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Shigeru Aoki (1882-1911) was a Japanese painter famed for his combining of Japanese mythology and legends with the Western-style art movement that could be found in some late 19th and early 20th century Japanese paintings.<br/><br/>

Aoki was born into an ex-samurai household in northern Kyushu. He left his home in 1899 to pursue artistic studies in Tokyo, and soon began to accumulate critical acclaim for his artwork and its use of Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood techniques mixed with Kojiki themes. He died in March 1911 from tuberculosis, aged only 28.
Born in Uwajima in 1888, Kasho Tatabatake studied in Kyoto before finding work in Tokyo. During the Taisho Period from 1912 to 1926 and the subsequent Showa Period, he became Japan’s preeminent illustrator. Heavily influenced by Aubrey Beardsley, Kasho’s works have a superficially European look. Both male and female subjects are androgynous and idealized.<br/><br/>

Photos of the artist himself are reminiscent of Oscar Wilde for his langour and dandyism.
Varanasi, also commonly known as Banaras or Benares, is a city situated on the banks of the River Ganges in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, 320 kilometres (199 mi) southeast of state capital Lucknow. It is regarded as a holy city by Hindus, Buddhists and Jains. It is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world and the oldest in India.<br/><br/>

The Kashi Naresh (Maharaja of Kashi) is the chief cultural patron of Varanasi and an essential part of all religious celebrations. The culture of Varanasi is closely associated with the River Ganges and the river's religious importance. The city has been a cultural and religious centre in North India for several thousand years. The Benares Gharana form of the Indian classical music developed in Varanasi, and many prominent Indian philosophers, poets, writers, and musicians resided or reside in Varanasi. Gautama Buddha gave his first sermon at Sarnath located near Varanasi (Kashi).<br/><br/>

Varanasi is variously referred to as 'the city of temples', 'the city of lights' and 'the city of learning'.
The golden stupa of the Shwedagon Pagoda rises almost 100 m (330ft) above its setting on Singuttara Hill and is plated with 8,688 solid-gold slabs. This central stupa is surrounded by more than 100 other buildings, including smaller stupas and pavilions.<br/><br/>

The pagoda was already well established when Bagan dominated Burma in the 11th century. Queen Shinsawbu, who ruled in the 15th century, is believed to have given the pagoda its present shape. She also built the terraces and walls around the stupa.<br/><br/>

The giant stupa has a circumference at platform level of 433 m (1,420ft), with its octagonal base ringed by 64 smaller stupas.
The golden stupa of the Shwedagon Pagoda rises almost 100 m (330ft) above its setting on Singuttara Hill and is plated with 8,688 solid-gold slabs. This central stupa is surrounded by more than 100 other buildings, including smaller stupas and pavilions.<br/><br/>

The pagoda was already well established when Bagan dominated Burma in the 11th century. Queen Shinsawbu, who ruled in the 15th century, is believed to have given the pagoda its present shape. She also built the terraces and walls around the stupa.<br/><br/>

The giant stupa has a circumference at platform level of 433 m (1,420ft), with its octagonal base ringed by 64 smaller stupas.
The Western Ghats are a mountain range along the western side of India. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is one of the most biologically diverse areas in the world. It is sometimes called the Great Escarpment of India. The range runs north to south along the western edge of the Deccan Plateau, and separates the plateau from a narrow coastal plain, called Konkan, along the Arabian Sea.
The Western Ghats are a mountain range along the western side of India. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is one of the most biologically diverse areas in the world. It is sometimes called the Great Escarpment of India. The range runs north to south along the western edge of the Deccan Plateau, and separates the plateau from a narrow coastal plain, called Konkan, along the Arabian Sea.
The ruins of Bagan (also spelled Pagan) cover an area of 16 square miles (41 km2). The majority of its buildings were built between the 11th and 13th centuries, during the time Bagan was the capital of the First Burmese Empire. However, it was not until King Pyinbya moved the capital to Bagan in 874 CE that it became a major city.<br/><br/>

In Burmese tradition, the capital shifted with each reign, and thus Bagan was once again abandoned until the reign of King Anawrahta who, in 1057, conquered the Mon capital of Thaton, and brought back the Tripitaka Pali scriptures, Buddhist monks and craftsmen to help transform Bagan into a religious and cultural centre. With the help of a monk from Lower Burma, Anawrahta made Theravada Buddhism the state religion.
The British conquest of Burma began in 1824 in response to a Burmese attempt to invade India. By 1886, and after two further wars, Britain had incorporated the entire country into the British Raj. To stimulate trade and facilitate changes, the British brought in Indians and Chinese, who quickly displaced the Burmese in urban areas. To this day Rangoon and Mandalay have large ethnic Indian populations. Railways and schools were built, as well as a large number of prisons, including the infamous Insein Prison, then as now used for political prisoners.<br/><br/>

Burmese resentment was strong and was vented in violent riots that paralysed Rangoon on occasion all the way until the 1930s. Burma was administered as a province of British India until 1937 when it became a separate, self-governing colony. Burma finally gained independence from Britain on January 4, 1948.