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Tokaido, The Eastern Sea Route
Tokaido, The Eastern Sea Route From long before the Edo Period, one of the five most strategically important highways was the Tokaido, the eastern Sea Route, running 514Km between Nihonbashi in Edo and...
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Samurai File 017 ; Takenaka Hanbei
Takenaka Hanbei (Sept. 27, 1544 ~ July 6, 1579) Born in Mino (Gifu) Takenaka Shigeharu, is better known today as Hanbei, although it was a name he does not appear to have used during his lifetime....
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Samurai File 018 ; Ashikaga Yoshiteru
Ashikaga Yoshiteru / The 13th Ashikaga Shogun Ashikaga Yoshiteru reigned as the 13th Ashikaga Shogun from 1546 to 1565. Born March 31, 1536, he was the first son of the 12th shogun, Ashikaga...
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What’s In A Name? Japan, The Land Of The Rising Sun.
What’s In A Name? Japan, The Land Of The Rising Sun. The Japanese don’t call their country Japan, they call it Nihon, or the more formal, Nippon. Translated directly, the kanji 日本 means “sun origin”,...
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Sassa Narimasa
Sassa Narimasa (February 6, 1536-July 7, 1588) Sassa Narimasa was born in Hira Castle (Currently the site of Kotsuji Temple, Nishi-Ku, Nagoya) in 1536. He became a retainer of the Lord of Owari, Oda...
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Maeda Toshiie
Maeda Toshiie (January 15, 1538 – April 27, 1599) Maeda Toshiie was one of the leading generals of the Sengoku period under Oda Nobunaga and later Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Born the fourth of seven brothers...
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Shimazu Yoshihiro
Shimazu Yoshihiro（August 21, 1535 – August 30, 1619） Yoshihiro was a brave and skilled general who contributed greatly to the unification of Kyushu. He fought well in the Korean Campaigns for Toyotomi...
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Sasaki Kojiro
Sasaki Kojiro (1585?? – April 13, 1612) Sasaki Kojiro, also known as Ganryu, was considered a master swordsman during the late Azuchi Momoyama, early Edo period. He was a vassal of the Hosokawa family...
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参勤交代 / Sankin Kotai, the Alternate Attendance Policy
Sankin Kotai, the Alternate Attendance Policy “Sankin Kotai” was a policy initiated by Toyotomi Hideyoshi during the Sengoku period, and perfected by the Tokugawa Shogunate during the relative peace of...
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Japanese Castle; Kiyosu Castle / 清洲城
Kiyosu Castle / 清洲城 Kiyosu Castle / 清洲城 On the outskirts of Nagoya City is a small castle with a long and exciting history. Built circa 1405, by Shiba Yoshishige, governor of Owari, Kiyosu Castle...
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Samurai File 17; Kuroda Kanbei
Kuroda Kanbei (December 22, 1546- April 19, 1604) Kuroda Kanbei, also known as Kuroda Yoshitaka, and later in life, Josui, was a military advisor and daimyo of the late Sengoku period. A brilliant...
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Komaki’s Giant Phallus Festival / 天下の奇祭！田縣神社「豊年祭」
Komaki’s Giant Phallus Festival / 天下の奇祭！田縣神社「豊年祭」 Just north of Nagoya city in Aichi Prefecture is the industrial city of Komaki, where Tokugawa Ieyasu and Toyotomi Hideyoshi faced off in the Battle...
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Samurai File 18; Honda Tadakatsu
Honda Tadakatsu (March 17, 1548 – December 3, 1610) Honda Tadakatsu (also known as Heihachiro) was born in Okazaki, Mikawa (Modern day Aichi Prefecture) and was one of the top 4 generals, along with Ii...
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Samurai File 18; Yamanami Keisuke
Yamanami Keisuke (1833(?)-March 20, 1865) Second in charge of the Shinsengumi, the late Edo period special police force, Yamanami Keisuke, suddenly committed seppuku on March 20, 1865. He was 32 years...
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Samurai File; Horio Yoshiharu(1542 – July 26, 1611)
Samurai File; Horio Yoshiharu(1542 – July 26, 1611) Samurai File; Horio Yoshiharu (1542 – July 26, 1611) Born in Owari (Aichi Prefecture) in 1542, Horio Yoshiharu, also known as Mosuke, was one of...
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The Dog Shogun, Tokugawa Tsunayoshi
The Dog Shogun, Tokugawa Tsunayoshi The Dog Shogun, Tokugawa Tsunayoshi (February 23, 1646 – February 19, 1709) The fifth Tokugawa Shogun, Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, was brought up as a scholar instead of a...
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Samurai File; Date Masamune
One of the easiest to recognize of all the samurai thanks to his distinctive armour, and most distinctive maedate, is Date Masamune. Known as Dokuganryu, the “One Eyed Dragon of the North”, Date...
View Article［Archive］Samurai File
［Archive］Samurai File A BAkechi Mitsuhide Ban Danemon Akaza Naoyasu Baba Nobuharu Azai NagamasaAsano Yoshinaga C...
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Samurai File; Shimazu Tadahisa
Samurai File; Shimazu Tadahisa Samurai File; Shimazu Tadahisa (??-August 1, 1227) Shimazu Tadahisa, the first of the Shimazu clan lords, was the son of the Shogun, Minamoto no Yoritomo, and was born...
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Ninja didn’t wear black!
Ninja didn’t wear black! Ninja didn’t wear black! Despite the popular image of the black clothed and hooded ninja stalking in the night, the ninja didn’t wear black! Black actually reflected the...
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