title: Buddhism in Japan

text: Based on traditional sources, Shōtoku has been seen as an ardent Buddhist who taught, wrote on, and promoted Buddhism widely, especially during the reign of Empress Suiko (554 – 15 April 628). He is also believed to have sent envoys to China and is even seen as a spiritually accomplished bodhisattva who is the true founder of Japanese Buddhism. Modern historians have questioned much of this, seeing most of it as a constructed hagiography. Regardless of his actual historical role, however, it is beyond doubt that Shōtoku became an important figure in Japanese Buddhist lore beginning soon after his death if not earlier.


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: Asuka-period Buddhism ("Asuka bukkyō") refers to Buddhist practice and thought that mainly developed after 552 in the Nara Basin region. Buddhism grew here through the support and efforts of two main groups: immigrant kinship groups like the Hata clan (who were experts in Chinese technology as well as intellectual and material culture), and through aristocratic clans like the Soga.


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: Immigrant groups like the Korean monks who supposedly instructed Shōtoku introduced Buddhist learning, administration, ritual practice and the skills to build Buddhist art and architecture. They included individuals like Ekan (dates unknown), a Koguryŏ priest of the Madhyamaka school, who (according to the "Nihon Shoki") was appointed to the highest rank of primary monastic prelate ("sōjō").


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: Aside from the Buddhist immigrant groups, Asuka Buddhism was mainly the purview of aristocratic groups like the Soga clan and other related clans, who patronized clan temples as a way to express their power and influence. These temples mainly focused on the performance of rituals which were believed to provide magical effects, such as protection. During this period, Buddhist art was dominated by the style of Tori Busshi, who came from a Korean immigrant family.


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: Hakuhō Buddhism (Hakuhō refers to Emperor Tenmu) saw the official patronage of Buddhism being taken up by the Japanese imperial family, who replaced the Soga clan as the main patrons of Buddhism. Japanese Buddhism at this time was also influenced by Tang dynasty (618–907) Buddhism. It was also during this time that Buddhism began to spread from the Yamato Province to the other regions and islands of Japan. An important part of the centralizing reforms of this era (the Taika reforms) was the use of Buddhist institutions and rituals (often performed at the palace or capital) in the service of the state.


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: The imperial government also actively built and managed the Buddhist temples as well as the monastic community. The Nihon Shoki states that in 624 there were 46 Buddhist temples. Some of these temples include Kawaradera and Yakushiji. Archeological research has also revealed numerous local and regional temples outside of the capital. At the state temples, Buddhist rituals were performed in order to create merit for the royal family and the well-being of the nation. Particular attention was paid to rituals centered around Buddhist sutras (scriptures), such as the "Golden Light Sutra". The monastic community was overseen by the complex and hierarchical imperial Monastic Office ("sōgō"), who managed everything from the monastic code to the color of the robes.


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: In 710, Empress Genme moved the state capital to Heijōkyō, (modern Nara) thus inaugurating the Nara period. This period saw the establishment of the "kokubunji" system, which was a way to manage provincial temples through a network of national temples in each province. The head temple of the entire system was Tōdaiji.


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: Nara state sponsorship saw the development of the six great Nara schools, called , all were continuations of Chinese Buddhist schools. The temples of these schools became important places for the study of Buddhist doctrine. The six Nara schools were: "Ritsu" (Vinaya), "Jōjitsu" (Tattvasiddhi)", Kusha-shū" (Abhidharmakosha), "Sanronshū" (East Asian Mādhyamaka), "Hossō" (East Asian Yogācāra) and "Kegon" (Huayan).


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: These schools were centered around the capital where great temples such as the Asuka-dera and Tōdai-ji were erected. The most influential of the temples are known as the "seven great temples of the southern capital" ("Nanto Shichi Daiji"). The temples were not exclusive and sectarian organizations. Instead, temples were apt to have scholars versed in several of schools of thought. It has been suggested that they can best be thought of as "study groups".


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: State temples continued the practice of conducting numerous rituals for the good of the nation and the imperial family. Rituals centered on scriptures like the "Golden Light" and the "Lotus Sūtra". Another key function of the state temples was the transcription of Buddhist scriptures, which was seen as generating much merit. Buddhist monastics were firmly controlled by the state's monastic office through an extensive monastic code of law, and monastic ranks were matched to the ranks of government officials. It was also during this era that the "Nihon Shoki" was written, a text which shows significant Buddhist influence. The monk Dōji (?–744) may have been involved in its compilation.


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: The elite state sponsored Nara Buddhism was not the only type of Buddhism at this time. There were also groups of unofficial monastics or priests (or, self-ordained; "shido sōni") who were either not formally ordained and trained through the state channels, or who chose to preach and practice outside of the system. These "unofficial" monks were often subject to state punishment. Their practice could have also included Daoist and indigenous kami worship elements. Some of these figures became immensely popular and were a source of criticism for the sophisticated, academic and bureaucratic Buddhism of the capital.


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: During the Heian period, the capital was shifted to Kyoto (then known as Heiankyō) by emperor Kanmu, mainly for economic and strategic reasons. As before, Buddhist institutions continued to play a key role in the state, with Kanmu being a strong supporter of the new Tendai school of Saichō (767–822) in particular. Saichō, who had studied the Tiantai school in China, established the influential temple complex of Enryakuji at Mount Hiei, and developed a new system of monastic regulations based on the bodhisattva precepts. This new system allowed Tendai to free itself from direct state control.


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: Also during this period, the Shingon ( Ch. Zhenyan; "True Word", from Sanskrit: "Mantra") school was established in the country under the leadership of Kūkai. This school also received state sponsorship and introduced esoteric Vajrayana (also referred to as "mikkyō", "secret teaching") elements.


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: The new Buddhist lineages of Shingon and Tendai also developed somewhat independently from state control, partly because the old system was becoming less important to Heian aristocrats. This period also saw an increase in the official separation between the different schools, due to a new system that specified the particular school which an imperial priest ("nenbundosha") belonged to.


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: During this period, there was a consolidation of a series of annual court ceremonies ("nenjū gyōji"). Tendai Buddhism was particularly influential, and the veneration of the "Lotus Sūtra" grew in popularity, even among the low class and non-aristocratic population, which often formed religious groups such as the "Lotus holy ones" ("hokke hijiri" or "jikyōja") and mountain ascetics ("shugenja").


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: Furthermore, during this era, new Buddhist traditions began to develop. While some of these have been grouped into what is referred to as "new Kamakura" Buddhism, their beginning can actually be traced to the late Heian. This includes the practice of Japanese Pure Land Buddhism, which focuses on the contemplation and chanting of the "nenbutsu", the name of the Buddha Amida (Skt. Amitābha), in hopes of being reborn in the Buddha field of Sukhāvatī. This practice was initially popular in Tendai monasteries but then spread throughout Japan. Texts which discussed miracles associated with the Buddhas and bodhisattvas became popular in this period, along with texts which outlined death bed rites.


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: During this period, some Buddhist temples established groups of warrior-monks called Sōhei. This phenomenon began in Tendai temples, as they vied for political influence with each other. The Genpei war saw various groups of warrior monks join the fray.


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: There were also semi-independent clerics (who were called shōnin or hijiri, "holy ones") who lived away from the major Buddhist monasteries and preached to the people. These figures had much more contact with the general populace than other monks. The most well known of these figures was Kūya (alt. Kōya; 903–972), who wandered throughout the provinces engaging in good works ("sazen"), preaching on nembutsu practice and working with local Buddhist cooperatives ("zenchishiki") to create images of bodhisattvas like Kannon.


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: Another important development during this era was that Buddhist monks were now being widely encouraged by the state to pray for the salvation of Japanese "kami" (divine beings in Shinto). The merging of Shinto deities with Buddhist practice was not new at this time. Already in the eighth century, some major Shinto shrines ("jingūji") included Buddhist monks which conducted rites for shinto divinities. One of the earliest such figures was "great Bodhisattva Hachiman" (Hachiman daibosatsu) who was popular in Kyūshū.


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: Popular sites for pilgrimage and religious practice, like Kumano, included both kami worship and the worship of Buddhas and bodhisattvas, which were often associated with each other. Furthermore, temples like Tōdaiji also included shrines for the worship of kami (in Tōdaiji's case, it was the kami Shukongōjin that was enshrined in its rear entryway).


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: Buddhist monks interpreted their relationship to the kami in different ways. Some monks saw them as just worldly beings who could be prayed for. Other saw them as manifestations of Buddhas and bodhisattvas. For example, the Mt. Hiei monk Eryō saw the kami as "traces" (suijaku) of the Buddha. This idea, called essence-trace ("honji-suijaku"), would have a strong influence throughout the medieval era.


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: The copying and writing of Buddhist scripture was a widespread practice in this period. It was seen as producing merit (good karma). Artistic portraits depicting events from the scriptures were also quite popular during this era. They were used to generate merit as well as to preach and teach the doctrine. The "Enshrined Sutra of the Taira Family" ("Heikenōkyō"), is one of the greatest examples of Buddhist visual art from this period. It is an elaborately illustrated Lotus Sūtra installed at Itsukushima Shrine.


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: The Buddhist liturgy of this era also became more elaborate and performative. Rites such as the Repentance Assembly ("keka'e") at Hōjōji developed to include elaborate music, dance and other forms of performance. Major temples and monasteries such as the royal Hosshōji temple and Kōfukuji, also became home to the performance of Sarugaku theater (which is the origin of Nō Drama) as well as ennen ("longevity-enhancing") arts which included dances and music. Doctrinally, these performative arts were seen as skillful means ("hōben", Skt. "upaya") of teaching Buddhism. Monks specializing in such arts were called yūsō ("artistic monks").


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: Another way of communicating the Buddhist message was through the medium of poetry, which included both Chinese poetry (kanshi) and Japanese poetry (waka). An example of Buddhist themed waka is Princess Senshi's (964–1035) "Hosshin waka shū" (Collection of Waka of the Awakening Mind, 1012). The courtly practice of rōei (performing poetry to music) was also taken up in the Tendai and Shingon lineages. Both monks and laypersons met in poetry circles ("kadan") like the Ninnaji circle which was patronized by Prince Shukaku (1150–1202).


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: The Kamakura period was a period of crisis in which the control of the country moved from the imperial aristocracy to the samurai. In 1185 the Kamakura shogunate was established at Kamakura.


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: This period saw the development of new Buddhist lineages or schools which have been called "Kamakura Buddhism" and "New Buddhism". All of the major founders of these new lineages were ex-Tendai monks who had trained at Mt. Hiei and had studied the exoteric and esoteric systems of Tendai Buddhism. During the Kamakura period, these new schools did not gain as much prominence as the older lineages, with the possible exception of the highly influential Rinzai Zen school.


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: The new schools include Pure Land lineages like Hōnen's (1133–1212) Jōdo shū and Shinran's (1173–1263) Jōdo Shinshū, both of which focused on the practice of chanting the name of Amida Buddha. These new Pure Land schools both believed that Japan had entered the era of the decline of the Dharma ("mappō") and that therefore other Buddhist practices were not useful. The only means to liberation was now the faithful chanting of the nembutsu. This view was critiqued by more traditional figures such as Myō'e (1173–1232).


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: Another response to the social instability of the period was an attempt by certain monks to return to the proper practice of Buddhist precepts as well as meditation. These figures include figures like the Kōfukuji monk Jōkei (1155–1213) and the Tendai monk Shunjō (1166–1227), who sought to return to the traditional foundations of the Buddhist path, ethical cultivation and meditation practice.


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: Other monks attempted to minister to marginalized low class groups. The Kegon-Shingon monk Myō'e was known for opening his temple to lepers, beggars, and other marginal people, while precept masters such as Eison (1201–1290) and Ninshō (1217–1303) were also active in ministering and caring for ill and marginalized persons, particularly those outcast groups termed "non-persons" ("hinin"). Deal & Ruppert (2015) p. 122 Ninshō established a medical facility at Gokurakuji in 1287, which treated more than 88,000 people over a 34-year-period and collected Chinese medical knowledge.


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: Another set of new Kamakura schools include the two major Zen schools of Japan (Rinzai and Sōtō), promulgated by monks such as Eisai and Dōgen, which emphasize liberation through the insight of meditation (zazen). Dōgen (1200–1253) began a prominent meditation teacher and abbot. He introduced the Chan lineage of Caodong, which would grow into the Sōtō school. He criticized ideas like the final age of the Dharma ("mappō"), and the practice of apotropaic prayer.


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: Additionally, it was during this period that monk Nichiren (1222–1282) began teaching his exclusively "Lotus Sutra" based Buddhism, which he saw as the only valid object of devotion in the age of mappō. Nichiren believed that the conflicts and disasters of this period were caused by the wrong views of Japanese Buddhists (such as the followers of Pure Land and esoteric Buddhism). Nichiren faced much opposition for his views and was also attacked and exiled twice by the Kamakura state.


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: During this period, the new "Kamakura schools" continued to develop and began to consolidate themselves as unique and separate traditions. However, as Deal and Ruppert note, "most of them remained at the periphery of Buddhist institutional power and, in some ways, discourse during this era." They further add that it was only "from the late fifteenth century onward that these lineages came to increasingly occupy the center of Japanese Buddhist belief and practice." The only exception is Rinzai Zen, which attained prominence earlier (13th century). Meanwhile, the "old" schools and lineages continued to develop in their own ways and remained influential.


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: The new schools' independence from the old schools did not happen all at once. In fact, the new schools remained under the old schools' doctrinal and political influence for some time. For example, Ōhashi Toshio has stressed how during this period, the Jōdo sect was mainly seen as a subsidiary or temporary branch sect of Tendai. Furthermore, not all monks of the old sects were antagonistic to the new sects.


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: During the height of the medieval era, political power was decentralized and shrine-temple complexes were often competing with each other for influence and power. These complexes often controlled land and multiple manors, and also maintained military forces of warrior monks which they used to battle with each other. In spite of the instability of this era, the culture of Buddhist study and learning continued to thrive and grow.


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: Furthermore, though there were numerous independent Buddhist schools and lineages at this time, many monks did not exclusively belong to one lineage and instead traveled to study and learn in various temples and seminaries. This tendency of practicing in multiple schools or lineages was termed "shoshū kengaku". It became much more prominent in the medieval era due to the increased social mobility that many monks enjoyed"."


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: Both the Kamakura shogunate (1192–1333) and the Ashikaga shogunate (1336–1573) supported and patronized the "Five Mountains culture" ("Gozan Jissetsu Seido") of Rinzai Zen. This Rinzai Zen tradition was centered on the ten "Five Mountain" temples (five in Kyoto and five in Kamakura). Besides teaching zazen meditation, they also pursued studies in esoteric Buddhism and in certain art forms like calligraphy and poetry. A pivotal early figure of Rinzai was Enni Ben'en (1202–1280), a high-ranking and influential monk who was initiated into Tendai and Shingon. He then traveled to China to study Zen and later founded Tōfukuji.


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: The Tendai and Shingon credentials of Rinzai figures such as Enni show that early Zen was not a lineage that was totally separate from the other "old" schools. Indeed, Zen monastic codes feature procedures for "worship of the Buddha, funerals, memorial rites for ancestral spirits, the feeding of hungry ghosts, feasts sponsored by donors, and tea services that served to highlight the bureaucratic and social hierarchy."


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: Medieval Rinzai was also invigorated by a series of Chinese masters who came to Japan during the Song dynasty, such as Issan Ichinei (1247–1317). Issan influenced the Japanese interest in Chinese literature, calligraphy and painting. The Japanese literature of the Five Mountains ("Gozan Bungaku") reflects this influence. One of his students was Musō Soseki, a Zen master, calligraphist, poet and garden designer who was granted the title "national Zen teacher" by Emperor Go-Daigo. The Zen monk poets Sesson Yūbai and Kokan Shiren also studied under Issan. Shiren was also a historian who wrote the Buddhist history "Genkō shakusho".


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: The Royal court and elite families of the capital also studied the classic Chinese arts that were being taught in the five mountain Rinzai temples. The shogunal families even built Zen temples in their residential palaces. The five mountain temples also established their own printing program ("Gozan-ban") to copy and disseminate a wide variety of literature that included records of Zen masters, the writings of Tang poets, Confucian classics, Chinese dictionaries, reference works, and medical texts.


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: It is also during this period that true lineages of "Shintō" kami worship begin to develop in Buddhist temples complexes, lineages which would become the basis for institutionalized Shintō of later periods. Buddhists continued to develop theories about the relationship between kami and the Buddhas and bodhisattvas. One such idea, "gongen" ("provisional manifestation")"," promoted the worship of kami as manifest forms of the Buddhas. A group of Tendai monks at Mt. Hiei meanwhile incorporated "hongaku" thought into their worship of the kami Sannō, which eventually came to be seen as the source or "original ground" ("honji") of all Buddhas (thereby reversing the old "honji suijaku" theory which saw the Buddha as the "honji"). This idea can be found in the work of the Hiei monk Sonshun (1451–1514).


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: Beginning with the devastating Ōnin War (1467–1477), the Muromachi period (1336–1573) saw the devolution of central government control and the rise of regional samurai warlords called "daimyōs" and the so called "warring states era" ("Sengokuki"). During this era of widespread warfare, many Buddhist temples and monasteries were destroyed, particularly in and around Kyoto. Many of these old temples would not be rebuilt until the 16th and 17th centuries.


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: During this period, the new Kamakura schools rose to a new level of prominence and influence. They also underwent reforms in study and practice which would make them more independent and would last centuries. For example, it was during this period that the True Pure Land monk Rennyo (1415–1499) forged a large following for his school and rebuilt Honganji. He reformed devotional practices with a focus on Shinran and honzon scrolls inscribed with the nembutsu. He also made widespread use of the Japanese vernacular.


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: The Zen lineages were also widely disseminated throughout the country during this era. A key contributing factor to their spread (as well as to the spread of Pure Land temples) was their activity in funerals and mortuary rituals. Some temple halls were reconstructed with a focus on mortuary rites (sometimes for a specific family, like the Tokugawa) and were thus known as mortuary temples ("bodaiji"). Furthermore, during this era, schools like Soto Zen, the Hokke (Nichiren) schools and Rennyo's Pure land school also developed comprehensive curricula for doctrinal study, which allowed them to become more self sufficient and independent schools and eliminated the need for their monks to study with other schools.


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: There was also a decrease in the ritual schedule of the royal court. Because of this, Buddhist Temples which did survive this period had to turn to new ways of fundraising. Aside from mortuary duties, this also included increasing public viewings ("kaichos") of hidden or esoteric images.


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: This era also saw the rise of militant Buddhist leagues ("ikki"), like the Ikko Ikki ("Single Minded" Pure Land Leagues) and Hokke Ikki (Nichirenist "Lotus" Leagues), who rose in revolt against samurai lords and established self-rule in certain regions. These leagues would also sometimes go to war with each other and with major temples. The Hokke Ikki managed to destroy the Ikko Ikki's Yamashina Honganji temple complex and take over much of Kyoto in the 1530s. They eventually came into conflict with the Tendai warrior monks of Enryakuji in what became known as the Tenbun Period War, in which all 21 major Hokke (Nichiren) temples were destroyed, along with much of Kyoto.


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: The Tendai warrior monks and the Ikko Ikki leagues remained a major political power in Japan until their defeat at the hands of Oda Nobunaga (1534–1582), who subjugated both the Tendai monks at Mt Hiei and then the Ikko Ikki, in the Ishiyama Honganji War (1570–1580) .


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: During the mid-sixteenth century westerners first began to arrive in Japan, introducing new technologies, as well as Christianity. This led to numerous debates between Christians and Buddhists, such as the so-called "Yamaguchi sectarian debates" ("yamaguchi no shūron").


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: After the Sengoku period of war, Japan was re-united by the Tokugawa Shogunate (1600–1868) who ran the country through a feudal system of regional "daimyō". The Tokugawa also banned most foreigners from entering the country. The only traders to be allowed were the Dutch at the island of Dejima.


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: During the seventeenth century, the Tokugawa shōgun Iemitsu set into motion a series of reforms which sought to increase state control of religion (as well as to eliminate Christianity). Iemitsu's reforms developed what has been called the head–branch system ("hon-matsu seido") and the temple affiliation system ("jidan"; alt. "danka seido"). This system made use of already existing Buddhist institutions and affiliations, but attempted to bring them under official government control and required all temples to be affiliated with a government recognized lineage. In general, the Tendai, Pure Land, and Shingon sects were treated more favourably than the True Pure Land and Nichiren sects because the latter had a history of inciting socio-political disturbances in the 16th century.


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: Buddhist leaders often worked with the government, providing religious support for their rule. For example, the Zen monk Takuan Sōhō (1573–1645) suggested that the spirit of Tokugawa Ieyasu, was a kami (divine spirit). He also wrote a book on zen and martial arts ("The Unfettered Mind") addressed to the samurai. Meanwhile, Suzuki Shōsan would even call the Tokugawa shōgun a "holy king" ("shōō").


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: In the Edo Period, Buddhist institutions procured funding through various ritual means, such as the sale of talismans, posthumous names and titles, prayer petitions, and medicine. The practice of pilgrimage was also prominent in the Edo Period. Many temples and holy sites like Mt. Kōya, Mt. Konpira and Mt. Ōyama (Sagami Province) hosted Buddhist pilgrims and mountain ascetics throughout the era.


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: During the 17th century, the Ōbaku lineage of Zen would be introduced by Ingen, a Chinese monk. Ingen had been a member of the Linji school in Ming China. This lineage, which promoted the dual practice of zazen and nembutsu, would be very successful, having over a thousand temples by the mid-18th century.


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: Meanwhile, a new breed of public preaches was beginning to frequent public spaces and develop new forms of preaching. These include Pure Land monk Sakuden (1554–1642), who is seen as an originator of Rakugo humor and wrote the "Seisuishō" (Laughs to Wake You Up), which is a collection of humorous anecdotes. Other traveling preachers of the era who made use of stories and narratives include the Shingon-Ritsu monk Rentai (1663–1726) and the Pure Land monk Asai Ryōi (d. 1691).


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: During the 18th century, Japanese Rinzai would be transformed by the work of Hakuin Ekaku (1685–1768) and his students. Hakuin focused on reforming Rinzai kōan training, which he interpreted as a somatic practice by drawing on ideas from Chinese medicine and Daoism. Hakuin also criticized the mixing of Zen and Pure Land.


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: During the Edo period, there was an unprecedented growth of print publishing (in part due to the support of the Tokugawa regime), and the creation and sale of printed Buddhist works exploded. The Tendai monk Tenkai, supported by Iemitsu, led the printing of the Buddhist "canon" ("issaikyō," i.e. "The Tripiṭaka"). Deal & Ruppert (2015) pp. 184–186 Also notable was the publication of an exceptionally high quality reprint of the Ming-era "Tripiṭaka" by Tetsugen Doko, a renowned master of the Ōbaku school. An important part of the publishing boom were books of Buddhist sermons called "kange-bon" or "dangi-bon."


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: With the support of the Shogunate, Buddhist scholasticism also thrived during the Edo period, and the major Buddhist schools established new systems of scholastic study in their schools' seminaries ("danrin"). Examples include the 18 Jōdo school danrin in Kantō, which were patronized by the Tokugawa family, the most prominent being Zōjōji. The True Pure Land lineages established an extensive seminary system which constituted what would eventually become Ryūkoku University. There was also a renaissance of Sanskrit studies in the Shingon school, led by figures such as Jōgon (1639–1702) and Jiun Sonja (1718–1804). Meanwhile, in Sōtō Zen, scholars led by Menzan Zuihō (1683–1769) undertook a major attempt to publish and study the works of Dōgen.


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: Also during this time there was a widespread movement among many Buddhist sects to return to the proper use of Buddhist precepts. Numerous figures in the Ōbaku, Shingon, Shingon-risshū, Nichiren, Jōdo shū and Soto schools participated in this effort to tighten and reform Buddhist ethical discipline.


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: After the Meiji Restoration in 1868, the new imperial government adopted a strong anti-Buddhist attitude. A new form of pristine Shinto, shorn of all Buddhist influences, was promoted as the state religion, an official state policy known as "shinbutsu bunri" (separating Buddhism from Shinto), which began with the "Kami and Buddhas Separation Order" ("shinbutsu hanzenrei") of 1868. The ideologues of this new Shinto sought to return to a pure Japanese spirit, before it was "corrupted" by external influences, mainly Buddhism. They were influenced by national study ("kokugaku") figures like Motoori Norinaga (1730–1801) and Hirata Atsutane (1776–1843), both of whom strongly criticized Buddhism. The new order dismantled the combined temple-shrine complexes that had existed for centuries. Buddhists priests were no longer able to practice at Shinto shrines and Buddhist artifacts were removed from Shinto shrines.


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: This sparked a popular and often violent movement to eradicate Buddhism, which was seen as backwards and foreign and associated with the corrupt Shogunate. There had been much pent-up anger among the populace because the Tokugawa "danka" system forced families to affiliate themselves with a Buddhist temple, which included the obligation of monetary donations. Many Buddhist temples abused this system to make money, causing an undue burden on their parishioners.


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: This religious persecution of Buddhism, known as "haibutsu kishaku ("literally: ""abolish Buddhism and destroy Shākyamuni""), saw the destruction and closure of many Buddhist institutions throughout Japan as well as the confiscation of their land, the forced laicization of Buddhist monks and the destruction of Buddhist books and artifacts. In some instances, monks were attacked and killed.


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: The violence spread to every region of the country. Japanologist Martin Collcutt believes Japanese Buddhism was on the verge of total eradication. It is estimated that 40,000 Buddhist temples were destroyed, and in certain places the percentage of Buddhist temples destroyed reached 80%. The intensity of the destruction depended on the region, and the most violent times of haibutsu kishaku lasted between 1869 and 1871.


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: The government edict of April 1872 ended the status of the Buddhist precepts as state law and allowed monks to marry, to eat meat and stopped the regulation of tonsure and dress. The result of this law (over the course of about four decades) was that most Buddhist priests in Japan marry and many temples became hereditary holdings within a family.


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: Anti-Buddhist government policies and religious persecution put many Buddhist institutions on the defensive against those who saw it as the enemy of the Japanese people. This led Japanese Buddhist institutions to re-examine and re-invent the role of Buddhism in a modernizing Japanese state which now supported state Shintō. There were a broad range of reform strategies and movements which aimed at positioning Buddhism as a useful partner to a modernizing Japan. This included clerical reform to tighten discipline as well as reforms concerning doctrine and practice. Some Buddhists sought to modernize Buddhist thought by combining it with Western science and philosophy.


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: This reformed "new Buddhism" ("shin bukkyō") was often promoted by laypersons, such as Sakaino Kōyō (1871–1933) and Takashima Beihō (1875–1949) who founded the Shin Bukkyōto Dōshikai (New Buddhist Friends' Association) in 1899 and promoted social justice activities. The New Buddhists often joined Japanese nationalist patriotism with Buddhist virtues. Some new Buddhist organizations fully embraced Japanese nationalism, such as the "Kokuchūkai" (Pillar of the Nation Society) of Tanaka Chigaku (1861–1939), who promoted Japanese Imperialism as a way to spread the message of the Lotus Sutra. Another new Buddhist society was the "Keii-kai" (Woof and Warp Society, founded in 1894), which was critical of doctrinal rigidity of traditional Buddhism and championed what they termed "free investigation" (jiyū tōkyū) as a way to respond to the rapid changes of the time.


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: Kiyozawa Manshi's "Seishin-shugi" (Spiritualism) movement promoted the idea that Buddhists should focus on self-cultivation without relying on organized Buddhism or the state. Kiyozawa and his friends lived together in a commune called Kōkōdō (Vast Cavern), and published a journal called "Seishinkai" (Spiritual World). Other Buddhists focused on adherence to the ten precepts, such as Shaku Unshō who created formed a lay organization known as the "Jūzen-kai" (Association for the Ten Precepts).


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: An influential figure of Buddhist reform during this period was the philosopher Inoue Enryō (1858 – 1919). A graduate of Tokyo Imperial University, he is known for his critique of Christianity as well as for his ideas on reforming Buddhist institutions. He sought to interpret Buddhist thought through a more rational lens and drew on Western philosophy as well as the teachings of the historical Buddha to do so. He was a prolific author of around 120 books, including "Shinri kinshin" (The Guiding Principle of Truth) and "Bukkyō katsu ron" (Enlivening Buddhism). In 1904 he inaugurated the Tetsugaku-dō (Hall of Philosophy), which was dedicated to Shakyamuni, Confucius, Socrates, and Kant. He also advocated for social welfare activities.


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: It was also during the Meiji period that Japanese Buddhist studies as an academic field began. This was sparked by the overseas travel of Japanese scholars to Western universities and encountered Buddhist textual studies there, particularly the study of Indian Buddhism and its languages (Sanskrit and Pali). This led to some Japanese Buddhists to question the orthodoxy of Japanese Buddhist traditions. However, the Japanese government at this time was hesitant to give Buddhism any significant influence over public education, and as a result Buddhist studies was classed under "philosophy" rather than "religion", and terms such as "Indian studies" was favoured over "Buddhist studies."


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: One of the first such Japanese academics was Nanjō Bunyū (1849–1927), who studied Sanskrit at Oxford with Max Müller and later took a position at Tokyo Imperial University. Meanwhile, Murakami Senshō (1851–1929) focused on the study of Sanskrit and Pali texts and the history of Buddhism. He focused on the universal values of world Buddhism and wrote critically regarding the historical bias of Japanese Buddhism in works such as "Daijō bussetsu ron hihan" (A Critique of the Theory that Mahayana Is the Direct Teaching of the Historical Buddha, 1903).


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: There were also a number of new Buddhist movements that grew popular in the Meiji period through 1945. Some of the most influential of these were the Nichirenist/Lotus movements of Sōka Gakkai, Reiyūkai, and Risshō Kōseikai. They focused on active proselytization and worldly personal benefits.


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: During the "fifteen year war" (beginning with the invasion of Manchuria in 1931 and ending with the surrender of Japan in '45), most Japanese Buddhist institutions supported Japan's militarization.


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: Japanese Buddhist support for imperialism and militarism was rooted in the Meiji era need for Buddhists to show that they were good citizens that were relevant to Japan's efforts to modernize and become a major power. Some Buddhists, like Tanaka Chigaku, saw the war as a way to spread Buddhism. During the Russo-Japanese War, Buddhist leaders supported the war effort in different ways, such as by providing chaplains to the army, performing rituals to secure victory and working with the families of fallen soldiers. During the fifteen-year war, Japanese Buddhists supported the war effort in similar ways, and Buddhist priests became attached to Imperial army regiments.


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: The Myōwakai (Society for Light and Peace), a transsectarian Buddhist organization, was a strong supporter of the war effort who promoted the idea of "benevolent forcefulness" which held that "war conducted for a good reason is in accord with the great benevolence and compassion of Buddhism." Another right wing Buddhist organization during the war was Nisshō Inoue's terrorist organization "league of blood," ("ketsumeidan") which attempted to carry out a series of assassinations, culminating in the assassination of Prime Minister Inukai Tsuyoshi, an event known as the "May 15 Incident".


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: During the war, the Japanese government sough to further tighten its control over Buddhist institutions. They attempted to force Buddhist schools to remove from their doctrines any language or idea that revealed anything less than full allegiance to the emperor or that diminished the significance of Shintō kami. This included parts of the writings of medieval Buddhist founders like Shinran and Nichiren who had written that it is sometimes good to criticize rulers if they go against the Dharma.


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: Buddhists were also forced to venerate talismans from the Isse Shrine, and there were serious consequences for those who refused. For example, during the 1940s, "leaders of both Honmon Hokkeshu and Sōka Gakkai were imprisoned for their defiance of wartime government religious policy, which mandated display of reverence for state Shinto." A few individuals who directly opposed war were targeted by the government. These include the Rinzai priest Ichikawa Hakugen, and Itō Shōshin (1876–1963), a former Jōdo Shinshū priest.


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: At the end of the war, Japan was devastated by the allied bombing campaigns, with most cities in ruins. The occupation government abolished state Shinto, establishing freedom of religion and a separation of religion and state which became an official part of the Japanese constitution.


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: This meant that Buddhist temples and institutions were now free to associate with any religious lineage or to become independent if doctrinal or administrative differences proved too much. One example is when Hōryūji temple became independent from the Hossō lineage and created its own Shōtoku denomination.


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: The Japanese populace was aware of Buddhist involvement in aiding and promoting the war effort. Because of this, Buddhist lineages have engaged in acts of repentance for their wartime activities. Buddhist groups have been active in the post-war peace movement.


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: Buddhist temples in post-war Japan experienced difficult times. There was much damage to be repaired and there was little funding for it. In the 1950s, the situation slowly improved, especially for those temples that could harness tourism and other ways of procuring funding. However, post-war land reforms and an increasingly mobile and urban population meant that temples lost both parishioners and land holdings.


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: In the 1960s, many temples were focused solely on providing services like funerals and burials. In 1963, Tamamuro Taijō coined the term sōshiki bukkyō (funerary Buddhism), to describe the ritualistic formalism of temple Buddhism in postwar Japan that was often divorced from people's spiritual needs. Post-war Japan has seen a decline in traditional temple Buddhism, with roughly 100 Buddhist organizations disappearing every year. Still, around 90% of Japanese funerals are conducted according to Buddhist rites.


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: During the post-war period, in contrast to traditional temple Buddhism, Buddhist based Japanese new religions grew rapidly, especially the Nichiren/Lotus Sūtra based movements like Sōka Gakkai and Risshō Kōseikai (which are today the largest lay Buddhist organizations in Japan). Soka Gakkai "... grew rapidly in the chaos of post war Japan from about 3000 members in 1951 to over 8 million members" in 2000, and has established schools, colleges and a university, as well as cultural institutions.


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: A study about the reason for the growth in lay believers and increased engagement in society attributes the cause to Nichiren teachings of 'social responsibility': "In the tradition of Nichiren Buddhism, however, we find the Lotus Sutra linked to a view of social responsibility that is distinctive". According to an academic study, lay believers of Buddhism "...offer an alternative view of Japan where their form of Buddhism would form the religious foundation of a peaceful and psychologically and materially enriched society".


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: In the 1970s, during a period of rapid social and economic change, there was a wave of new religious movements that were called "new new religions" ("shin shin shūkyō"). While the new religions tended to be Nichiren focused, the "new new" Buddhist religions tend to be influenced by numerous other Buddhist traditions. Buddhist new new religions include the Agon shū (Āgama School), Gedatsukai (Enlightenment Society, drawing from Shingon and Shinto), and Shinnyoen (Garden of True Thusness, a Shingon-based religion). Aum Shinrikyō, the most notorious of these new new religions, is a dangerous cult responsible for the Tokyo gas attack.


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: The post-war era also saw a new philosophical movements among Buddhist intellectuals called the Kyoto school, since it was led by a group of Kyoto University professors, mainly Nishida Kitarō (1870–1945), Tanabe Hajime (1885–1962), and Nishitani Keiji (1900–1991). These thinkers drew from Western philosophers like Kant, Hegel and Nietzsche and Buddhist thought to express a new perspective. Another intellectual field that has attracted interest is Critical Buddhism ("hihan bukkyō"), associated with Sōtō Zen priests like Hakamaya Noriaki (b. 1943) and Matsumoto Shirō (b. 1950), who criticized certain key ideas in Japanese Mahayana (mainly Buddha nature and original enlightenment) as being incompatible with the Buddha's not-self doctrine. Critical Buddhists have also examined the moral failings of Japanese Buddhism, such as support for nationalist violence and social discrimination.


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: Japanese Buddhism is very diverse with numerous independent schools and temple lineages (including the "old" Nara schools and the "new" Kamakura schools) that can be traced back to ancient and medieval Japan, as well as more recent Japanese New Religious movements and modern lay organizations.


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: According to the religious statistics of 2021 by the Agency for Cultural Affairs of Japan, the religious corporation under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in Japan had 135 million believers, of which 47 million were Buddhists and most of them were believers of new schools of Buddhism which were established in the Kamakura period (1185－1333). The number of believers of each sect is approximately 22 million for the Jōdo Buddhism (Jōdo-shū, Jōdo Shinshū, Yuzu Nembutsu and Ji-shū), 11 million for the Nichiren Buddhism, 5.5 million for the Shingon Buddhism, 5.3 million for the Zen Buddhism (Rinzai, Sōtō and Ōbaku), 2.8 million for the Tendai Buddhism, and only about 700,000 for the old schools, which were established in the Nara period (710－794).


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: The Six Nara Schools are the oldest Buddhist schools in Japan. They are associated with the ancient capital of Nara, where they founded the famed "seven great temples of the southern capital" ("Nanto Shichi Daiji" 南都七大寺).


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: During the Kamakura period, many Buddhist schools (classified by scholars as "New Buddhism" or "Shin Bukkyo"), as opposed to "Old Buddhism" "(Kyū Bukkyō)" of the Nara period.


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: After the Kamakura period, there were other Buddhist schools founded throughout the history of Japan, though none have attained the influence of the earlier traditions on the island. Some of these later schools include:


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: There are various Japanese New Religious movements which can be considered Buddhist sects, the largest of these are lay Nichiren Buddhist groups such as Soka Gakkai, Reiyūkai and Risshō Kōsei-kai. But there are other new movements such as Agon Shū (阿含宗, ""Agama School""), a Buddhist school which focuses on studying the "Agamas", a collection of early Buddhist scriptures.


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: During the Kamakura (1185–1333) and Muromachi (1336–1573) Buddhism, or the Buddhist institutions, had a great influence on Japanese society. Buddhist institutions were used by the shogunate to control the country. During the Edo (1600–1868) this power was constricted, to be followed by persecutions at the beginning of the Meiji restoration (1868–1912). Buddhist temples played a major administrative role during the Edo period, through the Danka or "terauke" system. In this, Japanese citizens were required to register at their local Buddhist temples and obtain a certification ("terauke"), which became necessary to function in society. At first, this system was put into place to suppress Christianity, but over time it took on the larger role of census and population control.


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: In Japan, Buddhist art started to develop as the country converted to Buddhism in 548. Some tiles from the Asuka period (shown above), the first period following the conversion of the country to Buddhism, display a strikingly classical style, with ample Hellenistic dress and realistically rendered body shape characteristic of Greco-Buddhist art.


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: Buddhist art became extremely varied in its expression. Many elements of Greco-Buddhist art remain to this day however, such as the Hercules inspiration behind the Nio guardian deities in front of Japanese Buddhist temples, or representations of the Buddha reminiscent of Greek art such as the Buddha in Kamakura.


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: Various other Greco-Buddhist artistic influences can be found in the Japanese Buddhist pantheon, the most striking being that of the Japanese wind god Fūjin. In consistency with Greek iconography for the wind god Boreas, the Japanese wind god holds above his head with his two hands a draping or "wind bag" in the same general attitude. The abundance of hair has been kept in the Japanese rendering, as well as exaggerated facial features.


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: Another Buddhist deity, Shukongōshin, one of the wrath-filled protector deities of Buddhist temples in Japan, is also an interesting case of transmission of the image of the famous Greek god Heracles to East Asia along the Silk Road. Heracles was used in Greco-Buddhist art to represent Vajrapani, the protector of the Buddha, and his representation was then used in China and Japan to depict the protector gods of Buddhist temples.


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: The artistic inspiration from Greek floral scrolls is found quite literally in the decoration of Japanese roof tiles, one of the only remaining element of wooden architecture throughout centuries. The clearest ones are from the 7th century Nara temple building tiles, some of them exactly depicting vines and grapes. These motifs have evolved towards more symbolic representations, but essentially remain to this day in many Japanese traditional buildings.


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: Soga no Umako built Hōkō-ji, the first temple in Japan, between 588 and 596. It was later renamed as Asuka-dera for Asuka, the name of the capital where it was located. Unlike early Shinto shrines, early Buddhist temples were highly ornamental and strictly symmetrical. The early Heian period (9th–10th century) saw an evolution of style based on the mikkyō sects Tendai and Shingon Buddhism. The Daibutsuyō style and the Zenshūyō style emerged in the late 12th or early 13th century.


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: The following Japanese Buddhist holidays are celebrated by most, if not all, major Buddhist traditions:


title: Buddhism in Japan

text: Some holidays are specific to certain schools or traditions. For example, Zen Buddhist traditions celebrate "Daruma-ki" on October 15 to commemorate the life of Bodhidharma.


title: Gildart Jackson

text: Gildart Jackson is a British actor, writer, and audiobook narrator. He is best known for portraying Gideon in "Charmed" and Giles the butler in the 2013 reality television series "Whodunnit?". He was born on July 13th.


title: Gildart Jackson

text: His character is known for his double crossing of the Charmed Ones by trying to kill Piper Halliwell's child Wyatt because of his powers.


title: Gildart Jackson

text: In 2015, Jackson participated in a stage production of Charles Evered's "Class" at the Falcon Theatre in Burbank, California.


title: Gildart Jackson

text: In 2016, Jackson participated in a stage production of a redux version of William Shakespeare's "The Tempest" in the Odyssey Theatre in Los Angeles.


title: Gildart Jackson

text: Since 2013, Jackson has provided the voice of the title character for the Alex Verus series of novels, by Benedict Jacka. He is credited as narrator of over 300 audiobooks.


title: Gildart Jackson

text: In 2020, Jackson created a YouTube channel entitled "Fireside Reading with Gildart Jackson", in which he gives complete and unabridged readings of classic literature. Such titles include "Great Expectations", "The Hound of the Baskervilles", "Pride and Prejudice", "Frankenstein", "The Thirty-Nine Steps", "The Wind in the Willows", "Dracula", "Wuthering Heights", "Moby Dick", "Anne of Green Gables" and "David Copperfield".


title: Gildart Jackson

text: Jackson grew up in a Regency property on the corner of Old Bath Road and Thirlestaine Road, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. His early education was at Cheltenham College Junior School, also in Thirlestaine Road, Cheltenham. Jackson's transition from a minor English public school to Hollywood is curious and remains unestablished. He has been married to Melora Hardin since 1997. They have two daughters, Rory (born in 2001) and Piper (born in 2005).


title: Jan Levinson

text: Janet Levinson (formerly Levinson-Gould) is a recurring fictional character from the US television series "The Office", portrayed by Melora Hardin. She is the no-nonsense Vice President of Northeast Sales at the paper distribution company Dunder Mifflin, directly supervising central character and Regional Manager of Dunder Mifflin's Scranton branch, Michael Scott. Her character is notable for the dysfunctional relationship she enters with Michael following the second-season episode, "The Client", until the fourth-season episode "Dinner Party". Michael and Jan's personas contrast to much humor in the series, particularly in their professional attitudes and social interactions, although Jan's erratic and sexually-domineering state of mind leads to her firing. Her counterpart in the British version is corporate manager Jennifer Taylor-Clarke, who was played by Stirling Gallacher.


title: Jan Levinson

text: Jan is introduced in the pilot episode of the series. As Vice President, her authority leads her to inform Michael of the impending downsizing or closure Scranton's branch faces. She continually reappears both over phone and in person over each season to assert corporate policy on Michael, specifically with health care plans, sexual harassment concerns, and downsizing.


title: Jan Levinson

text: Her character is expanded upon, and changes in tone during "The Client", when Michael and the recently-divorced Jan attend a business meeting at a Chili's with Christian, a highly-valuable potential client. During the meeting, Jan is unimpressed by Michael's casual and joking attitude, but changes her mind when Michael and Christian's bond leads to Christian closing the business deal. At the end of the episode, Jan and Michael share a kiss. Michael's attempts at a meaningful relationship stemming from that night are rejected, as Jan open-endedly states that she is not ready for a relationship. Her appearances in the second season during a 'women in the workplace' seminar and a financial presentation with CFO David Wallace continue this rejection, despite Michael's advances. However, upon being invited by Michael to the company casino night, she is emotionally hurt by the presence of his other date, Carol Stills, and hastily leaves. With an overnight bag in her Volvo shown to the audience, it is heavily implied that Jan has developed feelings for Michael.


title: Jan Levinson

text: In the third-season premiere, Jan becomes responsible for the transfer of Jim Halpert to the Stamford branch, interviewing him in an earlier episode of the second season. She also negotiated a paid three-month vacation and Lexus company car to accountant Oscar Martinez when Michael ignorantly outs him.


title: Jan Levinson

text: After several episodes referring to downsizing, Jan ultimately plans to merge Scranton into Stamford, with some employees being laid off and the rest transferred - her plans are frustrated when Josh Porter, whom she planned on becoming the manager of the merged branches, leverages the position with Staples into a senior management position there. This development influences Jan into merging Stamford with Scranton instead.


title: Jan Levinson

text: Following a Christmas party, Michael calls an unknown woman to invite her to Sandals Resorts Jamaica. It is later revealed that the woman is Jan, when Michael accidentally forwards a risqué photo of Jan tanning to the entire office. The relationship between Jan and Michael becomes official when David Wallace hosts a cocktail party. The duo attend as a couple after disclosing their relationship to HR; Michael immediately declares "I love this woman!" shortly after.


title: Jan Levinson

text: When Michael has a "women's appreciation day", his conversations with the office women lead him to discuss Jan's radical sexual preferences, including recording their intimacy, against Michael's wishes and playing it with a therapist to improve "his form", as well as ignoring Michael's use of their safeword during sex. He realizes his unhappiness with her and breaks up. In the season finale, during which Michael interviews for a corporate position, Jan attempts a reunion. Michael, despite urgings from all women in the Scranton office to the contrary, agrees to get back together with Jan. Unfortunately, the corporate position for which Michael, Jim, and Karen are interviewing is Jan's; after being absent from work, abusing corporate policies, and being in Scranton far too often, Jan is fired and escorted from the building in New York, and is replaced by Ryan Howard.


title: Jan Levinson

text: Season four has Jan moving into Michael's condo and starting a scented candle business. Her heedless spending combined with his own poor financial sense rapidly drain Michael's resources. She also sues Dunder Mifflin, claiming wrongful dismissal, although Michael is betrayed by Jan, who uses his private diary as evidence that the company mistreats its employees, and also learning that she gave him a scathing performance review while they were dating. In response, Michael torpedoes her lawsuit by refusing to confirm her negative views of the company, badly damaging their relationship. Following this, during a dinner party, the two fight over each other's eccentricities and Jan throws a Dundie Award at his cheap plasma television before breaking down and nearly being arrested on a destruction of property charge. The two split up, with Michael staying at Schrute Farms a few weeks until Jan packs up her things and moves away for good.


title: Jan Levinson

text: Jan is seen again in the fourth-season finale, in which she is revealed to be pregnant via artificial insemination. Michael goes to her Lamaze classes when Jan asks him to and is incredibly excited to be there for the birth of "their" child. However, he is utterly deflated when Jan gives birth to her daughter Astrid without him there, and when Jan reluctantly lets Michael spend time around her, Michael sadly recognizes that he feels no connection at all to Astrid and that he is no longer holding onto feelings for Jan. Jan also insists Michael not go out with Holly, leading Michael to promptly and successfully ask Holly out on a date.


title: Jan Levinson

text: Jan is not seen again until the seventh season, by which time she is employed as a hospital administrator, raises Astrid as a single mother and has recorded a Doris Day cover album. She tells Michael at great length that they were never a good couple and she was slumming by ever dating him; an angry Michael shocks her by saying (wrongly as it turned out) that he has herpes, and later expresses disbelief that he thought she could have been "the one". She reappeared on the show in a cameo scene in Michael's self-produced movie "Threat Level Midnight", playing a covert agent jazz singer named Jasmine Windsong who slips key information to Agent Michael Scarn and gets killed by an assassin.


title: Jan Levinson

text: In the ninth-season episode "The Whale", Jan is now back in Scranton, working as an executive at the White Pages phone book company. Dwight and Pam make the sales call in her office, initially unaware that she is the contact. Jan had no intention of giving Dunder Mifflin her business, and had intended to refuse David Wallace (now the owner and CEO of Dunder Mifflin) personally in retaliation for firing her several years before; she is dismayed when Dwight and Pam arrive instead.


title: Jan Levinson

text: Nevertheless, Dwight keeps her from refusing by assigning Customer Service representative Clark Green as her personal liaison. The two hit it off and travel abroad for several weeks. In "Suit Warehouse", Clark returns to the office, having gotten Jan to sign on as a client after spending several weeks in Europe as her lover. Jan also sent an expensive Italian-made espresso machine back with Clark as a gift to the staff.


title: Jan Levinson

text: Jan is heard over the phone in "Couples Discount"; Andy Bernard, now the Scranton regional manager, points out that Dwight had offered a discounted price without getting Andy's approval (something that would've been impossible for Dwight to do, as Andy himself was abroad at the time), and attempted to renegotiate Dunder Mifflin's contract with the White Pages. Infuriated, Jan proceeds to terminate her contract with Dunder Mifflin altogether. Andy later admits that he spitefully tanked the sale because the staff was hostile to him upon his return from overseas.


title: Jan Levinson

text: In "Finale", it is mentioned that Dwight (who succeeded Andy as regional manager) managed to reacquire the White Pages' business by again offering the discounted price. Jan is not referenced over the course of the documentary's TV release and is not invited to any of the events connected to it.


title: Jan Levinson

text: Jan's first appearance is in the pilot episode, in which she discusses the prospect of downsizing with regional manager Michael Scott, played by Steve Carell. Jan's portrayer, Melora Hardin, revealed that when she auditioned for the role of Jan, she had also auditioned for a role in the short-lived CBS drama Wolf Lake. Hardin initially expressed interest in Wolf Lake, as it was a lead role, but ultimately went for the role of Jan at the insistence of the casting director: "[The casting director] had told me that she really wanted me to get the part on The Office. In the end, she was right."


title: Jan Levinson

text: In an Office Ladies podcast, Hardin revealed that she was unsure if her character would return to the show, as Jan only had a brief appearance in the pilot. While filming the pilot, co-creator Greg Daniels noted the chemistry between Jan and Michael. Hardin recalled: "I remember sitting at the tables with Greg Daniels and Steve Carell, and we were all laughing at, kind of, how weirdly interesting Jan and Michael were together.” Finding potential in Jan and Michael’s relationship, the writers expressed interest in expanding Jan’s character if the series was picked up for a second season. In the season 2 episode "The Client", Michael and Jan kiss after a successful meeting with an important client. Reflecting on the kiss, Hardin stated “I thought it was a great first kiss for the two of them. [...] It has the kind of ‘wait that’s so wrong’ and ‘wait a second, I want more of that’ thing that I think Jan struggled with the entire relationship with Michael.”


title: Jan Levinson

text: Jan ultimately gets fired at the end of season 3, and begins to have a less prominent role in the show after breaking up with Michael in season 4. Jan continues to make sporadic appearances throughout the series; her final on-screen appearance was in the ninth-season episode “The Whale”, and she has a brief voice role in "Couples Discount". Hardin was initially told she would come back in the series finale, but the plans never came to fruition. Despite this, Hardin expressed that the writers had wrapped up the series very well, and was pleased at the overall conclusion of Jan’s character, stating: “It was really great to see her back in the corporate world.”


title: Benjamin Zephaniah

text: Benjamin Obadiah Iqbal Zephaniah (born 15 April 1958) is a British writer and dub poet. He was included in "The Times" list of Britain's top 50 post-war writers in 2008.


title: Benjamin Zephaniah

text: Zephaniah was born and raised in the Handsworth district of Birmingham, England, which he has called the "Jamaican capital of Europe". He is the son of a Barbadian postman and a Jamaican nurse. A dyslexic, he attended an approved school but left aged 13 unable to read or write. During his childhood he was given an old, manual typewriter which he says inspired him to become a writer. It is now in the collection of Birmingham Museums Trust.


title: Benjamin Zephaniah

text: He writes that his poetry is strongly influenced by the music and poetry of Jamaica and what he calls "street politics". His first performance was in church when he was eleven, and by the age of 15, his poetry was already known among Handsworth's Afro-Caribbean and Asian communities.


title: Benjamin Zephaniah

text: As a young man, he received a criminal record and served a prison sentence for burglary. Tired of the limitations of being a black poet communicating with black people only, he decided to expand his audience, and headed to London at the age of 22.


title: Benjamin Zephaniah

text: While living in London, Zephaniah was caught up in the 1980s race riots and experienced racism on a regular basis:"They happened around me. Back then, racism was very in your face. There was the National Front against black and foreign people and the police were also very racist. I got stopped four times after I bought a BMW when I became successful with poetry. I kept getting stopped by the police so I sold it."


title: Benjamin Zephaniah

text: Zephaniah became actively involved in a workers' co-operative in Stratford, London, which led to the publication of his first book of poetry, "Pen Rhythm" (Page One Books, 1980). Three editions were published. Zephaniah has said that his mission is to fight the dead image of poetry in academia, and to "take [it] everywhere" to people who do not read books, so he turned poetry readings into concert-like performances.


title: Benjamin Zephaniah

text: His second collection of poetry, "The Dread Affair: Collected Poems" (1985), contained a number of poems attacking the British legal system. "Rasta Time in Palestine" (1990), an account of a visit to the Palestinian occupied territories, contained poetry and travelogue.


title: Benjamin Zephaniah

text: Zephaniah was poet in residence at the chambers of Michael Mansfield QC, and sat in on the inquiry into Bloody Sunday and other cases, these experiences leading to his "Too Black, Too Strong" poetry collection (2001). "We Are Britain!" (2002) is a collection of poems celebrating cultural diversity in Britain.


title: Benjamin Zephaniah

text: Zephaniah's first book of poetry for children, called "Talking Turkeys" (1994), was reprinted after six weeks. In 1999, he wrote a novel for teenagers, "Face", the first of four novels to date.


title: Benjamin Zephaniah

text: In May 2011, Zephaniah accepted a year-long position as poet-in-residence at Keats House in Hampstead, London, his first residency role for more than ten years. Accepting the role, he commented: "I don't do residencies, but Keats is different. He's a one-off, and he has always been one of my favourite poets."


title: Benjamin Zephaniah

text: In 2016, Zephaniah wrote the foreword to "Angry White People: Coming face-to-face with the British far right" by Hsiao-Hung Pai.


title: Benjamin Zephaniah

text: Zephaniah has made minor appearances in several TV programmes in the 1980s and 1990s, including "The Bill" (1994), "The Comic Strip Presents..." (1994) and "Crucial Tales" (1996).


title: Benjamin Zephaniah

text: Between 2013 and 2022, Zephaniah played the role of preacher Jeremiah "Jimmy" Jesus in BBC drama "Peaky Blinders", appearing in 14 episodes across the 6 series.


title: Benjamin Zephaniah

text: In 1982, Zephaniah released the album "Rasta", which featured the Wailers' first recording since the death of Bob Marley as well as a tribute to the political prisoner (later to become South African president) Nelson Mandela. The album gained him international prestige and topped the Yugoslavian pop charts. It was because of this recording that he was introduced to Mandela, and in 1996, Mandela requested that Zephaniah host the president's Two Nations Concert at the Royal Albert Hall, London.


title: Benjamin Zephaniah

text: Zephaniah became a vegan at the age of 13 when he read poems about "shimmering fish floating in an underwater paradise, and birds flying free in the clear blue sky".


title: Benjamin Zephaniah

text: Zephaniah is an honorary patron of The Vegan Society, Viva! (Vegetarians' International Voice for Animals), and EVOLVE! Campaigns, and is an animal rights advocate. In 2004, he wrote the foreword to Keith Mann's book "From Dusk 'til Dawn: An insider's view of the growth of the Animal Liberation Movement", a book about the Animal Liberation Front. In August 2007, he announced that he would be launching the Animal Liberation Project, alongside People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.


title: Benjamin Zephaniah

text: Zephaniah has spoken extensively about his personal experiences of anti-Black racism in Britain and has incorporated his experiences in much of his written work.


title: Benjamin Zephaniah

text: In 2012, Zephaniah has worked with anti-racism organisation Newham Monitoring Project, with whom he made a video, and Tower Hamlets Summer University about the impact of Olympic policing on black communities.


title: Benjamin Zephaniah

text: In 2003, Zephaniah was offered appointment as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire, but publicly rejected the honour. In a subsequent article for "The Guardian" he elaborated upon his reaction to learning about being considered for the award and his reasons for rejecting it: "Me? I thought, OBE me? Up yours, I thought. I get angry when I hear that word 'empire'; it reminds me of slavery, it reminds of thousands of years of brutality, it reminds me of how my foremothers were raped and my forefathers brutalised... Benjamin Zephaniah OBE – no way Mr Blair, no way Mrs Queen. I am profoundly anti-empire."


title: Benjamin Zephaniah

text: Zephaniah has spoken in favour of a British Republic and the dis-establishment of the crown. In 2015 he called for Welsh and Cornish to be taught in English schools, saying: "Hindi, Chinese and French are taught [in schools], so why not Welsh? And why not Cornish? They're part of our culture."


title: Benjamin Zephaniah

text: In 2012, Zephaniah joined Amnesty International in speaking out against homophobia in Jamaica, saying: "For many years Jamaica was associated with freedom fighters and liberators, so it hurts when I see that the home of my parents is now associated with the persecution of people because of their sexual orientation."


title: Benjamin Zephaniah

text: In 2016, Zephaniah curated "We Are All Human", an exhibition at the Southbank Centre presented by the Koestler Trust which exhibited art works by prisoners, detainees and ex-offenders.


title: Benjamin Zephaniah

text: Zephaniah is a supporter of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and has joined demonstrations calling for an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands, describing the activism as the "Anti Apartheid movement". He is also a supporter of the BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) movement.


title: Benjamin Zephaniah

text: Zephaniah self-identifies as an anarchist. He appeared in literature to support changing the British electoral system from first-past-the-post to alternative vote for electing members of parliament to the House of Commons in the Alternative Vote referendum in 2011. In a 2017 interview, commenting on the ongoing Brexit negotiations, Zephaniah stated that "For left-wing reasons, I think we should leave the EU but the way that we're leaving is completely wrong".


title: Benjamin Zephaniah

text: In December 2019, along with 42 other leading cultural figures, Zephaniah signed a letter endorsing the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn's leadership in the 2019 general election. The letter stated that "Labour's election manifesto under Jeremy Corbyn's leadership offers a transformative plan that prioritises the needs of people and the planet over private profit and the vested interests of a few."


title: Benjamin Zephaniah

text: Zephaniah won the BBC Young Playwright's Award. He has been awarded honorary doctorates by the University of North London (in 1998), the University of Central England (in 1999), Staffordshire University (in 2001), London South Bank University (in 2003), the University of Exeter and the University of Westminster (in 2006).


title: Benjamin Zephaniah

text: On 17 July 2008, Zephaniah received an honorary doctorate from the University of Birmingham. He was listed at 48 in "The Times" list of 50 greatest postwar writers.


title: Benjamin Zephaniah

text: He has released several albums of original music. He was awarded Best Original Song in the Hancocks 2008, Talkawhile Awards for Folk Music (as voted by members of Talkawhile.co.uk) for his version of "Tam Lyn Retold" recorded with The Imagined Village. He collected the Award live at The Cambridge Folk Festival on 2 August 2008 and described himself as a "Rasta Folkie".


title: Benjamin Zephaniah

text: Zephaniah lived for many years in East London but in 2008 began dividing his time between a village near Spalding, Lincolnshire and Beijing in China. He is a keen language learner and has studied Mandarin Chinese for over a decade.


title: Benjamin Zephaniah

text: In May 2018, in an interview of BBC Radio Five Live, Zephaniah admitted that he had been violent to a former partner, confessing to having hit her. During the admission, he said: "The way I treated some of my girlfriends was terrible. At one point I was violent. I was never like one of these persons who have a girlfriend, who'd constantly beat them, but I could lose my temper sometimes."


title: Benjamin Zephaniah

text: "There was one girlfriend that I had, and I actually hit her a couple of times, and as I got older I really regretted it. It burned my conscience so badly. It really ate at me, you know. And I'm a meditator. It got in the way of my meditation."Zephaniah's family were Christian but he became a Rastafari at a young age. He gave up smoking cannabis in his thirties.


title: Brian George

text: Brian George (born 1 July 1952) is a British actor. He is best known for his roles as Pakistani restaurateur Babu Bhatt in "Seinfeld" (1989–1998), the Indian gynecologist father of Raj Koothrappali in "The Big Bang Theory" (2007–2019), the voice of Chutney in "Father of the Pride" (2004–2005), and spiritual guide Guru Pathik in "" (2005–2008).


title: Brian George

text: George was born on 1 July 1952 in Jerusalem to Jewish parents of Baghdadi Jewish (Iraqi Jewish) descent, who had immigrated to Israel. His father was born in Lebanon and grew up in Bombay. His mother was from India and has part Indian ancestry. A year after his birth, the family moved from Israel to London and then, in 1966, to Toronto, Ontario, Canada. George is the youngest of four siblings.


title: Brian George

text: He attended an all-boys school in London but made the switch to a public co-ed high school when the family moved to Toronto. He attended the University of Toronto, where he was active in theatre productions. He left before graduation and formed a theatre group. When it failed to succeed, he moved on to join the Second City, where he trained with John Candy, among others.


title: Brian George

text: George appeared as a United Nations secretary in "", as Julian Bashir's father in the "" episode "Doctor Bashir, I Presume?", and on a recurring basis as Raj's father in "The Big Bang Theory". In 2006, he landed a recurring role as Sasan's father Omid in "So NoTORIous". He also provided the voice of Bob Fish in the last two series of "Bob and Margaret".


title: Brian George

text: He appeared on numerous other sitcoms, including three episodes of "Seinfeld" as Pakistani immigrant Babu Bhatt, who is deported to Pakistan when Elaine Benes fails to give Jerry Seinfeld his mail, which contains Babu's visa application, in time. George returned in the series' finale. He also appeared in two episodes of "Ellen" as Ranjit, a member of the book club that gathers in Ellen's book shop.


title: Brian George

text: He made a guest appearance in the first season of "Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda" as Wayist religious leader Vikram Singh Khalsa. He also appeared in "One Tree Hill" as Brooke's taxi driver when she goes to launch her clothes line in New York.


title: Brian George

text: George has done voiceover work in animated shows such as "" (as musician turned gangster Jimmy "The Jazzman" Peake); "Handy Manny"; "Kim Possible" as antagonist Duff Killigan, a Scotsman who uses exploding golf balls when attacking Kim and Ron Stoppable, Kim's sidekick; "" as Guru Pathik; "Batman Beyond"; "Justice League" (voicing Parasite, in a style similar to the first voice actor of Parasite, Brion James), Morgan Edge and President George W. Bush), "MASK", "Invader Zim", and Jedi Master Ki-Adi Mundi in Season 2 of "". He has also appeared in video games like "", "Baldur's Gate", "Ultimate Spider-Man", "Mass Effect 3", "Everquest II" and "Final Fantasy XIV". Early in his acting career, he was among the cast of 1985's "The Care Bears Movie", and made guest appearances in the Canadian television series "The Edison Twins", "The Littlest Hobo", "Comedy Factory" and "King of Kensington".


title: Brian George

text: He also took over the voice of Bob Fish in the Anglo-Canadian animated comedy series "Bob and Margaret" and Pugg in the 1993 revival series of "The Pink Panther". He played a guru in the film "Inspector Gadget" who trains with Inspector Gadget.


title: Brian George

text: He also made a small guest appearance in the second season of "The Mentalist" in episode 16 entitled "Code Red". He played a professor working at the Northern California Technology Institute.


title: Brian George

text: His other appearances include the role of Mr. Pashmutt on "Desperate Housewives" (in the 2005 episode "You Could Drive a Person Crazy"), Ali on "American Dad!" (in the 2005 episode "") and Captain Barbossa in "Kingdom Hearts II" and "" and "". He also appeared on "The 4400" in the third-season episode "The Starzl Mutation". Also appeared in the St. Valentine's Day episode of "Grey's Anatomy" as a carrier waiter in love with another patient.


title: Brian George

text: He also voiced Sahin the Falcon and Stuart Black in "Age of Empires III". He plays a short tempered convenience store owner in the 2001 film "Ghost World". He also plays the role of "Iqbal" in the 2006 film "Employee of the Month".


title: Brian George

text: He played "Pushpop", an Indian ice cream vendor, in the 2001 film "Bubble Boy". He also played the culturally diverse (Sikh-Catholic-Muslim mix with Jewish in-laws) bartender who counselled the priest played by Edward Norton through a crisis of faith in the 2000 film "Keeping the Faith". In the 2008 indie romantic comedy "Shades of Ray", he played the overbearing Pakistani father to a half-Pakistani, half-Caucasian (Zachary Levi) in the midst of questioning his prior policy of only dating white women.


title: Brian George

text: He also was the foster father of Ricky in the television series "The Secret Life of the American Teenager".


title: Brian George

text: In "The Penguins of Madagascar", George guest stars as the zoo doctor in "Needle Point", "I Was a Penguin Zombie", "Operation: Cooties", "Love Hurts", and "I Know Why the Caged Bird Goes Insane".


title: Brian George

text: He also appeared on Disney Channel show "That's So Raven" as Dr. Sleevemore, a "psychic doctor" who treats Raven's vision-related problems. He appeared in 2 episodes.


title: Brian George

text: He also appeared on the Disney Channel show "Phineas and Ferb" on the hour long special "Summer Belongs To You" as Uncle Sabu, voiced Mr. Kumar on the Disney Junior show "Handy Manny", and voiced a character on the Disney Channel show "Mickey Mouse".


title: Brian George

text: He regularly voiced several characters on DC Nation's "", including Appa Ali Apsa, LANOS, and Brother Warth.


title: Brian George

text: He also appeared in the first episode of "Beware the Batman", "Hunted", as the villain Professor Pyg, and in "" as Sly's ancestor, Salim Al-Kupar.


title: Brian George

text: In 2013, George took up a recurring role in "Once Upon a Time in Wonderland" as an unnamed prisoner who is later revealed to be the Sultan of Agrabah and father of the show's principal antagonist: Jafar.


title: Brian George

text: He guest starred in "SpongeBob SquarePants" in the episode "Drive Happy" as Coupe, an arrogant and sarcastic sentient car that SpongeBob buys.


title: Brian George

text: After 12 years, he reprised his role as Doctor Sleevmore in the "That's So Raven" spin-off "Raven's Home" for a three episode special.


title: Infineon Technologies

text: Infineon Technologies AG is a German semiconductor manufacturer founded in 1999, when the semiconductor operations of the former parent company Siemens AG were spun off. Infineon has about 50,280 employees and is one of the ten largest semiconductor manufacturers worldwide. In fiscal year 2021, the company achieved sales of €11.06 billion. Infineon bought Cypress Semiconductor in April 2020.


title: Infineon Technologies

text: Infineon markets semiconductors and systems for automotive, industrial, and multimarket sectors, as well as chip card and security products. Infineon has subsidiaries in the US in Milpitas, California, and in the Asia-Pacific region, in Singapore and Tokyo, Japan.


title: Infineon Technologies

text: Infineon has a number of facilities in Europe, one in Dresden. Infineon's high power segment is in Warstein, Germany; Villach and Graz in Austria; Cegléd in Hungary; and Italy. It also runs R&D centers in France, Singapore, Romania, Taiwan, UK, Ukraine and India, as well as fabrication units in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and China. There's also a Shared Service Center in Maia, Portugal.


title: Infineon Technologies

text: In 2010, a proxy contest broke out in advance of the impending shareholders' meeting over whether board member Klaus Wucherer would be allowed to step into the chairman's office upon the retirement of the then-current chairman Max Dietrich Kley.


title: Infineon Technologies

text: Infineon provides semiconductor products for use in powertrains (engine and transmission control), comfort electronics (e.g., steering, shock absorbers, air conditioning) as well as in safety systems (ABS, airbags, ESP). The product portfolio includes microcontrollers, power semiconductors and sensors. In fiscal year 2018 (ending September), sales amounted to €3,284 million for the ATV segment.


title: Infineon Technologies

text: The industrial division of the company includes power semiconductors and modules which are used for generation, transmission and consumption of electrical energy. Its application areas include control of electric drives for industrial applications and household appliances, modules for renewable energy production, conversion and transmission. This segment achieved sales of €1,323 million in fiscal year 2018.


title: Infineon Technologies

text: The division Power & Sensor Systems sums up the business with semiconductor components for efficient power management or high-frequency applications. Those find application in lighting management systems and LED lighting, power supplies for servers, PCs, notebooks and consumer electronics, custom devices for peripheral devices, game consoles, applications in medical technology, high-frequency components having a protective function for communication and tuner systems and silicon MEMS microphones. In fiscal year 2018 PSS generated €2,318 million.


title: Infineon Technologies

text: The CSS business provides microcontrollers for mobile phone SIM cards, payment cards, security chips and chip-based solutions for passports, identity cards and other official documents. Infineon delivers a significant number of chips for the new German identity card. In addition, CSS provides solutions for applications with high security requirements such as pay television and Trusted Computing. CSS achieved €664 million in fiscal year 2018. ""Infineon is the number 1 in embedded security"" (IHS, 2016 – IHS Embedded Digital Security Report).


title: Infineon Technologies

text: The former Memory Products division was carved out in 2006 as Infineon's subsidiary Qimonda AG, of which Infineon last held a little over three-quarters. At its height Qimonda employed about 13,500 people; it was listed on the New York Stock Exchange until it filed for bankruptcy with the district court in Munich in January 2009.


title: Infineon Technologies

text: On 7 July 2009, Infineon Technologies AG agreed by contract with the U.S. investor Golden Gate Capital on the sale of its Wireline Communications for €250 million. The resulting company was named Lantiq and had around 1,000 employees. It was acquired by Intel in 2015 for US$345 million.


title: Infineon Technologies

text: On 31 January 2011, the sale of the business segment of wireless solutions to Intel was completed for US$1.4 billion. The resulting new company had approximately 3,500 employees and operated as Intel Mobile Communications (IMC). The smartphone modem business of IMC was announced to be acquired by Apple Inc. in 2019.


title: Infineon Technologies

text: Infineon Technologies agreed on 20 August 2014 to buy the International Rectifier Corporation (IR) for about $3 billion, one third by cash and two-thirds by credit line. The acquisition of International Rectifier was officially closed on 13 January 2015.


title: Infineon Technologies

text: In July 2016, Infineon announced it agreed to buy the North Carolina-based company Wolfspeed from Cree Inc. for $850 million in cash. The deal was however stopped due to US security concerns.


title: Infineon Technologies

text: In October 2016, Infineon acquired the company Innoluce which has expertise in MEMS and LiDAR systems for use in autonomous cars. The MEMS lidar system can scan up to 5,000 data points a second with a range of 250 meters with an expected unit cost of $250 in mass production.


title: Infineon Technologies

text: In March 2018, Infineon Technologies AG sold its RF Power Business Unit to Cree Inc. for €345 Million.


title: Infineon Technologies

text: In June 2019, Infineon announced it would acquire Cypress Semiconductors for $9.4 billion. The acquisition closed on 17 April 2020.


title: Infineon Technologies

text: The board of directors consists of Jochen Hanebeck (Chief Executive Officer), Helmut Gassel (Chief Marketing Officer), Rutger Wijburg (Chief Operations Officer), Constanze Hufenbecher (Chief Digital Transformation Officer) and Sven Schneider (Chief Financial Officer).


title: Infineon Technologies

text: In 2004–2005, an investigation was carried out into a DRAM price fixing conspiracy during 1999–2002 that damaged competition and raised PC prices. As a result, Samsung paid a $300 million fine, Hynix paid $185 million, Infineon: $160 million.


title: Infineon Technologies

text: In October 2017, it was reported that a flaw, dubbed ROCA, in a code library developed by Infineon, which had been in widespread use in security products such as smartcards and TPMs, enabled private keys to be inferred from public keys. As a result, all systems depending upon the privacy of such keys were vulnerable to compromise, such as identity theft or spoofing. Affected systems include 750,000 Estonian national ID cards, 300,000 Slovak national ID cards, and computers that use Microsoft BitLocker drive encryption in conjunction with an affected TPM. Microsoft released a patch that works around the flaw via Windows Update immediately after the disclosure.


title: Should I Stay or Should I Go

text: "Should I Stay or Should I Go" is a song by English punk rock band the Clash, from their album "Combat Rock", written in 1981 and featuring Mick Jones on lead vocals. It was released in 1982 as a double A-sided single alongside "Straight to Hell", performing modestly on global music charts. In the United States, "Should I Stay or Should I Go" charted on the "Billboard" Hot 100 without reaching the top 40. The song received greater attention nearly a decade later as the result of an early-1990s Levi's jeans commercial, leading to the song's 1991 re-release, which topped the UK Singles Chart and reached the top ten in New Zealand and many European charts. The song was listed in "Rolling Stone"s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in 2004.


title: Should I Stay or Should I Go

text: Many rumours have arisen about the song's content, such as Jones' impending dismissal from the Clash or the tempestuous personal relationship between Jones and American singer Ellen Foley. "Should I Stay or Should I Go" was thought to be written by Jones about Foley, who sang the backing vocals on Meat Loaf's "Bat Out of Hell" LP. However, Jones himself said:


title: Should I Stay or Should I Go

text: It wasn't about anybody specific and it wasn't pre-empting my leaving The Clash. It was just a good rockin' song, our attempt at writing a classic... When we were just playing, that was the kind of thing we used to like to play. – Mick Jones, 1991


title: Should I Stay or Should I Go

text: On the spur of the moment I said 'I'm going to do the backing vocals in Spanish' ... We needed a translator so Eddie Garcia, the tape operator, called his mother in Brooklyn Heights and read her the lyrics over the phone and she translated them. But Eddie and his mum are Ecuadorian, so it's Ecuadorian Spanish that me and Joe Ely are singing on the backing vocals. – Joe Strummer, 1991


title: Should I Stay or Should I Go

text: The song had various single releases. In North America, the American record label Epic Records released one edition with "Inoculated City" as its B-side in May 1982. Another edition by Epic with "First Night Back in London" as its B-side, released in July 1982, peaked at number 45 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 chart on the week ending 18 September 1982, the edition's tenth week on the chart. Another edition by Epic with "Cool Confusion" as its B-side, released in February 1983, peaked at number 50 in the "Billboard" Hot 100. Elsewhere, the international record label CBS Records released the song in September 1982 as a double A-side with "Straight to Hell". The double A-side release peaked at number 17 in the UK Single Chart on the week ending 17 October 1982, the release's fifth week on the chart.


title: Should I Stay or Should I Go

text: Historically, the band rejected companies' requests to use their songs to advertise products, like Dr Pepper and British Telecom. Then in the early 1990s the company Levi's asked the band members' permission to use the song for a jeans commercial for the British audience. Despite the band often prioritising "creativity and idealism over commercial exploitation", the band members left the decision to the main songwriter Mick Jones, who approved the permission, rationalising that Levi's jeans had been part of the rock music culture rather than something to "object on moral grounds". The song was played for the Levi's commercial and then reissued on 18 February 1991 as a single, a decade after its original release, reaching number one on the UK Singles Chart. It became the band's only number-one single on the UK Chart. In that same year, Jones told "NME" journalist James Brown that he included BAD II's "Rush" in the single re-release to promote his newer band.


title: Should I Stay or Should I Go

text: A live recording of the song was included on the album "Live at Shea Stadium", which featured a concert performed on 13 October 1982 in New York. The song's music video from that performance was included on the DVD "The Clash Live: Revolution Rock". Both discs were released on 6 October 2008.


title: Should I Stay or Should I Go

text: "NME" journalist Adrian Thrills in 1982 gave the double A-side single release "Straight to Hell"/"Should I Stay or Should I Go" four-and-a-half stars out of five. Despite "Should I Stay or Should I Go" having received more radio airplay, Thrills stated that the single's other A-side track "Straight to Hell" was "the reaffirmation that there is still life in The Clash."


title: Should I Stay or Should I Go

text: In November 2004, the song was ranked number 228 on "Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" list. In 2009 it was ranked 42nd on VH1's program "100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs".


title: Should I Stay or Should I Go

text: Scholar Theodore Gracyk wrote in 2007 that the song "is not [as] overtly political" as most of the band's other songs, especially from the album "Combat Rock", which carries the song. Gracyk further wrote that new listeners familiar with and praising the song and then wanting to buy "Combat Rock" or one of compilation albums containing the song would be surprised by the band's "strong critique of dominant Western values." "Vulture" writer Bill Wyman in 2017 ranked the song number 19 of all the band's 139 songs.


title: Should I Stay or Should I Go

text: Twitter users accused One Direction's 2012 hit single, "Live While We're Young", of copying the song's opening guitar riff, which caused controversy. According to Alexis Petridis of "The Guardian", the guitar is played thrice between the riff with the plectrum stroking the strings, while it is pressed. One note in the chord is changed, which Petridis surmised was probably to avoid paying any royalty to the Clash.


title: Should I Stay or Should I Go

text: The video for the song was made by Don Letts and featured Joe Strummer in sunglasses and a Davy Crockett hat and Mick Jones in a red jumpsuit and beret. The band were filmed driving to a gig in an open-topped Cadillac.


title: Should I Stay or Should I Go

text: The song is heard in "28 Days" (2000), "Rugrats Go Wild" (2003), and "Iron Man 2" (2010). It is also featured in the first season (2016) of the Netflix series "Stranger Things", being a significant part of the storyline. It makes an appearance in the video game "Far Cry 4" as well.


title: The Girls Next Door

text: The Girls Next Door (also known as The Girls of the Playboy Mansion) is a reality television series which focuses on the lives of Hugh Hefner's girlfriends who live with him at the Playboy Mansion. The series was created by executive producer Kevin Burns and Hefner, founder of "Playboy" magazine. The series premiered on the E! cable network on August 7, 2005 and ran for 6 seasons. The first five seasons centered around then-girlfriends, Holly Madison, Bridget Marquardt and Kendra Wilkinson. The sixth and final season premiered on October 11, 2009 and introduced Hefner's new girlfriends, Crystal Harris, who eventually went on to marry Hefner, and twins Kristina and Karissa Shannon.


title: The Girls Next Door

text: The series focuses on the lives of Hugh Hefner's girlfriends who live with him at the infamous Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles. Hefner was often on the show along with various Playmates and other celebrities. The series not only showcases events at the mansion (e.g. Fight Night, Fourth of July celebration, the midsummer celebration), but also sheds light on other "Playboy" related events such as the Playboy Jazz Festival at the Hollywood Bowl, Playmate test shoots at Playboy Studio West, Operation Playmate, birthday parties, and more significantly, the personalities and real lives of each of his girlfriends.


title: The Girls Next Door

text: Kevin Burns approached Hefner in early 2005, which resulted in a pilot called "Hef's World" being filmed. This followed "Hef, his girlfriends, and friends contrasted with the staff". When presented to E!, they told him to go back and interview each of the girlfriends to "see what you can get", which resulted in the premise shifting from Hefner to life in the mansion from a female's perspective.


title: The Girls Next Door

text: The first five seasons centered around then-girlfriends, Holly Madison, Bridget Marquardt and Kendra Wilkinson.


title: The Girls Next Door

text: In October 2008, Hefner's relationships with Madison ended for unconfirmed reasons (though the final episode of the fifth season discusses her unhappiness at the mansion in not being able to get married or have a family with Hefner) and Wilkinson left to continue her new relationship with football player Hank Baskett. Marquardt also temporarily left at the same time to film "Bridget's Sexiest Beaches" for The Travel Channel, but in January 2009 ended her relationship with Hefner and moved out of the mansion permanently.


title: The Girls Next Door

text: Despite the end of Hefner's relationship with Madison, Marquardt and Wilkinson, all three were contractually committed to a sixth season. Madison indicated to "Life & Style" magazine, the manner in which their contractual obligations would be fulfilled was still unknown at the time, but that they were still filming material together. However, the focus of the show shifted to Hefner's new girlfriends, 23-year-old Crystal Harris, and 19-year-old twins Kristina and Karissa Shannon.


title: The Girls Next Door

text: The sixth season was also originally set to feature Anna Sophia Berglund and Melissa Taylor as Hefner's second and third girlfriends, with the Shannon twins relegated to fourth and fifth position – according to a post by the company responsible for the show's opening sequence, that shows an incomplete rough cut of the new intro for the show.


title: The Girls Next Door

text: Madison did appear in the first two episodes of the season, and also appeared with Marquardt and Wilkinson in the episode "The Showering Inferno", which focused more on them than Harris and the twins.


title: The Girls Next Door

text: "The Girls Next Door" was an instant hit for "E!" and quickly had its first season expanded from eight to fifteen episodes. The second season premiere was watched by 1.6 million viewers (which set a 3-year record) and then topped itself by having 2.16 million viewers for the third season premiere – the second highest season premiere ever on the "E!" network.


title: The Girls Next Door

text: The initial success of the show was so great that "Playboy" published a nude pictorial of Madison, Marquardt and Wilkinson on the November 2005 issue. This later led to two more pictorials in September 2006 (to celebrate the premiere of the second season) and March 2008 (celebrating them being voted fourth in "Playboy"s annual "Sexiest Celebrities" online poll).


title: The Girls Next Door

text: Despite starting with the highest rating season premiere in the series' history, the sixth season saw ratings drop from 2.4 million watching the premiere, to only 960,000 watching the fourth episode only three weeks later. Ratings then dropped even further to 919,000 viewers only five weeks after the premiere.


title: The Girls Next Door

text: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment released the first five seasons on DVD in Region 1 between 2006 and 2009. These releases have been discontinued and are now out-of-print.


title: The Girls Next Door

text: In March 2011, it was announced that MPI Home Video had acquired the rights to the series. They subsequently released season 6 on DVD in July 19, 2011. They also re-released the first five seasons on the same day.


title: The Girls Next Door

text: On November 29, 2011, MPI Home Video released "The Girls Next Door: Complete Collection" on DVD in Region 1. The 17-disc set features all 91 episodes of the series as well as many bonus features.