Kokura (小倉市, Kokura-shi) is an ancient castle town and the center of modern Kitakyushu, Japan. Kokura is also the name of the penultimate station on the southbound San'yō Shinkansen line, which is owned by JR West. Ferries connect Kokura with Matsuyama on Shikoku, and Busan in South Korea.
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The Ogasawara and Hosokawa clans were daimyō at Kokura Castle during the Edo period (1603–1868). Miyamoto Musashi, samurai swordsman, author of The Book of Five Rings and founder of the Hyoho Niten Ichi-ryū, famous for its use of two swords, lived in the Kokura castle under the patronage of the Ogasawara and Hosokawa clans briefly during 1634.
After the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate, Kokura was the seat of government for Kokura Prefecture. When the municipal system of cities, towns and villages was introduced, Kokura Town was one of 25 towns in the prefecture, which later merged with Fukuoka Prefecture. Kokura was upgraded to city status in 1900.
Kokura was the primary target for the "Fat Man" atomic bomb on August 9, 1945, but on the morning of the raid, the city was obscured by morning fog. Kokura had also been mistaken for the neighboring city of Yahata the day before by the reconnaissance missions. Since the mission commander Major Charles Sweeney had orders to drop the bomb visually and not by radar, he diverted to the secondary target, Nagasaki. The planes, however, did fly over Kokura and were extremely close to executing the mission drop. [1] [2] [3]
When the city of Kitakyushu was created in 1963, Kokura was divided into Kokura Kita ward in the north, and Kokura Minami ward in the south.
The Gion Festival of Kokura is called the "Gion of Drums" and celebrates the life of local folk-hero Muhomatsu.
The city is the site of the main dojo (honbu) of Miyamoto Musashi's sword school, Hyoho Niten Ichi-ryū. [4]
Miyamoto Musashi, born Shinmen Takezō, also known as Miyamoto Bennosuke and by his Buddhist name, Niten Dōraku, was a Japanese swordsman, strategist, artist, and writer who became renowned through stories of his unique double-bladed swordsmanship and undefeated record in his 62 duels. Musashi is considered a kensei of Japan. He was the founder of the Niten Ichi-ryū, or Nito Ichi-ryū, style of swordsmanship, and in his final years authored The Book of Five Rings and Dokkōdō.
The Hosokawa clan is a Japanese samurai kin group or clan. The clan descends from the Seiwa Genji, a branch of the Minamoto clan, and ultimately from Emperor Seiwa, through the Ashikaga clan. It produced many prominent officials in the Ashikaga shogunate's administration. In the Edo period, the clan was one of the largest landholding daimyo families in Japan. The current clan head Morihiro Hosokawa served as Prime Minister of Japan.
Higo Province was an old province of Japan in the area that is today Kumamoto Prefecture on the island of Kyūshū. It was sometimes called Hishū (肥州), with Hizen Province. Higo bordered on Chikugo, Bungo, Hyūga, Ōsumi, and Satsuma Provinces.
Tobata-ku (戸畑区) is a ward of Kitakyūshū, Fukuoka, Japan. It is the smallest ward of Kitakyūshū city at 16.66 km2. The population was 64,330 as of the national census in 2000.
Kokurakita-ku (小倉北区) is a ward of Kitakyūshū, Fukuoka, Japan. It is the north part of what used to be Kokura City before the merger of five cities to create the new city of Kitakyūshū in 1963. JR Kyūshū's Kokura Station is the main rail hub of Kitakyūshū, and the Sanyō Shinkansen stops there. It has a population of 184,545 persons as of the 2000 national census and an area of 39.27 km².
Hyohō Niten Ichi-ryū, which can be loosely translated as "the school of the strategy of two heavens as one", is a koryū, transmitting a style of classical Japanese swordsmanship conceived by Miyamoto Musashi. Hyōhō Niten Ichi-ryū is mainly known for the two-sword—katana and wakizashi—kenjutsu techniques Musashi called Niten Ichi or Nitō Ichi.
Musō Gonnosuke Katsuyoshi (夢想權之助勝吉) was a samurai of the early 17th century and the traditional founder of the Koryu school of jojutsu known as Shintō Musō-ryū (神道夢想流/神道無想流). He engaged in two duels with the legendary swordsman Miyamoto Musashi, although the second duel's occurrence is disputed.
This is a list of fictional depictions of Miyamoto Musashi, a 17th-century Japanese swordsman.
Yōshin-ryū (楊心流) is a common name for one of several different martial traditions founded in Japan during the Edo period. The most popular and well-known was the Yōshin-ryū founded by physician Akiyama Shirōbei Yoshitoki at Nagasaki Kyushu in 1642. The Akiyama line of Yōshin-ryū is perhaps the most influential school of jūjutsu to have existed in Japan. By the late Edo Period, Akiyama Yōshin-ryū had spread from its primary base in Fukuoka Prefecture Kyushu throughout Japan. By the Meiji era, Yōshin-ryū had spread overseas to Europe and North America, and to Australia and South Africa by the late Shōwa era.
Kitakyushu is a city located in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. As of June 1, 2019, Kitakyushu has an estimated population of 940,978, making it the second-largest city in both Fukuoka Prefecture and the island of Kyushu after the city of Fukuoka. It is one of Japan's 20 designated cities, one of three on Kyushu, and is divided into seven wards.
Kumamoto is the capital city of Kumamoto Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, Japan. As of June 1, 2019, the city has an estimated population of 738,907 and a population density of 1,893 people per km2. The total area is 390.32 km2.
Hayashi Shiryu was a notable swordsman during the Edo period of Japan. Shiryu originally was a student of the Hyōhō Niten Ichi-ryū style of swordsmanship before becoming a disciple under the famous Miyamoto Musashi. Before Shiryu had joined Musashi, he had dueled with him in a dojo. Musashi defeated him, in which he even lost consciousness after leaving the dojo. After reflecting on their duel, Musashi felt that Shiryu had shown considerable talent in the way he had fought, and thus his students took care of his recovery. Shiryu from then onward became a student under Musashi after he had completely recovered. After Musashi left the Owari region, Shiryu continued to study under the guidance of Takemura Yoemon, one of Musashi's senior students. After some time, Shiryu eventually received the final transmission of the Enmei ryu.
Tsutsumi Hōzan (堤宝山), also known as Tsutsumi Yamashiro no kami Hōzan (堤山城守宝山), was a swordsman during the Sengoku period of Japan, who founded Hōzan ryū.
The Gosho Ha Hyōhō Niten Ichi-ryū (五所派兵法二天一流) was one of the branches of the Niten Ichi-ryū, the Kenjutsu school created by Miyamoto Musashi, under the supervision of Gosho Motoharu, Shihan of the 9th generation. Since April 2007 was reintegrated with the seito under Yoshimoti Kiyoshi, 12th successor of Hyōhō Niten Ichi-ryū and 10th successor of Gosho-ha Hyōhō Niten Ichi-ryū.
Kiyoshi Yoshimoti was a Japanese swordsman.
Amakusa 1637 is a shōjo manga written and illustrated by Michiyo Akaishi. It is about the time-traveling adventures of six modern-day Japanese high school students from the St. Francisco Academy to the 17th century, where they take part in the Shimabara Rebellion. It was serialized in the shōjo manga magazine Petit Flower from 2000 to 2002 and in the josei manga magazine Flowers from 2002 to 2006, and was collected in 12 tankōbon volumes.
The Ogasawara clan was a Japanese samurai clan descended from the Seiwa Genji. The Ogasawara acted as shugo (governors) of Shinano Province during the Sengoku period, and as daimyō of territories on Kyūshū during the Edo period (1600–1867).
Ryu ga Gotoku Kenzan! is an action-adventure video game developed and published by Sega for the PlayStation 3. It is a jidaigeki-themed spin-off game in the Like a Dragon series. It was unveiled at the Tokyo Game Show 2007 and released exclusively in Japan on March 6, 2008.
Kokura Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, in what is now eastern Fukuoka Prefecture. It was centered around Kokura Castle in what is now Kitakyushu, Fukuoka and was ruled by the fudai daimyō Ogasawara clan for much of its history. In the Bakumatsu period and first years of the Meiji period, it was briefly known as Kawara Domain (香春藩) and then Toyotsu Domain (豊津藩).
Shinmen Munisai, also called Miyamoto Muninosuke, was a martial artist, expert in using the sword and the jutte. He was also the adopted father of the famous rōnin Miyamoto Musashi. He was the son of Miyamoto Musashi no kami Yoshimoto, a vassal of Shinmen Iga no Kami, the lord of Takayama Castle in the Yoshino district of Mimasaka Province. Munisai was relied upon by Lord Shinmen Sokan, the head of the Shinmen clan and so was allowed to use the Shinmen name. He was one of the few to have obtained the title of "Unrivaled Under The Sun", which was offered to him by the Shōgun Ashikaga.
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