tagged w/ Japanese History
-
The story of the 47 Ronin is one of Japan's most favorite stories which best illustrates the Japanese virtue of loyalty.
The lord of the 47 Ronin was forced to commit suicide for attacking a corrupt government official who had insulted him constantly. His lands were forfeit and his samurai retainers became ronin - unemployed samurai without a master. A group of them plotted revenge and successfully carried out their plans. They were heralded as paragons of samurai virtue. They too were forced to commit suicide but this was preferable to common execution and so they kept their honor intact.
Due to the story's impact on Japanese life and culture, some scholars say "...to know the story of the 47 Ronin is to know Japan."The story of the 47 Ronin is one of Japan's most favorite stories which best... more
-
-
Yabusame is a Japanese Shinto ritual involving mounted archery. Archers ride at a full gallop and shoot at three targets set up at certain intervals. Hitting all three, an archer is considered to be very skillful. The ritual is purpose is to bring prosperity and peace.
The video is a complilation of Yabusame events I have been to over the last two years. There are two different schools of Yabusame - Ogasawara Ryu who perform at Asakusa (here 2007&2008) and Takeda Ryu who perform at Meiji Shrine (2006), Miura (2007), and Kamakura (Spring 2007 & Fall 2008)
The song is called "Gunslinger Man" and it fits with the old tradition of samurai on horseback using bows rather than spears and swords as they did later. The Yabusame costume looks rather cowboy-ish.
The music is by the Exotic Ones:
http://www.myspace.com/exoticones
This also a tribute to the memory of a firend of mine who passed away a few years ago:
Jack Hunter Dave, Jr who wrote and sung the song "Gunslinger Man."
http://my.att.net/p/s/community.dll?ep=87&subpageid=150399&ck=Yabusame is a Japanese Shinto ritual involving mounted archery. Archers ride at a full... more
-
-
Here's a look into a Shinto ritual which uses mounted archery to attain blessings from the gods. Archers ride down a single track and shoot at 3 targets set up on the left at certain intervals. It may look like a sport but it is actually a religious ritual.
The bow once was the chief weapon of the samurai long before the sword. Early samurai referred to their profession as "The Way of the Horse and Bow."Here's a look into a Shinto ritual which uses mounted archery to attain blessings... more
-
-
In the far north of Japan, the city of Sapporo boasts the first beer made in Japan. When Japan opened its borders to the world in the mid to late 19th Century, one of the first imports eagerly embraced was beer. Very soon Japan had it's own brewery up and running and the rest is delicious history. Kampai!In the far north of Japan, the city of Sapporo boasts the first beer made in Japan.... more
-
-
Part II of Kyoto's Jidai Matsuri - Festival of Ages. Get a glimpse of Japan and Kyoto's ancient past.Part II of Kyoto's Jidai Matsuri - Festival of Ages. Get a glimpse of Japan and... more
-
-
Every year on October 22nd, Kyoto celebrates its long history with a historical procession of costumed participants. The parade goes backward in time from 1867 the last year Kyoto was the official capital to 794 when the city became the capital.
Every year on October 22nd, Kyoto celebrates its long history with a historical... more
-
-
Here’s a trilogy of videos on Japanese beer - one on beer vending machines in Kyoto (and Japan), another one on a draft beer vending machine in Tokyo, and a final one on historical beers - beers with labels of famous people in Japanese history with short bios.
This first video is from Youtuber BusanKevin in Kyoto talking about the wonders of outdoor beer vending machines in Kyoto on a hot day.
In response, I did a video on a draft beer vending machine I discovered in a pool hall in Tokyo a few nights ago.
The taste was not too bad but it gave me a huge head of foam which is quite common anyway even with live servers.
Later that same night I came across some “Historalicious” Japanese beer which were beer bottles with labels depicting famous people from Japanese history. Get your drink on while learning some Japanese history with Historalicious Japanese Beer - if you can read the bloody small cursive writing on the label!Here’s a trilogy of videos on Japanese beer - one on beer vending machines in Kyoto... more
-
-
In the northeast region of Japan, in the prefecture of Fukushima, the Soma Nomaoi, an age-old tradition handed down from samurai times, is celebrated to this day with a fanfare of medieval parades, horse racing, and horse chasing.
Nomaoi means “wild horse chasing” and dates back over a thousand years. Warriors in full battle dress would chase wild horses in the areas of Shinto shrines dedicating the best horse to the gods.
The Soma Nomaoi was started by the Soma clan, a small but valiant clan surrounded by powerful enemies. They used the Nomaoi festival as a military exercise in order to keep their fighting skills sharp.
Perhaps another reason they survived the Sengoku (Warring States) Period was their horses. Soma had a reputation for excellent horses in the Tohoku area (northern Japan). Good horses were always in demand by warring clans and it would not have been wise to wipe out the best horse trainers in the area. In 1622, when the country was at peace, Soma’s wild horses began to be painted onto teacups and pottery.
The Soma Nomaoi festivals spans three days: July 23-25. The first two days are held in the small town of Haramachi, two hours by train from Fukushima City. The first day is more like a preview of the second with a short parade and a few horse races.
In the northeast region of Japan, in the prefecture of Fukushima, the Soma Nomaoi, an... more
-
-
In olden days, going to Sado Island generally meant one of two things: exile or gold. Sado Island, the 6th largest island of Japan, was for a long time not the pleasure excursion that is today. During the Heian Period (794-1192), Sado was often the dumping ground of political exiles from the Kyoto capital. The trend continued for nearly a thousand years up until 1700 with a scattering of dissent poets, irate Buddhists monks, and even an unfortunate emperor.
In 1601 gold was discovered and a new breed of exiles was flung upon the island: convicts and homeless. The gold came under the ownership of the Tokugawa Shogunate Government. No gold-digging prospectors or women of low virtues were allowed to clutter up the island. It was strictly controlled for the sake of the Shogunate’s coffers. Hard work and deadly misery not sudden fortune was the fate of these hard-pressed workers.
In more recent times, Sado became infamous for North Korean abductions of Japanese citizens. Lying off the coast of Niigata in Northwestern Japan, it was in convenient reach of North Korea.
Given the island’s rather grim history, it would seem a strange place to hold a music festival celebrating taiko drumming and the earth itself. Yet this is exactly what happens every summer in the normally sleepy town of Ogi in the South-Eastern section of Sado.In olden days, going to Sado Island generally meant one of two things: exile or gold.... more
-
-
This is old, old footage taken before I had a video camera. I shot these scenes with a digital photocamera so they're very low-res.
Anyway, these are some scenes from the first day of the Aoba Festival in Sendai which is several hundred miles north of Tokyo in the Tohoku region.
The festival celebrates the founder of the city - Date Masamune who was a warlord from the 16th-17th Century.
This is old, old footage taken before I had a video camera. I shot these scenes with a... more
-
-
Japan's Imperial System stretches back of two thousand years. According to Japanese mythology, the emperor is descended from Jimmu, a semi-divine being whose grandmother was Amaterasu-Omikami, the Sun Goddess. Jimmu reigned in 600 B.C. However, there is little evidence to support this. Most scholars believe the Imperial system developed from the Yamato culture in central Japan around the 3rd century A.D. with Chinese influences.
The emperor was seen as the divine manifested in the flesh; a representative of the gods on earth. To oppose the emperor was to oppose Japan itself. This made it quite risky for any usurpers not of Imperial blood to try and take the throne.
The history of the Imperial Line is a rocky one filled with political intrigue, murder, war, and betrayal. Emperors had been manipulated by politically-saavy ministers and later by powerful warlords. Emperors had been imprisoned, driven off, exiled, forced to abdicate and used to further the careers and schemes of others.
Today's Imperial Palace is off-limits except on the Emperor's birthday and January 2nd when the Emperor gives a New Year's Address.Japan's Imperial System stretches back of two thousand years. According to Japanese... more
-
-
Get your Zen here with a Zen Buddhist Priest known as a Komuso playing the Shakuhachi while the world drifts by in a hurried haze. The music is actually superimposed as the original music was difficult to pick out of the noise of the city.
Komuso were Zen Buddhist Priests who used to travel about playing the Shakuhachi (Japanese Flute) for meditation and alms. Komuso means "Priest of Nothingness."
I encountered this Komuso while I was in Nagoya. Komuso ceased to exist from the late 19th Century onwards.
The titles are bits of Zen sayings from samurai and Zen Masters. The subtitles tell the tale of the Komuso and their ultimate fate.
Get your Zen here with a Zen Buddhist Priest known as a Komuso playing the Shakuhachi... more
-
-
While in the city of Nagoya, I happened upon a fellow dressed up as Zen Buddhist priest/monk from olden days playing the Shakuhachi - Japanese bamboo flute. I did some digging into the past of this strange apparition to discover where these Komuso, as they were known, had come from and what had happened to them.While in the city of Nagoya, I happened upon a fellow dressed up as Zen Buddhist... more
-
-
I encountered a Japanese belly dancing duo during a taiko drum festival on Sado Island in northwestern Japan. They call themselves by the Hindu name “jud Wa” which means “twins” due to the similarity of their appearance. Their stage names are K and Aco. jud Wa is currently based in Tokyo and perform there regularly.I encountered a Japanese belly dancing duo during a taiko drum festival on Sado Island... more
-
-
Odawara, the once great city of the Kanto region, declined over the centuries. Yet on May 3rd every year, like ghosts summoned from across the void, armor-clad samurai, spear-toting footmen, mounted warriors, and elegant noble ladies appear to reclaim their lost glory. The Hojo Godai festival allows the citizens of Odawara to relive their city’s great past through an impressive historical procession.
Without the rise of the Odawara Hojo clan and their subsequent fall, there would be no Tokyo as it is today.
Odawara, the once great city of the Kanto region, declined over the centuries. Yet on... more
-
-
Odawara is a little over an hour southwest of Tokyo. It's relatively a small town that many speed by on the train. Centuries ago, however, Odawara was an important city and capital of the powerful Hojo clan. Odawara has a rich history whose destiny eventually led to the founding of modern-day Tokyo.Odawara is a little over an hour southwest of Tokyo. It's relatively a small town that... more
-
-
Sakura - Japanese Cherry Blossoms have been a part of Japanese culture for over a thousand years. They're the subject of countless poems from waka to haiku.
This is a photo video montage of shots I've taken over the years in different locations of sakura in Japan. You'll see scenes from Tokyo, Kyoto, Kamakura, Himeji and few places you may not be aware of such as Ofuna and it's giant Kannon statue. I put in a few Japanese poems to go along with the photos.
The geisha are from the Miyako Odori which is an annual geisha pulbic dance performance in Gion.
Sakura - Japanese Cherry Blossoms have been a part of Japanese culture for over a... more
-
-
Here I explain why it is I like Japan and my first year in Japan and why my Japanese sucks.
Basically three main reasons I like Japan:
*History
*Festivals
*Culture
Plus I also like the food, hot sake, and cold Sapporo beer.
When I first came to Japaan, I didn't have the economic security to spend much time getting around or getting into the culture. I slowly came to acquire a love of Japan rather than coming over here head-over-heels with Japan to begin with.
Here I explain why it is I like Japan and my first year in Japan and why my Japanese... more
-
-
From Wikipedia
From 1952 to 2004 there have been 200,000 accidents and crimes committed by the U.S. soldiers, which killed 1,076 Japanese civilians. According to the U.S.-Japan Status of Forces Agreement U.S. personnel have partial extraterritorial right, so in most cases suspects were not arrested. In 1995 the abduction and rape of a 12-year-old Okinawan schoolgirl by three U.S. marines led to demands for the removal of all U.S. military bases in Japan. Other controversial incidents include helicopter crashes, the Girard Incident and the Michael Brown Okinawa assault incident.
In February 2008, a 38-year-old U.S. Marine based on Okinawa was arrested in connection with the reported rape of a 14-year-old Japanese girlFrom Wikipedia
From 1952 to 2004 there have been 200,000 accidents and crimes... more
-
-
This pod is about issues surrounding the numerous U.S. military bases located in the tiny island of Okinawa, Japan.This pod is about issues surrounding the numerous U.S. military bases located in the... more
-
