JAPAN

1. JAPAN

2. Japanese Traditional Dress • Kimonos • Japanese traditional garment

3. Kimonos • Traditional Japanese garment

4. Kimonos • Traditional Japanese garment • Until the mid 19th century it was the form of dress worn by everyone in Japan.

6. Language • Japanese borrowed from the Chinese system of writing • Kanji • Chinese characters or picture words written in Japanese • Must know 1800 kanji to read Japanese newspaper • Kana • Express sounds rather than entire words

8. Japanese Poetry • Haiku • Three lines • 17 total syllables • Expresses mood, feeling • 17th Century Poet • Basho Matsuo

9. Examples: • Noh Example • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF64QwlyeBs&feature=related • Kabuki Example • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unT93gSEZ4g

10. Noh • Began in the 14th Century • Traditional way • Only used actors • Males played female roles • Females are now performing on Noh stages • Religious dances that formed from Buddhism • Represents the “austere” way of life adopted by the aristocracy • Commoners were outlawed from learning the dance, music of Noh from 1600-1868. • Little plot • More about human emotion • Kabuki • Began in 16th Century • Sensual performances • Many prostitutes performed • Male audiences lost control • Tokugawa Shogunate banned females from performing • Males actors playing female roles are known as onnagata or oyama • Centers on Japanese historyor family issues • Feelings are exaggerated

11. Japan • Densely populated • Leaves little space • Ikebana • visual presentation of cut stems, flowers and other features to represent an aspect of nature in miniature

12. Bonsai • small branches of a tree, pruned and cultivated so that they look like smaller versions of their own species.

13. Daijosai • Shinto ceremony • Way to enthrone new Emperor • Last one was held in 1990 • Enthroned Hirohito’s son • Akihito

14. Origami • Developed from Zen Buddhism • Originated from China • Very simple • The art of folding paper into decorative arts • Less prominent after the Meiji Restoration

15. Cha-no-yu • Tea ceremony • Developed between 15th Century and 16th Century • Men would meet in small house with garden • a tiny door which forces them to crouch, thereby foregoing their worldly status

16. The following is a message from SenSoshitsu, UraSenke Grand Tea Master XV: • "Chado, the Way Of Tea, is based upon the simple act of boiling water, making tea, offering it to others, and drinking of it ourselves. Served with a respectful heart and received with gratitude, a bowl of tea satisfies both physical and spiritual thirst. • The frenzied world and our myriad dilemmas leave our bodies and minds exhausted. It is then that we seek out a place where we can have a moment of peace and tranquility.

17. Nippon Professional Baseball • Organized in 1950, 12 teams • Championship known as the Japan Series • Best team • Yomiuri Giants • Known as the “New York Yankees” of Japan

18. Besuboru • Arrived in Japan during • Meiji Restoration in 1868 • Ichiko baseball team defeated U.S. team of traders and missionaries in 1896 • Beat foreign “barbarians” at game that they invented • Caused interest in sport to soar

19. Japanese Baseball Players in U.S. • Ichiro Suzuki • Plays for the New York Yankees • First MLB player to enter the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame

20. Sumo Wrestling • Originates from Feudal Japan • Trial of strength in combat • Shinto ritual • Priests “bless” ring • Wrestlers perform rituals • Important in imperial court • Dates back to the Edo Period (1600-1800) • Force opponent out of ring or have any body part other than soles of feet hit ground