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Good Soil
is a 2007 short film written and directed by Craig Shimahara. Plot Jinbei Masuda, a Japanese Christian of the samurai class, draws his strength from his faith, family, and fencing. However, he is caught up in the shogun's policy of religious persecution and must choose between his loved ones and his God. Ships from Europe brought Christianity to the shores of Japan in 1549. For decades the seeds of faith grew under the watchful gaze of the Shogun. But the fear of foreign influence eventually gave rise to persecution. By 1624, Japanese Christians enjoyed only a few more years of peace. Cast *Shin Koyamada – Jinbei Masuda 益田甚平 *Yoshi Ando – Michijiro *Atsushi Hirata – Iwanaga *Yutaka Takeuchi – Tsunoyasu *Craig Reid – Catholic Priest *Kazumi Zatkin – Otsu *Maxwell Banchi – Shiro *Christine Shimahara – Kinu *Tex Nakamura – Daimyo *Yuji Tone – Attendant * Mitsuji Higashimoto – Guard No. 1 *Agata Toshiya – Guard No. 2 See also * Amakusa Shirō * Shim ...
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Shin Koyamada
is a Japanese-American actor, producer, entrepreneur, martial artist, and philanthropist. He is best known for his starring roles in ''The Last Samurai'' and the Disney's movie '' Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior'' on Disney+. He has produced numerous contents in films, shows, video games, comic books and anime through '' Shinca Entertainment''. Koyamada is a President of ''ChimeTV International'', a national Asian American TV cable network and digital platform in the United States. He is also a Member Board of Directors, International President and anime producer of ''N Lite Media Corp.'', an American anime production company. Koyamada is also known for his philanthropic efforts in youth leadership, humanitarian aid, gender equality, citizen diplomacy, climate action, habitat conservation through '' Koyamada International Foundation'' (KIF). He holds black belts in Japanese and Korean martial arts, and has also won U.S. national championships in Chinese martial arts. Early li ...
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Samurai
were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of History of Japan#Medieval Japan (1185–1573/1600), medieval and Edo period, early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the ''daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They had high prestige and special privileges such as wearing Daishō, two swords and ''Kiri-sute gomen'' (right to kill anyone of a lower class in certain situations). They cultivated the ''bushido'' codes of martial virtues, indifference to pain, and unflinching loyalty, engaging in many local battles. Though they had predecessors in earlier military and administrative officers, the samurai truly emerged during the Kamakura shogunate, ruling from 1185 to 1333. They became the ruling political class, with significant power but also significant responsibility. During the 13th century, the samurai proved themselves as adept warriors against the invading Mongols. During the peaceful Edo ...
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Shogun
, officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakura period, shoguns were themselves figureheads, with real power in hands of the Shikken of the Hōjō clan. The office of shogun was in practice hereditary, though over the course of the history of Japan several different clans held the position. The title was originally held by military commanders during Heian period in the eighth and ninth centuries. When Minamoto no Yoritomo gained political ascendency over Japan in 1185, the title was revived to regularize his position, making him the first shogun in the usually understood sense. The shogun's officials were collectively referred to as the ; they were the ones who carried out the actual duties of administration, while the Imperial court retained only nominal authority.Beasley, William G. ...
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Yoshi Ando
Yoshi is a fictional dinosaur who appears in video games published by Nintendo. Yoshi debuted in '' Super Mario World'' (1990) on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System as Mario and Luigi's sidekick. Yoshi is the title character of the ''Yoshi'' series and a supporting character in ''Mario'' spin-off games such as '' Mario Party'' and ''Mario Kart'', as well as many ''Mario'' sports games. He also appears as a playable character in crossover fighting game ''Super Smash Bros.'' series. Yoshi is a member of the same-named species, which is distinguished for its wide range of colors. Yoshi was well-received, with some critics noting that he is one of the most recognizable characters and one of the best sidekicks in video games. Yoshi's image has also appeared on a range of products, including clothes and collectibles. Concept and creation Shigeru Miyamoto, the video game designer at Nintendo credited with inventing the ''Mario'' series, had wanted Mario to have a dinos ...
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Amakusa Shirō
, also known as , was a Japanese Christian of the Edo period and leader of the Shimabara Rebellion, an uprising of Japanese Roman Catholics against the Shogunate. His Christian name was Geronimo and later Francisco. The uprising led by Shirō was defeated, and he was executed at the age of 17. His head was displayed on a pike near Nagasaki as a warning to Christians. His failures were reflected in the 1962 movie ''Amakusa Shirō Tokisada'' (shown in English-speaking countries as ''The Christian Revolt'' or ''The Revolutionary''), by the Japanese movie director Nagisa Oshima. Early life Shirō was born in 1621 as the son of Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ... parents, , a former Konishi clan retainer, and his wife. Urban legend speculates that Shi ...
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Shimabara Rebellion
The , also known as the or , was an uprising that occurred in the Shimabara Domain of the Tokugawa Shogunate in Japan from 17 December 1637 to 15 April 1638. Matsukura Katsuie, the '' daimyō'' of the Shimabara Domain, enforced unpopular policies set by his father Matsukura Shigemasa that drastically raised taxes to construct the new Shimabara Castle and violently prohibited Christianity. In December 1637, an alliance of local '' rōnin'' and mostly Catholic peasants led by Amakusa Shirō rebelled against the Tokugawa shogunate due to discontent over Katsuie's policies. The Tokugawa Shogunate sent a force of over 125,000 troops supported by the Dutch to suppress the rebels and defeated them after a lengthy siege against their stronghold at Hara Castle in Minamishimabara. Following the successful suppression of the rebellion, Shirō and an estimated 37,000 rebels and sympathizers were executed by beheading, and the Portuguese traders suspected of helping them were ...
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Shimabara Peninsula
is a peninsula located in Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, Japan. The peninsula incorporates the cities of Shimabara, Minamishimabara, Unzen. It was also the site of the Shimabara Rebellion, a 1637-1638 peasant and rōnin revolt, led by Christians. This further reinforced distrust of Christians and foreigners by Shōgun Iemitsu and contributed to the 1639 decision to isolate Japan from the outside world. From then on, the Dutch and the Chinese were the only ones permitted to enter Japan through Nagasaki in a very limited fashion until Japan was reopened again.Hane, Modern Japan: A Historical Survey, p. 24 Administrative region *Eastern section of Isahaya is a city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. The city was founded on September 1, 1940. As of November 1, 2022, the city has an estimated population of 132,385 and a population density of 389 persons per km². The total area is . On March 1 ... * Shimabara * Minamishimabara * Unzen References ...
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2007 Films
The following is an overview of events in 2007 in film, including the highest-grossing films, award ceremonies and festivals, a list of films released and notable deaths. The highest-grossing film of the year was '' Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End'', which was just ahead of ''Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix''. 2007 is often considered one of the greatest years for film in the 21st century. This would also be the last year in which no films grossed at least $1 billion at the box office until 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic prevented multiple theatrically released films. Evaluation of the year Many have considered 2007 to be the greatest year for film in the 21st century and one of the greatest of all time. In his article from April 18, 2017, which highlighted the best movies of 2007, critic Mark Allison of '' Den of Geek'' said, "2007 must surely be remembered as one of the finest years in English-language film-making, quite possibly the best of this century ...
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Films About Japanese Americans
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere through the use of moving images. These images are generally accompanied by sound and, more rarely, other sensory stimulations. The word "cinema", short for cinematography, is often used to refer to filmmaking and the film industry, and to the art form that is the result of it. Recording and transmission of film The moving images of a film are created by photographing actual scenes with a motion-picture camera, by photographing drawings or miniature models using traditional animation techniques, by means of CGI and computer animation, or by a combination of some or all of these techniques, and other visual effects. Before the introduction of digital production, series of still images were recorded on a strip of chemically sensitize ...
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2000s Japanese-language Films
S, or s, is the nineteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ess'' (pronounced ), plural ''esses''. History Origin Northwest Semitic šîn represented a voiceless postalveolar fricative (as in 'ip'). It originated most likely as a pictogram of a tooth () and represented the phoneme via the acrophonic principle. Ancient Greek did not have a phoneme, so the derived Greek letter sigma () came to represent the voiceless alveolar sibilant . While the letter shape Σ continues Phoenician ''šîn'', its name ''sigma'' is taken from the letter ''samekh'', while the shape and position of ''samekh'' but name of ''šîn'' is continued in the '' xi''. Within Greek, the name of ''sigma'' was influenced by its association with the Greek word (earlier ) "to hiss". The original name of the letter "sigma" may have been ''san'', but due to the complic ...
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