1.
Japan
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Japan is a sovereign island nation in Eastern Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies off the eastern coast of the Asia Mainland and stretches from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea, the kanji that make up Japans name mean sun origin. 日 can be read as ni and means sun while 本 can be read as hon, or pon, Japan is often referred to by the famous epithet Land of the Rising Sun in reference to its Japanese name. Japan is an archipelago consisting of about 6,852 islands. The four largest are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku, the country is divided into 47 prefectures in eight regions. Hokkaido being the northernmost prefecture and Okinawa being the southernmost one, the population of 127 million is the worlds tenth largest. Japanese people make up 98. 5% of Japans total population, approximately 9.1 million people live in the city of Tokyo, the capital of Japan. Archaeological research indicates that Japan was inhabited as early as the Upper Paleolithic period, the first written mention of Japan is in Chinese history texts from the 1st century AD. Influence from other regions, mainly China, followed by periods of isolation, from the 12th century until 1868, Japan was ruled by successive feudal military shoguns who ruled in the name of the Emperor. Japan entered into a period of isolation in the early 17th century. The Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937 expanded into part of World War II in 1941, which came to an end in 1945 following the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan is a member of the UN, the OECD, the G7, the G8, the country has the worlds third-largest economy by nominal GDP and the worlds fourth-largest economy by purchasing power parity. It is also the worlds fourth-largest exporter and fourth-largest importer, although Japan has officially renounced its right to declare war, it maintains a modern military with the worlds eighth-largest military budget, used for self-defense and peacekeeping roles. Japan is a country with a very high standard of living. Its population enjoys the highest life expectancy and the third lowest infant mortality rate in the world, in ancient China, Japan was called Wo 倭. It was mentioned in the third century Chinese historical text Records of the Three Kingdoms in the section for the Wei kingdom, Wa became disliked because it has the connotation of the character 矮, meaning dwarf. The 倭 kanji has been replaced with the homophone Wa, meaning harmony, the Japanese word for Japan is 日本, which is pronounced Nippon or Nihon and literally means the origin of the sun. The earliest record of the name Nihon appears in the Chinese historical records of the Tang dynasty, at the start of the seventh century, a delegation from Japan introduced their country as Nihon
2.
Minamoto no Yoritomo
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Minamoto no Yoritomo was the founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura Shogunate of Japan. He ruled from 1192 until 1199, Yoritomo was the third son of Minamoto no Yoshitomo, heir of the Minamoto clan, and his official wife, Urahime, a daughter of Fujiwara no Suenori, who was a member of the illustrious Fujiwara clan. Yoritomo was born in Atsuta in Owari Province, at that time Yoritomos grandfather Minamoto no Tameyoshi was the head of the Minamoto. In 1156, factional divisions in the court erupted into open warfare within the capital and this is known as the Hōgen Rebellion. The head of the clan, Tameyoshi, sided with Sutoku, his son, Yoshitomo, sided with Toba and Go-Shirakawa, in the end, the supporters of Go-Shirakawa won the civil war, thus ensuring victory for Yoshitomo and Kiyomori. Sutoku was placed under house arrest, and Yorinaga was fatally wounded in battle, Tameyoshi was executed, even after numerous pleas from Yoshitomo. Nonetheless, Go-Shirakawa and Kiyomori were ruthless, and Yoshitomo found himself as the head of the Minamoto, Yoritomo and the Minamoto clan descended from the imperial family on his fathers side. Nonetheless, in Kyoto, the Taira clan, now under the leadership of Kiyomori, Kiyomori was supported by Fujiwara no Michinori, while Yoshitomo was supported by Fujiwara no Nobuyori. This was known as the Heiji Rebellion, the ex-Emperors and Shinzeis mansions were burned, while Shinzei was captured and decapitated. Nonetheless, the Minamoto were not well prepared, and the Taira took control of Kyoto, Yoshitomo fled the capital but was later betrayed and executed by a retainer. In the aftermath, harsh terms were imposed on the Minamoto, only Yoshitomos three young boys remained alive, so that Kiyomori and the Taira clan were now the undisputed leaders of Japan. Yoritomo, the new head of the Minamoto, was exiled, Yoritomo was not executed by Kiyomori because of pleas from Kiyomoris stepmother. Yoritomos brothers, Minamoto no Noriyori and Minamoto no Yoshitsune were also allowed to live and he married into the Hōjō clan, led by Hōjō Tokimasa, marrying Tokimasas daughter, Hōjō Masako. Meanwhile, he was notified of events in Kyoto thanks to helpful friends, soon enough, Yoritomos passive exile was to be over. Yoritomo took part in this, especially after things escalated between the Taira and Minamoto after the death of Minamoto no Yorimasa and Prince Mochihito himself, Yoritomo set himself up as the rightful heir of the Minamoto clan, and he set up a capital in Kamakura to the east. Not all Minamoto thought of Yoritomo as rightful heir and his uncle Minamoto no Yukiie and his cousin Minamoto no Yoshinaka conspired against him. In September 1180, Yoritomo was defeated at the Battle of Ishibashiyama, his first major battle, Yoritomo spent the next six months raising a new army. In 1181, Taira no Kiyomori died, and the Taira clan was now led by Taira no Munemori, Munemori took a much more aggressive policy against the Minamoto, and attacked Minamoto bases from Kyoto in the Genpei War
3.
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
4.
Hosokawa clan
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It produced many prominent officials in the Ashikaga shogunates administration. In the Edo period, the Hosokawa clan was one of the largest landholding daimyō families in Japan, in the present day, the current clan head Morihiro Hosokawa, has served as Prime Minister of Japan. Ashikaga Yoshisue, son of Ashikaga Yoshizane, was the first to take the name of Hosokawa, Hosokawa Yoriharu, a Hosokawa of the late Kamakura period, fought for the Ashikaga clan against the Kamakura shogunate. Another, Hosokawa Akiuji, helped establish the Ashikaga shogunate, the clan wielded significant power over the course of the Muromachi, Sengoku, and Edo periods, moving, however, from Shikoku, to Kinai, and then to Kyūshū over the centuries. The clan was one of three families to dominate the post of Kanrei, under the Ashikaga shogunate. One such individual was Hosokawa Yoriyuki, at the beginning of the Ashikagas rule, the Hosokawa were given control of the entirety of Shikoku. Over the course of this period, members of the Hosokawa clan were Constables of Awa, Awaji, Bitchū, Izumi, Sanuki, Settsu, Tanba, Tosa, and Yamashiro Provinces. Following the fall of the Ashikaga shogunate, which was based in Kyoto, control of the city, katsumotos son, Hosokawa Masamoto, held power in this way at the end of the 15th century, but was assassinated in 1507. After his death, the clan became divided and was weakened by internecine fighting, what power they still had, however, was centered in and around Kyoto. This gave them the leverage to consolidate their power to some extent, the Hosokawa remained in Kyoto for roughly one hundred years, fleeing the city when it was attacked by Oda Nobunaga. Another division of the clan whom many have believe had extinct is the Saikyū clan, the Hosokawa of Kokura became the main line of the Hosokawa clan during the Edo period. Hosokawa Gracia, the wife of Hosokawa Tadaoki, was one of the most famous samurai converts to Christianity, the Hosokawa sided with Tokugawa Ieyasu against Ishida Mitsunari during the decisive Sekigahara Campaign, and thus were made fudai daimyō under the Tokugawa shogunate. They were given Higo Province, with an income of 540,000 koku, Hosokawa Tadatoshi, the third lord of Kumamoto, was the patron of the swordsman Miyamoto Musashi. Though the Hosokawa domain was far from the capital, on Kyūshū, by 1750, Higo was one of the top producers of rice, and was in fact counted as a standard by the Osaka rice brokers. The domain suffered from economic decline after that, as most domains did. He also founded a Han school, Jishūkan, in 1755, in later years, it produced many scholars such as Yokoi Shōnan. In 1787, the family line descended from Tadatoshi became extinct with the death of the 7th lord. He was succeeded by his distant cousin Narishige, the sixth Lord of Udo a direct descendant of Tadatoshis younger brother Yukitaka, in 1810, Narishige abdicated his title in favor of his elder son Naritatsu, who succeeded as the ninth lord of Kumamoto
5.
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
6.
Sengoku period
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The Sengoku period is a period in Japanese history marked by social upheaval, political intrigue and near-constant military conflict. Japanese historians named it after the otherwise unrelated Warring States period in China and it came to an end when all political power was unified under the Tokugawa shogunate. In the years preceding this era the Shogunate gradually lost influence, many of these Lords began to fight uncontrollably with each other for control over land and influence over the shogunate. As trade with China grew, the developed, and the use of money became widespread as markets. This, combined with developments in agriculture and small-scale trading, led to the desire for local autonomy throughout all levels of the social hierarchy. As early as the beginning of the 15th century, the caused by earthquakes and famines often served to trigger armed uprisings by farmers weary of debt. The Ōnin War, a conflict rooted in economic distress and brought on by a dispute over succession, is generally regarded as the onset of the Sengoku period. The eastern army of the Hosokawa family and its allies clashed with the army of the Yamana. Fighting in and around Kyoto lasted for nearly 11 years, leaving the city almost completely destroyed, the conflict in Kyoto then spread to outlying provinces. The period culminated with a series of three warlords, Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu, who gradually unified Japan, after Tokugawa Ieyasus final victory at the siege of Osaka in 1615, Japan settled down into several centuries of peace under the Tokugawa Shogunate. The Ōnin War in 1467 is usually considered the point of Sengoku period. There are several events which could be considered the end of it, The Siege of Odawara, the Battle of Sekigahara, the upheaval resulted in the further weakening of central authority, and throughout Japan regional lords, called daimyōs, rose to fill the vacuum. There were many, however, whose positions eroded and were usurped by more capable underlings. One of the earliest instances of this was Hōjō Sōun, who rose from humble origins. Building on the accomplishments of Sōun, the Late Hōjō clan remained a power in the Kantō region until its subjugation by Toyotomi Hideyoshi late in the Sengoku period. Well-organized religious groups also gained power at this time by uniting farmers in resistance. The monks of the Buddhist True Pure Land sect formed numerous Ikkō-ikki and this in turn provided Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who had risen through the ranks from ashigaru to become one of Odas most trusted generals, with the opportunity to establish himself as Odas successor. Toyotomi eventually consolidated his control over the remaining daimyōs and, although he was ineligible for the title of Seii Taishogun because of his common birth, during his short reign as Kampaku, Toyotomi attempted two invasions of Korea
7.
Minamoto no Yoshitsune
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Minamoto no Yoshitsune was a nobleman and military commander of the Minamoto clan of Japan in the late Heian and early Kamakura periods. During the Genpei War, he led a series of battles which toppled the Ise-Heishi branch of the Taira clan and he is considered one of the greatest and the most popular warriors of his era, and one of the most famous samurai fighters in the history of Japan. Yoshitsune perished after being betrayed by the son of a trusted ally, Yoshitsune was the ninth son of Minamoto no Yoshitomo, and the third and final son and child that Yoshitomo would father with Tokiwa Gozen. Yoshitsunes older half-brother Minamoto no Yoritomo would go on to found the Kamakura shogunate, Yoshitsunes name in childhood was Ushiwakamaru. He was born just before the Heiji Rebellion of early 1160 in which his father and he survived this incident by fleeing the capital with his mother, while his half-brother Yoritomo was banished to Izu Province. At approximately age 10, Yoshitsune was placed in the care of the monks of Kurama Temple, a skillful swordsman, Yoshitsune defeated the legendary warrior monk Benkei in a duel. From then on, Benkei became Yoshitsunes right-hand man, eventually dying with him at the Siege of Koromogawa. In the ensuing war between the rival Minamoto and Taira samurai clans, known as the Genpei War, Yoshitsune joined Yoritomo, along with Minamoto no Noriyori and he finally destroyed them one month later at the Battle of Dan-no-ura in present-day Yamaguchi Prefecture. Following the Genpei War, Yoshitsune was appointed as Governor of Iyo and his suspicious brother Yoritomo, however, opposed the presentation of these titles, and nullified them. Yoshitsune then secured imperial authorization to ally with his uncle Minamoto no Yukiie in opposing Yoritomo, incurring Yoritomos wrath, Yoshitsune fled Kyoto in 1185. His faithful mistress, Shizuka Gozen, carrying his child, fled with him at first, but then was left behind. Yoshitsune eventually made his way to Hiraizumi, Mutsu, once again to the protection of Fujiwara no Hidehira, yasuhira then had Yoshitsunes head preserved in sake, placed in a black-lacquered chest, and sent to Yoritomo as proof of death. Historical sources differ as to the fate of Yoshitsunes mistress Shizuka, Yoshitsune is enshrined in the Shirahata Jinja, a Shinto shrine in the city of Fujisawa. The death of Yoshitsune has been very elusive, according to Ainu historical accounts, he did not commit seppuku, but instead escaped the siege at Koromogawa, fleeing to Hokkaido and assuming the name Okikurumi/Oinakamui. In Hokkaido, the Yoshitsune Shrine is erected in his honor in the town of Biratori and this letter was Yoshitsunes final appeal to Yoritomo of his loyalty. The letter is a mixture of bravado and an almost masochistic indulgence in misfortune, the Japanese term for sympathy for a tragic hero, Hōgan-biiki, comes from Yoshitsunes title Kurō Hōgan, which he received from the Imperial Court. Many of the pieces that Yoshitsune appears in are legend rather than historical fact. Legends pertaining to Yoshitsune first began to appear in the fourteenth century, in early works at that time, Yoshitsune was described as a sharp-witted military leader
8.
Takeda clan
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The Takeda clan was a Japanese clan active from the late Heian Period. The clan was based in Kai Province in present-day Yamanashi Prefecture. Minamoto no Yoshikiyo, son of Yoshimitsu, was the first to take the name of Takeda, in the 12th century, at the end of the Heian period, the Takeda family controlled Kai Province. Along with a number of families, they aided their cousin Minamoto no Yoritomo against the Taira clan in the Genpei War. When Minamoto no Yoritomo was first defeated at Ishibashiyama, Takeda Nobuyoshi was applied for help, Takeda Nobumitsu, helped the Hōjō during the Shokyu War and in reward received the governorship of Aki Province. Until the Sengoku period, the Takeda were shugo of Kai, Aki, immediately prior to the Sengoku period, the Takeda helped to suppress the Rebellion of Uesugi Zenshū. Uesugi Zenshū was the chief advisor to Ashikaga Mochiuji, an enemy of the central Ashikaga shogunate. Mochiuji, lord of the Uesugi clan, made a reprisal against the Takeda clan in 1415 and this reprisal began a rivalry between the Uesugi and Takeda clans which would last roughly 150 years until the destruction of the Takeda clan at the end of the Sengoku period. Takeda Harunobu succeeded his father Nobutora in 1540 and became lord of Kai Province in present-day Yamanashi Prefecture. In this period the Takeda began to expand from their base in Kai Province. In 1559, Harunobu changed his name to the better-known Takeda Shingen and he faced the Hōjō clan a number of times, and most of his expansion was to the north, where he fought his most famous battles against Uesugi Kenshin. This series of regional skirmishes is known as the Battles of Kawanakajima, the battles began in 1553, and the best known and severest among them was fought on September 10,1561. Shingen is famous for his genius, and innovations, though some historians have argued that his tactics were not particularly impressive nor revolutionary. Nevertheless, Shingen is perhaps most famous for his use of the cavalry charge, up until the mid-16th century and Shingens rise to power, mounted samurai were primarily archers. There was already a trend at this time towards larger infantry-based armies, in order to defeat these missile troops, Shingen transformed his samurai from archers to lancers. Shingen used the cavalry charge to devastating effect at the Battle of Mikatagahara in 1572, the strength of Shingens new tactic became so famous that the Takeda army came to be known as the kiba gundan, or mounted army. Shingen died in on May 131573 at age 53 from illness, after Nagashino, the Takeda clan fell into sharp decline as it had lost many of its most notable samurai during the battle. The campaign saw most of the Takeda followers simply abandoning Katsuyori, the clan was effectively eliminated, although descendants of the Takeda clan would take prominent positions in the Tokugawa shogunate, established in 1603
9.
Provinces of Japan
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Provinces of Japan were administrative divisions before the modern prefecture system was established, when the islands of Japan were divided into tens of kuni, usually known in English as provinces. Each province was divided into gun, the provinces were originally established by Ritsuryō as both administrative units and geographic regions. In the late Muromachi period, however, their function was gradually supplanted by the domains of the sengoku daimyō, under the rule of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the provinces were supplemented as primary local administrative units. The local daimyōs fiefs were developed, in the Edo period, the fiefs became known as han. Imperial provinces and shogunal domains made up complementary systems, for example, when the shogun ordered daimyo to make a census or to make maps, the work was organized in terms of the boundaries of the provincial kuni. At the Meiji Restoration, the han were legitimized as administrative units under Fuhanken Sanchisei, provinces as part of the system of addresses were not abolished but, on the contrary, augmented. As of 1871, the number of prefectures was 304, while the number of provinces was 68, the boundaries between the many prefectures were not only very complicated, but also did not match those of the provinces. Prefectures were gradually merged to reduce the number to 37 by 1881, adding Hokkaidō and Okinawa produced the current total of 47 prefectures. Provinces are classified into Kinai, and seven or eight dō, however, dō in this context should not be confused with modern traffic lines such as Tōkaidō from Tokyo to Kyoto or Kobe. Also, Hokkaidō in this context should not be confused with Hokkaidō Prefecture, to date, no official order has been issued abolishing provinces. Provinces are nonetheless today considered obsolete, although their names are widely used in names of natural features, company names. These province names are considered to be mainly of historical interest and they are also used for the names of items, including family names, most of which were popularized in or after the Edo period. Examples include sanuki udon, iyokan, tosa ken, and awa odori, Japan Rail stations also use them in names to, aside from the historical background, distinguish themselves from similarly named stations in other prefectures. Some of the names are used to indicate distinct parts of the current prefectures along with their cultural and geographical characteristics. In many cases names are also in use with directional characters. The districts are still considered prefectural subdivisions, however in case of being part of a merger or division of old provinces, many of these old provincial districts have been dissolved as their chief towns have merged into larger cities or towns. See individual prefecture pages for mergers and abolitions of districts, code of Taihō List of provinces of ancient Japan Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric and Käthe Roth. ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5, OCLC58053128 Detailed maps of the provinces at different times can be found at, maproom. org samurai archives
