If so, what was their length, roughly, compared to the modern definition of a second?

I'm curious to know about the peace agreements and arguments for or against the Americans/Soviets deciding to go into the Korean peninsula jointly after WWII. Why split it up, instead of just having the Soviets go in?

Hello Redditors! My friend just recently told me an amazing story and I'd like to look into it more, however they were unable to recall any names to point me in the right direction. I think perhaps the events took place in the Onin War (if not the early Sengoku jidai), but it may have possibly happened during the Genpei War too, as I believe the monks mentioned may be sohei monks and my friend said this was definitely before the Sengoku period. As this story was told to me by word of mouth in a state of inebriation from both parties, I'm certain I flubbed up some parts of the tale. Please, if any part of if sounds familiar, I'd love to hear it! This story was really interesting but as my only keywords to search were "yari", "seppuku", and "monk" I've gotten only as far as research above.

The story is such:

A highwayman robbed travelers as they crossed his bridge, forcing them to give up either their belongings or their lives. Upkeep of the bridges and roads were a costly expense you understand. As he was 7 feet tall and adept at wielding a yari (spear), they usually complied. One day a monk half his size and twice his age walked across the bridge, and the highwayman asked for his toll. This monk, however, calmly refused. So the highwayman asked again, and threatened the monk. Again he was refused. The highwayman readied, and swung his yari towards the monk. It couldn't be said what happened next, but the fight ended quickly. The highwayman suddenly found himself in the ditch below in an intense amount of pain from a broken leg accrued from his fall over the side of the bridge. Surprisingly, the monk walked down into the ditch next to the highwayman and set up camp, intending to nurse the highwayman's injury. The highwayman was amazed by the monk and asked how the old man had done that and why he was nursing him. In return the monk asked why the highwayman could not use his talent (for the monk saw the man was gifted with his yari, it just so happened that he himself was better) for the good of the people. The highwayman admitted he did not get along well with the people, and then asked if the monk may take him on as his student. The monk agreed, and once the former-highwayman was fit enough, the two men traveled together as master and student.

Eventually the old monk passed away and the young monk turned to his master's master for further teaching and guidance. Now this was a time of martial turmoil in Japan, and while the monks tried to remain neutral, eventually they were forced to voice allegiance to one side or another. The monk himself relented and agreed to train a small group of warriors from a small clan of no consequence. Unfortunately, this clan's allegiance was on the losing side. The opposing army had arrived, and this small castle had but a score of men to defend it. The monk looked to his master and asked what could be done. The master answered that they were indeed going to lose, but that he refused to lose and give their enemy the glory of that victory. The master ordered the monk to defend the castle, to hold the gate, so that he may honorably commit seppuku (ritualistic suicide).

The monk exited the castle, walked a short distance from the gate, firmly held the pole of his yari in hand, and waited for the army. They stopped a distance away from the monk, perhaps they anticipated a trap. The general ordered the monk to move, and when he did not, sent a single warrior to dispatch of him. As the enemy warrior confronted the monk and began drawing his katana, the warrior was cut down swiftly by the monk. He resumed his posture, yari pole planted firmly in his befire him. Surprised, but not deterred, the general sent three more men to take on the monk together. With swords drawn, the warriors confronted the monk and again they were swiftly cut down. The monk again planted his yari at his feet before him and waited. So the general sent thirty warriors for certainly this monk could not be allowed to live. The troop of men roared towards the monk as they ran to mow him down, they surrounded him and attacked. While an average man may have been lost amongst the writhing mass of armor and steel, the monk stood several heads taller than the attacking warriors, and so the army saw clearly the monk with the yari who swung and struck down their fellow warriors. After several minutes, the fighting abated with the warriors slain at the monks feet. Again, he planted the butt of his yari on the ground before him, waiting. The general was enraged, the monk MUST be killed, for it was was an insult and humiliation that a single man stood between his army and his mission. The general bellowed, ordering the whole force of his army to strike. And not a single man moved. The warriors watched the monk who stood calmly ahead of them, the same man that had seemingly easily cut down their comrades just moments before, and we're terrified. The general fumed, but not to be undone, called forth his regiment of long-bowmen. They trepidatiously lined up to the front on the force. The monk gripped his yari and further planted it, leaning forward on the pole and waiting. He would not move for this army. The general ordered the bowmen to aim, draw, and loose their volley of arrows, and watched as they rained down on the monk. The monk remained standing.

It took some time ,and a fair bit of courage, but eventually the army again confronted the monk and saw that he was dead. His body was riddled with arrows, and dark blood pooled at his feet to mingle with the rest, but still he stood with his yari as if to defy the army even as his spirit ascended. When the army finally took the castle, the general saw that the castle's lord had successfully committed seppuku, the time granted by the lone monk even in his death.

EDIT: Thanks for all the informative and enlightening answers!

I've noticed that sometimes people take their holy books so seriously that they'll try(and fail) to make the world match their stories... Did the Wright Brothers face any such opposition with their invention of something that could potentially go higher than the tower of babel?

On a side note, I wonder how many people think the ISS and Apollo missions were somehow satanic... Oh well, that's a question for a different sub.

Thanks in advance!

Were there bars or inns back then that you could go to for alcohol? Would you have to buy jugs of wine yourself?

For context, I'm trying to write a story about poets that's inspired by ancient China, so info about this sort of thing during any dynasty stretching from like 1,000 BC to 1,000 AD would be helpful.

This might be a simple yes/no question.

Does the US regret unleashing Fat Boy and Little Man on Hiroshima and Nagasaki? I understand that both the US and Japan were at war and the two atomic bombs possibly saved millions of American lives, but again there was a price.

What did the President Truman or the pilot of Enola Gay or any American or Japanese citizen think of the two bombs after seeing it's destructive results?

Hi! For some time, I've been wondering: why is it that Alexander the Great went as far as the northwestern parts of today's India with his conquests but never conquered anyithing within Europe, except the Balkan peninsula? Did he ever try taking central Europe? If so, why did it fail? If not, then why not? Thank you for the answers! (Sorry if the english is not perfect)

Please, before you assume this is some kind of shitpost, I'm serious. I've read some fringe articles on it since I'm obsessed with Vincent, but I was wondering if there's any true evidence towards this theory? I read about how infatuated he was with Gauguin and all that and I was just curious so I did a google. But I haven't seen any definitive evidence. I was curious if anyone had. Thanks!

Viking being the first thing that came to my mind. I just wonder if there were similar high energy "super foods" used for travelling in medieval and ancient times and what are the differences and similarites between them.

Languages derived from Latin in many places where Latin was a major language. This would logically extend to North Africa, seeing as Latin was the prominent language in most of it for hundreds of years. So over time, did a distinct North African Romance language develop? If so, how long after the Arab conquest did it last?