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Kumasaka
''Kumasaka'' (The Robber) is a Noh play from the 15th century attributed by Arthur Waley to Zenchiku Ujinobu, about the notable Heian period bandit Kumasaka no Chohan. The play takes the form of Noh#Plays, Mugen Noh - supernatural, or dream-time Noh. Legendary background The samurai hero, Minamoto no Yoshitsune - known in his early life as Ushiwaka or Young Bull - had a series of David and Goliath encounters attributed to him in his youth, one of which concerned repelling a bandit attack led by the robber Kumasaka (a figure sometimes identified as the slayer of Young Bull's mother). Plot A travelling monk is offered shelter by another, on condition that he prays for an anonymous soul buried by a pine-tree. The traveller is surprised to see a large Pike (weapon), pike hanging on the cottage wall; and the other uncovers his past as a robber, before vanishing, thereby revealing to the priest that "It was under the shadow of a pine-tree that he had rested". Thereafter, the robber re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Minamoto No Yoshitsune
was a military commander of the Minamoto clan of Japan in the late Heian and early Kamakura periods. During the Genpei War, he led a series of battles which toppled the Ise-Heishi branch of the Taira clan, helping his half-brother Yoritomo consolidate power. He is considered one of the greatest and the most popular warriors of his era, and one of the most famous samurai in the history of Japan. Yoshitsune perished after being betrayed by the son of a trusted ally. Early life Yoshitsune was the ninth son of Minamoto no Yoshitomo, and the third and final son and child that Yoshitomo would father with Tokiwa Gozen. Yoshitsune's older half-brother Minamoto no Yoritomo (the third son of Yoshitomo) would go on to establish the Kamakura shogunate. Yoshitsune's name in childhood was Ushiwakamaru or ''young bull'' (). He was born just before the Heiji Rebellion in 1160 in which his father and two oldest brothers were killed. He survived this incident by fleeing the capital with his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eboshi-ori
is a Noh play of the 16th century by . The play falls into the category of genzai-mono, or present time plays, where the action takes place consecutively, without the (more usual) retrospective flashback. Historical setting The play takes place during the youth of the samurai leader Minamoto no Yoshitsune, then known as Ushiwaka or Young Bull, at a time when (following the Hōgen rebellion), the Taira clan were in power in Japan. Ushiwaka was in seclusion at Kurama temple, where he was learning martial arts, supposedly at the hands of a goblin-like Tengu. Plot Ushiwaka absconds from the temple to join a merchant caravan; and to disguise himself orders an eboshi, or warrior hat, "folded to the left sin the time of the Minamoto clan". Though warned against this on the grounds that "after the years of Hōgen, The house of Hei airaprevailed, and the whole land was theirs", he persists in his request, and on obtaining the eboshi he offers his sword in payment. The hatmaker and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Benkei On The Bridge
is a Japanese Noh play from the 15th century, by Hiyoshi Sa-ami Yasukiyo. Theme The play centres around the encounter between the giant warrior monk Benkei and the youthful Minamoto no Yoshitsune was a military commander of the Minamoto clan of Japan in the late Heian and early Kamakura periods. During the Genpei War, he led a series of battles which toppled the Ise-Heishi branch of the Taira clan, helping his half-brother Yoritomo cons ..., in which the slighter, younger man defeated the elder. The hand-to-hand bridge combat forged a lasting bond between the pair. Thereafter Benkei served as Yoshitsune’s second in command - as what Basho would describe as “his faithful retainer, Benkei”. Later developments Buson created a haiku and a haiku painting, ''Benkei and Young Bull'', around the themes of the play, quoting from it in his haiku: “Snow, moon, and blossoms - And then a pledge for three lives, Faith and loyalty”.L Zolbrod, ''Haiku Painting'' (Tokyo 1982) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arthur Waley
Arthur David Waley (born Arthur David Schloss, 19 August 188927 June 1966) was an English orientalist and sinologist who achieved both popular and scholarly acclaim for his translations of Chinese and Japanese poetry. Among his honours were the CBE in 1952, the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry in 1953, and he was invested as a Companion of Honour in 1956. Although highly learned, Waley avoided academic posts and most often wrote for a general audience. He chose not to be a specialist but to translate a wide and personal range of classical literature. Starting in the 1910s and continuing steadily almost until his death in 1966, these translations started with poetry, such as ''A Hundred and Seventy Chinese Poems'' (1918) and ''Japanese Poetry: The Uta'' (1919), then an equally wide range of novels, such as '' The Tale of Genji'' (1925–26), an 11th-century Japanese work, and ''Monkey'', from 16th-century China. Waley also presented and translated Chinese philosophy, wrote biog ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zenchiku Ujinobu
was a skilled Japanese Noh actor, troupe leader, and playwright. His plays are particularly characterized by an intricate, allusive, and subtle style inherited from Zeami which convolved yūgen with influences from Zen Buddhism (his Zen master was Ikkyū) and Kegon. Actors should strive for unconscious performance, in which they enters the "circle of emptiness"; such a state of being is the highest level of artistic or religious achievement. He lived, worked, and died in the Nara area of Japan. He was trained by Zeami and his son, Motomasa (died 1432), eventually marrying a daughter of Zeami. At some point he took the artistic name Komparu Ujinobu and then finally Komparu Zenchiku. In 1443, he became the leader of the Kanze acting troupe and thus the second successor to Zeami Motokiyo. Zeami passed on his secret teachings to Zenchiku, apparently prompting Zeami's exiling; this refusal to transmit to his blood descendants also prompted a split between the Komparu school and th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heian Period
The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese. It is a period in Japanese history when the Chinese influences were in decline and the national culture matured. The Heian period is also considered the peak of the Japanese imperial court and noted for its art, especially poetry and literature. Two types of Japanese script emerged, including katakana, a phonetic script which was abbreviated into hiragana, a cursive alphabet with a unique writing method distinctive to Japan. This gave rise to Japan's famous vernacular literature, with many of its texts written by court women who were not as educated in Chinese compared to their male counterparts. Although the Imperial House of Japan had power on the surface, the real power was in the hands of the Fujiwara clan, a powerful aristocr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David And Goliath
Goliath ( ) ''Goləyāṯ''; ar, جُليات ''Ǧulyāt'' (Christian term) or (Quranic term). is a character in the Book of Samuel, described as a Philistine giant defeated by the young David in single combat. The story signified King Saul's unfitness to rule, as Saul himself should have fought for Israel. Scholars today believe that the original listed killer of Goliath was Elhanan, son of Jair, and that the authors of the Deuteronomic history changed the original text to credit the victory to the more famous character David. The phrase " David and Goliath" has taken on a more popular meaning denoting an underdog situation, a contest wherein a smaller, weaker opponent faces a much bigger, stronger adversary. "used to describe a situation in which a small or weak person or organization tries to defeat another much larger or stronger opponent: ''The game looks like it will be a David and Goliath contest.''" Biblical account The Goliath narrative in 1 Samuel 17 Saul and th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pike (weapon)
A pike is a very long thrusting spear formerly used in European warfare from the Late Middle Ages and most of the Early Modern Period, and were wielded by foot soldiers deployed in pike square formation, until it was largely replaced by bayonet-equipped muskets. The pike was particularly well-known as the primary weapon of Swiss mercenary and German Landsknecht units. A similar weapon, the sarissa, had been used in antiquity by Alexander the Great's Macedonian phalanx infantry. Design The pike was a long weapon, varying considerably in size, from long. Generally, a spear becomes a pike when it is too long to be wielded with one hand in combat. It was approximately in weight, with the 16th century military writer Sir John Smythe recommending lighter rather than heavier pikes. It had a wooden shaft with an iron or steel spearhead affixed. The shaft near the head was often reinforced with metal strips called "cheeks" or langets. When the troops of opposing armies both ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kurama-tengu
is a Noh play from the fifteenth century, concerned with the childhood experiences of the samurai hero Minamoto no Yoshitsune. Plot The play begins with a cherry blossom viewing expedition involving monks and children from Kurama temple. On being joined by a rough Yamabushi - an ascetic mountain priest - the party leaves in protest, with the exception of one child, who reveals himself as the young Yoshitsune, isolated at the temple both as an orphaned son and as the only child from the (eclipsed) Genji clan. The stranger reveals himself in turn as the head Tengu, or long-nosed goblin; and he proceeds to instruct the young hero in the martial arts, with a view to him avenging his slaughtered father's death. Characteristics *The play is notable for the large cast of child actors, and for the range of actions - chanting; acting; swordplay - which they undertake. *Critics have seen elements of homoeroticism in the relationship between the (phallicized) Yamabushi and the child ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Renga
''Renga'' (, ''linked verse'') is a genre of Japanese collaborative poetry in which alternating stanzas, or ''ku (''句), of 5-7-5 and 7-7 mora (sound units, not to be confused with syllables) per line are linked in succession by multiple poets. Known as ''tsukuba no michi'' ( ''The Way of Tsukuba'') after the famous Tsukuba Mountain in the Kantō region, the form of poetry is said to have originated in a two-verse poetry exchange by Yamato Takeru and later gave birth to the genres '' haikai'' () and haiku ().Kaneko, Kinjirō. ''Rengashū, Haikaishū''. Tōkyō: Shōgakkan, 2001. Print. The genre was elevated to a literary art by Nijō Yoshimoto (, 1320–1388), who compiled the first imperial renga anthology Tsukubashū () in 1356. The most famous renga master was Sōgi (, 1421–1502), and Matsuo Bashō (, 1644–1694) after him became the most famous ''haikai'' master. Renga sequences were typically composed live during gatherings of poets, transcribed oral sessions kno ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
El Cid
Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar (c. 1043 – 10 July 1099) was a Castilian knight and warlord in medieval Spain. Fighting with both Christian and Muslim armies during his lifetime, he earned the Arabic honorific ''al-sīd'', which would evolve into El Cid ("the lord"), and the Spanish moniker El Campeador ("the valiant"). He was born in Vivar, a village near the city of Burgos. As the head of his loyal knights, he came to dominate the Levante of the Iberian Peninsula at the end of the 11th century. He reclaimed the Taifa of Valencia from Moorish control for a brief period during the '' Reconquista'', ruling the principality as its Prince () from 17 June 1094 until his death in 1099. His wife, Jimena Díaz, inherited the city and maintained it until 1102 when it was reconquered by the Moors. Díaz de Vivar became well known for his service in the armies of both Christian and Muslim rulers. After his death, El Cid became Spain's celebrated national hero and the protagonist of the most ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
_by_Tsukioka_Kōgyo_(National_Noh_Theatre).jpg "Click for more on -> Kurama-tengu")
