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Moto Hachiman
is a small but very old and historically important Shinto shrine in Kamakura, Kanagawa Pref., Japan. History Although officially called , this tiny shrine in Zaimokuza is universally known as ''Moto Hachiman'' ("original Hachiman", a nickname which appears even on road signs), and in front of its ''torii'' stands a stele with the words . This unattended shrine consists of just a ''torii'', two stone lanterns (''tōrō''), and a '' honden'' or sanctuary, where the ''kami'' Hachiman is enshrined. It is however illustrious because it is the original location of the great Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū, symbol of Kamakura. The sign that stands in front of the shrine says: About the origin of the name Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū, the Azuma Kagami says that: "Minamoto no Yoriyoshi, after his victorious campaign against Abe no Sadatō, in August 1063 erected this temple and transferred in it part of Kyoto's Iwashimizu Hachiman-gū's ''kami''. In February 1081 the shrine was repaired by M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shinto
Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintoists'', although adherents rarely use that term themselves. There is no central authority in control of Shinto, with much diversity of belief and practice evident among practitioners. A polytheistic and animistic religion, Shinto revolves around supernatural entities called the . The are believed to inhabit all things, including forces of nature and prominent landscape locations. The are worshiped at household shrines, family shrines, and ''jinja'' public shrines. The latter are staffed by priests, known as , who oversee offerings of food and drink to the specific enshrined at that location. This is done to cultivate harmony between humans and and to solicit the latter's blessing. Other common rituals include the dances, rites of pass ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hachiman
In Japanese religion, ''Yahata'' (八幡神, ancient Shinto pronunciation) formerly in Shinto and later commonly known as Hachiman (八幡神, Japanese Buddhist pronunciation) is the syncretic divinity of archery and war, incorporating elements from both Shinto and Buddhism. In Shinto religion, he is mortally Emperor Ōjin (応神天皇, ''Ōjin Tennō'') by birth who reigned in the 3rd–4th century and the son of Empress Jingū (神功皇后, ''Jingū-kōgō''), later became deified and identified by legend as "''Yahata-no-kami''" meaning "Kami of Eight Banners", referring to the eight heavenly banners that signaled the birth of the divine and deified emperor, and is also called ''Hondawake'' (誉田別命). His messenger is the dove, symbolizes both the bow and arrow found in samurai banners associated to him where he is called "''Yumiya Hachiman''" (弓矢八幡). Since ancient times Hachiman has been worshiped by farmers as the god of agriculture and by fishermen, who hop ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Minamoto No Yoritomo
was the founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura shogunate of Japan, ruling from 1192 until 1199.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Minamoto no Yoriie" in . He was the husband of Hōjō Masako who acted as regent (''shikken'') after his death. Yoritomo was the son of Minamoto no Yoshitomo and belonged to Seiwa Genji's prestigious Kawachi Genji family. After setting himself the rightful heir of the Minamoto clan, he led his clan against the Taira clan from his capital in Kamakura, beginning the Genpei War in 1180. After five years of war, he finally defeated the Taira clan in the Battle of Dan-no-ura in 1185. Yoritomo thus established the supremacy of the warrior samurai caste and the first shogunate ('' bakufu'') at Kamakura, beginning the feudal age in Japan, which lasted until the mid-19th century. Early life Yoritomo was the third son of Minamoto no Yoshitomo, heir of the Minamoto (Seiwa Genji) clan, and his official wife, Yura-Gozen, daughter of Fujiwara no Su ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lunar Calendar
A lunar calendar is a calendar based on the monthly cycles of the Moon's phases ( synodic months, lunations), in contrast to solar calendars, whose annual cycles are based only directly on the solar year. The most commonly used calendar, the Gregorian calendar, is a solar calendar system that originally evolved out of a lunar calendar system. A purely lunar calendar is also distinguished from a lunisolar calendar, whose lunar months are brought into alignment with the solar year through some process of intercalation. The details of when months begin vary from calendar to calendar, with some using new, full, or crescent moons and others employing detailed calculations. Since each lunation is approximately days, (which gives a mean synodic month as 29.53059 days or 29 days 12 hours 44 minutes and 3 seconds) it is common for the months of a lunar calendar to alternate between 29 and 30 days. Since the period of 12 such lunations, a lunar year, is 354 days, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Minamoto No Yoshiie
Minamoto No Yoshiie (源 義家; 1039 – 4 August 1106), also known as Hachimantarō, was a Minamoto clan samurai of the late Heian period, and '' Chinjufu-shōgun'' (Commander-in-chief of the defense of the North). The first son of Minamoto no Yoriyoshi, he proved himself in battle with the Abe clan in the Zenkunen War (Early Nine Years' War) and the Kiyohara clan in the Gosannen War (Later Three Years' War). Subsequently, he became something of a paragon of samurai skill and bravery. The Zenkunen War In 1050, Abe no Yoritoki wave the post of ''Chinjufu-shōgun'', as the Abe clan had for many generations. Effectively, however, Yoritoki commanded the entire region, denying the official Governor any true power. As a result, Yoshiie's father was appointed both ''chinjufu shōgun'' and governor, and Yoshiie traveled north with him to resolve the situation. The campaign against the Abe clan lasted twelve years. Yoshiie fought alongside his father in almost every battle, inc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kanjō
in Shinto terminology indicates a propagation process through which a ''kami'', previously divided through a process called ''bunrei'', is invited to another location and there re-enshrined. Evolution of the ''kanjō'' process ''Kanjō'' was originally a Buddhist term and later entered Shinto vocabulary.Smyers (1999:235) A ''kanjō'' was the request of the Buddha's sermon with a sincere heart, and later came to mean the urging of a buddha or bodhisattva to remain in this world to preach and save other human beings. The concept then evolved further to mean the act (and the actual words) of asking buddhas or bodhisattvas to descend to the altar during a Buddhist service. In Japan, the word gradually assumed the present meaning of enshrinement of a buddha or ''kami'' in a building for the first time. The ''kanjō'' process Before it can be transferred to its new location the ''kami'' must be divided. The division sub-process and the divided spirit itself are called , or . T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Azuma Kagami
is a Japanese historical chronicle. The medieval text chronicles events of the Kamakura Shogunate from Minamoto no Yoritomo's rebellion against the Taira clan in Izokuni of 1180 to Munetaka Shinnō (the 6th shōgun) and his return to Kyoto in 1266.National Archives of JapanFeng, Wang The work is also called after the Later Hōjō family of Odawara (Kanagawa prefecture), in whose possession it used to be before it was donated to Tokugawa Ieyasu. It originally consisted of 52 chapters, but the 45th is lost. In spite of its many flaws, the document is considered the most important existing document concerning the Kamakura period. History The ''Azuma Kagami'' was compiled after 1266 under the directive of the Hōjō shikken (officially a regent to a shōgun, but the ''de facto'' ruler) and is a record in diary form of events occurring in Japan. Written in a Japanized version of classical Chinese known as , the massive work was incomprehensible to most Japanese until an edition w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kami
are the deities, divinities, spirits, phenomena or "holy powers", that are venerated in the Shinto religion. They can be elements of the landscape, forces of nature, or beings and the qualities that these beings express; they can also be the spirits of venerated dead people. Many ''kami'' are considered the ancient ancestors of entire clans (some ancestors became ''kami'' upon their death if they were able to embody the values and virtues of ''kami'' in life). Traditionally, great leaders like the Emperor could be or became ''kami''. In Shinto, ''kami'' are not separate from nature, but are of nature, possessing positive and negative, and good and evil characteristics. They are manifestations of , the interconnecting energy of the universe, and are considered exemplary of what humanity should strive towards. ''Kami'' are believed to be "hidden" from this world, and inhabit a complementary existence that mirrors our own: . To be in harmony with the awe-inspiring aspects of nature ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shinto Shrine
A is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more ''kami'', the deities of the Shinto religion. Overview Structurally, a Shinto shrine typically comprises several buildings. The ''honden''Also called (本殿, meaning: "main hall") is where a shrine's patron ''kami'' is/are enshrined.Iwanami Japanese dictionary The ''honden'' may be absent in cases where a shrine stands on or near a sacred mountain, tree, or other object which can be worshipped directly or in cases where a shrine possesses either an altar-like structure, called a '' himorogi,'' or an object believed to be capable of attracting spirits, called a '' yorishiro,'' which can also serve as direct bonds to a ''kami''. There may be a and other structures as well. Although only one word ("shrine") is used in English, in Japanese, Shinto shrines may carry any one of many different, non-equivalent names like ''gongen'', ''-gū'', ''jinja'', ''jingū'', ''mori'', ''myōjin'', ''-sha'', ''taish ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Honden
In Shinto shrine architecture, the , also called , or sometimes as in Ise Shrine's case, is the most sacred building at a Shinto shrine, intended purely for the use of the enshrined ''kami'', usually symbolized by a mirror or sometimes by a statue.JAANUS The building is normally in the rear of the shrine and closed to the general public. In front of it usually stands the '' haiden'', or oratory. The ''haiden'' is often connected to the ''honden'' by a '' heiden'', or hall of offerings. Physically, the ''honden'' is the heart of the shrine complex, connected to the rest of the shrine but usually raised above it, and protected from public access by a fence called '' tamagaki''. It usually is relatively small and with a gabled roof. Its doors are usually kept closed, except at religious festivals. Shinto priests themselves enter only to perform rituals. The rite of opening those doors is itself an important part of the shrine's life.Mori Mizue Inside the ''honden'' is kept the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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.jpg "Click for more on -> Honden")