Japan’s Bakufu, or military government, began in 1192 with Minamoto Bakufu and ended with the Tokugawa Bakufu’s fall in 1868. The Tokugawa Bakufu fell on this date, restoring Imperial rule under the young Emperor Meiji. During nearly seven centuries, Japan changed dramatically from feudalism, social change, conflicts, and outside forces seeking trade or contact.   What Does the Word Bakufu Mean? The Battle of Ichi-no-Tani, on folding screen, late 1600s, Source: Wikimedia Commons   The word bakufu means “tent government” and is used interchangeably with the term shogunate. This feudal-style government, led by the Shogun or military ruler, made Japan’s Emperor a figurehead. The country’s real power lay with the Bakufu and its military. But no Shogun overthrew the Throne as their rule notionally came from the emperor’s power.    Why Did the Bakufu Rule Japan Instead of the Emperor? The Utter Defeat of the Taira Clan in the Great Genpei War at Akama Bay in Nagato Province, by Utagawa Kuniyoshi, c. 1845. Source: The Art Institute Chicago   The samurai rule over the emperor happened gradually, not with one swoop. As Imperial rule faltered around the 12th century, the daimyo, or nobles, assumed local power. The samurai pledged their loyalty to the daimyo in return for economic or political favors. Different factions started to clash, leading to the 1185 Genpei War. The victors, the Minamoto clan led by now Shogun Minamoto Yoritomo, founded the first bakufu – the Kamakura Bakufu. No Shogun would overthrow an Emperor, a descendant of Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess.   How Did Kamakura Bakufu Change Japan? Issho Yada’s Kami Kaze. Source: Bowdoin College   The Kamakura Bakufu (1185-1333) consolidated power by solidifying the feudal system. With the Emperor’s consent, Yoritomo became the first Shogun or military ruler. With the Shogun, all real military and political power rested. The shift from the Imperial Court to the Shogun marked the first great change. The Bakufu resided in Kamakura near today’s Tokyo and took its name.   With peace came prosperity under the new Bakufu rule. Japanese merchants traded with China or Korea, exchanging goods like gold and lumber for silk, books, and medicines. Buddhism’s influence reached far after 1185. Buddhism’s focus on discipline and concentration appealed to the samurai.   When Did the Ashikaga Bakufu Take Over? Portrait of Ashikaga Takauji, 14-15th century. Source: Wikipedia   The Ashikaga Bakufu ruled from 1336 to 1573. Its predecessor, the Kamakura Bakufu, fell in 1333 from financial distress and internal politics. Defending Japan against the Mongols in 1274 and 1281 created deep money woes. The end came with Emperor Go-Daigo’s successful 1333 revolt. His reforms ended in 1336 when a supporting clan, the Ashikaga, under Takauji Ashikaga, defeated the emperor’s forces. Their clashes started with allotments of land and power.   The Ashikaga Bakufu’s time is noted for two Imperial Courts. The Northern Court, created by Ashikaga Takauji in Kyoto, crowned a new emperor from the Imperial family. His nemesis, Emperor Go-Daigo, established his own, the Southern Court. This “rebel” court lasted until their 1392 surrender to Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu.   What Is the Ashikaga Bakufu Noted For? Noh Drama Mask. Source: Museum of Ethnography   After its founding, the Ashikaga Bakufu Era created a cultural rather than political change. This cultural era, the Muromachi Period, lasted well past the Ashikiga. Easy-recognizable cultural institutions, such as Noh drama or architecture, developed, adding their richness to Japanese history. The Bakufu propagated and supported Buddhism, supporting Buddhist temples and thus spreading its influence.   Who Established the Tokugawa Bakufu? Tokugawa Crest or Mon. Source: Wiki Media Commons   Tokugawa Ieyasu established this last of the Bakufus (1603-1868) in 1603 after defeating all his opponents. Tokugawa would also be probably the most determined Shogun. His victory ended the decades-long Sengoku Era, or “Warring States.” These daimyo, Emperor, and even monk-led conflicts had wracked the entire country, ending the troubled Ashikaga Bakufu.   What Changes Did the Tokugawa Bakufu Make? Tokugawa Ieyasu. Source: japanvisitor.com   By 1630, Ieyasu and his descendants enacted radical events that changed Japan, unlike the Shoguns. First, political control was tightened, and the samurai class was affected. Many slowly became administrators instead of warriors. Next, in 1630, Tokugawa’s son banned Christianity, kicking priests out of Japan and massacring or exiling any Japanese Christians who resisted over several decades.    Finally came Sakoku, or “closed country,” which banned all foreigners, usually Europeans, after 1620. Only the Dutch, Chinese, and Koreans remained as traders. Even then, the Bakufu kept a strict watch on their activities. Even Japanese who settled abroad were refused. The Tokugawa Shogun feared outside influences, seeing how the Europeans split China and other countries.   The Tokugawa tightened their grip further with sankin-kotai, or “alternate attendance.” The Bakufu required daimyo families to live alternate years in Edo, the capital. The families remained as hostages in the capital. Forced to spend money on two estates, the Bakufu hoped to prevent revolt.   Why Did the Bakufu Era End? Black Ship. Source: Nippon.com   The Meiji Restoration of 1868 ended the Bakufu period. A bad economy and the 1853 visit by Commodore Perry’s “Black Ships,” cracking Japan’s isolation with treaties, damaged the Bakufu. Seeing a chance after so many years, Emperor Meiji and his followers struck. The last Tokugawa Shogun resigned in 1869, officially ending nearly 700 years of Bakufu rule.

Including The Sheepdogs, Ricky Warwick, The Band Feel and five other members of the new rock power generation

Thanksgiving is the perfect time to pause and be thankful for everything we have and the things that are going right.

Today and every day, we enjoy great freedom because of the service and sacrifices made by men and women on our behalf.

The Baldacchino, the great canopy above the high altar of St. Peter’s Basilica designed by Baroque master architect and sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini, has been revealed in its original shining gilded glory after nine months of restoration. Funded by the Knights of Columbus at a cost of 700,000 euros ($770,000), this is the first comprehensive restoration of the massive 10-story structure in 260 years. It has only been dusted and superficially cleaned (by people suspended from ropes). Pope Urban VIII Barberini (1623-1644) commissioned Bernini to create a grandiose ciborium (a canopy under which the sacrament of Communion took place) for the new basilica in 1624. The Baldacchino was inaugurated in 1633, but work would continue for another two years after that. More than 95 feet high and weighing 63 tons, the Baldacchino is located at the crossing of the apse and the nave of St. Peter’s Basilica, the very heart of the church under the dome and above the tomb of St. Peter. The four helical columns are 37 feet high and weigh about nine tons. Bernini cast them in three sections and partially filled them with concrete for stability. They took so much bronze to make that they looted some from the bronze lattice of portico of the Pantheon and even cannibalized the ribs of the dome of St. Peter’s which were then recovered in lead. The columns spiral upwards from marble and alabaster pedestals bearing the Papal coat of arms and the bees of the Barberini coat of arms. They are fluted on the lower third and wound with gilded laurel branches in the upper two thirds. They are topped with Corinthian capitals. The corkscrew shape of the columns is known as Solomonic, based on the erroneous belief that a set of 12 twisted marble columns Constantine gave to the Old St. Peter’s Basilica to reuse over its high altar he had brought from back the “Temple of Solomon” in Jerusalem. Of course, the Temple of Solomon had been destroyed for 900 years by the time Constantine showed up, and the Second Temple for 250 or so. They were likely taken from a Greek temple as they are made of Greek marble. When the old St. Peter’s was torn down in 1505, eight of the original columns were reused in the new basilica and can be seen on the four walls across the Baldacchino under the medallions of the Four Evangelists that link the massive square piers of the church to the round dome. Bernini used them as examples when he designed his enormous bronze columns. Today they overlook their replacements, incongruously tiny in comparison. More bees, cherubs, dolphins, laurel leaves and grotesque faces adorn the columns and canopy. Panels with tassels edge the top, made to look like the fabric banners that would have draped over the processional canopies that inspired this immovable version. The inner ceiling of the canopy is made of gilded wood and features the dove of the Holy Spirit framed by acanthus leaves, harpies and, of course, bees. Angels stand on the four corners of the canopy while two cupids hold the papal mitre over the keys of St. Peter. The size and complex materials (marble, bronze, iron, various types of wood, various types of gilding, paint) used to create this structure make it an enormous conservation challenge. Even the simplest of cleaning is far from simple, and less than 130 years after it was built, the Baldacchino was in need of thoroughgoing treatment. Documents in the historical archives of the basilica record that 60 people a day worked for three months to clean, consolidate, repair and replace damaged or worn parts of the baldachin. The latest restoration project was announced in January of this year. The entire 10-story structure was covered in scaffolding and restorers began to clean centuries of grime, pollution and dust glued to the gilded surfaces by condensation from hundreds of thousands of breathing humans and temperature fluctuations. Bronze indoors naturally patinates to a mahogany color rather than the green seen with bronze exposed to the elements out of doors, but the bronze of the Baldacchino was almost black. Oils, waxes and resins used in previous restorations also darkened the surfaces. Cleaning and conservation returned it to its warm brown and brough the gilding back to a high shine. The restored Baldacchino was unveiled to the public and rows and rows of bishops on October 27th at the closing Mass for the Synod on Synodality. Also on display is the Chair of St. Peter, a wooden throne that according to tradition belonged to the Apostle Peter, but is in fact a medieval throne given by Charles the Bald, grandson of Charlemagne, to Pope John VIII at Charles’ coronation on Christmas Day, 875. The oldest parts of it date to the 6th century, so Peter was definitely not involved. Also, it is decorated with ivory panels engraved with scenes from the Labors of Hercules. Usually the chair itself is not visible. It is encased in another enormous gilded bronze reliquary made by Bernini hovering over an altar while four gigantic statues of the Doctors of the Church Saint Ambrose, Saint Augustine, Saint John Chrysostom and Saint Athanasius stand under its corners. The Bernini reliquary is currently undergoing restoration as well, so the chair is on display for the first time since 1867. It will be in front of the high altar until December 8th. This video from the Knights of Columbus goes into depth about the restoration of the Baldacchino and captures unique views of the process.

[unable to retrieve full-text content]And how the Biden Regime has unnecessarily and maliciously  prolonged the war with Hamas.  h/t Nita