:"Daimio" redirects here. For the skipper butterfly genus, see Daimio (butterfly) , daimyo of Satsuma Domain, appears in this daguerreotype photograph by Ichiki Shirō.]]

}} is a generic term referring to the powerful territorial lords in premodern Japan who ruled most of the country from their vast, hereditary land holdings. In the term, literally means "large", and "myō" stands for , meaning private land.

Subordinate only to the shogun, daimyo were the most powerful feudal rulers from the 10th century to the middle 19th century in Japan.

From the shugo of the Muromachi period through the Sengoku to the daimyo of the Edo period, the rank had a long and varied history.

The term "daimyo" is also sometimes used to refer to the leading figures of such clans, also called "lord". It was usually, though not exclusively, from these warlords that a shogun arose or a regent was chosen.

Shugo daimyo

The were the first group of men to hold the title "daimyo". They arose from among the shugo during the Muromachi period. the shugo daimyo held not only military and police powers, but also economic power within a province. They accumulated these powers throughout the first decades of the Muromachi period.

visits the residence of a retainer. Mannequins in building in Aizuwakamatsu.]]

Major shugo daimyo came from the Shiba, Hatakeyama, and Hosokawa clans, as well as the tozama clans of Yamana, Ōuchi, and Akamatsu.The greatest ruled multiple provinces.

The Ashikaga shogunate required the shugo daimyo to reside in Kyoto, so they appointed relatives or retainers, called shugodai, to represent them in their home provinces. Eventually some of these in turn came to reside in Kyoto, appointing deputies in the provinces.

The Ōnin War was a major uprising in which shugo daimyo fought each other. During this and other wars of the time, kuni ikki, or provincial uprisings, took place as locally powerful warriors sought independence from the shugo daimyo. The deputies of the shugo daimyo, living in the provinces, seized the opportunity to strengthen their position. At the end of the fifteenth century, those shugo daimyo who succeeded remained in power. Those who had failed to exert control over their deputies fell from power and were replaced by a new class, the "sengoku daimyo", who arose from the ranks of the shugodai and Ji-samurai.

Sengoku daimyo

)]] Among the were many who had been shugo daimyo, such as the Satake, Imagawa, Takeda, Toki, Rokkaku, Ōuchi, and Shimazu. New to the ranks of daimyo were the Asakura, Amago, Nagao, Miyoshi, Chōsokabe, Jimbō, Hatano, Oda, and Matsunaga. These came from the ranks of the shugodai and their deputies. Additional sengoku daimyo such as the Mōri, Tamura, and Ryūzōji arose from the ji-samurai. The lower officials of the shogunate and ronin (Late Hōjō, Saitō), provincial officials (Kitabatake), and kuge (Tosa Ichijō) also gave rise to sengoku daimyo.

Daimyo in the Edo period

After the Battle of Sekigahara in the year 1600 that marked the beginning of the Edo period, shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu reorganized roughly 200 daimyo and their territories, into the han, and rated them based on their production of rice from rice paddies. Daimyo were those who headed han assessed at 10,000 koku (50,000 bushels) or more. Ieyasu also categorized the daimyo according to how close they were to the ruling Tokugawa family: the shinpan were related to the Tokugawa; the fudai had been vassals of the Tokugawa or allies in battle; and the tozama who had not allied with the Tokugawa before the battle (did not necessarily fight against the Tokugawa).

Around 1800, there were approximately 170 daimyo in Japan.

The shinpan were collaterals of Ieyasu, such as the Matsudaira, or descendants of Ieyasu other than in the main line of succession. Several shinpan, including the Tokugawa of Owari (Nagoya), Kii (Wakayama) and Mito, as well as the Matsudaira of Fukui and Aizu, held large han.

A few fudai daimyo, such as the Ii of Hikone, held large han, but many were small. The shogunate placed many fudai at strategic locations to guard the trade routes and the approaches to Edo. Also, many fudai daimyo took positions in the Edo shogunate, some rising to the position of rōjū. The fact that fudai daimyo could hold government positions while tozama, in general, could not was a main difference between the two.

Tozama daimyo held large fiefs, with the Kaga han of Ishikawa Prefecture, headed by the Maeda clan, assessed at 1,000,000 koku. Other famous tozama clans included the Mori of Chōshū, the Shimazu of Satsuma, the Date of Sendai, the Uesugi of Yonezawa, and the Hachisuka of Awa. Initially, the Tokugawa regarded them as potentially rebellious, but for most of the Edo period, marriages between the Tokugawa and the tozama, as well as control policies such as sankin kōtai, resulted in peaceful relations.

Sankin kōtai

Sankin kōtai ("alternate attendance") was the system whereby the Tokugawa forced all daimyo to spend every other year at the Tokugawa court in Edo, and maintain their family members in Edo when they returned to their han. This increased political and fiscal control over the daimyo by Edo. As time went on in the Tokugawa period, many other systems of controlling the daimyo were put into place, such as mandatory contributions to public works such as road building. In addition, daimyo were forbidden to build ships and castles, and other shows of military power were often tightly controlled.

Upset by these controls, and often in bad economic situations because of things like sankin kotai, forced support of public works, and extravagant spending, several daimyo sided against the Tokugawa Shogunate during the Meiji Restoration.

After the Meiji Restoration

In 1869, the year after the Meiji Restoration, the daimyo, together with the kuge, formed a new aristocracy, the kazoku. In 1871, the han were abolished and prefectures were established, thus effectively ending the daimyo era in Japan. In the wake of this change, many daimyo remained in control of their lands, being appointed as prefectural governors; however, they were soon relieved of this duty and called en masse to Tokyo, thereby cutting off any independent base of power from which to potentially rebel. Despite this, members of former daimyo families remained prominent in government and society, and in some cases continue to remain prominent to the present day. (For example, Morihiro Hosokawa, the former prime minister is a descendant of the daimyo of Kumamoto, but these cases are very few now.)

References

See also

History of Japan

Sankin kōtai

Hands (Japan)

Resources

Lords of the Samurai: Legacy of a Daimyo Family

World History: Patterns of Interaction

Samurai, Chōnin and the Bakufu: Between Cultures of Frivolity and Frugality.

Category:Japanese words and phrases

Name	Afro Samurai
Caption	Volume one of the Afro Samurai manga remake, first released in America by Tor Books and Seven Seas Entertainment.
Ja kanji	アフロサムライ
Ja romaji	Afuro Samurai
Genre	Chanbara, science fiction, fantasy, avant-garde, black comedy, comedy-drama

Type	manga
Title	Afro Samurai!
Author	Takashi Okazaki
Publisher	Self-funded dōjinshi
Publisher en
Demographic	Seinen
Magazine	Nou Nou Hau (dōjinshi)
First	September 1999
Last	May 2000
Volumes	1 JP, 2 NA

Type	tv series
Director	Fuminori KizakiJamie Simone
Writer	Tomohiro Yamashita Derek Draper Chris Yoo
Studio	Gonzo
Licensor	Funimation Entertainment NAMadman Entertainment AUS
Network	Fuji Television
Network en	Spike NAAdult Swim/Bravo UKMTV/ABC2 AUS
First	January 4, 2007
Last	February 1, 2007
Episodes	5

Type	film
Title	Afro Samurai: Resurrection
Director	Fuminori KizakiJamie Simone
Producer	Eric CalderonLeo ChuEric GarciaShin'ichiro IshikawaSamuel L. JacksonArthur Smith
Writer	Yasuyuki MutouJosh FialkovEric Calderon
Studio	Gonzo
Licensor	FUNimation Entertainment NAMadman Entertainment AUS
Network	Fuji Television
Network en	Spike TV NAAdult Swim/Bravo UK MTV and ABC2 AUS
Released	January 25, 2009 NAFebruary 3, 2009 JP
Runtime	90 minutes NA100 minutes JP

, also written AFRO SAMURAI, is a Japanese seinen dōjinshi manga series written and illustrated by manga artist Takashi Okazaki. It was originally serialized irregularly in the avant-garde dōjinshi manga magazine Nou Nou Hau from September 1999 to May 2000. Inspired by Takashi Okazaki's love of soul and hip hop music and American media, Afro Samurai follows the life of Afro Samurai who witnessed his father (owner of the No. 1 headband) being killed by the hands of a gunslinger named Justice (owner of the No. 2 headband) while he was a child. As an adult, Afro sets off to avenge his father's death and kill Justice.

The Afro Samurai dōjinshi was adapted into a 5-episode anime TV series by studio Gonzo in 2007. The same studio also went on to produce a made-for-TV movie sequel entitled Afro Samurai: Resurrection in 2009, which gained two Emmy nominations, for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation, which it won, and Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming One Hour or More). After the release of the anime series, Takashi Okazaki remade the original Afro Samurai dōjinshi into a two-volume manga. To be only released in North America, Tor Books and Seven Seas Entertainment licensed the title and published it under their new Tor/Seven Seas imprint.

In addition to the success of the anime series, Afro Samurai has also been adapted into a video game and an upcoming live-action feature film. For the TV series and the film, two soundtracks by the RZA of Wu-Tang Clan have been released as well as a profile book in Japan.

Plot

Afro Samurai

In a futuristic yet feudal Japan, it is said that the one who wields the Number 1 headband is the fiercest fighter in the world and shall possess godlike powers. The only way to obtain the Number 1 headband is to challenge and defeat him in combat. However, only the Number 2 can challenge the Number 1, while anyone can challenge the Number 2, which causes a constant struggle for the Number 2 headband.

Justice, the owner of the No. 2 headband, goes to fight the owner of the No. 1 headband, Rokutaro. The two battle, ending with Justice decapitating Rokutaro and claiming his headband. Rokutaro's head rolls in front of his son, a young boy named Afro, as he sobs and vows revenge.

Now an adult, Afro Samurai is the current No. 2 and a master swordsman. He travels Japan trying to make his way to the mountain-top keep where Justice awaits. As he makes his way to Justice, he recalls his journey from a frightened young boy to a master samurai. Along the way, many people challenge Afro for his headband, including the "Empty Seven Clan" who send various agents, including a robotic Afro, to kill him throughout his travels. He is also being hunted by his vengeful childhood friend Jinno, who was long thought to be dead. Afro eventually defeats his enemies, Jinno, and finally confronts Justice. Afro learns that there are other headbands in existence, ranging to an unspecified higher number, and sees that the corpses of those who wore them are skewered throughout the room where Justice awaits. Afro defeats Justice and takes the No. 1 headband, and the other headbands disappear.

Afro decides to live in the mountains once again. Jinno, adorned with every headband in existence, returns and confronts Afro for the No. 1 band and his revenge.

Afro Samurai: Resurrection

Afro refuses to wear the No. 1 headband as the rules require, and spends his days making wooden sculptures of people from his past instead of fighting. One dark and stormy night, Jinno (now mindlessly taking orders) and a mysterious woman named Sio attack Afro. Jinno easily defeats him and takes the No. 1 headband for Sio and then robs his father's grave of his remains. Sio is revealed to be Jinno's sister. Sio tells Afro her plans to resurrect Afro's father, Rokutaro, so she can torture him as revenge against Afro for the lives he has destroyed, including her brother's and her own. Seo challenges Afro to find the No. 2 headband to earn the right to challenge her. Afro, determined to recover the No. 1 headband and his father's remains, sets off to find the No. 2 headband and eventually learns that the bearer of the No. 2 headband is a man named Shichigoro.

Afro, in search of Shichigoro, coincidentally kills the kidnapper of Schichigoro's son and prompts Shichigoro to buy him a drink. They eventually fight to the death with the No. 2 headband at stake, and upon victory Afro continues on toward Sio. Along the way he is observed by three masked, android warriors from his past. The warriors are revealed to be a part of Sio's original plan to overwhelm Afro in the final battle, but apparently had decided to battle Afro early in an attempt to finish off before Sio had to dirty her hands.

Afro battles and defeats the three while Sio attempts to resurrect a mind-controlled version of Afro's father. However, Rokutaro is revived before he is completely restored, leaving him merely a mindless, though apparently somewhat controllable, killing machine. Afro defeats the three and is soon confronted by Sio, Jinno, and his resurrected father. With Afro hesitant to fight his father, Rokutaro defeats and kills him (stops his heart from beating). Jinno comes to Afro's aid, though pointless as Sio points out, in a sudden flash of selective memories of being a childhood friend and sparring partner with Afro. Landing only a few blows, Jinno is quickly killed by Rokutaro, who kills Sio in the same blow when she attempts to come to Jinno's aid. The cybernetic remains of Jinno give off an electrical surge, which, conducted through the spilled blood of Sio, restarts Afro's heart. Afro apparently defeats Rokotaro and emerges from the scene wearing the No. 1 headband.

Afro walks away from the battle, wearing the No. 1 headband and clutching the No. 2 headband in right hand. He comes across Shichigoro's orphaned son, who had been following him, and hands him the No. 2, telling him to challenge him when he's ready.

Characters

Production

Takashi Okazaki started drawing African-American characters on items like Kleenex boxes when he was a teenager, inspired by his fondness for hip hop and soul music. He also drew ideas from American media and their depiction of Japanese culture. Takashi started combining elements of samurai into his work, eventually developing the design for Afro. Takashi Okazaki began writing the original dōjinshi, then called Afro Samurai!, when he and his friends started independently publishing the art magazine Nou Nou Hau. The preparatory "issue 0" of Nou Nou Hau was released on November 1998 with Afro Samurai artwork featured on the cover. Takashi Okazaki wrote the entire manga in the English direction, with elements from English and Japanese comics. He also used Afro Samurai for a cat food advertisement in the last pages of his manga book.

In addition to the anime production, Takashi Okazaki re-made the dōjinshi, with much better art skills.

Media

Manga

Written and illustrated by Takashi Okazaki, Afro Samurai was originally published in the self-funded Nou Nou Hau dōjinshi magazine. After the release of the anime version, Takashi Okazaki recreated the original dōjinshi. As a special supplement, thumb-nail sized clips of the original dōjinshi were shown at the end of the first volume. The English release of the manga was Tor Books and Seven Seas' first publication under the newly formed Tor/Seven Seas imprint. The manga was released in one volume in Japan on December 18, 2009. The limited edition came with all the issues of the original dōjinshi included in a separate volume.

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Films

In an Associated Press interview in 2007, Takashi Okazaki confirmed there would be a sequel to the anime series, and that it would also be shown on Spike TV. In 2008, the sequel was announced to be a TV movie titled Afro Samurai: Resurrection, and that actors Lucy Liu and Mark Hamill would join the voice acting cast. Hip hop artist RZA also came back to provide the soundtrack for the movie. Afro Samurai: Resurrection debuted on Spike TV on the night of January 25, 2009. On July 16, 2009, Afro Samurai: Resurrection was nominated for an Emmy in the "Outstanding Animated Program (for programming one hour or more)" category in the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards and the Creative Arts Emmy Awards. At the Emmy awards, Afro Samurai: Resurrection lost to Destination Imagination, a TV movie based on Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends. The art director of Afro Samurai: Resurrection, Shigemi Ikeda, won an Emmy for his work on Resurrection, which is the first ever awarded for work on a Japanese-animated production. Afro Samurai: Resurrection was the first Japanese anime to be nominated for and win an Emmy.

Video games

In 2005, Gonzo had awarded Namco Bandai Games exclusive rights to publish to Afro Samurai video games, as announced that year. The debut trailer of the first game was released at the company's Editor's Day presentation. Afro Samurai was released for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on January 27, 2009.

Soundtracks

Wu-Tang Clan member RZA produced the soundtrack for both the Afro Samurai TV series and the TV movie sequel Afro Samurai: Resurrection. The second soundtrack for the TV movie, was also released by Koch Records on January 27, 2009.

Cast

Afro Samurai

Samuel L. Jackson - Afro Samurai, Ninja Ninja

Kelly Hu - Okiku/Otsuro

Ron Perlman - Justice

Jeff Bennett - Foo, Hachiro

Steven Blum - Assassin

S. Scott Bullock - Dharman (Director's Cut Version)

T.C. Carson - Sword Master, Brother 4

Grey DeLisle - Oyuki, Woman

John DiMaggio - Brother 2, Giant, Ivanov, Patron #2

Greg Eagles - Rokutaro, Brother 6

John Kassir - Soshun

Phil LaMarr - Brother 1, Brother 3, Brother 5, Dharman (original version), Kuro, Teen Afro Samurai

Yuri Lowenthal - Jinnosuke/Kuma

Jason Marsden - Sasuke

Liam O'Brien - Kihachi, Patron #4

Crystal Scales - Young Afro Samurai

Dwight Schultz - Assassin #1, Patron #1, Ronin

Tara Strong - Jiro, Otsuro

Fred Tatasciore - Juzo, Patron #5, Shuzo

James Arnold Taylor - Yasichi

Dave Wittenberg - Assassin, Matasaburo, Patron #3, Punk

Afro Samurai: Resurrection

Samuel L. Jackson - Afro Samurai, Ninja Ninja

Lucy Liu - Sio

Mark Hamill - Bin, Oden Shop Master

Jeff Bennett - Brother 3

Steven Blum - Assassins, Man A

S. Scott Bullock - Dharman, Kidnapper

Grey DeLisle - Tomoe, Ogin

Greg Eagles - Rokutaro

Zachary Gordon - Kotaro

Phil LaMarr - Teen Afro Samurai

Yuri Lowenthal - Jinnosuke/Kuma

Liam O'Brien - Shichogoro

Kevin Michael Richardson - Blacksmith, Takimoto

RZA - DJ

Ariel Winter - Young Sio

Dave Wittenberg - Adolescent, Fencing Brother

Crew

Samuel L. Jackson - Executive Producer

Jamie Simone - Casting and Voice Director

Reception

The Afro Samurai manga series has received generally positive reviews from critics. Scott Green, writer of the Anime AICN segment of Ain't It Cool News said that the manga "is a work of design" and that it "utilizes the medium to which it is applied as a platform rather than as an ends unto itself." Scott notes that Okazaki does not have a "head for manga as a storytelling form" and that the "manga labors to show off Okazaksi' design." Anime News Network reviewer, Carlo Santos stated about the anime that "like most typical action-adventures, the story starts out slow and only picks up toward the middle and end when the blades really start flying" and that "Afro Samurai is hardly a complex story" and that it only has "a handful of characters and a straightforward beat-the-next-guy plotline". Carlo Santos also noted that "the original Afro Samurai manga is pretty lousy" and that Takashi Okazaki often gets lost in "incomprehensible scribbles" and "style over substance." Volume 2 of Afro Samurai also charted 147 on ComiPress' "Top 250 Manga Volumes" of February 2009. The Blu-ray release of the anime series charted #16 on VideoScan's Blu-ray charts. Hyper commends the anime for its art, saying, "stylised poses and sharp, dynamic visuals have long been a trademark element of this series, and they hold true [in the anime]." In January 2009, IGN ranked Afro Samurai 90th on a list of the top 100 animated series, saying that the over-the-top violence and quirky story and characters made the show enjoyable

References

External links

Official Afro Samurai: Resurrection website

Official Gomanga page

Afro Samurai: Resurrection at Internet Movie Database

Category:Anime of 2007 Category:Manga of 1999 Category:2007 television series debuts Category:2007 television series endings Category:Seven Seas Entertainment titles Category:Action anime and manga Category:Samurai anime Category:Science fiction anime and manga Category:Fictional African-American people Category:Fictional samurai Category:Fictional sword fighters Category:Fictional mass murderers Category:Black television drama series Category:Funimation Entertainment Category:Seinen manga Category:1999 comic debuts Category:Fantasy anime and manga Category:Comedy-drama anime and manga Category:Black comedy Category:Chanbara anime and manga Category:Fictional characters of Black African descent Category:Fictional Japanese swordsmen Category:Anime films

Jackson Whipps Showalter (February 5, 1860, Minerva, Ohio – February 5, 1935, Lexington, Kentucky) was a five-time U.S. Chess Champion: 1890, 1892, 1892–1894, 1895-1896 and 1906–1909.

Chess career

He won U.S. Championship matches against Max Judd (1891/92, +7-4=3), Albert Hodges (1894, +7-6=4), S. Lipschütz (1895, +7-4=3), Emil Kemény (1896, +7-4=4), and John Finan Barry (1896, +7-2=4). He lost championship matches to Max Judd (1890, +3-7=0), S. Lipschütz (1892, +1-7=7), Albert Hodges(1894, +3-5=1), Harry Nelson Pillsbury (twice, 1897 (+7-11=3) and 1898 (+3-7=2), and Frank Marshall (1909, +2-7=3).

Other match results: William H.K. Pollock (1891, +3-2=3), Emanuel Lasker (1892/93, +2-6=2), Jacob Halpern (1893, +5-3=1), Adolf Albin (1894, +10-7-8), Dawid Janowski (1898, +2-7=4; 1899, +4-2=0 and +4-2=1; 1916, +2-7=2), Borislav Kostic (1915, +2-7=5), and Norman T. Whitaker (1916, +6-1=0).

Tournament record: Cincinnati 1888, +8-0=2, first place; New York 1889, +15-17=8, ninth (Chigorin and Weiss won; the first draw in the second round did not count and had to be replayed); St. Louis 1890, +11-0=1, first; Chicago 1890, +13-1=0, first; Lexington 1891, +5-1=0, first; New York 1893 (Impromptu), +7-4=2, third (Em. Lasker won); New York 1893 (N.Y.C.C.), +5-3=1, third (Pillsbury won); Buffalo 1894, +3-1=2, first; New York 1894, +5-3=2, third (Steinitz won); Nurenberg 1896, +3-10=5, sixteenth (Em. Lasker won); Vienna 1898, +12-16=6, fourteenth (Tarrasch won); Cologne 1898, +8-5=2, sixth (Burn won); London 1899, +7-10=9, eight (Em. Lasker won); Paris 1900, +8-6=5, tenth (Em. Lasker won; the first draw did not count and had to be replayed); Munich 1900, +7-7=1, seventh (Pillsbury and Schlechter won); New York 1900, +6-2=2, second (Lipschütz won); Cambridge Springs 1904, +4-2=9, fifth (Marshall won); Exelsior 1915, +9-1=0, first; Tampa 1916, +3-4=2, second (W. Moorman won); Chicago 1916, +14-1=2, second (Ed. Lasker won); Lexington 1917, +4-3=1, second (Ed. Lasker won); Chicago 1918 +4-6=1, ninth (Kostic won); Cincinnati 1919, +6-3=1, fourth (Ed. Lasker won); Louisville 1922, +7-2=2, fourth (Factor won); Chicago 1926, +2-8=2, twelfth (Marshall won).

Assessment

He was known as "the Kentucky Lion" after his birthplace and his hairstyle, which consisted of a thick mane down the back of his neck, and perhaps also his playing strength.

A variation of the Queen's Gambit Accepted is named after him (1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. Nc3).

The famous "Capablanca Simplifying Manoeuvre" in the Orthodox Variation of the Queen's Gambit Declined (1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Be7 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Nf3 0-0 7. Rc1 c6 8. Bd3 dxc4 9. Bxc4 Nd5) had in fact been used by Showalter in the 1890s, many years before José Raúl Capablanca played it.

References

Further reading

Harry Golombek: Golombek's Encyclopedia of Chess, Crown Publishers 1977.

External links

Category:1860 births Category:1935 deaths Category:American chess players