Japanese Culture Teaching Notes

INDEX

2006-02-04T11:33:00.000-08:00

A Brief History of Japan
Another Look at Early Japanese History

Ninja History
Ninja – Myths and Legends
Ninja - Weaponry

Sumo – the official sport of Japan
The Sumo Topknot – hair styles

Kyudo – Japanese Archery

Karake – A Brief Introduction

Sports Day and Naginata - dancing with swords

Geisha – The Dancers for the Warriors

Burakumin – the unwanted people of Japan

Kabuki – a Brief History
Taiko Drums

Star Festival – July 07
Obon – The Festival for the Dead
Seijinski – January 10: Coming of Age
Children’s Day – May 5th

The Fujieda Daruma – Yakumo Daruma
The Kokeshi Doll – one for every girl
Origami – A Brief History of the Ancient Art of Paper folding
Tatami Mats – I have a love/hate relationship with them

An Interesting Early History of Japan

2006-02-02T18:18:00.000-08:00

Cultures combined in the mists of time

By MICHAEL HOFFMAN

Special to The Japan Times

Adopt "a correct view of history," China and South Korea demand of Japan. Fair enough. We can all agree on the merits of a "correct view" of anything. The difficulty is to define "correct.''

News photo
An artist's impression of four seventh-century Japanese Kentoshi-sen (China-voyage ships) in the East China Sea. Four ships normally set off together for China so they may be able to help each other on the perilous crossing. However, almost a third of those who departed never returned. (Illustration by Kenzo Tanii)

As the intensifying acrimony unfolds over who did what to whom and how horribly, you'd almost think historical relations between the three countries began in 1895, when newly Westernized Japan defeated China in Korea, and ended in 1945 with Japan prostrate and guilty at the end of World War II.

That was a fateful half-century, to be sure. But among ancient nations that have known each other a very, very long time, a "correct view" cannot be a short one.

To get the true flavor of things, we must go back to the beginning. It is hard to believe now, but some day -- in 17 centuries, perhaps? -- Japan's wartime atrocities may seem as remote as, say, Empress Jingu's fourth-century, semi-mythical invasion of the Korean kingdom of Silla, whose king, surrendering in abject terror (says the Japanese version), promised, "Not allowing the helms of our ships to become dry, every spring and every autumn we will send tribute of horse-combs and whips. And, without thinking the sea-distance a trouble, we will pay annual dues of male and female slaves . . . ''

The Chinese had a name for the people of Japan long before the proto-Japanese had one for themselves. It was "Wa" or "Wo," written with a character that means "dwarf."

News photo
Prince Shotoku Taishi, the sixth-century father of Japanese Buddhism brought from China, depicted as a kneeling infant in a Kamakura Period (1192-1333) lacquered wooden carving.

This hints at a perceived racial distinction, a perception supported by modern ethnology. The racial origins of the Japanese remain in dispute, but the complexity of the gene pool is generally acknowledged. Wherever their earliest ancestors may have come from, the Wa, their Chinese observers noted, "are divided into 100 countries. Each year envoys from the Wa bring tribute."

So reads the first known description of Japan in history, written by a Chinese chronicler in A.D. 82, centuries before the Japanese were literate.

The "100 countries" were apparently petty chiefdoms in northern Kyushu, though their locations are in doubt. A century and a half later, a confederacy of some of these chiefdoms was ruled by the famous shaman-queen Himiko, or Pimiko, whose embassy to China in 238 appealed to the Wei Dynasty emperor for help against her hostile neighbor, the "country" of Kunu.

News photo
The priest Kukai (774-835), shown seated on a Chinese chair, visited China in 804 and returned to Japan two years later to propogate esoteric Shingon Buddhism.

The Wei emperor Ming responded: "Herein we address Himiko, queen of Wa, whom we now officially call a friend of Wei. . . . You live very far away across the sea; yet you have sent an embassy with tribute. Your loyalty and filial piety we appreciate exceedingly. We confer upon you, therefore, the title of 'Queen of Wa, friendly to Wei.' "

The Chinese record of the transaction proceeds with an itemized list of gifts the emperor entrusted to Himiko's returning ambassadors -- brocades, tapestries, gold and -- perhaps most precious of all -- 100 bronze mirrors. "You may exhibit them to your countrymen," the emperor concluded, "in order to demonstrate that our country thinks so much of you as to bestow such exquisite gifts upon you."

China was already ancient long before Japan emerged from precivilized infancy. By 5000 B.C., the Chinese were organized in settled farming communities. By 1750 B.C. they had writing and bronze technology. By 700 B.C. they had iron -- iron plows, iron weapons. Japan, all this time and for centuries to come, remained a Stone Age hunting-and-gathering backwater. Pottery is the most distinctive cultural artifact, its characteristic rope-pattern design giving the name Jomon (jomon means "rope-pattern") to the vast stretch of Japanese prehistory that does not draw to a close until the third century B.C.

Similar pottery found in Korea suggests fitful Japanese contact with mainland Asia going back to around 3000 B.C.

News photo
More than any other it was Prince Shotoku Taishi (574-622) -- shown in an ink-on-paper artwork by Kogan Zenji (1748-1821) -- who brought ancient Japan into the orbit of Chinese civilization.

A more significant import was to come: rice. Rice, we learn from the "Cambridge History of Japan," does not grow wild in the archipelago. It arrived, says one theory among many, via Korea from the Yangtze River basin in central China. Though rice was grown here and there by the late Jomon people, it was in the succeeding Yayoi Period (roughly 250 B.C.-A.D. 300) that wet rice cultivation became a way of life, making for the settled communities that are the basic prerequisite for civilization.

The Yayoi Period's creative surge was launched by a wave of Korean immigration that followed Chinese invasions under the imperial Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-A.D. 220). The newcomers brought not only advanced agricultural techniques, but metal culture. Japan's prolonged Stone Age was over at last.

Bronze mirrors such as those conferred upon Himiko, decorated with mythological beasts (azure dragons, white tigers) and inscribed with Chinese poems, fill Yayoi Period burial sites in northern Kyushu. Graves are the temples and art museums of early societies. For centuries in China, mirrors had figured in Taoist rituals to ward off evil spirits. The shaman-chiefs of Wa used them for similar purposes -- and for another as well: as symbols of recognition accorded by that inconceivably marvelous kindgom across the western sea. Chiefs who had them could overawe, overwhelm and overrule those who didn't.

Half a century after Himiko, the Wa were at least important enough to the Wei Dynasty (one of six to fill a vacuum left by the fall of the Han in A.D. 220) to figure in the late-third-century "History of Three Kingdoms," written by Wei historian Chen Shou-yu.

Deriving his information primarily from a Wei embassy to the Wa "country" of Yamatai (Ye-ma-tai in Chinese; its location is a subject of spirited academic controversy), Chen -- in his chapter on "Eastern Barbarians" -- describes a settled, peaceful and productive society: "They are a long-lived race, and persons who have reached 100 are very common. All men of high rank have four or five wives. . . . The women are faithful and not jealous. There is no robbery or theft, and litigation is infrequent. . . . Taxes are collected. There are markets in each province . . . "

However, the Wa had "no oxen, horses . . . or sheep."

After the Wei mission to Yamatai, communication between the two countries lapsed. When it resumed nearly two centuries later, Japan had grown. Known then as Yamato (a native Japanese name whose similarity to Yamatai is apparently coincidental), it was ready to embark on a serious apprenticeship to Chinese civilization -- a civilization that, transplanted eastward, was to attain its full Japanese flowering in eighth-century Nara.

Japan's early development was slowed by the same factor that drives its trade policies today: resource poverty.

With scarcely any iron and (until an eighth-century discovery) no copper at all, a metal culture was beyond its means before Chinese and Korean immigrants arrived to lead the way. The ensuing iron hunger brought Japan into close contact with Korea.

The Korean Peninsula then was divided chiefly among three kingdoms intermittently at war with one another: Kokuri in the north, Paikche in the southwest and Silla in the southeast. A fourth, Mimana, was a sliver of land between Paikche and Silla that may have been controlled directly by Yamato -- if it existed. Scholars are not sure. Early Japanese history is a most uncertain field.

"The country produces iron," wrote Chen, of southern Korea, "and the Wa all pursue and take it."

The official "Nihon Shoki," a Chinese-style (and in fact Chinese-language) history compiled under imperial auspices in A.D. 720, records this snatch of dialogue (dated A.D. 246, but "Nihon Shoki" chronology is notoriously unreliable) between the king of Mimana and a Paikche envoy: "I have always heard," said the king, "that there is an honorable country in the east, but I have had no communication with it, and do not know the way. There is nothing but far seas and towering billows, so that in a large ship, one can hardly communicate."

"Well, then," replied the envoy, "for the present we cannot communicate."

There the matter ended for the time, but a few years later (in 252, says the "Nihon Shoki") the same Paikche envoy is described as regaling his Yamato hosts with tales of an "Iron Mountain" in Korea. This is the prologue to the supposed victorious invasion led, under "divine" protection, by Empress Jingu -- a legendary recasting, say modern scholars, of hazy events that occurred in the late fourth century.

Though evidently powerful, Yamato in its early phase was hardly civilized. We look back at fourth-century Japan and are astonished at how little progress it had made -- and that, roughly 1,000 years after Confucius and the Buddha and the founding of Rome. There are no cities to speak of, no roads or bridges worthy of the name, no writing.

Then came the fifth and sixth centuries, and our astonishment redoubles, for they are all that stand between barbarian Japan and the splendors of the Nara Period (710-794). How did it leap so far, so fast? The answer, in three words, is: China and Korea. More accurately, perhaps: China via Korea.

From bronze mirrors and iron tools, the story now abruptly shifts to literature and religion. The year is 285 according to the "Nihon Shoki"; 405 by one of several modern reckonings. In any case, it was during the reign of Jingu's son Ojin.

"The king of Paikche," says the "Nihon Shoki," "sent A-chik-ki with two quiet horses as tribute." A-chik-ki was a scholar, "able to read the [Chinese] classics."

In such casual terms is the advent of Japanese literacy recorded.

A-chik-ki was succeeded as court teacher by Wang-in, or Wani, of whom the "Nihon Shoki" says, "There was [no book] which he did not thoroughly understand." The guild of scribes he founded, staffed by immigrants, functioned as a court secretariat, keeping government records and drafting correspondence with the only foreign governments of whose existence early Japanese rulers seem aware: the Chinese and the Korean.

"Our land is remote, far across the sea," reads a memorial they wrote for Emperor Yuryaku in 478 to a Chinese court -- one of several Chinese courts, for China was still in some disarray. ". . . Generation after generation our ancestors have paid homage to your court. Your subject, ignorant though he may be, has succeeded to the throne and is fervently devoted to Your Sovereign Majesty. Everything he has is at Your Majesty's disposal . . . "

The obsequious tone is in stark contrast to what was soon to come. Momentous developments lay ahead. China, re-unified in 589 under the Sui Dynasty, regained and then surpassed its ancient Han Era splendor. And Japan's Asuka Enlightenment, occurring almost simultaneously, inspired the breathtaking confidence which emboldened the Prince Regent Shotoku, the leading spirit of the age, to address the Sui emperor as an equal -- "Child of Heaven" to "Child of Heaven."

The Asuka Enlightenment can be summed up in one word: Buddhism. Its introduction to Japan originates in an embassy from Paikche arriving in 552 (538, say some) to request military assistance for its endless wars with Silla. The ambassadors, says the "Nihon Shoki," presented the Emperor Kimmei with "an image of [the Buddha] in gold and copper, several flags and umbrellas, and a number of volumes of sutras."

"This doctrine is amongst all doctrines the most excellent," reads the accompanying memorial. "But it is hard to explain, and hard to comprehend." Comprehended or not, though, "every prayer is fulfilled."

The emperor "leaped for joy," reports the "Nihon Shoki." Still, he hesitated to embrace the "wonderful doctrine." Court factions supported it against other factions that staunchly defended the native gods against it. A brief war settled the issue in 587. The Soga clan, of Korean origin, was victorious, and the Buddhism it patronized was officially adopted. The Asuka-dera Temple built in 596 in a village of that name in present-day Nara Prefecture, was Japan's first large Chinese-style building. Forty-five others followed, built by Korean craftsmen and staffed by Korean priests, before the Asuka Period ended in 645.

Prince Shotoku is best remembered today for his 17 "injunctions," traditionally dated 604. However bland they may sound to us ("Harmony is to be cherished. . . . When an imperial command is given, obey with reverence. . . . Punish that which is evil and encourage that which is good . . . "), their Buddhist and Confucian notions of morality and government represent innovations which the noted British diplomat-historian George Sansom goes so far as to call "revolutionary."

They owe "nothing to indigenous thought," Sansom writes (in "Japan: A Short Cultural History"). "Hidden in these apparently harmless exhortations to governors and governed," he goes on, "is a new view of the state, for while they exact obedience from inferiors to superiors, they insist equally upon the duties of superiors to inferiors, and, what is most significant of all, they enunciate very clearly the theory of a centralized state."

The theory was within a generation to be practice -- or at least the basis for practice. A central bureaucratic, Chinese-style state, Confucian in its identification of the emperor with the Mandate of Heaven (though not in its shielding the emperor from the consequence of misrule -- namely, as Confucius taught, forfeiture of the heavenly mandate) is in fact what emerged from a movement that began in 645 under the name Great Reform.

The palace coup that launched it was a nasty affair, neither Buddhist nor Confucian in its gruesomeness, and one can only wonder what the gentle Shotoku (who died in 622) would have thought of the Soga potentate being hacked to death in the presence of the empress in the name of ideas which he, Shotoku, had propagated.

Be that as it may, the Great Reform marks the beginning of Japan as a state -- rather than a loose assemblage of rival clans.

Prominent among the officials who set it up and made it work (most imperfectly, for Japanese conditions were worlds apart from the Chinese circumstances under which it evolved) were men who had spent decades in China as students in the two missions dispatched by Shotoku in 607 and 608.

One may well imagine the astonishment of the Sui emperor Yang-ti when, in 607, Shotoku's envoy, Ono no Imoko, presented a memorial containing the words, "The Child of Heaven in the land where the sun rises addresses the Child of Heaven in the land where the sun sets."

Was Wa being deliberately insulting, or did it simply not know its place?

"If memorials from barbarian states are written by persons who lack propriety," Yang-ti instructed his officials, "do not accept them."

Somehow the clash was smoothed over. And it was Yang-ti, not Shotoku, who was to get his comeuppance, for Yang-ti's disastrous military campaigns against Koguryo brought the Sui Dynasty to an abrupt end in 618. It was followed by the even more magnificent Tang. No nation ever set out with more eager, if patronizing, generosity than Tang China to teach the arts of civilization to its less-favored neighbors.

And no acolyte nation was ever so avid a pupil as the newly sinicized Japan of the eighth and early ninth centuries. It is a development well worth pondering in our quest for that elusive "correct view" of history.

* * * Chang'an, capital of Tang China, was in the seventh and eighth centuries the largest city on Earth. Nara, with its rectangular layout and broad avenues, was modeled on it, but hardly measured up. Immense by Japanese standards, and three times the size of nearby Fujiwara, the capital it replaced, Nara would all the same have struck a Chinese visitor from the metropolis as paltry. It had 200,000 people; Chang'an had 1.2 million. Nara, unlike Chang'an, had no high walls, no brick and stone buildings, no soaring tile roofs; above all, perhaps, it hosted no steady stream of ambassadors, traders, monks and students from all over the world, as Chang'an did -- awestruck Japanese among them.

What Nara did have, beginning with its founding in 710, was a profusion of court officials steeped in Confucian protocol. They wore Chinese robes, wrote Chinese-language memorials, drafted Chinese-style laws and bore the Chinese ranks imported a century earlier by Prince Shotoku -- "virtue," "benevolence," "propriety," "sincerity," and so on, each rank subdivided into "greater" and "lesser." Some 6,000 of these officials governed a Japanese population of roughly 5 million.

Japan's sinicization had begun in earnest with the bloody palace coup that in 645 launched the Great Reform. The rising power of China under the Tang Dynasty was terrifying. In 660 it swallowed up the Korean kingdom of Paikche. Would Japan be next?

"Everyone here is saying that Japan will soon be faced with Heaven's retribution," a Japanese official of the time recorded in his diary.

Sinicization was inspired by much the same feeling that drove 19th-century Westernization: the enemy could only be resisted with its own techniques. As it happened, the dreaded Tang invasion never came. The relationship that developed between the two countries was not belligerent-to-belligerent, or overlord-to-vassal, but the most extraordinary one (there can be few historical parallels at the national level) of teacher-to-pupil. Japan, it might be said, attended the Chinese school of civilization in Chang'an.

Between 607 and 838, Japan sent 19 missions to China -- on average, one every 12 years. Knowledge was the principal goal. Priests studied Buddhism; officials, government; doctors, medicine; painters, painting; and so on. To gauge the eagerness with which the wisdom China symbolized was pursued, one need only consider the hazards of the sea crossing. Nearly a third of those who set out never returned.

China-bound fleets were called "the Four Boats." Four boats departed together; it was a rare and lucky voyage that brought all four safely to their destination at the mouth of the Yangtze River. The East China Sea is stormy, and Japanese shipbuilding and navigation were hopelessly inadequate for the 800-km crossing. It is surprising that Japan, a maritime nation after all, was so far behind contemporary Chinese, Koreans, Arabs and Vikings in this regard. The sea is one challenge the early Japanese never rose to.

And so in flat-bottomed boats caulked with seaweed -- "a mere assembly of planks and poles," as 20th-century historical novelist Ryotaro Shiba puts it -- with primitive sails that stood little chance against the brisk breezes and storm winds of the open sea, trusting navigation that owed nothing to astronomy and much to Chinese yin-yang divination, the acolytes and envoys and crew (including large numbers of oarsmen for when the sails gave out) set forth, about 100 men in each boat, grimly resigned to the fact that their chances of surviving were not high.

Shiba gives us a graphic description of one such voyage in his book "Kukai the Universal," a biography of the priest Kukai (774-835).

Kukai (also known as Kobo Daishi) traveled to Chang'an in 804 to study the esoteric Buddhist doctrine known in Japanese as Shingon (True Word). Its outstanding features are dramatic ritual and an optimistic belief that men and women in this life, in this world, in the flesh, are capable of attaining Buddahood.

The fleet with which Kukai sailed left the port of Naniwa-zu, near present-day Osaka, on May 14. (Had Japanese sea captains mastered the winds, they would have known that spring was no time to sail; the autumn winds are more favorable.) On Kukai's boat was the government envoy, Fujiwara no Kadonomaro, who, in keeping with the custom among envoys, changed his name to the more Chinese-sounding Kano. There was a stop at Kyushu to pick up additional passengers, among them the monk Saicho, with Kukai one of the most innovative and influential clerics of the time.

Then the Four Boats headed west into the East China Sea. At the sight of the Goto Islands, the westernmost extremity of Japanese territory, some passengers were driven mad with anguish, says Shiba, citing contemporary annals.

In good weather, a crossing would take 10 days. Kukai's boat took 34. There was a storm. The four boats soon lost sight of each other. Conditions on board were miserable -- short rations, dysentery, depression. The priests chanted sutras day and night. The tempest blew them far off course. They landed at last in Fuzhou in today's Fujian Province, a good 500 km south of the Yangtze.

It was semi-barbarous country; no one was on hand to receive them. They made their exhausted way to the provincial capital, only to be taken for smugglers. Kano came forward.

"I am the envoy representing the Japanese government," Shiba has him announcing. But his Chinese failed to pass muster; typically, he owed his post not to ability but to birth and connections. Compelled to state his case in writing, he presented document after document -- in language so coarse, alas, that he might well have been a smuggler.

Fortunately, Kukai, a graduate of the Nara university and one of Japan's best sinologists, was at hand. He knew how to indite a Chinese diplomatic missive.

"Lofty mountains, though mute," he wrote, "are so attractive to beasts and birds that they endeavor to reach them even from afar with indefatigable eagerness. . . . Likewise, even savages beyond the borders, enticed by the virtuous illumination upheld by the Chinese Emperor, are intent on reaching his land in defiance of all the dangers they must encounter on their way."

That was what the Chinese wanted to hear. The strangers were admitted without further ado. Ahead of them lay an arduous 2,700-km trek -- by boat, on foot, on horseback, in carts, through mountains, along canals whose engineering was a marvel but whose filth left the fastidious Japanese aghast -- to Chang'an. Arriving at last, the travelers were overjoyed to hear that another of the four boats had preceded them. Of the remaining two there was no word. Later, it was learned that one of them had run aground, without loss of life, on a South Sea island. The other was never heard of again.

Most acolytes remained in China 20 years. Kukai stayed two. Far more advanced to begin with than the average student, and a far quicker learner, he not only mastered with astonishing speed the subtleties of the doctrine he had made up his mind to introduce to his countrymen, but he seems also to have had ample time for sightseeing.

His curiosity was boundless, and Chang'an -- "a world exposition of thought," Shiba calls it -- could not fail to stoke it. Studying, preaching, writing and praying in Chang'an were Muslims, Nestorian Christians, Zoroastrians and Manicheans from all over western and central Asia. Kukai wandered the city, seeking out the new and the strange. From Indian monks he learned Sanskrit -- he was the first Japanese to master the language. Truly, one breathed a more expansive air here than in Japan.

Chang'an offered, and Kukai was open to, experiences of all kinds, not only religious. "One of the places he enjoyed visiting," writes Shiba, "was the West Market . . . It was interesting to see how a caravan that had been traveling all the way from the lands unknown to him removed the bundles from the camels' backs. Another attraction was an open-air show of Persian girls dancing . . . "

All this must have astonished Kukai -- not because he was a monk, but because he was from remote, insular Japan.

He returned home in 806 to found a Shingon temple complex on Mount Koya, in today's Wakayama Prefecture. In 838, the missions to China abruptly ceased. The Tang empire was crumbling, piracy was rising, and in any case the time had come for Japan to withdraw and assimilate the vast amount it had learned.

Withdrawal and assimilation are the themes of the Heian Period, a 400-year surge of cultural creativity that began with the relocation of the capital to Kyoto in 794. Assimilating, Japan diverged. Heian was in a sense Japan's cultural declaration of independence from China, the first instance of an often-remarked genius for borrowing foreign forms and making something totally unique out of them. The 11th-century "Tale of Genji," literary climax of the age, has no Chinese prototype. Many call it the world's first novel.

Official relations with China would not resume for 500 years.

The Japan Times: Jan. 29, 2006
(C) All rights reserved

Sports Day and Naginata

2005-12-16T02:07:00.000-08:00

Monday this week was a holiday for us.
In Canada it was Thanksgiving weekend, but here it was Sports Day. In Japan the schools and neighbourhoods held sports days all over. In my area many were canceled or postponed due to the damn rain.
Why a sports day?

TAIIKU NO HI(sports day)
October 10th October 10th was the opening day of the Tokyo Olympics
in 1964. In order to commemorate this first Olympic games held on
Asian soil, October 10th became a National holiday.
The Olympics helped speeding up with Japanese infrastructure. Preparing for this event,
Shinkansen between Tokyo and Osaka was put into construction four years prior
to the event. It was first serviced on October 1st, 1964.
Traditionally, Japanese schools and business, as well as towns and villages
hold sports day, in fall and spring.
Events such as, big ball relay, tug of war, beanbag toss, three legged race,
running relay races are popular programs.

Not everyone does it on this day, as people cannot be in more than one place at the same time. Basically school sports days are spread out through the entire month as well as some of September. Most neighbourhoods do theirs on this day though.

Well we didn’t do anything sports wise; we rearranged our closets instead. I biked to Seiyu at least three times to buy these cheap plastic bins on wheels to put our summer clothes into. Our closets are breathing again. I also bought a smaller box with wheels for all of JiXiang’s thousand and one toys.

She loves the wheels and pushes the box all over the living room. She actually walks really fast using the box for support. On one of my trips to Seiyu to buy yet another box, I noticed that the gym, which sits beside it, was being used. At first I thought it was just a sports day but then I noticed some people milling around wearing the dress needed under the Kendo armor.

Now I have wanted to get a picture of someone in Kendo armor for a while. Of course I didn’t have my camera with me but I thought I should check it out just in case there was a perfect opportunity there for lots of pics.
I walked in with an air of belonging. I was a little worried I would be looked at strangely and asked what I was doing there. I didn’t know if this was a private affair or not. Turned out I didn’t have to as there were other foreigners their in their traditional dress thingies.

I stood there fro a bit and was getting very confused watching these people. Kendo dresses are usually two colours: black or blue with a white shirt. These people were wearing all white or all black. Hmm.

Then I got REALLY confused when the group of people that walked out on to the floor were not carrying kendo sticks as I thought, but swords! HUH!They were doing set movements with these swords. There were other people doing something with longer sword looking things. Not real swords, obviously. They looked wooden or plastic. One looked like it was copper. From what I could tell this was not a competition but a testing for level up. Usually in a competition there is one or two judges deciding the best performer. Here there was a judge for every person.
It got a little boring as I had no idea what was going on and I really needed to return home.

Today I told my student about it and he went

-Ahhhh sounds like Naginata.-HUH? Never heard of this before.-It is like a woman’s martial art. It is kind of like dancing. I don’t know much about it.

Well this of course peaked my interest and I had to check it out. I know there were men and woman doing their thing and the swords were really getting to me.This is what I have found NAGINATA

I now wish I had stayed a bit longer or had at least returned with my damn camera.Stupid.

GEISHA

2005-03-22T22:20:00.000-08:00

It's believed that the women who danced for warriors in the 11th century are the predecessors of geisha. Geisha girls and women are trained in a number of traditional skills; Japanese ancient dance, singing, playing instruments (a three stringed instrument called shamisen is an essential instrument), flower arrangement, wearing kimono, tea ceremony, calligraphy, conversation, alcohol serving manners, and more. Even after becoming a geisha girl, they keep improving their skills by taking many lessons. Nowadays, there are geisha girls and women who learn English conversation to serve English-speaking customers and learn computer skills.

Geisha District and Geisha House (o-chaya)

The districts where many geisha girls and women gather are called hana-machi. Some hana-machi were developed near temples and shrines where many o-chaya are located. Geisha used to entertain visitors at o-chaya. The o-chaya type of teahouse is completely different from those shops that merely serve tea or coffee. It's a sort of banquet house, which rents rooms for dinner parties. An o-chaya is usually a small Japanese-style house with wooden doors and tatami floors or Japanese-style gardens. Some o-chaya also train geisha and are places for maiko (young geisha girl) to live and go to work. Those o-chaya are called okiya.

To Become a Geisha in Japan

Since there aren't many people who want to endure the hard training necessary to become a geisha girl, the number of geisha is decreasing. Young girls who wish to become a geisha girl are usually introduced to an o-chaya through someone who has a connection to the teahouse.

The head woman of an o-chaya, called okami, interviews the girl with her parents, explaining how the training goes. If the okami accepts the girl as an apprentice to her o-chaya, the girl can begin her training immediately and live in the o-chaya if she has graduated from a middle school. Once a girl becomes a geisha trainee, she can't quit for 5 to 6 years. While helping with the chores and errands of the house, the young girl learns customs and social skills and begins music and dance lessons. After about a half-year, she becomes a young geisha girl called maiko (15-20 year old girls).

A maiko accompanies a geisha on her appointments to get to know the customers. Maiko girls wear a colorful kimono with long sleeves and high wooden shoes. Usually, when a maiko becomes 20 years old, she decides whether she will quit or become a geisha. If she gets married, she has to quit the job. If a maiko girl decides to become a geisha, the ceremony called "erigae" (literally means changes of collars) is held.

How to Party with Geisha in Japan

If a customer wants to call a geisha girl to a party, he/she asks the okami of an o-chaya, then the okami lets a management office (yakata) know about the request. The charge for calling the geisha girls is called "o-hanadai"

Unless you are referred by someone who is already a customer of an o-chaya, you aren't allowed to enter. O-chaya are very exclusive places. The charge for the service is billed to the customer from the o-chaya later, so it's important for the o-chaya to have a trusting relationship with customers. O-chaya don't do business with a newcomer without the proper referral. However, many well-known restaurants and Japanese inns in Kyoto have some kinds of connection to an o-chaya, so you can request them to send geisha to your party.

There are two basic types of geisha. One is called "tachikata" which mainly does traditional Japanese dance (mai). The other is called "jikata" which mainly sings, or plays an instrument. Tachikata are usually maiko girls and jikata are older geisha women. The cost for a party with geisha varies depending on the number of geisha, food, drink, hours, and so on, but you can even have a party beginning at about $150 per person for a regular two-hour appointment.

Where to Visit Geisha Girls and Women in Japan

In Kyoto, there are five hanamachi. The most famous is Gion. The Gion district is located on the west of Kawaramachi, Shijo-dori Street. The Gion district retains old Japanese-style buildings and the atmosphere is very different from other part of the city.

The best area to meet a geisha girl is Hanamikoji Street in Gion, where many o-chaya are located. If you visit the area in early evening, you might be able to see beautiful geisha girls before they go to their appointments. It's said that there are a couple hundred geisha in Gion. In Tokyo, Asakusa Hanamachi is the place to go to meet geisha.

Because some hanamachi were historically related to prostitution, this bias toward geisha and hanamachi districts still exists in modern Japan. However, geisha is an important part of Japanese culture and their performance and beauty still attracts many people from around the world.

Children’s Day – May 5th

2005-03-19T19:22:00.000-08:00

May brings the reminder that in Japan, as in the United States, one of a nation's greatest assets is her children. (Unfortunately the Government forgets this and children’s services here are terrible.) May 5 is a government holiday called "Children's Day" in Japan, the day to stress the importance of respecting children and promoting their health and happiness. It is also the day for children to express their gratitude for the tender love and care they receive from their parents. Teenagers, especially, are reminded of this. On this day Japanese families celebrate Tango-no-Sekku, the Boys' Festival. With its special customs and observances, it is Japan's way of celebrating the healthy growth and development of her young boys.

This day was originally called Boy’s Day but it was changed to Children’s Day for political correctness. That and there is no official holiday on the calendar for girls, which I think is not fair.

If one travels through Japan from the latter half of April to early May, one sees nearly everywhere huge, gay-colored Koi-Nobori, carp-like streamers made of paper or cloth, which fill with wind and seem to swim in the air. Together with long red and white ribbons, the carp are hoisted on a bamboo pole, mounted by a pair of gilded pinwheels, high above the rooftops.

Some pictures can be seen on my picture page at :

Fujieda Park

A carp (fish) is flown for each son in the family, a very large one for the eldest, the others ranging down in size. The carp has become the symbol of the Boys' Festival because the Japanese consider it the most spirited of fish, so full of energy and power that it can fight its way up swift-running streams and cascades. Because of its strength and determination to overcome all obstacles, it stands for courage and the ability to attain high goals.

No one knows for sure when the observation of the Tango-no-Sekku began but some historians trace it to an ancient rural Chinese custom (Sechie), in which the royal guards wore ceremonial helmets and carried bows and arrows, which became popular at the Japanese court during the days of the Empress Regnant Suiko (593-629 A.D.).

One legend relates that the festival is a branch of a custom practiced by farmers in May, the time when insects begin to appear to harm the young plants. The farmers tried to drive the insects away by frightening them with bright banners and grotesque figures. Later, these figures came to represent warriors famed for their fighting power. As the Musha-Ningyo (warrior dolls) became more artistic, they were gradually displayed indoors, not to scare away insects but to remind the young boys of the family of manliness and to ward off evil spirits.

Another legend traces the origin of the Boys' Festival to Tokimune Hojo's victory over the invading Mongols on May 5, 1282. As a result, Samurai families erected the flags and streamers in celebration of the victory. Others believe that the unification of the country by the Ashikaga Shogun in the 14th century had been celebrated in this fashion on every May 5 until interior decorations came to be emphasized.

Special Boys Day Statues

In the modern observance of Tango-no-Sekku, a display is arranged in the tokonoma, or alcove, in the guest rooms of Japanese houses. Among the decorations are a miniature helmet, suits of armor, a sword, a bow and arrow, silk banners bearing the family crest and the warrior dolls which represent Kintaro, a Herculean boy who grew up to be a general; Shoki, an ancient Chinese general believed to protect people from devils; and Momotaro, the Japanese David the Giant killer. These statues are all hand made and sewn. They are beautiful and very elaborate, as well as extremely expensive.

Girls are the guests of their brothers on this occasion just as boys are guests of their sisters on the occasion of the Girls' Festival on March 3. Their parents provide them with the traditional delicacies such as Chimaki (sweet rice dumplings wrapped in iris or bamboo leaves) and Kashiwa-Mochi (rice cakes containing sweet bean paste wrapped in oak leaves).

The Iris

Shobu, the Japanese iris, the long narrow leaf of which is somewhat like a sword in shape, has always been closely associated with the Boys' Festival. The iris leaf is prominent in the observance of Tango-no-Sekku because the sound of the word Shobu, although written with different characters, implies striving for success.

On May 5, the Japanese steep the leaves in hot water and enjoy the fragrant Shobu-yu (iris hot-bath) because of the traditional belief that the iris bath is a miraculous prophylactic against all kinds of sickness. Many public bathhouses, particularly in the districts where the people are less affected by western influence and are accustomed to taking hot baths in the morning, open their doors early in the morning on May 4 and 5.

Also for the festival, finely chopped iris leaves are mixed with Sake to produce a drink (Shobu-sake) especially enjoyed bv the Samurai of old.

In ancient times, iris leaves were also believed to have the mysterious power of extinguishing fire and for this reason, in rural areas today, people still observe the custom of putting iris leaves on the eaves of their houses on May 5 as a talisman against the possible outbreak of a fire or presence of evil spirits.

(Most of this write up I found on the Internet, somewhere?, and I just added and changed a few things.)

SUMO

2005-03-14T23:18:00.000-08:00

Sumo is Japan's national sport and it has been since 1909. In Sumo the two participants face each other just wearing the special sumo loincloth. They battle each other trying to knock each other out of the sumo ring. Sumo is very popular in Japan and can been seen on TV and listed to on the radio. There are 6 professional sumo tournaments a year. In sumo there is much rituals that are involved in the matches. Recently there has been many foreigners allowed to participate in sumo from places such as Hawaii and Mongolia.

Origin of Sumo
A ccording to Japanese legend the very origin of the Japanese race depended on the outcome of a sumo match. The supremacy of the Japanese people on the islands of Japan was supposedly established when the god, Take-mikazuchi, won a sumo bout with the leader of a rival tribe. Apart from legend, however, sumo is an ancient sport dating back some 1500 years.

Its origins were religious. The first sumo matches were a form of ritual dedicated to the gods with prayers for a bountiful harvest and were performed together with sacred dancing and dramas within the precincts of the shrines.
In the Nara Period（The 8th century）sumo was introduced into the ceremonies of the Imperial Court. A wrestling festival was held annually which included music and dancing in which the victorious wrestlers participated. Early sumo was a rough-and-tumble affair combining elements of boxing and wrestling with few or no holds barred. But under the continued patronage of the Imperial Court rules were formulated and techniques developed so that it came more nearly to resemble the sumo of today.

A military dictatorship was established in Kamakura in 1192 and a long period of intense warfare ensued. Sumo, quite naturally, was regarded chiefly for its military usefulness and as a means of increasing the efficiency of the fighting men. Later in the hands of the samurai, jujitsu was developed as an offshoot of sumo. Peace was finally restored when the different warring factions were united under the Tokugawa Shogunate in 1603. A period of prosperity followed, marked by the rise to power of the new mercantile classes.
Professional sumo groups were organized to entertain the rapidly expanding plebeian class and sumo came into its own as the national sport of Japan. The present Japan Sumo Association has its origins in these groups first formed in the Edo Period.

In olden times, sumo tournaments were held twice a year in shrines and temples for a week or 10 days, although the allotted time was some-times extended because of inclement weather. The first permanent Koku-gikan opened in 1909 in the Ryogoku section of Tokyo next to the Ekoin Temple, which was the site of the outdoor basho from about 1808 to 1906. Actually, it was first called the Josetsukan, but it was soon renamed the Kokugikan. It cost 500,000 yen (a goodly sum in those days) to build. It was in this original sumo hall that such great yokozuna as Hitachiyama and Tachiyama performed. Except for a single loss after his 45th consec-utive win, Tachiyama would have won 100 bouts in a row since he went on to win his next 55 matches.

The original Kokugikan served well for eight years until it burned down in November 1917 and it wasn't until January 1920 that the new one was ready for use. In the meantime, the hon-basho were held in the compound of Yasukuni Shrine. Despite damage by the 1923 Tokyo earth-quake and World War II bombings, this second Kokugikan survived until it was finally torn down in 1983. The Sumo Kyokai, however, stopped using it as a sumo arena with the completion of the Kuramae Kokugikan in 1957. During those 37 years, it witnessed the exploits of such great yokozuna as Tochigiyama, who stopped Tachiyama's winning streak, and Tsunenohana in the 1920s, Tamanishiki and Futabayama, who set one of greatest records in sumo with 69 consecutive wins, in the1930s and Tochinishiki in the 1950s.

Part of the roof of the second Kokugikan was destroyed during the fire-bombing raids of March 10-11, 1945, but it survived. After the Allied Occupation authorities gave permission for the Sumo Kyokai to hold a hon-basho therein November 1945, they took it over and turned it into an ice-skating rink. Although the Kyokai was allowed to hold the 1946 November Tournament there, it wasn't able to reclaim uninterrupted use of the Kokugikan again until just before the Occupation ended in April 1952.

The Sumo Topknot

2005-03-14T23:17:00.000-08:00

Sumo, a symbol of Japanese culture to most of the world, leaves its patrons with no doubts about its athletes’ exertions in the ring. However, most people don’t know how much effort the supporting staff puts into the wrestlers’ appearance … specifically their hair.

During an exhibition tournament, Tokofuta, a hairdresser specifically trained to style a sumo’s hair in its distinctive topknot, demonstrated the unique hairstyle called oichomage on sumo wrestler’s hair. The name, oichomage, was named after the gingko leaf since the hair style looks similar to the shape of the leaf.

Originally, Tokofuta wanted to become a sumo wrestler. When he realized such a career was not in his future, he filled a vacancy left by a retired tokoyama, the proper name for sumo hairdressers in Japanese.

There are 53 tokoyama who belong to each of the 53 sumo stables. Stables, which literally means room, are both living and training facilities where young wrestlers train to one day become professional wrestlers.

Disciplined under an apprenticeship, tokoyama pursue their careers devoting themselves to practice how to handle wrestlers’ long hair to make mage, or topknot, for wrestlers every day.

There are two hairstyles for sumo wrestlers. One is chonmage, a simple topknot style all the wrestlers wear after they have sufficient hair length, which is about two years. The other is oichomage, which is the hairstyle only top division wrestlers are allowed to wear.

Each tokoyama has a toolbox, with four different kinds of combs made of tsuge, or boxwood, which is the highest quality; magebo, a pinned stick; hand-made string to tie wrestlers’ hair; and pomade. A tokoyama can fix a wrestlers’ hair anywhere as long as he has his toolbox.

There are many intricate procedures to make a perfect oichomage hairstyle.

“I learned the technique as I watched carefully how senior tokoyama worked on rikishi’s (wrestler’s) hair and practiced on the younger rikishi’s hair,” said Tokofuta. “Everything was kind of on-the-job training. You had to have a sharp eye to observe the difference and acquire skillful tokoyama techniques,” said Tokofuta. “It is important to find out each rikishi’s hair texture and to crumple hair well to make a good mage. Every day I practiced the basic technique on young rikishi’s hair.”

While wrestlers are relaxing or concentrating before the bout, the tokoyama’s bout actually begins. Only skillful tokoyama are allowed to do the oichomage hairstyle just like only top division wrestlers can wear it. The oichomage protects wrestlers from head injury to as it softens the impact in case the wrestler falls off from the ring, which is around 22-inches-high. Fragrant wax is used to keep the arrangement in place, and senior wrestlers wear various elaborate styles as a sign of their position in the sumo hierarchy.
There are six tokoyama ranks according to their skill and their years of service.

Upon entering the sumo profession, young wrestlers stop cutting their hair in order to fashion the traditional chonmage topknot.

Worn since ancient times, the chonmage style became defunct after the Meiji Restoration (1868) when Japanese men cut their hair by government order in the short Western style of the times. Sumo wrestlers were exempt from the order, as the traditional topknot served as head protection.

On retirement, wrestlers are transformed back to civilian status at the hair cutting ceremony. Eventually the retiree gives up his fighting name, and is thereafter referred to by his birth name.

The retiring rikishi does not only lose his career. In an elaborate ceremony called a danpatsu-shiki, supporters pay for the privilege of cutting strands of hair off a rikishi's chonmage. At the end of the ceremony, the rikishi's oyakata takes a pair of scissors and makes the final cut of the topknot. The rikishi is now retired.

Kabuki: A Brief History

2005-03-14T23:08:00.000-08:00

Created around the year 1600, around the same time the English began to form colonies on the American continent, the history of Kabuki is as long as that of the United States and just as multi-faceted.

Kabuki was created by Okuni, a shrine maiden from Izumo Shrine. Her performances in the dry river beds of the ancient capital of Kyoto caused a sensation and soon their scale increased and a number of rival companies arose. Early Kabuki was much different from what is seen today and was comprised mostly of large ensemble dances performed by women. Most of these women acted as prostitutes off stage and finally the government banned women from the stage in an effort to protect public morals, just one in a long history of government restrictions placed on the theater.

This ban on women, though, is often seen as a good move because it necessitated the importance of skill over beauty and put more stress on drama than dance, putting Kabuki on the path to become a dramatic art form. Another development was the appearance of onnagata female role specialists, men who played women.

The last quarter of the 17th century is referred to as the Genroku period and was a time of renaissance in the culture of Japanese townspeople. As the main form of theatrical entertainment for commoners, there was a great flowering of creativity in Kabuki. It was during this period that the stylizations that would form the base of Kabuki were created. The playwright Chikamatsu Monzaemon and actors like Ichikawa Danjuro and Sakata Tojuro left strong legacies that can still be seen today. It was also during this period that the close relationship between Kabuki and the Bunraku puppet theater began and the two would continue to grow while influencing each other.

The decades after the Genroku period saw numerous cycles of creative periods followed by refinement. In the early 18th century, the rise of skilled playwrites in the Bunraku puppet theater helped it to briefly eclipse Kabuki in popularity. Indeed, it was remarked by one observer that it seemed as though "there was no Kabuki." Actors responded by adapting puppet plays for the stage and creating stylized movements to mimic the puppets themselves. The late 18th century saw a trend towards realism and the switch of the cultural center from Kyoto and Osaka to Edo. One consequence of this was the change of tastes in onnagata acting. While onnagata trained in Kyoto who had the soft, gentle nature of that city had been valued before, now audiences preferred those who showed the strong pride and nature of Edo women. An increasing audience desire for decadence as seen in the ghost plays and beautification of murder scenes marked early 19th century.

The opening of Japan to the West in 1868 affected Kabuki and the rest of the country profoundly. Though it was freed from numerous government restrictions, Kabuki was faced with the important challenge of how to adapt to a changing world. Actors like Ichikawa Danjuro IX strove to raise the reputation of Kabuki, which since its beginning had been seen as base by the upper classes, while others like Onoe Kikugoro V worked to adapt old styles to new tastes. The defining moment of the period, and a symbol of the success of their efforts, was a command performance before Emperor Meiji.
Though Kabuki survived government oppression during the Edo period, the loss of many young actors in World War II and censorship by occupation forces after the war, it faces its most difficult enemies in modern forms of entertainment like movies and television. Its position as a "traditional" form of theater often makes it seem stuffy, and people are not as familiar with the special peculiarities of Kabuki as they used to be. Still, popular actors continue to bring audiences into the theater and there has recently been a "Kabuki boom" centered around young people. Kabuki continues to be a form of entertainment enjoyed by a wide range of people, just as it has been for 400 years.

Seijinski – January 10th

2005-01-25T02:24:00.000-08:00

Coming of Age Day

Pictures

Seijinski is a ceremony to celebrate the people who will become 20 years old during the year. During the ceremony, most of the woman wear ‘hurisode’ (long-sleeved kimono) and some men wear ‘hakama’ (pleated skirt-like Japanese garment). They prepare the kimonos about half a year before. Some purchase the kimono, while others rent. Purchase costs about one million yen and rental costs about one hundred and fifty thousand yen.

On the day of the ceremony woman go to beauty salons very early in the morning and have their kimons professionally arranged and their hair done. Then they go to city hall and attend the ceremony. After the ceremony they go to a photo studio. The pictures are called ‘miai-shasin’ (pictures for arranged marriage). That night they enjoy drinking with their old friends as 20 is the official drinking age in Japan.

Seijinski originated in Warabi-city of Saitama prefecture in 1946. In those days Japan was in confusion and collapse due to their defeat during W.W. II. The municipal authorities created Seijinski for the young people to be cheered up. As time went by this party spread all over Japan and is now a National holiday.

Nowadays Seijinski has many problems. In 2001, some men drank too much sake in front of the Naha City Hall in Okinawa prefecture and destroyed the entrance gate which had been set up for the ceremony. Another thing is that the attendant’s behaviors have been getting worse. They talk with their friends during the ceremony or play with their cellular phones. Each city now holds many different ceremonies at separate locations to divide the attendees and try to solve their behavior problems. (Written by my culture student, Ayumi)

The Kokeshi Doll

2005-01-25T01:54:00.000-08:00

Of all the native folk toys of Japan, there is perhaps none as familiar as the ‘Kokeshi’, which is to be found in souvenir shops throughout the nation.
They are said to have originated in the Tohoku region (Northeast Japan) in the hands of the lathe-craftsmen who lived a gypsy life in the mountains of that region.
Eventually, in about the middle of the Edo Period, these craftsmen settled down near the many spas that abounded in that region, and began to make bowls and trays to sell to the visitors at the spas.
After a time, they started to make the ‘Kokeshi’, and this, according to one viewpoint, was the beginning of the ‘Kokeshi Doll’.
However there are other possible origins.
One is that they may be related to the household god that had wide belief in the Tohoku region from long in the past.
Another possibility is that they may be a modified version of phallic symbols derived from an ancient sex worship.

At any rate, the ‘Kokeshi’ of today is not so much a religious toy as a toy loved for its simple artistry, so that perhaps there is not a single school girl in Japan who does not have one adorning her desk.

The Fujieda Daruma

2005-01-24T16:20:00.000-08:00

Born of a royal family in a small country in the south of India, Bodhidharma founded Zen Buddhism in the sixth century and introduced it to China. He is said to have sat in meditation of nine years, facing the wall of a room at the Shorinji Temple in China and to have attained spiritual awakening or supreme enlightenment (satori). A tumbler doll representing Bodhidharma sitting in meditation is made of paper-mache, limbless and painted in red. It is made in various sizes, but the Daruma doll of standard size is as large as a water melon. Since this doll recovers its upright position when it is tumbled, it is also called ‘okiagari-kobosho’. It is an embodiment of the proverb that says, ‘If you fall down seven times, get up eight (nana-korobi-yaoki). The Daruma is a popular mascot especially among shop-keepers. Daruma fairs are held mostly at New Year’s time and the Daruma dolls sold at these fairs have no eyes painted on the face. The eyes are put in by the possessor of the doll when he has had his wish realized.

The Fujieda Daruma – From the olden days, Fujieda was officially recognized as a place to stop and rest along the Eastern Sea Road. (This road was the main route that connected the centers of power in Kyoto and Tokyo. These official rest areas became famous for their local products.)
Since the Edo Period (1600-1868), Fujieda Daruma have been a tradition, born with the shop around 170 years ago.
Yakumo Koizumi, who came originally from England and was originally known as Lafcadio Hearn, was a great writer of the Meiji Era. Because he loved the Fujieda Daruma very much, they are often called ‘Yakumo Daruma’ or ‘Otokichi Daruma’ (Its shape is as a pumpkin or oval face).
Distinct features of the Fujieda Daruma include eight written strokes on the left and right of the doll which look like side locks.
The tradition of hand making these Daruma, or other paper-mache masks by one is closely guarded.

OBON

2004-08-01T23:02:00.001-07:00

The Obon (Bon Odori) is a Japanese Buddhist feast period, and traditional dance festival, which has existed for more than 500 years. It is held from 13th of July to the 16th ("Welcoming Obon" and "Farewell Obon" respectively) in the eastern part of Japan (Kanto), and in August in the western part (Kansai). This is comparable to the Day of the Dead or Halloween.

Obon is traditionally celebrated from the 13th to the 15th day of the 7th month of the year, which is July according to the solar calendar. However, since the 7th month of the year roughly coincides with August rather than July according to the formerly used lunar calendar, Obon is still celebrated in mid August in many regions of Japan, while it is celebrated in mid July in other regions.

This Buddhist festival has been transformed into a family reunion holiday during which folk return to their home towns and visit and clean their ancestors' burying ground. Japanese people tend to think that this festival has something to do with religion and the souls of their ancestors, but this interpretation is often wrong. It is said that this tradition first began a few hundred years ago when youngsters of those times did not have any particular entertainment. It is customary to fashion horses and cows out of cucumbers and eggplants. This is done to facilitate the return of the dead.

On the 16th, people bring the ancestor's spirits back to ohaka, hanging chouchins painted with the family crest to guide the ancestors' spirits. In some regions, fires called okuribi are lit at entrances of homes to send the ancestors' spirits. The air in houses and cemeteries are full of smoke and the smell of incense called senko at this time.

The Bon Odori festival is well known all over the country, and every prefecture has different ways of celebrating it. Each prefecture has its own ways of dancing and its own music to go with it. A Bon Odori in Okayama prefecture will be completely different from one in Kanagawa prefecture. There are many kinds of music that go with the dance. The music varies from classical music to Japanese traditional music such as the Makkou Onndo.

Bon Odori was first recorded in late fifteenth century literature. Bon Odori is performed by large groups of men, women and children of all ages. They dance to music in a circle around the Yagura (a standing stage) wearing Yukata (summer kimono). Each location has its own style of Bon Odori. Nowadays, many booths are set up by the Bon Odori stage. They sell sweets, drinks toys and other interesting things. It is fun for not only children but adults to browse those booths.

There is also Toro Nagashi, or floating paper lanterns, that have lighted candles inside. The lanterns are floated on a river at the end of Obon to guide the ancestors' spirits to their world.

Obon is a shortened form of the legendary Indian Urabonne/Urabanna. (A Sanskrit word for "hanging upside down in hell and suffering"). The Japanese believe they should relieve the suffering of the "Urabanna".

In the time of Shaka; one of his fellows, Mokuren, saw the image of his dead mother suffering in hell. Mokuren was desperate to relieve her pain and asked Shaka for help. Shaka answered, "On 15th of July, provide a big feast for the past seven generations of dead. Mokuren did as he was told, and thankfully, his mother's suffering was relieved. This is the inception of the tradition.

STAR FESTIVAL - JULY 07

2004-06-06T23:25:00.000-07:00

July 7 is the Weaver Star Festival (Tanabata).

The Chinese legend has it that Altair (the Cowherd Star) and Vega (the Weaver Star) were split apart by the two banks of the River of Heaven (the Milky Way), Ama-no-gawa, and come together once a year on this night.

There once was a brave young Shepherd named Altair, and a princess, the Weaver-girl Vega, who so loved each other they neglected their work. This angered the Emperor of the Heavens, who separated them by a river, the Milky Way, where on only one night each year, July 7th, a magical bridge is formed on the wings of Magpies and the two are allowed to cross and be together. If it rains on the night of July 7th, it is said that the river overflows and they cannot meet again until next year.

This legend was probably imported from China in the Heian Era (794-1185), and its associated Tanabata Festival has developed through the centuries. The story involves the stars of Vega and Altair and their apparent proximity to the Milky Way.

A Japanese version of this tale is:
Members of royalty were, of course, associated with the heavens; Tentei (the emperor) being centered at the North Pole. One day, the emperor's daughter, Orihime, was sitting beside the river of heaven (Milky Way). She had been weaving because her father, the emperor loved the beautiful clothes that she made. On this particular day, she was very sad because she realized that she had been so busy that she didn't have time to fall in love. Her father, Tentei, the ruler of the heavens, felt sorry for her and arranged a marriage with Kengyuu (who lived across the river, the Milky Way). Their marriage was one of sweetness and happiness from the start; and everyday thereafter they grew happier and happier. But Tentei became very angry, because in spending so much time in her happy marriage, Orihime was neglecting her weaving. Tentei decided to separate the couple, so he placed them back in their original places, separated by the Milky Way. On only one night of the year would he allow them to meet, the 7th day of the 7th month. Every year on that day, from the mouth of the river (the Milky Way), the boatman (of the moon) comes to ferry Orihime over to her beloved Kengyuu. But if Orihime has not done her weaving to the best of her skills and ability, Tentei may make it rain. When it rains, the boatman will not come (because the river is flooded). However, in such a case, Kasasagi (a group of magpies) may still fly to the Milky Way to make a bridge for Orihime to cross.

In Japan, the star Vega is often called Orihime Boshi (Weaving Princess Star), and Altair is often called Kengyuu Boshi or Hiko Boshi (Puller of Cows Star).

When it was first recognized in Japan, Tanabata was celebrated only by imperial court officials. It was considered a graceful event, full of the simple elegance so associated with the Heian era of Japan. Lanterns were lighted, and poems were written on mulberry leaves still holding their dew. Of course, as the custom spread to local areas, towns became covered with bamboo at Tanabata, and the festival took on more of the values inherent in Japanese consciousness and purpose.
Several days before July 7, people write their wishes or poems on strips of poetry paper in various colors, and hang them on leafy bamboo; then on the night of the 7th, they are put out in the garden. These are attractive enough to be called summer Christmas trees.

Wishes may be for increased skills in work or school (reflecting specific vitalistic and optimistic values) but may also be for anything that reflects a person's dreams and hopes for the future. Summer vegetables such as eggplant and cucumbers are prepared, and horse or cow figures made out of straw and water oats are decorated. While the myth probably held seasonal significance in its Chinese origins, specifically the celebration of the end of the rainy season (reflected in a desire that it not rain), it found a variety of interpretations related to seasonality in its Japanese form. Particularly in relation to agricultural development in Japan, "wishes" related to celebrations of Tanabata ranged from desire for dry weather to desire for wet weather depending on the particular geographic region and whether a crop was to be planted or harvested at this time.

Colored threads are also hung on the bamboo branches. The custom of decorating a bamboo arose from the belief that if you wrote poems of proverbs on strips of paper and offered them to the stars, you would acquire good penmanship skills.

Following Shinto practice and ancient values, the concept of purification (generally including use of water) before the Bon festival (centered on the 15th day of the 7th month) was also added to the Tanabata festival. In eastern parts of Japan, an associated ritual called Nebuta was celebrated. On the early morning of Tanabata, bamboo would be set afloat in the river, and people would brush their bodies with leaves from "silk" trees. By doing so, they were said to take their sleepiness (nebuta) away. The close relation of Tanabata to the indigenous Bon Festival has obviously led to a number of adaptations of the imported Chinese mythology. In short, one makes the coming of the Bon festival sacred by excluding impure spirits from the body at the first quarter moon, thus being pure for the coming of Bon at full moon. It is interesting that in some regions of Japan, Tanabata is accompanied by a taboo forbidding swimming or bathing in a river. Noting the relation with the celestial "river" or milky way, the taboo is based on the idea that a Kappa or water deity resides in the river, and one should not make the pure water dirty by entering the water deity's home.

The process of adapting this imported legend and developing indigenous practices evolved in complex ways over the centuries, In modern times, the festival is generally celebrated on a solar July 7th, a date that is generally still within the rainy season. Sadly, the festival has lost much of its seasonal significance with modern industrialization. Of course, the ethic of improved work and skill is still valued, regardless of whether or not the day of celebration is attuned astronomically.

HOW TANABATA IS CELBRATED IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF JAPAN

Nagano
In Nagano they celebrate Tanabata on August 6th, which is one month and one day after Tanabata. They make big Tanabata paper dolls and put their children's kimono on them. They hang it on their houses and pray for their children's health and long life.

Kyoto
In Kyoto they celebrate Tanabata in the Shiramine temple. The girls make Nishijin-ori (one of the Japanese traditional ways of making kimono cloth) wear Nishijin-ori clothes and dance around the village. Young girls hope that their handicraft will be as beautiful as the Weaver Princess Star.

Kogoshima
In the middle part of the Edo period, the Kengo monk said "On Tanabata, the Spirit leaves heaven and will go home. The Jizo* will go to heaven and greet the spirit. So bring your home spirits and pray!" So that is what they do in Kagoshima.

Miyagi
Many people from the city dance and play music in a Tanabata parade in Miyagi. There are also flower cars and there are people twirling sticks. Their parade is very attractive.

TAIKO DRUMS

2004-06-06T22:54:00.000-07:00

"Taiko" in general is often used to mean the relatively modern art of Japanese drum ensembles (kumi-daiko), but the word actually refers to the taiko drums themselves. Literally, taiko means "fat drum," although there is a vast array of shapes and sizes of taiko. Borrowing on thousands of years of tradition, taiko groups are now taking the style worldwide.

Taiko in Japanese History
The exact history of Japanese Taiko remains shrouded in speculation. The oldest physical evidence of taiko in Japan is a haniwa clay figure of a drummer that dates from the sixth or seventh century. However,since the first instruments in any society tend to be percussion instruments, it would not be out of the question for taiko (as we know them today) to have been used in Japan for well over 2000 years.

Japanese taiko as we know them today bear strong resemblance to Chinese and Korean instruments, which were probably introduced in the waves of Korean and Chinese cultural influence from 300-900 AD. It has been speculated that the predecessor of the tsuzumi style of taiko may come from as far as India, and came to Japan along with Buddhism. However, the waves of cultural influence stopped for the most part around the year 900, and development from that point can basically be attributed to native Japanese craftsmen. Taiko, although continuing to bear similarities to Chinese and Korean drums, have evolved into unique Japanese instruments.

One of the first uses of taiko was as a battlefield instrument; used to intimidate and scare the enemy - a use to which drums have been put in many cultures. Taiko were definitely used in battle to issue commands and coordinate movements by the 1500's; the taiko being the only instrument that could be heard across the entire battlefield. According to picture scrolls and painted screens of the time, one soldier would carry the taiko lashed to a backpack-like frame, while two other soldiers would beat the taiko, on each side.

In addition to the martial aspect, taiko have always been used in the most refined cultural settings as well. Gagaku music was introduced to Japan in the Nara periord (697-794) along with Buddhism, and was quickly adopted as the imperial court music. Gagaku is the oldest continually played court music in the world, and it is still being performed. The taiko used for Gagaku are some of the most elegant and beautifully decorated of all Japanese instruments.

The rumbling power of the taiko has also been long been associated with the gods, and has been appropriated by the religions of Japan. According to Daihachi Oguchi of Osuwa-daiko, about four thousand years ago, in the Jomon period , taiko was used for to signal various activities in the village. Simple taiko beats would be used to signal that the hunters were setting out, or to signal that a storm was coming and that the women needed to bring in the meat and fruits they had drying. While there is no direct physical evidence to support this claim, Megumi Ochi, curator of the Taiko Kan Museum, believes this to be true since other cultures exhibit the same behavior. Because these signals were so important to the flow of daily life, the people were very thankful of the taiko, and began to believe that the taiko was inhabited by a god.
As this belief developed, only the holy men were allowed to beat the taiko, and as the Shinto and Buddhist religions developed in Japan, this custom remained. Thus the only instruments to be found in Shrines and Temples were taiko. One consequence of this association of taiko with religion was that taiko were played only on special occasions, and only by men who were granted special permission by the priests. All through this time, taiko were played singly, or in certain instances in pairs. Taiko ensembles were only developed much later.

Taiko has continued to find a place in religious ceremonies, both Buddhist and Shinto, and it is extremely common to find taiko in both temples and shrines. Some Buddhist sects use taiko to represent the voice of Buddha, and Bon dancing in summer is centered around Buddhist rites. It was used in village Shinto rites to offer up prayers to the Gods. In addition, the village festivals were celebrated with the sound of drumming. These festivals developed a rich body of traditional taiko rhythms which are a now a never ending source of inspiration to modern players.

Modern Taiko History
Taiko as it is performed today, as an ensemble (kumi-daiko), is a post war phenomenon which was born in Showa 26 (1951). Daihachi Oguchi, who created the kumi-daiko style, is given much of the credit for the current taiko boom. Oguchi was a jazz drummer, who happened upon a old piece of taiko music. Deciding to perform the old music for the Osuwa shrine, Oguchi "jazzed it up" as he arranged it. Coming from a jazz background, he wondered why taiko were never played together, and broke with tradition by assembling a taiko drum ensemble.

This dynamic and propulsive kumi-daiko style was an instant hit, and many groups were formed in the Hokuriku region of Japan. Groups would often play at hot springs for the entertainment of the guests. By 1957 the Hokuriku Odaiko Enthusiasts Association was formed, and the Hokuriku Taiko Association was founded the following year. The advent of Japanese television brought exposure and more popularity to the style.

Taiko got a boost in the 1970's when the Japanese Government authorized funds to help preserve the intangible cultural assets that were slowly vanishing in the post-war era. Many local communities used some of the monies they received to start community taiko groups. The end result is that it is estimated that there are over 4,000 taiko groups in Japan.

In 1969 Tagayasu Den founded Za Ondekoza on Sado Island in Japan. Collecting a group of dedicated youths disaffected with modern big city life, he created a new kind of taiko group totally dedicated to taiko drumming as a way of life. Rigorous training, including daily marathon running, and communal living forged powerful taiko performances that have awed the world. The original members of Za Ondekoza went on to form Kodo in 1981 after splitting with Den, who started a new Za Ondekoza.

Kodo has gone on to international fame, becoming perhaps the best know taiko group outside of Japan.

Origami: A Brief History of the Ancient Art of Paperfolding

2004-05-27T02:39:00.000-07:00

No one really knows when and where origami was invented. Some origami historians argue that since the invention of paper is credited to Ts'ai Lun of China in A.D. 105, paper folding must have been invented soon after. Paper was then introduced to Japan in the late sixth century by Buddhist monks, and paper folding was brought along with it. In Japan, paper was considered an expensive commodity, and it was used in many aspects of Japanese life, most notably in architecture. Certain origami models were incorporated into religious (Shinto) ceremonies. In fact, the word for paper, kami, is a homonym for the word for spirit or god. The designs associated with Shintoist ceremony have remained unchanged over the centuries. However, since there are no known Chinese records of paper folding, and since the oldest Japanese records date only to the 18th century, other historians claim that origami is definitely a Japanese invention. Regardless of its ultimate origin, Japan is recognized as the country that most fully developed the traditional art of origami.

The Japanese transmitted their designs via an oral tradition, with the recreational designs being passed from mother to daughter. Because nothing was ever written down, only the simplest designs were kept. The first written instructions appeared in AD 1797 with the publication of the Senbazuru Orikata (Thousand Crane Folding). One portion of the Kayaragusa (also known as Kan no mado or Window on Midwinter), an encyclopedia of Japanese culture published in 1845, included a comprehensive collection of traditional Japanese figures. The name origami was coined in 1880 from the words oru (to fold) and kami (paper). Previously, the art was called orikata ("folded shapes").

Meanwhile, paperfolding was also being developed in Spain. The secret of papermaking reached the Arabic world in the eighth century, and the Arabs brought it to Spain in the 12th century. The Arabs were devoutly Muslim and their religion forbade the creation of representational figures. Instead, they followed their mastery of mathematics and their paperfolding was a study of the geometries inherent in the paper. After the Arabs left Spain, the Spanish went beyond the geometric designs and developed papiroflexia, an art this is still popular in Spain and Argentina.

Modern origami owes a great deal to the efforts of YOSHIZAWA Akira. After centuries of people folding the same traditional models, Master Yoshizawa published books with completely new models starting in the early 1950's. He, together with American Sam Randlett, also developed the standard set of origami diagram symbols that is still used today. Exhibitions of his work, both in Japan and around the world, introduced origami to many people, leading to the formation of various origami associations including the Origami Center of America (now OrigamiUSA), and the British Origami Society. Now there are origami masters and enthusiasts in many countries, forming a widespread but close-knit community. Today, Yoshizawa, aged 93, is regarded as the grandmaster of origami in the world.

Today, master paperfolders can be found in many places around the world. New and improved folding techniques have produced models that would have astounded the ancients. They still manage to astound many people today. Where once it was considered a feat to fold a representational insect that gave the impression of a segmented body and multiple legs, anatomically correct insects are now considered commonplace and the feat is to create insects that are of a recognizable species. Happily, not all paperfolders have reduced paperfolding to greater and greater achievements of technical skill. The artistry of paperfolding is also flourishing.

Composition and paper choice play an important role in this newfound artistry. Yoshizawa has also led the way in this area, producing fabulous displays that capture the life of his subjects, whether shown as a diorama, as a mobile, or in a shadow box. He has developed a technique known as backcoating that is the lamination of two layers of washi to produce a paper that is unparalleled for folding. Also, a technique known as wet folding, where a heavily sized paper is folded while wet, allows the folder to sculpt his model into soft curves and 3D forms.

Burakumin

2004-05-27T02:36:00.000-07:00

(Not written by me)
Even today burakumin is a word that many people do not say and refuse to listen to.

Burakumin are a group of people in Japan that have suffered discrimination and hardships. The problem that the Burakumin face comes from the jobs that the descendants of the current Burakumin held during the Edo period (1603-1867) of Japan. These people took jobs that nobody else would. These jobs were considered "dirty" jobs. Work such as working with leather, dealing with dead animals and many more. Because these jobs where considered dirty, the people faced discrimination and were labelled Burakumin which has the meaning of outcast. The current Burkumin face difficulties in getting a good education and steady jobs just because of the jobs their descendants held. Some Burakumin Links.

The word burakumin comes from buraku (部落), a designated village where burakumin were forced to live in the Nara and Edo period. Many burakumin were and still are tanners or butchers and much of the prejudice that surrounds them comes from the Shinto association with the pollution of death and Buddhist teachings against the killing of animals. Those connected with the killing of animals or the sale or treatment or their meat or skin were considered to be tainted and were shunned. Many slaughterers, butchers and leather-workers were dubbed eta (pollution abundant) or hinin (non-person) and forced into buraku or ghettoes. Ghettoes that still exist around Japan's major cities. The Meiji government abolished the terms eta and hinin and emancipated the burakumin. However, the piecemeal legislation was not fully implemented and had little effect in altering the deep-seated hatred that existed towards the burakumin.

Today there are at least 3 million burakumin in Japan. It is impossible to establish a true figure as many desperately hide their origins, some even falsifying documents to pretend never to have been born in or lived in a buraku. Burakumin are six times more likely to be unemployed than their non-burakumin counterparts.

Ninja - Weaponry

2004-05-27T02:33:00.000-07:00

Much of the mystique of the ninja lies in their arsenal of weaponry. Books published as long ago as 1676 illustrate many of the ninja weapons and techniques that were in use. The main weapons used by the ninja were the same weapons employed by samurai: the sword, the small sword, the bow and arrow. Other weapons, however, seem to have been unique to the ninja art:

Clawed Weapons: There are two principal kinds: the neko-te or "cat's claws," and the shuko or "tiger's claws". The neko-te consists of sharp pieces of metal extending from the end of each finger, like the claws of a cat. This is supposedly a defensive weapon, used mainly by female ninjas. The shuko, on the other hand, has many applications. In addition to use in combat, they can also be used to assist in scaling walls and climbing trees. A matching pair can go on the feet.

Sickle Weapons: The short handled sickle, or kama was a weapon that could be put to good use by ninja operatives. Since owning a weapon was banned to all but samurai, a ninja walking around with a utility belt full of swords and shuriken may stick out a bit. But the kama was a common farming tool, and a ninja carrying such a weapon would not call attention to himself. It can also be attached to a chain and becomes a much more complicated and dangerous weapon then, with greater range and utility.

Shuriken: No discussion of the ninja is complete without mentioning the famous shuriken, or "throwing stars."

Invisibility Weapons: The ability to disappear or become invisible is one of the legendary traits of the ninja. To aid in this ability there was developed metsubushi, or "sight removing" techniques. A powder concoction would be created, the recipe of which differed from clan to clan, ninja to ninja, but usually included a variety of eye irritants (like our modern day pepper spray), and placed into an egg shell or nut shell for quick use. Combined with small explosives, the shock and surprise and itchy, running eyes should have been enough to allow a ninja to make his escape.

Mudras: Part of the mystic side of the ninja arts is the forming of various hand signals called "Mudras." These Mudras are now a core component of the spiritual ninja's training, and can be seen in many films. In ninja legends and myths, these hand signals would usually be made to perform magic. However, these hand signs have very little connection to the ninja. Probably they became part of ninja mythology as part of their association with the yamabushi, the mountain pilgrim monks.

Ninja - Myths and Legends

2004-05-27T02:32:00.000-07:00

During the relative quiet time of the Edo period, under the rule of the Tokugawa Shogunate, the arts flourished. Stories, woodblock prints, and plays all told dramatic stories from the past. In these tales, the ninja became semi-mythical beings, whose ability to hide, stay silent, to siege castles, and to kill, grew to superhuman heights, and so the only explanation for their powers became sorcery. In one play a ninja is able to turn himself into a rat. Stories tell of another ninja who knows 'Toad Magic,' and rides on the back of a giant toad. In another tale, a ninja meets a sorcerer on the road, and when the ninja cuts the sorcerer open, and his intestines continue to attack the ninja, the ninja begs him to teach him the magic arts. In the face of such powers as these, the ability to fly or turn invisible seems commonplace.

Part of the mystical aura that surrounds the ninja may be due to their longstanding association with monks, especially the yamabushi. They would take long, mountain pilgrimages in the belief that such hardship combined with worship and fasting would reveal their religion to them, and at the same time be granted powers beyond that of ordinary humans. Iga and Koga provinces, being very mountainous, were both destinations for yamabushi. Add to this the rumours that ninjas often disguised themselves as wandering monks for purposes of concealment on intelligence missions, and it is easy to see how the magical powers ascribed to one can so easy be passed to the other.

As the legend of the ninja grew, so to did the amount of historic figures that were newly assigned ninja status. Any samurai who had an unaccounted for period of wandering in the mountains became a possible candidate: the warrior Yagyu Jubei, who served the Tokugawa but then took an unaccounted for ten year leave of absence, is a prime example. Hundreds of tales have been written about those unknown years and the events surrounding it, so much so that it is generally not questioned that Jubei, and in fact the entire Yagyu clan, were ninjas. And it could be true. Much less likely is the claim that Minamoto Yoshitsune, brother of the twelfth century shogun Yoritomo, was a ninja. Yoshitsune was forced to flee from his brother, who was trying to consolidate his power and make sure there would be no other claimants to the title of shogun. Yoshitsune has to disguise himself as a yamabushi to escape. But despite this ninja-like disguise, it would be several hundred years before ninjas really appeared in the historic record. But that doesn't stop ninja believers, who even go so far to claim that he founded a school of ninja arts, the Yoshitsune-Ryu.

In addition to the ninjas abilities in maritial arts and magic, one other power remains to be mentioned -- which is, they were legendary in the sack. As far back as the late eighteenth century, erotic art was being printed of ninja antics in the sack. Usually, the images were ones of violent entry and rape. The ninja, using his strength, his ability to gain entry to any place, would tie up or slay men and rape women at their pleasure. Japanese Ninja literature and cinema still contain a powerful element of the erotic.

With all of these stories of the ninja being written, it was only a matter of time before they appeared on the Kabuki theater stage. And then, the actors had a dilemma -- how does one portray a ninja? And more importantly, what kind of costume should be used? Sometimes, they wore garb not dissimilar to any other samurai when playing a ninja on stage. But the ninjas reputation as masters of stealth and invisibility suggested a costume to the actors. Because there already were people on stage, in many performances (especially of the Bunraku or puppet theater), who were supposed to be invisible. They were the kurogo, or stage-hands. The stage-hands, to indicate to the audience that they were not meant to be seen and should be ignored, wore black from top to bottom. And here, at last, we have the famous ninja uniform -- those black pajamas that seem to provide little protection from weapons, little cover in pitch darkness, and foolishly advertise to the entire world who you are. It makes little sense for an outfit such as this to be used in the real world, but in the conventions of Kabuki theater, it was the perfect costume. And to this day, every ninja movie, no matter how authentic they attempt to be, includes the Kabuki stage-hand's costume as an unquestioned and vital part of ninja outerwear.

And so, during the Edo period, the ninja moved from the battlefield into the imagination, and have remained there ever since. While popular plays were presented to lay audiences of ninja exploits, those who believed they carried on the tradition of the ninja continued to practice their skills in various schools throughout the country. Many of them kept secret books which showed weaponry, medicines, and food recipes. As the long peace wore on, however, the need to keep these books secret became less and less, and eventually, many of them were published. It is these guides which have been used ever since as reference for the many weapons and other equipment used by the ninja.

Ninja History

2004-05-27T02:31:00.000-07:00

'Ninja?'
The word itself derives from the Japanese Shinobi-no-mono, which is written with two kanji characters that can also be pronounced as nin-sha, if the Chinese pronunciation is used instead. The first character, nin, suggests concealment, while the second, sha, means person. Ninja: a person who hides his presence. In Japanese, the word is applied to a person who does covert, military operations.

We cannot leave the term with such a broad definition, though, else the CIA, the FBI, and the marines could all be considered ninjas. When speaking of the Ninja, then, we also imply that they are a secret organization, fraternity, or clan, whose skills and knowledge have been passed down in secrecy from generation to generation.

Iga and Koga Ninja
The Sengoku era marks a century of warfare in Japan. During the latter half of this centruy the powerful daimyo, Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu, struggled for dominance. Sometimes they allied together, and sometimes they dramatically opposed each other, until at last Tokugawa Ieyasu was named Shogun in 1603. Following his decisive victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, Japan was united once again. During this time, documented ninja activity was at its peak. Ninja raids, attempted assassinations, reconnaissance missions, and other military operations were recorded in semi-historical documents. These references, when taken as a whole, reveal exactly what role the ninja played in warfare of the time.

Siege Warfare: This is by far the most often referenced skill of the ninja. The ability to enter into a castle by means of stealth, and launch a surprise attack on the inhabitants, causing confusion within while the main army storms the castle from without. Typically the ninja party would scale the walls of a castle under the cover of night, then start lighting everything in sight on fire. They would not wear black, but rather, wear the costume of the castle defenders, making it difficult to tell friend from foe, and so make it seem like there is a rebellion within the ranks. Once chaos reigns inside the castle, the army lays siege on its walls from without. If there was any special skill, then, that these ninjas were famous for, this was it. These ninjas were also able to perform valuable services if they were part of the force under siege in a castle. The ninja could sneak out of the castle at night, and steal the banner of the opposing army, and hang it on the battlements in the morning to demoralize the attackers. One source tells of the ninja going out nearly every night from a castle to frighten and harass the attacking army, without doing any physical damage. Because of this the troops had to always be on the alert, and never able get a good night's sleep having to always be on edge waiting for an attack all night. They were therefore ineffective when the time came to launch an assault on the castle.

Scouts: Ninjas were often employed to assay the relative strength of the enemy. By one account, a ninja would lay in the tall grass just outside an enemy encampment and remain there until dawn before returning to report. In most cases, however, the scout simply goes on horseback, and is indistinguishable from scouts used in warfare anywhere in the world.
Assassins: This is what the Ninja is known for now. Even in the seventeenth century, the Daimyo feared assassination attempts by ninjas. All of the major generals seemed to have an assassin make an attempt on their life at some point or another. Of course, not all of these attempts are by ninjas In fact, nowhere have a found a single documented successful assassination been carried out by a ninja. They were feared throughout Japan for the possibility, but it seems that possibility never became reality. The ninja really did try to kill people, though, they just weren't very successful at it. One tactic was to lie down on a battlefield, and when your mark rides through, looking at all the dead bodies, the ninja suddenly springs up and attacks. Nobunaga had some close calls before he met his fate, once being shot twice in the chest, the bullets being stopped by his armor. Later, perhaps learning from the previous attempt, Nobunaga is surprised by three cannon wielding ninjas who try to take him out with a bang. They miss, but kill seven of his retainers. Most ninja assassins were hired by rival daimyo to kill their opponent, without much success. It is this element of ninja skill that has been over emphasized in our modern understanding of ninja warriors.

In many, but not all, of these accounts the ninjas in question originated from Iga or Koga province, now modern day Mie Province. This is considered the ancestral homeland of the ninja arts, and it does indeed seem to be the main area of ninja activity. Oda Nobunaga finally decided they were too dangerous and crushed Iga in a punitive expedition in 1581. Legend has it that surviving ninja dispersed to all parts of Japan after their defeat. Wherever they went, their usefulness was soon at an end. But where Oda Nobunaga looked at the ninja and only saw a threat, Tokugawa Ieyasu saw an opportunity, and soon he had a group of Koga ninja in his employ. They participated in the battle of Sekigahara, though without particularly distinguishing themselves. They worked for Tokugawa again in 1614-15, during the campaigns against the last Toyotomi heir, and one last time in 1638 against the Christian daimyo of Kyushu in the Shimabara Rebellion, in both cases operating in their traditional role as masters of siege warfare.

After the Shimabara Rebellion, there was peace at last. And lots of it -- over a hundred years worth. What's a ninja to do? Well, start a martial arts school, publish some weapon guides, and sit back and let the storytellers take over.

Brief History of Japan

2004-05-27T02:30:00.000-07:00

The Japanese archipelago assumed its present shape around 10,000 years ago. Soon after, the era known as the Jomon period began and continued for about 8,000 years. Its people were hunter-gatherers. Gradually, they formed small communities and began to organize their lives communally. They also began to use earthenware objects.
Rice cultivation reached Japan from the Eurasian continent around 300 BC during the Yayoi period, and settlements grew larger.

Japan can be said to have taken its first steps to nationhood in the Yamato period, which began at the end of the third century AD. During this period, the ancestors of the present Emperor began to bring a number of small states under unified rule from their bases around what are now Nara and Osaka Prefectures.

In 604 Prince Shotoku laid down Japan's first constitution. Also from this time, Buddhism that was introduced from the Eurasian continent began to take root in Japan. The Nara period began at the beginning of the eighth century with the establishment of the country's first permanent capital in Nara. Toward the end of the century, the capital was transferred to Kyoto, launching the Heian period, during which noble families predominated and a distinct national culture blossomed.

From the Kamakura period, which began at the end of the twelfth century, to the close of the Edo period in the latter half of the nineteenth century, Japan was ruled by samurai, or warrior class. Order broke down around the middle of the fifteenth century, and Japan was torn by civil warfare for nearly 100 years as samurai lords of different domains fought one another. The agent of pacification and national unity was Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

At the beginning of the seventeenth century, Tokugawa Ieyasu set up a government in Edo (now Tokyo), and the Edo period began. The Tokugawa regime adopted an isolationist policy that lasted for more than 200 years, cutting off exchange with all countries except China and the Netherlands. But with the arrival of American Commodore Matthew Perry in 1853, the nation began to open itself up to the United States and European powers.
The age of the samurai came to an end with the Meiji Restoration of 1868, and a new system of government centered on the Emperor was set up. The new government promoted modernization, adopted Western political, social, and economic systems, and stimulated industrial activity. The Diet was inaugurated, and the people began to enjoy limited participation in politics.

From around 1920 a democratic movement gained strength. But amid a global economic crisis, the military came to the fore, and Japan eventually marched down the road to war.

With the end of World War II in 1945 Japan put into effect a new Constitution, committed itself to becoming a peace-seeking democracy, and succeeded in relaunching its economy. In 1956 the nation's entry into the United Nations was approved. Since then, Japan has contributed to world peace and prosperity as a member of the international community.

KYUDO

2004-05-26T17:36:00.000-07:00

Kyudo is traditional Japanese Archery. However Kyodo is much more than just ordinary archery. Its techniques are created to train the mind and spirit.

The History of Kyudo
Historically, Japanese archery has been shrouded in myth and legend, making it difficult to assemble a completely accurate account of its development. Still, by focusing on the similarities recorded in ancient chronicles, historians have managed to piece together a reliable picture of the historical development of kyudo.

The Prehistoric Period
It goes without saying that the evolution of Japanese archery closely coincides with the development and use of the Japanese bow. The earliest known inhabitants of the Japanese islands, a hunter-gatherer culture known as the Jomon relied heavily on the use of the bow. Their bows were of different lengths but most were the short, center-gripped type common to other primitive cultures. The Jomon bow was primarily used as a hunting tool but it is quite probable that it was also used in tribal warfare and ritual. From around 250 B.C to A.D. 330 the Yayoi culture flourished. During this time the bow came to be used as a symbol of political power. Legend says that Japan's first ruler was Emperor Jimmu, who ascended to the throne in 660 B.C. In paintings and descriptions of his life Jimmu is always depicted holding a long bow, a symbol of his authority. A bronze casting from the Yayoi period appears to show the use of a long asymmetrical bow. And a written account compiled by the Chinese in the third century describes the Japanese as using a bow with upper and lower limbs of differing length, so it is highly likely that the unique asymmetrical design of the Japanese bow was adopted during the Yayoi period.

The Ancient Period
During this period Japan was strongly influenced by Chinese culture. It was then that ceremonial archery became an important part of the court system. The Japanese bowmakers also began to borrow the composite construction used by the Chinese and by the tenth century had developed a two-piece composite bow using bamboo and wood. The Ancient period also saw the rise of the samurai, or warrior class, and the bow saw even greater use as a weapon of war as the samurai struggled to establish themselves as a powerful new social class.

The Feudal Period
In 1192 Minamoto no Yoritomo was granted the title of shogun, or military governor, and established stricter standards for his warriors. As part of that training, Ogasawara Nagakiyo, the founder of Ogasawara Ryu, was instructed to teach mounted archery in a more formal manner. It was during this time that the kyujutsu ryu, the schools of archery technique came into their own. One of the most influential archers of the time was Heki Danjo Masatsugu, the founder of Heki Ryu, who lived from 1443 to 1502. He is credited with standardizing the training of kyujutsu which no doubt assured its continued growth and development, even into modern times. It was during the Feudal period that the construction of the Japanese bow reached its peak. By the late sixteenth century it was regarded as being near perfect in design. So much so, that the bamboo and wood laminate bows used in modern kyudo are nearly identical to those made four hundred years ago. As it turned out, the end of the sixteenth century also spelled the end of the bow's usefulness as a weapon of war when Oda Nobunaga, commanding conscripts armed with muskets, defeated the opposing force of kyujutsu archers in a major battle in 1575.

The Transitional Period
In the seventeenth century Japan's period of civil war ceased and the emphasis of Japanese archery gradually changed from kyujutsu to kyudo, or, in other words, from the technique of fighting with a bow to the way of personal development. The Transitional period also saw the general public become more involved with the practice of archery. As the twentieth century dawned, Honda Toshizane, a kyudo instructor at Tokyo Imperial University, combined elements of the warrior and ceremonial styles to create a hybrid form that came to be known as Honda Ryu.

The Modern Period
In the early 1930's it became evident that modern kyudo would need to be standardized in some way to guarantee its continued growth. After World War II, the practice of kyudo, along with all other martial arts, was banned by the occupation forces. It wasn't until 1949 that final authorization was granted and the Zen Nihon Kyudo Renmei (All Nippon Kyudo Federation) was formed. In 1953 the kyudo kyohon (manual) was published, establishing the shooting procedures that are in common use today.

Karate - A Brief Introduction

2004-05-26T17:34:00.000-07:00

Karate is a martial art the comes from the southern island of Okinawa in Japan. Karate was formed by using techniques form Chinese kung-fu combined with local Okinawan self defence techniques. The term karate means "empty hand". Thus most of the techniques are hand to hand. Karate has become one of the most popular martial arts throughout the world.

The life of Supreme Master Gichin Funakoshi was the starting point of the art of karate. He changed the name of the art from "katrate-jutsu" to "karate-do", established the five dojo precepts, and through his magnificent philosophy of karata became the torchbearer of spiritual culture.

Funakoshi was born the son of a samurai in 1870 (3rd year of Meiji), in Naha City, Okinawa Prefecture. Because he was very physically weak he took up karate (at that time still the typically Ryukyuan art of self-defense) to strengthen his body. In 1913 (2nd year of Taisho) he became Chairman of the Okinawa Shobu Kai, and in 1922 (eleventh year of Taisho) he gave the first public performance of karate at a physical education exhibition sponsored by the Ministry of Education. This evoked great public interest, and as a result Funakoshi moved to Koishikawa, in Tokyo, where he set up his Meisei-Juku dojo. From 1924 (13th year of Taisho) he taught at various universities, including Keio, Tokyo, Takushoku, Hitotsubashi, Waseda, Hosei, Chuo, Senshu and Nippon Medical College.
In 1954 he was officially commended for his meritorious services to the Karate world at the Japan National Martial Arts Championships. In April,1957 he passed away at the age of 88.

Kabuki: A Brief History

2004-05-26T17:32:00.000-07:00

TATAMI MATS

2004-05-26T17:28:00.000-07:00

Tatami is a thick firm mattress to cover the Japanese-style room floor. Recently, there are more foreign-style houses than Japanese-style houses.

Tatami has a long history. Emperor Shoumu used tatami as a bed in the Nara era (710-794). It was the beginning of tatami. In Heian era (794-1192), some rules were made about the use of tatami. People in different social ranks had to use different kinds of tatami. There were some rules about thickness of tatami and color and patterns of its edge. The edge of tatami for the emperor was made of the best silk fabrics. In the middle of Edo era (about 1730), tatami came into use among common people. In the Meiji era (1867-1911), farmers started using it.

In Japan, we usually explain the size of a room by counting the number of tatami mats which fit the room. For example, my room is flooring but I say, "My room is four and a half mat size." The size of a tatami is different from place to place. Tatami is classified into three types: kyou-ma, chuukyou-ma and kantou-ma. Today, kantou-ma type of tatami is the most popular.

type of tatami length width
Kyou-ma 191cm 95.5cm
Chuukyou-ma 180cm 90cm
Kantou-ma 176cm 88cm

Tatami is made of rush. The kind of rush to make tatami is called igusa. If you look at the surface of tatami closely, you can see that tatami is woven. To weave one surface of tatami, they use about four to five thousand pieces of rush. But the craftsperson doesn't use rush immediately after it has been harvested. They sort the rush by its use and grade (e.g., quality, length, color, etc.) before they use it. Nowadays the core is made of a particle wooden bark mesh. Unlike the original rice straw core, this material is pests free, easy to maintain, and suitable for various climates. Mats will gradually turn from sage-green to golden color as it ages.

Rush have some good effects, for example, tatami cleans air in the room because the rush of tatami absorbs carbon dioxide. The rush is soaked in the mud immediately after harvest. This process keeps rush from changing of color and it also makes the next process easier. The infrared rays are shed by this mud. Because of the lack of infrared rays, rush makes you relax. Also, rush has another wonderful function. Rush absorbs water when humidity in the room is high. When the humidity of the room is low, it discharges water. This also prevents an increase of ticks in the tatami.

Tatami is widely used by Japanese people. Because tatami is good to keep the room warm and let the air through. Therefore, you feel cool in summer when you sit or stand on tatami, and you feel warm in winter when you sit or stand on tatami.