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Japan: 'Reizei Tamehide'. Hanging scroll painting by Tosa Mitsuyoshi (1539-1613), late 16th century.<br/><br/> The Reizei family is a branch of the clan Fujiwara, with a long poetic tradition. Tosa Mitsuyoshi (1539-1613) was a Japanese painter living during the Azuchi-momoyama period of the early Edo era.
Japan: 'A Foot Soldier of the Fujiwara Epoch'. Chemigraph from series 'Military Costumes in Old Japan' by Kazumasa Ogawa (1860-1929), 1893, Tokyo. Ogawa Kazumasa, also known as Ogawa Kazuma or Ogawa Isshin, was a Japanese photographer, chemigrapher, printer and publisher of the Meiji era. He was a pioneer in photomechanical printing and photography, and was born into the Matsudaira samurai clan, where he studied English and photography at the age of 15.
Japan: 'One of the Bodyguard'. Chemigraph from series 'Military Costumes in Old Japan' by Kazumasa Ogawa (1860-1929), 1893, Tokyo. Ogawa Kazumasa, also known as Ogawa Kazuma or Ogawa Isshin, was a Japanese photographer, chemigrapher, printer and publisher of the Meiji era. He was a pioneer in photomechanical printing and photography, and was born into the Matsudaira samurai clan, where he studied English and photography at the age of 15.
Japan: 'A General of the Fujiwara Epoch'. Chemigraph from series 'Military Costumes in Old Japan' by Kazumasa Ogawa (1860-1929), 1893, Tokyo. Ogawa Kazumasa, also known as Ogawa Kazuma or Ogawa Isshin, was a Japanese photographer, chemigrapher, printer and publisher of the Meiji era. He was a pioneer in photomechanical printing and photography, and was born into the Matsudaira samurai clan, where he studied English and photography at the age of 15.
Yashima Gakutei was a Japanese artist and poet who was a pupil of both Totoya Hokkei and Hokusai. Gakutei is best known for his kyoka poetry and surimono woodblock works.
In 833, Emperor Nimmyo named Tsunetsugu the Imperial ambassador to China. He was the last envoy from Japan to China during the Heian period.<br/><br/> The diplomatic mission left Kyushu in 838; Tsunetsugu returned to Japan in 839. The mission party included the Buddhist monk Ennin.
Yashima Gakutei was a Japanese artist and poet who was a pupil of both Totoya Hokkei and Hokusai. Gakutei is best known for his <i>kyoka</i> poetry and <i>surimono</i> woodblock works.
Minamoto no Yoritomo (May 9, 1147 – February 9, 1199) was the founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura Shogunate of Japan. He ruled from 1192 until 1199.
Fujiwara no Umakai was a diplomat during the reign of Empress Genshoand and a minister during the reign of Emperor Shomu. In the Imperial court, Umakai was the chief of protocol (Shikibu-kyo).<br/><br/> In 716, together with Tajihi no Agatamori, Abe no Yasumaro and Otomo no Yamamori, Umakai participated in a Japanese diplomatic mission to Tang China in 717-718. Kibi no Makibi and the Buddhist monk Genbo were also part of the entourage.
In 750, Kiyokawa was appointed envoy to Tang China, with Otomo no Komaro and Kibi no Makibi as vice-envoys. Before his departure, the Emperor gave him a symbolic sword as a sign of his command.<br/><br/> Upon arriving in Tang China, the envoy entered Chang'an and had an audience with Emperor Xuanzong. Because of the exigencies of the time, he remained in China until his death in 778.
Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (30 April 1839 – 9 June 1892) was a Japanese artist and Ukiyo-e woodblock print master.<br/><br/> He is widely recognized as the last great master of Ukiyo-e, a type of Japanese woodblock printing. He is additionally regarded as one of the form's greatest innovators. His career spanned two eras – the last years of Edo period Japan, and the first years of modern Japan following the Meiji Restoration. Like many Japanese, Yoshitoshi was interested in new things from the rest of the world, but over time he became increasingly concerned with the loss of many aspects of traditional Japanese culture, among them traditional woodblock printing.<br/><br/> By the end of his career, Yoshitoshi was in an almost single-handed struggle against time and technology. As he worked on in the old manner, Japan was adopting Western mass reproduction methods like photography and lithography. Nonetheless, in a Japan that was turning away from its own past, he almost singlehandedly managed to push the traditional Japanese woodblock print to a new level, before it effectively died with him.
Empress Jitō (持統天皇 Jitō-tennō, 645 – 13 January 703) was the 41st monarch of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Jitō's reign spanned the years from 686 through 697.<br/><br/> In the history of Japan, Jitō was the third of eight women to take on the role of empress regnant. The two female monarchs before Jitō were (1) Suiko and (2) Kōgyoku/Saimei. The five women sovereigns reigning after Jitō were (3) Gemmei, (4) Genshō, (5) Kōken/Shōtoku, (6) Meishō, and (7) Go-Sakuramachi.<br/><br/> Jitō took responsibility for court administration after the death of her husband, Emperor Temmu, who was also her uncle. She acceded to the throne in 687 in order to ensure the eventual succession of her son, Kusakabe-shinnō. Throughout this period, Empress Jitō ruled from the Fujiwara Palace in Yamato.<br/><br/> Prince Kusabake was named as crown prince to succeed Jitō, but he died at a young age. Kusabake's son, Karu-no-o, was then named as Jitō's successor. He eventually would become known as Emperor Mommu.<br/><br/> In 697, Jitō abdicated in Mommu's favor; and as a retired sovereign, she took the post-reign title daijō-tennō. After this, her imperial successors who retired took the same title after abdication. The actual site of Jitō's grave is known. This empress is traditionally venerated at a memorial Shinto shrine (misasagi) at Nara. The Imperial Household Agency designates this location as Jitō's mausoleum. It is formally named Ochi-no-Okanoe no misasagi.
Samurai is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. By the end of the 12th century, samurai became almost entirely synonymous with bushi, and the word was closely associated with the middle and upper echelons of the warrior class.<br/><br/> The samurai followed a set of rules that came to be known as Bushidō. While they numbered less than ten percent of Japan's population, samurai teachings can still be found today in both everyday life and in martial arts such as Kendō, meaning the way of the sword.
Fujiwara no Hidesato (藤原 秀郷?) was a <i>kuge</i> (court bureaucrat) of tenth century Heian Japan. He is famous for his military exploits and courage, and is regarded as the common ancestor of the Ōshū branch of the Fujiwara clan, the Yūki, Oyama, and Shimokōbe families.<br/><br/> Hidesato served under Emperor Suzaku, and fought alongside Taira no Sadamori in 940 in suppressing the revolt of Taira no Masakado. His prayer for victory before this battle is commemorated in the Kachiya Festival. Hidesato was then appointed Chinjufu-shogun (Defender of the North) and Governor of Shimotsuke Province.<br/><br/> Emperor Suzaku (朱雀天皇 Suzaku-tennō, July 24, 922 – October 7, 952) was the 61st emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Suzaku's reign spanned the years from 930 through 946.<br/><br/> Before his ascension of the Chrysanthemum Throne, his personal name was Hiroakira-shinnō. He was also known as Yutaakira-shinnō (寛明親王). Hiroakira-shinnō was the 11th son of Emperor Daigo and Empress Consort Onshi, a daughter of the regent and Great Minister of the Council of State, Fujiwara no Mototsune. Daigo had two Empresses or consorts and one Imperial daughter.
Hōnen (法然, May 13, 1133 - February 29, 1212) was the religious reformer and founder of the first independent branch of Japanese Pure Land Buddhism called Jōdo shū (浄土宗, 'The Pure Land School'). In the related Jōdo Shinshū sect, he is considered the Seventh Patriarch. Hōnen became a monk of the Tendai sect at an early age, but grew disaffected, and sought an approach to Buddhism that anyone could follow, even during the perceived Age of Dharma Decline. After discovering the writings of Chinese Buddhist, Shan-tao, he undertook the teaching of rebirth in the Pure Land of Amitabha through reciting the Buddha's name, or nembutsu.<br/><br/> Hōnen gathered a wide array of followers, but also critics. The emperor exiled Hōnen and his followers in 1207, after an incident regarding two of his disciples, in addition to persuasion by certain influential Buddhist communities. Hōnen was eventually pardoned and allowed to return to Kyoto where he stayed for a short time before his death.
Fujiwara no Hidesato (藤原 秀郷?) was a <i>kuge</i> (court bureaucrat) of tenth century Heian Japan. He is famous for his military exploits and courage, and is regarded as the common ancestor of the Ōshū branch of the Fujiwara clan, the Yūki, Oyama, and Shimokōbe families.<br/><br/> Hidesato served under Emperor Suzaku, and fought alongside Taira no Sadamori in 940 in suppressing the revolt of Taira no Masakado. His prayer for victory before this battle is commemorated in the Kachiya Festival. Hidesato was then appointed Chinjufu-shogun (Defender of the North) and Governor of Shimotsuke Province.<br/><br/> Emperor Suzaku (朱雀天皇 Suzaku-tennō, July 24, 922 – October 7, 952) was the 61st emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Suzaku's reign spanned the years from 930 through 946.<br/><br/> Before his ascension of the Chrysanthemum Throne, his personal name was Hiroakira-shinnō. He was also known as Yutaakira-shinnō (寛明親王). Hiroakira-shinnō was the 11th son of Emperor Daigo and Empress Consort Onshi, a daughter of the regent and Great Minister of the Council of State, Fujiwara no Mototsune. Daigo had two Empresses or consorts and one Imperial daughter.
Samurai is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. By the end of the 12th century, samurai became almost entirely synonymous with bushi, and the word was closely associated with the middle and upper echelons of the warrior class.<br/><br/> The samurai followed a set of rules that came to be known as Bushidō. While they numbered less than ten percent of Japan's population, samurai teachings can still be found today in both everyday life and in martial arts such as Kendō, meaning the way of the sword.
'My Lord Bag of Rice' or in Japanese Tawara Tōda (俵藤太 'Rice-bag Tōda') is a fairy tale about a hero who kills the giant centipede Seta to help a Japanese dragon princess, and is rewarded in her underwater Ryūgū-jō 龍宮城 'dragon palace castle'.<br/><br/> The 1711 Honchō kwaidan koji 本朝怪談故事 contains the best-known version of this Japanese myth about the warrior Fujiwara no Hidesato. There is a Shinto shrine near the Seta Bridge at Lake Biwa where people worship Tawara Tōda.<br/><br/> Fujiwara no Hidesato (藤原 秀郷?) or Tawara Toda was a <i>kuge</i> (court bureaucrat) of tenth century Heian Japan. He is famous for his military exploits and courage, and is regarded as the common ancestor of the Ōshū branch of the Fujiwara clan, the Yūki, Oyama, and Shimokōbe families.<br/><br/> Hidesato served under Emperor Suzaku, and fought alongside Taira no Sadamori in 940 in suppressing the revolt of Taira no Masakado. His prayer for victory before this battle is commemorated in the Kachiya Festival. Hidesato was then appointed Chinjufu-shogun (Defender of the North) and Governor of Shimotsuke Province.<br/><br/>
Empress Jitō (持統天皇 Jitō-tennō, 645 – 13 January 703) was the 41st monarch of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Jitō's reign spanned the years from 686 through 697.<br/><br/> In the history of Japan, Jitō was the third of eight women to take on the role of empress regnant. The two female monarchs before Jitō were (1) Suiko and (2) Kōgyoku/Saimei. The five women sovereigns reigning after Jitō were (3) Gemmei, (4) Genshō, (5) Kōken/Shōtoku, (6) Meishō, and (7) Go-Sakuramachi.<br/><br/> Jitō took responsibility for court administration after the death of her husband, Emperor Temmu, who was also her uncle. She acceded to the throne in 687 in order to ensure the eventual succession of her son, Kusakabe-shinnō. Throughout this period, Empress Jitō ruled from the Fujiwara Palace in Yamato.<br/><br/> Prince Kusabake was named as crown prince to succeed Jitō, but he died at a young age. Kusabake's son, Karu-no-o, was then named as Jitō's successor. He eventually would become known as Emperor Mommu.<br/><br/> In 697, Jitō abdicated in Mommu's favor; and as a retired sovereign, she took the post-reign title daijō-tennō. After this, her imperial successors who retired took the same title after abdication. The actual site of Jitō's grave is known. This empress is traditionally venerated at a memorial Shinto shrine (misasagi) at Nara. The Imperial Household Agency designates this location as Jitō's mausoleum. It is formally named Ochi-no-Okanoe no misasagi.
Empress Jitō (持統天皇 Jitō-tennō, 645 – 13 January 703) was the 41st monarch of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Jitō's reign spanned the years from 686 through 697.<br/><br/> In the history of Japan, Jitō was the third of eight women to take on the role of empress regnant. The two female monarchs before Jitō were (1) Suiko and (2) Kōgyoku/Saimei. The five women sovereigns reigning after Jitō were (3) Gemmei, (4) Genshō, (5) Kōken/Shōtoku, (6) Meishō, and (7) Go-Sakuramachi.<br/><br/> Jitō took responsibility for court administration after the death of her husband, Emperor Temmu, who was also her uncle. She acceded to the throne in 687 in order to ensure the eventual succession of her son, Kusakabe-shinnō. Throughout this period, Empress Jitō ruled from the Fujiwara Palace in Yamato.<br/><br/> Prince Kusabake was named as crown prince to succeed Jitō, but he died at a young age. Kusabake's son, Karu-no-o, was then named as Jitō's successor. He eventually would become known as Emperor Mommu.<br/><br/> In 697, Jitō abdicated in Mommu's favor; and as a retired sovereign, she took the post-reign title daijō-tennō. After this, her imperial successors who retired took the same title after abdication. The actual site of Jitō's grave is known. This empress is traditionally venerated at a memorial Shinto shrine (misasagi) at Nara. The Imperial Household Agency designates this location as Jitō's mausoleum. It is formally named Ochi-no-Okanoe no misasagi.
Empress Jitō (持統天皇 Jitō-tennō, 645 – 13 January 703) was the 41st monarch of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Jitō's reign spanned the years from 686 through 697.<br/><br/> In the history of Japan, Jitō was the third of eight women to take on the role of empress regnant. The two female monarchs before Jitō were (1) Suiko and (2) Kōgyoku/Saimei. The five women sovereigns reigning after Jitō were (3) Gemmei, (4) Genshō, (5) Kōken/Shōtoku, (6) Meishō, and (7) Go-Sakuramachi.<br/><br/> Jitō took responsibility for court administration after the death of her husband, Emperor Temmu, who was also her uncle. She acceded to the throne in 687 in order to ensure the eventual succession of her son, Kusakabe-shinnō. Throughout this period, Empress Jitō ruled from the Fujiwara Palace in Yamato.<br/><br/> Prince Kusabake was named as crown prince to succeed Jitō, but he died at a young age. Kusabake's son, Karu-no-o, was then named as Jitō's successor. He eventually would become known as Emperor Mommu.<br/><br/> In 697, Jitō abdicated in Mommu's favor; and as a retired sovereign, she took the post-reign title daijō-tennō. After this, her imperial successors who retired took the same title after abdication. The actual site of Jitō's grave is known. This empress is traditionally venerated at a memorial Shinto shrine (misasagi) at Nara. The Imperial Household Agency designates this location as Jitō's mausoleum. It is formally named Ochi-no-Okanoe no misasagi.
Empress Jitō (持統天皇 Jitō-tennō, 645 – 13 January 703) was the 41st monarch of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Jitō's reign spanned the years from 686 through 697.<br/><br/> In the history of Japan, Jitō was the third of eight women to take on the role of empress regnant. The two female monarchs before Jitō were (1) Suiko and (2) Kōgyoku/Saimei. The five women sovereigns reigning after Jitō were (3) Gemmei, (4) Genshō, (5) Kōken/Shōtoku, (6) Meishō, and (7) Go-Sakuramachi.<br/><br/> Jitō took responsibility for court administration after the death of her husband, Emperor Temmu, who was also her uncle. She acceded to the throne in 687 in order to ensure the eventual succession of her son, Kusakabe-shinnō. Throughout this period, Empress Jitō ruled from the Fujiwara Palace in Yamato.<br/><br/> Prince Kusabake was named as crown prince to succeed Jitō, but he died at a young age. Kusabake's son, Karu-no-o, was then named as Jitō's successor. He eventually would become known as Emperor Mommu.<br/><br/> In 697, Jitō abdicated in Mommu's favor; and as a retired sovereign, she took the post-reign title daijō-tennō. After this, her imperial successors who retired took the same title after abdication. The actual site of Jitō's grave is known. This empress is traditionally venerated at a memorial Shinto shrine (misasagi) at Nara. The Imperial Household Agency designates this location as Jitō's mausoleum. It is formally named Ochi-no-Okanoe no misasagi.
Emperor Seiwa (清和天皇 Seiwa-tennō, 850–878) was the 56th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Seiwa's reign spanned the years from 858 through 876.<br/><br/> Shuncho Katsukawa was born in Edo and was a pupil of Shunsho Katsukawa. Shuncho is famous for his prints of actors and bijin, beautiful women. After 1795 Shuncho Katsukawa gave up printmaking and became a writer of novels. This woodblock print of Fujiwara Sadayori is from his series: 'One Hundred Poems by One Hundred Poets'.
Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839 – June 9, 1892), also named Taiso Yoshitoshi, was a Japanese artist. He is widely recognized as the last great master of Ukiyo-e, a type of Japanese woodblock printing. He is additionally regarded as one of the form's greatest innovators. His career spanned two eras – the last years of feudal Japan, and the first years of modern Japan following the Meiji Restoration. Like many Japanese, Yoshitoshi was interested in new things from the rest of the world, but over time he became increasingly concerned with the loss of many outstanding aspects of traditional Japanese culture, among them traditional woodblock printing.