Battle of NagashinoThe Battle of Nagashino took place in 1575 near Nagashino Castle on the plain of Shitaragahara in the Mikawa Province of Japan. Takeda Katsuyori attacked the castle when Okudaira Sadamasa rejoined the Tokugawa, and when his original plot with Oga Yashiro for taking Okazaki Castle, the capital of Mikawa, was discovered. The Oda arquebusiers, using tanegashima, decisively defeated the cavalry tactics of the Takeda, who lost two-thirds of their army. The battle is often cited as a turning point in Japanese warfare and the first "modern" Japanese battle.
Lake BiwaLake Biwa is the largest freshwater lake in Japan. It is located entirely within Shiga Prefecture (west-central Honshu), northeast of the former capital city of Kyoto. Lake Biwa is an ancient lake, over 4 million years old. It is estimated to be the 13th oldest lake in the world. Because of its proximity to Kyoto, references to Lake Biwa appear frequently in Japanese literature, particularly in poetry and in historical accounts of battles. The name Biwako was established in the Edo period.
Enryaku-jiEnryaku-ji is a Tendai monastery located on Mount Hiei in Ōtsu, overlooking Kyoto. It was first founded in 788 during the early Heian period (794–1185) by Saichō (767–822), also known as Dengyō Daishi, who introduced the Tendai sect of Mahayana Buddhism to Japan from China. The temple complex has undergone several reconstruction efforts since then, with the most significant (that of the main hall) taking place in 1642 under Tokugawa Iemitsu. Enryaku-ji is the headquarters of the Tendai sect and one of the most significant monasteries in Japanese history.
Kōdai-in(died October 17, 1624), formerly known as Nene, One, Nei, was an aristocrat and Buddhist nun, founder of the temple Kōdai-ji in Kyoto, Japan. She was formerly the principal samurai wife of Toyotomi Hideyoshi under the name of Toyotomi Yoshiko. When she rose in higher political status, she took the title of "Kita no mandokoro". As the matriarch figure of the Toyotomi clan, she led all diplomatic affairs that had to do with the imperial court, and monitored the daimyos' families who were being held hostage at Osaka Castle.
Honnō-jiHonnō-ji is a temple of the Nichiren branch of Buddhism located in Kyoto, Japan. Honnō-ji is most famous for the Honnō-ji incident – the assassination of Oda Nobunaga – that occurred there on 21 June 1582. Nobunaga lodged at the temple with little protection before his invasion of the west, but was betrayed by his general Akechi Mitsuhide, whose forces surrounded the temple and set it on fire. Knowing there was no way out for him, Nobunaga committed seppuku along with his attendant Mori Ranmaru.
Christianity in JapanChristianity in Japan is among the nation's minority religions in terms of individuals who state an explicit affiliation or faith. Between less than 1 percent and 1.5% of the population claims Christian belief or affiliation. Although formally banned in 1612 and today critically portrayed as a foreign "religion of colonialism", Christianity has played a role in the shaping of the relationship between religion and the Japanese state for more than four centuries.
East Asian tea ceremonyAn East Asian tea ceremony, or Chádào (), 茶道 or Dado (다도 (茶道)), is a ceremonially ritualized form of making tea (茶 cha) practiced in East Asia by the Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans. The tea ceremony (), literally translated as either "way of tea", "etiquette for tea or tea rite", or "art of tea" in any of the three East Asian languages, is a cultural activity involving the ceremonial preparation and presentation of tea.
Ise ProvinceIse Province was a province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today includes most of modern Mie Prefecture. Ise bordered on Iga, Kii, Mino, Ōmi, Owari, Shima, and Yamato Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was Seishū. The name of Ise appears in the earliest written records of Japan, and was the site of numerous religious and folkloric events connected with the Shinto religion and Yamato court. Ise province was one of the original provinces of Japan established in the Nara period under the Taihō Code, when the former princely state of Ise was divided into Ise, Iga and Shima.
AshigaruAshigaru were infantry employed by the samurai class of feudal Japan. The first known reference to ashigaru was in the 14th century, but it was during the Ashikaga shogunate (Muromachi period) that the use of ashigaru became prevalent by various warring factions. Attempts were made in Japan by Emperor Tenmu (673–686) to have a conscripted national army, but this did not come about, and by the 10th century Japan instead relied on individual landowners to provide men for conflicts and wars.
