Japanese Art & Cultural History (7c1f)

@lovewater66 · 2 years ago

This fruit is sold exclusively in Japan and is extremely hard to access for even local shops and supermarkets, a factor which adds to its expensiveness. As with many luxury food and beverage items...

12 likes · 3 comments

@Azzu · 3 years ago

Quest For Perfection And Wabi-Sabi

We spend our valuable time in search of perfection, till we realize perfection lies within our satisfaction. Perfection is a concept without any physical existence. Its existence is found only as an i...

6 likes · 8 comments

@Pamdhinz · 3 years ago

Fear me: "Kuchisake onna story"

Japan has a wealth of creepy ghost stories, but this one is particularly chilling. Today’s topic is Kuchisake-Onna, the Slit-Mouthed Woman. This ghost legend crosses over into the realm of urban leg...

2 likes · 1 comments

@Mictorrani · 3 years ago

Kachō-e: Flora & Fauna in Japanese Art

One of the sub-genres of ukiyo-e is kachô-e (also called kachô-ga ). Sometimes it is defined as “studies of flowers and birds”, but while many artists limited themselves to just flowers and birds,...

6 likes · 0 comments

@Mictorrani · 4 years ago

Hiroshige, the Great Master of Landscapes

Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858) (sometimes called Andô Hiroshige) is known mainly for landscapes and kacho-e (flower and bird prints), but in the beginning of his career, before he really found his spe...

16 likes · 14 comments

@aniruddhasen · 4 years ago

The marathon monks of Mt Hiei

Let’s go to Japan to find out about this unconventional way of enlightenment developed and practiced by a sect of Tendai Buddhist monks living in Mount Hiei. This mountain in located near Kyoto. It i...

8 likes · 16 comments

@Mictorrani · 4 years ago

Hokusai, Manga & The Most Famous Japanese Artwork Ever

Outside of Japan, Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) is probably the best-known Japanese artist, and his "The Great Wave off Kanawa" is probably the best-known Japanese artwork in all categories. In Jap...

14 likes · 26 comments

@Mictorrani · 4 years ago

Prussian Blue & Aizuri-e: Blue Pictures

Aizuri-e means “blue picture”. The term is used for Japanese woodblock prints entirely in blue or where blue is dominating. When there is another colour in an aizuri-e in addition to blue, it is o...

14 likes · 7 comments

@Geri · 4 years ago

Spirituality in Japan

When people visiting Japan, or watching a Japanese, or Asian martial arts film, they see a lot of seemingly spiritual acts. Even when they aim with an arrow, can be seen as a spiritual act by a wester...

13 likes · 19 comments

@Geri · 4 years ago

How to learn japanese, if you dont have the aspergers

Japan is a culture that is very attractive to all of the people around the world. It is also attractive for those who are antisocial, autists, unable to communicate even in their own language, and hav...

13 likes · 13 comments

@Mictorrani · 4 years ago

The Toyokuni Confusion

When you see names as Tokugawa Ieyasu or Suzuki Harunobu , which is the family name and which is the given name? Japanese names are written with the family name first. In the examples above, Tokug...

5 likes · 6 comments

@Mictorrani · 4 years ago

When Namazu Whips His Tail, Earth is Shaking!

According to Japanese folklore, earthquakes are caused by a giant catfish, Namazu , in the interior of the earth. When he approaches the surface and wriggles and whips his tail, the result is an eart...

9 likes · 63 comments

@Mictorrani · 4 years ago

Emperor & Shogun, The Edo Period and Ukiyo-e

Preface The main purpose of this article is to define the Edo period, the time of the Tokugawa Shogunate, which is the period usually associated with ukiyo-e and Japanese woodblock prints. The end of...

4 likes · 0 comments

@Mictorrani · 4 years ago

Zatoichi – A Samurai Hero

Zatoichi is a blind wanderer, gambler and masseur in Edo period Japan. However, that is a facade; in reality, he is a master swordsman. The stories about him are a mix of action and romanticism, so...

4 likes · 0 comments

@Mictorrani · 4 years ago

Shôki - The Demon Queller

Shōki, in China called Zhōng Kuí (or Chung Kwei), was a demon killer, or one might say demon queller, who was considered to protect against demons and disease. Originally he comes from Chinese Taoism,...

4 likes · 6 comments

@Mictorrani · 4 years ago

Sagi Musume - The Heron Maiden

The Heron Maiden (Sagi Musume) is a character in a Japanese folk tale, and often a motive in pictorial art and theatre. Briefly, this is the story: A young man finds a wounded heron, which he takes h...

4 likes · 0 comments

@Mictorrani · 4 years ago

Crows, Ravens & Tengu

Crows and ravens are closely related birds of the family Corvus. In myth and legend the distinction is not always clear. Ravens, however, being bigger and more ominous looking, occur more frequently t...

3 likes · 15 comments

@Mictorrani · 4 years ago

The Kappa - A Dangerous Fellow

A kappa (河童- river child) is a Japanese folkloristic being mainly inhabiting rivers and ponds. It goes under many different names: kawatarō, kawako, suiko, etc. and is an amphibious or reptilian...

3 likes · 0 comments

@Mictorrani · 4 years ago

Aka-e - Japanese Colour Magic

Aka-e are Japanese woodblock prints where red is the dominating colour. Red prints were believed to protect against smallpox and were used as talismans. The idea is based on the old tale that says,...

2 likes · 15 comments

@Mictorrani · 4 years ago

Small & Big Cats in Japan

Domestic Cats The upper class in Japan had domestic cats as early as 1000 years ago and common people soon followed suit. There are cats in folklore and mythology and there are shrines dedicated to c...

2 likes · 0 comments

@Mictorrani · 4 years ago

Seppuku, Ritual Suicide

The most spectacular cultural expression of suicide is probably that of the Samurai of Old Japan. (Below detail from Seppuku Suicide , a print (1900-1910) by Tomioka Eisen.) Most people have heard...

2 likes · 0 comments

@Mictorrani · 4 years ago

Chūshingura - The 47 Ronin

Chūshingura - History Chūshingura is an entire genre in Japanese art and includes as well literature, film and theatre as visual arts. The word is usually translated into English as "The Treasury of...

3 likes · 0 comments

@Mictorrani · 4 years ago

Three Masters of Bijinga

Bijinga In a previous article , I defined bijinga , pictures of beautiful women. This was one of the major subgenres of ukiyo-e, a form of secular Japanese art which evolved during the Edo period...

2 likes · 10 comments

@Mictorrani · 4 years ago

Oops, she was ugly! How art can influence language.

This picture, a painting by a 17th century Japanese artist Hishikawa Moronobu , is one of the most famous and influential works in Japanese art history. It also contributed to the Japanese language....

2 likes · 0 comments

@Mictorrani · 4 years ago

The Master of the Macabre

We will look at one of the greatest of what is called the last generation of ukiyo-e-masters, perhaps the greatest: Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839-1892). He was a versatile artist, but is best known fo...

2 likes · 0 comments

@Mictorrani · 4 years ago

Satoshi & Sharaku

I have previously written here about using a pseudonym. One very successful case of applied pseudonymity and secrecy is Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin, the first cryptocurrency. He managed...

6 likes · 5 comments

Japanese Art & Cultural History (7c1f) 49