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Rosanjin
was the pseudonym for a noted artist and epicure during the early to mid-Shōwa period of Japan. His real name was , but he is best known by his artistic name, Rosanjin. A man of many talents, Rosanjin was also a calligrapher, ceramicist, engraver, painter, lacquer artist and restaurateur. Biography Rosanjin was born in what is now part of Kita-ku, Kyoto, as the younger son of the head priest of Kamigamo Shrine. At the age of six, he was apprenticed to (and adopted by) Fukuda Takeshi, a Kyoto woodblock engraver, after his father committed suicide on finding out that the child was not his own son. At the age of ten, while still in elementary school, he was also working at a local Chinese herbalist. In 1903, Rosanjin moved to Tokyo with the intent of studying Japanese calligraphy, winning first prize in a contest by the Japan Art Academy the following year. In 1905, he was accepted as an apprentice by noted calligrapher Okamoto Ippei, who sent him to northern China from 1908-1910 ...
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Kyoto
Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it the List of cities in Japan, ninth-most populous city in Japan. More than half (56.8%) of Kyoto Prefecture's population resides in the city. The city is the cultural anchor of the substantially larger Greater Kyoto, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) home to a census-estimated 3.8 million people. It is also part of the even larger Keihanshin, Keihanshin metropolitan area, along with Osaka and Kobe. Kyoto is one of the oldest municipalities in Japan, having been chosen in 794 as the new seat of Japan's imperial court by Emperor Kanmu. The original city, named Heian-kyō, was arranged in accordance with traditional Chinese feng shui following the model of the ancient Chinese capitals of Chang'an and Luoyang. The emperors of Japan ruled fro ...
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Kanazawa, Ishikawa
is the capital of Ishikawa Prefecture in central Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 466,029 in 203,271 households, and a population density of 990 persons per km2. The total area of the city was . Etymology The name "Kanazawa" (, ), which literally means "marsh of gold", is said to derive from the legend of the peasant Imohori Togoro (literally "Togoro Potato-digger"), who was digging for potatoes when flakes of gold washed up. The well in the grounds of Kenroku-en is known as to acknowledge these roots. The area where Kanazawa is was originally known as Ishiura, whose name is preserved at the Ishiura Shrine near Kenrokuen. The area around Kanazawa was part of ancient Kaga Province. History Muromachi period During the Muromachi period (1336 to 1573), as the power of the central shōguns in Kyoto was waning, Kaga Province came under the control of the Ikkō-ikki, followers of the teachings of priest Rennyo, of the sect, who displaced the official governo ...
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Yoshiko Ōtaka
Yoshiko Yamaguchi ( ''Yamaguchi Yoshiko''; ''Shānkǒu Shūzǐ''; 12 February, 1920 – 7 September, 2014) was a Japanese singer, actress, journalist, and politician. Born in China, she made an international career in film in China, Hong Kong, Japan and the United States. Early in her career, the Manchukuo Film Association concealed her Japanese origin and she went by the Chinese name Li Hsiang-lan (), rendered in Japanese as Ri Kōran. This allowed her to represent China in Japanese propaganda movies. After the war, she appeared in Japanese movies under her real name, as well as in several English language movies under the stage name, Shirley Yamaguchi. After becoming a journalist in the 1950s under the name , she was elected as a member of the Japanese parliament in 1974, and served for 18 years. After retiring from politics, she served as vice president of the Asian Women's Fund. Early life She was born on February 12, 1920, to Japanese parents, and , who were then settl ...
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Isamu Noguchi
was an American artist, furniture designer and Landscape architecture, landscape architect whose career spanned six decades from the 1920s. Known for his sculpture and public artworks, Noguchi also designed stage sets for various Martha Graham productions, and several mass-produced lamps and furniture pieces, some of which are still manufactured and sold. In 1947, Noguchi began a collaboration with the Herman Miller (manufacturer), Herman Miller company, when he joined with George Nelson (designer), George Nelson, Paul László and Charles and Ray Eames, Charles Eames to produce a catalog containing what is often considered to be the most influential body of modern furniture ever produced, including the iconic Noguchi table which remains in production today. His work is displayed at the Noguchi Museum, Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum in New York City. Early life (1904–1922) Isamu Noguchi was born in Los Angeles, the son of Yone Noguchi, a Japanese poet who was a ...
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Supreme Commander Of The Allied Powers
The Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (), or SCAP, was the title held by General Douglas MacArthur during the United States-led Allied occupation of Japan following World War II. It issued SCAP Directives (alias SCAPIN, SCAP Index Number) to the Japanese government, aiming to suppress its "militaristic nationalism". The position was created at the start of the occupation of Japan on August 14, 1945. It was originally styled the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers. In Japan, the position was generally referred to as GHQ (General Headquarters), as SCAP also referred to the offices of the occupation (which was officially referred by SCAP itself as ), including a staff of several hundred US civil servants as well as military personnel. Some of these personnel effectively wrote a first draft of the Japanese Constitution, which the National Diet then ratified after a few amendments. Australian, British Empire, and New Zealand forces under SCAP were organized into a sub-comman ...
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Ginza
Ginza ( ; ) is a district of Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo, located south of Yaesu and Kyōbashi, Tokyo, Kyōbashi, west of Tsukiji, east of Yūrakuchō and Uchisaiwaichō, and north of Shinbashi. It is a popular upscale shopping area of Tokyo, with numerous internationally renowned department stores, boutiques, restaurants and coffeehouses located in its vicinity. It is considered to be one of the most expensive, elegant, and luxurious city districts in the world. Ginza was a part of the old Kyobashi ward of Tokyo City, which, together with Nihonbashi and Kanda, Tokyo, Kanda, formed the core of Shitamachi, the original downtown center of Edo (Tokyo). History Ginza was built upon a former swamp that was filled in during the 16th century. The name Ginza comes after the establishment of a silver-coin mint (coin), mint established there in 1612, during the Edo period. After a devastating fire in 1872 burned down most of the area, the Meiji government designated the Ginza are ...
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Ming Period
The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of China ruled by the Han people, the majority ethnic group in China. Although the primary capital of Beijing fell in 1644 to a rebellion led by Li Zicheng (who established the short-lived Shun dynasty), numerous rump regimes ruled by remnants of the Ming imperial family, collectively called the Southern Ming, survived until 1662. The Ming dynasty's founder, the Hongwu Emperor (1368–1398), attempted to create a society of self-sufficient rural communities ordered in a rigid, immobile system that would guarantee and support a permanent class of soldiers for his dynasty: the empire's standing army exceeded one million troops and the navy's dockyards in Nanjing were the largest in the world. He also took great care breaking the power of the court eunuchs and unrelated magn ...
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Kutani Ware
is a style of Japanese porcelain traditionally supposed to be from Kutani, now a part of Kaga, Ishikawa, in the former Kaga Province. It is divided into two phases: ''Ko-Kutani'' (old Kutani), from the 17th and early 18th centuries, and ''Saikō-Kutani'' from the revived production in the 19th century. The more prestigious ''Ko-Kutani'' wares are recognised by scholars to be a complex and much mis-represented group, very often not from Kutani at all. Kutani ware, especially in the ''Ko-Kutani'' period, is marked by vivid dark colors that epitomize lavish aesthetics. It is theorized that the long, harsh and grey winters of the Hokuriku region led to a desire among people living there for ceramic ware to show strong and bold colours. The classical five colours style, known as , includes green, blue, yellow, purple, and red. The designs are bold and normally depict landscapes, the beauty of nature, and people, and cover most of the surface of each piece. In recognition of the mo ...
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Bizen Ware
is a type of Japanese pottery traditionally from Bizen province, presently a part of Okayama prefecture. History Bizen ware was traditionally produced in and around the village of Imbe, Okayama, Imbe in Bizen province, from where it received its name. It is therefore also known as Imbe or Inbe ware. It has ties to Sue pottery from the Heian period in the 6th century, and made its appearance during the Kamakura period of the 14th century. Bizen was considered one of the Six Ancient Kilns by the scholar Koyama Fujio. It experienced its peak during the Momoyama period of the 16th century. During the Edo period, the Ikeda clan, Ikeda lords of the Okayama domain continued to support the kilns and gave special privileges to families who operated them, such as the Kimura, Mori, Kaneshige, Oae, Tongu, and Terami. The rustic quality of Bizen made it popular for use in Japanese tea ceremony. Ware of the early phase is called old Bizen style (古備前派 ''Ko-Bizen-ha''). After moder ...
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Shigaraki Ware
Shigaraki ware (信楽焼) is a type of stoneware pottery made in Shigaraki area, Japan. The kiln is one of the Six Ancient Kilns in Japan. Although figures representing the Japanese raccoon dog, tanuki are a popular product included as Shigaraki ware, the kiln and local pottery tradition has a long history. History The development of kilns during the medieval period are thought to have taken place through the transformation of Sue ware technology. In the later half of the Heian period, Sue ware production came to an abrupt decline, with production now centralizing in the Owari Province, Owari, Mino Province, Mino, Bizen Province, Bizen, and Omi Province, Omi provinces. Political collapse in the Heian period caused Sue ware potters to begin producing inexpensive wares such as ''tsubo'' (jars), ''kame'' (wide mouthed bowls), and ''suribachi'' (mortars or grinding). The Sue ware workshops began producing in characteristic regional blocks. All these led to the development ...
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Oribe Ware
Oribe ware (also known as 織部焼 Oribe-yaki) is a style of Japanese pottery that first appeared in the sixteenth century. It is a type of Japanese stoneware recognized by its freely-applied glaze as well as its dramatic visual departure from the more somber, monochrome shapes and vessels common in Raku ware of the time. The ceramics were often asymmetric, with eccentric shapes; deformed shapes were not uncommon. These shapes were achieved through moulding rather than turning on a potter's wheel. Some bowls were so deformed that they were difficult to use – even whisking tea could become difficult. History Origins Throughout the late Momoyama (1573–1615) and early Edo periods (1615–1868) in Japan, the art of the Japanese tea ceremony underwent new developments. Great tea masters such as Takeno Jōō (1502–1555), Sen no Rikyū (1522–1591), and Furuta Oribe (1544–1615) revolutionized the utensils, rituals, and ceramics used in tea ceremonies. As time passed, technol ...
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Kamakura, Kanagawa
, officially , is a Cities of Japan, city of Kanagawa Prefecture in Japan. It is located in the Kanto region on the island of Honshu. The city has an estimated population of 172,929 (1 September 2020) and a population density of 4,359 people per km2 over the total area of . Kamakura was designated as a city on 3 November 1939. Kamakura was Japan's ''de facto'' capital when it was the seat of the Kamakura shogunate from 1185 to 1333, established by Minamoto no Yoritomo. It was the first military government in Japan's history. After the downfall of the shogunate, Kamakura saw a temporary decline. However, during the Edo period, it regained popularity as a tourist destination among the townspeople of Edo (Tokyo), Edo. Despite suffering significant losses of historical and cultural assets due to the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake, Great Kantō Earthquake in 1923, Kamakura continues to be one of the major tourist attractions in the Kanto region, known for its historical landmarks such as ...
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