JAPAN

2. Click here for a tour. JAPAN Let’s Go! Chureito Pagoda

3. What Would You Like To Learn?Click on the elements of culture below to read, listen, and watch lessons related to Japanese culture. Record notes. FOOD HISTORY ARTS/CRAFTS MUSIC DANCE FOLK TALES LANGUAGE

4. HISTORY • Japan or, also known in the native language as “Nippon or Nihon, ”is an island nation in East Asia. • Capital: Tokyo • Emperor: AkihitoPrime Minister: ShinzōAbe • Population: > 126 million (2012) • Official language: Japanese • Government: Unitary, Parliamentary, Constitutional Monarchy • Land: 145,925 sqmi Click the image for a timeline. Click the flag for a video on history! NEXT

5. Click image to zoom in. BACK

6. HISTORY OF LANGUAGE • Japanese writing is clearly taken from Chinese, but the language itself (i.e. speech) is a mystery. • There are five vowel phonemes in Modern Japanese, namely /a/, /i/, /u/, /e/, /o/. • Unlike English, lengthened vowels are important in distinguishing words. • Most also begin with a consonant. And so, we can form words like Na-ga-no and u-tsu-ku-shi-i (beautiful). NEXT Image source

7. WRITTEN LANGUAGE Image source • The writing system of Japanese is probably the most famous aspect of the language because it is so complex. • The systems of writing are: Kanji& Kana Click image to zoom in. NEXT en.wikipedia.org

8. LANGUAGE Click below for a Japanese Language instructional video. BACK

9. JAPANESE FOOD • Influenced by China and Korea. • Rice was introduced from Korea in 400 B.C. • Religion plays a major role in Japan’s culinary development. • Buddhism became the official religion in the 6th Century. • Prohibited meat and fish early on. • Eventually, when it could be preserved, the island nation included fish. Click here to access video. NEXT

10. JAPANESE SWEETS • Daifukumochi(大福餅), or Daifuku (大福) (literally "great luck"), is a Japanese confection consisting of a small round mochi (glutinous rice cake) stuffed with sweet filling, most commonly anko, sweetened red bean paste made from azuki beans. • Daifuku comes in many varieties. The most common is white-, pale green-, or pale pink-colored mochi filled with anko. Click the image for the history of Daifuku.

11. HISTORY OF DAIFUKU • Daifuku was originally called Habutaimochi (腹太餅) (belly thick rice cake) because of its filling nature. • Later, the name was changed to Daifuku mochi(大腹餅) (big belly rice cake). • Since the pronunciations of Fuku (腹) (belly) and Fuku (福) (luck) are the same in Japanese, the name was further changed to Daifuku mochi (大福餅) (great luck rice cake), a bringer of good luck. • By the end of the 18th century, Daifuku were gaining popularity and people began eating them toasted. They were also used for gifts in ceremonial occasions. BACK

12. FOLK TALES • Japanese folk tales are called, "mukashibanashi". • They begin with a set phrase like, "Once upon a time (MukashiMukashiarutokoroni …)". The characters of a "mukashibanashi" often include an old man and an old woman, or man w/ a name like Taro or Jiro. • There are a few hundred stories that are considered standard Japanese folktales. Click the picture to read the story of HanasakaJiisan. Click the icon to hear how to say “Once upon a time...” • Many Japanese grow up being very familiar with them. There was a popular TV series called, "Manga Nihon MukashiBanashi", which is an animated version of famous folktales. • Information source NEXT

13. FOLK TALES – THE 2 FROGS Click here to listen to the tale. NEXT source

14. FOLK TALES – THE STONE CUTTER BACK Image source

15. ART: NETSUKE NETSUKEare miniature sculptures that were invented in 17th-century Japan to serve a practical function (the two Japanese characters ne+tsuke mean "root" and "to attach"). Traditional Japanese garments—robes called kosode and kimono—had no pockets; however, men who wore them needed a place to store their personal belongings. Click the image for examples. Their solution was to place such objects in containers (called sagemono) hung by cords from the robes' sashes (obi). The containers may have been pouches or small woven baskets, but the most popular were beautifully crafted boxes (inrō), which were held shut by ojime, which were sliding beads on cords. Whatever the form of the container, the fastener that secured the cord at the top of the sash was a carved, button-like toggle called a netsuke. NEXT

16. ORAGAMI Click the image for the history of Oragami. • orimeaning "folding", and kamimeaning "paper" (kami changes to gami due to rendaku) • Japanese art of paper folding, which started in the 17th century AD at the latest and was popularized outside of Japan in the mid-1900s • The goal of this art is to transform a flat sheet of paper into a finished sculpture through folding and sculpting techniques, and as such the use of cuts or glue are not considered to be origami. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origami NEXT source

17. ORAGAMI HISTORY Click herefor a brief video. Click image to zoom in. BACK

18. ORIGAMI Click the crane to learn how to make one. • You can use a regular sized paper, but you will need scissors to simply make it into a square. Watch the video for how to do that! • You may also use origami paper which is thinner and already square. BACK Images=ClipArt

19. JAPANESE FOLK DANCE • Like most folk dances, the forms practiced by Japanese folk dancers evolved out of the community activities for generation after generation. For example, the So-Ran Bushi, a traditional song that accompanies the bon dance, was developed by the fishermen in Hokkaido centuries ago. Other examples of traditional folk dances are: • Iyomanzai - A New Year's celebratory dance, this asks the gods for peace during the coming year. Danced using fans, the performers create shapes such as boats, trees, and birds to symbolize good fortune. • Ayakomai - is a dance with a history going back half a millennium; it is a prayer of thanks to the gods. • Sakura - Literally meaning "cherry blossom", this is a dance of Spring performed by a woman, happily celebrating the sunny blue skies and bright cherry blossoms in bloom. NEXT

20. BON ODORI DANCE Click below for music. • The steps to Bon odori are something that are a part of traditional Japanese education, handed down from generation to generation. • Men - Starting with the right side, put the arm and foot forward, just touching the ground with your toes. Cross right foot over left, then repeat the step using the left arm and foot instead. The men's hands form small triangular patterns in the air as they crouch down, arms held above their shoulders. • Women - Very similar in basic steps to the men's, the key difference lies in the fact that traditional kimonos are much more restrictive. The kicks and moves are more precise and short, necessitated both by their clothing and also the geta--sandals they wear to perform in. image source BACK

21. CLICK HERE to watch highlights from a former Star Festival. TANABATA NEXT

22. SINGING Click here for music. NEXT

23. Click the images to learn more about some of Japan’s traditional instruments. MUSIC音楽 • The music of Japan includes a wide array of performers in distinct styles both traditional and modern. • The word for musicin Japanese is 音楽(ongaku), combining the kanji 音 ("on" sound) with the kanji 楽 ("gaku" music). • Traditional Japanese music is quite different from Western Music as it is often based on the intervals of human breathing rather than mathematical timing. • There are two forms of music recognized to be the oldest forms of traditional Japanese music. They are shōmyō (声明 or 聲明), or Buddhist chanting, and gagaku (雅楽)or orchestral court music, both of which date to the Nara and Heian periods. BACK

24. KOTO Click the instrument for a video! • The koto is probably the most familiar Japanese instrument in the world. • In ancient tradition, a kind of koto is used as the symbol of music, one of the attributes of a scholar in the Chinese Confucian tradition. • Although the koto is used in Gagaku and some of the pieces for solo koto are very old, most of its development was in the Edo period and there is also a broad range of modern music for the koto.  • Usually it is a solo instrument, but can be played with several kotos at one time or with the kind of chamber music called "sankyoku" with koto, shamisen and shakuhachi or kokyu (a kind of bowed version of the shamisen). • The body of the instrument is a box made from a hollowed-out section of paulownia wood. • There are thirteen silk strings, which are all the same length and are attached parallel along the length of the instrument. • Movable bridges called "kotobashira" are placed under each string to produce different pitches. BACK

25. BIWA • The biwa is the chosen instrument of Benten, goddess of music, eloquence, poetry, and education in Buddhism. • Simple biwas were used by blind priests telling stories from the Tales of the Heike about the battles between the Genji and Heike clans. • This style of narrative singing has been transmitted to the present, but there are almost no performers left and it is now more or less an ancient curiosity. • Modern biwa comes from the island of Kyushu. • Tales of the Heike are still an important part of biwa music. • There are 3 different kinds: Gagaku-biwa, Gogen-biwa, and Mōsō-biwa. • They vary by size of instrument or plectrum, amount of strings or frets, and use. For example, the Gogen-biwa was not used to accompany singers. Click the instrument for a video! BACK

26. SHAKUHACHI Click the instrument for a video! • It was originally introduced from China into Japan in the 8th century and underwent a resurgence in the early Edo Period.  • In the mid-Kamakura period, a Zen priest went to Sung dynasty China and learned the shakuhachi piece Kyurei.  • In turn, he taught the shakuhachi to his disciples who then established different temples throughout Japan.  • Fuke monks or priests (komusō) were noted for playing the shakuhachibamboo flute as a form of meditationknown as suizen ("blowing meditation"), an innovation from the earlier zazen ("sitting meditation") of other Zen sects.  • The shakuhachi is made from a length of bamboo 3.5 to 4.0 cm. in diameter cut close to the root with seven nodes. • There are usually five finger holes. Four in the front and the fifth on the back. BACK

27. SHAMISEN Click the instrument for a video! • The shamisen is a remodeled version of the snake-skin covered sanshin or jabisen which came to Japan from the Ryukyu islands in the Muromachiperiod. • Around 1562, the instrument was introduced into Japan by trade ships. • It is derived from a similar Chinese instrument. The Chinese instrument was inspired from an instrument called sanshin in Iran. It is said Iran was inspired by a 3 string instrument in Egypt. • The instrument has 3 strings and is played with a plectrum or "bachi.“ •  The plectrum is held in the right hand and plays with forceful strokes that not only pluck the strings but hit the skin or wood of the body of the instrument to produce a percussive sound. The string can also be played by plucking upward with the plectrum. The left hand presses down on the strings with the fingernails of the forefinger, middle finger and ring finger. BACK

28. SHIME-DAIKO Click the instrument for a video! • Properly speaking, this drum is called Sarugakutaiko, and is widely used in Noh, Nagauta and Kagura. • It is essential to Japanese Noh, a classical musical drama performed since the 13th Century. • This drum entered Japan with Gigaku from the Korean kingdom of Kudara long ago in the Asuka period. • It is only used in some Noh plays, but when it is used, it only is played in the climactic final half of the play to create an exciting effect. • In the past the drum was held by one person while another played it, but now a wooden stand is used. The drum is played with relatively thick sticks. BACK