Suwa Shrine (Nagasaki)
Suwa Shrine (諏訪神社 ''suwa jinja'') is the major Shinto shrine of Nagasaki, Japan, and home to the Nagasaki Kunchi (''kunchi'' (くんち) is believed to refer to September 9 (9月9日,くにち) in the dialect of northern Kyushu). It is located in the northern part of the city, on the slopes of Mount Tamazono-san, and features a 277-step stone staircase leading up the mountain to the various buildings that comprise the shrine. Suwa shrine was established as a way of stopping and reverting the conversion to Christianity that was taking place in Nagasaki. In modern times it remains an important and successful center of the community. The shrine in Nagasaki is one of many Suwa shrines, all of which are dedicated to Suwa-no-Kami, a kami of valor and duty, and are linked with Suwa Taisha, the head shrine of Suwa-no-Kami worship. Two other kami spirits are also enshrined at Suwa shrine, all three of which are celebrated during the Kunchi. History The official date of constr ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Shinto
Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintoists'', although adherents rarely use that term themselves. There is no central authority in control of Shinto, with much diversity of belief and practice evident among practitioners. A polytheistic and animistic religion, Shinto revolves around supernatural entities called the . The are believed to inhabit all things, including forces of nature and prominent landscape locations. The are worshiped at household shrines, family shrines, and ''jinja'' public shrines. The latter are staffed by priests, known as , who oversee offerings of food and drink to the specific enshrined at that location. This is done to cultivate harmony between humans and and to solicit the latter's blessing. Other common rituals include the dances, rites of pa ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Japanese Festivals
Japanese festivals are traditional festive occasions often celebrated with dance and music in Japan. Many festivals have their roots in traditional Chinese festivals, but have undergone extensive changes over time to have little resemblance to their original form, despite sharing the same name and date. There are also various local festivals (e.g. Tobata Gion) that are mostly unknown outside a given prefecture. Unlike most people in East Asia, Japanese people generally do not celebrate the Lunar New Year, its observance having been supplanted by the Western New Year's Day on January 1 in the late 19th century (see Japanese New Year); however, many continue to observe several of its cultural practices. Many Chinese residents in Japan, as well as more traditional shrines and temples, still celebrate the Lunar New Year in parallel with the Western New Year. In Yokohama Chinatown, Japan's biggest Chinatown, tourists from all over Japan come to enjoy the festival, similar to ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hina Matsuri
, also called Doll's Day or Girls' Day, is a religious (Shinto) holiday in Japan, celebrated on 3March of each year. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric (2005)"Hina Matsuri"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 313. Platforms covered with a red carpet–material are used to display a set of representing the Emperor, Empress An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ..., attendants, and musicians in Jūnihitoe, traditional court dress of the Heian period. Customs is one of the that are held on auspicious dates of the Chinese calendar: the first day of the first month, the third day of the third month, and so on. After the adoption of the Gregorian calendar, these were fixed on New Year's Day, 1January, 3March, Tango no sekku, 5May, Tanabata, 7July, and Chrysanthemum Day, 9September. Th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Seijin Shiki
is a Japanese coming-of-age ceremony which dates back to Japan's classical Nara period, Nara Period (710–794 AD).[1] This ceremony marked the transition from child to adult status and the assumption of adult responsibilities. The age of participation varied throughout history and depended on factors such as sex, political climate, and social status. Most participants were aristocratic children between the ages of 10 and 20, and most descriptions of genpuku focus on the male ceremony rather than the female ceremony due to the exclusion of women from politically important court positions and warrior status. Important changes in clothing and hairstyle typically denoted this transition, for both men and women. Youth and children were often synonymous, and a period of adolescence was not often present throughout the periods in which traditional genpuku flourished. The etymology of the word, which is atypical, reflects the major points of genpuku ceremonial format; in this case ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Shichi-Go-San
is a traditional Japanese rite of passage and festival day for three- and seven-year-old girls, five-year-old and sometimes three-year-old boys, held annually on November 15 to celebrate the growth and well-being of young children. As it is not a national holiday, it is generally observed on the nearest weekend. History is said to have originated in the Heian period amongst court nobles who would celebrate the passage of their children into middle childhood, but it is also suggested that the idea was originated from the Muromachi period due to high infant mortality. The ages 3, 5 and 7 are consistent with East Asian numerology, which holds that odd numbers are lucky. The practice was set to the fifteenth of the month during the Kamakura period. Its meaning is to celebrate the survival of children, as infant and child mortality rates were higher in previous centuries. Over time, this tradition passed to the samurai class who added a number of rituals. The first of these ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Air Conditioner
Air conditioning, often abbreviated as A/C or AC, is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space to achieve a more comfortable interior environment (sometimes referred to as 'comfort cooling') and in some cases also strictly controlling the humidity of internal air. Air conditioning can be achieved using a mechanical 'air conditioner' or alternatively a variety of other methods, including passive cooling or ventilative cooling. Air conditioning is a member of a family of systems and techniques that provide heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC). Heat pumps are similar in many ways to air conditioners, but use a reversing valve to allow them to both heat and also cool an enclosed space. Air conditioners, which typically use vapor-compression refrigeration, range in size from small units used within vehicles or single rooms to massive units that can cool large buildings. Air source heat pumps, which can be used for heating as well as cooling, are becoming ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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God The Father
God the Father is a title given to God in Christianity. In mainstream trinity, trinitarian Christianity, God the Father is regarded as the first person of the Trinity, followed by the second person, God the Son Jesus Christ, and the third person, Holy Spirit (Christianity), God the Holy Spirit. Since the second century, Christian creeds included affirmation of belief in "God the Father (El Shaddai, Almighty)", primarily in his capacity as "Father and creator of the universe". However, in Christianity the concept of God as the father of Jesus Christ goes metaphysically further than the concept of God as the creator and father of all people, as indicated in the Apostles' Creed where the expression of belief in the "Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth" is immediately, but separately followed by in "Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord", thus expressing both senses of fatherhood. Christianity Overview In much of modern Christianity, God is addressed as the Father, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Urakami Cathedral
The Immaculate Conception Cathedral (無原罪の聖母司教座聖堂) also St. Mary's Cathedral, often known as Urakami Cathedral ( ja, 浦上天主堂, translit=Urakami Tenshudō) after its location Urakami, is a Roman Catholic cathedral located in Motoomachi, Nagasaki, Japan. History In 1865, the French priest Bernard Petitjean discovered that almost all the Urakami villagers were Christian. Even then Christianity was forbibbiden still for the locals, those rediscovered Kakure Kirishitan (Hidden Christians) were persecuted by the then central governments respecitively. Between 1869 and 1873, over 3,600 villagers were banished to exile by the newly installed government. During their exile, 650 died. The persecuted came back to their home village after 7 years exile in 1873, and decided to construct their own church. Construction of the original Urakami Cathedral, a brick Neo-Romanesque building, began in 1895, after a long-standing ban on Christianity was lifted. The ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Atomic Bombings Of Hiroshima And Nagasaki
The United States detonated two atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6 and 9 August 1945, respectively. The two bombings killed between 129,000 and 226,000 people, most of whom were civilians, and remain the only use of nuclear weapons in armed conflict so far. In the final year of World War II, the Allies of World War II, Allies prepared for a costly Operation Downfall, invasion of the Japanese mainland. This undertaking was preceded by a Air raids on Japan, conventional and firebombing campaign that devastated 64 Japanese cities. The European theatre of World War II, war in the European theatre concluded when Germany German Instrument of Surrender, surrendered on 8 May 1945, and the Allies turned their full attention to the Pacific War. By July 1945, the Allies' Manhattan Project had produced two types of atomic bombs: "Fat Man", a plutonium implosion-type nuclear weapon; and "Little Boy", an enriched uranium gun-type fission weapon. The 509th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Modern System Of Ranked Shinto Shrines
The was an organizational aspect of the establishment of Japanese State Shinto. This system classified Shinto shrines as either official government shrines or "other" shrines. The official shrines were divided into #Imperial shrines (''kampeisha''), which are parsed into minor, medium, or major sub-categories; and #National shrines (''kokuheisha''), which are similarly categorized as minor, medium, or major.Institute for Japanese Culture and Classics, Kokugakuin University Glossary of Shinto Names and Terms, ''Kampei Taisha.''/ref> Some shrines are the "first shrines" called '' ichinomiya'' that have the highest rank in their respective provinces of Japan. The Ise Grand Shrine stood at the top of all shrines and thus was outside the classification. History On the fourteenth day of the fifth month of 1871, by decree of the Dajō-kan, the fundamental elements of the modern shrine system were established: a hierarchic ranking of Shinto shrines, with specification of the grades ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kokuhei-chūsha
The was an organizational aspect of the establishment of Japanese State Shinto. This system classified Shinto shrines as either official government shrines or "other" shrines. The official shrines were divided into #Imperial shrines (''kampeisha''), which are parsed into minor, medium, or major sub-categories; and #National shrines (''kokuheisha''), which are similarly categorized as minor, medium, or major.Institute for Japanese Culture and Classics, Kokugakuin University Glossary of Shinto Names and Terms, ''Kampei Taisha.''/ref> Some shrines are the "first shrines" called ''ichinomiya'' that have the highest rank in their respective provinces of Japan. The Ise Grand Shrine stood at the top of all shrines and thus was outside the classification. History On the fourteenth day of the fifth month of 1871, by decree of the Dajō-kan, the fundamental elements of the modern shrine system were established: a hierarchic ranking of Shinto shrines, with specification of the grades of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |