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Daigoji
Definition by Mark Cartwright

Daigoji

Daigoji is a Shingon Buddhist temple complex in Kyoto (ancient Heiankyo), Japan, which was founded in 874 CE by the scholar monk Shobo (aka Rigen Daishi). The site established close ties with the imperial family and became an important place...
Virgil
Definition by Donald L. Wasson

Virgil

Publius Vergilius Maro (70-19 BCE), better known to most modern readers as Virgil, was one of the greatest poets of the early Roman Empire. His best-known work, the Aeneid, told of a Trojan prince, Aeneas, who escaped the burning of Troy...
Namazu
Definition by Mark Cartwright

Namazu

Namazu (aka Onamazu) is the giant catfish of Japanese mythology held responsible for creating earthquakes. The creature was thought to live under the earth, and when it swam through the underwater seas and rivers there, it caused earthquakes...
Ancient Japan
Definition by Mark Cartwright

Ancient Japan

Ancient Japan has made unique contributions to world culture which include the Shinto religion and its architecture, distinctive art objects such as haniwa figurines, the oldest pottery vessels in the world, the largest wooden buildings anywhere...
Prince Shotoku
Definition by Mark Cartwright

Prince Shotoku

Prince Shotoku (574-622 CE) ruled as regent of Japan from 594 to 622 CE and is one of the most celebrated figures in all of Japanese history. The prince was a great supporter of Chinese culture and Buddhism, spreading both during his reign...
Shinto Architecture
Definition by Mark Cartwright

Shinto Architecture

The architecture of the 80,000 Shinto shrines in Japan varies depending on geographical location, the deity worshipped, and the date of foundation. The earlier Shinto shrines tend to be simpler and less decorative affairs than those which...
Ono no Komachi
Definition by Mark Cartwright

Ono no Komachi

Ono no Komachi was a poetess of great renown during the Heian Period (794-1185 CE) of ancient Japan. The Kokinshu anthology, compiled in 905 CE, contains many of her poems, and her work and life inspired later writers of Noh drama. She is...
Homo Floresiensis
Definition by Emma Groeneveld

Homo Floresiensis

Homo floresiensis, nicknamed 'hobbit' because it only stood about 1 meter tall, is an extinct species of fossil human that lived on the island of Flores, Indonesia during the Pleistocene. Floresiensis is still shrouded in a fair bit of mystery...
Colossi of Memnon
Definition by Joshua J. Mark

Colossi of Memnon

The Colossi of Memnon (also known as el-Colossat or el-Salamat) are two monumental statues representing Amenhotep III (1386-1353 BCE) of the 18th Dynasty of Egypt. They are located west of the modern city of Luxor and face east looking toward...
Mount Koya
Definition by Mark Cartwright

Mount Koya

Mount Koya (aka Koyasan), located in the Wakayama Prefecture, south of Osaka, Japan, is the site of a temple complex founded in 819 CE by the scholar monk Kukai as the headquarters for Shingon Buddhism. There are temples and sacred buildings...
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