Portal:Japan/Selected article/2007
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- Archives by year: 2006 - 2007
These articles have appeared on the Portal:Japan page in 2007 since the creation of the portal. They are (or were at the time of listing) Featured Articles or from the list of selected article.
Contents |
January
Kitsune (狐?)(Pronunciation) is the Japanese word for fox. Foxes are a common subject of Japanese folklore. Stories depict them as intelligent beings and as possessing magical abilities that increase with their age and wisdom. Foremost among these is the ability to assume human form. While some folktales speak of kitsune employing this ability to trick others — as foxes in folklore often do — others portray them as faithful guardians, friends, lovers, and wives.
Foxes and human beings lived in close proximity in ancient Japan; this companionship gave rise to legends about the creatures. Kitsune have become closely associated with Inari, a Shinto kami or spirit, and serve as his messengers. This role has reinforced the fox's supernatural significance. The more tails a kitsune has — they may have as many as nine — the older, wiser, and more powerful it is. Because of their potential power and influence, some people make offerings to them as to a deity. (more...)
February
The Boshin War (戊辰戦争 Boshin Sensō?, "War of the Year of the Dragon") was a civil war in Japan, fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and those favorable to the restoration of the Emperor Meiji. The war finds its origin in the emperor's declared abolition of the two-hundred-year-old Shogunate and the imposition of direct rule by the imperial court. Military movements by imperial forces and partisan violence in Edo, led Tokugawa Yoshinobu, the sitting shogun, to launch a military campaign to seize the emperor's court at Kyoto. The military tide rapidly turned in favor of the smaller but relatively modernized imperial faction, and after a series of battles culminating in the surrender of Edo, Yoshinobu personally surrendered. The Tokugawa remnant retreated to northern Honshū and later Hokkaidō, where they declared a republic. Defeat at the Battle of Hakodate broke this last holdout and left the imperial rule supreme throughout the whole of Japan, completing the military phase of the Meiji Restoration. (more...)
March
Portal:Japan/Selected article/2007/March
April
Portal:Japan/Selected article/2007/April
May
Portal:Japan/Selected article/2007/May
June
Portal:Japan/Selected article/2007/June
July
Portal:Japan/Selected article/2007/July
August
Portal:Japan/Selected article/2007/August
September
Portal:Japan/Selected article/2007/September
October
Portal:Japan/Selected article/2007/October
November
Portal:Japan/Selected article/2007/November
December
Portal:Japan/Selected article/2007/December
