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Neko-dera
is the common name for Buddhism, Buddhist temples in Japan that have strong ties to cats. Many such places are dedicated to the veneration of cats due to the belief they were either saved or cursed by cats in the past. Main "Neko-dera" Shōnen-ji in Kamigyō-ku, Kyoto is commonly known as Neko-dera. According to legend, the third abbot of the temple had a cat who one day disguised itself as a beautiful princess and began to dance despite the financial hardships the abbot faced. After being chased out of the temple, she appeared to him in a dream, informing him that she had successfully persuaded the once-distanced Matsudaira clan, Matsudaira family to financially support the temple again. This led to the reestablishment of the temple, an act of repayment for her past behavior. Today, the temple holds memorial services for animals, including cats. Shōzen-in in Mizukami, Kumamoto retains a legend which states that its founding was due to the Sagara clan, Sagara family being cu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cats
The cat (''Felis catus''), also referred to as the domestic cat or house cat, is a small domesticated carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species of the family Felidae. Advances in archaeology and genetics have shown that the domestication of the cat occurred in the Near East around 7500 BC. It is commonly kept as a pet and working cat, but also ranges freely as a feral cat avoiding human contact. It is valued by humans for companionship and its ability to kill vermin. Its retractable claws are adapted to killing small prey species such as mice and rats. It has a strong, flexible body, quick reflexes, and sharp teeth, and its night vision and sense of smell are well developed. It is a social species, but a solitary hunter and a crepuscular predator. Cat intelligence is evident in their ability to adapt, learn through observation, and solve problems. Research has shown they possess strong memories, exhibit neuroplasticity, and display cognitive skill ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maneki-neko
The ''maneki-neko'' (招き猫, ) is a common Japanese figurine which is often believed to bring good luck to the owner. In modern times, they are usually made of ceramic or plastic. The figurine depicts a cat, traditionally a calico Japanese Bobtail, with a paw raised in a beckoning gesture. The figurines are often displayed in shops, restaurants, pachinko parlors, dry cleaners, laundromats, bars, casinos, hotels, nightclubs, and other businesses, generally near the entrance, as well as households. Some ''maneki-neko'' are equipped with a mechanical paw that slowly moves back and forth. ''Maneki-neko'' come in different colors and styles and vary in degrees of detail. Common colors are white, black, red, and gold. In addition to statues, ''maneki-neko'' can be found in the form of keychains, piggy banks, air fresheners, pots, and numerous other media and merchandise. ''Maneki-neko'' are sometimes referred to simply as "lucky cats" or "calling cats". Common features ''Maneki-n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gōtoku-ji
is a Buddhist temple located in the Gōtokuji district of Setagaya ward, Tokyo, Japan. Gōtoku-ji is a Sōtō Zen temple and served as the Bodai-ji (''bodhi temple'') of the Ii clan, who were lords of the Hikone Domain, in Edo period. It is known as the "cat temple" because of the maneki-neko. Gōtoku-ji was established as Kōtoku-in in 1480, and was renamed "Edo Bodaiji" when the entire region came under the ownership of the Hikone Domain in 1633. In 1659, it was renamed Gōtoku-ji after the posthumous Buddhist name of the domain's second feudal lord, Ii Naotaka. The precincts contain the tombs of successive feudal lords of the Ii clan and their wives, including the grave of Ii Naosuke, the 13th head of the Ii clan who also served as a ''rōjū'' in the Tokugawa shogunate. See Also *Neko-dera is the common name for Buddhism, Buddhist temples in Japan that have strong ties to cats. Many such places are dedicated to the veneration of cats due to the belief they were eith ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Onryō
In Japanese traditional beliefs and literature, are a type of ghost () believed to be capable of causing harm in the world of the living, injuring or killing enemies, or even causing natural disasters to exact Revenge, vengeance to "redress" the wrongs it received while alive, then taking their spirits from their dying bodies. are often depicted as wronged women, who are traumatized, envious, disappointed, bitter, or just infuriated by what happened during life and exact revenge in death. These kinds of ghosts appear extremely vengeful, ruthless, heartless, brutal, cruel, deranged, egotistical, selfish, bloodthirsty, and cold-hearted. Emperor Sutoku, Taira no Masakado, and Sugawara no Michizane are called the because they are considered to be the most powerful and revered in Japanese history. After they died with resentment and anger, there was a series of deaths of political opponents, natural disasters, and wars, and the rulers enshrined them as and deified them in Sh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Matsudaira Clan
The was a Japanese samurai clan that descended from the Minamoto clan. It originated in and took its name from Matsudaira village, in Mikawa Province (modern-day Aichi Prefecture). During the Sengoku period, the chieftain of the main line of the Matsudaira clan, Matsudaira Motoyasu became a powerful regional daimyo under Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi and changed his name to Tokugawa Ieyasu. He subsequently seized power as the first shōgun of the Tokugawa shogunate which ruled Japan during the Edo period until the Meiji Restoration of 1868. Under the Tokugawa shogunate, many cadet branches of the clan retained the Matsudaira surname, and numerous new branches were formed in the decades after Ieyasu. Some of those branches were also of ''daimyō'' status. After the Meiji Restoration and the abolition of the ''han'' system, the Tokugawa and Matsudaira clans became part of the new ''kazoku'' nobility. Origins The Matsudaira clan originated in Mikawa Province. Its origins a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kṣitigarbha
Kṣitigarbha (, , Wylie: ''sa yi snying po'') is a bodhisattva primarily revered in East Asian Buddhism and usually depicted as a Buddhist monk. His name may be translated as "Earth Treasury", "Earth Store", "Earth Matrix", or "Earth Womb". Kṣitigarbha is known for his vow to take responsibility for the instruction of all beings in the six worlds between the death of Gautama Buddha and the rise of Maitreya, as well as his vow not to achieve Buddhahood until all hells are emptied. He is therefore often regarded as the bodhisattva of hell-beings, as well as the guardian of children and patron deity of deceased children and aborted fetuses in Japanese culture. Usually depicted as a monk with a halo around his shaved head, he carries a staff to force open the gates of hell and a wish-fulfilling jewel to light up the darkness. Overview Kṣitigarbha is one of the four principal bodhisattvas along with Samantabhadra, Manjusri, and Avalokiteśvara (Guanyin) in East Asian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shinjuku
, officially called Shinjuku City, is a special ward of Tokyo, Japan. It is a major commercial and administrative center, housing the northern half of the busiest railway station in the world ( Shinjuku Station) as well as the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, the administrative center of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. , the ward has an estimated population of 346,235 and a population density of 18,232 people per km2. The total area is 18.23 km2. Since the end of World War II, Shinjuku has become a major secondary center of Tokyo ( ''fukutoshin''), rivaling the original city center in Marunouchi. "Shinjuku" is also commonly used to refer to Shinjuku Station. The southern half of this area and majority of the station are in fact located in the neighboring Shibuya ward. History In 1634, during the Edo period, as the outer moat of the Edo Castle was built, a number of temples and shrines moved to the Yotsuya area on the western edge of Shinjuku. In 1698, Nai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hibutsu
are Japanese Buddhist icons or statues concealed from public view. ''Hibutsu'' are generally located within Buddhist temples in shrines called . They are unavailable for viewing or worship except for certain religious ceremonies. It is possible in some cases for the ''hibutsu'' to be viewed in exchange for an offering to the temple. Some ''hibutsu'', such as the wooden statue of Gautama Buddha at Seiryō-ji or the Amida statuary at Zenkō-ji, are almost never displayed, even to initiates of the temples in which they are held (such examples are called ''zettai hibutsu''). Others are put on public display rarely, in a ceremony called . History Whilst the practice of concealing important religious artefacts within ''zushi'' or behind curtains dates to the Heian period, the ''hibutsu'' came slightly later. It is possible that the original practice was based on the Shinto concept of without physical form, however a document from Kōryū-ji indicates that it began at that temple with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ōta Dōkan
, also known as Ōta Sukenaga (太田 資長), was a Japanese samurai lord, poet and Buddhist monk. He took the tonsure as a Buddhist priest in 1478, and he also adopted the Buddhist name, Dōkan, by which he is known today.Time Out Magazine, Ltd. (2005 ''Time Out Tokyo,'' p. 11./ref> Dōkan is best known as the architect and builder of Edo Castle (now the Imperial Palace) in what is today modern Tokyo; and he is considered the founder of the castle town which grew up around that Ōnin era fortress. Ōta clan genealogy The Ōta clan originated in 15th-century Musashi Province.Appert, Georges ''et al.'' (1888) ''Ancien Japon'', p. 76./ref> They claimed descent from Minamoto no Yorimasa, and through that branch of the Minamoto they claimed kinship with the Seiwa-Genji. Papinot, Edmond. (2003)''Nobiliare du Japon'' -- Ōta, pp. 48 Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie du Japon''; retrieved 2012-11-7. The feudal progenitor of the c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Setsubun
is the day before the beginning of spring in the old calendar in Japan. The name literally means 'seasonal division', referring to the day just before the first day of spring in the traditional calendar, known as ; though previously referring to a wider range of possible dates, is now typically held on February 3 (in 2021 and 2025 it was on 2nd February), with the day after – the first day of spring in the old calendar – known as . Both and are celebrated yearly as part of the Spring Festival () in Japan. was accompanied by a number of rituals and traditions held at various levels to drive away the previous year's bad fortunes and evil spirits for the year to come. History has its origins in , a Chinese custom introduced to Japan in the 8th century. It was quite different from the known today. According to the Japanese history book , was first held in Japan in 706, and it was an event to ward off evil spirits held at the court on the last day of the year accord ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hikonyan
is a mascot created by the city government of Hikone, Japan. He was created in 2007 to mark the 400th anniversary of the founding of Hikone Castle. The character design is derived from a legend concerning '' maneki-neko'' and Ii Naotaka, the 3rd Lord of Hikone. The ''daimyō'' was beckoned by a white cat to seek shelter from a storm in a temple, and thus saved from a lightning strike. In Japanese, "nyan" is an onomatopoeia Onomatopoeia (or rarely echoism) is a type of word, or the process of creating a word, that phonetics, phonetically imitates, resembles, or suggests the sound that it describes. Common onomatopoeias in English include animal noises such as Oin ... for a cat's meow. Hikonyan's samurai helmet is based on a Ii family helmet currently in the Hikone Castle museum. Hikonyan's popularity increased tourist visitation of Hikone by over 200,000 annually. The estimate of Hikonyan's effect on the tourist industry is 17.4 billion yen (approximately US$218 million ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
