History quiz

[BasharCaptWill]

Who am I?

Could this be Emily Brontë?

[Louis VI the Fat]

Could this be Emily Brontë?

Well done. Nine posts, and you make them count!

It's all yours.

[InsaneApache]

I intially thought of the Brontes. I only live a few miles from the Parsonage an awl. I feel all bitter and twisted now.

[BasharCaptWill]

Ok, then. In the 8th century Japane there was one Buddhist cult which become incorporated within the Japane warrior class. How it is called?

[Kagemusha]

Tendai Buddhism?

[InsaneApache]

Bushido.

[Kagemusha]

Bushido.

Bushido is a very late phenomenom.Originating from Sengoku period. The ideal of Bushi is earlier thing, but neither is really a Buddhist cult.

[InsaneApache]

Well it was only a guess. It spoils the fun to wiki everytime. :)

[BasharCaptWill]

Bushido is a very late phenomenom.Originating from Sengoku period. The ideal of Bushi is earlier thing, but neither is really a Buddhist cult.

Allow me to add few words here. Bushido as such – to which we often refer when someone points out the word ''Bushido'', was formalized into Japanese Feudal Law under the Togukawa Shogunate.

Bushido overall is much ''larger'' topic and many points out that Bushido as such (it's principles) were already founded in Muromachi period. However the Buddhist cult (which name I guess will soon be mentioned) in a large scale influenced on ''the way of the warrior''.

Tendai Buddhism

It is not.

[Kagemusha]

Well do you want Zen Buddhism as answer?The problem is that zen wasnt a individual sect in Japan earlier then 12th century.

[BasharCaptWill]

Well do you want Zen Buddhism as answer?

No. This is not the right answer.

zen wasnt a individual sect in Japan earlier then 12th century

I'm aware of that.

Focus on ''esoteric Buddhism''. Tendai is part of that, BUT I asked for the name of the specific cult and not for particular ''school'' of Buddhism. I apologize if I was not clear enough.

[al Roumi]

Ok, then. In the 8th century Japane there was one Buddhist cult which become incorporated within the Japane warrior class. How it is called?

Shinto?

[BasharCaptWill]

No. Shinto is indigenous religion of Japan.

I thought that someone here might be a practioner of koryu bujutsu. Here is another clue:

Fudō Myō-ō - there are deities related to mentioned one. One of those is the answer. Don't forget on the words ''Buddhist cult''.

[BasharCaptWill]

How it goes from here onward? If no one won't give a correct answer then I will post it soon, so that this thread will go on with fresh questions.

[Louis VI the Fat]

How it goes from here onward? If no one won't give a correct answer then I will post it soon, so that this thread will go on with fresh questions.

You can try more hints, maybe? Drop a name / place / event that makes for easy googling or something.

Apparantly, we are not well versed in Buddhist cults. I would've thought that maybe some Shogun enthusiast would've known the answer, but apparantly not. I myself haven't the faintest clue, I don't know anything about this stuff. You've beaten us all!!

[Decker]

Tendai Buddhism?

[Ironside]

Shugendö, with its Yamabushi tradition?

Or possibly Shingon, but I find that less probable.

[BasharCaptWill]

You can try more hints, maybe? Drop a name / place / event that makes for easy googling or something.

I think this won't be needed. :)

Tendai Buddhism?

This was already mentioned but no.

Or possibly Shingon, but I find that less probable.

Shingon Buddhism is one of the mainstream major schools of Japanese Buddhism and one of the few surviving Esoteric Buddhist lineages that started in India from the third to fourth century B.C. that spread to China, Korea and Japan. The cult to which I refered is indeed part of Shingon Buddhism. Despite you have not mentioned the name of it specifically, I won't be grumpy and regarding the fact that you are the one who came closer to the answer then anyone else, I say that you deserve to take the place and I approve your answer as correct one. Well done Ironside!

The full answer would be the cult of Marici elsewhere known as Marishi-ten. The origins of Marici are obscure, however she appears to be an amalgamation of Hindu, Iranian, and non-Aryan antecedents spanning 1500 years. She is however identified as a Buddhist "goddess" of light, Marici.

Because of the influence of the Budo after WWII, most people believe that Zen was the core of samurai traditions and that it also influenced Bushido but that's not really the case. Marici was adopted by the Samurai in the 8th century BC as a protector and patron. Marici predate Zen. It is geared towards a similar meditative mode in order to enable the warrior to achieve a more heightened spiritual level. He lost interest in the issues of victory or defeat (or life and death), thus transcending to a level where he became so empowered that he was freed from his own grasp on mortality.

For those who would like to know more about this should read ''Marishiten: Buddhism and the warrior Goddess'', Ph.D. dissertation, University of California at Berkley, 1990 by David A. Hall or "Marishiten: Buddhist Influences on Combative Behavior" in Koryu Bujutsu: Classical Warrior Traditions of Japan. Koryu Books, 1997, pp. 87-119 also written by David A. Hall.

On the internet I've also found one short article and it is titled ''Religion on the Battlefield: Esoteric Buddhism and the Japanese Warrior''.

Ironside the hall is yours.

[Decker]

Bugger... But thanks for the insight. Very interesting

[Ironside]

I guessed correctly that Shingon was the branch of esoteric buddhism, but since Shingon didn't go to Japan until the 9:th century and doesn't have that warrior focus, it couldn't be the full answer.

To the quiz:
One of the more successful pirates in history. Ended up commanding a vast fleet consiting of several hundreds of ships (over a thousand according to some sources) and tens of thousands of pirates. Defeated any fleet sent to stop the piracy, until internal strife had weakened the fleet enough for the pirate in question to accept a general amnesty for the vast majority of the fleet, while keeping the loot. Died peacefully many years later, running a gambling house/brothel.

[BasharCaptWill]

but since Shingon didn't go to Japan until the 9:th century and doesn't have that warrior focus, it couldn't be the full answer.

You might be interested to read the book "Marishiten: Buddhist Influences on Combative Behavior" by David A. Hall as mentioned above.

When we are already talking about the east, was that pirate name ''Ching Shih''?

[Ironside]

When we are already talking about the east, was that pirate name ''Ching Shih''?

Among others. Dang, I take it she became a bit too famous for this quiz. Your turn.

[BasharCaptWill]

What is the name of a general who served to a king, who's son later became one of the most known figures in the history - as warrior, as leader and as a king. He was always commanding the left wing. This general was not in any way implicated in the conspiracy against the king, yet the king (referring to the king's son) sent his officers to kill this exceptional commander.

[gaelic cowboy]

Parmenion

[BasharCaptWill]

Parmenion

This is the answer that I was waiting for. Well done. Your turn.

[gaelic cowboy]

I contributed to the eventual development of quantum mechanics through my work

I am quoted as saying Who would not rather have the fame of Archimedes than that of his conqueror Marcellus?

I carved this during a flash of inspiration on a bridge while walking in town one day

i² = j² = k² = ijk = −1

[_Tristan_]

William Rowan Hamilton

[gaelic cowboy]

William Rowan Hamilton

Correct

[Louis VI the Fat]

No new question for two weeks. Here goes then:

What, when, where?

[gaelic cowboy]

I guessing it's the return of Napoleon Bonaparte's ashes in 1840 so it would be his ashes in the giant urn looking thing and its the Arc de Triomphe

Second funeral of Napoleon
15 december 1840
Passing under Arc de triomphe