What makes Japan unique? Partly, it is the romantic tradition of
its heroic Samurai, beautiful Geisha and Zen philosophers. It is the
striking art, Kabuki theater and serene gardens. But, especially, it is
the culture of Japan, where everything suggests as well as represents,
and less is considered more.
Japan, the Land of the Rising Sun, is a nation made up of over
three thousand islands in the Pacific Ocean. Much of the country is
mountainous and volcanic, including Japan’s highest peak, Mount Fuji.
Greater Tokyo, with more than 30 million people, is the largest
metropolitan area in the world. The Japanese population, half that of
the US, lives in an area smaller than California.
In 1639, the shogunate rulers began a policy of isolation which kept out
almost all ships from the western world. This isolation lasted about
250 years, and allowed the unique Japanese culture, traditions and arts
to develop without western influence.
Japanese traditional arts are too lovely to be left behind in
the rush of the 21st century. As Japan moves forward, technologically
and economically, the memories of picturesque teahouses and thatched
roofs are still cherished. Knowledge of the traditional arts and
customs, such as the tea ceremony, flower arrangement and bonsai, sumo
wrestling and the martial arts, and performing theater like Kabuki and
Noh, enhances our understanding of Japan. Other traditions and customs
include the soaking bath, the simple outdoor group dance called
Bon-Odori, origami paper folding, bonsai, woodblock prints, painted
folding screens, and decorated pottery and porcelain.
In contrast to the public world of modern skyscrapers and
flashing neon signs, Japanese private life is still very reserved.
Homes have quiet and uncluttered rooms. Traditional artistic design is
simple and minimalist. In Japanese culture, art and literature, less is
often considered more.
1. Koto
The koto is a very popular stringed instrument that was introduced in
the ninth and tenth centuries. A Japanese legend says that the koto
was originally formed in the shape of a crouching dragon, a charmed and
mythical creature of ancient Japan and China. The thirteen strings of
the koto are stretched along a soundboard of nearly two meters made of
hollowed-out paulownia timber. The koto is one of the most popular
Japanese traditional music instruments, with a sound that suggests a
harp, dulcimer or lute. Koto music is highly symbolic and evocative of
traditional Japan.
2. Tea Ceremony
The Japanese tea ceremony, sado, the code of etiquette for taking tea,
began in Zen monasteries during the 14th century. It is a traditional
ritual in which powdered green tea is ceremonially prepared by a skilled
practitioner and served to a small group of guests in a tranquil
setting.
Of course, a tea practitioner must be familiar with types of tea and its
preparation . But the tea ceremony also requires knowledge of the
kimono, calligraphy, flower arranging, ceramics, incense and a wide
range of other disciplines. There are various schools of thought about
the rituals to be used in the tea ceremony. The study of the tea
ceremony takes many years, even a lifetime. Even to participate as a
guest in a formal tea ceremony requires knowing what gestures and
phrases are expected, the proper way to take tea and sweets, and general
deportment in the tearoom.
3. Geisha
The geisha tradition evolved from the court jesters, and, originally,
geisha were all male. Gradually, geisha became a woman’s role. The
geisha were trained from girlhood in the arts of performance and
entertainment. They are famous for traditional skills like music,
dancing, singing, games and conversation. The traditional costume is
lavish, with whitened face, brilliant makeup, high black wig, and
precious hand-painted kimono. Historically, girls were forced into
training for geisha, while they worked as servants in a house of a
geisha. Today the position of geisha is voluntarily chosen. In modern
Japan geisha are rarely seen now.
The geisha was hired as a hostess or companion by men of means,
to appear at teahouses or traditional restaurants. The customer made
arrangements through the call-office, which kept each geisha's schedule
and made her appointments both for entertaining and for training. The
geisha’s time was measured in incense sticks and is called “incense
stick fee", or flower fees, or jewel fees.
The spellbinding movie, “Memoirs of a Geisha”, based on the
novel by Arthur Golden, recaptures the mysterious and exotic world of
the geisha. Set in the years before WWII, it tells the story of a
penniless Japanese child who was sold by her family to work as a maid in
a geisha house. Despite a treacherous rival who nearly broke her
spirit, the girl blossomed into the legendary geisha named Sayuri.
Beautiful and accomplished, Sayuri captivated the most powerful men of
her day, but was haunted by her secret love.
4. Japanese Drumming
Traditional Japanese drums are known as taiko or wadaiko drums.
Japanese drums are large, booming instruments, played with sticks by a
standing drummer. The original concept for the large drums came from
China over 1,000 years ago. Drums are manufactured from a single piece
of wood from the trunk of a very large zelkova tree, and cowhide is used
for the drum head. A performance with a dozen such drums is
impressive, intense and highly rhythmic.
5. The Kimono
The kimono is a traditional form of clothing worn by Japanese women and
men, a long, loose, wraparound gown belted at the waist with an obi. In
recent decades, the Japanese have found Western dress more practical
than the traditional Japanese kimono. However, the kimono is still worn
for the tea ceremony and family weddings in the Shinto tradition. The
best of these are collectors items, hand-painted on silk and displayed
in the home, the kimono as a wall-hanging, and the obi as a table
runner.
6. Samurai
The Samurai warrior tradition developed between the 7th and 14th
centuries. In pre-industrial Japan, samurai were warrior nobility
rather than foot soldiers. Samurai were expected to be cultured and
literate, and over time gradually lost their military function. Samurai
essentially became civilian bureaucrats for the royalty, with their
swords only a ceremonial item. During the reforms of the Meiji period
in the late 19th century, the samurai were abolished in favor of a
western-style national army. However, the strict code that they
followed, called bushido, and aspects of the Samurai way of life still
survive in present-day Japan. Tom Cruise in "The Last Samurai"
recaptured the way of the Samurai on film.
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