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Yamato Takeru (c. 72-113), originally known as Prince Osu, was a legendary and mythical figure in Japan. He was a prince of the Yamato Dynasty, son of 12th emperor of Japan, Emperor Keiko. The life and death of Yamato are primarily chronicled in the tales 'Kojiki' (712 CE) and 'Nihon Shoki' (720 CE).<br/><br/> For slaying his elder brother, Osu was sent to fight in Izumo Province by his father, who feared his brutal temperament. Instead of being killed however, Osu succeeded in defeating his enemies and was gifted the title 'Yamato Takeru' (The Brave of Yamato). His father was not convinced, still fearing him and wishing his death.<br/><br/> Next, Yamato was sent eastwards to deal with those who had disobeyed the imperial court, armed with the holy sword 'Kusanagi'. During a great storm, his wife sacrificed herself to appease the sea god, and in his anger he defeated many enemies. However, his blaspheming of a local god of Mount Ibuki led to him being cursed and dying. His soul turned into a great white bird and flew away, his tomb located in Ise Province, known as the Mausoleum of the White Plover.
Yamato Takeru (c. 72-113), originally known as Prince Osu, was a legendary and mythical figure in Japan. He was a prince of the Yamato Dynasty, son of 12th emperor of Japan, Emperor Keiko. The life and death of Yamato are primarily chronicled in the tales 'Kojiki' (712 CE) and 'Nihon Shoki' (720 CE).<br/><br/> For slaying his elder brother, Osu was sent to fight in Izumo Province by his father, who feared his brutal temperament. Instead of being killed however, Osu succeeded in defeating his enemies and was gifted the title 'Yamato Takeru' (The Brave of Yamato). His father was not convinced, still fearing him and wishing his death.<br/><br/> Next, Yamato was sent eastwards to deal with those who had disobeyed the imperial court, armed with the holy sword 'Kusanagi'. During a great storm, his wife sacrificed herself to appease the sea god, and in his anger he defeated many enemies. However, his blaspheming of a local god of Mount Ibuki led to him being cursed and dying. His soul turned into a great white bird and flew away. His tomb is located in Ise Province, and is known as the Mausoleum of the White Plover.
Yamato Takeru (c. 72-113), originally known as Prince Osu, was a legendary and mythical figure in Japan. He was a prince of the Yamato Dynasty, son of 12th emperor of Japan, Emperor Keiko. The life and death of Yamato are primarily chronicled in the tales 'Kojiki' (712 CE) and 'Nihon Shoki' (720 CE).<br/><br/> For slaying his elder brother, Osu was sent to fight in Izumo Province by his father, who feared his brutal temperament. Instead of being killed however, Osu succeeded in defeating his enemies and was gifted the title 'Yamato Takeru' (The Brave of Yamato). His father was not convinced, still fearing him and wishing his death.<br/><br/> Next, Yamato was sent eastwards to deal with those who had disobeyed the imperial court, armed with the holy sword 'Kusanagi'. During a great storm, his wife sacrificed herself to appease the sea god, and in his anger he defeated many enemies. However, his blaspheming of a local god of Mount Ibuki led to him being cursed and dying. His soul turned into a great white bird and flew away. His tomb is located in Ise Province, and is known as the Mausoleum of the White Plover.
Toyohara Chikanobu (1838-1912), often known by his contemporaries as Yoshu Chikanobu, was a prolific woodblock artist active during the Meiji Era of Japan. He served as a soldier for the Tokugawa loyalists at first, but following the Shogitai's surrender, he was remanded to the Takada domain, and in 1875, he decided to become an artist.<br/><br/> He soon become renowned as a highly skilled <i>ukiyo-e</i> artist, with his works ranging from Japanese mythology to depictions of the battlefields from the wars of his time to women's fashions and <i>shunga</i> (erotic art). He produced a great many war prints in triptych format, documenting the Satsuma Rebellion, the First Sino-Japanese War and the First Russo-Japanese War, among other conflicts and events.
Shiragi Saburo, born as Minamoto no Yoshimitsu, was a samurai from the Minamoto clan who lived during the Heian Period. He was brother of the famed Minamoto no Yoshiie. Yoshimitsu is renowned for founding the martial art, <i>Daito-ryu aiki-jujutsu</i> (jujutsu).<br/><br/> It is said that Yoshimitsu studied where to strike vital points and joint lock techinques by dissecting the corpses of men killed in battle. He served during the Later Three-Year War (1083-1087), and was made lord of Kai Province for his service.
Yamato Takeru (c. 72-113), originally known as Prince Osu, was a legendary and mythical figure in Japan. He was a prince of the Yamato Dynasty, son of 12th emperor of Japan, Emperor Keiko. The life and death of Yamato are primarily chronicled in the tales 'Kojiki' (712 CE) and 'Nihon Shoki' (720 CE).<br/><br/> For slaying his elder brother, Osu was sent to fight in Izumo Province by his father, who feared his brutal temperament. Instead of being killed however, Osu succeeded in defeating his enemies and was gifted the title 'Yamato Takeru' (The Brave of Yamato). His father was not convinced, still fearing him and wishing his death.<br/><br/> Next, Yamato was sent eastwards to deal with those who had disobeyed the imperial court, armed with the holy sword 'Kusanagi'. During a great storm, his wife sacrificed herself to appease the sea god, and in his anger he defeated many enemies. However, his blaspheming of a local god of Mount Ibuki led to him being cursed and dying. His soul turned into a great white bird and flew away. His tomb is located in Ise Province, and is known as the Mausoleum of the White Plover.
Hiroshige's One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (名所江戸百景), actually composed of 118 woodblock landscape and genre scenes of mid-19th century Tokyo, is one of the greatest achievements of Japanese art. The series includes many of Hiroshige's most famous prints. It represents a celebration of the style and world of Japan's finest cultural flowering at the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate.<br/><br/> The winter group, numbers 99 through 118, begins with a scene of Kinryūzan Temple at Akasaka, with a red-on-white color scheme that is reserved for propitious occasions. Snow immediately signals the season and is depicted with particular skill: individual snowflakes drift through the gray sky, while below, on the roof of a distant temple, dots of snow are embossed for visual effect.<br/><br/> Utagawa Hiroshige (歌川 広重, 1797 – October 12, 1858) was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist, and one of the last great artists in that tradition. He was also referred to as Andō Hiroshige (安藤 広重) (an irregular combination of family name and art name) and by the art name of Ichiyūsai Hiroshige (一幽斎廣重).
Published by Bellin and Schley for Prevost's' Histoire Generale des Voyages', this map is cartographically based on a 1702 map of the same issued by Scheuchzer and Kaempfer, which itself is most likely based on Japanese maps.<br/><br/>Centered on Edo Castle, this map depicts the whole of Edo as it existed, with numerous streets shown but not named. Edo Castle itself is fancifully depicted as a French style formal garden. Possibly due to the cartographers inability to translate Japanese, the only three named locations on the map are Edo Castle, Japan Bridge, and the Faubourg de Sinagawa.<br/><br/>From the establishment of the Tokugawa bakufu's headquarters at Edo, although Kyoto remained the formal capital of the country, the de facto capital was now Edo; it was the center of political power. Edo grew from what had been a small, little-known fishing village in 1457 to a metropolis with an estimated population of 1,000,000 by 1721, the largest city in the world at the time.<br/><br/>The city was laid out as a castle town around Edo Castle. The Sumida River (then called the Great River, 大川), ran along the eastern edge of the city. The 'Japan Bridge' (日本橋, Nihon-bashi) marked the center of the city's commercial center.
An unusual and early map of Japan encircled by a dragon indicating eatrthquake-prone regions.<br/><br/> Compare the similar but later 'dragon map' of Jishin Noben, also encircled by a dragon and indicating earthquake and tsunami zones, dating from 1855 (CPA0020806 ).
Prince Shōtoku (Shōtoku Taishi, 574–622), also known as Prince Umayado, was a regent and a politician of the Asuka period in Japan. He was a member of the ruling Soga clan. Shōtoku was appointed as regent (Sesshō) in 593 by Empress Suiko.<br/><br/> Shōtoku, inspired by Buddha's teachings, succeeded in establishing a centralized government during his reign. In 603, he established the 12 official ranks at court. He is credited with promulgating a Seventeen-article constitution. The Prince was an ardent Buddhist and composed commentaries on the Lotus Sutra, the Vimalakirti Sutra, and the Sutra of Queen Srimala. He commissioned the Shitennō-ji Temple in Settsu province (present-day Osaka). Shōtoku's name has been linked with Hōryū-ji, a temple in Yamato province. Documentation at Hōryū-ji claims that Suiko and Shōtoku founded the temple in the year 607. Archaeological excavations in 1939 have confirmed that Prince Shōtoku's palace, the Ikaruga-no-miya, stood in the eastern part of the current temple complex, where the Tō-in sits today.<br/><br/> China's Sui Emperor, Yangdi, dispatched a message in 605 that stated: 'The sovereign of Sui respectfully inquires about the sovereign of Wa'. Shōtoku responded by sponsoring a mission led by Ono no Imoko in 607. The Prince's own message contains the earliest written instance in which the Japanese archipelago is named 'Nihon', literally, sun-origin (country). The salutation stated: 'From the sovereign of the land of the rising sun (nihon/hi izuru) to the sovereign of the land of the setting sun'. He is said to be buried at Shinaga, in the former Kawachi province (today Osaka prefecture).<br/><br/> Wooden statue in Musee Guimet, Paris, picture by PHGCOM.
Prince Shōtoku (Shōtoku Taishi, 574–622), also known as Prince Umayado, was a regent and a politician of the Asuka period in Japan. He was a member of the ruling Soga clan. Shōtoku was appointed as regent (Sesshō) in 593 by Empress Suiko.<br/><br/> Shōtoku, inspired by Buddha's teachings, succeeded in establishing a centralized government during his reign. In 603, he established the 12 official ranks at court. He is credited with promulgating a Seventeen-article constitution. The Prince was an ardent Buddhist and composed commentaries on the Lotus Sutra, the Vimalakirti Sutra, and the Sutra of Queen Srimala. He commissioned the Shitennō-ji Temple in Settsu province (present-day Osaka). Shōtoku's name has been linked with Hōryū-ji, a temple in Yamato province. Documentation at Hōryū-ji claims that Suiko and Shōtoku founded the temple in the year 607. Archaeological excavations in 1939 have confirmed that Prince Shōtoku's palace, the Ikaruga-no-miya, stood in the eastern part of the current temple complex, where the Tō-in sits today.<br/><br/> China's Sui Emperor, Yangdi, dispatched a message in 605 that stated: 'The sovereign of Sui respectfully inquires about the sovereign of Wa'. Shōtoku responded by sponsoring a mission led by Ono no Imoko in 607. The Prince's own message contains the earliest written instance in which the Japanese archipelago is named 'Nihon', literally, sun-origin (country). The salutation stated: 'From the sovereign of the land of the rising sun (nihon/hi izuru) to the sovereign of the land of the setting sun'. He is said to be buried at Shinaga, in the former Kawachi province (today Osaka prefecture).