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1767_0 | Antanas "Anthony" Bimba Jr. (1894–1982) was a Lithuanian-born American newspaper editor, historian, and radical political activist. An editor of a number of Lithuanian-language Marxist periodicals published in the United States, Bimba is best remembered as the defendant in a sensational 1926 legal case in which he was charged with sedition and violation of a 229-year-old law against blasphemy in the state of Massachusetts.
Bimba was once again in the news in 1963 when the United States Department of Justice began deportation proceedings against him, charging that he committed perjury during the course of his 1927 naturalization as an American citizen. The effort was contested and ultimately dropped by the government in the summer of 1967.
Biography |
1767_1 | Early years
Antanas Bimba, most commonly known by the Americanized first name "Anthony," was born on January 22, 1894, in the village of Valeikiškis, located near the Latvian border in the Rokiškis District of Lithuania, then part of the Russian empire. Bimba's father Anthony Bimba Sr. was a blacksmith and a peasant farmer. Anthony Jr. was one of six surviving children of his father's second wife.
The Bimba family were patriotic Lithuanians and Roman Catholics — beliefs which made them de facto dissidents to the pervasive Great Russian nationalism and official religious orthodoxy of the tsarist regime. |
1767_2 | In the summer of 1913 the 19-year-old Anthony followed his two older brothers in emigrating to the United States, making use of a steamship ticket provided by his oldest brother. He arrived on July 3, 1913, at Burlington, New Jersey, and was at once employed working in a steel mill next to his brother at the rate of $7.00 for a 60-hour week. Bimba sought to escape the miserable conditions of the mill and soon relocated to be with the other brother working at a pulp mill in Rumford, Maine. Although wages and working conditions were somewhat better in the paper mill, Bimba developed chest pains from the noxious fumes produced by chemicals used in the pulp-making process and was forced to find new employment. |
1767_3 | As a means of escaping the pulp mill, Bimba helped to establish a new cooperative bakery to make rye bread, an important staple food for the immigrant community, becoming a delivery truck driver in the process. He also for the first time came into contact with the Lithuanian socialist movement, and soon came to abandon the Catholicism of his youth for religious freethinking as he himself became a socialist.
Bimba lived briefly among the Lithuanian immigrant communities at Muskegon, Michigan, and Niagara Falls, New York, where he came to believe that "the church and saloon held them firmly in hand," as he later put it and helped sponsor a visit from an atheist lecturer from Chicago. |
1767_4 | In May 1916 Bimba began attending classes at Valparaiso University, a small private college in Valparaiso, Indiana, which had gained a following among the Lithuanian immigrant community as a friendly institution. He would remain there through the 1918–19 academic year. Although his English was imperfect, Bimba studied history and sociology at the school, living very economically and earning his room by taking care of a small Lithuanian library in town. During summers he earned money working in a wire factory and a machine shop in the industrial city of Cleveland, Ohio.
Political career
Bimba was an active member of the Lithuanian Socialist Federation of the Socialist Party of America from his college days and wrote for several Lithuanian-language socialist publications published in America. He also began to work as a lecturer himself, speaking to the Lithuanian immigrant communities which had developed in such Midwestern industrial cities as Gary, Indiana, and Chicago. |
1767_5 | A first brush with the law came in the summer of 1918 when Bimba was speaking to steelworkers in Gary. It is unclear whether Bimba was arrested for pro-trade union and socialist or anti-war utterances, with late Lithuanian political encyclopedias offering either explanation. The case against him was ultimately dropped.
Bimba left school in the summer of 1919 to take a job offered to him as editor of Darbas (Labor), a monthly Lithuanian-language publication of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America (ACWA), published in New York City. Bimba's task largely involved the translation and adaptation of the ACWA's English-language flagship publication, Advance, for the union's Lithuanian immigrant membership. Bimba sought to produce original content and found the adaptation work at Darbas to be mundane, so he quit the editor's job in the summer of 1920. |
1767_6 | During the time of his tenure at Darbas, the Socialist Party of America was fractured into rival Socialist and Communist organizations, marked by launch of the founding convention of the Communist Party of America (CPA) in Chicago on September 1, 1919. Headed by their Translator-Secretary, Joseph V. Stilson, a big majority of the Lithuanian Socialist Federation supported affiliation with the fledgling CPA. At the 10th National Convention of the Lithuanian Socialist Federation, held shortly after the establishment of the Communist Party, Bimba served on the 5 member Resolutions Committee and emerged as a leading spokesman for affiliation with the CPA.
Bimba would soon become the editor of the official organ of the Lithuanian Communist Federation, Kova (Struggle) as well as its underground publication following the arrests associated with the Palmer Raids, Komunistas (Communist). |
1767_7 | In 1922 Bimba became editor of the Lithuanian-language communist weekly Laisvė (Liberty), published in Brooklyn, New York. He would remain there until 1928.
Bimba was active in the United Toilers of America, a "legal" trade union-oriented splinter organization splitting from the underground Communist Party of America, and was one of 7 persons elected that group's first National Executive Committee by its founding conference held in New York City in February 1922. Along with the majority of the United Toilers, Bimba would rejoin the mainline CPA due to Comintern insistence later that same year. |
1767_8 | Making use of the pseudonym "J. Mason," Bimba was a delegate to the ill-fated 1922 Bridgman Convention of the Communist Party of America representing the party's Chicago district. The conclave was raided by local and federal law enforcement authorities, resulting in high-profile trials of Communist trade union chief William Z. Foster and CPA Executive Secretary C. E. Ruthenberg. Writing nearly two decades after the event, repentant former Communist Benjamin Gitlow recalled that a crisis had resulted during the convention when Bimba was discovered mailing convention reports to Workers' Challenge, the weekly newspaper of the rival United Toilers of America in violation of the convention's secrecy rules. According to Gitlow, a special meeting of the convention delegates was held about the matter and Bimba's convention rights were terminated and his party membership placed on probation.
Blasphemy case |
1767_9 | On January 26, 1926, Bimba traveled to Brockton, Massachusetts, to speak to the Lithuanian-American community there at Lithuanian National Hall. An anti-communist Lithuanian-American named Anthony Eudaco went to the local police prior to the event to express his concerns and to alert them to a potentially illegal situation. Eudaco then joined the crowd of about 100 Lithuanian-speaking men and women who attended Bimba's presentation, baiting the speaker with questions about violence and revolution.
According to Bimba's lawyer, Bimba had spoken extemporaneously at Lithuanian Hall in Brockton from an outline and no stenographic record of his remarks existed. In the aftermath of Bimba's speech, authorities decided to charge him with criminal sedition and violation of a 229-year old state law against blasphemy, passed at the time of the Salem witch trials.
Prior to opening of the trial, the Prosecutor provided the news media an English translation of Bimba's alleged remarks, as follows: |
1767_10 | "People have built churches for the last 2,000 years, and we have sweated under Christian rule for 2,000 years. And what have we got? The government is in control of the priests and bishops, clerics and capitalists. They tell us there is a God. Where is he?
"There is no such thing. Who can prove it? There are still fools enough who believe in God. The priests tell us there is a soul. Why, I have a soul, but that sole is on my shoe. Referring to Christ, the priests also tell us he is a god. Why, he is no more a god than you or I. He was just a plain man."
In addition to his alleged criminal blasphemy, the prosecutor also charged Bimba with making a seditious utterance which included the words:
"We do not believe in the ballot. We do not believe in any form of government but the Soviet form and we shall establish the Soviet form of government here. The red flag will fly on the Capitol in Washington and there will also be one on the Lithuanian Hall in Brockton." |
1767_11 | The Workers (Communist) Party attempted to generate attention and support from the Bimba affair, proclaiming the matter a "Free Speech Fight in Boston" in a banner headline in The Daily Worker. The trail was depicted by the Communists as a "second Scopes case," pitting enlightenment against "the forces of darkness and viciousness." Local authorities attempted to undercut Communist efforts at building a mass protest movement through police prohibitions of Bimba defense meetings in Brockton, Boston, and Worcester, Massachusetts. Legal support was nevertheless provided by the Communist-sponsored International Labor Defense organization, as well as the American Civil Liberties Union. |
1767_12 | The trial started on February 24, 1926, in District Court in Brockton with three witnesses testifying that Bimba had declared that there was no God, that there were still fools who believed there was, and that Jesus Christ was no more God than Bimba himself. The witnesses for the prosecution also testified that Bimba urged them to organize for the revolutionary overthrow of the capitalistic American government. |
1767_13 | Bimba's attorney, Harry Hoffman, called for a dismissal of the prosecution's charges owing to their unconstitutionality, but Judge C. Carroll King ruled against the motion since the question of the blasphemy charged based on the archaic Massachusetts law was beyond the purview of his court and he would not rule on the sedition complaint until evidence was presented. In presenting Bimba's defense, Hoffman first addressed the blasphemy charge, defending atheism as akin to a religion and declaring that there was a constitutional right to belief in the non-existence of a God. With respect to the allegation of sedition, Hoffman again based his defense upon the notion of constitutionally-protected individual liberty, denying any act of incitement in Bimba's actual words and stating that even if Bimba did say the words ascribed to him, he was merely expressing personal beliefs. |
1767_14 | On March 1, 1926, six days after the start of the trial, the jury's verdict was announced in the Bimba case. Bimba was found not guilty of blasphemy but guilty of sedition. A modest fine of $100 was levied against him and Bimba was released from custody to return to his journalistic endeavors in Brooklyn. Upon appeal, the sedition charge was dropped with a finding of nolle prosequi as District Attorney Winfield Wilbar found the case not worth pursuing. In his commentary to the press, Wilbar noted "The interests of public justice do not require further prosecution of this case. This issue is dead now and the offense is so trivial that I do not think it worth the time and heavy expense to prosecute."
Later years
In 1928 Bimba ran for New York State Assembly on the Communist Party ticket in the 13th Assembly District of Brooklyn. |
1767_15 | An author of numerous historical books and pamphlets in Lithuanian, two of Bimba's works were translated into English — The History of the American Working Class (1927), a survey of labor history, and The Molly Maguires (1932), a monograph on the repression of 19th Century Pennsylvania anthracite coal miners. Both books were released by International Publishers, a publishing house closely associated with the Communist Party and were reprinted multiple times in ensuing decades.
Bimba moved to the editorship of the left wing magazine Šviesa (Light) in 1936.
In 1962 Bimba was awarded an honorary doctorate of historical science from Vilnius University. |
1767_16 | Bimba once again became embroiled with the American legal system in December 1963, when the United States Department of Justice initiated deportation proceedings against him. The government charged that Bimba had committed perjury during his 1927 hearings to become a naturalized citizen of the United States for failing to make mention of his 1926 prosecution for sedition and blasphemy. In the opinion of historian Ellen Schrecker, the government's action was actually retaliation for his failure to provide testimony to the House Un-American Activities Committee IN 1957. Bimba contested the deportation effort and the matter dragged on without resolution, until in July 1967, Attorney General Ramsey Clark finally dropped the case.
Death and legacy
Anthony Bimba died on September 30, 1982, in New York City. He was 88 years old at the time of his death. |
1767_17 | Bimba's papers are housed at the Immigration History Research Center Archives, located in the Archives and Special Collections at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. A detailed on-line finding aid is not yet available. |
1767_18 | Works
Krikščionybē ir darbininkai (Christianity and the Workers). Chicago, IL: n.p., n.d. [1920s?].
Amerikos darbininkė (The American Worker). Brooklyn, NY: "Laisves" spauda, 1923.
"Letter to C.E. Ruthenberg, Executive Secretary, Workers Party of America in Chicago, from Anthony Bimba, Editor of Laisve, Brooklyn, NY, Oct. 8, 1924." Corvallis, OR: 1000 Flowers Publishing, 2013.
Religija ir piktadarystes (Religion and Evil). Chicago, IL: "Vilnies" leidinys, 1925.
Istorija klasių kovos Amerikoje (History of the Class Struggle in America). Brooklyn, NY: "Laisves" spauda, 1925.
Lietuvos Respublika ir jos ateitis: A. Bimbos prakalba pasakyta Montello, Mass., Sausio 26 d., 1926 m. (The Lithuanian Republic and the Future: Speech of A. Bimba, Montello, Mass., January 26, 1926). Introduction by Rojas Mizara. Brooklyn, NY: "Laisves" spauda, 1926. —Brockton speech.
The History of the American Working Class. New York: International Publishers, 1927. |
1767_19 | Kas tie fasistai? (Who Are the Fascists?) Brooklyn, NY: "Laisves" spauda, 1927.
Kas tai yra trockizmas (What Is Trotskyism?) Brooklyn, NY: "Laisves" spauda, 1929.
Darbininkė ir bedarbė arba kova prieš badą ir išnaudojimą (Workers and the Unemployed, or, The Fight Against Hunger and Exhaustion). 1931.
The Molly Maguires: The True Story of Labor's Martyred Pioneers in the Coalfields. New York: International Publishers, 1932.
Mirtis kovotoju už laisve Bartolomeo Vanzetti ir Nicola Sacco (The Death of Freedom Fighters Bartolomeo Vanzetti ir Nicola Sacco). n.c.: Tarptautinio Darbininku Apsigynimo Lietuviu Sekcija, n.d. [early 1930s?].
Kelias i nauja gyvenima (The Path to a New Life). Chicago, IL: "Vilnies" leidinys, 1937.
Naujoji Lietuva: Faktu ir dokumentu sviesoje (New Lithuanian: In Light of Facts and Documents). n.c.: Isleido Lietuvos Draugu Komitetas, 1940. |
1767_20 | Prisikėlusi Lietuva: Tarybu Lietuvos liaudies ir vyriausybes zygiai ekonominiam ir kulturiniam salies gyvenimui atstatyti. (Resurrected Lithuania: The Soviet Lithuanian People and Government and Rebuilding the Economic and Cultural Life of the Country). Brooklyn, NY: "Laisves" spauda, 1946.
JAV darbininku̜ judėjimo istorija (History of the USA Labor Movement). Vilnius, Lithuania: Valstybinė politinės ir mokslinės literatūros leidykla, 1963.
Klesti Nemuno kraštas: Lietuva, 1945-1967 (The Booming Neumis Region: Lithuania 1945-1967). Brooklyn, NY: n.p., 1967. |
1767_21 | See also
Non-English press of the Communist Party USA
Michael X. Mockus
References
Further reading
J. Louis Engdahl, "The Blow at Bimba Aimed at Labor," Labor Defender, vol. 1, no. 4 (April 1926), pp. 51–52.
Robert Minor, "God, the Supreme Shoe Manufacturer," The New Magazine, Feb. 27, 1926, pp. 1–2. Supplement to The Daily Worker, vol. 3, no. 40 (Feb. 27, 1926).
William Wolkovich, Bay State "Blue" Laws and Bimba: A Documentary Study of the Anthony Bimba Trial for Blasphemy and Sedition in Brockton, Massachusetts, 1926. Brockton, MA: Forum Press, n.d. [1973].
"Bimba Case Excuse for Attack on Finnish and Other Language Papers by Minions of Reaction," Daily Worker, March 2, 1926, pg. 1.
External links
Anthony Bimba papers at the Immigration History Research Center Archives, University of Minnesota Libraries |
1767_22 | 1894 births
1982 deaths
American newspaper editors
American people of Lithuanian descent
Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States
Members of the Communist Party USA
Members of the Socialist Party of America
People from Kovno Governorate
People from Panevėžys County
People prosecuted for blasphemy
Valparaiso University alumni |
1768_0 | Kalle Rovanperä (born October 1, 2000) is a Finnish rally driver. Rovanperä is the son of former World Rally Championship driver Harri Rovanperä. He has garnered international attention by starting rallying at an exceptionally young age. He is the 2019 World Rally Championship-2 Pro champion, and also the 2016 and 2017 Latvian open class champion and the 2015 Latvian R2 class champion. Rovanperä is the youngest driver in history to win a World Rally Championship event after winning 2021 Rally Estonia at the age of twenty.
Career
2015 season – Latvian R2 class champion
In 2015, at age 14, Rovanperä competed in Latvia, where a driver's license is not a requirement to take part in rallying. Between the stages his car was driven by co-driver Risto Pietiläinen, who also used to be the co-driver of Kalle Rovanperä's father Harri in WRC rallies. On 18 October 2015 Rovanperä won the Latvian rally championship with his Citroen C2R2 Max car in the R2 class. |
1768_1 | 2016 season – Latvian open class champion
For the first three rallies of the 2016 Latvian rally series, Rovanperä drove a 300-horsepower four-wheel-drive Škoda Fabia S2000. It was a completely new WRC2 class rally car with a two-liter naturally aspirated engine. The first race, on 16–17 January, ended in Rovanperä's overwhelming victory. The second place driver Ralfs Sirmacis lost the eight stage rally by one minute and 10 seconds. Rovanperä won each of the stages.
The second rally, also in January 2016, was won by Rovanperä after a ferocious final spurt. His car's power steering was lost on the second stage and he lost over a minute. Eventually Rovanperä was able to win the rally with a 20.4 second margin to second-place Raimonds Kisiels. Rovanperä won nine of the ten stages. |
1768_2 | Rovanperä placed second in the Kurzeme rally in Latvia in May. It was the first rally in the 2016 Baltic Rally Trophy series. He was able to finish the rally despite suffering an axle damage and losing torque in his rear wheels.
For the rest of the season Rovanperä got to drive a new Škoda Fabia R5 car. He placed second in Rally Zemaitija in Latvia in June and won the Tallinn rally in Estonia in August.
In September Rovanperä was second in Liepaja rally, the penultimate rally of the Latvian championship series.
Latvia rally in October closed out the season. Rovanperä won the rally and clinched the championship. Over the season, he won four times, placed second three times, and finished outside the podium only once. He is the youngest driver ever, at age of 16, to win a national open class rally championship in any country. |
1768_3 | 2017 season – three national series and WRC debut
In January 2017 the Finnish motorsport association AKK-Motorsport granted 16-year-old Rovanperä a special permission to take part in Finnish rally races and the Ralli SM national championship series.
In February Rovanperä took part in his first Finnish championship rally in Mikkeli. He won the rally by a 10.7-second margin to second-place Teemu Asunmaa despite suffering a tire puncture. In June Rovanperä took his second Finnish rally championship series victory in Kouvola.
In 2017 Rovanperä participated in the national championship series of three countries: Latvia, Italy and Finland. In Latvia and Finland he was driving Toni Gardemeister's team's Škoda Fabia R5 and in Italy a Peugeot team's Peugeot 208 T16. In Latvia Rovanperä won two of his first rallies and place second in the third one. In Italy he did not have notable success. |
1768_4 | In June 2017 the Finnish transport safety agency Trafi granted Rovanperä a special permission to apply for a driver's license when he turns 17. The normal required age in Finland is 18. On Monday 2 October, a day after his 17th birthday, Rovanperä successfully completed the mandatory driving test after having completed the theory part beforehand. Having a driver's license allows him to take part in WRC rallies.
In the beginning of October Rovanperä placed second in Rally Liepaja in Latvia. As well as being part of the Latvian championship series, it was also Rovanperä's first rally in the European Rally Championship. Rovanperä had already previously clinched the 2017 Latvian open class rally championship for the second year in a row. |
1768_5 | Rovanperä participated in his first WRC rally at Wales Rally GB in October 2017, driving an M-Sport Ford Fiesta R5 car in Wales as well as in Rally Australia in November. He won the Rally Australia in WRC2, but was also the only contestant in the class. He also finished tenth in the total evaluation, gained a point and therefore became the youngest ever driver to score a point.
2018 season
Rovanperä joined the Škoda Motorsport team for the 2018 season, with a plan to contest in the WRC2 series in 6–7 events. Rovanperä will use a private entered car for some of the rallies, including the season opener Monte Carlo Rally. Rovanperä will also contest some events in the Asia Pacific Championship series. |
1768_6 | In May, Kalle suffered a large accident on the Rally Argentina. Locked in a battle with teammate Pontus Tidemand for the WRC-2 victory on the final day, Rovanperä misjudged a fast left-hander and rolled violently, his car landing on top of a spectator's car parked at the side of the stage. Thankfully there was nobody in the car, and he and his co-driver were unscathed.
He had a successful season, leading in Argentina prior to the accident, and was leading again in Finland when his suspension broke, before finally bagging a win with a dominant drive in Wales, where he'd made his debut one year earlier.
2021 season – Youngest WRC event winner
On 18th July 2021 Kalle Rovanperä won Rally Estonia and became the youngest driver in history to win a World Rally Championship round, at the age of twenty years and 290 days.
Rally victories
WRC victories
WRC-2 victories
WRC-2 Pro victories
Career results
WRC results
* Season still in progress.
WRC-2 results
WRC-2 Pro results |
1768_7 | References
External links
Rovanperä's Youtube channel
Rovanperä's Facebook page
2000 births
Living people
Finnish rally drivers
Sportspeople from Jyväskylä
World Rally Championship drivers |
1769_0 | The Brocken, also sometimes referred to as the Blocksberg, is the highest peak of the Harz mountain range and also the highest peak of Northern Germany; it is located near Schierke in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt between the rivers Weser and Elbe. Although its elevation of is below alpine dimensions, its microclimate resembles that of mountains of about . The peak above the tree line tends to have a snow cover from September to May, and mists and fogs shroud it up to 300 days of the year. The mean annual temperature is only . It is the easternmost mountain in northern Germany; travelling east in a straight line, the next prominent elevation would be in the Ural Mountains in Russia.
The Brocken has always played a role in legends and has been connected with witches and devils; Johann Wolfgang von Goethe took up the legends in his play Faust. The Brocken spectre is a common phenomenon on this misty mountain, where a climber's shadow cast upon fog creates eerie optical effects. |
1769_1 | Today the Brocken is part of the Harz National Park and hosts a historic botanical garden of about 1,600 alpine mountain plants. A narrow gauge steam railway, the Brocken Railway, takes visitors to the railway station at the top on .
FM-radio and television broadcasting make major use of the Brocken. The old television tower, the Sender Brocken, is now used as hotel and restaurant. It also has an observation deck, open to tourists.
Geography
Location
The Brocken rises over the Harz National Park in the district of Harz, whose main town of Wernigerode lies about east-northeast of the mountain. The state boundary with Lower Saxony runs past the Brocken some to the west. At the southeastern foot of the Brocken lies the spa resort of Schierke. |
1769_2 | Somewhat to the north below the summit of the Brocken is a reservoir, the Brockenteich, constructed in 1744. On or near the mountain are the source areas of the rivers Bode, Ecker, Ilse and Oder. The rounded summit of the Brocken is treeless, but vegetated with dwarf shrubs.
Summit and subpeaks
The highest point on the Brocken reaches an elevation of (). Its subpeaks include the Heinrichshöhe (), Königsberg () and Kleiner Brocken ("Little Brocken") (). |
1769_3 | Before 1989 the height of the Brocken was recorded in almost all the relevant maps and books as (). A survey of the summit at the beginning of the 1990s based on the current reference system, however, gave the height as just . In order to provide a reference point for the old data, in the mid-1990s granite boulders were set on the highest point of the Brocken, which not only matched the old given height, but exceeded it by about a metre. A bench mark of "1142 m" was recorded on the summit stone. This height on the upper plate refers to the line on the lower plate. |
1769_4 | Geology |
1769_5 | From a geological point of view the Brocken and its surrounding terrain, the Brocken massif, consists mainly of granite (called Brocken granite), an igneous rock. The granitic plutons of the Harz – the Brocken, Ramberg and Oker plutons – emerged towards the end of the Harz mountain-building phase of the Upper Carboniferous, about 300 million years ago. First, alkaline magma intruded into the overlying sediments, crystallized out and formed gabbro and diorite massifs, such as the Harzburg gabbro. A little later, silica-rich granitic magma rose, some intruding into voids and gaps in the older rocks, but most being created by the melting of existing sediments. On the boundary between granite and host rock, the so-called contact zone, a great variety of transitions may be seen. For example, the summit of the Achtermannshöhe consists of contact-metamorphosed hornfels of the contact zone that, here, lies over the Brocken granite. The subsequent erosion of the Harz mountains that followed |
1769_6 | the uplifting of the Harz during the Upper Cretaceous saw the disappearance of the protective hornfels summit, thus exposing the granite that had crystallized underground during the Upper Carboniferous. The alleged hardness of Brocken granite is not the reason for the height of the mountain, but the geological fact that it was well protected by its weather-resistant hornfels crest for a long time before erosion set in. |
1769_7 | Only in recent geological times, since the tertiary period, did the typical, rounded, spheroidal weathering of granite outcrops and granite boulders of the Brocken take place. Such blockfields are very rare in Central Europe outside the Alps and are subject to conservation measures. They originated mainly under periglacial conditions, i.e. during the course of the ice ages, and their retreat. Today's blockfields of Brocken granite, as well as other rocks in the Harz National Park, particularly in the Oker valley, are therefore at least 10,000 years old. Physical weathering, such as frost shattering, has played a key role in their formation, resulting in giant piles of loosely stacked rocks. In 2006, the granite blockfields of the Brocken, together with 76 other interesting geotopes, were designated as a "National Geotope".
Climate |
1769_8 | The Brocken is a place of extreme weather conditions. Due to its exposed location in the north of Germany its peak lies above the natural tree line. The climate on the Brocken is like that of an alpine location or even that of Iceland's zone. This is due to its short summers and very long winters, with many months of continuous snow cover, strong storms and low temperatures even in summer. The summit, however, does not have an alpine climate, as the average summer temperature is above .
Due to its significant height difference compared with the surrounding terrain the Brocken has the highest precipitation of any point in northern central Europe, with an average annual precipitation (1961–1990) of . Its average annual temperature is . |
1769_9 | The Brocken weather station has recorded the following extreme values:
Its highest temperature was on 20 August 2012.
Its lowest temperature was on 1 February 1956.
In 1973 it had 205 days of snow cover.
Its greatest depth of snow was on 14 and 15 April 1970.
Its highest measured wind speed was on 24 November 1984.
Its greatest annual precipitation was in 1981.
Its least annual precipitation was in 1953.
The longest annual sunshine was 2004.5 hours in 1921.
The shortest annual sunshine was 972.2 hours in 1912.
The Brocken also holds the record for the greatest number of days of mist and fog in a single calendar year in Germany, 330 days in 1958, and has an average of 120 days of snowfall per year.
Flora |
1769_10 | The harsh climate of the Brocken makes it a habitat for rare species. The mountain's summit is a subalpine zone with flora and fauna almost comparable to those of north Scandinavia and the Alps.
The Brocken is the only mountain in Germany's Central Uplands whose summit lies above the treeline, so that only very small spruce grow there and much of it is covered by a dwarf shrub heathland. In the Brocken Garden, established in 1890, flora are nurtured by national park employees; visitors are allowed to view it as part of regular guided tours. The garden does not just display plants from the Brocken, but also high mountain flora from other regions and countries. |
1769_11 | Amongst the typical species of the Brocken that are rarely if ever found elsewhere in North Germany and which occur above about () are the variant of the alpine pasqueflower known as the Brocken flower or Brocken anemone (Pulsatilla alpina subsp. alba), hawkweeds like the Brocken hawkweed (Hieracium negrescens) and the alpine hawkweed (Hieracium alpinum), vernal grasses (Anthoxanthum), the lady's mantle (Alchemilla), the tormentil (Potentilla tormentilla), the alpine clubmoss (Diphasiastrum alpinum), the lichens, Iceland moss (Cetraria islandica) and reindeer lichen (Cladonia rangiferina). The crowberry is also referred to here as the Brocken myrtle (Brockenmyrte).
On the raised bogs around the summit of the Brocken there are e.g. cottongrasses, sundews and the dwarf birch (Betula nana).
Fauna
Several animal species have adapted to the conditions of life on the Brocken. For example, the water pipit (Anthus aquaticus) and the ring ouzel both breed in the area around the summit. |
1769_12 | The viviparous lizard occurs on the Brocken in a unique, dark-colored variant, Lacerta vivipara aberr. negra. The common frog (Rana temporaria) can also be found here. Insects are very numerous. There are many beetles including ground beetles such as Amara erratica, and hundreds of species of butterfly. The cabbage white here produces only one generation per year compared with two in the lowlands.
Some mammal and bird species that occur here are relics of the ice age, including the northern bat (Eptesicus nils soni), the alpine shrew (Sorex alpinus) and the ring ouzel.
History |
1769_13 | Ascent, construction and use
The first ascent of the Brocken was documented in 1572 by the physician and botanist, Johannes Thal from Stolberg, who in his book Sylva Hercynia described the flora of the mountain area. In 1736 Count Christian Ernst of Stolberg-Wernigerode had the Wolkenhäuschen ("Clouds Cabin") erected at the summit, a small refuge that is still preserved. He also had a mountain lodge built at the southern slope, named Heinrichshöhe after his son Henry (Heinrich) Ernest. The first inn on the Brocken summit was built around 1800. |
1769_14 | Between 1821 and 1825 Carl Friedrich Gauss used the line-of-sight to the Großer Inselsberg in the Thuringian Forest and the Hoher Hagen mountain near Göttingen for triangulation in the course of the geodesic survey of the Kingdom of Hanover.
A measurement carried out by the military staff of Prussia in 1850 found the Brocken's height to be at its present level of . After the first Brocken lodge had been destroyed by a fire, a new hotel opened in 1862. The Brocken Garden, a botanical garden, was laid out in 1890 by Professor Albert Peter of Göttingen University on an area of granted by Count Otto of Stolberg-Wernigerode. It was Germany's first Alpine garden. |
1769_15 | The narrow gauge Brocken Railway was opened on 27 March 1899. Brocken station is one of the highest railway stations in Germany lying at a height of (). Its gauge is . In 1935 the Deutsche Reichspost made the first television broadcast from the Brocken using a mobile transmitter and, in the following year, the first television tower in the world was built on the mountain; carrying the first live television broadcast of the Summer Olympics in Berlin. The tower continued functioning until September 1939, when the authorities suspended broadcasting on the outbreak of World War II.
In 1937 the Brocken, together with the Wurmberg, Achtermann and Acker-Bruchberg were designated as the Upper Harz (Oberharz) nature reserve. |
1769_16 | During an air attack by the United States Army Air Forces on 17 April 1945 the Brocken Hotel and the weather station were destroyed by bombing. The television tower, however, survived. From 1945 until April 1947, the Brocken was occupied by US troops. As part of the exchange of territory (specified at the Yalta Conference) the mountain was transferred to the Soviet occupation zone. Before the Americans left the Brocken in 1947, however, they disabled the rebuilt weather station and the television tower. |
1769_17 | The ruins of the Brocken Hotel were blown up in 1949. From 1948 to 1959 part of the Brocken was reopened to tourists. Although a pass was required, these were freely issued. From August 1961 the Brocken, which lay in East Germany's border zone, immediately adjacent to West Germany, was declared a military exclusion zone and was therefore no longer open to public access. Extensive military installations were built on and around the summit. The security of the area was the responsibility of the border guards of the 7th Schierke Border Company, which was stationed in platoon strength on the summit. For accommodation, they used the Brocken railway station. The Soviet Red Army also used a large portion of territory. In 1987, the goods traffic on the Brocken Railway ceased due to poor track conditions. |
1769_18 | The Brocken was extensively used for surveillance and espionage purposes. On the summit were two large and powerful listening stations, which could capture radio traffic in almost all of Western Europe. One belonged to Soviet military intelligence, the GRU and was also the westernmost outpost of the Soviets in Germany; the other was Department III of the Ministry for State Security in the GDR. The listening posts were codenamed "Yenisei" and "Urian". Between 1973 and 1976 a new modern television tower was built for the second channel of the GDR-TV. Today it is used by the public Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF) television network. The Stasi (East German secret police) used the old tower until 1985, when they moved to a new building – now a museum. To seal the area, the entire Brocken plateau was then surrounded by a concrete wall, built from 2,318 sections, each one in weight and high. The whole area was not publicly accessible until 3 December 1989. The wall has since been |
1769_19 | dismantled, as have the Russian barracks and the domes of their listening posts. Today the old tower beside the lodge again is home to a weather station of the Deutscher Wetterdienst. |
1769_20 | Following the fall of the Berlin Wall beginning on 3 December 1989 the Brocken was again open to the public during a demonstration walk. With German reunification there was a gradual reduction in border security facilities and military installations from 1990. The last Russian soldier left the Brocken on 30 March 1994. The Brocken summit was renaturalised at a cost of millions of euros. It is now a popular tourist destination for visitors to the Harz.
As a protected area since 1939 and due to the decades of restricted access the unique climate of the Brocken provided outstanding conditions. The massif is partly still covered with primary forest extremely rare in Germany. It provides perfect conditions for endangered and nearly extinct species like the Eurasian lynx, wildcats and capercaillies. The Brocken was therefore declared part of a national park in 1990.
Name and significance |
1769_21 | The widespread use of the name "Brocken" did not occur until towards the end of the Middle Ages. Hitherto the region had just been described as the Harz. This was primarily because, until then, the focus had been mining. The first record of a placename that resembles the present name of the mountain goes back, however, to the year 1176 when it is referred to as broke in the Saxon World Chronicle (Sächsische Weltchronik). Another early written reference to the mountain, this time as the Brackenberg, appears in 1490 in a letter from Count Henry of Stolberg. Other early documented names of the Brocken were, in 1401, the Brockenberg, in 1424 the Brocberg, in 1495 mons ruptus (Latin), in 1511 the Brogken and Brockin, in 1531 the Brogken, in 1540 the Brokenberg and, in 1589, the Brackenberg.<ref>Walther Grosse: Geschichte der Stadt und Grafschaft Wernigerode in ihren Forst-, Flur- und Straßennamen, Wernigerode [1929], p. 49</ref> |
1769_22 | In Old Saxon-Germanic times, a large portrait of Wodin is supposed to have been found on the Brocken. In addition, animal and human sacrifices were offered by the Saxons to their supreme god, Odin, on the blockfields of the summit until they renounced them as part of their baptismal vows when Christianity spread to the region under Charles the Great. |
1769_23 | As far as the origin of the name is concerned, there are several interpretations:
In the town records (Stadtbuch) of Osterwieck an entry for the Brocken was found in the year 1495 under the Latin name of mons ruptus, which means "broken hill". Its Low German name, broken, as the mountain had become named in 1176 in the Saxon World Chronicle and also in English, means "broken". On the one hand, this explanation of its meaning can be attributed to the fact that the two mountains, "Kleiner Brocken" and "Großer Brocken", were formed by the breakup of a single massif. On the other hand, its meaning may refer to the serious erosion of the mountain. In other words, it refers to the fact that the Brocken was eroded or "broken down" to its present size. |
1769_24 | But the most likely derivation of the name comes from the shape of the mountain as a whole. A brocken in German is a large, shapeless mass. The size of the Brocken may thus have given it its name. Since the term "block" has a similar meaning, this could also be the derivation of its alternative name, the Blocksberg. The true origin of the name Blocksberg, however, should not be seen as "block" in the sense of "mass", but rather the German word block (as in block of wood) in witchcraft. |
1769_25 | Another theory holds that the name "Brocken" is derived from bruch, a word used in northern Germany for bog or moor, which commonly used to be spelt as bruoch or brok. It is however doubtful that this fact was primarily responsible for its name. Another possibility is that its name is derived from the fields of boulders strewn over the summit and the slopes of the mountain. This derivation for the name "Brocken" is, however, unlikely because such blockfields are also found on other mountains in the Harz. Moreover, the regions concerned were hardly known at the time when the term was used. Another presumption is based on the reference in a letter written in 1490 by Count Henry of Stolberg-Wernigerode, where he uses the term Brackenberg. However the suggestion that this referred to old, unusable timber, which was called bracken, is disputed.
Tourism |
1769_26 | Today a narrow gauge railway, the Brocken Railway, once more shuttles between Wernigerode, Drei Annen Hohne, Schierke and the Brocken. The trains are regularly hauled by steam locomotives.
At the summit is the Brockenhaus with a museum on the history of the mountain and the Brocken Garden (a botanical garden), which is managed by the Harz National Park. In addition there are restaurants and the Brocken Hotel, which is run by the Brocken publican (Brockenwirt), Hans Steinhoff. Important publicans in the past included Johann Friedrich Gerlach from 1801 to 1834, Carl Eduard Nehse between 1834 and 1850, who brought out a map of the Brocken in 1849 and the Brocken Register (Brockenstammbuch) in 1850, as well as Rudolf Schade from 1908 to 1927, who considerably increased the repute and the size of guest facilities on the Brocken. |
1769_27 | The area around the Brocken is especially popular with hikers. The Goethe Way (Goetheweg) is a well known trail that leads to the summit of the Brocken. It is named after Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, who more-or-less followed this route in 1777. Many paths lead to the local towns of Schierke, Braunlage and Sankt Andreasberg. The Harz Witches' Path also runs from the Brocken eastwards to Thale and westwards via Torfhaus and Altenburg to Osterode. The "Bad Harzburg Devil's Path" runs from the Brocken to Bad Harzburg. Mountain bikers also use the trails.
From Schierke a metalled road leads to the summit, which is used by horse-drawn wagons, as well as touring and racing cyclists. Because of the situation in the national park, vehicles with internal combustion engines are only allowed with special permission. |
1769_28 | Worthy of special mention is the bearer of the Badge of Honour of Saxony-Anhalt, Benno Schmidt (born 1932) – also known as Brocken Benno – of Wernigerode, who has climbed the mountain since 1989, almost daily, with more than 7,777 ascents (as of 23 January 2016) and whose feat has been registered in the Guinness Book of World Records.
Sport |
1769_29 | Two well-known running events pass over the Brocken: the Ilsenburg Brocken Run (beginning of September, , of which uphill, has taken place since the 1920s) and the Brocken Marathon which is part of the Harz Mountain Run with its start and finish south of Wernigerode. Both start in the valley, climb the Brocken and return. The most challenging part in each case is the last four kilometres to the Brocken summit, for which in both races, a separate mountains classification is given. This section is a concrete slab track with a steady incline of about 20% and the runners are exposed above the tree line, often to a sharp, icy wind. Of the just under 1,000 people who usually achieve it, only 50 negotiate this section without stopping to walk.
Since 2004, the Brocken Challenge, an ultra marathon from Göttingen to the Brocken summit, has been staged in February each year. The proceeds from this event go to charity. The runs are conducted in accordance with the rules of the national park. |
1769_30 | The "Brocken Climb" from Göttingen to the Brocken has taken place annually since 2003. More than 300 people take part in these two-day hikes in June.
In early May each year the Braunschweig-Brocken Ultra Run takes place with 2 × legs spread over two days. The participants run from Braunschweig to Schierke, cross the Brocken, overnight in Schierke and run back again the next day. Overall, it is therefore a race.
Buildings
Transmission site
Since the 1930s various radio and television transmitters have been erected on the Brocken, see Brocken Transmitter.
Brocken House
Brocken House (Brockenhaus), the modern information centre for the Harz National Park, is located in the converted "Stasi Mosque" (Stasi-Moschee), a former surveillance installation for the Ministry for State Security. The historic antenna equipment in the dome may be visited. Behind the building is checkpoint 9 on the Harzer Wandernadel hiking trail network. |
1769_31 | Weather station
The extreme weather conditions of the Brocken are of special meteorological interest. From 1836 the Brockenwirt, who also ran the guest house and restaurant, kept meteorological records. The first weather station on the Brocken was built in 1895. Technically poor and too small, it was partially demolished in 1912 and replaced with a large stone construction, the Hellman Observatory, that was not completed until the First World War. In 1917 the academic and nature lover George Grobe took over running the observation post, his daughter supporting him until his death in 1935. Today's weather station started life in 1939. Measurements were interrupted at the end of the Second World War as a result of military bombardment, but began again in 1947. On 16 March 2010 the Brocken Weather Station became a climate reference station to provide uninterrupted, long-term climatic observations.
Literary mentions |
1769_32 | Goethe described the Brocken in his Faust, first published in 1808, as the center of revelry for witches on Walpurgisnacht (30 April; the eve of St Walpurga's Day).Now, to the Brocken, the witches ride;The stubble is gold and the corn is green;There is the carnival crew to be seen,And Squire Urianus will come to preside.So over the valleys, our company floats,With witches a-farting on stinking old goats. Goethe may have gained inspiration from two rock formations on the mountain's summit, the Teufelskanzel (Devil's Pulpit) and the Hexenaltar (Witches' Altar).
The Brocken is similarly mentioned in many other literary and musical works based on Faust |
1769_33 | Another famous visitor on the Brocken, author Heinrich Heine, wrote his book Die Harzreise ("The Harz Journey") published in 1826. He says:The mountain somehow appears so Germanically stoical, so understanding, so tolerant, just because it affords a view so high and wide and clear. And should such mountain open its giant eyes, it may well see more than we, who like dwarfs just trample on it, staring from stupid eyes. The summit register entry Many stones, tired bones, views: none, Heinrich Heine ("Viele Steine, müde Beine, Aussicht keine, Heinrich Heine") is a popular, though unsourced phrase related to the weary ascent and the mostly foggy conditions.
The teacher Heinrich Pröhle collected the Brockensagen tales and legends as well as the etymology of the geographic names in the Harz. He carefully examined the Teufelskanzel and the Hexenaltar, mentioned above. |
1769_34 | Henry James has his character Basil Ransom ask: "What kind of meetings do you refer to? You speak as if it were a rendezvous of witches on the Brocken" in the first chapter of his novel The Bostonians (1886).
Slothrop and Geli Tripping experience the famous Brocken Spectre in Thomas Pynchon's novel Gravity's Rainbow, as the Mittelbau-Dora labour camp in the Harz mountains north of Nordhausen from 1943 was the home of the V-2 rocket production. In David Foster Wallace's Pynchon-influenced Infinite Jest the characters Remy Marathe and Hugh Steeply also experience the Brocken spectre on a ridge in the desert outside Tucson. |
1769_35 | In popular culture
"Black Sabbath", the first track of the debut album of the early occult rock band Coven, starts with the line "They journeyed far to Brocken Mountain pinnacle".
The progressive metal band Fates Warning titled their debut album Night on Bröcken (note the "Heavy metal umlaut"). The title track refers to Witches Sabbath on Walpurgis Night.
The song "Born in a Burial Gown" by Cradle of Filth (from the album Bitter Suites to Succubi) contains an allusion to the Brocken's history as a witches' gathering-place.
The indie rock band Liars' album They Were Wrong, So We Drowned is a concept album loosely based on tales of the gatherings of witches on the Brocken as well as witch trials.
The novel Cloud Castles by Michael Scott Rohan features the Brocken as the home and body of Chernobog
Bibi Blocksberg, a German audio drama for children about a witch, refers to an alternate name for the Brocken (Blocksberg). |
1769_36 | The Brocken is mentioned in the novel Bald Mountain by Sergej Golovachov.
The Brocken is mentioned in episode 546 of the TV anime series Detective Conan.
There are two German fictional characters in the anime/manga Kinnikuman who are called Brockenman and Brocken Jr.
There is a German black metal band named Brocken Moon.
Brocken spectres is the topic of Polish poetic folk band "Na Bani" titled "Brocken" from the album "20 lat z górą".
German heavy metal band Edguy mentions Brocken and Walpurgisnacht in their song "Angel Rebellion" from the album Kingdom of Madness''. |
1769_37 | See also
List of the highest points of the German states
Brocken spectre
Lysa Hora (folklore) ("Bald Mountain")
References
External links
- Animeindoku
Brocken National Park
Mountains and hills of Saxony-Anhalt
Witchcraft in Germany
Mountains of the Harz
Forests and woodlands of Saxony-Anhalt
Nature reserves in Saxony-Anhalt
Wernigerode
One-thousanders of Germany |
1770_0 | —or —is a term referring to female warriors in pre-modern Japan. These women engaged in battle alongside samurai men mainly in times of need. They were members of the bushi (samurai) class in feudal Japan and were trained in the use of weapons to protect their household, family, and honour in times of war. They also have an important presence in Japanese literature, with Tomoe Gozen and Hangaku Gozen as famous and influential characters examples representing onna-musha.
There were also , female guards of the harems and residences of the wives and concubines of Daimyo and clan leaders.
Kamakura period |
1770_1 | The Genpei War (1180–1185) marked the war between the Taira (Heike) and Minamoto (Genji) clans; two very prominent Japanese clans of the late-Heian period. The epic The Tale of the Heike was composed in the early 13th century in order to commemorate the stories of courageous and devoted samurai. Among those was Tomoe Gozen, servant of Minamoto no Yoshinaka of the Minamoto clan. She assisted Yoshinaka in defending himself against the forces of his cousin, Minamoto no Yoritomo, especially during the Battle of Awazu in 1184.
In The Tale of the Heike, she was described as:
Tomoe Gozen was not always accredited as a historical figure. However, she has impacted much of the warrior class, including many traditional Naginata schools. Her actions in battle received much attention in the arts such as, the Noh play Tomoe and various ukiyo-e. |
1770_2 | Another famous female general of the Genpei War was Hangaku Gozen. While Tomoe Gozen was an ally of the Minamoto clan, Hangaku allied with the Taira clan. The existence of these two prominent female generals confirms that the status of women during this time was still less unequal than in future periods.
In ages past, it was more common to see women become empresses, this would change in the future during the Meiji restoration. Throughout Japanese history, women, while not generally becoming de jure chiefs of a samurai clan, several de facto ruled their clans. |
1770_3 | Chancellor Tōin Kinkata (1291–1360) mentioned in his journal Entairyaku (園太暦) a “predominately female cavalry” without giving further explanations. With limited details, he concluded: "there is a lot of female cavalries", as he noted that they were from western Japan, it is possible that women from the western regions far from the big capital cities, were more likely to fight in battles. Women forming cavalry forces were also reported during the Sengoku period (c. 1467 – c. 1600).
Sengoku period |
1770_4 | During the Ashikaga Shogunate, due to tensions between the shogunate retainers, Japan went to war again. In 1460, when shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa abdicated his position to his younger brother Ashikaga Yoshimi, Hino Tomiko (Yoshimasa's wife) was strongly against this decision. Tomiko sought political and military support to rule as regent until the birth of her son, she secured the support of Yamana Sōzen and other leaders of powerful samurai clans. Then she went to war against Yoshimasa and his supporters, especially the Hosokawa clan. This dispute for succession started the Ōnin War (1467–1477) and led to the beginning of the Sengoku period. |
1770_5 | In the Azuchi–Momoyama period several daimyos took charge of their own affairs and fought against each other by territory, women of noble clans and even peasant women members of Ikkō-ikki, Ikkō-shu, Saika Ikki and others Ikki sects went to the battlefields. In 1569, Ichikawa no Tsubone, the wife of a Mori family retainer from western Japan, when her husband was absent from the campaign, she assumed responsibility for the defense of Konomine castle with her armed ladies-in-waiting. Attacks on the yamashiro (the mountaintop castles), the characteristic fortress of the daimyo, have provided many unwanted opportunities for women to engage in defense and suffer the ultimate sacrifice if the castle falls. |
1770_6 | Women participated in battles until the unification of Japan by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. In 1591 several women defended Kunohe Castle even when it was on fire in the Kunohe Rebellion. After Hideyoshi's death, his concubine Yodo-dono took over the de facto leadership of the Toyotomi clan and in 1614 she and her son, Hideyori, led a rebellion against the Tokugawa shogunate. In 1615, when Tokugawa Ieyasu attacked Osaka castle again, Yodo-dono and her son committed suicide in the flames of Osaka castle. Suicide inside a burning castle may have been the last act of loyalty to a samurai-class woman.
Evidence of female participation in battles |
1770_7 | During the Sengoku period there are several accounts of women actively on the battlefield, such as the case of Myorin who inspired the people to fight against 3,000 Shimazu soldiers, Kaihime who fought against the Toyotomi clan in the siege of Oshi (1590), Onamihime who became the representative leader of the Nikaidō clan and fought in various battles against her nephew Date Masamune. Akai Teruko, who became famous for fighting until she was 76 years old and became known as ''The Strongest Woman in the Warring States Period''. The actions of Ōhōri Tsuruhime earned her the title of ''Joan of Arc of Japan'' and established herself as one of the most recognizable female warriors in Japanese history. |
1770_8 | Japanese women were educated to become wives and mothers, although most women knew about politics, martial arts and diplomacy, they were not allowed to succeed clan leadership. However, there were exceptions, Ii Naotora took over the clan leadership after the death of all men of the Ii family, her efforts as a leader made her clan independent and she became a Daimyō. There were many noble women with great political influence in their clans, even becoming the de facto leader. An acceptable example of women who became known as ''onna daimyo'' (female landlord) are Jukei-ni and Toshoin. Both women acted, for a long period, as rulers of their respective feuds, even though they were not considered heirs. |
1770_9 | In the 16th century there were units consisting only of women, as was the case of Ikeda Sen who led 200 women musketeers (Teppo unit) in the Battle of Shizugatake and Battle of Komaki-Nagakute. Otazu no kata fought alongside 18 armed maids against Tokugawa Ieyasu's troops. Ueno Tsuruhime led thirty-four women in a suicidal charge against the Mōri army. Tachibana Ginchiyo, leader of the Tachibana clan fought with her female troops in the Kyushu Campaign (1586) and in the siege of Yanagawa (1600) she organized a resistance formed by nuns against the advance of the Eastern Army. |
1770_10 | In 1580, a woman from the Bessho clan joined a rebellion against Toyotomi Hideyoshi during the siege of Miki. Her husband Bessho Yoshichika was one of the leaders of the rebellion and she played a key role during the siege, allying herself with the Mori clan. The rebellion lasted three years, until Bessho Nagaharu surrendered the castle to Hideyoshi, Lady Bessho committed suicide shortly after. In 1582, Oda Nobunaga launched a final attack on the Takeda clan, a series of battles known as the Battle of Tenmokuzan. Oda Nobutada (son of Nobunaga) led 50,000 soldiers, against 3,000 allies of the Takeda clan during the siege of Takato castle. During this battle, it is recorded in the compilation of chronicles from the Oda clan, Shinchō kōki, that a woman from the Suwa clan defied Nobutada's forces. |
1770_11 | During this era, the existence of female Ninjas (Kunoichi) is dated, their training differed from the training given to male ninjas, although they also had a core in common as they trained in taijutsu, kenjutsu, ninjutsu skills. A historically accepted example is Mochizuki Chiyome, a 16th-century noble descendant who was commissioned by warlord Takeda Shingen to recruit women to create a secret network of hundreds of spies. |
1770_12 | It is believed that many more women participated in battles than those written in historical records. For example, DNA tests on 105 bodies excavated from the Battle of Senbon Matsubaru between Takeda Katsuyori and Hojo Ujinao in 1580 revealed that 35 of them were women. Other excavations were made in areas where battles took place away from castles. Japanese archeologist Suzuki Hiroatsu explains that it is common to find bones of women or children where castle sieges took place, since they usually participated in the defense. He, however stresses the fact that there was no castle on this site and concludes that “these women came here to fight and to die” and could have been part of the army. According to these studies, it shows that 30% of battle corpses away from castles were women. Excavations conducted on other battle sites across Japan gave similar results. According to Stephen Turnbull, the details of the excavation confirm the onna-musha were almost certainly present in the |
1770_13 | battlefields. |
1770_14 | Edo period and beyond
Because of the influence of Edo neo-Confucianism (1600–1868), the status of the onna-musha diminished significantly. The function of onna-musha changed in addition to their husbands. Samurai were no longer concerned with battles and war, they were bureaucrats. Women, specifically daughters of most upper class households, were soon pawns to dreams of success and power. The roaring ideals of fearless devotion and selflessness were gradually replaced by quiet, passive, civil obedience.
Travel during the Edo period was demanding and unsettling for many female samurai (because of heavy restrictions). They always had to be accompanied by a man, since they were not allowed to travel by themselves. Additionally, they had to possess specific permits, establishing their business and motives. Samurai women also received much harassment from officials who manned inspection checkpoints. |
1770_15 | The onset of the 17th century marked a significant transformation in the social acceptance of women in Japan. Many samurai viewed women purely as child bearers; the concept of a woman being a fit companion for war was no longer conceivable. The relationship between a husband and wife could be correlated to that of a lord and his vassal. According to Ellis Amdur, "husbands and wives did not even customarily sleep together. The husband would visit his wife to initiate any sexual activity and afterwards would retire to his own room".
Although women learned exclusively naginata handling techniques, some women broke traditionalism and learned different techniques such as Kenjutsu. Sasaki Rui, Chiba Sanako and Nakazawa Koto are examples of women who became prominent swordswomen in Edo period. During this time, female-led kenjutsu schools become commonplace, although traditionally the leadership of these schools is inherited patrilineally. |
1770_16 | In 1868, during the Battle of Aizu, a part of the Boshin War, Nakano Takeko, a member of the Aizu clan, was recruited to become leader of a female corps Jōshitai (娘子隊 Girls' Army), which fought against the onslaught of 20,000 soldiers of the Imperial Japanese Army of the Ōgaki Domain. Highly skilled at the naginata, Takeko and her corps of about 20 joined 3000 other Aizu samurai in battle. The Hōkai-ji in Aizubange, Fukushima province contains a monument erected in her honor. Less-celebrated but no less remarkable would be the efforts of Yamamoto Yaeko, Matsudaira Teru and Yamakawa Futaba, who served as fighter defending Aizuwakamatsu Castle during the Battle of Aizu. Yaeko would later be one of the first civil leaders for women's rights in Japan. |
1770_17 | The end of the Edo period was a time of great political turmoil that continued into the Meiji period (1868–1912). A revolt against policies of the new Meiji government was led by samurai of the Satsuma domain (called the Satsuma Rebelllion) in 1877. Over the nearly 1,000 years of the samurai class's existence, women have proved to be the last resistance during a military siege. The last records of women of the samurai class participating in battles were during the Satsuma Rebellion. Several women were said to have fought in battle in defense of the city of Kagoshima. The rebellion also effectively ended the samurai class, as the new Imperial Japanese Army built of conscripts without regard to social class had proven itself in battle, ending here the history of the onna-musha.
Weapons |
1770_18 | The most popular weapon-of-choice of onna-musha is the naginata, which is a versatile, conventional polearm with a curved blade at the tip. The weapon is mainly favored for its length, which can compensate for the strength and body size advantage of male opponents.
The naginata has a niche between the katana and the yari, which is rather effective in close quarter melee when the opponent is kept at bay, and is also relatively efficient against cavalry. Through its use by many legendary samurai women, the naginata has been propelled as the iconic image of a woman warrior. During the Edo period, many schools focusing on the use of the naginata were created and perpetuated its association with women.
Additionally, as most of the time their primary purpose as onna-musha was to safeguard their homes from marauders, emphasis was laid on ranged weapons to be shot from defensive structures.
Legacy |
1770_19 | The image of samurai women continues to be impactful in martial arts, historical novels, books and popular culture in general. Like the kunoichi (female ninja) and Geisha, the onna-musha's conduct is seen as the ideal of a Japanese women in movies, animations and TV series. In western, the onna-musha gained popularity when the historical documentary Samurai Warrior Queens aired on the Smithsonian Channel. Several other channels reprised the documentary. The 56th NHK taiga drama, Naotora: The Lady Warlord it was the first NHK drama where the female protagonist is the head of a samurai clan. The 52nd NHK taiga drama, Yae no Sakura focuses on Niijima Yae, a woman warrior who fought in Boshin War, this drama portrays Nakano Takeko, Matsudaira Teru and others onna-musha. Another taiga dramas that portrays the famous onna-musha Tomoe Gozen is Yoshitsune (TV series), broadcast in 2005. |
1770_20 | In Japan, Tomoe Gozen and Nakano Takeko influenced naginata schools and their techniques. Whether formed by men or women, these schools usually revere the onna-musha. During the annual Aizu Autumn Festival, a group of young girls wearing hakama and shiro headbands take part in the procession, commemorating the actions of Nakano and the Jōshitai (Girls' Army). Other important examples are Yamakawa Futaba and Niijima Yae, who become symbols of the struggle for Japanese women's rights. Some of the onna-musha have become symbolic of a city or prefecture, Ii Naotora and Tachibana Ginchiyo are often celebrated at Hamamatsu and Yanagawa festivals respectively. The warrior nun Myorin, is celebrated in the Tsurusaki region of the Ōita city, Ōhōri Tsuruhime is the protagonist of various local folklore and festivals on Ōmishima island. Several other samurai-class women are celebrated in pop culture, commerce and folklore.
Famous onna-musha |
1770_21 | These are famous onna-musha with extraordinary achievements in history:
Empress Jingū: A Regent Empress who led the First Japanese invasion of Korea and many political events that impacted the Japanese history as well.
Hōjō Masako: A political leader of the Kamakura Shogunate, she was a prominent figure in the Genpei War and many other events of Kamakura period. She was known as the ama-shōgun, or the ''nun-shōgun''.
Nakano Takeko: The leader of the Jōshitai (Girls' Army), she participated in the Boshin war leading several women in a charge against the Imperial forces. Due to the reforms of the Meiji era, Takeko and the women of Jōshitai were one of the last samurai in history. |
1770_22 | Niijima Yae: She was one of the last samurai in history. She fought in the Boshin War and served as a nurse in the Russo-Japanese War and the Sino-Japanese War. Later she became a scholar and became one of the symbols of the struggle for women's rights. Yae was one of the first people to be decorated by the Meiji Empire.
Tomoe Gozen: An extraordinary woman warrior who fought in conflicts that led to the first shogunate in Japan. Her legacy influenced several generations of samurai.
Yodo-dono: A noble woman who was the castellan of Yodo castle and later became the real head of Osaka castle. She led many political events after the death of her husband, Hideyoshi. As guardian of Hideyori (Hideyoshi's son), she challenged the Tokugawa clan, thus leading the Siege of Osaka, the last battle of the Sengoku period that ends the war period for the next 250 years. |
1770_23 | Others
Akai Teruko
Yamakawa Futaba
Ashikaga Ujinohime
Tsuruhime
Tachibana Ginchiyo
Kaihime
Ii Naotora
Myorin
Hangaku Gozen
Komatsuhime
Maeda Matsu
Munakata Saikaku
Nakazawa Koto
Sasaki Rui
Lady Ichikawa
Ikeda Sen
Matsudaira Teru
Miyohime
Otazu no kata
Onamihime
Lady Otsuya
Ueno Tsuruhime
Katakura Kita
Fujishiro Gozen
Kamehime
Katō Tsune
Kushihashi Teru
Myōki
Numata Jakō
Oni Gozen
Okaji no Kata
Okyō
Omasa
Shigashi
Lady Shirai
Yuki no Kata
Seishin-ni
Tōshōin
Jinbo Yukiko
See also
Himiko
Taiyoo
Kunoichi
Female castellans in Japan
Empress of Japan
Woman warrior
References
Sources
Beasley, W. G. (1999). The Japanese Experience: A Short History of Japan. University of California Press.
Jansen, Marius B. (2000) The Making of Modern Japan. The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press 2000
Yamakawa Kikue; trans Nakai, Kate Wildman (2001) Women of the Mito Domain: Recollections of Samurai Family Life. Stanford University Press 2001 |
1770_24 | External links
Japanese warriors
Combat occupations
Noble titles |
1771_0 | This article describes severe weather terminology used by the National Weather Service (NWS) in the United States. The NWS, a government agency operating as an arm of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) branch of the United States Department of Commerce (DoC), defines precise meanings for nearly all of its weather terms.
This article describes NWS terminology and related weather scales used by the agency. Some terms may be specific to certain cities or regions. Specific Area Message Encoding (SAME) product codes assigned to each term for NOAA Weather Radio (NWR) broadcasts are included in parentheses following the title of the described alert type if used; products that do not have a specified code are identified where applicable as Non-Precipitation Warnings/Watches/Advisories (NPW), Coastal Flood Warnings/Watches/Advisories (CFW), Marine Weather Statement (MWS), Surf Discussion (SRD) or Winter Weather Warnings/Watches/Advisories (WSW) as defined by NOAA. |
1771_1 | Definitions of severe weather alerts
The NWS divides severe weather alerts into several types of hazardous/hydrologic events:
Severe local storms – Short-fused, small-scale hazardous weather or hydrologic events produced by thunderstorms (including large hail, damaging winds, tornadoes, and flash floods).
Winter storms – Weather hazards associated with freezing or frozen precipitation (freezing rain, sleet, and/or snow), or combined effects of winter precipitation and strong winds.
Fire weather – Weather conditions that contribute to an increased risk and help cause the spread of wildfires.
Flooding – Hazardous hydrological events resulting in temporary inundation of land areas not normally covered by water, often caused by excessive rainfall.
Coastal/lakeshore hazards – Hydrological hazards that may affect property, marine or leisure activities in areas near ocean and lake waters including high surf and coastal or lakeshore flooding, as well as rip currents. |
1771_2 | Marine hazards – Hazardous events that may affect marine travel, fishing and shipping interests along large bodies of water, including hazardous seas and freezing spray.
Tropical cyclone hazards – Hazardous tropical cyclone events that may affect property in inland areas or marine activities in coastal waters, resulting in wind damage, storm surge, tornadoes and flooding rain.
Non-precipitation hazards – Weather hazards not directly associated with any of the above including extreme heat or cold, dense fog, high winds, and river or lakeshore flooding. |
1771_3 | Severe local storms |
1771_4 | Tornado watch (TOA; yellow box in some select NWS documentation, red box in most other media) – Conditions are favorable for the development of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes in and close to the watch area. These watches are issued for large areas by the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma, and are usually valid for five to eight hours.
Particularly dangerous situation tornado watch (TOA) – Conditions are favorable for the development of severe thunderstorms capable of producing destructive tornadoes in and close to the watch area. These watches are occasionally issued, and usually mean that a major tornado outbreak is possible, where the potential for multiple violent (EF-4 and EF-5) tornadoes exists. Usually only reserved for forecast "high-end" severe weather events, this type of watch is usually valid for a longer period of time and issued for a larger area by the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma, than a typical tornado watch. |
1771_5 | Tornado warning (TOR) – Strong rotation in a thunderstorm has been indicated by Doppler weather radar or a tornado has been sighted by Skywarn spotters or other persons (such as local law enforcement). These warnings are currently issued on a polygonal basis, are usually issued for a duration of 30 minutes (but can run for as long as one hour), and can be issued without either a tornado watch or a severe thunderstorm watch being already in effect. Tornado warnings may be issued in combination with a Special Marine Warning if the storm affects nearshore or coastal waters.
Particularly dangerous situation tornado warning (TOR) – A large tornado has been confirmed to be producing damage and is moving into and through the warned area. It is usually issued as the initial tornado warning or as a complete re-issuance of the previous tornado warning. These may also include wording for a tornado emergency. |
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