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Tengu天狗keywords: god, mystery, religion related topics: Heian period , Minamoto no Yoshitsune , Yamabushi related web sites: http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~fd4h-krng/ explanation: Humanoid creatures living in Japanese mountains. They were wearing clothes like training Buddhist monks (Yamabushi) and feared to be responsible of kidnapping thanks to their magical powers (able to fly with their fan and to make themselves invisible). Because of their physiognomy (red face and great nose), there exists a thesis that they might be survivors of a wrecked Arabic or Jewish merchant ship. Minamoto no Yoshitsune was considered as a Tengu because of his ability when he was young. Tenjin天神 天神様alternative words: Tenjinsama, Tenjin-sama, Tenjin sama keywords: god related topics: Heian period , Dazaifu related web sites: http://www.kitanotenmangu.or.jp , http://www.dazaifutenmangu.or.jp explanation: After a high ranked politician of Heian period, Sugawara no Michizane, had been forced to exile to Dazaifu in Kyushu due to a false accusation and died there in 803, many natural calamities occurred in Kyoto. People, being afraid of his angry spirit, built a shrine at Kitano in Kyoto (Kitano Tenmangu shrine) to enshrine him as Tenjin (Heavenly god). Maichizane being also a well known scholar, Tenzin became a god of school and studies, and there exist 5000 child shrines of Tenmangu. Tenno天皇 大王 帝 御門alternative words: Japanese emperor, Emperor, Tennou, Mikado keywords: emperor, family, title related topics: Prince Shotoku , Yamato dynasty , Nara period , 5 Japanese kings , Prince Yamatotakeru , Empress Jingu related web sites: http://www.aura-press.com/scriba/index/tn-index.html , http://www.pure.co.jp/~cha-san/tennoryo.htm , http://www2.begin.or.jp/sakura/misasagi.htm , http://inoues.net/yamataikoku/tenno/tenno_meguri.html , http://www.kunaicho.go.jp explanation: Term used to designate the Japanese sovereign. Initially called "Ookimi", i.e. "Big king", it was prince Shotoku who proclaimed himself as "emperor" in a letter addressed to Chinese emperor in 7th century, while interior of Japan, the term "Sumera mikoto" was used. During Nara period, the usage of "Shigou" i.e. "post-mortem name" appeared. Though the actual emperor is counted as 125th, it may be contestable because some documents qualify Yamatotakeru or Jingukogo as emperor. Tenpo reform天保の改革 天保改革alternative words: Tenpo no kaikaku, Tempo reform, Tempo no kaikaku, Tenpou reform, Tenpou no kaikaku keywords: event, law related topics: Mizuno Tadakuni , Edo period , Edo shogunate , Daimyo , Hatamoto explanation: Reform of Edo shogunate launched by Roju, Mizuno Tadakuni in 1841-43. Following the great famine of Tenpo in 1833-36, the deficit of Edo shogunate increased while a great inflation appeared in big cities such as Tokyo and Osaka. Mizuno Tadakuni ordered to stop the luxury and send back farmers to their homelands (Hitogaeshi). He tried also to concentrate shogun's land around Edo (Agechirei) but it provoked a strong opposition among hatamoto and daimyo and forced him to resign roju. Tenrikyo天理教alternative words: Tenri kyo, Tenri sect, Tenrikyo sect keywords: religion, shintoism related topics: Edo period , Meiji period , Shintoism related web sites: http://www.tenrikyo.or.jp explanation: Shintoism sect founded by Nakayama Miki, woman married with a rich farmer of Yamato region. Through an extreme sufferance of family problems, one day, she revealed the god wish by writing down an oracle and organized peasants to transform the society (yonaoshi). The movement was persecuted several times by Meiji government but recognized in 1908 after her death. Tenrikyo owns 16,000 temples over the world and an university. Its headquarters is located at Tenry city in Nara prefecture. Tofu豆腐alternative words: Toufu, Toofu, Bean curd, Touhu keywords: food related topics: Soy sauce related web sites: http://www.aiweb.or.jp/otoufu/ , http://www2.nsknet.or.jp/~tofu/ , http://ww5.tiki.ne.jp/~takumian/ explanation: According to a legend, it was invented in China, 2000 years ago and introduced in Japan in the 7th century. It is made by ground soybeans boiled together with water. It is then filtered to separate solid part (okara) and liquid one (tounyu). Tounyo is then solidified by a coagulant (nigari) and pressed to form white rectangular blocks which are tofu. You can eat tofu alone with soy sauce or use it as ingredient in diverse Japanese dishes like miso soup or sukiyaki. Tokonoma床の間alternative words: Japanese alcove, alcove keywords: architecture, art related topics: Muromachi period , Kakemono , Ikebana , Kagami mochi explanation: During Muromachi period, in upper class houses, there existed place to hang a Buddhist picture scroll and to set a low table for incense or a flower base. This place had evolved to an alcove with a little elevated soil to replace the table. This place has lost the initial religious character but still remains, in traditional Japanese houses, as an ideal place to admire a changing season by hanging a picture scroll (Kekemono) and putting a flower base (Ikebana) before it. Tokugawa Ieyasu徳川家康 松平家康alternative words: Ieyasu Tokugawa, Ieyasu keywords: famous person, shogun, war lord related topics: Sengoku period , Oda Nobunaga , Toyotomi Hideyoshi , Ishida Mitsunari , Battle of Sekigahara , Shogun , Edo shogunate , Tokugawashi related web sites: http://member.nifty.ne.jp/gongen/ieyasu/ , http://www.shibuyam.com explanation: Born in the family of a local war lord in 1542 in the west of Aichi Prefecture. Sandwiched between 2 powerful clans, Imagawa in the east and Oda in the west, he spent his youth as a hostage of those families. But with a great patience, he had successfully enlarge his feud. After his allied, Toyotomi Hideyoshi's death, Ieyasu entered in a conflict with Hideyoshi's deputy, Ishida Mitsunari and beaten him in the great battle of Sekigahara in 1600. He became shogun in 1603 and died in 1616. Tokugawa Yoshinobu徳川慶喜 徳川慶喜alternative words: Yoshinobu Tokugawa, Tokugawa Keiki, Hitotsubashi Keiki keywords: famous person, meiji revolution, shogun related topics: Edo shogunate , Shogun , Gosanke , Kanagawa treaty , Meiji revolution related web sites: http://www.wnn.or.jp/wnn-history/bakumatsu/ishin/yosinobu/f_right.html , http://www.edu.pref.ibaraki.jp/rekishi/QandA/QandA.htm explanation: Last and 15th shogun of Edo shogunate. Born in 1873 as the 7th son of Seignior Mito. He strongly criticized a weak attitude of Edo shogunate when Commodore Perry had forced Japan to open her harbors. He had been then condemned to a house confinement but soon pardoned and nominated to the adviser of 14th shogun Iemochi, whom Yoshinobu succeeded in 1866. At that moment, Edo shogunate had been shaken by many factors, he had to surrender to Emperor's army in 1868. Tokugawashi徳川氏 徳川家 徳川 松平alternative words: Tokugawa family, Matsudaira family, Tokugawa, Matsudaira, Tokugawa ke, Matsudaira ke, Tokugawa shi, Matsudaira shi keywords: family, war lord related topics: Tokugawa Ieyasu , Oda Nobunaga , Imagawa Yoshimoto , Sengoku period , Daimyo , Edo shogunate , Tokugawa Yoshinobu related web sites: http://www2.harimaya.com/aoi/ explanation: Tokugawa had been a tiny sengoku daimyo in the mountainous region of the eastern Aichi. After a sudden death of his ally, Imagawa Yoshimoto then Oda Nobunaga, Tokugawa Ieyasu received Kanto region as his fief by allying with Toyotomi Hideyoshi. He opened Edo shogunate in 1603 and the regime continued until 1868 when the 15th shogun Yoshinobu returned back the title of shogun. Ieyasu changed his name, Matsudaira to Tokugawa in 1566 but the sub-branches were always called Matsudaira. | |
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