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Military Communication In Feudal Japan
A variety of procedures were used to communicate across the battlefield in feudal Japan, much like in any other culture. These methods included visual signals like flags and banners and audible signals using drums and horns. Messengers on horseback used ciphers and other methods to prevent their messages from falling into the wrong hands. By the beginning of the Sengoku Period, battlefield communications had become fairly complicated affairs, with larger armies than ever before, and a multitude of flags and banners covered in a myriad of colors and designs. Flags and banners Since the beginnings of what we would today recognize as Japanese culture, and probably earlier, various symbols, crests, banners, or markings on armor were used to help identify and distinguish warriors on the battlefield. The '' mon'', or symbol, of a clan or a ''daimyō'' was particularly common, identifying which side a warrior fought on; some samurai used their own names or ''mon'' rather than that of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sengoku Period
The was the period in History of Japan, Japanese history in which civil wars and social upheavals took place almost continuously in the 15th and 16th centuries. The Kyōtoku incident (1454), Ōnin War (1467), or (1493) are generally chosen as the period's start date, but there are many competing historiographies for its end date, ranging from 1568, the date of Oda Nobunaga#Ise campaign, Omi campaign, and march to Kyoto, Oda Nobunaga's march on Kyoto, to the suppression of the Shimabara Rebellion in 1638, deep into what was traditionally considered the Edo period. Regardless of the dates chosen, the Sengoku period overlaps substantially with the Muromachi period (1336–1573). This period was characterized by the overthrow of a superior power by a subordinate one. The Ashikaga shogunate, the ''de facto'' central government, declined and the , a local power, seized wider political influence. The people rebelled against the feudal lords in revolts known as . The period saw a break ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Conch
Conch ( , , ) is a common name of a number of different medium-to-large-sized sea snails. Conch shells typically have a high Spire (mollusc), spire and a noticeable siphonal canal (in other words, the shell comes to a noticeable point on both ends). Conchs that are sometimes referred to as "true conchs" are Marine (ocean), marine gastropods in the family (biology), family Strombidae, specifically in the genus ''Strombus'' and other closely related genera. For example, ''Aliger gigas'', the queen conch, is a true conch. True conchs are identified by their long spire. Many other species are also often called "conch", but are not at all closely related to the family Strombidae, including ''Melongena'' species (family Melongenidae) and the horse conch ''Triplofusus papillosus'' (family Fasciolariidae). Species commonly referred to as conches also include the sacred chank or ''shankha'' shell (''Turbinella pyrum'') and other ''Turbinella'' species in the family Turbinellidae. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Japanese Heraldry
, also called , , and , are Japan, Japanese emblems used to decorate and identify an individual, a family, or (more recently) an institution, municipality or business entity. While is an encompassing term that may refer to any such device, and refer specifically to emblems that are used to identify a family. An authoritative reference compiles Japan's 241 general categories of based on structural resemblance (a single may belong to multiple categories), with 5,116 distinct individual . However, it is well acknowledged that there are a number of lost or obscure . Among , the officially used by the family is called . Over time, new have been created, such as , which is unofficially created by an individual, and , which is created by a woman after marriage by modifying part of her original family's , so that by 2023 there will be a total of 20,000 to 25,000 . The devices are similar to the Heraldic badge, badges and Coat of arms, coats of arms in European Heraldry, heraldic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Military Communication In Feudal Japan
A variety of procedures were used to communicate across the battlefield in feudal Japan, much like in any other culture. These methods included visual signals like flags and banners and audible signals using drums and horns. Messengers on horseback used ciphers and other methods to prevent their messages from falling into the wrong hands. By the beginning of the Sengoku Period, battlefield communications had become fairly complicated affairs, with larger armies than ever before, and a multitude of flags and banners covered in a myriad of colors and designs. Flags and banners Since the beginnings of what we would today recognize as Japanese culture, and probably earlier, various symbols, crests, banners, or markings on armor were used to help identify and distinguish warriors on the battlefield. The '' mon'', or symbol, of a clan or a ''daimyō'' was particularly common, identifying which side a warrior fought on; some samurai used their own names or ''mon'' rather than that of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kami
are the Deity, deities, Divinity, divinities, Spirit (supernatural entity), spirits, mythological, spiritual, or natural phenomena that are venerated in the traditional Shinto religion of Japan. ''Kami'' can be elements of the landscape, forces of nature, beings and the qualities that these beings express, and/or the spirits of venerated dead people. Many ''kami'' are considered the ancient ancestors of entire Japanese clans, 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 of Japan, 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 in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Whistling-bulb Arrow
is a type of Ya (arrow), Japanese arrow used by the samurai class of feudal Japan. Kabura-ya were arrows which whistled when shot and were used in ritual archery exchanges before formal medieval battles. Like a wind instrument, the sound was created by a specially carved or perforated bulb of deer horn or wood attached to the tip. In English, these are often called "whistling-bulb arrows", "messenger arrows", or "signal arrows." ''Kabura'' literally translates to "turnip", and thus the Japanese term technically means 'turnip[-shaped] arrows'. The Chinese ''xiangjian'' (sometimes pronounced and written ''mingdi'') was quite similar, and until the end of the Warlord Era were commonly used by bandits to announce the gang's approach. In Shinto, the sound made by the ''kabura-ya'' arrow in mid-flight is thought to Apotropaic magic, ward off evil influences. Hence, it is used in Shinto rites to purify locations such as shrine grounds and parks. Other sacred bows similarly used i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Takeda Shingen
was daimyō, daimyo of Kai Province during the Sengoku period of Japan. Known as "the Tiger of Kai", he was one of the most powerful daimyo of the late Sengoku period, and credited with exceptional military prestige. Shingen was based in a poor area with little arable land and no access to the sea, but he became one of Japan's leading daimyo. His skills are highly esteemed and on par with Mōri Motonari. Name Shingen was called "Tarō" (a commonly used pet name for the eldest son of a Japanese family) or Katsuchiyo (勝千代) during his childhood. After his ''genpuku'' (coming of age ceremony), he was given the formal name Harunobu (晴信), which included a character from the name of Ashikaga Yoshiharu, the 12th shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate. It was a common practice in feudal Japan for a higher-ranking samurai to bestow a character from his own name to his inferiors as a symbol of recognition. From the local lord's perspective, it was an honour to receive a character f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Samurai Wearing A Horo
The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court downsized the national army and delegated the security of the countryside to these privately trained warriors. Eventually the samurai clans grew so powerful that they became the ''de facto'' rulers of the country. In the aftermath of the Gempei War (1180-1185), Japan formally passed into military rule with the founding of the first shogunate. The status of samurai became heredity by the mid-eleventh century. By the start of the Edo period, the shogun had disbanded the warrior-monk orders and peasant conscript system, leaving the samurai as the only men in the country permitted to carry weapons at all times. Because the Edo period was a time of peace, many samurai neglected their warrior training and focused on peacetime activities such as a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Genpei War
The was a national civil war between the Taira clan, Taira and Minamoto clan, Minamoto clans during the late Heian period of Japan. It resulted in the downfall of the Taira and the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate under Minamoto no Yoritomo, who appointed himself as ''Shōgun'' in 1192, governing Japan as a military dictator from the eastern city of Kamakura. It followed a ''coup d'état'' by the Taira in 1179 with the removal of rivals from all government posts, and subsequently banishing them, and a call to arms against the Taira, led by the Minamoto in 1180. The ensuing Battle of Uji (1180), Battle of Uji took place just outside Kyoto, starting a five-year-long war, concluding with a decisive Minamoto victory in the naval Battle of Dan-no-ura. However, it has been pointed out that the Battle of Ōshū in 1189 was the last battle during this period of civil war, as it completed Yoritomo's nationwide domination through the annexation of Tōhoku region, Northeast Japan. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Uesugi Kenshin
, later known as , was a Japanese ''daimyō'' (magnate). He was born in Nagao clan, and after adoption into the Uesugi clan, ruled Echigo Province in the Sengoku period of Japan. He was one of the most powerful ''daimyō'' of the Sengoku period. Known as the "Dragon of Echigo", while chiefly remembered for his prowess on the battlefield as a military genius and war hero, Kenshin is also regarded as an extremely skillful administrator who fostered the growth of local industries and trade, as his rule saw a marked rise in the standard of living of Echigo. Kenshin is famed for his honourable conduct, his military expertise, a long-standing rivalry with Takeda Shingen, his numerous defensive campaigns to restore order in the Kantō region as the ''Kanrei, Kanto Kanrei'', and his belief in the Buddhism, Buddhist god of war Vaisravana#In Japan, Bishamonten. Many of his followers and others believed him to be the avatar of Bishamonten and called Kenshin the "God of War". Name His ori ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
