Empress Kōgyoku ( 皇極天皇 , Kōgyoku- tennō , 594–661) , also known as Empress Saimei ( 斉明天皇 , Saimei-tennō ) , was the 35th and 37th monarch of Japan , according to the traditional order of succession . Both her reigns were within the Asuka period .
126-534: Kōgyoku's reign spanned the years from 642 to 645. Her reign as Saimei encompassed 655 to 661. In other words, The two reigns of this one woman spanned the years from 642 through 661. In the history of Japan , Kōgyoku/Saimei was the second of eight women to take on the role of empress regnant . The sole female monarch before Kōgyoku/Saimei was Suiko -tennō . The six female sovereigns reigning after Kōgyoku/Saimei were Jitō , Genmei , Genshō , Kōken/Shōtoku , Meishō , and Go-Sakuramachi . Before her ascension to
252-402: A bathtub madonna . Religious images, usually in some sort of small shelter, placed by a road or pathway, sometimes in a settlement or at a crossroads. Shrines are found in many religions. As distinguished from a temple , a shrine usually houses a particular relic or cult image , which is the object of worship or veneration . A shrine may also be constructed to set apart a site which
378-486: A saint , on a pedestal or in an alcove, while others may be elaborate booths without ceilings, some include paintings, statuary, and architectural elements, such as walls, roofs, glass doors and ironwork fences. In the United States, some Christians have small yard shrines; some of these resemble side altars, since they are composed of a statue placed in a niche or grotto ; this type is colloquially referred to as
504-499: A yin-yang emblem is placed among peaceful settings to encourage meditation and study of Taoist texts and principles. Taoists place less emphasis on formalized attendance but include ritualized worship than other Asian religions ; formal temples and structures of worship came about in Taoism with the influence from Buddhism . Frequent features of Taoist shrines include the same features as full temples, often including any or all of
630-575: A centralized government, nominally controlled by the Emperor of Japan . The imperial dynasty established at this time continues to this day, albeit in an almost entirely ceremonial role. In 794, a new imperial capital was established at Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto ), marking the beginning of the Heian period , which lasted until 1185. The Heian period is considered a golden age of classical Japanese culture . Japanese religious life from this time and onwards
756-517: A deity was placed and offered prayers, instead of visits to a temple. Among Tamil Hindu homes, according to Pintchman, a shrine in Kitchen is more common. If the family is wealthy, it may locate the household shrine in a separate room. The line between a temple and a shrine in Taoism is not fully defined; shrines are usually smaller versions of larger Taoist temples or small places in a home where
882-463: A deterioration in already poor standards of health and nutrition, whereas contemporaneous Yayoi archaeological sites possess large structures suggestive of grain storehouses. This shift was accompanied by an increase in both the stratification of society and tribal warfare, indicated by segregated gravesites and military fortifications. During the Yayoi period, the Yayoi tribes gradually coalesced into
1008-600: A local diocesan bishop or archbishop can designate a local (arch)diocesan shrine. For a shrine to be a national shrine , the approval of the country's Episcopal Conference is required. Similarly, the approval of the Holy See at the Vatican in Rome is required for it to be "international. The Roman Catholic 1983 Code of Canon Law , canons 1230 and 1231 read: "The term shrine means a church or other sacred place which, with
1134-467: A major catalyst for further administrative reforms. These reforms culminated with the promulgation of the Taihō Code , which consolidated existing statutes and established the structure of the central government and its subordinate local governments. These legal reforms created the ritsuryō state, a system of Chinese-style centralized government that remained in place for half a millennium. The art of
1260-541: A number of kingdoms. The earliest written work to unambiguously mention Japan, the Book of Han , published in 111 AD, states that one hundred kingdoms comprised Japan, which is referred to as Wa . A later Chinese work of history, the Book of Wei , states that by 240 AD, the powerful kingdom of Yamatai , ruled by the female monarch Himiko , had gained ascendancy over the others, though modern historians continue to debate its location and other aspects of its depiction in
1386-418: A period of civil war . Over the course of the late 16th century, Japan was reunified under the leadership of the prominent daimyō Oda Nobunaga and his successor, Toyotomi Hideyoshi . After Toyotomi's death in 1598, Tokugawa Ieyasu came to power and was appointed shōgun by the emperor. The Tokugawa shogunate , which governed from Edo (modern Tokyo ), presided over a prosperous and peaceful era known as
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#17327727794851512-685: A popular destination for pious visitation is the Zaouia Moulay Idriss II . The area around Timbuktu in Mali also has many historic Sufi shrines which were destroyed by Islamist in recent years. Many of these have since been rebuilt. A saint's tomb is a site of great veneration where blessings or baraka continue to reach the deceased holy person and are deemed (by some) to benefit visiting devotees and pilgrims according to Sufi beliefs. In order to show reverence to Sufi saints, kings, and nobles provided large donations or waqf to preserve
1638-590: A rival member of the imperial family to the throne, Emperor Kōmyō , who did appoint him shogun. Go-Daigo responded by fleeing to the southern city of Yoshino , where he set up a rival government. This ushered in a prolonged period of conflict between the Northern Court and the Southern Court . Takauji set up his shogunate in the Muromachi district of Kyoto. However, the shogunate was faced with
1764-442: A series of natural disasters, including wildfires, droughts, famines, and outbreaks of disease, such as a smallpox epidemic in 735–737 that killed over a quarter of the population. Emperor Shōmu (r. 724–749) feared his lack of piousness had caused the trouble and so increased the government's promotion of Buddhism, including the construction of the temple Tōdai-ji in 752. The funds to build this temple were raised in part by
1890-605: A similar way to shrines by parishioners. Side altars are specifically dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus, to her husband Saint Joseph , or to other saints. A nativity scene could also be viewed as a shrine, as the definition of a shrine is any holy or sacred place. Islam's holiest structure, the Kaaba (within the Al-Haram Mosque ) in the city of Mecca , though an ancient temple (in
2016-705: A substantial following in Japan reaching 350,000 believers. In 1549 the Jesuit missionary Francis Xavier disembarked in Kyushu. Initiating direct commercial and cultural exchange between Japan and the West, the first map made of Japan in the west was represented in 1568 by the Portuguese cartographer Fernão Vaz Dourado . The Portuguese were allowed to trade and create colonies where they could convert new believers into
2142-497: A trading ship was blown off course and landed in 1543 on the Japanese island of Tanegashima , just south of Kyushu. The three Portuguese traders on board were the first Europeans to set foot in Japan. Soon European traders would introduce many new items to Japan, most importantly the musket . By 1556, the daimyōs were using about 300,000 muskets in their armies. The Europeans also brought Christianity , which soon came to have
2268-521: A war memorial. Shrines can be found in various settings, such as churches, temples, cemeteries, or as household shrines. Portable shrines are also found in some cultures. Many shrines are located within buildings and in the temples designed specifically for worship, such as a church in Christianity, or a mandir in Hinduism. A shrine here is usually the center of attention in the building and
2394-553: A world economic powerhouse . Since the Lost Decade of the 1990s, Japanese economic growth has slowed. Hunter-gatherers arrived in Japan in Paleolithic times, with the oldest evidence dating to around 38–40,000 years ago. Little evidence of their presence remains, as Japan's acidic soils tend to degrade bone remains. However, the discovery of unique edge-ground axes in Japan dated to over 30,000 years ago may be evidence of
2520-611: Is a sacred space dedicated to a specific deity , ancestor , hero , martyr , saint , daemon , or similar figure of respect, wherein they are venerated or worshipped. Shrines often contain idols , relics , or other such objects associated with the figure being venerated. A shrine at which votive offerings are made is called an altar . Shrines are found in many of the world's religions, including Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Chinese folk religion , Shinto , indigenous Philippine folk religions , and Germanic paganism as well as in secular and non-religious settings such as
2646-525: Is a collective term for the very few most powerful men attached to the court of the Emperor of Japan in pre- Meiji eras. In general, this elite group included only three to four men at a time. These were hereditary courtiers whose experience and background would have brought them to the pinnacle of a life's career. During Kōgyoku's reign, this apex of the Daijō-kan included: The kugyō during Saimei's reign included: Empress Saimei, born Princess Takara,
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#17327727794852772-455: Is a matter of consensus." Similarly, Ibn Qudamah (d. 620 AH) considered ziyāra of Muhammad to be recommended and also seeking intercession directly from Muhammad at his grave. The tombs of other Muslim religious figures are also respected. The son of Ahmad ibn Hanbal , one of the primary jurists of Sunnism, reportedly stated that he would prefer to be buried near the mausoleum of a saintly person than his own father. While in some parts of
2898-522: Is commonly accepted that the tomb was built for Emperor Nintoku . The kofun were often surrounded by and filled with numerous haniwa clay sculptures, often in the shape of warriors and horses. The center of the unified state was Yamato in the Kinai region of central Japan. The rulers of the Yamato state were a hereditary line of emperors who still reign as the world's longest dynasty. The rulers of
3024-609: Is focused on Lord Buddha or one of the bodhisattvas or arahants . Monks, nuns and laity will pay homage with the aide of Buddhist iconography at these shrines which are also used for Buddhist meditation . Typically, Buddhist shrines contain a statue of either Gautama Buddha, or (in the Mahayana and Vajrayana forms of Buddhism), one of the various Buddhas or bodhisattvas. They also commonly contain candles, along with offerings such as flowers, purified water, food, and incense. Many shrines also contain sacred relics , such as
3150-467: Is given a place of prominence. In such cases, adherents of the faith assemble within the building in order to venerate the deity at the shrine. In classical temple architecture, the shrine may be synonymous with the cella . Historically, in Hinduism , Buddhism and Roman Catholicism , and also in modern faiths, such as Neopaganism , a shrine can commonly be found within the home or shop. This shrine
3276-464: Is not traditionally listed. Unless otherwise noted (as BC), years are in CE / AD individuals that were given the title of empress posthumously individuals elevated to the rank of empress due to their position as honorary mother of the emperor Shōshi served briefly as honorary empress for her younger brother Emperor Go-Daigo History of Japan The first human inhabitants of
3402-597: Is one of the ugliest positions that has been reported of Ibn Taymiyya". The Hanafi hadith scholar Ali al-Qari stated that, "Amongst the Hanbalis, Ibn Taymiyya has gone to an extreme by prohibiting travelling to visit the Prophet – may God bless him and grant him peace" Qastallani stated that "The Shaykh Taqi al-Din Ibn Taymiyya has abominable and odd statements on this issue to the effect that travelling to visit
3528-474: Is supported by genetic and linguistic studies. Historian Hanihara Kazurō has suggested that the annual immigrant influx from the continent range from 350 to 3,000. The population of Japan began to increase rapidly, perhaps with a 10-fold rise over the Jōmon. Calculations of the increasing population size by the end of the Yayoi period have varied from 1 to 4 million. Skeletal remains from the late Jōmon period reveal
3654-478: Is thought to be particularly holy, as opposed to being placed for the convenience of worshipers. Shrines therefore attract the practice of pilgrimage . Shrines are found in many forms of Christianity, but not all. Catholicism , the largest denomination of Christianity, has many shrines, as do Orthodox Christianity , Anglicanism and some forms of Lutheranism . In the Roman Catholic Church,
3780-1196: Is to visit or make pilgrimages to the tombs of saints, renowned scholars, and righteous people. This is a particularly common practice in the Indian subcontinent , where famous tombs include of saints such as Sayyid Ali Hamadani in Kulob , Tajikistan; Afāq Khoja , near Kashgar , China; Lal Shahbaz Qalandar in Sindh ; Ali Hujwiri in Lahore , Pakistan; Bahauddin Zakariya in Multan Pakistan; Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer , India; Nizamuddin Auliya in Delhi , India; and Shah Jalal in Sylhet , Bangladesh. Likewise, in Fez , Morocco,
3906-453: Is usually a small structure or a setup of pictures and figurines dedicated to a deity that is part of the official religion, to ancestors or to a localised household deity . Small outdoor yard shrines are found at the bottom of many peoples' gardens, following various religions, including historically, Balinese Hinduism , Christianity . Many consist of a statue of Christ , Virgin Mary or
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4032-488: Is usually placed in the main shrine. Confucian shrines exist outside of China too, mainly in Japan, Korea and Vietnam. There are also quite a number of Confucian shrines in Taiwan like Tainan Confucian Temple and Taipei Confucius Temple , they are well-maintained by the government. However, many Taoist temples dedicated a shrine for the worship of Confucius or Wen Chang Di Jun (God of Literature). In some countries around
4158-562: The Tosa Diary , both associated with the poet Ki no Tsurayuki , as well as Sei Shōnagon 's collection of miscellany The Pillow Book , and Murasaki Shikibu 's Tale of Genji , often considered the masterpiece of Japanese literature. The development of the kana written syllabaries was part of a general trend of declining Chinese influence during the Heian period. The official Japanese missions to Tang dynasty of China, which began in
4284-727: The Abe clan , who occupied key posts in the regional government, were openly defying the central authority. The court requested the Minamoto clan to engage the Abe clan, whom they defeated in the Former Nine Years' War . The court thus temporarily reasserted its authority in northern Japan. Following another civil war – the Later Three-Year War – Fujiwara no Kiyohira took full power; his family,
4410-749: The Al-Askari Shrine , and Imam Hussein Shrine . Other Shia shrines are located in the eponymous cities of Mazar-e Sharif ("The Noble Mausoleum ") in Afghanistan , and Mashhad ( al-Rida ) (" Martyrium [of Ali Rida ]") in Iran. The Mausoleum of Ruhollah Khomeini in Tehran houses the tombs of Ruhollah Khomenei , the leader of Iran's 1978–79 revolution , his wife , and a few other related people. In popular Sufism , one common practice
4536-724: The Battle of Okehazama , his army defeated a force several times its size led by the powerful daimyō Imagawa Yoshimoto . Nobunaga was renowned for his strategic leadership and his ruthlessness. He encouraged Christianity to incite hatred toward his Buddhist enemies and to forge strong relationships with European arms merchants. He equipped his armies with muskets and trained them with innovative tactics. He promoted talented men regardless of their social status, including his peasant servant Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who became one of his best generals. The Azuchi–Momoyama period began in 1568, when Nobunaga seized Kyoto and thus effectively brought an end to
4662-519: The Book of Wei . During the subsequent Kofun period , Japan gradually unified under a single territory. The symbol of the growing power of Japan's new leaders was the kofun burial mounds they constructed from around 250 AD onwards. Many were of massive scale, such as the Daisenryō Kofun , a 486 m-long keyhole-shaped burial mound that took huge teams of laborers fifteen years to complete. It
4788-587: The Chrysanthemum Throne , her personal name ( imina ) was Takara ( 宝 ) . As empress, her name would have been Ametoyo Takara Ikashi Hitarashi hime ( 天豐財重日足姬 ) . Princess Takara ( Takara no miko ) was a great-granddaughter of Emperor Bidatsu . During her first reign the Soga clan seized power. Her son Naka no Ōe planned a coup d'état and slew Soga no Iruka at the court in front of her throne. The Empress, shocked by this incident, abdicated
4914-498: The Disciples of Confucius . These temples are known as "Temples of Confucius" (孔廟) or "Temples of Literature" (文廟). Unlike Taoist temples, Confucian temples usually do not installed the images of Confucius but the tablets. It is argued that the temple was to honour Confucius's teachings, not Confucius himself. The temples consist of gardens and then a large pavilion where incense is burnt. The tablet or sometime an image of Confucius
5040-807: The Dome of the Rock and the smaller Dome of the Chain built on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem . The former was built over the rock that marked the site of the Jewish Temple and according to Islamic tradition, was the point of departure of Muhammad's legendary ascent heavenwards ( al-Mi'raj ). More than any other shrines in the Muslim world, the tomb of Muhammad is considered a source of blessings for
5166-589: The Edo period (1600–1868). The Tokugawa shogunate imposed a strict class system on Japanese society and cut off almost all contact with the outside world . Portugal and Japan came into contact in 1543, when the Portuguese became the first Europeans to reach Japan by landing in the southern archipelago. They had a significant impact on Japan, even in this initial limited interaction, introducing firearms to Japanese warfare . The American Perry Expedition in 1853–54 more completely ended Japan's seclusion; this contributed to
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5292-584: The Five kings of Wa . Craftsmen and scholars from China and the Three Kingdoms of Korea played an important role in transmitting continental technologies and administrative skills to Japan during this period. Historians agree that there was a big struggle between the Yamato federation and the Izumo Federation centuries before written records. The Asuka period began as early as 538 AD with
5418-572: The Japanese archipelago have been traced to the Paleolithic , around 38–39,000 years ago. 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
5544-597: The Kantō region located in eastern Japan, its power was legally authorized by the Imperial court in Kyoto on several occasions. In 1192, the emperor declared Yoritomo seii tai-shōgun ( 征夷大将軍 ; Eastern Barbarian Subduing Great General ), abbreviated as shōgun . Yoritomo's government was called the bakufu ( 幕府 ("tent government")), referring to the tents where his soldiers encamped. The English term shogunate refers to
5670-639: The Mongol Empire . Though outnumbered by an enemy equipped with superior weaponry, the Japanese fought the Mongols to a standstill in Kyushu on both occasions until the Mongol fleet was destroyed by typhoons called kamikaze , meaning "divine wind". In spite of the Kamakura shogunate's victory, the defense so depleted its finances that it was unable to provide compensation to its vassals for their role in
5796-691: The Northern Fujiwara , controlled northern Honshu for the next century from their capital Hiraizumi . In 1156, a dispute over succession to the throne erupted and the two rival claimants ( Emperor Go-Shirakawa and Emperor Sutoku ) hired the Taira and Minamoto clans in the hopes of securing the throne by military force. During this war, the Taira clan led by Taira no Kiyomori defeated the Minamoto clan. Kiyomori used his victory to accumulate power for himself in Kyoto and even installed his own grandson Antoku as emperor. The outcome of this war led to
5922-543: The Second Vatican Council they contained small side altars or bye-altars. Shrines are always centered on some image (for instance, a statue, painting, mural or mosaic) of Jesus Christ , of Mary, mother of Jesus , or of a saint, and may have had a reredos behind them. Today, Mass would not necessarily be celebrated at them. They are simply used to aid or give a visual focus for prayers. Side altars, where Mass could actually be celebrated, were used in
6048-584: The Taira . After seizing power, Yoritomo set up his capital in Kamakura and took the title of shōgun . In 1274 and 1281, the Kamakura shogunate withstood two Mongol invasions , but in 1333 it was toppled by a rival claimant to the shogunate, ushering in the Muromachi period . During this period, regional warlords called daimyō grew in power at the expense of the shōgun . Eventually, Japan descended into
6174-428: The Wahhabi and Salafi movements, which believe that shrines over graves encourage idolatry / polytheism ( shirk ) and that there is a risk of worshipping other than God (the dead). The founder of the Wahhabi movement, Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab derived the prohibition to build mosques over graves from a hadith attributed to the Muhammad in which he said "May God curse the Jews and Christians who make
6300-405: The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Soviet invasion of Manchuria . The Allies occupied Japan until 1952, during which a new constitution was enacted in 1947 that transformed Japan into the constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy it is today. After 1955, Japan enjoyed very high economic growth under the governance of the Liberal Democratic Party , and became
6426-413: The bakufu . Japan remained largely under military rule until 1868. Legitimacy was conferred on the shogunate by the Imperial court, but the shogunate was the de facto rulers of the country. The court maintained bureaucratic and religious functions, and the shogunate welcomed participation by members of the aristocratic class. The older institutions remained intact in a weakened form, and Kyoto remained
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#17327727794856552-495: The fall of the shogunate and the return of power to the emperor during the Boshin War in 1868. The new national leadership of the following Meiji era (1868–1912) transformed the isolated feudal island country into an empire that closely followed Western models and became a great power . Although democracy developed and modern civilian culture prospered during the Taishō period (1912–1926), Japan's powerful military had great autonomy and overruled Japan's civilian leaders in
6678-470: The 1920s and 1930s. The Japanese military invaded Manchuria in 1931, and from 1937 the conflict escalated into a prolonged war with China . Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 led to war with the United States and its allies . Japan's forces soon became overextended, but the military held out in spite of Allied air attacks that inflicted severe damage on population centers. Emperor Hirohito announced Japan's surrender on 15 August 1945, following
6804-475: 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 and ninth centuries, Japan's many kingdoms and tribes gradually came to be unified under
6930-453: The Asakura Palace before the army departed to Korea . In October her body was brought from Kyūshū by sea to Port Naniwa-zu (today Osaka city ); and her state funeral was held in early November. Empress Saimei ruled for seven years. The years of Saimei's reign are not linked by scholars to any era or nengō . The Taika era innovation of naming time periods – nengō – languished until Mommu reasserted an imperial right by proclaiming
7056-539: The Ashikaga shogunate the country descended into another, more violent period of civil war. This started in 1467 when the Ōnin War broke out over who would succeed the ruling shogun. The daimyōs each took sides and burned Kyoto to the ground while battling for their preferred candidate. By the time the succession was settled in 1477, the shogun had lost all power over the daimyō , who now ruled hundreds of independent states throughout Japan. During this Warring States period , daimyōs fought among themselves for control of
7182-490: The Ashikaga shogunate. He was well on his way towards his goal of reuniting all Japan when, in 1582, one of his own officers, Akechi Mitsuhide , killed him during an abrupt attack on his encampment. Hideyoshi avenged Nobunaga by crushing Akechi's uprising and emerged as Nobunaga's successor. Hideyoshi completed the reunification of Japan by conquering Shikoku , Kyushu, and the lands of the Hōjō family in eastern Japan. He launched sweeping changes to Japanese society, including
7308-410: The Asuka period embodies the themes of Buddhist art. One of the most famous works is the Buddhist temple of Hōryū-ji , commissioned by Prince Shōtoku and completed in 607 AD. It is now the oldest wooden structure in the world. In 710, the government constructed a grandiose new capital at Heijō-kyō (modern Nara ) modeled on Chang'an , the capital of the Chinese Tang dynasty . During this period,
7434-444: The Christian religion. The civil war status in Japan greatly benefited the Portuguese, as well as several competing gentlemen who sought to attract Portuguese black boats and their trade to their domains. Initially, the Portuguese stayed on the lands belonging to Matsura Takanobu , Firando (Hirado), and in the province of Bungo, lands of Ōtomo Sōrin, but in 1562 they moved to Yokoseura when the Daimyô there, Omura Sumitada, offered to be
7560-428: The Golden Pavilion" built in Kyoto in 1397. During the second half of the 16th century, Japan gradually reunified under two powerful warlords: Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi . The period takes its name from Nobunaga's headquarters, Azuchi Castle , and Hideyoshi's headquarters, Momoyama Castle . Nobunaga was the daimyō of the small province of Owari . He burst onto the scene suddenly, in 1560, when, during
7686-453: The Japanese occurred in 1565. In the Battle of Fukuda Bay , the daimyō Matsura Takanobu attacked two Portuguese trade vessels at Hirado port. The engagement led the Portuguese traders to find a safe harbor for their ships that took them to Nagasaki . In 1571, Dom Bartolomeu, also known as Ōmura Sumitada , guaranteed a little land in the small fishing village of "Nagasáqui" to the Jesuits, who divided it into six areas. They could use
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#17327727794857812-479: The Jōmon. They also introduced weaving and silk production, new woodworking methods, glassmaking technology, and new architectural styles. The expansion of the Yayoi appears to have brought about a fusion with the indigenous Jōmon, resulting in a small genetic admixture. These Yayoi technologies originated on the Asian mainland. There is debate among scholars as to what degree their spread can be attributed to migration or to cultural diffusion. The migration theory
7938-418: The Kaaba in Islamic tradition. The Green Dome sepulcher of the Islamic prophet Muhammad (where his burial chamber also contains the tombs of his friend Abu Bakr and close companion Umar ) in Medina , housed in the Masjid an-Nabawi ("The Mosque of the Prophet"), occurs as a greatly venerated place and important as a site of pilgrimage among Muslims. Two of the oldest and notable Islamic shrines are
8064-412: The Kamakura period, continued well into the Muromachi period. By 1450 Japan's population stood at ten million, compared to six million at the end of the thirteenth century. Commerce flourished, including considerable trade with China and Korea. Because the daimyōs and other groups within Japan were minting their own coins, Japan began to transition from a barter-based to a currency-based economy. During
8190-407: The Kamakura shogunate. Japan nevertheless entered a period of prosperity and population growth starting around 1250. In rural areas, the greater use of iron tools and fertilizer, improved irrigation techniques, and double-cropping increased productivity and rural villages grew. Fewer famines and epidemics allowed cities to grow and commerce to boom. Buddhism, which had been largely a religion of
8316-421: The Minamoto clan was sealed in 1185, when a force commanded by Yoritomo's younger brother, Minamoto no Yoshitsune , scored a decisive victory at the naval Battle of Dan-no-ura . Yoritomo and his retainers thus became the de facto rulers of Japan. During the Heian period, the imperial court was a vibrant center of high art and culture. Its literary accomplishments include the poetry collection Kokinshū and
8442-420: The Muslim world the mausoleums of the tombs are seen as simply places of ziyāra of a religious figure's gravesite ( Mazār / Maqbara ), in others (such as the Indian subcontinent ) they are treated as proper shrines ( Dargah ). Many modern Islamic reformers oppose the building (and sometimes the visitation of ) tomb shrines, viewing it as a deviation from true Islam. This mainly includes followers of
8568-692: The Philippines. They were either small roof-less platforms or standing poles split at the tip (similar to a tiki torch ). They held halved coconut shells, metal plates, or martaban jars as receptacles for offerings. Taotao may sometimes also be placed on these platforms. Other types of sacred places or objects of worship of diwata include the material manifestation of their realms. The most widely venerated were balete trees (also called nonok , nunuk , nonoc , etc.) and anthills or termite mounds ( punso ). Other examples include mountains, waterfalls, tree groves, reefs, and caves. In Germanic paganism , types of shrines were employed, but terms for
8694-435: The Prophet is prohibited and is not a pious deed." Shias have several mazars dedicated to various religious figures important in their history, and several elaborate shrines ( Marqad / Maqam ) are dedicated to Shia religious figures, most notably in Iraq (such as in the cities of Karbala , Najaf , Samarra ) and in Iran (such as in the cities of Qom and Mashad ). Specific examples of Shia shrines include
8820-401: The Soga cause, who was of partial Soga descent, served as regent and de facto leader of Japan from 594 to 622. Shōtoku authored the Seventeen-article constitution , a Confucian -inspired code of conduct for officials and citizens, and attempted to introduce a merit-based civil service called the Cap and Rank System . In 607, Shōtoku offered a subtle insult to China by opening his letter with
8946-455: The Yamato extended their power across Japan through military conquest, but their preferred method of expansion was to convince local leaders to accept their authority in exchange for positions of influence in the government. Many of the powerful local clans who joined the Yamato state became known as the uji . These leaders sought and received formal diplomatic recognition from China, and Chinese accounts record five successive such leaders as
9072-499: The aid of Empress Shōtoku , but after her death in 770 he lost all his power and was exiled. The Fujiwara clan furthermore consolidated its power. The Heian period (平安時代, Heian jidai) is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kammu , moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). Heian (平安) means "peace" in Japanese. In 784,
9198-646: The approval of the local Ordinary, is by reason of special devotion frequented by the faithful as pilgrims. For a shrine to be described as national, the approval of the Episcopal Conference is necessary. For it to be described as international, the approval of the Holy See is required." In unofficial, colloquial Catholic use, the term "shrine" is a niche or alcove in churches, especially larger ones, used by parishioners when praying privately. They were formerly also called devotional altars , since before
9324-441: The artistic pursuits of court nobles that it neglected the administration of government outside the capital. The nationalization of land undertaken as part of the ritsuryō state decayed as various noble families and religious orders succeeded in securing tax-exempt status for their private shōen manors. By the eleventh century, more land in Japan was controlled by shōen owners than by the central government. The imperial court
9450-529: The capital moved briefly to Nagaoka-kyō , then again in 794 to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto ), which remained the capital until 1868. Political power within the court soon passed to the Fujiwara clan, a family of court nobles who grew increasingly close to the imperial family through intermarriage. Between 812 and 814 CE, a smallpox epidemic killed almost half of the Japanese population. In 858, Fujiwara no Yoshifusa had himself declared sesshō ("regent") to
9576-617: The city directly to the Jesuits in 1580. After a few years, the Jesuits came to realize that if they understood the language they would achieve more conversions to the Catholic religion. Jesuits such as João Rodrigues wrote a Japanese dictionary . Thus Portuguese became the first Western language to have such a dictionary when it was published in Nagasaki in 1603. In spite of the war, Japan's relative economic prosperity, which had begun in
9702-500: The commencement of Taihō in 701. The actual site of Kōgyoku/Saimei's grave is known, having been identified as the Kengoshizuka tomb in the village of Asuka , Nara Prefecture . This empress is traditionally venerated at a memorial Shinto shrine ( misasagi ) at Nara. The Imperial Household Agency designates this location as Kōgyoku/Seimei's mausoleum . It is formally named Ochi-no-Okanoe no misasagi . Kugyō (公卿)
9828-521: The confiscation of swords from the peasantry, new restrictions on daimyōs , persecutions of Christians, a thorough land survey, and a new law effectively forbidding the peasants and samurai from changing their social class. Hideyoshi's land survey designated all those who were cultivating the land as being "commoners", an act which effectively granted freedom to most of Japan's slaves . Shrine A shrine ( Latin : scrinium "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French : escrin "box or case")
9954-427: The context known to foreign cultures. However, they do have sacred shrines , which are also called as spirit houses . They can range in size from small roofed platforms, to structures similar to a small house (but with no walls), to shrines that look similar to pagodas, especially in the south where early mosques were also modeled in the same way. These shrines were known in various indigenous terms, which depend on
10080-457: The country together was Takauji's grandson Ashikaga Yoshimitsu , who came to power in 1368 and remained influential until his death in 1408. Yoshimitsu expanded the power of the shogunate and in 1392, brokered a deal to bring the Northern and Southern Courts together and end the civil war. Henceforth, the shogunate kept the emperor and his court under tight control. During the final century of
10206-492: The country. Some of the most powerful daimyōs of the era were Uesugi Kenshin and Takeda Shingen . One enduring symbol of this era was the ninja , skilled spies and assassins hired by daimyōs . Few definite historical facts are known about the secretive lifestyles of the ninja, who became the subject of many legends. In addition to the daimyōs , rebellious peasants and "warrior monks" affiliated with Buddhist temples also raised their own armies. Amid this on-going anarchy,
10332-512: The development of rice cultivation and metallurgy. Until recently, the onset of this wave of cultural and technological changes was thought to have begun around 400 BC. Radio-carbon evidence now suggests that the new phase started some 500 years earlier, between 1,000 and 800 BC. Endowed with bronze and iron weapons and tools initially imported from China and the Korean peninsula, the Yayoi radiated out from northern Kyūshū , gradually supplanting
10458-495: The elephant Palaeoloxodon naumanni , and the giant deer Sinomegaceros yabei . The Jōmon period of prehistoric Japan spans from roughly 13,000 BC to about 1,000 BC. Japan was inhabited by a predominantly hunter-gatherer culture that reached a considerable degree of sedentism and cultural complexity. The name Jōmon, meaning "cord-marked", was first applied by American scholar Edward S. Morse , who discovered shards of pottery in 1877. The pottery style characteristic of
10584-525: The elites, was brought to the masses by prominent monks, such as Hōnen (1133–1212), who established Pure Land Buddhism in Japan, and Nichiren (1222–1282), who founded Nichiren Buddhism . Zen Buddhism spread widely among the samurai class. Takauji and many other samurai soon became dissatisfied with Emperor Go-Daigo's Kenmu Restoration , an ambitious attempt to monopolize power in the imperial court. Takauji rebelled after Go-Daigo refused to appoint him shōgun. In 1338, Takauji captured Kyoto and installed
10710-575: The ethnic group association. They can also be used as places to store taotao and caskets of ancestors. Among Bicolanos, taotao were also kept inside sacred caves called moog . During certain ceremonies, anito are venerated through temporary altars near sacred places. These were called latangan or lantayan in Visayan and dambana or lambana in Tagalog. These bamboo or rattan altars are identical in basic construction throughout most of
10836-612: The famous sacred tooth of Lord Buddha installed at a shrine in Sri Lanka . Site-specific shrines in Buddhism, particularly those that contain relics of past Buddhas and revered enlightened monks, are often designed in the traditional form known as the Stupa or Cetiya . Ancient Filipinos, and Filipinos today who continue to adhere to the indigenous Philippine folk religions generally do not have so-called "temples" of worship under
10962-459: The first Homo sapiens in Japan. Early humans likely arrived in Japan by sea on watercraft. Evidence of human habitation has been dated to 32,000 years ago in Okinawa's Yamashita Cave and up to 20,000 years ago on Ishigaki Island's Shiraho Saonetabaru Cave . Evidence has been found suggesting that Japan's Paleolithic inhabitants interacted with and butchered now extinct megafauna , including
11088-591: The first lord to convert to Christianity, adopting the name of Dom Bartolomeu. In 1564, he faced a rebellion instigated by the Buddhist clergy and Yokoseura was destroyed. In 1561 forces under Ōtomo Sōrin attacked the castle in Moji with an alliance with the Portuguese, who provided three ships, with a crew of about 900 men and more than 50 cannons. This is thought to be the first bombardment by foreign ships on Japan. The first recorded naval battle between Europeans and
11214-634: The first phases of Jōmon culture was decorated by impressing cords into the surface of wet clay. Jōmon pottery is generally accepted to be among the oldest in East Asia and the world. The advent of the Yayoi people from the Asian mainland brought fundamental transformations to the Japanese archipelago. The millennial achievements of the Neolithic Revolution took hold of the islands in a relatively short span of centuries, particularly with
11340-467: The first two books produced in Japan appeared: the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki , which contain chronicles of legendary accounts of early Japan and its creation myth , which describes the imperial line as descendants of the gods . The Man'yōshū was compiled in the latter half of the eighth century, which is widely considered the finest collection of Japanese poetry. During this period, Japan suffered
11466-514: The following features: gardens , running water or fountains, small burning braziers or candles (with or without incense ), and copies of Taoist texts such as the Tao Te Ching , Zhuangzi or other texts by Lao Tzu , Chuang Tzu or other Taoist sages. A number of Confucian temples and shrines exist across the sinophone world, it is a temple for the veneration of Confucius , great sages , eminent philosophers of Confucianism and also
11592-465: The founder of the Fujiwara clan . Their government devised and implemented the far-reaching Taika Reforms . The Reform began with land reform, based on Confucian ideas and philosophies from China . It nationalized all land in Japan, to be distributed equally among cultivators, and ordered the compilation of a household registry as the basis for a new system of taxation. The true aim of the reforms
11718-416: The graves of their prophets into places of worship; do not imitate them." Additionally, he commanded leveling of the graves ( taswiyat al-qubur ), which the scholar Imam Al-Shafi'i supported. The Wahhabi movement was heavily influenced by the works of the medieval Hanbali theologian Ibn Taymiyyah who was considered by them to be the "ultimate authority on a great number of issues". One of these issues
11844-458: The influential Buddhist monk Gyōki , and once completed it was used by the Chinese monk Ganjin as an ordination site. Japan nevertheless entered a phase of population decline that continued well into the following Heian period . There was also a serious attempt to overthrow the Imperial house during the middle Nara period. During the 760s, monk Dōkyō tried to establish his own dynasty with
11970-526: The introduction of the Buddhist religion from the Korean kingdom of Baekje . Since then, Buddhism has coexisted with Japan's native Shinto religion, in what is today known as Shinbutsu-shūgō . The period draws its name from the de facto imperial capital, Asuka , in the Kinai region. The Buddhist Soga clan took over the government in the 580s and controlled Japan from behind the scenes for nearly sixty years. Prince Shōtoku , an advocate of Buddhism and of
12096-455: The land to receive Christians exiled from other territories, as well as for Portuguese merchants. The Jesuits built a chapel and a school under the name of São Paulo, like those in Goa and Malacca. By 1579, Nagasáqui had four hundred houses, and some Portuguese had gotten married. Fearful that Nagasaki could fall into the hands of its rival Takanobu, Omura Sumitada (Dom Bartolomeu) decided to guarantee
12222-550: The late Heian period after hundreds of years of decline. During the early Heian period, the imperial court successfully consolidated its control over the Emishi people of northern Honshu. Ōtomo no Otomaro was the first man the court granted the title of seii tai-shōgun ("Great Barbarian Subduing General"). In 802, seii tai-shōgun Sakanoue no Tamuramaro subjugated the Emishi people, who were led by Aterui . By 1051, members of
12348-427: The official capital. This system has been contrasted with the "simple warrior rule" of the later Muromachi period. Yoritomo soon turned on Yoshitsune, who was initially harbored by Fujiwara no Hidehira , the grandson of Kiyohira and the de facto ruler of northern Honshu. In 1189, after Hidehira's death, his successor Yasuhira attempted to curry favor with Yoritomo by attacking Yoshitsune's home. Although Yoshitsune
12474-419: The period, some of Japan's most representative art forms developed, including ink wash painting , ikebana flower arrangement, the tea ceremony , Japanese gardening , bonsai , and Noh theater. Though the eighth Ashikaga shogun, Yoshimasa , was an ineffectual political and military leader, he played a critical role in promoting these cultural developments. He had the famous Kinkaku-ji or "Temple of
12600-460: The phrase, "The ruler of the land of the rising sun addresses the ruler of the land of the setting sun" as seen in the kanji characters for Japan ( Nippon ). By 670, a variant of this expression, Nihon , established itself as the official name of the nation, which has persisted to this day. In 645, the Soga clan were overthrown in a coup launched by Prince Naka no Ōe and Fujiwara no Kamatari ,
12726-489: The practice of ziyāra to Muhammad's tomb. The hadith scholar Qadi Ayyad (d. 554 AH) stated that visiting Muhammad was "a Sunna of the Muslims on which there was consensus, and a good and desirable deed." Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani (d. 852 AH) explicitly stated that travelling to visit the tomb of Muhammad was "one of the best of actions and the noblest of pious deeds with which one draws near to God, and its legitimacy
12852-560: The resting places for the respective remains of the two central figures of the Baháʼí Faith, the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh . They are the focal points of a Baháʼí pilgrimage : Other sites have been designated as Baháʼí Shrines, the most notable being the home of William Sutherland Maxwell and May Maxwell in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. In Buddhism , a shrine refers to a place where veneration
12978-518: The rivalry between the Minamoto and Taira clans. As a result, the dispute and power struggle between both clans led to the Heiji rebellion in 1160. In 1180, Taira no Kiyomori was challenged by an uprising led by Minamoto no Yoritomo , a member of the Minamoto clan whom Kiyomori had exiled to Kamakura. Though Taira no Kiyomori died in 1181, the ensuing bloody Genpei War between the Taira and Minamoto families continued for another four years. The victory of
13104-576: The sense of a "house of God"), may be seen as a shrine due to it housing a respected relic called the Hajar al-Aswad and also being the partial focus of the world's largest pilgrimage practice, the Hajj . A few yards away, the mosque also houses the Maqam Ibrahim (" Abraham 's station") shrine containing a petrosomatoglyph (of feet) associated with the patriarch and his son Ishmael 's building of
13230-399: The shrines show some level of ambiguity: In Hinduism , a shrine is a place where gods or goddesses are worshipped. Shrines are typically located inside a Hindu temple of various forms. Most Hindu families have a household shrine as well. For example, according to memoirs of Stephen Huyler of his visits to some Hindu homes, a part of home was dedicated to the household shrine. Here, image of
13356-409: The throne to his son Emperor Horikawa but continued to exercise political power, establishing the practice of cloistered rule , by which the reigning emperor would function as a figurehead while the real authority was held by a retired predecessor behind the scenes. Throughout the Heian period, the power of the imperial court declined. The court became so self-absorbed with power struggles and with
13482-665: The throne. Kōgyoku's contemporary title would not have been tennō , as most historians believe this title was not introduced until the reigns of Emperor Tenmu and Empress Jitō . Rather, it was presumably Sumeramikoto or Amenoshita Shiroshimesu Ōkimi (治天下大王), meaning "the Great Queen who rules all under Heaven ". Alternatively, Kōgyoku might have been referred to as (ヤマト大王/大君) or the "Great Queen of Yamato". Empress Kōgyoku reigned for four years. The years of Kōgyoku's reign are not linked by scholars to any era or nengō . The Taika era innovation of naming time periods – nengō –
13608-473: The titles of shugo or jitō , from among his close vassals, the gokenin . The Kamakura shogunate allowed its vassals to maintain their own armies and to administer law and order in their provinces on their own terms. In 1221, the retired Emperor Go-Toba instigated what became known as the Jōkyū War , a rebellion against the shogunate, in an attempt to restore political power to the court. The rebellion
13734-473: The tombs and renovate them architecturally. Over time, these donation, rituals, annual commemorations formed into an elaborate system of accepted norms. These forms of Sufi practise created an aura of spiritual and religious traditions around prescribed dates. Many orthodox or Islamic purists denounce these visiting grave rituals, especially the expectation of receiving blessings from the venerated saints. The two most well-known Baháʼí Faith shrines serve as
13860-412: The twin challenges of fighting the Southern Court and of maintaining its authority over its own subordinate governors. Like the Kamakura shogunate, the Muromachi shogunate appointed its allies to rule in the provinces, but these men increasingly styled themselves as feudal lords—called daimyōs —of their domains and often refused to obey the shogun. The Ashikaga shogun who was most successful at bringing
13986-430: The underage emperor. His son Fujiwara no Mototsune created the office of kampaku , which could rule in the place of an adult reigning emperor. Fujiwara no Michinaga , an exceptional statesman who became kampaku in 996, governed during the height of the Fujiwara clan's power and married four of his daughters to emperors, current and future. The Fujiwara clan held on to power until 1086, when Emperor Shirakawa ceded
14112-446: The victory. This had permanent negative consequences for the shogunate's relations with the samurai class. Discontent among the samurai proved decisive in ending the Kamakura shogunate. In 1333, Emperor Go-Daigo launched a rebellion in the hope of restoring full power to the imperial court. The shogunate sent General Ashikaga Takauji to quell the revolt, but Takauji and his men instead joined forces with Emperor Go-Daigo and overthrew
14238-446: The visitor. Among sayings attributed to Muhammad include one stated as: "He who visits my grave will be entitled to my intercession." Visiting Muhammad's tomb after the pilgrimage is considered by the majority of Sunni legal scholars to be recommended. The early scholars of the salaf , Ahmad Ibn Hanbal (d. 241 AH), Ishaq Ibn Rahwayh (d. 238 SH), Abdullah ibn Mubarak (d. 189 AH) and Imam Shafi'i (d. 204 AH) all permitted
14364-445: The world, landmarks may be called "historic shrines." Notable shrines of this type include: Halls of fame also serve as shrines into which single or multiple individuals are inducted on the basis of their influence upon regions, cultures or disciplines. Busts or full-body statues are often erected and placed alongside each other in commemoration. This includes Halls of Fame that honor sports athletes, where an athlete's entrance to
14490-599: The year 630, ended during the ninth century, though informal missions of monks and scholars continued, and thereafter the development of native Japanese forms of art and poetry accelerated. A major architectural achievement, apart from Heian-kyō itself, was the temple of Byōdō-in built in 1053 in Uji . Upon the consolidation of power, Minamoto no Yoritomo chose to rule in concert with the Imperial Court in Kyoto . Though Yoritomo set up his own government in Kamakura in
14616-568: Was Naka no Ōe. When Naka no Ōe's mother re-ascended, he continued in the role of her heir and crown prince. In this role, he could and did remain active in the political life of Japan. In the fifth year of Saimei's reign, Paekche in Korea was destroyed in 660. Japan assisted Paekche loyals in an attempt to aid the revival of Paekche dynasty. Early in 661, Saimei responded to the situation by leaving her capital in Yamato Province . Her plan
14742-451: Was a failure and led to Go-Toba being exiled to Oki Island , along with two other emperors, the retired Emperor Tsuchimikado and Emperor Juntoku , who were exiled to Tosa Province and Sado Island respectively. The shogunate further consolidated its political power relative to the Kyoto aristocracy. The samurai armies of the whole nation were mobilized in 1274 and 1281 to confront two full-scale invasions launched by Kublai Khan of
14868-473: Was a mix of native Shinto practices and Buddhism . Over the following centuries, the power of the imperial house decreased, passing first to great clans of civilian aristocrats — most notably the Fujiwara — and then to the military clans and their armies of samurai . The Minamoto clan under Minamoto no Yoritomo emerged victorious from the Genpei War of 1180–85, defeating their rival military clan,
14994-461: Was appointed regent to the shogun , Yoritomo's son Minamoto no Sanetomo . Henceforth, the Minamoto shoguns became puppets of the Hōjō regents , who wielded actual power. The regime that Yoritomo had established, and which was kept in place by his successors, was decentralized and feudalistic in structure, in contrast with the earlier ritsuryō state. Yoritomo selected the provincial governors, known under
15120-498: Was killed, Yoritomo still invaded and conquered the Northern Fujiwara clan's territories. In subsequent centuries, Yoshitsune would become a legendary figure, portrayed in countless works of literature as an idealized tragic hero. After Yoritomo's death in 1199, the office of shogun weakened. Behind the scenes, Yoritomo's wife Hōjō Masako became the true power behind the government. In 1203, her father, Hōjō Tokimasa ,
15246-452: Was the daughter of Prince Chinu, a grandson of Emperor Bidatsu , and his princess consort. Firstly, she married Prince Takamuku and had a son. Secondly, the princess married Prince Toneri who also was Emperor Bidatsu's grandson.The marriage produced one daughter and two sons who both ascended the throne in the future. Unless otherwise noted (as BC), years are in CE / AD Imperial Consort and Regent Empress Jingū
15372-481: Was the position on the visitation of Muhammad's tomb. According to Ibn Taymiyyah all the ahadith encouraging the visitation of the tomb are fabricated ( mawdu‘ ), are not contained in the six main collections of hadith or Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal , and violate tawhid al-uluhiya . This view of Ibn Taymiyyah was rejected by some mainstream Sunni scholars both during his life and after his death. The Shafi'i hadith master Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani stated that "This
15498-466: Was thus deprived of the tax revenue to pay for its national army. In response, the owners of the shōen set up their own armies of samurai warriors. Two powerful noble families that had descended from branches of the imperial family, the Taira and Minamoto clans , acquired large armies and many shōen outside the capital. The central government began to use these two warrior clans to suppress rebellions and piracy. Japan's population stabilized during
15624-464: Was to bring about greater centralization and to enhance the power of the imperial court, which was also based on the governmental structure of China. Envoys and students were dispatched to China to learn about Chinese writing, politics, art, and religion. After the reforms, the Jinshin War of 672, a bloody conflict between Prince Ōama and his nephew Prince Ōtomo , two rivals to the throne, became
15750-590: Was to lead a military expedition to Korea. The empress stayed in Ishiyu Temporary Palace in Iyo Province , today Dōgo Onsen . In May she arrived at Asakura Palace in the north part of Tsukushi province in Kyūshū , today a part of Fukuoka Prefecture . The allied army of Japan and Baekje was preparing for war against Silla , but the death of the empress thwarted those plans. In 661, Saimei died in
15876-449: Was yet to be initiated during her son's too-brief reign. In this context, Brown and Ishida's translation of Gukanshō offers an explanation about the years of Empress Jitō's reign which muddies a sense of easy clarity in the pre-Taiho time-frame: The years of Kōgyoku's reign are not more specifically identified by more than one era name or nengō which was an innovation of Kōtoku's brief reign. When Kōtoku died, his designated heir
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