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Angemon102 — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 20:34:39 CDT

JAPANESE WORLD

News and updates will change weekly or even monthly at times. Links to all the pages are to be found at the bottom of the home page

Welcome people of all ages to the place all you need to know about Japan! Here you can find all kinds of stuff concerning the Japanese World. You’re especially lucky if you utterly LOVE Japan. Here you can find out about Japan’s language, culture, religion, environment, etc. So come on by and find out ALL ABOUT JAPAN!!

News and Updates

Hello All! Summer Is Over And A New School Year Starts Sadly ='(.. Well, Japanese World Is Officially Dead, Hehe..Tagaski Has Stopped Taking Interest In The Site COMPLETELY! And I Really SUCK At Updating Websites. Our Only Writer Turned Out To Be An Inactive Person And We Have Had No Updates The Entire Summer...Aaah! Who Cares? My Site's Traffic IS Only About An Average Of 20 People A Day.
- Wali Abro (29th August, 2007).
I Got My Report Card Yesterday. I HATE My History And Islamiat Teachers! Urdu I Admit I Failed (10/100 :$) Fair And Square. I Got An "A+" In My Science Exam And "A" Overall (At 89.87!! A+ Is At 90+!! ='( ). And About The Site. Aaah... I'm So Bored With It Now, Tagasaki Is Still Interested In Japan, But Not With Japanese World Though.
- Wali Abro (19th June, 2007).
Wooh, Schooool's Out For Summer!! Finally Done With My Exams, Tomorrow Is My Report Day And I'm Expecting To Have Done Good Too. I Don't Really Get Much Time Too Give The Site, And I'm Actually Just Really Lost In The Gaming World, Especially RuneScape =P. I'm Sure Tagasaki Would Be Failing. Hehehe.
- Wali Abro (30th May, 2007).
Woah!! It Has Been Quite Some Time Since Me And Tagasaki Have Updated This Site. We Are Looking For Information That YOU Would Want. Tell Me Or Tagasaki via E-Mail. If You Are Not From Japan, But From Someplace Like China Or Korea, E-Mail Us And We Will Make A Site Dedicated To Your Country. And As For The Japanese, We Think Our Site Is Small, So Tell Us What You Want And We Will Upload It Here! Also Send Ideas, Information, "Complaints", Etc Etc. To Us. Thank You!
- Wali Abro (25th February, 2007).

Here Are Some Other Sites By Me:
http://animal-planet.wetpaint.com
http://bigcatdiary.wetpaint.com
http://cats-dogs.wetpaint.com
http://cuisines.wetpaint.com
http://bigdogdiary.wetpaint.com
http://japan-travels.wetpaint.com
http://japanese-anime.wetpaint.com
http://worldoftakaru.wetpaint.com
http://ultimate-spiderman.wetpaint.com
- Buland (7th Dec. 2006).

INTERNAL LINKS

East Asia

Extras
Japan
- Bonsai
- Cuteness in Japanese culture
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Extras

Angemon102 — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 16:06:55 CDT

TODAI-JI TEMPLE

Todai-Ji (東大寺), The Eastern Great Temple, is a Buddhist Temple in Nara, Japan. Reputedly the largest wooden building in the world, it houses a giant statue of The Buddha Vairocana (Jp. Dainichi; it means 'Buddha that shines throughout the world like the sun'), known in Japanese simply as the Daibutsu (大仏, "great Buddha"). The temple also serves as the Japanese Headquarters Of The Kegon School of Buddhism. Sika Deer, themselves officially protected as National Treasures and regarded as messengers of the gods by Shinto, roam the grounds freely and are not afraid of humans.

IMPERIAL PALACE

The Kōkyo (皇居, Kōkyo?) is The Imperial Palace of Japan and the residence of the Emperor of Japan. It is located in Maronouchi Chiyoda, Tokyo.
After the Meiji Restoration and the resignation of Tokigawa Yoshinobu, the last Tokugawa Shogun, the Imperial Court moved from Kyoto to Tokyo and the Former Tokugawa Stronghold Of Edo Castle became the residence of the Emperor. From 1888 to 1948, it was called Kyūjō (宮城, "Palace Castle").
It was destroyed during the Second World War by bombing, but was rebuilt in the same style in 1968.
Most of the palace is generally off-limits to the public, but the East Gardens are usually accessible to tourists. The inner palace is open to the public on only two days during each year, the Emperor's Birthday and at The New Year (January 2). The Kōkyo is close to Tokyo station.
The buildings of The Imperial Palace were constructed by Takenaka Corporation.

NAGOYA CASTLE

Nagoya Castle (名古屋城, Nagoya-jō?) is located in Nagoya Aichi, Japan. Imagawa Ujichika built the original castle around 1525. Oda Nobuhide took it from Imagawa Ujitoyo in 1532, but later abandoned it.
In 1610, Tokugawa Ieyasu ordered the various Daimyo to help with the building of a new castle on the site. The castle's construction was completed in 1612. Until the Meiji Era, the castle was the home of the Owari Clan of the Tokugawa family.
On top of the castle are two golden imaginary tiger-headed fish , called Kinshachi (金鯱 Kin No Shachihōko); this motif is used as a talisman for fire prevention. They are said to be a symbol of The Feudal Lord's authority. Both Kinshachi were temporarily lowered from atop the castle and displayed on the castle grounds, and briefly at the site of the Expo 2005 from March 19th until June 19th of 2005, and were restored to the castle on July 9th the same year. As preparation for the World Expo plaques with English were added to most displays as well as a 3D movie showing the paintings in Hommaru Palace. During World War II, the castle was burnt to the ground, and most of its artifacts were destroyed; many of the paintings inside, however, survived and have been preserved to this day. The rebuilding of the castle finished in 1959. Today the castle is a modern concrete building with airconditioning and elevators. In addition, there are plans to reconstruct the Hommaru Palace (本丸御殿 Hommaru Goten), which was also lost to fire during the war. Many of the paintings from this palace were also rescued, and replicas of these paintings will be placed in their appropriate locations within the restored palace. Until then, many of the objects formerly in the Hommaru as well as replicas of sliding Shoji doors and the reconstructed No stage can be seen in the Tokugawa Art Museum, Nagoya.

HIMEJI CASTLE

Himeji Castle (Japanese: 姫路城; -jō) is a Japanese Castle located in Himeji in Hyogo Prefecture. It is one of the oldest surviving structures from medieval Japan, and was registered as the first Japanese National Cultural Treasure by UNESCO World Heritage Site and a Japanese National Cultural Treasure in December, 1993. Along with Matsumoto Castle and Kumamoto Castle, it is one of Japan's "Three Famous Castles", and is the most visited castle in Japan. It is occasionally known as Hakurojō or Shirasagijō ("White Heron Castle") because of its brilliant white exterior.
Himeji Castle frequently appears on Japanese television. Edo Castle (the present Kokyo) does not have a keep, so when a fictional show such as Aberenbo shogun needs a magnificent substitute, the producers turn to Himeji.

KINKAKU-JI

Kinkaku-Ji (金閣寺, Kinkaku-Ji? Golden Pavilion Temple) is the name of one of the buildings in the Rokuon-Ji (鹿苑寺 Deer Garden Temple) in Kyoto, Japan, and is the main attraction of The Temple Grounds. The Golden Pavilion (formally called 'Shariden') was originally built in 1397 to serve as a retirement villa for Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu. It was his son who converted the building into a Zen temple of the Rinzai school. The temple was burned down several times during the Onin War. Yoshimitsu's grandson used Kinkaku-Ji as the inspiration for Ginkaku-ji, a Buddhist temple, which he intended to cover in silver.
The entire pavilion except the basement floor is covered with pure gold leaf. The pavilion functions as a Shariden, housing relics of the Buddha. On the roof of the pavilion is a golden Fenghuang or "Chinese phoenix".
In 1950, the temple was burned down by a mentally disturbed monk; a fictionalized version of the events is at the center of Yukio Mishima's 1956 book The Temple of the Golden Pavilion. The present structure dates from 1955. Recently, the coating of Japanese lacquer was found a little decayed and a new coating as well as gilding with gold-leaf, much thicker than the original coatings was completed in 1987. Additionally, the interior of the building, including the paintings were also restored. Finally, the roof was restored in 2003.
The land where the Golden Pavilion sits was used in the 1220s as a villa for Kintsune Saionji. The pond near the Golden Pavilion is called Kyōko-chi (Mirror Pond).

MOUNT. FUJI

Mount Fuji (富士山, Fuji-San?, IPA: [ɸɯʥisaɴ]) is The Highest Mountain in Japan. It straddles the boundary of Shizuoka and Yamanashi prefectures just west of Tokyo, from where it can be seen on a clear day. It is located near the Pacific coast of central Honshu. Three small cities surround it, they are: Gotemba (East), Fuji-Yoshida (North) and Fujinomiya (Southwest).
Mount Fuji is a well-known symbol of Japan and is frequently depicted in art and photographs, as well as visited by sightseers and climbers.

AIZUWAKAMATSU CASTLE

Aizuwakamatsu Castle (会津若松城, Aizuwakamatsu-Jō?), also known as Tsuruga Castle (鶴ヶ城 Tsuruga-Jō) is a traditional fortress in northern Japan, at the center of the town of Aizuwakamatsu, in Fukushima Prefecture.

EDO CASTLE

Edo Castle (江戸城 -Jō) was built in 1457 by Ota Dokan in what is now the Chiyoda Ward of Tokyo, but was then known as Edo, Toshima District, Musashi Province. Tokugawa Ieyasu established the Tokugawa Shogunate here, and as the residence of the shogun and location of the Bakufu, it functioned as the military capital during the Edo Period of Japanese history. Along with the Meiji Restoration, it became the residence of the Emperor of Japan, or in Japanese Kokyo. Some moats, walls and ramparts survive. However, during the Edo period, the grounds were much more extensive, with Tokyo Station and the Marunouchi section of the city lying within the outermost moat. It also encompassed Kita-No-Maru Park, the Nippon Budokan Hall and other landmarks of the area.

Fukuyama Castle

Coming Soon...!

Geography of Japan

Tagasaki — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 23:25:01 CDT

Japan is an island nation in East Asia comprised of a large stratovolcanic archipelago extending along the Pacific coast of Asia. Measured from the geographic co-ordinate system, Japan is 36° north of the equator and 138° east of the Prime Meridian. The country is north-northeast of China and Taiwan (separated by the East China Sea) and slightly east of Korea (separated by the Sea of Japan). The country is south of Siberia in Russia.
The main islands, sometimes called the "Home Islands", are (from north to south) Hokkaido, Honshu (the "mainland"), Shikoku and Kyushu. There are also about 3,000 smaller islands, including Okinawa, and islets, some inhabited and others uninhabited. In total, Japan's territory is 377,835 km², of which 374,744 km² is land and 3,091 km² water. This makes Japan's total area slightly smaller than the U.S State of Montana. Japan is bigger than Germany, Malaysia, New Zealand and the U.K, and is 1.7 times the size of North and South Korea combined and 10 times the size of Taiwan.

Statistics

Location: Eastern Asia, island chain between the North Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan, east of the Korean Peninsula.
Geographic coordinates: 36 00 N, 138 00 E
Map references: Asia
Area:

total: 377,835 km²
land: 374,744 km²
water: 3,091 km²
notes: -includes Bonin Islands, Daito-shoto, Marcus Islands, Okino-tori-shima, Ryukyu Islands, and Volcano Islands. Ownership of Takeshima (Liancourt Rocks) is in dispute.

Area comparative: slightly smaller than Montana, USA Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 29,751 km (18,486 mi)
Maritime claims:

exclusive economic zone: 200 nautical miles (370 km) (230 mi)
territorial sea: 12 nautical miles (22 km)(14 mi); between 3 and 12 nautical miles (6 and 22 km)(4 and 14 mi) in the international straits - La Perouse or Soya Strait, Tsugaru Strait, Osumi, and Eastern and Western Channels of the Korea or Tsushima Strait.

Climate: varies from tropical in south to cool temperate in north
Terrain: mostly rugged and mountainous
Natural resources: negligible coal, oil, ion resources, fish, and mineral resources
Land use:

arable land: 11%
permanent crops: 1%
permanent pastures: 2%
forests and woodland: 67%
other: 19% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 27,820 km² (1993 est.)

Composition, topography, and Drainage

About 73 percent of Japan is mountainous, with a mountain range running through each of the main islands. Japan's highest mountain is Mt. Fuji, with an elevation of 3776m (12,388 feet). Since so very little flat area exists, many hills and mountainsides are cultivated all the way to the top. As Japan is situated in a volcanic zone along the Pacific deeps, frequent low-intensity earth tremors and occasional volcanic activity are felt throughout the islands. Destructive earthquakes occur several times a century. Hot springs are numerous and have been exploited as an economic capital by the leisure industry.
The mountainous islands of the Japanese Archipelago form a crescent off the eastern coast of Asia. They are separated from the mainland by the Sea of Japan, which historically served as a protective barrier. The country consists of four principal islands: Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu; more than 3,000 adjacent islands and islets, including Oshima in the Nampo Chain; and more than 200 other smaller islands, including those of the Amami, Okinawa, and Sakishima chains of the Ryukyu Islands. The national territory also includes the small Bonin or Ogasawara Islands, which include Iwo Jima and the Volcano Islands (Kazan Retto), stretching some 1,100 kilometers from the main islands. A territorial dispute with Russia, dating from the end of World War II, over the two southernmost of the Kuril Islands, Etorofu (Iturup) and Kunashiri, and the smaller Shikotan and Habomai Islands northeast of Hokkaido remains a sensitive spot in Japanese-Russian relations as of 2005. Excluding disputed territory, the archipelago covers about 377,000 square kilometers. No point in Japan is more than 150 kilometers from the sea.
The four major islands are separated by narrow straits and form a natural entity. The Ryukyu Islands curve 970 kilometers southward from Kyūshū.
The distance between Japan and the Korean Peninsula, the nearest point on the Asian continent, is about 200 kilometers at the Korea Strait. Japan has always been linked with the continent through trade routes, stretching in the north toward Siberia, in the west through the Tsushima Islands to the Korean Peninsula, and in the south to the ports on the south China coast.
The Japanese islands are the summits of mountain ridges uplifted near the outer edge of the continental shelf. About 75 percent of Japan's area is mountainous, and scattered plains and intermontane basins (in which the population is concentrated) cover only about 25 percent. A long chain of mountains runs down the middle of the archipelago, dividing it into two halves, the "face," fronting on the Pacific Ocean, and the "back," toward the Sea of Japan. On the Pacific side are steep mountains 1,500 to 3,000 meters high, with deep valleys and gorges. Central Japan is marked by the convergence of the three mountain chains—the Hida, Kiso, and Akaishi mountains—that form the Japanese Alps (Nihon Arupusu), several of whose peaks are higher than 3,000 meters. The highest point in the Japanese Alps is Kitadake at 3,193 meters. The highest point in the country is Mt. Fuji (Fujisan, also erroneously called Fujiyama), a volcano dormant since 1707 that rises to 3,776 meters above sea level in Shizuoka Prefecture. On the Sea of Japan side are plateaus and low mountain districts, with altitudes of 500 to 1,500 meters.
None of the populated plains or mountain basins is extensive in area. The largest, the Kanto Plain, where Tokyo is situated, covers only 13,000 square kilometers. Other important plains are the Nobi Plain surrounding Nagoya, the Kinki Plain in the Osaka-Kyoto area, the Sendai Plain around the city of Sendai in northeastern Honshū, and the Ishikari Plain on Hokkaidō. Many of these plains are along the coast, and their areas have been increased by reclamation throughout recorded history.
The small amount of habitable land prompted significant human modification of the terrain over many centuries. Land was reclaimed from the sea and from river deltas by building dikes and drainage, and rice paddies were built on terraces carved into mountainsides. The process continued in the modern period with extension of shorelines and building of artificial islands for industrial and port development, such as Port Island in Kobe and the new Kansai International Airport in Osaka Bay. Hills and even mountains have been razed to provide flat areas for housing.
Rivers are generally steep and swift, and few are suitable for navigation except in their lower reaches. Most rivers are fewer than 300 kilometers in length, but their rapid flow from the mountains provides a valuable, renewable resource: hydro-electric power generation. Japan's hydroelectric power potential has been exploited almost to capacity. Seasonal variations in flow have led to extensive development of flood control measures. Most of the rivers are very short. The longest, the Shinano River, which winds through Nagano Prefecture to Niigata Prefecture and flows into the Sea of Japan, is only 367 kilometers long. The largest freshwater lake is Lake Biwa, northeast of Kyoto.
Extensive coastal shipping, especially around the Inland Sea (Seto Naikai), compensates for the lack of navigable rivers. The Pacific coastline south of Tokyo is characterized by long, narrow, gradually shallowing inlets produced by sedimentation, which has created many natural harbors. The Pacific coastline north of Tokyo, the coast of Hokkaidō, and the Sea of Japan coast are generally unindented, with few natural harbors.

Climate

Japan belongs to the temperate zone with four distinct seasons, but its climate varies from cool temperate in the north to subtropical in the south. The climate is also affected by the seasonal winds that blow from the continent to the ocean in winters and vice versa in summers.
Japan is generally a rainy country with high humidity. Because of its wide range of latitude, Japan has a variety of climates, with a range often compared to that of the east coast of North America, from Nova Scotia to Georgia. Tokyo is at about 35 north latitude, comparable to that of Tehran, Athens, or Las Vegas, Nevada. The generally humid, temperate climate exhibits marked seasonal variation celebrated in art and literature, as well as regional variations ranging from cool in Hokkaidō to subtropical in Kyūshū. Climate also varies with altitude and with location on the Pacific Ocean or on the Sea of Japan. Northern Japan has warm summers but long, cold winters with heavy snow. Central Japan has hot, humid summers and short winters, and southwestern Japan has long, hot, humid summers and mild winters.
Two primary factors influence Japan's climate: a location near the Asian continent and the existence of major oceanic currents. The climate from June to September is marked by hot, wet weather brought by tropical airflows from the Pacific Ocean and Southeast Asia. These airflows are full of moisture and deposit substantial amounts of rain when they reach land. There is a marked rainy season, beginning in early June and continuing for about a month. It is followed by hot, sticky weather. Five or six typhoons pass over or near Japan every year from early August to early September, sometimes resulting in significant damage. Annual precipitation, which averages between 100 and 200 centimeters (39-78 inches), is concentrated in the period between June and September. In fact, 70 to 80 percent of the annual precipitation falls during this period. In winter, a high-pressure area develops over Siberia, and a low-pressure area develops over the northern Pacific Ocean. The result is a flow of cold air eastward across Japan that brings freezing temperatures and heavy snowfalls to the central mountain ranges facing the Sea of Japan, but clear skies to areas fronting on the Pacific.
Two major ocean currents affect this climatic pattern: the warm Kuroshio Current (Black Current; also known as the Japan Current); and the cold Oyashi Current (Parent Current; also known as the Okhotsk Current). The Kuroshio Current flows northward on the Pacific side of Japan and warms areas as far north as Tokyo; a small branch, the Tsushima Current, flows up the Sea of Japan side. The Oyashio Current, which abounds in plankton beneficial to coldwater fish, flows southward along the northern Pacific, cooling adjacent coastal areas. The meeting point of these currents at 36 north latitude is a bountiful fishing ground.
Late June and early July are a rainy season except Hokkaidō as a seasonal rain front or baiu zensen stays above Japan. In summer and early autumn, typhoons, grown from tropical depressions generated near the equator, attack Japan with furious rainstorms.
Its varied geographical features divide Japan into six principal climatic zones.

Hokkaido (Hokkaido): Belonging to the cool temperate zone, Hokkaidō has long, cold winters and cool summers. Precipitation is not great.

Sea of Japan (Nihonkai): The northwest seasonal wind in winter gives heavy snowfalls. In summer it is less hot than in the Pacific area but sometimes experiences extreme high temperatures due to the Fohn wind phenomenon.

Central Highland (Chuo-kochi): A typical inland climate gives large temperature differences between summers and winters and between days and nights. Precipitation is not large throughout the year.

Seto Inland Sea (Setonaikai): The mountains in the Chūgoku and Shikoku regions block the seasonal winds and bring mild climate and many fine days throughout the year.

Pacific Ocean (Taiheiyo): Winters are cold, with little snowfall, and summers are hot and humid due to the southeast seasonal wind.

Southwest Islands (Nansei-shoto): This zone has a subtropical climate with warm winters and hot summers. Precipitation is very high, and is especially affected by the rainy season and typhoons.

The warmest winter temperatures are found in the Nampo and Bonin Islands, which enjoy a tropical climate due to the combination of latitude, distance from the Asian mainland, and warming effect of winds from the Kuroshio, as well as the Volcano Islands (at the latitude of the southernmost Ryūkyūs, 24° N.)
As an island nation, Japan has a long coastline. A few prefectures are landlocked: Gunma, Tochigi, Saitama, Nagano, Yamanashi, Gifu, Shiga, and Nara. As Mt. Fuji provides rain shadow effects in Yamanshi. As a result it has the least rainfall in Japan which still excesses 1000 mm annually. The others all have coasts on the Pacific Ocean, Sea of Japan, Seto Inland Sea or have a body of salt water connected to them. Two prefectures—Hokkaido and Okinawa—are composed of islands.

Environmental Protection

Environment - current issues: air pollution from car emissions in urban area suspected for causing Asthma; over-enrichment of lakes and reservoirs degrading water quality for aquatic life; quota for fisheries imposed on Japanese fishing fleets; over-fish farming causing degrading water quality for aquatic life; Biodiversity threatened by foreign animals, fish, insects, and plants
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes (Basel Convention), Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection (Montreal Protocol), Ship Pollution (MARPOL 73/78), Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands (Ramsar Convention), Whaling.

Natural Hazards

Ten percent of the world's active volcanoes—forty in the early 1990s (another 148 were dormant)—are found in Japan, which lies in a zone of extreme crustal instability. As many as 1,500 earthquakes are recorded yearly, and magnitudes of four to six on the Richter Scale are not uncommon. Minor tremors occur almost daily in one part of the country or another, causing slight shaking of buildings. Major earthquakes occur infrequently; the most famous in the twentieth century was the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, in which 130,000 people died. Undersea earthquakes also expose the Japanese coastline to danger from tsunami (tsunami), tidal wave.
Japan has become a world leader in research on causes and prediction of earthquakes. The development of advanced technology has permitted the construction of skyscrapers even in earthquake-prone areas. Extensive civil defense efforts focus on training in protection against earthquakes, in particular against accompanying fire, which represents the greatest danger.
Another common hazard are typhoons (taifu) that reach Japan from the Pacific.

Regions

Japan is informally divided into eight regions. Each contains several prefectures, except the Hokkaido region, which covers only Hokkaido Prefecture.
The region is not an official administrative unit, but has been traditionally used as the regional division of Japan in a number of contexts: for example, maps and geography textbooks divide Japan into the eight regions, weather reports usually give the weather by region, and many businesses and institutions use their home region as part of their name (Kinki Nippon Railway, Chūgoku Bank, Tohoku University, etc.). While Japan has eight High Courts, their jurisdictions do not correspond to the eight regions.

Japanese Poetry

Angemon102 — Wed, 09 May 2007 07:12:10 CDT

The best-known forms of Japanese poetry (outside Japan) are Haiku and Senryu. The classic traditional form is in fact Waka. Much poetry in Japan was written in the Chinese language, so it is more accurate to speak of Japanese-language poetry. For example, in the Tale of Genji both kinds of poetry are frequently mentioned. When Japanese poets first encountered Chinese poetry, it was at its peak in the Tang dynasty and Japanese poets were completely fascinated. It took them several hundred years to digest the foreign impact, make it a part of their culture and merge it with their literary tradition in their mother tongue, and begin to develop the diversity of their native poetry. Waka and Kanshi, Chinese poetry including Japanese works written in (sometimes corrupted) Chinese, were the two greatest pillars of Japanese poetry. From them many other forms, such as Renga, Haiku or Senryu, arose.
A new trend came in the middle of the 19th Century. Since then the major forms of Japanese poetry have been Tanka (new name for Waka), Haiku and Shi.
Nowadays the main forms of Japanese poetry can be divided into experimental poetry and poetry that seeks to revive traditional ways. Poets writing in Tanka, Haiku and Shi move in separate planes and seldom write poetry other than in their specific chosen form, although some active poets are eager to collaborate with poets in other genres.
Important collections are the Man'yoshi, Kokin-Wakashu and Shin-kokin-Wakashu.

Ancient

Poems in Kojiki and Nihonshoki

The oldest written work in Japanese literature is Kojiki in the 8th century, in which Ota Yasumaro recorded Japanese mythology and history as recited by Hieda no Are, to whom it was handed down by his ancestors. Many of the poetic pieces recorded by the Kojiki were perhaps transmitted from the time the Japanese had no writing. The Nihonshoki, the oldest history of Japan which was finished two years later than the Kojiki, also contains many poetic pieces. These were mostly not long and had no fixed forms. The first poem documented in both books was attributed to a Kami (god), named Susaono, the younger brother of Amaterasu. When he married Princess Kushinada in Izumo province, the Kami made an Uta, or Waka, a poem.Yakumo tatsu / Izumo yagegaki / Tsuma-gomini / Yaegaki tsukuro / Sono yaegaki wo This is the oldest Waka (poem written in Japanese) and hence poetry was later praised as having been founded by a Kami, a divine creation.
The two books shared many of the same or similar pieces but Nihonshoki contained newer ones because it recorded later affairs (up till the reign of Emperor Temmu) than Kojiki. Themes of Waka in the books were diverse, covering love, sorrow, satire, war cries, praise of victory, riddles and so on. Most of these works are considered collectively as 'works of the people', even where attributed to someone, such as the Kami Susaono. Many works in Kojiki were anonymous. Some were attributed to Kami, emperors and empresses, nobles, generals, commoners and sometimes enemies of the court.

Early Man'yoshi Poets (Vol. I-III)

The oldest poetic anthology of Waka is the 20 volume Man'yoshi. Probably finished in the early part of the Heian period, it gathered ancient works. The order of its sections is roughly chronological. Most of the works in the Manyoshu have a fixed form today called choka and Tanka. But earlier works, especially in Volume I, lacked such fixed form and were attributed to Emperor Yuryaku.
The Manyoshu begins with a Waka without fixed form. It is both a love song for an unknown girl whom the poet met by chance and a ritual song praising the beauty of the land. It is worthy of being attributed to an emperor and today is used in court ritual.
The first three sections contain mostly the works of poets from the middle of the 7th century to the early part of the 8th century. Significant poets among them were Nukata no Okimi and Kakinomoto Hitomaro. Kakinomoto Hitomaro was not only the greatest poet in those early days and one of the most significant in the Manyoshu, he rightly has a place as one of the most outstanding poets in Japanese literature.

Chinese influences

Literature was introduced into Japan in the 7th Century. It took almost a half century before it began to influence Japanese literature. In the court of Emperor Temmu some nobles made attempts to recite Chinese poetry. Chinese literacy was a sign of education and most high courtiers wrote poetry in Chinese. Later these works were collected in the Kaifuso, one of the earliest anthologies of poetry in Japan, edited in the early Heian period. Thanks to this book the death poem of Prince Otsu is still extant today.

Nara Period Poets

In 710 the Japanese capital moved from Fujiwara (today's Asuka, Nara) to Nara and the Nara period (710-794) began. It was the period when Chinese influence reached its culmination. Todai-ji was established and the Great Buddha was created under the order of Emperor Shomu. The significant Waka poets in this period were Otomo no Tabito, Yamanoue no Okura, and Yamabe no Akahito. The Manyoshu included also many female poets who mainly wrote love poems. The poets of the Manyoshu were aristocrats who were born in Nara but sometimes lived or traveled in other provinces as bureaucrats of the emperor. These poets wrote down their impressions of travel and expressed their emotion for lovers or children. Sometimes their poems criticized the political failure of the government or tyranny of local officials. Yamanoue no Okura wrote a choka, A Dialogue of two Poormen (貧窮問答歌, Hinkyū mondōka); in this poem two poor men lamented their severe lives of poverty. One hanka is as follows:世の中を憂しとやさしとおもへども飛び立ちかねつ鳥にしあらねば Yononaka wo / Ushi to yasashi to / Omoe domo / Tobitachi Kanetsu / Tori Ni Shi Arane Ba; I feel the life is / sorrowful and unbearable / though / I can't flee away / since I am not a bird. The Manyoshu contains not only poems of aristocrats but also those of nameless ordinary people. These poems are called Yomibito shirazu, poems whose author is unknown. Among them there is a specific style of Waka called Azuma-uta, Waka written in the Eastern dialect. Azuka, meaning the East, designated the eastern provinces roughly corresponding to Kanto and occasionally Tohoku. Those poems were filled with rural flavors. There was a specific style among Azuma-uta, called Sakimori uta, soldiers' Waka. They were mainly Waka by drafted soldiers at leaving home. These soldiers were drafted in the eastern provinces and were forced to work as guards in Kyushu for several years. Sometimes their poetry expressed nostalgia for their far homeland.

Waka in the Early Heian Period

It is thought the Man'yoshi reached its final form, the one we know today, very early in the Heian period. There are strong grounds for believing that Otomo no Yakamochi was the final editor but some documents claim further editing was done in the later period by other poets including Sugawara no Michizane.
Though there was a strong inclination towards Chinese poetry, some eminent Waka poets were active in the early Heian period, including the six best Waka poets.

The Culmination of Kanshi

In the early Heian period Chinese poetry or Kanshi (漢詩, Chinese poetry) was most the popular style of poetry among Japanese aristocrats. Some poets like Kukai studied in China and were fluent in Chinese. Other poets like Sugawara no Michizane had grown up in Japan but understood Chinese well. When they hosted foreign diplomats, they communicated not orally but in writing, using Kanji or Chinese characters. In that period, Chinese poetry in China had reached one of its culminations. Great Chinese poets of the Tang dynasty like Li Po (李白) were their contemporaries. These Chinese poets' works were known very well. Some people who went to China for study or diplomacy made the acquaintance of these major poets. The most popular styles of Kanshi were in 5 or 7 syllables in 4 or 8 lines. The rules of rhyme were very strict. Japanese poets became skilled in those rules and wrote many good poems. Sometimes they made long poems with lines of 5 or 7 syllables. These, when chanted, were referred to as Shigin (詩吟) - a practice which continues today.
Emperor Saga himself was good at Kanshi. He ordered the compilation of three anthologies of Kanshi. These were the first of the imperial anthologies, a tradition which continued till the Muromachi period.

Kokinshu

In the middle of the Heian period Waka revived with the compilation of the Kokin-Wakashu (古今(和歌)集 Kokin (Waka)shū, "collection of ancient and modern poems"). It was edited on the order of Emperor Daigo. About 1,000 Waka, mainly from the late Nara period till the contemporary times, were anthologized by five Waka poets in the court including Kino Tsurayaki who wrote the "Preface in Kana" (Kanajo).
The Kana preface to Kokinshu was the second earliest expression of literary theory and criticism in Japan (the earliest was by Kukai). Kukai's literary theory was not influential, but Kokinshu set the types of Waka and hence other genres which would develop from Waka.
The collection is divided into twenty parts, reflecting older models such as the Man'yoshi and various Chinese anthologies. The organisation of topics is however different from all earlier models, and was followed by all later official collections, although some collections like the \Kin'yoshu and Shikashu reduced the number of parts to ten. The parts of the Kokinshū are ordered as follows: Parts 1-6 covered the four seasons, followed by congratulatory poems, poetry at partings, and travel poems. The last ten sections included poetry on the 'Names Of Things', love, laments, occasional poems, miscellaneous verse, and finally traditional and ceremonial poems from the Bureau of Poetry.
The compilers included the name of the author of each poem, and the topic (題 Dai) or inspiration of the poem, if known. Major poets of the Kokinshū include Ariwara Narihira, Ono no Komachi, Henjo and Fujiwara no Okikaze, apart from the compilers themselves. Inclusion in any imperial collection, and particularly the Kokinshū, was a great honor.

Influence of Kokin-Wakashu

The Kokinshū is the first of the Nijuichidaishu (二十一大集), the twenty one collections of Japanese poetry compiled at Imperial request. It was the most influential realization of the ideas of poetry at the time, dictating the form and format of Japanese poetry until the late nineteenth century. The primacy of poems about the seasons pioneered by the Kokinshū continues even today in the Haiku tradition. The Japanese preface by Ki no Tsurayuki is also the beginning of Japanese criticism as distinct from the far more prevalent Chinese poetics in the literary circles of its day. (The anthology also included a traditional Chinese preface authored by Ki no Tomonori.) The idea of including old as well as new poems was another important innovation, one which was widely adopted in later works, both in prose and verse. The poems of the Kokinshū were ordered temporally; the love poems, for instance, depict the progression and fluctuations of a courtly love-affair. This association of one poem to the next marks this anthology as the ancestor of the Renga and Haikai traditions.

Imperial Anthologies of Waka

After Shinkokinshu ordered and edited by Emperor Go-Toba, eight Waka anthologies were compiled under imperial edict. These anthologies reflected the taste of aristocrats and were considered the ideal of Waka in each period.

Important Poets (Pre-Modern)

Kakinomoto no Hitomaro: He was the most prominent of the Man'yoshi poets.
Ariwara no Narihira: He was one of six Waka poets referred in the preface in kana.
Ono no Komachi: She was noted as a rare beauty
Saigyo: He was a famous Japanese poet.
Fujiwara no Teika: He was a Japanese Waka poet, critic, calligrapher, novelist, anthologist, scribe, and scholar.
Basho Matsuo: He was the most famous poet of the Edo period in Japan..
Yosa no Buson: He was a Japanese poet and painter of the Edo period.
Kobayashi Issa: He was a Japanese writer of haikai known for his hokku verses.

Important Poets (Modern)

Yosano Akiko: She was a Japanese author and poet.
Masaoka Shiki: He was a Japanese author, poet, critic, and journalist.
Santoka: He was a Japanese author and Haiku poet.
Takamura Kotaro: He was a Japanese poet and sculptor.
Ishikawa Takuboku: He was well known as both a Tanka (genre of Japanese poetry) and a modern style or free style poet.
Hagiwara Sakutaro: He was a Japanese author.
Kenji Miyazawa: He was a Japanese poet and author of children's literature.
Yonejiro Noguchi: He was an influential writer of poetry, fiction, essays, and literary criticism.
Tanikawa Shuntaro.
Masato Tomobe: He is a Japanese singer and poet.

East Asia

Angemon102 — Wed, 09 May 2007 06:35:54 CDT

China

Culture
The culture of China is the result of 5,000 years of artistic, philosophical, and political advancement. Though regional differences provide a sense of diversity, commonalities in language and religion connect a culture distinguished by such contributions as Confucianism and Taoism. Confucianism was the official philosophy throughout most of Imperial China's history, and traditional Chinese culture is heavily influenced by it.
With the rise of Western economic and military power over China beginning in the mid-19th century, however, non-Chinese systems of social and political organization gained adherents in China. Some of these would-be reformers totally rejected China's cultural legacy, while others sought to combine the strengths of Chinese and Western cultures. In essence, the history of 20th century China is one of experimentation to find a new system of social, political, and economic organization that would allow for the reintegration of the nation in the wake of dynastic collapse.

(MORE COMING SOON!)...

Japanese Tea Ceremony

Tagasaki — Sat, 30 Dec 2006 09:14:37 CST

The Japanese tea ceremony ( chadō, or sadō) is a traditional ritual influenced by Zen Buddhism in which powdered green tea, or matcha (抹茶), is ceremonially prepared by a skilled practitioner and served to a small group of guests in a tranquil setting. Colloquially it is often called ocha among Japanese.
Sadō or chadō (茶道, "the way of tea") is the study or doctrine of the tea ceremony ("tea ceremony" is the most common English term, but some English speakers have adopted the term "the way of tea"). Though the two words are completely interchangeable, the pronunciation sadō is preferred by some traditions, including the Omotesenke and the Mushanokojisenke, while the pronunciation chadō is preferred by others, including the Urasenke tradition.
Cha-no-yu (literally "hot water for tea" or "tea flavored soup/hot water") usually refers to either a single ceremony or ritual or equivalent with sadō/chadō, while cha-ji refers to a full tea ceremony with kaiseki (a light meal), usucha (thin tea) and koicha (thick tea), lasting approximately four hours. A chakai (literally "tea meeting") was originally equal to cha-ji, although today it means the simplest one, which does not include a kaiseki meal, in some cases, nor even koicha.
Since a tea practitioner must be familiar with the production and types of tea, with kimono, calligraphy, flower arranging, ceramics, incense and a wide range of other disciplines and traditional arts in addition to his or her school's tea practices, the study of the tea ceremony takes many years and often lasts a lifetime. Even to participate as a guest in a formal tea ceremony requires knowledge of the prescribed gestures and phrases expected of guests, the proper way to take tea and sweets, and general deportment in the tea room.

History

Drinking of tea was introduced to Japan in the 9th century in the form of dancha by the Buddhist monk Eichu, who had returned to Japan from China, where it had already been known, according to legend, for more than a thousand years. Tea soon became widely popular in Japan, and began to be cultivated locally.
The custom of drinking tea, first for medicinal, and then for purely pleasurable reasons, was already widespread throughout China. In the early 9th century, Chinese author Lu Yu wrote the Ch'a Ching (the Classic of Tea), a treatise on tea focusing on its cultivation and preparation. Lu Yu's life had been heavily influenced by Buddhism, particularly the Chan school which evolved into Zen in Japan, and his ideas would have a strong influence in the development of the Japanese tea ceremony.
In the 12th century, a new form of tea, matcha, was introduced by Eisai, another Japanese monk returning from China. This powdered green tea, which sprouts from the same plant as black tea but is unfermented and ground, was first used in religious rituals in Zen Buddhist monastries. By the 13th century, samurai warriors had begun preparing and drinking matcha in an effort to adopt Zen Buddhism, and the foundations of the tea ceremony were laid.
Tea ceremony developed as a "transformative practice," and began to evolve its own aesthetic, in particular that of wabi. Wabi (meaning quiet or sober refinement, or subdued taste) "is characterized by humility, restraint, simplicity, naturalism, profundity, imperfection, and asymmetry [emphasizing] simple, unadorned objects and architectural space, and [celebrating] the mellow beauty that time and care impart to materials" ("Introduction: Chanoyu, the Art of Tea" in Urasenke Seattle Homepage). Ikkyu, who revitalized Zen in the 15th century, had a profound influence on the tea ceremony.

By the 16th century, tea drinking had spread to all levels of society in Japan. Sen no Rikyu, perhaps the most well-known—and still revered—historical figure in tea ceremony, followed his master, Takeno Joo's, concept of ichi-go ichi-e, a belief that each meeting should be treasured, for it can never be reproduced. His teachings perfected many newly developed forms in Japanese architecture and gardens, fine and applied arts, and to the full development of sadō. The principles he set forward - harmony (和, wa), respect (敬, kei), purity (精, sei), and tranquility (寂, jaku) - are still central to tea ceremony today.
Excepting one, the present seven traditions were established in the early Edo period. Among them, three Senke, specially Omotesenke and Urasenke are largely well known.

Equipment

Tea equipment is called dōgu (道具, literally tools). A wide range of dōgu is necessary for even the most basic tea ceremony. A full list of all available tea implements and supplies and their various styles and variations could fill a several-hundred-page book, and thousands of such volumes exist. The following is a brief list of the essential components:

Chakin (茶巾). The "chakin" is a rectangular, white, linen or hemp cloth used to ritually cleanse the tea bowl. Different styles of "chakin" are used for thick and thin tea.

Fukusa (袱紗). The fukusa is a square silk cloth used for the ritual cleansing of the tea scoop and the tea caddy, and to handle a hot kettle or pot lid. Fukusa are sometimes used by guests to protect the tea implements whilst examining them (though usually these fukusa are a special style called kobukusa or "small fukusa." Some traditions prefer to call it dashibukusa or "fukusa for serving". They are thicker, brocaded and patterned, and often more brightly coloured than regular fukusa. Kobukusa are kept in the kaishi wallet or in the breast of the kimono). When not in use, the fukusa is tucked into the obi, or belt of the kimono. Fukusa are most often monochromatic and unpatterned, but variations exist. There are different colours for men (usually purple) and women (orange, red), for people of different ages or skill levels, for different ceremonies and for different schools. Some schools, including the Urasenke, prefer to introduce variants with brocades or patterns, while some prefer to use simpler ones. The size and way of making fukusa was purportedly established by the Rikyu's second wife, who was also an expert of this way.

Ladle (hishaku 柄杓). This is a long bamboo ladle with a nodule in the approximate center of the handle. It is used to transfer water to and from the iron pot and the fresh water container in certain ceremonies. Different styles are used for different ceremonies and in different seasons. A larger version is used for the ritual purification undergone by guests before entering the tea room.

Tana. Tana, literally "shelves," is a general word that refers to all types of wooden or bamboo furniture used in tea preparation; each type of tana has its own name. Tana vary considerably in size, style, features and materials. They are placed in front of the host in the tea room, and various tea implements are placed on, or stored in, them. They are used in a variety of ways during different tea ceremonies.

Tea bowl (chawan 茶碗; main article: chawan). Arguably the most essential implement; without these, tea could not be served or drunk at all. Tea bowls are available in a wide range of sizes and styles, and different styles are used for thick and thin tea (see Tea ceremony, below). Shallow bowls, which allow the tea to cool rapidly, are used in summer; deep bowls are used in winter. Bowls are frequently named by their creators or owners, or by a tea master. Bowls over four hundred years old are said to be in use today, but probably only on unusually special occasions. The best bowls are thrown by hand, and some bowls are extremely valuable. Irregularities and imperfections are prized: they are often featured prominently as the "front" of the bowl.

Broken tea bowls are painstakingly repaired using a mixture of lacquer and other natural ingredients. Powdered gold is added to disguise the dark colour of the lacquer, so this repairment is often referred as kintsugi or "joint with gold", and additional designs are sometimes created with the mixture. Bowls repaired in this fashion are used mainly in November, when tea practitioners begin using the ro, or hearth, again, as an expression and celebration of the concept of wabi, or humble simplicity.

Tea caddy (cha-ire 茶入 and natsume 棗; main article: chaki). Tea caddies come in two basic styles, the natsume and the cha-ire, though there is variation in shape, size and colour within the styles. The cha-ire is usually tall and thin (but shapes may vary significantly) and has an ivory lid with a gold leaf underside. Cha-ire are usually ceramic, and are stored in decorative bags called shifuku. The natsume is named for its resemblance to the natsume fruit (the jujube). It is short with a flat lid and rounded bottom, and is usually made of lacquered or untreated wood. Cha-ire and natsume are used in different ceremonies; normally cha-ire is used for containing koi-cha, and natsume for usucha.

Tea scoop (chashaku 茶杓). Tea scoops are carved from a single piece of bamboo or ivory. Bamboo tea scoop in the most casual style is with a nodule in the approximate center. They are used to scoop tea from the tea caddy into the tea bowl. Larger scoops are used to transfer tea into the tea caddy in the mizuya (preparation area), but these are not seen by guests. Different styles and colours are used in various tea traditions.

Whisk (chasen 茶筅). Tea whisks are carved from a single piece of bamboo. There are thick and thin whisks for thick and thin tea. Though they are a necessary part to serve tea, whisks themselves aren't considered as dōgu.

Old and damaged whisks are not simply discarded. Once a year around May, they are taken to local temples and ritually burned in a simple ceremony called chasen kuyō, which reflects the reverence with which objects are treated in the tea ceremony. This custom itself doesn't belong to the tea ceremony though, but because of the close relationship between the tea ceremony and traditional religions, this kind of delicacy in the treatment of discarded things is esteemed in general. In addition to the above, the core set of dōgu include mizusashi, kama, futaoki and tools for coal treatment (sumi demae).
All the tools for tea ceremony are handled with exquisite care. They are scrupulously cleaned before and after each use and before storing. Some components are handled only with gloved hands.

Tea Ceremony

Two main schools, the Omotesenke (表千家) and Urasenke (裏千家), have evolved, each with its own prescribed rituals. A third school, Mushanokojisenki, is largely unknown outside Japan. These three main schools are collectively known as the Sansenke. There are various lesser-known schools as well. Currently, the Urasenke School is the most active and has the largest following, particularly outside Japan. Within each school there are sub-schools and branches, and in each school there are seasonal and temporal variations in the method of preparing and enjoying the tea, and in the types and forms of utensils and tea used.
All the schools, and most of the variations, however, have facets in common: at its most basic, the tea ceremony involves the preparation and serving of tea to a guest or guests. The following description applies to both Omotesenke and Urasenke, though there may be slight differences depending on the school and type of ceremony.
The host, male or female, wears a kimono, while guests may wear kimono or subdued formal wear. Tea ceremonies may take place outside (in which case some kind of seating will usually be provided for guests, whether benches or chairs, or even tatami) or inside, either in a tea room or a tea house, but tea ceremonies can be performed nearly anywhere. Generally speaking, the longer and more formal the ceremony, and the more important the guests, the more likely the ceremony will be performed indoors, on tatami.
Both tea houses and tea rooms are usually small, a typical floor size being 4 1/2 tatami, or woven mats of straw, the traditional Japanese floor covering. The smallest tea room can be a mere one-and-a-half mats, and the size of the largest is determined only by the limits of its owner's resources. Building materials and decorations are deliberately simple and rustic.
If the tea is to be served in a separate tea house rather than a tea room, the guests will wait in a garden shelter until summoned by the host. They ritually purify themselves by washing their hands and rinsing their mouths with water from a small stone basin, and proceed through a simple garden along a roji, or "dewy path," to the tea house. Guests remove their shoes and enter the tea house through a small door, and proceed to the tokonoma scroll alcove, where they admire the scroll and/or other decorations placed therein and are then seated seiza-style on the tatami in order of prestige.
Guests may be served a light, simple meal called a "kaiseki" or "chakaiseki," followed by sake, Japanese rice wine. They will then return to the waiting shelter until summoned again by the host.
If no meal is served, the host will proceed directly to the serving of a small sweet or sweets. Sweets are eaten from special paper called kaishi; each guest carries his or her own, often in a decorative wallet. Kaishi is tucked into the breast of the kimono.
Each utensil - including the tea bowl, whisk, and tea scoop - is then ritually cleaned in the presence of the guests in a precise order and using prescribed motions. The utensils are placed in an exact arrangement according to the ritual being performed. When the ritual cleaning and preparation of the utensils is complete, the host will place a measured amount of green tea powder in the bowl and add the appropriate amount of hot water, then whisk the tea using set movements.
Conversation is kept to a minimum throughout. Guests relax and enjoy the atmosphere created by the sounds of the water and fire, the smell of the incesense and tea, and the beauty and simplicity of the tea house and its seasonally appropriate decorations.
The bowl is then served to the guest of honour, either by the host or an assistant. Bows are exchanged between the host and guest of honour. The guest then bows to the second guest, and raises the bowl in a gesture of respect to the host. The guest rotates the bowl to avoid drinking from its front, takes a sip, murmurs the prescribed phrase, and then takes two or three more sips before wiping the rim, rotating the bowl to its original position, and passing it to the next guest with a bow. The procedure is repeated until all guests have taken tea from the same bowl, and the bowl is returned to the host. In some ceremonies, each guest will drink from an individual bowl, but the order of serving and drinking is the same.
If thick tea (koicha) has been served, the host will then prepare thin tea, or usucha, which is served in the same manner. In some ceremonies, however, only one or the other type is served.
After all the guests have taken tea, the host cleans the utensils in preparation for putting them away. The guest of honour will request that the host allow the guests to examine the utensils, and each guest in turn examines and admires each item, including the water scoop, the tea caddy, the tea scoop, the tea whisk, and, most importantly, the tea bowl. The items are treated with extreme care and reverence as they may be priceless, irreplaceable, handmade antiques, and guests often use a special brocaded cloth to handle them.
The host then collects the utensils, and the guests leave the tea house. The host bows from the door, and the ceremony is over. A tea ceremony can last between one hour and four to five hours, depending on the type of ceremony performed, and the types of meal and tea served.

Types of Ceremony

The ceremonies described below are performed in both the Omotesenke and Urasenke styles. Note that for the word temae (roughly, "ceremony" or "procedure"), Omotesenke prefers the characters 点前, while Urasenke prefers 手前.

Chabako demae

Chabako demae　 (Omotesenke: 茶箱点前; Urasenke: 茶箱手前) is so called because the equipment is removed from and then replaced into a special box (chabako, literally tea box).

Hakobi demae

Hakobi demae (Omotesenke: 運び点前; Urasenke: 運び手前) is closely related to ryū-rei (see below), but is performed in seiza position. The name comes from the fact that the essential equipment - bowl, natsume, waste water container, fresh water container, scoops, etc - are carried into and out of the tea room.

Bon temae

In Bon Temae (Omotesenke: お盆手前, "tray ceremony"; Urasenke: 略盆、略点前 ryaku-bon or ryaku-demae -- ryaku: "abbreviated"), the host places a tea bowl, whisk, tea scoop, chakin and natsume on a special tray; these items are covered by the fukusa. Thin tea is prepared on the tray while kneeling seiza style on the floor. This is usually the first ceremony learned, and is the simplest to perform, requiring neither much specialized equipment nor a lot of time to complete.

Ryū-rei

In Ryū-rei (立礼, literally standing bow) the tea is prepared at a special table. The guests are seated either at the same table (one guest) or at a separate table. The name refers to the practice of performing the first and last bows standing at the entrance to the tea room. In Ryū-rei there is usually an assistant who sits behind the host and moves the host's stool out of the way as needed for standing or sitting. The assistant also serves the tea and sweets to the guests.

Tea Ceremony And Calligraphy

Calligraphy, mainly in the form of hanging scrolls, plays a central role in the tea ceremony. In Japan the formal name for this process of brush strokes is zenga.
Scrolls, often written by famous calligraphers or Buddhist monks or painted by well-known artists, are hung in the tokonoma (scroll alcove) of the tea room. They are selected for their appropriateness for the season, time of day, or theme of the particular ceremony.
Calligraphic scrolls may feature well-known sayings, particularly those associated with Buddhism, poems, descriptions of famous places, or words or phrases associated with tea ceremony. A typical example might have the characters wa kei sei jaku (和敬清寂, harmony, respect, purity and tranquillity). Some contain only a single character; in summer, kaze ("wind") would be appropriate.
Painted scrolls may contain seasonally appropriate images, or images appropriate to the theme of the particular ceremony. Rabbits, for example, might be chosen for a nighttime ceremony because of their association with the moon.
Scrolls are sometimes placed in the waiting room as well.

Tea Ceremony And Flower Arrangement

Chabana (茶花, literally "tea flowers") is the simple style of flower arranging used in tea ceremony. Chabana has its roots in ikebana, another traditional style of Japanese flower arranging, which itself has roots in Shinto and Buddhism.
Chabana evolved from a less formal style of ikebana, which was used by early tea masters. The chabana style is now the standard style of arrangement for tea ceremony. Chabana is said, depending upon the source, to have been either developed or championed by Sen no Rikyu.
At its most basic, a chabana arrangement is a simple arrangement of seasonal flowers placed in a container. Chabana arrangements typically comprise few items, and little or no "filler" material. Unlike ikebana (which often uses shallow, wide dishes), tall, narrow vases are frequently used in chabana. Vases are made from natural materials such as bamboo, as well as metal or ceramic, but rarely glass.
Chabana arrangements are so simple that frequently no more than a single blossom is used; this blossom will invariably lean towards or face the guests.

Kaiseki Ryori

Kaiseki ryōri (懐石料理, literally "breast-stone cuisine") is the name for the type of food served during tea ceremonies. The name comes from the practice of Zen monks of placing warmed stones in the breast of the robes to stave off hunger during periods of fasting.
Kaiseki cuisine was once strictly vegetarion, but nowadays fish and occasionally meat will feature.
In kaiseki, only fresh seasonal ingredients are used, prepared in ways that aim to enhance their flavour. Exquisite care is taken in selecting ingredients and types of food, and finished dishes are carefully presented on serving ware that is chosen to enhance the appearance and seasonal theme of the meal. Dishes are beautifully arranged and garnished, often with real leaves and flowers, as well as edible garnishes designed to resemble natural plants and animals. The serving ware and garnishes are as much a part of the kaiseki experience as the food; some might argue that the aesthetic experience of seeing the food is more important than the physical experience of eating it, though of course both aspects are important.
Courses are served in small servings in individual dishes, and the meal is eaten while sitting in seiza. Each diner has a small lacquered tray to her- or himself; very important people may be provided their own low, lacquered table or several small tables.
Kaiseki for tea ceremony is sometimes referred to as chakaiseki (cha: "tea") meaning "tea kaiseki." Chakaiseki usually includes one or two soups and three different vegetable dishes along with pickles and boiled rice. Sashimi or other fish dishes may occasionally be served, but meat dishes are more rare.
Kaiseki is accompanied by sake.

Tea Ceremony And Kimono

While kimono used to be mandatory for all participants in a Japanese tea ceremony, this is no longer the case. Still, it is traditional, and on formal occasions most guests will wear kimono. Since the study of kimono is an essential part of learning tea ceremony, most practitioners will own at least one kimono which they will wear when hosting or participating in a tea ceremony. Kimono used to be mandatory dress for students of tea ceremony, and while this practice continues many teachers do not insist upon it; it is not uncommon for students to wear western clothes for practice. This is primarily born of necessity: since most people cannot afford to own more than one or two kimono it is important that they be kept in good condition. Still, most students will practice in kimono at least some of the time. This is essential to learn the prescribed motions properly.
Many of the movements and components of tea ceremony evolved from the wearing of kimono. For example, certain movements are designed with long kimono sleeves in mind; certain motions are intended to move sleeves out of the way or to prevent them from becoming dirtied in the process of making, serving or partaking of tea. Other motions are designed to allow for the straightening of kimono and hakama.
Fukusa (silk cloths) are designed to be folded and tucked into the obi (sash); when no obi is worn, a regular belt must be substituted or the motions cannot be performed properly.
Kaishi (paper) and kobukusa are tucked into the breast of the kimono; fans are tucked into the obi. When western clothes are worn, the wearer must find other places to keep these objects. The sleeves of kimono function as pockets, and used kaishi are folded and placed into them.
For tea ceremony, men usually wear a combination of kimono and hakama (a long divided or undivided skirt worn over the kimono), but some men wear only kimono. Wearing hakama is not essential for men, but it makes the outfit more formal. Women wear various styles of kimono depending on the season and the event; women generally do not wear hakama for tea ceremony. Lined kimono are worn by both men and women in the winter months, and unlined ones in the summer. For formal occasions men wear montsuki kimono (plain, single colour kimono with three to five family crests on the sleeves and back), often with striped hakama. Both men and women wear white tabi (divided- toe socks).
While men's kimono tend to be plain and largely unpatterned, some women's kimono have patterns on only one side; the wearer must determine which side will be facing the guests and dress accordingly.

Tea Ceremony And Seiza

Seiza is integral to the Japanese tea ceremony. When not seated at tables, both the host and guests sit in seiza style, and seiza is the basic position from which everything begins and ends in a tea ceremony. The host sits seiza to open and close the tea room doors; seiza is the basic position for arranging and cleaning the utensils and preparation of the tea. Even when the host must change positions during parts of the ceremony, these position changes are made in seiza position, and the host returns to sitting seiza when the repositioning is complete. Guests maintain a seiza position during the entire ceremony.
All the bows (there are three basic variations, differing mainly in depth of bow and position of the hands) performed during tea ceremony originate in the seiza position.

Tea Ceremony And Tatami

Tatami is an integral part of tea ceremony. The main areas of tea rooms and tea houses have tatami floors, and the scroll alcove in tea rooms often has a tatami floor as well.
Tatami are used in various ways in tea ceremony. Their placement, for example, determines how a person walks through the tea room. When walking on tatami it is customary to shuffle. This forces one to slow down, to maintain erect posture and to walk quietly, and helps one to maintain balance as the combination of tabi and tatami makes for a slippery surface; it is also a function of wearing kimono, which restricts stride length. One must avoid walking on the joins between mats; participants step over such joins when walking in the tea room.
The placement of tatami in tea rooms differs slightly from the normal placement in regular rooms, and may also vary by season (where it is possible to rearrange the mats). In a 4 1/2 mat room, the mats are placed in a circular pattern around a centre mat. Purpose-built tea rooms have a sunken hearth in the floor which is used in winter. A special tatami is used which has a cut-out section providing access to the hearth. In summer, the hearth is covered either with a small square of extra tatami, or, more commonly, the hearth tatami is replaced with a full mat, totally hiding the hearth.
It is customary to avoid stepping on this centre mat whenever possible, as well as to avoid placing the hands palm-down on it, as it functions as a kind of table: tea utensils are placed on it for viewing, and prepared bowls of tea are placed on it for serving to the guests. To avoid stepping on it people may walk around it on the other mats, or shuffle on the hands and knees.

Except when walking, when moving about on the tatami one places one's closed fists on the mats and uses them to pull oneself forward or push backwards while maintaining a seiza position.
There are dozens of real and imaginary lines that crisscross any tearoom. These are used to determine the exact placement of utensils and myriad other details; when performed by skilled practitioners, the placement of utensils will vary infinitesimally from ceremony to ceremony. The lines in tatami mats (行 gyō) are used as one guide for placement, and the joins serve as a demarcation indicating where people should sit.
Tatami provide a more comfortable surface for sitting seiza-style. At certain times of year (primarily during the new year's festivities) the portions of the tatami where guests sit are covered with a red felt cloth.

Studying Tea Ceremony

In Japan, those who wish to study tea ceremony typically join what is known in Japanese as a "circle," which is a generic term for a group that meets regularly to participate in a given activity. There are also tea clubs at many junior high and high schools, colleges and universities.
Most tea circles are run by a local chapter of an established tea school. Classes may be held at community centres, dedicated tea schools, or at private homes. Tea schools often have widely varied groups that all study in the same school but at different times. For example, there may be a women's group, a group for older or younger students, and so on.
Students normally pay a monthly fee which covers tuition and the use of the school's (or teacher's) bowls and other equipment, the tea itself, and the sweets that students serve and eat at every class. Students must provide their own fukusa, fan, paper, and kobukusa, as well as their own wallet in which to place these items. Traditionally students must have also provided their own kimono and related accessories, but today most schools allow their students to attend the class dressed quite casually. It can happen therefore that a young girl in T-shirt and blue jeans attend such a class. On the other hand, if the teacher is in the higher rank of tradition, especially iemoto, it is still considered rude not to dress in kimono, especially for women. In some cases, advanced students may be given permission to wear the school's mark in place of the usual family crests on formal montsuki kimono.
New students typically begin by observing more advanced students as they practice. New students are normally taught mostly by more advanced students; the most advanced students are taught exclusively by the teacher. The first things new students learn are how to correctly open and close sliding doors, how to walk on tatami, how to enter and exit the tea room, how to bow and to whom and when to do so, how to wash, store and care for the various equipment, how to fold the fukusa, how to ritually clean tea bowls, tea caddies and tea scoops, and how to wash and fold chakin. As they master these essential steps, students are also taught how to behave as a guest at tea ceremonies: the correct words to say, how to handle bowls, how to drink tea and eat sweets, how to use paper and sweet-picks, and myriad other details.
As they master the basics, students will be instructed on how to prepare the powdered tea for use, how to fill the tea caddy, and finally, how to measure the tea and water and whisk it to the proper consistency. Once these basic steps have been mastered, students begin to practice the simplest ceremonies, typically beginning with Obon temae (see above). Only when the first ceremony has been mastered will students move on. Study is through observation and hands on practice; students do not often take notes, and some schools discourage the practice of note-taking.
As they master each ceremony, some schools and teachers present students with certificates at a formal ceremony. According to the school, this certificate may warrant that the student has mastered a given ceremony, or may give the student permission to study a given ceremony. Acquiring such certificates is often very costly; the student typically must not only pay for the preparation of the certificate itself and for participating in the ceremony during which it is bestowed, but is also expected to thank the teacher by presenting him or her with a gift of money. The cost of acquiring certificates increases as the student's level increases.
Typically, each class ends with the whole group being given brief instruction by the main teacher, usually concerning the contents of the tokonoma (the scroll alcove, which typically features a hanging scroll (usually with calligraphy), a flower arrangement, and occasionally other objects as well) and the sweets that have been served that day. Related topics include incense and kimono, or comments on seasonal variations in equipment or ceremony.

Japanese Pottery

Tagasaki — Sun, 03 Dec 2006 08:28:52 CST

Japanese pottery, one of its oldest art forms, dates back to the Neolithic period (ca. 11th millennium BC), when the earliest soft earthenware was coil-made, decorated by hand-impressed rope patterns (Jomon ware), and baked in the open. According to archaeological evidence, it is among the earliest in the world.

Introduction And Pre-History

Continental emigrants of the 3rd century B.C. (the beginning of the Yayoi period), introduced the use of the wheel and cultivation of rice along with the metal age, and eventually (in the 3rd to 4th centuries A.D.), the anagama kiln in which stoneware fired at high temperatures embellished with natural ash glaze was produced. Japanese pottery (陶芸, Jp. tōgei; also 焼きもの, Jp. yakimono) was heavily influenced by Chinese, and Korean pottery, which contributed to Japanese pottery over the ages.

Medieval Pottery

Medieval kilns enabled more refined production of stoneware, which was still produced in the late 20th century, especially in central Honshu around the city of Seto (Aichi prefecture), the wares of which were so widely used that Seto-mono became the generic term for ceramics in Japan. The overlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi's Korean campaigns of the late 16th century were dubbed the "ceramic wars," since the abduction of Korean potters appeared to be a major factor in the wars. These potters introduced a variety of new techniques and styles in their artifacts that were greatly admired for the tea ceremony. They also discovered in northern Kyushu the proper ingredients needed to produce porcelain and soon dazzled the guests at daimyo banquets with the first Japanese-made porcelain.

Shogi

Tagasaki — Fri, 01 Dec 2006 10:05:56 CST

Shogi(将棋, shōgi?), or Japanese chess, is the most popular of a family of chess variants native to Japan.

Rules Of The Game

Objective

Technically the game is won when a king is captured, though in practice defeat is conceded at mate or when mate becomes inevitable.

Game Equipment

Two players, Black and White (or sente 先手 and gote 後手), play on a board composed of squares (actually rectangles) in a grid of 9 ranks (rows) by 9 files (columns). The squares are undifferentiated by marking or colour.
Each player has a set of 20 wedge-shaped pieces of slightly different sizes. Except for the kings, opposing pieces are differentiated only by orientation, not by marking or colour. From largest to smallest (most to least powerful), the pieces are:

1 king
1 rook
1 bishop
2 gold generals
2 silver generals
2 knights
2 lances
9 pawns

Several of these names were chosen to correspond to their rough equivalents in international chess and not as literal translations of the Japanese names.
Each piece has its name written on its surface in the form of two Japanese characters(kanji), usually in black ink. On the reverse side of each piece, other than the king and gold general, are one or two other characters, in amateur sets often in a different colour (usually red); this side is turned face up during play to indicate that the piece has been promoted. The pieces of the two players do not differ in colour, but instead each faces forward, toward the opposing side. This shows who controls the piece during play.
The Japanese characters have deterred many people from learning shogi. This has led to "Westernized" or "international" pieces, which replace the characters with iconic symbols. However, partially because the traditional pieces are already iconic by size, with more powerful pieces being larger, most Western players soon learn to recognize them, and Westernized pieces have never become popular.
Following is a table of the pieces with their Japanese representations and English equivalents. The abbreviations are used for game notation and often to refer to the pieces in speech in Japanese.
English name Image Kanji Romaji Meaning Abbreviations

King (reigning)	王将	*ōshō*	*royal general*	K	王	ō
King (challenging)	玉将	*gyokushō*	*jade general*	K	玉	*gyoku*
*Rook*	飛車	*hisha*	*flying chariot*	R	飛	hi
Promoted rook ("Dragon")	龍王	*ryūō*	*dragon king*	+R	龍 or 竜*	*ryū*
*Bishop*	角行	*kakugyō*	*angle mover*	B	角	*kaku*
Promoted bishop ("Horse")	龍馬	*ryūma or ryūme*	*dragon horse*	+B	馬	*uma*
Gold general ("Gold")	金将	*kinshō*	*gold general*	G	金	*kin*
Silver general ("Silver")	銀将	*ginshō*	*silver general*	S	銀	*gin*
*Promoted silver*	成銀	*narigin*	*promoted silver*	+S	*(全)*	—
*Knight*	桂馬	*keima*	*laureled horse*	N	桂	*kei*
*Promoted knight*	成桂	*narikei*	*promoted laurel*	+N	*(圭 or 今)*	—
*Lance*	香車	*kyōsha*	*incense chariot*	L	香	*kyō*
*Promoted lance*	成香	*narikyō*	*promoted incense*	+L	*(杏 or 仝)*	—
*Pawn*	歩兵	*fuhyō*	*foot soldier*	p	歩	fu
Promoted pawn ("tokin")	と金	*tokin*	*reaches gold*	+p	*と (or 个)*	to

* The kanji 竜 is a simplified form of 龍.

English speakers sometimes refer to promoted bishops as horses and promoted rooks as dragons, after their Japanese names, and generally use the Japanese term tokin for promoted pawns. Silver generals and gold generals are commonly referred to simply as silvers and golds.
The characters inscribed on the reverse sides of the pieces to indicate promoted rank may be in red ink, and are usually cursive. The characters on the backs of the pieces that promote to gold generals are cursive variants of 金 'gold', becoming more cursive (more abbreviated) as the value of the original piece decreases. These cursive forms have these equivalents in print: 全 for promoted silver, 今 for promoted knight, 仝 for promoted lance, and 个 for promoted pawn (tokin). Another typographic convention has abbreviated versions of the unpromoted ranks, with a reduced number of strokes: 圭 for a promoted knight (桂), 杏 for a promoted lance (香), and the 全 as above for a promoted silver, but と for tokin.

Player Game

Players are ranked from 15 kyū to 1 kyū and then from 1 dan and upwards; this is the same terminology as in karate, go, calligraphy and many other arts in Japan. Professional players operate with their own scale, from professional 4 dan and upwards to 9 dan for elite players. Amateur and professional ranks are offset, corresponding as here.

Setup

Each player places his pieces in the positions shown below, facing the opponent.

In the rank nearest the player:
- The king is placed in the center file.
- The two gold generals are placed in the adjacent files to the king.
- The two silver generals are placed adjacent to each gold general.
- The two knights are placed adjacent to each silver general.
- The two lances are placed in the corners, adjacent to each knight.

That is, the first rank is |L|N|S|G|K|G|S|N|L|.

In the second rank, each player places:
- The bishop in the same file as the left knight.
- The rook in the same file as the right knight.
In the third rank, the nine pawns are placed one to each file.

Traditionally, even the order of placing the pieces on the board is determined. There are two recognized orders, ohashi and ito. The Japanese-language page Shogi Pineapple indicates the two orders; ohashi is depicted on the left and ito on the right.

Game Play

The players alternate taking turns, with Black playing first. (The terms "Black" and "White" are used to differentiate the two sides, but there is no actual difference in the color of the pieces.) For each turn a player may either move a piece which is already on the board and potentially promote it, capture an opposing piece, or both; or to "drop" a piece that has already been captured onto an empty square of the board. These options are detailed below.
Professional games are timed as in International Chess, but professionals are never expected to keep time in their games. Instead a timekeeper is assigned, typically an apprentice professional. Time limits are much longer than in International Chess (9 hours a side plus extra time in the prestigious Meijin title match), and in addition byōyomi (literally "second counting") is employed. This means that when the ordinary time has run out, the player will from that point on have a certain amount of time to complete every move (a byōyomi period), typically upwards of one minute. The final ten seconds are counted down, and if the time expires the player to move loses the game immediately. Amateurs often play with electronic clocks that beep out the final ten seconds of a byōyomi period, with a prolonged beep for the last five.

Movement And Capture

If an opposing piece occupies a legal destination for a friendly piece (that is, a piece belonging to the player whose turn it is to move), it may be captured by removing it from the board and replacing it with the friendly piece. It is not possible to move to or through a square occupied by another friendly piece, or to move through a square occupied by an opposing piece. It is common to keep captured pieces on a wooden stand (or komadai) which is traditionally placed so that its bottom left corner aligns with the bottom right corner of the board from the perspective of each player. It is not permissible to hide pieces from full view. This is because captured pieces, which are said to be in hand, have a crucial impact on the course of the game.
The knight jumps, that is, it passes over any intervening piece, whether friend or foe, without an effect on either. It is the only piece to do this.
The lance, bishop, and rook are ranging pieces: They can potentially move any number of squares along a straight line limited by the edge of the board. If an opposing piece intervenes, it may be captured by removing it from the board and replacing it with the moving piece. If a friendly piece intervenes, one is limited to a distance that stops short of that square; if the friendly piece is adjacent, one may not move in that direction at all.
All pieces but the knight move either orthogonally (that is, forward, backward, or to the side, in the direction of one of the arms of a plus sign, +), or diagonally (in the direction of one of the arms of a multiplication sign, ×).

Japanese Gardens

Angemon102 — Fri, 01 Dec 2006 09:51:24 CST

Japanese gardens (Kanji 日本庭園, nihon teien), i.e. gardens in traditional Japanese style, can be found at private homes, in neighborhood or city parks, at Buddhist temples or Shinto shrines, and at historical landmarks such as old castles. Many of the Japanese gardens most famous in the West, and within Japan as well, are dry gardens or rock gardens, karesansui. The tradition of the Tea masters has produced highly refined Japanese gardens of quite another style, evoking rural simplicity. Japanese gardens have also been imitated in Western gardening. Typical Japanese gardens contain several of these elements, real or symbolic:

Water
An island
A bridge to the island
A lantern, typically of stone
A teahouse or pavilion

Japanese gardens might fall into one of these styles:

Pond gardens, for viewing from a boat.
Sitting gardens, for viewing from inside a building or on a veranda.
Tea gardens, for viewing from a path which leads to a tea ceremony hut.
Strolling gardens, for viewing from a path which circumnavigates the garden.

The karesansui (or karesenzui, kosansui, kosensui 枯山水: "dry landscape") style originate from zen temples. These have no water and few plants, but typically evoke a feeling of water using pebbles and meticulously raked gravel or sand. Rocks chosen for their intriguing shapes and patterns, mosses, and low shrubs typify the karesansui style. The garden at Ryoan-ji, a temple in Kyoto, is particularly renowned. Other gardens also use similar rocks for decoration. Some of these come from distant parts of Japan. In addition, bamboos and related plants, evergreens including Japanese black pine, and such deciduous trees as maples grow above a carpet of ferns and mosses. Shakkei (借景), "borrowed scenery," is a technique used to integrate the garden with mountains, buildings, or other objects outside its boundaries. A middle ground element, often carefully maintained plantings, blocks unwanted elements and frames the desired view. This middle ground integrates the "borrowed" view into the garden's design. The viewer is encouraged to see all three areas - foreground, middle ground, and background - as a single garden.

Use Of Stones, Water, And Plantings In Japanese Gardens

Though often thought of as tranquil sanctuaries that allow individuals to escape from the stresses of daily life, Japanese gardens are designed for a variety of purposes. Most gardens invite quiet contemplation, but may have also been intended for recreation, the display of rare plant specimens, or the exhibition of unusual rocks. Kaiyu-shiki or Strolling Gardens require the observer to walk through the garden to fully appreciate it. A premeditated path takes observers through each unique area of a Japanese garden. Uneven surfaces are placed in specific spaces to prompt people to look down at particular points. When the observer looks up, they will see an eye-catching ornamentation--this type of design is known as the Japanese landscape principle of "hide and reveal"--which is intended to enlighten and revive the spirit of the observer. Japanese legend attests that stones are actual beings with spirits that need to be treated with reverence. Stones are used to construct the garden's paths, bridges, and walkways. Stones also represent mountains where actual mountains are not viewable or present. They are always placed in odd numbers and a majority of the groupings reflect triangular shapes.A water source in a Japanese garden should appear to be part of the natural surroundings; this is why one will not find fountains in traditional gardens. Man-made streams are built with curves and irregularities to create a serene and natural appearance. Lanterns are often placed beside some of the most prominent water basins (either a pond or a stream) in a garden representing the female and the male elements of water and fire. In Japanese tradition this is known as yin and yang. In some gardens one will find a dry pond or stream. Dry Ponds and streams have as much impact as do the ones filled with water. Green plants are the third element of Japanese gardens. Japanese traditions prefer minimal color so the use of flowers is generally parsimonious. Plants with colorful blooms are mostly used near a garden's entrance. Many plants in imitated Japanese gardens of the West are indigenous to Japan, though some sacrifices must be made to account for the differentiating climates. Some plants, such as sugar maple and firebush, give the garden a palet of color on a seasonal basis.

Bonsai

Tagasaki — Sat, 25 Nov 2006 22:39:51 CST

Bonsai (Japanese: 盆栽, literally "tray gardening") is the art of aesthetic miniaturisation of trees and plants in containers. While mostly associated with the Japanese form, "bonsai" was originally developed from Chinese penjing. In Western culture, the word "bonsai" is used as an umbrella term for Japanese bonsai, Chinese penjing, and Korean bunjae.

History

The origins of bonsai are often attributed to ancient China. Practiced at least as early as the Tang Dynasty, it is believed that the artform is derived from the practice of transporting medicinal plants in containers by healers. Its early focus was on the display of stylistic trunks in the shape of animals and mystic figures. A number of these early works exist today, and are highly valued.
Japanese bonsai is derived from the Chinese artform, and was introduced to Japan by imperial embassies in the Chinese Tang Dynasty (the C7th–9th). In the Kamakura period, penjing that recalled customs from the Heian period came to be drawn in some picture scrolls and documents. In the Muromachi period, penjing developed into various directions in Japan. Just like a Japanese garden, it came to assume the artistry of "Wabi-sabi". However, the bonsai was still the enjoyment of people of the chosen hierarchy in the period. In the Edo period, it became possible for many daimyos, samurais, merchants, townsmen, and others to enjoy the art of bonsai. In addition, the bonsai pot became popular among daimyos, employing the pottery master who belonged exclusively to the bonsai pot. It is said that the name "Bonsai" started being used around this time. Indeed, a lot of bonsai were drawn in many an "Ukiyo-e (浮世絵)".

Aesthetics

The Japanese school

The Japanese aesthetic is centred on the principle of "heaven and earth in one container", as a Japanese cliche has it. Three forces come together in a good bonsai: shin-zen-bi (真善美) or truth, essence and beauty.
Traditional subjects for bonsai include pine, maple, elm, flowering apricot, Japanese wisteria, juniper, flowering cherry, azalea and larch. The plants are grown outdoors and brought in to the tokonoma at special occasions when they most evoke the current season.
The Japanese bonsai are meant to evoke the essential spirit of the plant being used: in all cases, they must look natural and never show the intervention of human hands.

The Chinese school

The Chinese aesthetic hopes to capture the essence and spirit of nature through contrasts. Philosophically, the Chinese artist is influenced by the principle of Taoism, specifically Yin and Yang the conceptualisation of the universe as governed by two primal opposing but complementary forces. Inspiration is not limited to nature, but also from poetry and visual art, of which factor similar aesthetic considerations. Common themes include dragons and the strokes of fortuitious characters. At its highest level however, the artistic value of penjing is on par with that of poetry, calligraphy, brush painting and garden art.

Cultivations

A bonsai is not a genetically dwarfed plant. It is any tree or shrub species actively growing but kept small through a combination of pot confinement, and crown and root pruning.

Common Styles

There are many different styles of bonsai, but some are more common than others. These include formal upright, informal upright, cascade, semi-cascade, raft, literati, and group / forest.

The formal upright is just as the name suggests, and is characterized by a tapering trunk and balanced branches. The informal upright is much like the formal, but may bend and curve slightly, although for aesthetic quality the tree should never lean away from the viewer.

Cascade and semi-cascade are modeled after trees that grow over water or on the sides of mountains. Semi-cascades lean just over the rim of the pot where as cascades fall below the base of the pot.

Raft style bonsai are bonsai which mimic a natural phenomenon where a tree that has been toppled (typically due to erosion or another natural force) begins to grow a new root system out of the part of the trunk that is in contact with the ground. Raft bonsai are typically planted with the original root system still intact and in contact with the soil. The bark on the underside of the trunk is trimmed off until the smooth wood underneath is visible; this wood is then placed in contact with the soil and, typically, the trunk is buried either immediately or over time. This group of bonsai can include many other styles such as sinuous, straight-line, and group planting styles. These all give the illusion of a group of trees, but are actually the branches of a tree planted on its side.

The literati style is the hardest to define, but is seen often. The word literati is used in place of the Japanese bunjin which is a translation of the Chinese word wenren meaning "scholars practiced in the arts". The literati style is usually characterized by a small number of branches typically placed higher up on a long, contorted trunk. Literati bonsai often have the base of the crown beginning at a height lower than an S-shaped trunk bend, and the primary branch growing from below the S-bend, leading down and outwards with graceful sweeping lines. Their style is inspired by the Chinese paintings of pine trees that grew in harsh climates, struggling to reach the light of the sun.

A group or forest bonsai display is, as the name suggests, a number of bonsai (typically an odd number if there are three or more trees) placed together in a pot. Typically the number of trees in a forest style display is fifty or less, though there is no formal limit. The trees are often the same species and are styled accordingly; although group or forest bonsai tend to contain smaller trees (which would be classified as mame style bonsai if they were planted alone), larger trees may be used.

Additionally, bonsai are classed by size. There are a number of specific techniques and styles associated with mame and shito sizes, the smallest bonsai. These are often small enough to be grown in thimble-sized pots, and due to their minuscule size require special care and adhere to different design conventions.

Techniques

Shaping and dwarfing are accomplished through a few basic but precise techniques. The small size of the tree and the dwarfing of foliage are maintained through a consistent regimen of pruning of both the leaves and the roots. Various methods must be employed, as each species of tree exhibits different budding behavior. Additionally, some pruning must be done seasonally, as most trees require a dormancy period and do not grow roots or leaves at that time; improper pruning can weaken or kill the tree.
Most species suitable for bonsai can be shaped by wiring. Copper or aluminium wire is wrapped around branches and trunks, holding the branch in place until it eventually lignifies and maintains the desired shape (at which point the wire should be removed). Some species do not lignify strongly, or are already too stiff/brittle to be shaped and are not conducive to wiring, in which case shaping must be accomplished primarily through pruning.

Bonsai Care

Watering

Because of limited space in the confines of a bonsai pot, bonsai care can be quite difficult. The shallow containers limit the expanse of the root system and make proper watering practically an art in itself. While some species can handle periods of relative dryness, others require near-constant moisture. Watering too frequently, or allowing the soil to remain soggy can promote fungal infections and "root rot". Sun, heat and wind exposure can quickly dry a bonsai tree to the point of drought, so the soil moisture should be monitored daily and water given copiously when needed. The soil should not be allowed to become "bone dry" even for brief periods. The foliage of some plants cultivated for bonsai, including the common Juniper do not display signs of drying and damage until long after the damage is done, and may even appear green and healthy despite having an entirely dead root system.
In cooler climates, soil must not be allowed to become waterlogged as this may lead to root rot. In warmer climates, bonsai should be sat in a shallow watertight tray when not in use, and allowed to absorb water through the bottom of the pot throughout the day to prevent dehydration.

Repotting

Bonsai are generally repotted and root-pruned around spring time just before they break dormancy. Bonsai are generally repotted every two years while in development, and less often as they become more mature. This prevents them from becoming pot-bound and encourages the growth of new feeder roots, allowing the tree to absorb moisture more efficiently.

Wiring

Bonsai wiring is one of the most powerful tools to control the shape of the tree. The best time to wire a tree is in spring or fall when there is not as much foliage and the tree will not be too stiff. (Trees become stiff in winter while dormant because the sap pressure of the trunk and branches is much lower.)
To wire the tree wrap the trunk, and then each branch in spirals of bonsai wire so that the branch may be bent. The tree will then train the branch to grow in the desired direction. Another method of wiring involves attaching weights to the branches, causing them to sag and creating the impression of age.
Generally, wire is left on for one growing season. The tree should not be allowed to outgrow the wire, since this could cause the bark to become bound to the wire, making removal traumatic. When the time comes to remove the wire, it should be cut away in small pieces (rather than winding it off) as this will cause less damage to the foliage.
The thickness of the wire used should match the size of the branch— larger branches will require lower guage wire. Two pieces of thinner wire paired together can be used in lieu of heavier wire. It is bad form to let any wires cross; this is most readily accomplished by starting from the base of trunk and working up.
When bending the branches, one should listen and feel for any sign of splitting. When bending a branch near the trunk extra caution should be used, as the branch is generally most brittle near the trunk. It is possible to gradually bend a branch little by little over the course of several months.
When working with the branches, consideration should be given to the style desired.

Tools

Special tools are available for the maintenance of bonsai. The most common tool is the concave cutter, a tool designed to prune flush, without leaving a stub. Other tools include branch bending jacks, wire pliers and shears of different proportions for performing detail and rough shaping. Aluminum or anodized copper wire is used to shape branches and hold them until they take a set.

Fertilization and Soil

Opinions about soil mixes and fertilization vary widely among practitioners. Some promote the use of organic fertilizers to augment an essentially inorganic soil mix, while others will use chemical fertilizers freely. Bonsai soils are constructed to optimize drainage. Bonsai soil is primarily a loose, fast-draining mix of components, often a base mixture of coarse sand or gravel, fired clay pellets or expanded shale combined with an organic component such as peat or bark. In Japan, volcanic soils based on clay (akadama, or "red ball" soil, and kanuma, a type of yellow pumice) are preferred.

Containers

Every bonsai pot is equipped with drainage holes to enable the excess water to drain out. Each hole is typically covered with a plastic screen or mesh to prevent soil from escaping. Containers come in a variety of shapes. The ones with straight sides and sharp corners are generally better suited to formally presented plants, while oval or round containers might be used for plants with informal shapes. Quality bonsai containers are ceramic, and are high-fired so that they can withstand exposure to freezing temperatures. The most common containers are unglazed and brown in color. Glazed containers are also used, typically for deciduous and flowering trees. Economical containers of molded plastic or "mica" are available for developing bonsai, but most any container that provides good drainage can be used for developing bonsai material. Some enthusiasts construct their own "growing boxes" from scraps of fenceboard or wood slats.

Location

Contrary to popular bonsai are not suited for indoor culture, and if kept indoors will most likely die. While certain tropical plants (Ficus, Schefflera, etc.) may flourish indoors, most bonsai are developed from species of shrubs or trees that are adapted to temperate climates (conifers, maples, larch, etc) and require a period of dormancy. Most trees require several hours of direct or slightly filtered sun every day.

Overwintering

Some trees require protection from the elements in winter and the techniques used will depend on how well the tree is adapted to the climate. During overwintering, temperate species are allowed to enter dormancy but care must be taken with deciduous plants to prevent them from breaking dormancy too early. In-ground cold frames, unheated garages, porches, and the like are commonly used, or by mulching the plant in its container up to the depth of the first branch or burying them with the root system below the frost line.

Mallsai

Inexpensive bonsai trees often sold in chain stores and gift shops are derisively referred to as "mallsai" by experienced bonsai growers, and are usually weak or dead trees by the time they are sold. Often these bonsai are mass produced and are rooted in thick clay from a field in China. This clay is very detrimental to the bonsai, as it literally suffocates the roots and promotes root-rot. Very little if any shaping is done on mallsai, and often the foliage is crudely pruned with little finesse to resemble a tree. Due to the conditions under which they are transported and sold, they are often inadequately watered and are kept in poor soil, usually a clump of sphagnum moss or the aforementioned clay with a layer of gravel glued to the top, which leaves them susceptible to both drying and fungal infections. Some "mallsai" can be resuscitated with proper care and immediate repotting, although this is reportedly rare. This top layer of glued-on gravel should be immediately removed once the bonsai is purchased, and the plant should be repotted in a good bonsai soil such as akadama.

Collecting

Bonsai may be developed from material obtained at the local garden center, or from suitable materials collected from the wild or urban landscape. Some regions have plant material that is known for its suitability in form - for example the California Juniper and Sierra Juniper found in the American West, and Bald Cypress found in the swamps of Louisiana and Florida.
Collected trees are highly prized and often exhibit the characteristics of age when they are first harvested from nature. Great care must be taken when collecting, as it is very easy to damage the tree's root system (often irreparably) by digging it up. Potential material must be analyzed carefully to determine whether it can be removed safely. Trees with a shallow or partially exposed root system are ideal candidates for extraction. There is a legal aspect to removing trees, so the enthusiast should take all steps necessary to ensure permission from the owner of the land before attempting to harvest. If not, consider the right of the plant to stay where it is.

Bonsai Tourism

Bonsai collections are open for public viewing in many cities around the world. For example:

Australia: Admission is free at the Brisbane Botanic Gardens, where the Bonsai House displays hundreds of trees, some 80 years old.
Belgium: The Belgian Bonsai Museum hosted by the Bonsai Centre Gingko at Laarne organizes international competitions and workshops.
Canada: The Montreal Botanical Garden has an amazing indoor bonsai facility that can be viewed year round.
China: View the bonsai at the Botanical Gardens in Beijing, Shanghai and Suzhou.
Germany: Bonsai Centrum Heidelberg has had a permanent exhibition since 2000.
Indonesia: Pluit Bonsai Centre in Jakarta is an enormous sales and trading centre for growers and collectors.
Italy: The firm Crespi Bonsai hosts an international competition, the Crespi Cup, every year at the Bonsai Museum in Milan.
Japan: Near Tokyo, the city of Omiya has an artisanal village of bonsai growers and stylists grow and maintain their stock. In Omiya Bonsai Village, more than a half dozen large bonsai nurseries allow visitors to view trees most days during growing season. By one estimate, more than 10,000 trees of world-class quality can be seen in a single day.
Singapore: Thousands on bonsai are on display at the Chinese and Japanese Gardens on two islands in Jurong Lake.
South Korea: The world's largest bonsai garden, Bunjae Artpia, is a major tourist attraction on Cheju Island; nearly 2,000 trees are on display.
Spain: Visitors to Marbella can enjoy the collection at the Museo de Bonsai.
United Kingdom: The Birmingham Botanical Gardens and Glasshouses hosts a rotating collection of about 25 trees at a time, and occasionally gives bonsai care workshops.
United States: The National Arboretum in Washington, DC has an impressive collection of trees, some of them gifts from the Nation of Japan.

Tagasaki

Tagasaki — Sat, 25 Nov 2006 11:19:20 CST

Hi, my name is Tagasaki Matsumoro, I live in Karachi in Phase 1. I'm 13 years old and my dad works as a traffic police, taxation manager and license plate registering manager. My mom has her own private beauty parlour. I have a brother, Homozumi, and 2 sisters, Satsuri and Sasuke. I study in The City School, Darakhshan Campus, Southern Region. I also take classes of Ikebana and Ninjutsu. I work in a studio where I teach Japanese to the Karachiites (Just because you're 13 doesn't mean you can't have a job). I have my websites http://japanese-world.wetpaint.com, http://bigcatdiary.wetpaint.com and http://japan-travels.wetpaint.com. I'm also a member of the Japanese Culture Center for Pakistan and the Chinese Culture Center for Pakistan. My favourite foods are sushi and sashimi, but I also sometime prefer natto. I am also making a new site called http://japan-club.wetpaint.com for all Japan lovers to form a co-operative community. Where we will discuss ideas on Japan and you can even ask me about Japan's culture. When the website will be made, I hope, I will also give you the date of the festivals of Japan (the website is not even made yet). I encourage you to also join the Japanese Culture Center so that we will come to know Japan very well. I am also a fusion person. As in, I'm a Japanese, I'm a muslim, and I have a British accent of speaking english. I know how to speak Japanese (because its my mother tongue), Sindhi (because its my father's language), Urdu (because I have been living in Pakistan for 4 years), and English (because its an international language). I was born in Kyoto, Honshu, Japan, and lived there until I was 9 years. My e-mail address is imperial_civlization93@Hotmail.com. So add me if you want to and we'll be pen pals.

SAYONARA!

Zen Gardens

Tagasaki — Sat, 25 Nov 2006 11:07:07 CST

A Karesansui 枯山水, Japanese rock garden, or Zen garden is an enclosed shallow sand box containing sand, gravel, rocks, and occasionally grass or other natural elements. The main elements of karesansui are rocks and sand, with the sea symbolized not by water but by sand raked in patterns that suggest rippling water. Plants are much less important (and sometimes nonexistent) in many karesansui gardens. Karesansui gardens are often, but not always, meant to be viewed from a single, seated perspective, and the rocks are often associated with and named after various Chinese mountains.

The Karesansui Garden In Ryoan-ji Temple

A famous Japanese rock garden is at Ryoan-ji temple in northwest Kyoto, Japan. Ryoanji is a temple belonging to the Myoshinji school of the Rinzai branch of the Zen sect, famous for its Zen garden.
The garden is constructed in Karesansui style. It is 30 meters long from east to west and 10 meters from north to south. There are no trees, just 15 irregularly shaped rocks of varying sizes, some surrounded by moss, arranged in a bed of white gravel/sand that is raked every day.
The rocks of various sizes are arranged on small white pebbles in five groups, each comprising five, two, three, two, and three rocks. The garden contains 15 rocks arranged on the surface of white pebbles in such a manner that visitors can see only 14 of them at once, from whichever angle the garden is viewed. According to legend, only when someone attains spiritual enlightment as a result of deep Zen meditation can he see the last invisible stone with his mind's eye.
The garden is not attributed to any single designer, although it is commonly believed that a leading monochrome artist named Soami (1480?-1525), in association with Daisen-in, designed and laid out the garden. However the temple records are contradictory and indicate some other makers, and the back of one of the 15 stones is inscribed with the names of Kotaro and Hikojiro, who might have been two of the workers that did the actual construction.

Layout

There have been many attempts to explain the Zen garden's layout. Some of these are:

The gravel represents ocean and the rocks represent the islands of Japan
The rocks represent a mother tiger with her cubs, swimming to a dragon
The rocks form part of the kanji for heart or mina

See Ryoan-ji for a mathematical analysis of a rock garden.
A recent suggestion by Gert van Tonder of Kyoto University and Micheal J. Lyons, a researcher based in Kyoto, is that the rocks form the subliminal image of a tree. This image cannot be consciously perceived when looking at them; the researchers claim the subconscious mind is able to see a subtle association between the rocks. They believe this is responsible for the calming effect of the garden.

Zen Garden

Japanese rock gardens have become known in the West as Zen gardens. The term was probably first used in 1935, by the American writer Loraine Kuck in her book 100 Gardens of Kyoto, and has since also found its way to Japanese language (zen niwa). The term zen gardens has also been adapted to more naturalistic planted Japanese style landscapes containing rocks. This can be seen in the image (right), a small zen garden that is a part of the Japanese Tea Garden in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. Not seen in this view are several large boulders to the left at the shore of the rock bed enclosed by the bordering shrubs.

Go

Tagasaki — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 07:55:12 CST

Go is a board game for two players. It is also called Weiqi in Chinese (圍棋,围棋), Igo in Japanese (Kanji: 囲碁), and Baduk in Korean (Hangul:바둑). Go originated in ancient China before 2000 BC, and is now popular throughout the world, especially in East Asia.
Go is played by alternately placing black and white stones on the vacant intersections of a 19×19 rectilinear grid. A stone is captured and removed if it is tightly surrounded by stones of the opposing color. The objective is to control a larger territory than the opponent by placing one's stones so they cannot be captured, but can capture any opposing stones played in one's territory. The game ends and the score is counted when both players consecutively pass on a turn, indicating that neither side can increase its territory or reduce its opponent's; the game can also end by resignation.

Origin Of The Name

The game is called Go in many languages; this word originated from the Japanese pronunciation "go" of the Chinese characters 棋/碁; in Japanese the name is written 碁. The Chinese name Weiqi (圍棋,围棋) roughly translates as "encirclement chess", "board game of surrounding", or "enclosing game". Its ancient Chinese name is 弈 (pinyin: yì). The writings 棋/碁 are variants, as seen in the Chinese Kangxi dictionary. The game is most commonly known as 囲碁 (igo) in Japanese. Because Japanese professionals taught the first Western players, the latter naturally used the Japanese name in early German-language and then English-language books and articles about the game. The Japan Go Association (Nihon Ki-in) has long played a leading role spreading Go outside East Asia, publishing the English-language magazine Go Review in the 1960's, establishing Go Centers in the US and Europe, and often sending professional teachers to Western nations for extended periods. As a result, many Go concepts for which there is no ready English equivalent have become known elsewhere by their Japanese names.
The widespread use of Japanese terminology in the West notwithstanding, Chinese and Korean members of the international Go community, including professionals, continue to advocate for the primacy of terms from their language in common usage. They point out that in recent years, many Chinese and Korean players have also taught Western students. There is also no exact equivalence of concepts in different Asian languages, meaning that Go is still without a standard technical jargon.
In order to differentiate the game from the common English verb "go", the game is sometimes spelt with a capital G; this convention is not however followed in most of the technical literature on the game. An alternative but uncommon spelling is Goe, proposed by Ing Chang-Ki , the late wealthy promoter of Go (particularly in Taiwan and the US), for the same reason. This spelling is not widely used, outside events sponsored by the Ing foundation.

Rules

Basic Rules

Two players, Black and White, take turns placing a stone (game piece) on a vacant point (intersection) of a 19 by 19 board (grid). Black moves first. Other board sizes such as 13x13 and 9x9 may be used for teaching or quick games, but 19x19 is the standard size. Once played, a stone may not be moved to a different point.
A vacant point adjacent to a stone is a liberty for that stone.
Adjacent stones of the same color form a unit that shares its liberties in common, cannot subsequently be subdivided, and in effect becomes a single larger stone.
Units may be expanded by playing additional stones of the same color on their liberties, or amalgamated by playing a stone on a mutual liberty of two or more units of the same color.
A unit must have at least one liberty to remain on the board. When a unit is surrounded by opposing stones so that it has no liberties, it is captured and removed from the board.
If a stone is played where it has no liberties, but it occupies the last liberty of one or more opposing units, then such units are captured first, leaving the newly played stone at least one liberty.
"Ko rule": A stone cannot be played on a particular point if doing so would recreate the board position that existed after the same player's previous turn.
A player may pass instead of placing a stone, indicating that he sees no way to increase his territory or reduce his opponent's territory. When both players pass consecutively, the game ends and is then scored.

A player's score is the number of empty points enclosed only by his stones plus the number of points occupied by his stones. The player with the higher score wins. (Note that there are other rulesets that count the score differently, yet almost always produce the same result.) For a more detailed treatment, see Rules of Go.
This is the essence of the game of Go. The risk of capture means that stones must work together to control territory, which makes the gameplay very complex and interesting. (Also see strategy.)
Go allows one to play not only even games (games between players of roughly equal strength) but also handicap games (games between players of unequal strength); see optional rules. Without a handicap, even a slight difference in strength will generally be decisive.

Ikenobo

Tagasaki — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 10:19:32 CST

Ikenobo (池坊 Ikenobō) is a school of Ikebana, or Japanese floral art. It is the oldest school of Ikebana in Japan, having been founded in the 15th century by the Buddhist monk Ikenobo Senkai.
The school, currently headed by its 45th generation grand master, Ikenobo Sen'ei, is based in the Rokkakudo Temple in Kyoto.

External Link

Ikenobo Official Website

Iemoto

Tagasaki — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 10:07:43 CST

Iemoto (家元) is a Japanese term meaning "founder" or "grand master." It is used to describe both people and a system of familial generations in traditional Japanese arts such as tea ceremony, ikebana, noh, calligraphy, traditional Japanese dance, martial arts, shogi and Go. The iemoto system is characterized by a hierarchical structure and the supreme authority of the iemoto.
Though there may be more than one master, the iemoto is the chief of a line of grand masters, and the most senior representative and teacher of a given school. An iemoto may be addressed by the title Iemoto or O-iemoto, or by the title Ō-sensei (大先生). The iemoto's main roles are to lead the school and protect its traditions, to be the final authority on matters concerning the school, to issue or approve licenses and certificates and, in some cases, to instruct the most advanced practitioners.
The title of iemoto is hereditary. It is transmitted by direct line, or by adoption. There can only be one iemoto at a time, which sometimes leads to the creation of new "houses" or "lines." By tradition, the title of iemoto is passed down along with a hereditary name. In the Urasenke tradition of tea ceremony, for example, the iemoto is usually named Sōshitsu.
The title of iemoto comes with great authority. Thus, to teach one of Japanese traditional arts it is obligatory to obtain a licence from an iemoto, and the iemoto is the only one who can provide or authorise this licence. Students must also acquire licenses or certificates at various stages in their study. Depending on the school, such certificates either give the student permission to study at a particular level or affirm that the student has achieved a given level of mastery. Recipients must pay for these certificates which, at the highest level, may cost several million yen. It is also the iemoto who authorises, selects and bestows ceremonial names for advanced practitioners.

Etymology

The word "iemoto," literally "house-origin," originated in the Heian period (794-1185), but came into common use in the Edo period (1603-1868), often in reference to a principal family line with authority over commercial guilds.
The concept of the "Iemoto System" (家元制度) was explicated by the historian Matsunosuke Nishiyama in the post-war period to describe the social structures associated with exclusive family control and networks of instructors, a characteristic of the feudal era whose influence on traditional arts is still felt today.

Famous Families And Schools

Go

There were originally four main schools of Go: Hon'inbō, Hayashi, Inoue and Yasui; and three minor schools: Sakaguchi, Hattori and Mizutani.
Early in the 17th century, the then best player in Japan, Hon'inbo Sansa, was made head of a newly founded Go academy (the Hon'inbo school 本因坊), which developed the level of playing greatly, and introduced the martial arts style system of ranking players. The government discontinued its support for the Go academies in 1868 as a result of the fall of the Tokugawa shogunate.
In honour of the Hon'inbō school, whose players consistently dominated the other schools during their history, one of the most prestigious Japanese Go championships is called the "Honinbo" tournament.

Heads of the Hon'inbo school

GenerationPersonal nameDates

*1st*	*Honinbo Sansa 算砂*	*1612-1623*
*2nd*	*Honinbo San'etsu 算悦*	*1630-1658*
*3rd*	*Honinbo Doetsu 道悦*	*1658-1677*
*4th*	*Honinbo Dosaku 道策*	*1677-1702*
*5th*	*Honinbo Dochi 道知*	*1702-1727*
*6th*	*Honinbo Chihaku 知伯*	*1727-1733*
*7th*	*Honinbo Shuhaku 秀伯*	*1733-1741*
*8th*	*Honinbo Hakugen 伯元*	*1741-1754*
*9th*	*Honinbo Satsugen 察元*	*1754-1788*
*10th*	*Honinbo Retsugen 烈元*	*1788-1808*
*11th*	*Honinbo Genjo 元丈*	*1809-1827*
*12th*	*Honinbo Jowa 丈和*	*1827-1839*
*13th*	*Honinbo Josaku 丈策*	*1839-1847*
*14th*	*Honinbo Shuwa 秀和*	*1847-1873*
*15th*	*Honinbo Shuetsu 秀悦*	*1873-1879*
*16th*	*Honinbo Shugen 秀元*	*1879-1884*
*17th*	*Honinbo Shuei 秀栄*	*1884-1886*
*18th*	*Honinbo Shoha 秀甫*	*1838-1886*
*19th*	*Honinbo Shuei 秀栄*	*1887-1907*
*20th*	*Honinbo Shugen 秀元*	*1907-1908*
*21st*	*Honinbo Shusai 秀哉*	*1908-1940*

Ikebana

The three main schools of flower arrangement, known in Japanese as ikebana, are ikenobo, ohara and sogetsu.

Tea Ceremony

The three main schools of Japanese Tea Ceremony, Omotesenke, Urasenke and Mushanokojisenke are known collectively as the "Sansenke." They are all descended from 16th-century tea master Sen No Rikyu.

Heads of the Urasenke school

GenerationPersonal nameTea name

*1st*	*Rikyu Soeki (1522-91)*	*利休宗易*	*Hōsensai*	*抛筌斎*
*2nd*	*Shōan Sōjun (1546-1614)*	*少庵宗淳*
*3rd*	*Genpaku Sōtan (1578-1658)*	*元伯宗旦*		*咄々斎*
*4th*	*Sensō Sōshitsu (1622-97)*	*仙叟宗室*	*Hororisai*	*朧月斎*
*5th*	*Jōsō Sōshitsu (1673-1704)*	*常叟宗室*	*Fukyūsai*	*不休斎*
*6th*	*Taisō Sōshitsu (1694-1726)*	*泰叟宗室*	*Rikkansai*	*六閑斎*
*7th*	*Chikusō Sōshitsu (1709-33)*	*竺叟宗室*	*Saisaisai*	*最々斎*
*8th*	*Ittō Sōshitsu (1719-71)*	*一燈宗室*	*Yūgensai*	*又玄斎*
*9th*	*Sekiō Sōshitsu (1746-1801)*	*石翁宗室*	*Fukensai*	*不見斎*
*10th*	*Hakusō Sōshitsu (1770-1826)*	*柏叟宗室*	*Nintokusai*	*認得斎*
*11th*	*Seichū Sōshitsu (1810-77)*	*精中宗室*	*Gengensai*	*玄々斎*
*12th*	*Jikishō Sōshitsu (1852-1917)*	*直叟宗室*	*Yumyōsai*	*又玅斎*
*13th*	*Tetchū Sōshitsu (1872-1924)*	*鉄中宗室*	*Ennōsai*	*圓能斎*
*14th*	*Sekisō Sōshitsu (1893-1964)*	*直叟宗室*	*Tantansai (AKA: Mugensai)*	*淡々斎 (無限斎)*
*15th (current grand master)*	*Hōsō Sōshitsu XV (Sen Genshitsu) (b.April 19, 1923)*	*汎叟宗室*	*Hōunsai*	*鵬雲斎*
*16th (current iemoto)*	*Sen (Genmoku) Sōshitsu XVI (b. June 7, 1956)*	*玄黙宗室*	*Zabōsai*	*坐忘斎*

Criticism Of And Resistance To The Iemoto System

The iemoto system has been described as rigid, expensive, nepotistic, authoritarian and undemocratic. Some groups have chosen to reject the iemoto system. Hiroaki Kikuoka, a shamisen player, created a presidential system for his group, while koto player Michiyo Yagi has rejected both the iemoto system and the traditional style of her instrument, choosing to strike chords.

Ikebana

Tagasaki — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 05:16:40 CST

Ikebana (Japanese: 生け花 or いけばな, literally "living flowers") is the Japanese art of flower arrangement, also known as kadō (華道)—the "way of flowers".
In contrast to the decorative form of flower arranging in western countries, the Japanese flower arrangement creates a harmony of linear construction, rhythm, and color. While westerners tend to emphasize the quantity and colors of the flowers, devoting their attention mainly to the beauty of the blossoms, the Japanese emphasize the linear aspects of the arrangement. They have developed the art to include the vase, stems, leaves, and branches, as well as the flowers. The entire structure of a Japanese flower arrangement is based on three main points that symbolize heaven, earth, and humankind.

History

Ikebana began as a kind of ritual flower offering made in Buddhist temples in Japan during the 6th century. In these arrangements, both the flowers and the branches were made to point toward heaven as an indication of faith. A more sophisticated style of flower arrangement, called rikka (standing flowers), appeared in the 15th century. The rikka style reflects the magnificence of nature and its display. For example, pine branches symbolize rocks and stones, and white chrysanthemums symbolize a river or small stream. The rikka style became popular in the 17th century, used as a decorative technique for ceremonial and festive occasions, though today it is regarded as an antiquated form of flower arrangement and is rarely practiced.
The most significant changes in the history of ikebana took place during the 15th century, when the Muromachi shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa (1436–1490) ruled Japan. The large buildings and small houses that Yoshimasa had built expressed his love for simplicity. These small houses contained tokonoma, where people could place objects of art and flower arrangements. It was during this period that the rules of ikebana were simplified so that people of all classes could enjoy the art.
Another major development took place in the late 16th century. A more simple style of flower arrangement called nageire (meaning to throw in or fling in) appeared as part of the tea ceremony. According to this style, flowers are arranged in a vase as naturally as possible, no matter what materials are used. Because of its association with the tea ceremony, this style is also called cha-bana (茶花, literally "tea flowers").
In the 1890s, shortly after the Meiji Restoration (a period of modernization and westernization in Japan), there developed a new style of ikebana called moribana, or "piled-up flowers". This style appeared partly due to the introduction of western flowers and partly due to the westernization of Japanese living. The moribana style, which created a new freedom in flower arranging, is used for a landscape or a garden scene. It is a style that can be enjoyed wherever it is displayed and can be adapted to both formal and informal situations.
Modern ikebana dates from 1930 and goes by the transliteration zen'ei ikebana or zen'eibana. This form of ikebana is more expressive than the classic style. Along with tea ceremony and calligraphy, ikebana was one of the arts in which women were traditionally schooled in preparation for marriage. Today, flower arrangement is venerated as one of the traditional arts in Japan. It is practiced on many occasions like ceremonies and parties, and modern people are still choosing to study the art.

Honkyoku

Tagasaki — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 05:01:34 CST

Honkyoku (本曲, "original pieces") are the pieces of shakuhachi or hocchico music played by mendicant Japanese Zen monks called komuso. Komusō played honkyoku for enlightenment and alms as early as the 13th century. Honkyoku is the practice of suizen ("blowing Zen"). The Fuke sect which originated this practice ceased to exist in the 19th century, but a verbal and written lineage of many honkyoku continues today, though the music is now often practiced in a concert or performance setting.
There are many ryu, or schools, of honkyoku, each with their style, emphasis, and teaching methods.

Kinko Ryu

In the 18th century, a komusō named Kinko Kurasawa of the Fuke sect of Zen Buddhism was commissioned to travel Japan and collect these musical pieces. Although it is commonly thought that the 36 pieces of the Kinko Ryū Honkyoku repotoire were collected and played by Kinko Kurosawa, in fact these pieces as currently played were significantly changed and codified by later generations, including Miura Kindo and others.

Hifumi - Hachigaeshi no Shirabe
Taki-ochi no Kyoku (Taki-otoshi no Kyoku)
Akita Sugagaki
Koro Sugagaki
Kyūshū Reibo
Shizu no Kyoku
Kyō Reibo
Mukaiji Reibo
Kokū Reibo
a) Ikkan-ryū Kokū kaete, b) Banshikichō
Shin no Kyorei
Kinsan Kyorei
Yoshiya Reibo
Yūgure no Kyoku
Sakae-jishi
Uchikae Kyorei
Igusa Reibo
Izu Reibo
Reibo-nagashi
Sōkaku Reibo
Sanya Sugagaki
Shimotsuke Kyorei
Meguro-jishi
Ginryū Kokū
Sayama Sugagaki
Sagari-ha no Kyoku
Namima Reibo
Shika no Tône
Hōshōsu
Akebono no Shirabe
Akebono Sugagaki
Ashi no Shirabe
Kotoji no Kyoku
Kinuta Sugomori
Tsuki no Kyoku
Kotobuki no Shirabe

At least three additional pieces were later added to the Kinko-Ryu repertoire:

Kumoi Jishi
Azuma no Kyoku
Sugagaki

Dokyoku

Founded by Watazumi Doso Roshi in the 1950s, the Dokyoku Honkyoku repertoire consists of:

Daha
Dai Otsugaeshi
Hon Shirabe
Jyakunen
Kaze
Koden Sugomori
Koku
Motogaeshi
Mushirabe
Reibo
Sagari Ha (Kansai)
Sagari Ha (Ōshū)
Sagari Nami
San'an
San'ya
Shingetsu
Sokkan
Tamuke
Tsuru no Sugomori
Ukigumo
Yamagoe (also, Reiho)

Figure Moe Zoku

Tagasaki — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 09:51:14 CST

Figure moe zoku (フィギュア萌え族) (literally "Figure Budding Tribe") is a coinage made by Japanese journalist Akihiro Otani who claims "Otaku(or Geek)" are potential criminals, based on the 2004 Nara 1st grade girl's murder.
Otani also uses the term "moe zoku" interchangably. Some Otaku have begun to use the expression "moe zoku" in a self-mocking fashion based on his accusations.

Japanese "Figure" Culture

In Japan, the term "figure" can refer to figure skating or to dolls, statues, and other collectible figurines. Figures based on Anime, Manga and Ren'ai game (or Dating sim) characters are often sold as dolls in Japan. Collecting them is a popular hobby amongst Otaku.

Tsutomu Miyazaki And The Beginnings Of Otaku-Bashing

Following the 1988-1989 Tokyo-Saitama serial murders of four young girls, otaku were sometimes presented by the mass media as would-be sex offenders. The murderer, Tsutomu Miyazaki was labelled by the mass media as an “Otaku” following his arrest, leading to harsh criticism of the sub-culture from media outlets and politicians. A TBS reporter, covering that year's Comiket, (Japan’s largest anime/comic convention) described the crowd by saying "Look! 100,000 Tsutomu Miyazakis are here!", as Miyazaki had once been a regular attendee of the convention.
The Japanese mass media dubbed this "The day when the society discovered Otaku," and it was this famous report at Comiket which began the demonization of Otaku in Japanese society. Due to a lack of understanding of Otaku, the Japanese mass media continued to bash Comiket as a breeding ground for future criminals, despite the fact the event had already existed for 14 years and was in it’s 36th meeting by that point, with no other offenses. In addition, it had been covered on television and other media in years past, without any suggestion of deviancy. Some of these earlier reports included interviews with figures like Osamu Tezuka.
Miyazaki was known primarily as a "video Otaku," with a large colletion of videocassettes. It is known, however, that Miyazaki's collection of over six thousand videotapes included a number of pornographic films. The vast majority, though, consisted of recorded television programs. However, due to media coverage, it appeared that Miyazaki's entire collection consisted of violent sexual content.
In 2005, a person attached to the Yomiuri Shimbun confessed in his weblog that there was some evidence tampering in the Miyazaki case. According to the entry, most of Miyazaki's magazine collection were general interest men's magazines. A cameraman from a TV network allegedly put pornographic materials in with the rest of the magazines in order to scoop the competition, causing Miyazaki to be framed as a sexual pervert. However, this blog entry was quickly deleted afterwards, casting aspersions on its legitimacy. Regardless, the online Otaku community was upset and confused by this news, and some are calling for the case to be reopened.

2004 Takasaki 1st Grade Girl's Murder And Figure-Otaku Bashing=

On March 11, 2004, in Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture, a first grade elementary school girl was killed by her neighbor. The murderer was reported to have lots of "dolls,” leading some media outlets to label him as an otaku. NNN reported that his dolls were specifically Super Dollfies, without any evidence to the contrary. Volks, the manufacturer of Super Dollfie, protested this statement, leading NNN to apologize and correct the report. The damage was done, however, and figure-otaku quickly began being stereotyped as potential murderers.

Otani, 2004 Nara 1st Grade Girl's Murder And "Figure Moe Zoku"

On November 17, 2004, in Tomio, a suburb of Nara City, another first grade girl was abducted on her way home from school. The kidnapper sent the girl's parents a picture of her, along with the message "I have your daughter," using the child's camera phone. The girl's body was found later that night in Heguri, Ikoma District of Nara Prefecture.
This event was reported on a large scale in Japan because of it's shock value. Many non-professional "experts" served as media consultants in the case, making their guesses about the murderer's personality. Some suggested that the killer was an otaku because he quickly disabled the phone's anti-kidnap functions.
Otani, a journalist for the Yomiuri Shimbun, covered Osaka Prefecture's Criminal Investigation Division, which deals with serious crimes, like murder. Otani was highly regarded in the field, with his research skills considered almost equal to professional detectives. Otani was also a popular media figure, seen as a crusader for justice, a skilled speaker, and a defender of the common man. Otani suggested that the killer treated his victim like a doll, and as such, the killer might be a doll collector or figure otaku. He coined the term "Figure Moe Zoku" to identify this group, first using it on a morning news broadcast in November, 2004. Otaku immediately objected, suggesting that the spectre of earlier otaku-related murders colored his judgement.
Otani also writes fiction, and one of his stories was published as a manga in 1997. In the story, an individual becomes obsessed with a dating sim after repeated play, kidnaps the actress who plays the game's love interest, in hopes that she would love him just as she does in the video game. Otani essentially suggests that while dating games can be fun, they can also become dangerous if players get too attached to them. The events presented in the manga were purely fictional, but some otaku feel persecuted by them nonetheless.

Recent Otaku-Bashing

On December 30, 2004, an alleged sexual pervert living in Kawaii Town, Kitakatsuragi District, Nara Prefecture was arrested.
This individual did not collect dolls nor did he have a computer, much less play the questionable games. After this, it seems that the credibility and influence Otani had previously exerted against Otakus began to wear off.
However, Otani continued bashing Otakus as if they were the one who performed the crime. During an ANN special broadcast on the morning that the aforementioned suspect was arrested, Otani commented that the suspect was a "Figure Otaku", contradicting the police report that the offender had no such items.
Otani is opposed to a Japanese version of Megan's Law. Instead, Otani suggests that the government should restrict Otaku hobbies either through legal action, or by increasing the social stigma of such acts.
In January 4, 2005, he denounced Otakus in a newspaper column that protested against him and his comments. Many Otaku feel that Otani is using them as a scapegoat to further his political career.
Otani claims many popular Otaku hobbies to be "child pornography", encouraging pedophiles to indulge in otaku culture and possibly encouraging otaku towards acts of pedophilia.
In a January 13, 2005 interview on ABC, Otani said "Throw (those who complain about me) in prison and castrate them. Japanese society can do that!". This statement angered many otaku, with some claiming that it was tantamount to hate speech. So far, neither ABC nor Otani have apologized for the comments.
Otani appealed for the restriction of Otaku's hobbies with all media to which he was related. And Otakus kept protesting against the TV station. And, Otani was dismissed from the program of ABC that he had put forward the theory first. However, Otani continued a similar insistence every time a similar event occurred.
In 2005, two more first grade girls were kidnapped and killed in Japan. One was killed by a foreigner with a past record of sex crimes, who was not an otaku. The other killer remains at large.
Otani and others continue to blame otakus and otaku culture for the crimes, despite a lack of evidence of their involvement.