Kamakura period

The Kamakura period (1185-1333) saw the birth of one of Buddhism’s most influential and infamous priests: Nichiren (1222-1282). During the time of Nichiren, Buddhism had become the official religion of the Japanese state, and as Masaharu Anesaki (1916) explains, “its hierarchies had attained the power and dignity of state authorities, but inner decay was manifesting itself, and the corruption of the clergy was appalling. The central government, firmly established since the seventh century, was disintegrating through the degeneration of the court bureaucracy” (4). The Kamakura government during Nichiren’s time was headed by Hōjō regent, Tokiyori, and as Joseph Dewey (2016) writes, the Kamakura period was violent, turbulent, and “characterized by a broad sense of pessimism, apocalypticism, foreboding, and anxiety” (N.pg). It does not require a far reach into Nichiren’s writings to discover insight as to the shaky state of Japan during the priest’s time. It is inarguable that Nichiren stands out as one of the most controversial figures in Japanese Buddhism. His harsh criticisms of the Japanese government, along with other Buddhist sects even earned him two separate instances of exile, while his status as a priest ultimately protected him from any sort of execution penalty from the government (Osuka, ppt 12). Additionally, what stands out about…

“Sapokanikan” is the first single released from Joanna Newsom’s 2015 album Divers. Shorter than most of the songs on her last album Have One On Me, the song resembles a union of the styles she used on Have One On Me and her debut album The Milk-Eyed Mender. “Sapokanikan”, like much of Joanna’s music, relies heavily on obscure references to tell a greater tale. Newsom’s overall message is about death and being forgotten and her references, language, and imagery tie together to paint a picture of…

Minamoto no Yoritomo, the leader of his clan and victor of the Genpei War, decided to locate his capital in Kamakura, while governing the sharing power of Japan with the Emperor Go-Toba, who gave him the title shogun, which resided in Kyoto. Thus, establishing the first warrior government with a new notion, as stated by Jeffrey P. Mass states in “Identity, Personal Names, and Kamakura Society”, that Minamoto-led bakufu embraced warriors from all clans. Kamakura is stated by David Spafford, as…

The origination of Japanese culture is unsure, but it is said that it goes back 7,000 years ago. A very important era to focus on is the Kamakura Shogunate era that started in 1185 and ended in 1133. Kamakura lasted for about 150 years, but had a great impact on the history of Japan. In 1192, Minamoto Yoritomo took total control of the country and was appointed shogun. He established the very first warrior government in Japan’s history. When appointed shogun, Yoritomo had total control of the…

Since obesity is on the continual rise, there has been a lot of research done to determine the best way to decrease weight. For many years, studies of body weight regulation have focused almost completely on caloric intake and energy expenditure.23 Since the obesity epidemic continues to skyrocket, one diet that has received a lot of attention is Intermittent fasting (IF), or periods of voluntary abstinence from food and drink.24 In some places, IF has been practiced since the earliest of…

Kamakura Culture The culture of the Kamakura period was based on the tradition of the national culture of the Heian era and was a mixture of the values of the emerging warriors and peasants. The Kamakura period overwhelmed political and military aspects; however, in terms of culture, it lagged behind the aristocratic culture of long - established tradition. Later, the new culture of unauthorized warrior readers gradually began to overtake the traditional culture. The characteristic of this age…

Oku no hosomichi, is the story of a Buddhist man’s travels throughout Japan during the Kamakura Period. The book has many names in English, but here it will be referred to by the name contained with the reading: The Narrow Road to a Far Provence. The tale is but one example of many Buddhist themed stories during the Japan’s Kamakura period. Japan was one of the only countries to incorporate Buddhism into the already standing religion: Shintoism. This offers a unique look into Japan and the…

Our next example will take us to the Tale of Heike that happened during the Kamakura period. The Tale of Heike tells us a story about the two clans (Genji clan and Taira clan) that fight for their ideology and freedom. Two interesting characters that can be derived from this tale would be the story of Taira no Kiyomori and Minamoto Yoshitsune. Taira no Kiyomori of Taira clan is a character that is not just consequential in the Tale of Heike, but he also plays a very…

Over the following centuries the power of the emperor and the imperial court gradually declined and passed to the military clans and their armies of samurai warriors. The Minamoto clan under Minamoto no Yoritomo emerged victorious from the Genpei War of 1180–85. After seizing power, Yoritomo set up his capital in Kamakura and took the title of shogun. 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…

1185. At 1185, the family of “Taira” fought with the family of “Minamoto”, this two family are the Samurai family at that period, this battle during late Heian-period, and this battle is meaningful for the late of history of Japan, because when this battle finished, the Family of “Taira” is destroyed by the family of “Minamoto” and the family of “Minamoto” established the first Bakufu system, called the “Kamakura bakufu”, this…