Rokurokubi (folktale)
{{No footnotes, date=January 2009 Rokurokubi (ろくろ首) is a tale from Lafcadio Hearn’s ''Kwaidan''. It features a monster by the same name (actually a classification error took place; in reality it features a nukekubi, not a rokurokubi). It features a protagonist who exemplifies the values of the time and age. His name is Isogai Heidazaemon Taketsura and was a vassal in the service of the feudal lord Kikuji. When Isogai’s master was defeated, instead of finding another master to serve, he became an itinerant priest and assumed the name Kwairyō. Setting It takes place, “nearly five hundred years ago”. Considering ''Kwaidan'' was first published in 1904, the story is most likely from the Muromachi Period in Japanese history (c.1336-1573). The protagonist is said in the tale to have served well in the Eikyō War, which took place in 1438, during the Muromachi period. At that time in Japan, regional warfare was rampant and feudal lords were constantly being uprooted, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lafcadio Hearn
, born Patrick Lafcadio Hearn (; el, Πατρίκιος Λευκάδιος Χέρν, Patríkios Lefkádios Chérn, Irish: Pádraig Lafcadio O'hEarain), was an Irish-Greek- Japanese writer, translator, and teacher who introduced the culture and literature of Japan to the West. His writings offered unprecedented insight into Japanese culture, especially his collections of legends and ghost stories, such as '' Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things''. Before moving to Japan and becoming a Japanese citizen, he worked as a journalist in the United States, primarily in Cincinnati and New Orleans. His writings about New Orleans, based on his decade-long stay there, are also well-known. Hearn was born on the Greek island of Lefkada, after which a complex series of conflicts and events led to his being moved to Dublin, where he was abandoned first by his mother, then his father, and finally by his father's aunt (who had been appointed his official guardian). At the age of 19 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Stories And Studies Of Strange Things
Story or stories may refer to: Common uses * Story, a narrative (an account of imaginary or real people and events) ** Short story, a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting * Story (American English), or storey (British English), a floor or level of a building * News story, an event or topic reported by a news organization Social media *Stories (social media), a collection of messages, images or videos, often ephemeral ** Facebook Stories, short user-generated photo or video collections that can be uploaded to the user's Facebook ** Instagram Stories, a feature in Instagram that let the user post vertical images that will disappear in 24 hours ** Snapchat Stories, a feature in Snapchat which allows users to compile snaps into chronological storylines, accessible to all of their friends Film, television and radio * Story Television, an American digital broadcast television network * Story TV, a South Korean television drama production company * ''Sto ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Nukekubi
''Rokurokubi'' (ろくろ首, 轆轤首) is a type of Japanese ''yōkai'' (apparition). They look almost completely like humans with some differences. There is a type whose neck stretches and another whose head detaches and flies around freely (''nukekubi''). The ''Rokurokubi'' appear in classical ''kaidan'' (spirit tales) and in ''yōkai'' works. Etymology The word ''rokurokubi'' may have derived from the word ''rokuro'' which refers to a potter's wheel, a water well's pulley (since it elongates) Yahoo Japan, ヤフー株式会社 Accessed 22 January 2008. or an umbrella handle (which also elongates). Head flight The nukekubi are rokurokubi whose heads come off and float about. These were the last of the rokurokubi whereas the other kind came before. Nukekubi sometimes perform bad deeds such as attacking at night and drinking their victims' blood. It is theorized that the nukekubi has a weakness when it is sleeping and the head is floating around: if the body moves, t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Muromachi
The is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate (''Muromachi bakufu'' or ''Ashikaga bakufu''), which was officially established in 1338 by the first Muromachi ''shōgun'', Ashikaga Takauji, two years after the brief Kenmu Restoration (1333–1336) of imperial rule was brought to a close. The period ended in 1573 when the 15th and last shogun of this line, Ashikaga Yoshiaki, was driven out of the capital in Kyoto by Oda Nobunaga. From a cultural perspective, the period can be divided into the Kitayama and Higashiyama cultures (later 15th – early 16th centuries). The early years from 1336 to 1392 of the Muromachi period are known as the '' Nanboku-chō'' or Northern and Southern Court period. This period is marked by the continued resistance of the supporters of Emperor Go-Daigo, the emperor behind the Kenmu Restoration. The Sengoku period or Warring States period, which beg ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Japanese History
The first human inhabitants of the Japanese archipelago have been traced to prehistoric times around 30,000 BC. The Jōmon period, named after its cord-marked pottery, was followed by the Yayoi period in the first millennium BC when new inventions were introduced from Asia. During this period, the first known written reference to Japan was recorded in the Chinese ''Book of Han'' in the first century AD. Around the 3rd century BC, the Yayoi people from the continent immigrated to the Japanese archipelago and introduced iron technology and agricultural civilization. Because they had an agricultural civilization, the population of the Yayoi began to grow rapidly and ultimately overwhelmed the Jōmon people, natives of the Japanese archipelago who were hunter-gatherers. Between the fourth to ninth century, Japan's many kingdoms and tribes gradually came to be unified under a centralized government, nominally controlled by the Emperor of Japan. The imperial dynasty established a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Eikyō
was a after '' Shōchō'' and before '' Kakitsu''. This period spanned the years from September 1429 through February 1441. The reigning emperor was . Change of era * 1429 : The era name was changed to mark the beginning of the reign of Emperor Go-Hanazono. The previous era ended and a new era commenced in ''Shōchō 1'', on the 29th day of the 7th month, when the new emperor was proclaimed. Events of the ''Eikyō'' era * April 14, 1429 (''Eikyō 1, 9th day of the 3rd month''): Ashikaga Yoshinobu is honored in court; and thereafter, he is known as Yoshinori. * 1429: Yoshinori appointed shōgun.Ackroyd, Joyce. (1982) ''Lessons from History: The Tokushi Yoron, p. 330. * 1430: Southern army surrenders. * 1432: Akamatsu Mitsusuke flees; Yoshinori receives rescript from China. * 1433 (''Eikyō 5, 6th month''): The Emperor of China addressed a letter to ''shōgun'' Yoshinori in which, as a conventional aspect of the foreign relations of Imperial China, the Chinese assume that t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Feudal
Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structuring society around relationships that were derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour. Although it is derived from the Latin word ''feodum'' or ''feudum'' (fief), which was used during the Medieval period, the term ''feudalism'' and the system which it describes were not conceived of as a formal political system by the people who lived during the Middle Ages. The classic definition, by François Louis Ganshof (1944),François Louis Ganshof (1944). ''Qu'est-ce que la féodalité''. Translated into English by Philip Grierson as ''Feudalism'', with a foreword by F. M. Stenton, 1st ed.: New York and London, 1952; 2nd ed: 1961; 3rd ed.: 1976. describes a set of reciprocal legal and military obligations which existed a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Supernatural
Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings since the ancient world, the term "supernatural" emerged in the Middle Ages and did not exist in the ancient world. The supernatural is featured in folklore and religious contexts, but can also feature as an explanation in more secular contexts, as in the cases of superstitions or belief in the paranormal. The term is attributed to non-physical entities, such as angels, demons, gods, and spirits. It also includes claimed abilities embodied in or provided by such beings, including magic, telekinesis, levitation, precognition, and extrasensory perception. The philosophy of naturalism contends that nothing exists beyond the natural world, and as such approaches supernatural claims with skepticism. Etymology and history of the con ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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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 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Machismo
Machismo (; ; ; ) is the sense of being " manly" and self-reliant, a concept associated with "a strong sense of masculine pride: an exaggerated masculinity". Machismo is a term originating in the early 1930s and 1940s best defined as having pride in one’s masculinity. It is associated with "a man's responsibility to provide for, protect, and defend his family". Machismo is strongly and consistently associated with dominance, aggression, exhibition, and nurturance. The correlation to machismo is found to be deeply rooted in family dynamics and culture. The word has a long history both in Spain and Portugal, including the Spanish and Portuguese languages. in Portuguese and Spanish is a strictly masculine term, derived from from the Latin ''mascŭlus'', which means "male". It was originally associated with the ideal societal role men were expected to play in their communities, most particularly Iberian language-speaking societies and countries. In addition, due to Mexic ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Animal
Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Kingdom (biology), biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals Heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, are Motility, able to move, can Sexual reproduction, reproduce sexually, and go through an ontogenetic stage in which their body consists of a hollow sphere of Cell (biology), cells, the blastula, during Embryogenesis, embryonic development. Over 1.5 million Extant taxon, living animal species have been Species description, described—of which around 1 million are Insecta, insects—but it has been estimated there are over 7 million animal species in total. Animals range in length from to . They have Ecology, complex interactions with each other and their environments, forming intricate food webs. The scientific study of animals is known as zoology. Most living animal species are in Bilateria, a clade whose members have a Symmetry in biology#Bilate ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |