Download or read book The Quest for Kibi and the True Origins of Japan written by Michael S. F. Gorman and published by . This book was released on 1999 with total page 152 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This study rediscovers the forgotten ancient kingdom of Kibi and reveals the true ancestry of the Japanese imperial family and the cultural roots of the Japanese people. It offers conclusions on the consequences of the migration to the Japanese archipelago by conquering peoples from Korea.
Download or read book Tengu written by Roald Knutsen and published by Global Oriental. This book was released on 2011-08-15 with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This fully illustrated volume, including an eight-page colour-plate section, is the first in-depth study in English to examine the warrior and shamanic characteristics and significance of tengu in the martial art culture (bugei) of Muromachi Japan (1336-1573). According to Roald Knutsen, who is widely known for his writings on the samurai tradition, prompting his life-long study of tengu – the part-human, part-animal creatures – was the early discovery that the tengu of the Muromachi period were interacting with the deadly serious bugei masters teaching the arts of war. Here were beings who did not conform to the comic, goblin-like creatures of common folklore and were not the creations of the Buddhist priests intent on demonizing that which they did not understand and could not control. As this study shows, the part-hidden tengu under review passed on and taught the clearest theory of tactics and strategy to bushi of the highest calibre, the absorption and mastery of which often decided if the warrior and his clan lived or were annihilated on the all-too-frequent killing grounds of the Muromachi age. Tengu will be widely welcomed in many contexts including studies relating to martial arts, religion and folklore, shamanism and mythology, and the social and military history of Japan.
Download or read book Shamanism and the Origin of States written by Sarah Milledge Nelson and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-07-23 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sarah Milledge Nelson’s bold thesis is that the development of states in East Asia—China, Japan, Korea—was an outgrowth of the leadership in smaller communities guided by shamans. Using a mixture of historical documents, mythology, archaeological data, and ethnographic studies of contemporary shamans, she builds a case for shamans being the driving force behind the blossoming of complex societies. More interesting, shamans in East Asia are generally women, who used their access to the spirit world to take leadership roles. This work challenges traditional interpretations growth of Asian states, which is overlaid with later Confucian notions of gender roles. Written at a level accessible for undergraduates, this concise work will be fascinating reading for those interested in East Asian archaeology, politics, and society; in gender roles, and in shamanism.
Download or read book Sun Tzu and the Art of Medieval Japanese Warfare written by Roald Knutsen and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2021-11-01 with total page 218 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For the first time, this study examines in depth how the medieval Japanese masters of Heiho – the Art of War – sought to interpret, illustrate and transmit the principles of China’s time-honoured military strategist Sun-Tzu during possibly the most turbulent period of Japanese history, the war-torn Muromachi period (c. 1350 – 1575). In these two centuries a number of gifted warriors, steeped in the teachings of Sun-Tzu and the Chinese Military Classics, developed their own concepts of the arts of warfare, expressed in personal combat, to heights of formidable effectiveness. Rather than consider the weaknesses and strengths of the medieval military command structures, the author focuses instead on certain basic strategies still to be found in the upper levels of these individual masters’ teachings, some of which have fortunately survived the five hundred or more years that have elapsed since these strategists passed away. Sun-Tzu’s lasting legacy was encapsulated in one simple statement: ‘All warfare is based on deception’. This volume, supported by a sixteen-page Plate Section, demonstrates how, and from where, some of these master swordsmen derived their unique understanding of these ancient teachings.
Download or read book Harima Fudoki written by Edwina Palmer and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2015-11-09 with total page 313 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Harima Fudoki, dated to 714CE, is one of Japan’s earliest extant written records. It is a rich account of the people, places, natural resources and stories in the Harima region of western Japan. Produced by the government as a tool for Japan’s early state formation, Harima Fudoki includes important myths of places and gods from a different perspective to the contemporaneous ‘national’ chronicles. This document is an essential primary source for all who are interested in ancient Japan. In this new critical edition, Palmer draws upon recent research into the archaeology, history, orality and literature of ancient Japan to reinterpret this hitherto little-known document. Palmer’s insightful commentary contextualizes the Harima tales for the first time in English.
Download or read book Shamans Queens and Figurines written by Sarah Milledge Nelson and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-07-01 with total page 360 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sarah Nelson, recognized as one of the key figures in studying gender in the ancient world and women in archaeology, brings together much of the work she has done over three decades into a single volume. The book covers her theoretical contributions, her extensive studies of gender in the archaeology of East Asia, and her literary work on the subject. Included with the selections of her writing-- taken from diverse articles and books published in a variety of places-- is an illuminating commentary about the development of her professional and personal understanding of how gender plays out in ancient societies and modern universities and her current thinking on both topics.
Download or read book Japanese Spears written by Roald Knutsen and published by Brill. This book was released on 2004 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the first book in English to provide a fully illustrated guide to the use of polearms - ranging from the earliest halberds and spears reaching Japan from the Asian mainland to the sophisticated naginata, nagamaki and various forms of yari used by the Japanese samurai through the medieval period. While the sword remains the best known of Japanese weapons, it was the halberd (naginata) and then the yari that dominated the battlefields up to the early seventeenth century, and thereafter the yari became an important status symbol to many warrior families. Additionally, the authors focus on the actual method of use of these weapons, hitherto an almost unknown aspect in the West.
Download or read book Books on Japan in Western Languages Recently Acquired by the National Diet Library written by Kokuritsu Kokkai Toshokan (Japan) and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page 142 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Splendour in Wood written by Sylvia Fraser-Lu and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page 350 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Illustrated with sketches of floor plans, architectural details of monasteries and photographs of significant features, this book introduces the reader to the beauty and genius of Burmese craftsmanship, as expressed in the construction and embellishment of Buddhist wooden monasteries.
Download or read book Burmese Lacquerware written by Sylvia Fraser-Lu and published by . This book was released on 2000 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A highly illustrated study into the art, craft and techniques of Burmese lacquerware from ancient times to the present. Beginning with the origins, the book covers process, technique, decoration, design, motifs, usage (secular, religious and ceremonial), craft centres in Burma and collections.
Download or read book Festivals and Flowers of the Twelve Burmese Seasons written by Khin Myo Chit (Daw) and published by . This book was released on 2002 with total page 140 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A celebration of the Burmese seasons, their poets, flowers and the festivals and cycle of monthly activities throughout the Burmese year. Each month is described through its poem, illustrated with the flower for each month, followed by an introduction to the festivals associated with each season. Classic Burmese literature abounds with poems and verses that have to do with the seasons, and this book is a celebration of the Burmese seasons, or months, their poets, flowers and the festivals and cycle of monthly activities throughout the Burmese year. Each month is
Download or read book Who s who in Asia and the Pacific Nations written by Benjamin Kay and published by Routledge. This book was released on 1999 with total page 560 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First published in 1999. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.
Download or read book The History of Japan written by Engelbert Kaempfer and published by . This book was released on 1906 with total page 432 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Archaeology and History of Toraijin written by Song-nai Rhee and published by Archaeopress Publishing Ltd. This book was released on 2021-09-09 with total page 246 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In light of the recently uncovered archaeological data and ancient historical records, this book offers an overview of the 14 centuries-long Toraijin story, from c. 800~600 BC to AD 600, exploring the fundamental role these immigrants, mainly from the Korean Peninsula, played in the history of the Japanese archipelago during this formative period.
Download or read book Seven Demon Stories from Medieval Japan written by Noriko T. Reider and published by University Press of Colorado. This book was released on 2016-10-03 with total page 307 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Japanese culture, oni are ubiquitous supernatural creatures who play important roles in literature, lore, and folk belief. Characteristically ambiguous, they have been great and small, mischievous and dangerous, and ugly and beautiful over their long history. Here, author Noriko Reider presents seven oni stories from medieval Japan in full and translated for an English-speaking audience. Reider, concordant with many scholars of Japanese cultural studies, argues that to study oni is to study humanity. These tales are from an era in which many new oni stories appeared for the purpose of both entertainment and moral/religious edification and for which oni were particularly important, as they were perceived to be living entities. They reflect not only the worldview of medieval Japan but also themes that inform twenty-first-century Japanese pop and vernacular culture, including literature, manga, film, and anime. With each translation, Reider includes an introductory essay exploring the historical and cultural importance of the characters and oni manifestations within this period. Offering new insights into and interpretations of not only the stories therein but also the entire genre of Japanese ghost stories, Seven Demon Stories is a valuable companion to Reider’s 2010 volume Japanese Demon Lore. It will be of significant value to folklore scholars as well as students of Japanese culture.
Download or read book The Kojiki written by and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2014-09-30 with total page 314 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Written in the early eighth century, the Kojiki is considered JapanÕs first literary and historical work. A compilation of myths, legends, songs, and genealogies, it recounts the birth of JapanÕs islands, reflecting the origins of Japanese civilization and future Shinto practice. The Kojiki provides insight into the lifestyle, religious beliefs, politics, and history of early Japan, and for centuries has shaped the nationÕs view of its past. This innovative rendition conveys the rich appeal of the Kojiki to a general readership by translating the names of characters to clarify their contribution to the narrative while also translating place names to give a vivid sense of the landscape the characters inhabit, as well as an understanding of where such places are today. Gustav HeldtÕs expert organization reflects the textÕs original sentence structure and repetitive rhythms, enhancing the readerÕs appreciation for its sophisticated style of storytelling.
Download or read book Forthcoming Books written by Rose Arny and published by . This book was released on 1999 with total page 996 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: