emperor of Japan
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The current empress,
Michiko
Emperor of Japan
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The current crown princess,
Masako
23.
Japanese lacquerware
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A number of terms are used in Japanese to refer to lacquerware. Shikki means lacquer ware in the most literal sense, while nurimono means coated things, the history of lacquerware in Japan reaches back to the Jōmon period. The sap of the tree, today bearing the technical description of urushiol-based lacquer, has traditionally been used in Japan. As the substance is poisonous to the touch until it dries, lacquer was used in Japan as early as 5000 BCE, during the Jōmon period. Evidence for the earliest lacquerware was discovered at the Kakinoshima B Excavation Site in Hokkaido and these objects were discovered in a pit grave dating from the first half of the Initial Jomon period. Lacquering technology may have been invented by the Jomon and they learned to refine urushi – the process taking several months. Iron oxide and cinnabar were used for producing red lacquer, lacquer was used both on pottery, and on different types of wooden items. In some cases, burial clothes for the dead were also lacquered, many lacquered objects have turned up during the Early Jomon period, this indicates that this was an established part of Jomon culture. Experts are divided on whether Jomon lacquer was derived from Chinese techniques, for example, Mark Hudson believes that “Jomon lacquer technology was developed independently in Japan rather than being introduced from China as once believed”. One of the most outstanding lacquer objects is the Tamamushi Shrine from middle of the seventh century AD, the shrine is made of lacquered hinoki or Japanese cypress and camphor wood, both native species. The Edo period saw an increase in the cultivation of lacquer trees. In the 18th century colored lacquers came into wider use, one of the most outstanding masters of lacquer was Ogata Kōrin. The city of Kanazawa is known for its lacquerware, the export of lacquer to the west lead to it being historically referred to as Japan, analogous to China for Chinese ceramics. As in other countries where lacquerware has traditionally produced, the process is fundamentally quite basic. An object is formed from wood, sometimes leather, paper, lacquer is applied to seal and protect the object, and then decoration is added. Generally, three coats are used, the final coat sometimes being clear rather than black lacquer, in order to allow decorations to show through. Alongside the red and black lacquers, it is common to see the use of inlay, often seashells or similar materials, the application of gold powder is known as maki-e, and is a very common decorative element. A few examples of traditional techniques follow, Ikkanbari, also known as harinuki is one technique used to make tea wares
Japanese lacquerware
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Japanese lacquered spoons, 20th century (Negoro-nuri)
Japanese lacquerware
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Ewer in "Negoro Ware" from Japan. The red lacquer wears away gradually and irregularly with use, producing the effect of natural aging for which these pieces are highly appreciated. This example is held at the
Birmingham Museum of Art.
24.
Anan, Tokushima
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Anan is a city located in Tokushima Prefecture, Japan. The city was founded on May 1,1958, as of 2016, the city has an estimated population of 72,447 and a population density of 260 persons per km². The total area is 279.39 km², on March 20,2006, the towns of Hanoura and Nakagawa were merged into Anan. Nichia, a global LED and electronic materials manufacturer has its headquarters in the city, also in the city is the static inverter plant of Kii Channel HVDC system. Media related to Anan, Tokushima at Wikimedia Commons Anan City official website
Anan, Tokushima
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Location of Anan in
Tokushima Prefecture
25.
Mount Fuji
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Mount Fuji, located on Honshu Island, is the highest mountain in Japan at 3,776.24 m. An active stratovolcano that last erupted in 1707–08, Mount Fuji lies about 100 kilometres south-west of Tokyo, Mount Fuji is one of Japans Three Holy Mountains along with Mount Tate and Mount Haku. It is also a Special Place of Scenic Beauty and one of Japans Historic Sites and it was added to the World Heritage List as a Cultural Site on June 22,2013. Per UNESCO, Mount Fuji has inspired artists and poets and been the object of pilgrimage for centuries, UNESCO recognizes 25 sites of cultural interest within the Mt. Fuji locality. These 25 locations include the mountain itself, Fujisan, in Shinto mythology, Kuninotokotachi is one of the two gods born from something like a reed that arose from the soil when the earth was chaotic. He is known by mythology to reside on top of Mount Fuji, Kuninotokotachi is described as a hitorigami and genderless in Kojiki, while as a male god in Nihon Shoki. Yoshida Kanetomo, the founder of the Yoshida Shintō sect, identified Kuninotokotachi with Amenominakanushi, the current kanji for Mount Fuji, 富 and 士, mean wealth or abundant and a man with a certain status respectively. The origin of the name Fuji is unclear, having no recording of it being first called by this name. A text of the 10th century, Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, says that the name came from immortal, an early folk etymology claims that Fuji came from 不二, meaning without equal or nonpareil. Another claims that it came from 不尽, meaning neverending, a Japanese classical scholar in the Edo era, Hirata Atsutane, speculated that the name is from a word meaning, a mountain standing up shapely as an ear of a rice plant. It is also pointed that huchi means an old woman and ape is the word for fire, research on the distribution of place names that include fuji as a part also suggest the origin of the word fuji is in the Yamato language rather than Ainu. A Japanese toponymist Kanji Kagami argued that the name has the root as wisteria and rainbow. In English, the mountain is known as Mount Fuji, some sources refer to it as Fuji-san, Fujiyama or, redundantly, Mt. Fujiyama. Japanese speakers refer to the mountain as Fuji-san and this san is not the honorific suffix used with peoples names, such as Watanabe-san, but the Sino-Japanese reading of the character yama used in Sino-Japanese compounds. In Nihon-shiki and Kunrei-shiki romanization, the name is transliterated as Huzi, among the most renowned works are Hokusais 36 Views of Mount Fuji and his One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji, as well as Utagawa Hiroshiges similarly-titled 36 Views of Mount Fuji. The mountain is mentioned in Japanese literature throughout the ages and is the subject of many poems and it is thought that the first recorded ascent was in 663 by an anonymous monk. The summit has been thought of as sacred since ancient times and was forbidden to women until the Meiji Era, ancient samurai used the base of the mountain as a remote training area, near the present-day town of Gotemba. The shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo held yabusame in the area in the early Kamakura period, the first ascent by a foreigner was by Sir Rutherford Alcock in September 1868, from the foot of the mountain to the top in eight hours and three hours for the descent
Mount Fuji
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Mount Fuji as seen from a meadow
Mount Fuji
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Brooklyn Museum – woodblock print of Mount Fuji
Mount Fuji
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Panoramic view of routes to Mt. Fuji
26.
Takeo Fukuda
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Takeo Fukuda was a Japanese politician and the 67th Prime Minister of Japan from 24 December 1976 to 7 December 1978. Fukuda was born in Gunma, capital of the Gunma Prefecture on 14 January 1905 and he hailed from a former Samurai family and his father was mayor of Gunma. He held a law degree from University of Tokyo, before and during World War II, Fukuda served as a bureaucrat in the Finance Ministry and as Chief Cabinet Secretary. After the war, he director of Japans banking bureau from 1946 to 1947. In 1952, Fukuda was elected to the House of Representatives representing the district of Gunma. Fukudas political mentor was Nobusuke Kishi, who was detained as a Class A war criminal after World War II and he was a candidate for prime minister in 1972 but lost to Kakuei Tanaka. He took over the presidency of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party from Takeo Miki after the poor showing in the 1976 election. It remained in office until 1978, but relied on the support of parties to maintain a parliamentary majority. In an effort to end the LDPs faction system, Fukuda introduced primary elections within the party, ironically, in the first primary towards the end of 1978, he was beaten by Masayoshi Ōhira for the presidency of the LDP, and forced to resign as Prime Minister. Fukuda was later instrumental in the formation of the Inter Action Council and he retired from politics in 1990. Fukuda was married and had five children, three sons and two daughters, in addition, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi began his political career as a secretary to Fukuda, and the two were very close in their political and personal lives from the 1970s onward. Fukuda died of emphysema in the hospital of Tokyo Womens Medical College on 5 July 1995 at the age of 90. Grand Cordon of the Order of the Chrysanthemum Golden Pheasant Award of the Scout Association of Japan
Takeo Fukuda
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Fukuda in March 1977
Takeo Fukuda
–
Fukuda (second from left) during the G7 meeting in 1978
27.
JSTOR
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JSTOR is a digital library founded in 1995. Originally containing digitized back issues of journals, it now also includes books and primary sources. It provides full-text searches of almost 2,000 journals, more than 8,000 institutions in more than 160 countries have access to JSTOR, most access is by subscription, but some older public domain content is freely available to anyone. William G. Bowen, president of Princeton University from 1972 to 1988, JSTOR originally was conceived as a solution to one of the problems faced by libraries, especially research and university libraries, due to the increasing number of academic journals in existence. Most libraries found it prohibitively expensive in terms of cost and space to maintain a collection of journals. By digitizing many journal titles, JSTOR allowed libraries to outsource the storage of journals with the confidence that they would remain available long-term, online access and full-text search ability improved access dramatically. Bowen initially considered using CD-ROMs for distribution, JSTOR was initiated in 1995 at seven different library sites, and originally encompassed ten economics and history journals. JSTOR access improved based on feedback from its sites. Special software was put in place to make pictures and graphs clear, with the success of this limited project, Bowen and Kevin Guthrie, then-president of JSTOR, wanted to expand the number of participating journals. They met with representatives of the Royal Society of London and an agreement was made to digitize the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society dating from its beginning in 1665, the work of adding these volumes to JSTOR was completed by December 2000. The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation funded JSTOR initially, until January 2009 JSTOR operated as an independent, self-sustaining nonprofit organization with offices in New York City and in Ann Arbor, Michigan. JSTOR content is provided by more than 900 publishers, the database contains more than 1,900 journal titles, in more than 50 disciplines. Each object is identified by an integer value, starting at 1. In addition to the site, the JSTOR labs group operates an open service that allows access to the contents of the archives for the purposes of corpus analysis at its Data for Research service. This site offers a facility with graphical indication of the article coverage. Users may create focused sets of articles and then request a dataset containing word and n-gram frequencies and they are notified when the dataset is ready and may download it in either XML or CSV formats. The service does not offer full-text, although academics may request that from JSTOR, JSTOR Plant Science is available in addition to the main site. The materials on JSTOR Plant Science are contributed through the Global Plants Initiative and are only to JSTOR
JSTOR
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The JSTOR front page
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Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
Geographic coordinate system
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Longitude lines are perpendicular and latitude lines are parallel to the equator.
