Japanese Culture

1. Japanese Culture By Grace Williamson

2. Shintoism “Shinto” means “The Way of the Gods”. “神道”の意味は、“神の道”です。 • Shintoism is based upon various beliefs: • Kami (かみ) – the belief of spirits within objects such as animals, plants, rocks, rivers, mountains, thunder, wind, trees, the Sun etc. • Polytheism – The belief of more than one deity (gods or goddesses) • Animism – Similar to Kami, the belief of spirits in rivers, plants etc. • Ritual purity – the cleansing of the body and soul with a purification ritual. • Matsuri (まつり）- Traditional festivals • Mythology – the belief of ancient mythology, for example; how Japan was created by gods.

3. The Four Forms Of Shinto • “神道” has been divided into four different forms: • こしつしんとう　– Imperial House Shinto • しゅはしんとう – Sectarian Shinto • 民族神道 – Folk Shinto • 神社神道 – Shrine Shinto 民族神道では、いろいろな道の儀式があります。 In Folk shinto there are various rites of passage. これは、ふじ山の神道の神社です。

4. Shinto Rights Of Passage • “はつみやもうで” is when a new-born baby first visits the local shrine, and so the deity recognises it as a member of the community. • “しちごさん” is when boys in their fifth year, and girls in their third and seventh year, visit a shrine to report their healthy growth and receive a blessing. • “せいじんのひ”　is the Coming-Of-Age festival held on the second Monday in January. It celebrates Japanese citizens becoming aged 20, and often the youths visit shrines to receive a blessing. • “けっこんしき” is the Traditional Marriage Ceremony. The couple go to a shrine to report to their ancestors that they have been married, and are welcomed into the community as new members. しちごさん

5. Festivals In Japan, there are various festivals in order to celebrate various things. • Some are on fixed days: • せいじんのひ (Coming Of Age) – 2nd Monday in January • ひなまつり (Doll Festival) – 3rd March • たなばた (Star Festival) – 7th July • Some take place over multiple days: • せつぶん – Division of seasons • えんにち – Temple days related to Kami and/or Buddha • Some festivals are celebrated in other cultures: • Valentine’s Day • Christmas • New Year

6. Fashion Traditional Japanese-style clothing includes きもの, ゆかた, and wearing かたな swords for display purposes. Kimonos from 1938 Kimonos are worn for weddings, and are very extravagant

7. YAMANBA! ‘やまんば’ is derived from ‘やまーうば’which is the name of a mountain hag in Japanese folklore. The fashion trend is very tanned skin, incredibly bright pastel coloured make up and blonde hair.Some even dye their hair in bright colours This fashion is a very extreme fashion in Japan; many people who follow it do not look Japanese. They are like caricatures of blonde Caucasian women.

8. Ganguro The がんぐろ fashion also follows the trend of light hair and tanned skin, but it much less extreme than やまんば. The clothes are generally mini skirts, platform boots, and sometimes lots of rings, bracelets and necklaces. It peaked around the year 2000, and is still popular today.

9. Kogyaru ‘こぎゃる’ is the least extreme of the three fashions. In this trend, the girls dye their hair to light browns and blondes, but do not tan or wear over-the-top make-up. The clothes are miniskirts and platform shoes, in nice light colours.

10. 食べ物！ In Japan, the common staple foods are rice, bread and noodles. Also, because Japan is an island country, they eat a lot of sea food. ‘うどん’ noodles ‘おにぎり’ Rice balls Japanese bread

11. 魚と肉 Yakitori Often eaten with sake in a bar is やきとり . This is similar to a shish kebab and is generally made from chicken and grilled on bamboo skewers over charcoal. As the meat is grilled, it is dipped into a sweetened soy-based source to give it a very Japanese flavour. ‘てんぷら’ is fried fritters, commonly made with shrimp or prawns, but also made with squid, pepper, sweet potato, lotus root and onion. Only the freshest fish and vegetables are used. A special sauce ten-tsuyu is used as a dip. Shabu Shabu しゃぶしゃぶ is a typical example of such a dish and is particularly suitable for a large gathering. At the centre of the table is a large pot of simmering stock. The guests are invited to dip slices of beef and vegetable in the stock to cook them. The cooked food is then dipped into a choice of sauces. When all the meat and vegetables have been cooked, the enriched stock is served as soup

12. How To Make Rice Balls • Put half a cup of cooked steamed rice into a rice bowl. • Make a small dent in the middle of the rice and gently push the filling in. • Wet your hands, and rub some salt into them. Hold the rice in the rice bowl between your palms. Form the rice into a round or a triangle, by pressing lightly with your both palms. Roll the rice ball on your hands a few times, pressing lightly. • Wrap the rice bowl in a strip of ‘のり’seaweed.

13. Food Art In Japan, the presentation of food is very important. All meals are set out in a precise way, and often rice meals are made into cute shapes. とてもかわいい！

14. Japanese Painting The style of painting in Japan has changed over the eras; from やまとーえ in the へいあん and かまくら eras to the すいぼくが　ink paintings in the むろまち era, to the ようが western-style paintings in the めいじ era. ようが style (19th century). These are created in oil, water-colour and acrylic paints. やまとーえ style (8th century)。These often show stories or the beauty of nature. すいぼくが (14th century)。This is also called ‘すみえ’and is done using an ink stick.

15. Japanese Poetry In ancient times, Japanese poetry was written in Chinese, but in the 19th century a new trend came, and since them there have been たんか, はいく and し poetry. たんか consists of five units, usually split into 5 lines when translated into romanised languages, and follows the mora pattern 5-7-5-7-7. This form is much older than Haiku. In ancient times poems of this form were called はんか(“reverse poem”), since the 5-7-5-7-7 form derived from the conclusion (envoi) of a ちょうか. Sometimes a ちょうか had two envois. The ちょうか below is followed by an envoi, written by Okura: 銀も Shirogane mo What are they to me, 金も玉も Kogane mo tama mo Silver, or gold, or jewels? 何せんに Nanisen ni   How could they ever まされる宝 Masareru takara Equal the greater treasure 子にしかめやも Koni shikame yamo That is a child? They can not

16. Japanese Poetry はいく poetry is similar to たんか poetry, but has less lines. The morashave the structure 5-7-5. はいく generally contain a きご (seasonal reference) and a きれじ (which the English equivalent is a punctuation mark). They were originally called ほっか, but at the end of the 19th century It was changed to its current name by まさおか　しき。 古池や Furuike ya Old pond… 蛙　飛込む Kawazu tobikomu A frog leaps in 水の音 Mizu no oto Water’s sound. このはいくは‘ばしょう’によってかかれました。

17. 折り紙！ Origami comes from the words ‘おる’meaning “to fold” and ‘かみ’ meaning “paper”. The paper used is usually square, very fine and has intricate designs on one side. The goal of this art is to create a representation of an object using geometric folds, without using glue or cutting.

18. Examples Of Nets りゅう かえる

19. ありがとう　ございます！