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http://givemejapan.wordpress.comThe blog is moving from Weebly to Wordpress for the sake of being able to update more often.
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Hi everyone! It's been awhile I know...
Anyway today I would like to talk to you about a program that is on the NHK network. Even if you do not have this channel on your TV you can find the episodes on Youtube. This Program is called Begin Japanolgy. I like it a lot because not only does it cover general information about Japanese life it also goes into aspects of Japanese life that you may not have thought about before. The episodes are about 25 minutes long and are very in depth but enjoyable. You may have noticed I used some of their videos in previous posts. Here is some info on the host of the show: Peter Barakan, Broadcaster Born in London in 1951, Peter earned a degree in Japanese from the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies. An expert on diverse forms of popular music, Peter is also a well-known TV and radio presenter. He has lived in Japan for 40 years and has a deep understanding of the language and culture. So I highly reccomend this show, You can find the broadcast times here, or just check it out on youtube. Kendo (剣道), meaning "Way of The Sword", is a modern Japanese sport/martial art, which descended from swordsmanship (kenjutsu) and uses bamboo swords (shinai), and protective armour (bōgu). Today, it is widely practiced within Japan and many other nations across the world. Kendo is a physically and mentally challenging activity that combines martial arts practices and values with sport-like strenuous physical activity. From: Wikipedia A very informative Kendo Video:PHOTO BY NATHAN HILL
“Koinobori” or carp streamers, flutter above a river in Ichinoseki, Iwate Prefecture, on Saturday morning, complemented by cherry blossoms in full bloom on the banks. The carp is a symbol of strength and the streamers can be seen nationwide ahead of Children’s Day next month. From Japan Today If you are interested in making Koinobori I found a really nice site that has intructions on making easy one: http://squirrellyminds.com/2013/05/03/koinobori-japanese-flying-carp-diy/ Enjoy! The kimono (着物?)[1] is a Japanese traditional garment. The word "kimono", which literally means a "thing to wear" (ki "wear" and mono "thing"), has come to denote these full-length robes. The standard plural of the word kimono in English is kimonos, but the unmarked Japanese plural kimono is also sometimes used. Kimono are T-shaped, straight-lined robes worn so that the hem falls to the ankle, with attached collars and long, wide sleeves. Kimono are wrapped around the body, always with the left side over the right (except when dressing the dead for burial) and secured by a sash called an obi, which is tied at the back. Kimono are generally worn with traditional footwear (especially zōri or geta) and split-toe socks (tabi). Today, kimono are most often worn by women, and on special occasions. Traditionally, unmarried women wore a style of kimono called furisode,[5] with almost floor-length sleeves, on special occasions. A few older women and even fewer men still wear the kimono on a daily basis. Men wear the kimono most often at weddings, tea ceremonies, and other very special or very formal occasions. Professional sumo wrestlers are often seen in the kimono because they are required to wear traditional Japanese dress whenever appearing in public. From Wikipedia A very good informational Kimono video:A video showing some kimonos seen in Kyoto:A video of a tour of a very nice traditional Japanese House. Japan’s largest organized crime group, the Yamaguchi-gumi, recently launched its own website. But if you're hoping to see guys with crazy tattoos, dramatic gun battles, bloody sword fights, and fingers being chopped off — and who isn't? — it may disappoint. The Yakuza Theme song: The Yakuza website, and all information was from Here.
A very interesting Documentary (BBC) talking about the declining birth rate in Japan. Enjoy! Takasu Genbei A famous bake-neko story involves a man named Takasu Genbei, whose pet cat of many years went missing just as his mother's personality changed completely. The woman shunned company and took her meals alone in her room, and when the curious family peered in on her, they saw not a human being but a feline monster in the old lady's clothes, chewing on animal carcasses. Takasu, with much reluctance, slew what looked like his mother, and after a day had passed the body turned back into the same pet cat that had gone missing. After that Takasu miserably tore up the tatami mats and the floorboards in his mother's room, only to find the old woman's bones hidden there, gnawed clean of flesh. Soy ShopAccording to one story, there was once a soy sauce shop that kept losing hand towels. The shop owner heard loud music one night and decided to investigate – and lo and behold, there was a clowder of cats having a grand old time, and in the midst of it all was his pet cat, apparently a bakeneko, dancing on its hind legs and wearing a towel on its head. Katsushige NabeshimaKatsushige Nabeshima, a daimyo during the early Edo period, was once targeted by a seven-tailed bakeneko. The bakeneko shapeshifted into the daimyo’s concubine, but a retainer saw through its disguise and foiled the attempt. For his troubles, the retainer was cursed, and no male heirs were born in his family again. Mononoke Episodes 10-12
My personal favorite is the bakeneko in the manga “Mononoke” (モノノ怪) by Yaeko Ninagawa, which was born of the grudge poured into a kitten by a woman that was kidnapped, raped, imprisoned, and finally discarded in a well like trash. Needless to say this particular bakeneko was a badass and terrorized the wrongdoers mercilessly. Set in a time decidedly later than the previous arcs—implied to be in the 1920s—the Medicine Seller boards a train with several other passengers. Unfortunately, the train hits a ghostly girl on the tracks, and six passengers and the Medicine Seller are locked in the first car. The Medicine Seller questions the passengers to reveal a dark connection between them, shedding light on the murder of a young newspaper reporter. At the end of the episode the woman's spirit has its revenge, the passengers are saved, and the Medicine Seller challenges the audience to reveal to him their Truth and Reason, vowing to continue hunting mononoke as long as they roam the world. |