1. Human Japanese Review
2. Human Japanese Anki

Human Japanese: Extra Credit. Reading, listening, and sentence construction practice based on grammar and vocabulary learned in Human Japanese. Human Japanese teaches the Japanese language from square one in a warm, engaging tone. Going much deeper than the canned phrases and vocab of other products, it approaches the language in an integrated way, with discussion, recordings, animations, illustrations, photos, reviews, and more. Human Japanese is software for Windows PCs that presents the Japanese language from square one in a warm, engaging tone. It packs more than 1,800 recordings of vocabulary words and example sentences, an instantly searchable dictionary for vocabulary words. Human Japanese presents the Japanese language from square one in a warm, engaging tone. Going much deeper than the canned phrases and vocab of other apps, it approaches the language in an integrated way, with discussion, recordings, animations, illustrations, photos, reviews, and more. The core promise of Human Japanese is to carefully explain.

Human Shadow Etched in Stone (Japanese: 人影の石hitokage no ishi)^[2] is an exhibition at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. It is thought to be the residue of a person who was sitting at the entrance of Hiroshima Branch of Sumitomo Bank when the atomic bomb was dropped over Hiroshima. It is also known as Human Shadow of Death.^[1]

Background[edit]

According to the museum, it is thought that the person had been sitting on the stone step waiting for the bank to open when the heat from the bomb burned the surrounding stone white and left their shadow.^[3][4] A black deposit was also found on the shadow.^[5] A piece of stone containing the artifact (3.3 meters wide by 2 meters high) was cut from the original location and moved to the museum.^[6]

In January 1971, the museum acquired the stone on which the human shadow had become indistinct due to weathering. In April 1975, the museum began research into preserving the shadow.^[7] In 1991, the museum reported that earnest investigation of preservation methods had commenced.^[8] At present, the stone is surrounded by glass.^[9][10]

It is thought that the person depicted in the stone died immediately with the flash of the atomic bomb, or after falling down after the explosion.^[3][11] Some people stated that they saw the person sitting at the entrance just before the bombing.^[12] A former soldier testified that he had recovered the person's body. However, the person's identity is still unknown.^[12] As of 2016, the museum exhibit states that 'Several people have suggested that the person could be a member of their family'. In the past, the museum exhibit contained a statement that the person was a 42-year-old woman named Mitsuno Koshitomo (越智ミツノ).^[12] As a result of these previous statements, some conclusions in the literature state that she was the person depicted in the stone.

According to museum staff, many visitors to the museum believe that the shadow is the outline of a human vaporized immediately after the bombing.^[4] However, the possibility of human vaporization is not supported from a medical perspective. The ground surface temperature is thought to have ranged from 3,000 to 4,000 degrees Celsius just after the bombing. Exposing a body to this level of radiant heat would leave bones and carbonized organs behind. While radiation could severely inflame and ulcerate the skin, complete vaporization of the body is impossible.^[4]

History[edit]

Hiroshima Branch of Sumitomo Bank[edit]

• The black x-mark indicates ground zero, while the red circle is the Hiroshima Branch of Sumitomo Bank (now Sumitomo Mitsui Bank)

• Aerial photograph on July 25, 1945, before the bombing

• Aerial photograph on August 8, 1945, two days after the bombing

Human Shadow Etched in Stone was originally part of the stone steps at the entrance of the Hiroshima Branch of Sumitomo Bank, located 260 meters from ground zero.^[1][3] The current location of the Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Hiroshima Branch is Kamiya-cho 1 Chome.^[a]

The bank was built in 1928. It was designed by Kenzo Takekoshi (竹腰健造) at the department of engineering of Sumitomo Group (now Nikken Sekkei), and was constructed by the Obayashi Corporation.^[14] The building was constructed out of reinforced concrete, with four floors above ground and one below with an open ceiling up to the third floor. The rooms for business, reception and coinage were on the first floor, the meeting rooms and cafeteria on the fourth floor, and the boiler room in the basement.^[14][15] It was built south of the head office of Geibi Bank (Now head office of Hiroshima Bank [ja],) which had been built the year before and was almost the same size. It was designed in a general Romanesque architectural style, and was characterized by a large arch with molding on its front facade.^[14]

It was not totally destroyed in the bombing of August 6, 1945. While the interior was destroyed, the exterior remained.^[15] The coin room was not damaged, and the cash and passbooks remained.^[15] Papers inside the building were blown as far away as Numata-cho [ja] by the blast.^[b][15]

On the morning of the bombing, the bank was to be open as usual. Most of the employees were on their way to the office when the bomb was dropped. There were 29 employees killed immediately (including those in the branch and those on their way to work), 40 were injured and none missing.^[15] Some of the survivors died within a few days from radiation sickness, while others worked until retirement.^[15] Passersby took refuge in the building as it was close to ground zero, and a large number of bodies were recovered.^[15]

The branch reopened after the war, and the entrance soon became a famous landmark of the damage caused by the atomic bombing. It was officially recognized by Hiroshima City as an A-bomb site.^[17] In those days, the shadow was called 'Human Shadow of Death'.^[1][18] According to a testimony, it was the second most famous sight next to the Atomic Bomb Dome.^[19] Sumitomo Bank went to great lengths to preserve the shadow. In 1959 they built a fence surrounding the stone, and in 1967 they covered the stone with tempered glass to prevent deterioration.^[1][6][18]

In 1971, the Hiroshima Branch was planned to be rebuilt. The stone around the shadow was cut out and donated to the museum.^[1][6]

Human vaporization[edit]

According to Masaharu Hoshi [ja] (1947–), a radiology scientist, in his childhood he heard that the shadow had been generated by 'human vaporization'.^[4] 'Journal on the damage of atomic bombing in Hiroshima' (広島原爆戦災誌), published by Hiroshima City in 1971, also contains a description implying human vaporization, which is now proven to be impossible.^[4]

Within a radius of 500 meters of the ground zero, .. people were killed almost immediately as if they had been vaporized … bodies and bones were burned thoroughly almost not to be found, and everything was destroyed, which was buried in white ash.

In the 1994 Committee on Health and Welfare of the House of Councillors, Eimatsu Takakuwa [ja] mentioned the stone, saying 'One was vaporized and vanished immediately. Only the shadow remained.'^[21]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

1. ^The branch had been in Nakajima-Honmachi [ja] before it was transferred to a new building in Kamiya-cho [ja].^[13]
2. ^According to the online map,^[16] it is approximately nine kilometers from ground zero to Numata-cho.

References[edit]

1. ^ ^abcdef'ヒロシマの記録 貴重な「記憶」次代へ' (in Japanese). Chugoku Shimbun. 2004-03-22. Retrieved 2017-06-15.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
2. ^'Human Shadow Etched in Stone'. Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. Retrieved 2017-06-15.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
3. ^ ^abc'人影の石' (in Japanese). Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. Retrieved 2017-06-15.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
4. ^ ^abcde'熱線で「人が蒸発」本当？' (in Japanese). Hiroshima Peace Media Center. Retrieved 2017-06-15.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
5. ^'ヒロシマの記録2000 3月' (in Japanese). Hiroshima Peace Media Center. Retrieved 2017-06-15.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
6. ^ ^abc'ヒロシマの記録1971 1月' (in Japanese). Hiroshima Peace Media Center. Retrieved 2017-06-15.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
7. ^'ヒロシマの記録1975 4月' (in Japanese). Hiroshima Peace Media Center. Retrieved 2017-06-15.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
8. ^'ヒロシマの記録1991 5月' (in Japanese). Hiroshima Peace Media Center. Retrieved 2017-06-15.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
9. ^'針折れる 広島資料館の収蔵資料約２万点、劣化進む'. Mainichi Shimbun (in Japanese). 2015-12-12. Retrieved 2017-09-13.
10. ^'オバマ大統領広島訪問直前に巻き起こった原爆資料館批判' (in Japanese). News Post Seven [ja]. 2016-05-25. Retrieved 2017-06-15.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
11. ^'人影の石' (in Japanese). Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. Retrieved 2017-06-15.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
12. ^ ^abc'「人影の石」説明板に名前追加' (in Japanese). Chugoku Shimbun. 1997-08-02. Retrieved 2017-06-15.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
13. ^A-bombed Buildings Investigation Committee (1996). ヒロシマの被爆建造物は語る (in Japanese). Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. p. 44.
14. ^ ^abcLi, MING; ISHIMARU, Norioki (2006). 'The Study on the Activities and Their Features of Architects in Hiroshima Before World War Two: The study on the architects activity form and feature in local city'. Journal of Architecture. Architectural Institute of Japan. 71 (608): 197–204. doi:10.3130/aija.71.197_4. ISSN1340-4210.
15. ^ ^abcdefgHiroshima City (2005) [1971]. 広島原爆戦災誌(PDF) (in Japanese). 3. Hiroshima City. pp. 149–152. Retrieved 2017-06-15.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
16. ^'地理院地図' (in Japanese). Geospatial Information Authority of Japan. Retrieved 2017-11-04.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
17. ^'ヒロシマの記録 消えた「原爆十景」追う' (in Japanese). Chugoku Shimbun. 2007-04-30. Retrieved 2017-06-15.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
18. ^ ^ab'1945年8月～被爆した広島、長崎～ 写真特集'. Jiji Press. Retrieved 2017-06-15.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
19. ^'巻頭言：被爆建物の記憶' (in Japanese). DDK Cooperative (協同組合DDK). 2013. Retrieved 2017-06-15.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
20. ^Hiroshima City (2005) [1971]. 広島原爆戦災誌(PDF) (in Japanese). 2. Hiroshima City. p. 5. Retrieved 2017-06-15.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
21. ^'参議院会議録情報 第１３１回国会 厚生委員会 第１１号'. Full-text Database System for the Minutes of the Diet (in Japanese). National Diet Library. Retrieved 2017-09-22.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)

External links[edit]

• Damage by the Heat Rays/Human Shadow Etched in Stone – Hiroshima City
• Is it true that human beings vanished in the bomb's heat? – Chugoku Shimbun

• History to 1900
• Doctrines
• Ritual practices and institutions

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

Human Japanese Review

Shintō, indigenous religious beliefs and practices of Japan. The word Shintō, which literally means “the way of kami” (generally sacred or divine power, specifically the various gods or deities), came into use in order to distinguish indigenous Japanese beliefs from Buddhism, which had been introduced into Japan in the 6th century ce. Shintō has no founder, no official sacred scriptures in the strict sense, and no fixed dogmas, but it has preserved its guiding beliefs throughout the ages.

Nature and varieties

Shintō consists of the traditional Japanese religious practices as well as the beliefs and life attitudes that are in accord with these practices. Shintō is more readily observed in the social life of the Japanese people and in their personal motivations than in a pattern of formal belief or philosophy. It remains closely connected with the Japanese value system and the Japanese people’s ways of thinking and acting.

Shintō can be roughly classified into the following three major types: Shrine Shintō, Sect Shintō, and Folk Shintō. Shrine Shintō (Jinja Shintō), which has been in existence from the beginning of Japanese history to the present day, constitutes a main current of Shintō tradition. Shrine Shintō includes within its structure the now defunct State Shintō (Kokka Shintō)—based on the total identity of religion and state—and has close relations with the Japanese Imperial family. Sect Shintō (Kyōha Shintō) is a relatively new movement consisting of 13 major sects that originated in Japan around the 19th century and of several others that emerged after World War II. Each sect was organized into a religious body by either a founder or a systematizer. Folk Shintō (Minzoku Shintō) is an aspect of Japanese folk belief that is closely connected with the other types of Shintō. It has no formal organizational structure nor doctrinal formulation but is centred in the veneration of small roadside images and in the agricultural rites of rural families. These three types of Shintō are interrelated: Folk Shintō exists as the substructure of Shintō faith, and a Sect Shintō follower is usually also a parishioner (ujiko) of a particular Shintō shrine.

History to 1900

Much remains unknown about religion in Japan during the Paleolithic and Neolithic ages. It is unlikely, however, that the religion of these ages has any direct connection with Shintō. Yayoi culture, which originated in the northern area of the island of Kyushu in about the 3rd or 2nd century bce, is directly related to later Japanese culture and hence to Shintō. Among the primary Yayoi religious phenomena were agricultural rites and shamanism. Off the record: method writing.

Early clan religion and ceremonies

In ancient times small states were gradually formed at various places. By the middle of the 4th century ce, a nation with an ancestor of the present Imperial Household as its head had probably been established. The constituent unit of society at that time was the uji (clan or family), and the head of each uji was in charge of worshiping the clan’s ujigami—its particular tutelary or guardian deity. The prayer for good harvest in spring and the harvest ceremony in autumn were two major festivals honouring the ujigami. Divination, water purification, and lustration (ceremonial purification), which are all mentioned in the Japanese classics, became popular, and people started to build shrines for their kami.

Ancient Shintō was polytheistic. People found kami in nature, which ruled seas or mountains, as well as in outstanding men. They also believed in kami of ideas such as growth, creation, and judgment. Though each clan made the tutelary kami the core of its unity, such kami were not necessarily the ancestral deities of the clan. Sometimes kami of nature and kami of ideas were regarded as their tutelary kami.

Two different views of the world were present in ancient Shintō. One was the three-dimensional view in which the Plain of High Heaven (Takama no Hara, the kami’s world), Middle Land (Nakatsukuni, the present world), and the Hades (Yomi no Kuni, the world after death) were arranged in vertical order. The other view was a two-dimensional one in which this world and the Perpetual Country (Tokoyo, a utopian place far beyond the sea) existed in horizontal order. Though the three-dimensional view of the world (which is also characteristic of North Siberian and Mongolian shamanistic culture) became the representative view observed in Japanese myths, the two-dimensional view of the world (which is also present in Southeast Asian culture) was dominant among the populace.

Early Chinese influences on Shintō

Confucianism, which originated in China, is believed to have reached Japan in the 5th century ce, and by the 7th century it had spread among the people, together with Daoism and yinyang (harmony of two basic forces of nature) philosophy. All of these stimulated the development of Shintō ethical teachings. With the gradual centralization of political power, Shintō began to develop as a national cult as well. Myths of various clans were combined and reorganized into a pan-Japanese mythology with the Imperial Household as its centre. The kami of the Imperial Household and the tutelary kami of powerful clans became the kami of the whole nation and people, and offerings were made by the state every year. Such practices were systematized supposedly around the start of the Taika-era reforms in 645. By the beginning of the 10th century, about 3,000 shrines throughout Japan were receiving state offerings. As the power of the central government declined, however, the system ceased to be effective, and after the 13th century only a limited number of important shrines continued to receive the Imperial offerings. Later, after the Meiji Restoration in 1868, the old system was revived.

The encounter with Buddhism

Human Japanese Anki

Buddhism was officially introduced into Japan in 552 ce and developed gradually. In the 8th century there emerged tendencies to interpret Shintō from a Buddhist viewpoint. Shintō kami were viewed as protectors of Buddhism; hence, shrines for tutelary kami were built within the precincts of Buddhist temples. Kami were made equivalent to deva, or “gods.” According to Buddhist teachings, the deva are said to be undergoing the same suffering (dukkha The fleetturks and caicos virtual. ) within the endless cycle of death and rebirth (samsara) that all creatures experience. Help was therefore offered to kami in the form of Buddhist discipline. Buddhist temples were even built within Shintō shrine precincts, and Buddhist sutras (scriptures) were read in front of kami. By the late 8th century, kami were thought to be avatars (incarnations) of buddhas (enlightened individuals who had attained liberation [moksha] from samsara) and bodhisattvas (buddhas-to-be). Bodhisattva names were given to kami, and Buddhist statues were placed even in the inner sanctuaries of Shintō shrines. In some cases, Buddhist priests were in charge of the management of Shintō shrines.

From the beginning of the Kamakura period (1192–1333), theories of Shintō-Buddhist amalgamation were formulated. The most important of the syncretic schools to emerge were Ryōbu (Dual Aspect) Shintō and Sannō (“King of the Mountain,” a common name of the guardian deity of Tendai Buddhism) Shintō. According to Ryōbu Shintō—also called Shingon Shintō—the two realms of the universe in Shingon Buddhist teachings corresponded to the kami Amaterasu Ōmikami and Toyuke (Toyouke) Ōkami enshrined at the Ise-daijingū (Grand Shrine of Ise, commonly called Ise-jingū, or Ise Shrine) in Mie prefecture. The theorists of Sannō Shintō—also called Tendai Shintō—interpreted the Tendai belief in the central, or absolute, truth of the universe (i.e., the fundamental buddha nature) as being equivalent to the Shintō concept that the sun goddessAmaterasu was the source of the universe. These two sects brought certain esoteric Buddhist rituals into Shintō. Buddhistic Shintō was popular for several centuries and was influential until its extinction at the Meiji Restoration.