Samurai relations

Samurai culture was hierarchical. Not only in titles and ranks but who was vassal to who within an organization. This was different than modern ranks, it was in relation to who your vassals were and who you were a vassal to. Without this status based structure a samurai was just a warrior among other warriors.

This week's entries are:

baishin (vassal's vassal) 陪臣

jikisan (direct vassal) 直参

Topping 700 or rank administration

A couple of months ago I wrote an entry on an Edo Period administrative office that referenced another office so I wrote related entry, which then referenced yet another on a samurai rank so I wrote an entry on it and so on. I kept writing entries over the weeks and prepping them to add to the supplement pages.

This week I present 21 new entries, which bring the total of entries in the supplement to over 700, and a little earlier than usual as I'll be in Minneapolis for Schoolgirls and Mobilesuits for the weekend.

Here you are:

bugyō (magistrate, commissioner) 奉行

dōchū bugyō (commissioner of highways) 道中奉行

Edo machi bugyō (Edo city commissioner or magistrate) 江戸町奉行

gokenin (vassals, housemen) 御家人

jisha bugyō (commissioner of temples and shrines) 寺社奉行

kanjō bugyō (commissioner of finance) 勘定奉行

karō (house elder) 家老

kobushin 小普請

Kobushin-gumi 小普請組

machi bugyō (city commissioner or magistrate) 町奉行

machi-bugyōsho (town magistrate office) 町奉行所

machi-doshiyori (town elder, alderman) 町年寄

metsuke (inspector, censor) 目付

Nagasaki bugyō (Nagasaki Commissioner) 長崎奉行

ōmetsuke (inspectors general) 大目付

rōjū (elder) 老中

rusui (caretaker, keeper) 留守居

shugo (military governors) 守護

toshiyori (elders, community leaders) 年寄

wakadoshiyori (junior councilors, young elders) 若年寄

yoriki (assistant magistrate) 与力

Spooky stuff

I'm not waiting for October to get here to post some spooky stuff, after all Summer is the time for such things in Japan.

This month I bring you:

Gazu hyakkiyagyō (Illustrated night procession of 100 demons) 画図百鬼夜行

Enjoy and expect more spooky things in the next several weeks.

From the far past

This week I have an entry for a military position that goes back well before modern times, in fact well before the Heian Period.

sakimori (border guard) 防人

The light and the heavy

This week I cover a religious teaching from Shintō.

ame-tsuchi (Heaven and Earth) 天地

Not much else to say other than that the supplement is approaching 700 entries and that I may actually get there before the end of the month if a particular batch of related entries is done in time.

Brain Diving - Short Term Memory

Brian Ruh, a well known scholar of anime, has started a new column over at the Anime News Network called: Brain Diving - Short Term Memory

For his first column he looks at one of the Ghost in the Shell novels, The Lost Memory by Junichi Fujisaku.

I'll be following this column regularly.

Forever Foodie

If you do sushi you have had this one.

inarizushi いなりずし or 稲荷鮨

If you have not had it order some next time.