Mon (紋), also called monshō (紋章), mondokoro (紋所), and kamon (家紋), are Japanese emblems used to decorate and identify an individual, a family, or an institution, municipality or business entity. While mon is an encompassing term that may refer to any such device, kamon and mondokoro refer specifically to emblems that are used to identify a family. An authoritative mon reference compiles Japan's 241 general categories of mon based on structural resemblance, with 5,116 distinct individual mon. However, it is well acknowledged that there are a number of lost or obscure mon. Among mon, the mon officially used by the family is called jōmon (定紋). Over time, new mon have been created, such as kaemon (替紋), which is unofficially created by an individual, and onnamon (女紋), which is created by a woman after marriage by modifying part of her original family's mon, so that by 2023 there will be a total of 20,000 to 25,000 mon.
Ishikawa Goemon was the leader of a group of bandits during the Azuchi-Momoyama period in Japan. Over time, and especially during the Edo period (1603-1867), his life and deeds became a center of attention, and he became known as a legendary Japanese outlaw hero who stole gold and other valuables to give to the poor.
Kawatake Mokuami (河竹黙阿弥) was a Japanese dramatist of Kabuki. It has been said that "as a writer of plays of Kabuki origin, he was one of the greatest, if not the greatest, Japan has ever known". He wrote 150 or so plays over the course of his 58-year career, covering a wide variety of themes, styles, and forms, including short dance pieces, period plays (jidaimono), contemporary genre pieces (sewamono), tragedies and comedies, as well as adaptations of foreign (Western) stories, though he is perhaps most famous for his shiranamimono, plays featuring sympathetic or tragic rogues and thieves. For the greater part of his career he wrote under the professional name Kawatake Shinshichi, only taking the name Mokuami on his retirement from the stage in 1881.
Ichikawa Raizō VIII was a Japanese film and kabuki actor. His birth name was Akio Kamezaki, and his name was legally changed several times, first to Yoshio Takeuchi, and later to Yoshiya Ōta, separate from his performing name.
Edo o Kiru (江戸を斬る) or Slashing Edo was a popular jidaigeki on Japan's Tokyo Broadcasting System. During the decades from its 1973, premiere until 1994, finale, 214 episodes aired. It lasted through eight series, with several casts and settings. It ran on Monday evenings in the 8:00–8:54 prime time slot, sponsored by National, and remains popular in reruns.
Yotsuya Kaidan (四谷怪談), the story of Oiwa and Tamiya Iemon, is a tale of betrayal, murder and ghostly revenge. Arguably the most famous Japanese ghost story of all time, it has been adapted for film over 30 times and continues to be an influence on Japanese horror today. Written in 1825 by Tsuruya Nanboku IV as a kabuki play, the original title was Tōkaidō Yotsuya Kaidan. It is now generally shortened, and loosely translates as Ghost Story of Yotsuya.
The Love Suicides at Sonezaki is a jōruri play by the Japanese playwright Chikamatsu Monzaemon. The double suicides that occurred on May 22, 1703 inspired Chikamatsu to write this play and thus The Love Suicides at Sonezaki made its debut performance on June 20, 1703. Chikamatsu added new scenes in the 1717 revival including the villain's punishment. The Love Suicides at Sonezaki's reception was popular and helped springboard Chikamatsu's future success as a playwright. In the first year alone since the play's premiere, no less than seventeen couples committed double suicide. In fact, the bakufu banned Chikamatsu's shinjū plays in 1722 because of their content's popularity. The Love Suicides at Sonezaki was Chikamatsu's first "domestic tragedy" or "domestic play" (sewamono) and his first love-suicide play (shinjūmono). Until this play, the common topic for jōruri was jidaimono or "history plays" while kabuki performances showed domestic plays. The Love Suicides at Sonezaki separates into three scenes, staged over a day and a night. The two central characters are an orphaned oil clerk named Tokubei and Ohatsu, the courtesan he loves. There is a beginning scene that shows Ohatsu going on a pilgrimage that performances and translations often leave out. This play also includes a religious aspect involving Confucianism and Buddhism.
The Night Walker, or The Little Thief is an early seventeenth-century stage play, a comedy written by John Fletcher and later revised by his younger contemporary James Shirley. It was first published in 1640.
The Widow is a Jacobean stage play first published in 1652, but written decades earlier.
Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura (義経千本桜), or Yoshitsune and the Thousand Cherry Trees, is a Japanese play, one of the three most popular and famous in the kabuki repertoire. Originally written in 1747 for the jōruri puppet theater by Takeda Izumo II, Miyoshi Shōraku and Namiki Senryū I, it was adapted to kabuki the following year.
The Nameri River is a river that goes from the Asaina Pass in northern Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan, to the beach in Yuigahama, for a total length of about 8 km. Although Yuigahama is in fact the name of the entire 3.2 km beach that goes from Inamuragasaki to Zaimokuza's Iijima cape, the name is usually used just for its half west of the Namerigawa river's estuary, while the eastern half is called Zaimokuza Beach (材木座海岸). The name comes from the way it flows, apparently "licking" the stones at its bottom.
Sugawara Denju Tenarai Kagami is an ancient Japanese play that has been performed in bunraku and kabuki, and was jointly written by Takeda Izumo I, Takeda Izumo II, Namiki Sōsuke and Miyoshi Shōraku. Along with Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura and Kanadehon Chūshingura, it is one of the three most famous and popular plays in the kabuki repertoire. Sugawara was first performed as a puppet play in August 1746 at the Takemoto-za in Osaka, debuting on the kabuki stage the following month in Kyoto. The Edo debut was held at the Ichimura-za the following March.
Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider The Movie: Cho-Den-O Trilogy is a superhero tokusatsu series of films part of the Kamen Rider Den-O franchise, particularly its Cho-Den-O Series. It was released beginning on May 22, 2010, with each subsequent chapter of the trilogy released in two week intervals. Each of the films' subtitles contains the name of the protagonist.
Carnation is a Japanese historical drama television series and the 85th asadora series of NHK. It premiered on 3 October 2011 and ended on 31 March 2012. The series is inspired by the life of fashion designer Ayako Koshino in Kishiwada, Osaka. Ayako was the mother of famous designers Hiroko Koshino, Junko Koshino, and Michiko Koshino.
Victory Kickoff!! is a Japanese anime series produced by TYO Animations. It follows the Momoyama Predators, an association football team formed by elementary school students.
Gintama: The Movie: The Final Chapter: Be Forever Yorozuya is a 2013 Japanese animated film produced by Sunrise based on the Gintama manga and anime series. It was directed by the director from the anime series Yoichi Fujita and based on a story by Hideaki Sorachi, Gin Tama's original author. It stars Tomokazu Sugita, Daisuke Sakaguchi, Rie Kugimiya among others. The film focuses on the freelancer samurai Gintoki Sakata in a time travelling story where he encounters older personas of the people he met in Edo.
Utamakura is the title of a 12-print illustrated book of sexually explicit shunga pictures, published in 1788. The print designs are attributed to the Japanese ukiyo-e artist Kitagawa Utamaro, and the book's publication to Tsutaya Jūzaburō.
Musashino is a triptych print by the Japanese ukiyo-e artist Kitagawa Utamaro. It is a mitate-e parody picture that alludes to the story in the 12th section of The Tales of Ise.
Sukeroku (助六由縁江戸桜) is a play in the Kabuki repertoire, and one of the celebrated Kabuki Jūhachiban. The play is known in English as The Flower of Edo.
Onoe Kikunosuke V is a Japanese Kabuki actor who has also acted in television series and films as actor. He is the eldest son and successor of Onoe Kikugorō VII. He was called the "Prince of the Kabuki world" for his elegant features and his origin from a distinguished family.
