#shizu no kata

[cinematic-phosphenes]

Some sweet moments in an episode filled with treachery and death:

Mariko putting her hand on John's arm:

Kiri No Kata keeping herself in front of Shizu No Kata and the baby to shield them:

Also, give it up for the most genki guy in Osaka. Bro is putting his life and soul into that drum like there's no tomorrow. (I know it's probably the required technique, but I choose to believe he was just really feeling it.)

[sanflawoah]

After the finale, many seems to conclude that Toranaga's schemes has always been perfect from the start, that every events and every deaths are all part of his design all along, happening exactly how he wants it. But really it was only half true. His "sacrifices" aren't intentional sacrifices. No matter how clean he plotted, unexpected blunders always occurred beyond his control, he just happens to be very good at letting it flow rather than going against the current.

Tadayoshi and Tsurumaru, Fuji's husband and son. Toranaga never even intended them to die. Before he came to Osaka, he took Ochiba to Edo because her sister was in labour, knowing the regents wouldn't dare to do anything to him while the heir's mother is still in his domain. Everything would've gone all calm and well until at least Ochiba came back and the council voted. But Tadayoshi unexpectedly lashed out publicly with half-drawn katana in front of the regents (in Tadayoshi's defense: he does it out of loyalty for Toranaga), such offense would've sentenced Toranaga and his entire clan to die had he didn't de-escalate the situation. Tadayoshi then asked for seppuku and to end his bloodline out of shame for his outburst. Hiromatsu said he was foolish for it, but Toranaga acknowledged Tadayoshi's bravery, and ensured Fuji be spared from it.

The show didn't quite picture it, but in the book Toranaga was actually quite shocked to found that Yabushige had assembled a sizable army when he arrived in Ajiro, large enough to end him had Yabushige wanted to betray him right there. However, he kept a calm facade and maxed out charisma points to sway Yabu's army into loyalty, right out of Yabu's hands, acting as the true interest of the late Taiko.

Toranaga never intended to draw the first blood with the killing of Jozen. Nagakado was honestly to blame for this, even Omi too for provoking it. But then it turned out to be a W move for him, because in response the entire Osaka would be out for blood for his head into the open field . No matter how strong Toranaga's army is, attacking five armies inside a fully armed fortress would be a foolish instant defeat.

Then Nagakado acted out of place once again. So many had said that Toranaga "sacrificed" his son, when actually this boy is one rabid horse and Toranaga was right to pull his reins. If everyone is somewhat a "pawn" for Toranaga to use, he didn't actually count Nagakado as one. He always tried to keep Nagakado away from the big fight, if not out of love then at least out of wisdom for his son's recklessness. When Saeki handed the order for Nagakado to commit seppuku over the crime of killing Jozen, Toranaga sternly prevented it. Remember that he could've just let Nagakado took it like Tadayoshi did, it would've been a fair retribution and de-escalate the hostility, but still he didn't.

In Nagakado's defense, how would you feel being the son of a great lord famous for astounding achievement at such a young age, and then you, the no swag son. Even if Toranaga didn't expect Nagakado to copy him, the people around them would still constantly compare them. That's why Nagakado was so rogue to prove himself. It was exactly the same with Saeki, so jealous of Toranaga that when the opportunity arise to thwart his brother he took it.

Toranaga was fully prepared for the real Crimson Sky until the earthquake devastated his army, not to mention the unexpected betrayal from his brother. He had no choice but to surrender.

Nagakado's death was the most unnecessary, truly no beauty in it. He was the one blunder that kept blundering himself out of his father's control. But then turns out the mourning period for Nagakado was crucial for Toranaga to plan the next move. Without it, the council would've immediately ordered him and his clan's execution and it would be all for nothing. In the end, he made his son's ugly death into a meaningful one.

Then came Hiromatsu's death, the most costly death for Toranaga. Being friends for so long they understood the cost of the greater goal. Yes Nagakado's death did buy him some time, but the council wouldn't be so convinced of his surrender, the master of trickery™. Plus they took Nagakado's death as a bare minimum L. "Don't give up on our lord, even when it appears he has given up on himself." Hiromatsu knew that they have come so far and they couldn't stop now, so out goes Toranaga's best guy to complete the surrender facade.

The secret ultimate ace card was Mariko. From the beginning, no one seemed to fully catch up with Toranaga, not even Hiromatsu, except for Mariko. The relationship between Toranaga and Mariko was a mutual one, each with their own goals but happens to be intertwined in the same path.

Toranaga didn't even intend for Mariko to die. The book explained that Toranaga had future plans for Mariko after the war, to divorce her from Buntaro and have her as his messenger to England with John. He knows that Mariko was the only one who could reach Ochiba. He just wanted Mariko to come get Kiri, Shizu, and their newborn son to get out of Osaka, at the same time tell Ishido he's a bitch and hopefuly broke Ishido and Ochiba's alliance (the Minowara sends their regards). It was ONE BIRD throwing TWO STONES. Unfortunately, then he lost his ace card too but damn did it worked a little too well, he literally won the war because of it.

People expected John to be Toranaga's secret weapon, setting the expectation of a "Some dude got isekai-ed into foreign world and now he's destined to save it" trope.

To borrow Mon Mothma's quote: "I show you the John in my hand, you miss the Mariko at your throat".

Yabushige was the audience's voice when he asked "How does it feel to shape the wind to your will?" Because everyone saw Toranaga's final reveal and thought damn it was him all along! But then Toranaga went meta and replied, "I don't control the wind, I only study it." No, everything didn't fell into place like exactly how he wanted. He's not the all-knowing untouchable god. Many times he was crossed and blocked, but instead of trying to force his path through, he simply let it flow. His schemes are not a rigid linear one like how his opponents worked, but it branches and found its own way, and that's how he won.

[eastern-lights]

Me realizing that Shizu no kata must have given birth around the same time as Nagakado died

[jibuyo]

Takeda Shingen’s daughters

Ōbai-in (黄梅院) - 1543 - 1569; real name unknown mother: Sanjō no kata

In 1553 during the process of forming the Imagawa-Takeda-Hōjō alliance, it was decided she is going to be married to the eldest son of Hōjō Ujiyasu, Ujimasa. The following year she moved to Odawara. She was 12 years old. 

A year later she gave a birth to Ujimasa’s son, but he died prematurely. Next year she bore him a daughter. In 1562, she gave birth to Ujimasa’s her Ujinao and in following years to his other sons. It is thought that their husband-wife relationship was good (because the number of children is a proof apparently). 

However in 1568 when Shingen invaded Suruga, the alliance was broken. Ujiyasu was furious and sent Ōbai-in back to Shingen. She became a nun and died following year at a young age. She was 26.

When Takeda and Hōjō became allies again in 1571, Ujimasa built a Ōbai-in in a Hōjō clan’s Sōun temple and put some of her ashes in there.

Kenshō-in (見性院) - ? - 1622; real name unknown mother: Sanjō no kata

In 1558, she was married to a son of Shingen’s sister, Anayama Nobutada. In 1572, she gave birth to his son, Katsuchiyo, who later became known as Takeda Nobuharu.

Nobutada betrayed the Takeda, surrendered to the Tokugawa and fought against Katsuyori. During the Honnōji incident, he was together with Ieyasu in Kyoto, but both of them were returning separated ways and Anayama Nobutada was killed. Katsuchiyo became the head of the family, but he also died early in 1587 because of illness. The Anayama family was inherited by 

Kenshō-in continued living with the Tokugawa and later she was given a residence in Kita no maru in Edo castle. She raised an illegitimate son of Tokugawa Hidetada and his lover Shizu, Yukimatsu, later known as Hoshina Masayuki. 

Shinryū-in (真竜院、眞龍院) - 1550 - 1647; real name unknown, popularly known as Marihime (真理姫) mother: either Sanjō no kata or Lady Aburakawa

In 1555, when Kiso Yoshiyasu surrendered to Shingen, Shingen gave his daughter to his son Yoshimasa, because the Kiso clan protected important bases of his territory. In 1577, she gave Yoshimasa an heir, future Kiso Yoshitoshi.

But when Oda Nobunaga started his elimination of Takeda clan in 1582, Yoshimasa separated from Takeda Katsuyori and joined Nobunaga. Because of that, the Takeda forces executed some of their children in Sunpu castle that were there as hostages. Mari separated from her husband and lived together with he third son in seclusion.

Yoshimasa was transfered to Shimosa province and her son Yoshitoshi was reproved from killing his uncle and lost his rank. It’s said he went to live with his mother after that.

There’s a letter left that Mari wrote where she’s pitying the state of the clan she once married into.

She died at the age of 97.

Taigi-in (大儀院) - 1558 (1563?) - 1604; real name Kiku mother: Lady Aburakawa

In 1578/1579 her brother Takeda Katsuyori made an alliance with Uesugi Kagaketsu who was in the middle of a succession conflict with Uesugi Kagetora. As a symbol of this alliance, Kiku was married to Uesugi Kagekatsu in 1579. After the marriage she was called Kōshū-fujin (Kōshū = different name for Kai province) or Kai-goryōnin by the Uesugi retainers and was loved and respected by them as a woman blessed by beauty and intelligence that encouraged frugality. 

Thanks to her influence, Takeda Nobukiyo was allowed to come and serve the Uesugi clan, after the Takeda clan was destroyed and starting from the second generation, the Takeda clan was treated with politeness by the Uesugi.

In 1589, Hideyoshi ordered all daimyō to send a hostage to Kamigata, so Kiku together with Kagekatsu and his men paid homage to Hideyoshi. Since then, she lived in the Uesugi mansion in Kyoto. She was exchanging gifts and correspondence with women from noble families. According to a “History of Myōshinji temple”, she was devoutly mourning her brother Katsuyori there. 

In 1595 she moved into Uesugi’s residence in Fushimi where she was joined by Osen, Naoe Kanetsugu’s wife. 

In the Winter of 1603, she fell ill and died next year in Fushimi. She never went back to Echigo, never visited Aizu nor Yonezawa. It is said that Kagekatsu and the Uesugi retainers felt very sad upon hearing about her death. She never had children.

Shinshōni (信松尼) 1561 - 1616; real name Matsu  mother: Lady Aburakawa

Matsuhime is famous for being engaged to Oda Nobutada, Nobunaga’s heir. After Katsuyori’s wife, Nobunaga’s adopted daughter died, to continue the alliance a marriage was agreed upon between Matsu (6yo) and Nobutada (10yo).

The alliance was however broken in 1572 and so was their engagement, but neither of the two forget about the other. It’s said they fell in love through exchanging letters.

After Shingen’s death, Matsu went to live with her brother Nishina Morinobu (Shingen’s 5th son) in Takatō castle. In 1582 when Oda forces were attacking, she first escaped to Sunpu castle and then to Hachiōji castle. After the Takeda was destroyed, Matsu got an invitation from Oda Nobutada and they were finally scheduled to meet, however Honnōji happened and Nobutada died.

Matsu became a nun a prayed for Nobutada and Takeda clan’s souls. In 1590, she moved close to the Hachiōji castle. It’s said she was teaching kids how to read and write in a school connected to the temple, growing silkworm, and making textile to get some sort of income.

Together with her sister Kenshō-in, she helped with raising Hidetada Tokugawa’s son, Hoshina Masayuki.

She became a heart and support of many former Takeda vassals that were concentrated around Hachiōji castle.

It’s mainly for my own reference. There could be misunderstandings.

[balikita]

Sejarah Agama Tao ” 道 “

Tidak dapat dipungkiri bahwa Ajaran TAO – sudah ada ± 5000 tahun

Dimulai dari HUANGDI (Kaisar Kuning) (黄帝)

Dipopulerkan dan berkembang sejak LAO ZI (老子)

Diresmikan sebagai Agama oleh ZHANG DAOLING (张道陵)

  Agama Tao sudah berkembang sejak :

HUANGDI (黄帝)  ( ± 2697 SM )

Huangdi (Xuan Yuan Huangdi) merupakan tokoh yang pertama menjalankan pemerintahannya berdasarkan ajaran TAO. Sejak Huangdi sampai 1500 tahun berikutnya, setiap pemimpin yang menggantikan pemimpin lainnya selalu memerintah masyarakatnya dengan teori ajaran Huangdi, antara lain :

Menghormati TIAN dan menjunjung tinggi sopan-santun dalam bermasyarakat

Sebelum Huangdi, banyak suku tersebar di seluruh Tiongkok. Namun Huangdi mempersatukan seluruh suku-suku yang ada menjadi satu keluarga untuk membentuk Negara. Kemudian Huangdi dipilih menjadi Pemimpin. Huangdi  disebut sebagai  Pendiri Negara Tiongkok.

Peninggalan Huangdi, diantaranya antara lain Tulisan Kuno (berbentuk simbol/gambar) yang merupakan awal dari adanya tulisan, Kompas, Penanggalan, Perahu/sampan, Kereta, Alat-alat musik, dan masih banyak lagi…

Oleh karena itu Huangdi mempunyai peran penting dalam memberikan sumbangsih yang besar terhadap cikal bakal kebudayaan Tionghoa

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Dinasty SHANG (商) ( ± 1783 SM )

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Dinasty ZHOU (周) ( ± 1134 SM )

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Chun-qiu shidai (春秋时代) – Dinasty Chu (楚)  (±770-403 sm)

Pada masa Chun Qiu Shidai terdapat banyak dinasty salah satunya Dinasty Chu. Muncul seorang bijaksana yaitu LAO ZI (老子). Beliau pernah bertugas sebagai pejabat yang menjaga dan merawat perpustakaan buku-buku yang dimiliki kerajaan Chu.

Selain menyanjung keagungan alam, Lao Zi juga mengajarkan bahwa dibalik alam semesta beserta isinya pasti ada yang menciptakannya yang bersifat maha Agung; maha Mulia dan maha Esa. Untuk itu  LAO ZI meminjam kata “TAO”  (DAO) untuk memberi nama bagi “SUMBER” dari segala sesuatu yang tercipta di alam semesta ini.

LAO ZI adalah pencipta Kitab Daodejing/ Tao Te Ching. Ajaran-ajaran LAO ZI  sangat menjunjung tinggi kebajikan dan menentang kebiadaban. Ajaran LAO ZI bersama-sama dengan ajaran HUANGDI dikenal orang sebagai Ajaran HUANG – LAO (HUANG – LAO TAO / Filsafat ajaran HuangDi dan Lao Zi) sampai sekarang.

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Dinasty QIN (秦) ( ± 264 SM )

Rakyat sudah mulai bersembahyang pada  Tuhan dan Nenek Moyang. Selain itu banyak  pula orang Tao yg berilmu tinggi yg dikenal dengan nama Fang Shi, mereka adalah orang Tao yg menguasai ilmu obat-obatan, ilmu ramalan, teknik-teknik tenaga dalam, yang pada jaman sebelum Tiongkok dipersatukan berperan utama sebagai penasehat politik/pemerintahan.  Setelah Tiongkok berhasil dipersatukan, keahlian mereka sebagai ahli penyembuhan/pengobatan lebih banyak dibutuhkan.

Sudah bermunculan aliran2 Tao antara lain : Thay Bing Tao, Thien Se Tao, Mao San Tao.

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Dinasty HAN (汉) ( ± 206 SM )

Pada jaman Dinasty Han Timur (Dong Han) muncul seorang Tao bernama Zhang Daoling (张道陵). Zhang Daoling adalah seorang Tao yg sungguh-sungguh mempelajari semua ajaran TAO dan ilmu keDewaan, Beliau juga berhasil membuat pemilahan-pemilahan dan menyusun peraturan-peraturan tentang cara-cara upacara ke Agamaan TAO, mengajarkan cara-cara bagaimana seharusnya menggambar FU (HU) dan menuliskannya dalam buku-buku yang baku untuk kepentingan pengajaran kepada pengikut/penganutnya.

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Zaman tiga negara – Sanguo Shidai (三國時代) (±220-280 M)

Pada jaman 3 negara, Liu Bei ( 劉備) meminta bantuan Zhuge Liang ( 诸葛亮) (Kongming) seorangTao yang berilmu tinggi. Zhuge Liang sangat menguasai ilmu Astronomi & memahami ritual-ritual keagamaan Agama Tao, selain itu Beliau juga sangat ahli dalam ilmu strategi perang & pemerintahan.

Guan Yu/Guan Gong （關羽） adalah seorang Jendral Perang yang terkenal. Beliau adalah seorang Tao yang suka membaca buku-buku Tao. Sifat Guan Yu yang sangat menonjol adalah kesetiaan Beliau pada Negara dan kawan. Setelah Guan Yu meninggal, Beliau berkali-kali turun & menampakkan diri untuk membantu rakyat. Maka itu rakyat mengetahui bahwa Guan Yu telah menjadi Dewa.

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Dinasty TANG (唐) (618 M)

Puncak Popularitas Agama Tao. Tao menjadi agama resmi negara. Banyak menghasilkan syair dan kaligrafi terkenal yang mana karyanya selaras dengan ajaran Tao yaitu kesederhanaan, keselarasan dengan keindahan & kekuatan alam semesta.

Raja sangat menjunjung tinggi Agama Tao, dan      mengangkat :

– LAO ZI menjadi TAO CHU ( Nabi Tao )

– DAO DE JING dijadikan kitab suci utama

– Membangun CUNG SIEN KUAN (sekolah /Perguruan Tinggi Tao dan lulusannya diberi gelar Doktor.

Raja memerintahkan utk menyebarkan ajaran Tao termasuk kitab-kitab Tao di seluruh wilayah Tiongkok, sehingga ajaran Tao menyebar sangat luas bahkan sampai di beberapa kerajaan Negara tetangga.

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DINASTY YuaN (元) (1277 M)

Tao Se Qiu Chuji (丘處機) (umur 75 tahun) menyeberangi gurun pasir dan gunung salju menemui  Raja Yen, Cheng Ji Si Han (成吉思汗) / Genghis Khan menganjurkan Beliau untuk ber KeTuhanan dan sembahyang kepada Dewa/Dewi. Sejak itu banyak orang Mongol yang menganggap Qiu Chuji sebagai Dewa dan mengagumi kebudayaan TAO.

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Tahun 1280 M, muncul Biksu Tat Mo dan mengenalkan Agama Buddha ke Raja Yuan, Yuan Shizu

Terjadi Pembakaran Kitab-Kitab Suci Tao.

Orang Tao terdesak ke Gunung-Gunung, serta Kung Fu dan Pengobatan Tiongkok berkembang. Masa suram bagi Agama Tao ini berlangsung selama ± 100 tahun.

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Zhu Yuanzhang (朱元璋 ) – seorang Tao – yang akhirnya mengusir Bangsa Mongol dan menjadi Raja serta mendirikan dynasty Ming (明). Pada Dinasty Qing (清) 1644 M, Agama Tao kembali mengalami masa paling suram, sampai pada jaman Pemerintah Komunis thn 1913.

Sampai kira-kira 1923, setelah Pemerintah Tiongkok mengumumkan bahwa  Rakyat bebas beragama, barulah Agama Tao berkembang kembali.

Demikianlah dapat diringkas perjalanan dari Ajaran / Agama Tao ini. Semoga kedepannya bisa diwariskan lebih baik lagi kepada penerus penerus anak cucu cicit kita.

sumber siutao.com

https://www.taobali.org/sejarah-agama-tao-%e9%81%93/