Japan History and Culture

Thousand-year candy (chitoseame,千歳飴)

Chitoseame means “thousand-year candy,” is given to children on “Seven-Five-Three” Festival (Shichi-Go-San ).

Chitoseame is shaped like a long thin stick of red and white wheat gluten, which comes in a long white paper bag decorated with symbols of longevity and ensures healthy growth such as pine, bamboo, plums, cranes, and tortoises. Chitoseame and the bag are both expressions of parents’ wish that their children lead long, prosperous lives.

admin on August 26th, 2008 | File Under Culture | No Comments -

Floating Ceremony of Paper Hina Dolls (Nagashibina)

Nagashi-bina is an event that involves dispelling impurities and misfortunes by floating dolls away on river or sea.

This was called “Nagashi-bina”.  Because this was done around the time peach flowers bloom, it has come to be called “Momo no Sekku”, but it used to be called “Joshi no Sekku”.

Displaying dolls indoors became a practice quite a while later.

On this day girls and women dedicate dolls to the shrine deity. The dolls are brought to the beach at Kada and floated away on a wooden boat, taking with them all evils and sicknesses that befall women.”

A boatload of dolls ( Nagashbina sets)

In this rite, dry straw or wood is woven into a boat, which carries a pair of male and female paper dolls to be cast adrift in the river or sea. As it has become quite a rare event, in recent years it has come to attract visitors by the busload.

admin on August 26th, 2008 | File Under Culture | No Comments -

Lucky Laugh or Funny Face Game (Fukuwarai)

Fukuwarai is a Japanese traditional game which is usually played during New Year holiday  in Japan. The game can help you to learn directions and parts of the face.

Fukuwarai means “happy laugh.” Fuku means fortune, and warai means laughing, which is also a popular indoor game on the New Years. The game is usually played by children, but adults may sometimes play also. The game is similar to that of Pin the Tail on the Donkey.

How to play
 
1. Draw two same pictures of a person’s face.
2. Cut the eyes, eyebrows, nose, ears, and mouth out of one picture.
3. Then one player is blindfolded with a handkerchief or some other type of cloth.
4. The blindfolded player tries to place cutouts of the eyes, eyebrows, mouth, and nose on the face, while the other players shout instructions–for example, “Higher!” “To the left!” “There!”
5. After the player places the pieces, the blindfold is removed so the player can view his or her handiwork.
6. Most of the time, the face comes out looking ridiculous, and the players can’t keep from laughing and let the next player take a turn.

Originally, only one style of face was used for the game - a comical, round face of Otafuku. Otafuku is a homely looking woman. Nowadays, other faces are sometimes used, such as those of popular actors and comic book characters or popular anime characters.

 The first calligraphic of the New Year (KAKIZOME)             

Kakizome, literally “first writing” is an event for New Year to writefor the first time using a traditional writing brush. This date is traditionally set on January 2nd. Therefore often called “Kitsusho Hajime” (First fortune writing).Elementary schools and junior high schools have kakizome competitions annually.

The Kakizome of writing tools is using black writing ink,special paper called gasenshi (画仙紙) which, at almost 28×85cm, is much larger than the normal monthly works. The standard works are written on hanshi (半紙) which vary in size, but our official size is almost 26×36cm, scrolls, and decorative plaques.

The traditional procedure of Kakizome is making black writing ink with Wakamizu (first laved water of the year) by facing Ehou (the fortunate direction of the year from Oriental Zodiac teachings) then writing auspicious words or poetries such as long life, spring, or perennial youth.

 
Every year on January 5th, it is broadcasted nationwide about 4000 people gather for Kakizome as one of the calligraphy enterprises hosted at Nihon Budo-kan in Tokyo by Nihon Budo-kan Foundation.

Special dishes for Hinamatsuri

Hishi-mochi (Diamond-shaped rice cake)

Hishi-mochi is diamond-shaped rice cakes and typically formed from three layers of red (or pink), white, and green mochi, from top to bottom. The red of the mochi are derived from fruits of Gardenia jasminoides , and is symbolic of plum flowers. The white is made from the water caltrop, and represents the snow and its cleansing effects. Finally, the green is from Gnaphalium affine or mugwort like kusa mochi, and is believed to be restoratives that improve the blood.

Depending on region, the red may be substituted with yellow, or the sweet may have 5 or 7 layers instead.

The cake is believed to represent a nature scenery of early spring when green grass starts to grow under white snow while pink blossoms of peach trees come into bloom.

Hina-arare (colored rice cakes)

Hina-arare is colorful rice puffs that are eaten on the Girl’s Festival. Each color of puffs represents special meaning–white is earth, red is life, and green is trees–and is believed to provide energy to those who eat them so that they can drive out their misfortune and disease.

Shiro-zake (Sweet white sake)

Shiro-zake is made of mirin or shochu (distilled liquor from wheat or potato) mixed with steamed glutinous rice or rice malt. It is fermented for about a month and then lightly grinded to finish. Shiro-zake is cloudy white and contains about 9% alcohol. It has 45% sugar and is considered a liqueur by Japanese liquor tax law. Shiro-sake is often confused with Ama-zake (sweet sake), which has almost no alcohol content, but it is made of cooked rice or porridge mixed with rice malt, and then simmered to turn starch into sugar. Ama-zake is akin to a soft drink, so to speak, and is completely different than Shiro-zake.

Shirozake is believed to purify the body of those who drink it as pure as its color.

  Japanese tea ceremony

The Japanese tea ceremony (chanoyu, lit. “tea hot-water”; also called chadō or sadō, “the way of tea”) is a multifaceted traditional activity based on Taoism (Daoism) and influenced by Zen Buddhism, in which powdered green tea, or matcha , is ceremonially prepared and served to others.
The get-togethers for chanoyu are called chakai (literally “tea meeting”) or chaji (literally “tea function”). Usually the term chakai is used to refer to a relatively simple course of hospitality that includes the service of confections, usucha (thin tea), and perhaps tenshin (a light snack), while the term chaji refers to a more formal course of hospitality including kaiseki (a special kind of full-course meal), confections, koicha (thick tea), and usucha (thin tea). A chaji may last up to four hours.
A tea practitioner should strive to be knowledgable if not expert in the wide range of disciplines and traditional arts that are integral to chanoyu — for example, the production and types of tea, kimono, calligraphy, flower arranging, ceramics, and incense — in addition to his or her school’s tea practices. Because of this, the study of the tea ceremony is virtually endless. Even to participate as a guest in a formal tea ceremony requires knowledge of the prescribed gestures and phrases, the proper way to take tea and sweets, and general deportment in the tea room.

Equipment
Tea equipment is called chadōgu (literally tea tools). A wide range of chadōgu 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. The following is a brief list of some essential components:

Chakin  is a small rectangular white linen or hemp cloth mainly used to wipe the tea bowl.
Tana is a general word that refers to all types of wooden or bamboo shelf units used in tea preparation; each type of tana has its own name. Tana vary considerably in size, style, features and materials. The three basic categories are built-in tana (shitsukedana), suspended tana (tsuridana), and portable shelves (okidana). The latter, okidana, are basically categorized as either large shelf units (ōdana) or small shelf units (kodana). 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)  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 in use today, but 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, and is known 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 (chaire and natsume; main article: chaki) come in two basic styles, the natsume and the chaire, though there is variation in shape, size and colour within the styles. Chaire, which are used for koicha, are usually tall and thin (but shapes may vary significantly) and have ivory lids with a gold leaf undersides. Chaire are usually ceramic, and are stored in decorative bags called shifuku. Natsume are used for usucha, and are named for their resemblance to the natsume fruit (the jujube). They are short with a flat lid and rounded bottom, and are usually made of lacquered or untreated wood.

 
Tea scoop (chashaku) generally are carved from a single piece of bamboo, although they may also be made of ivory or wood. They are used to scoop tea from the tea caddy into the tea bowl. Bamboo tea scoops in the most casual style have a nodule in the approximate center. 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)  are carved from a single piece of bamboo. There are thick and thin whisks for thick and thin tea. 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.
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.

Styles of ceremony
There are many styles of chanoyu, depending upon the occasion, season, and countless other possible factors.

Hakobi temae
The name comes from the fact that, except for the hot water kettle (and brazier if a sunken hearth is not being used), the essential items for the tea-making, including even the fresh water container, are carried into the tea room by the host.
O-bon temae
In O-bon temae (Omotesenke: “tray ceremony”; Urasenke: bonryaku temae), 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.

Ryūrei
In the Ryūrei (literally standing bow) style, 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 Ryūrei 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.

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 also provided their own kimono and related accessories, though western clothing is very common today. On the other hand, if the teacher is in the higher rank of tradition, especially an iemoto, wearing kimono is still considered essential, 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 equipment, 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 O-bon 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.

 
Step-By-Step Chado Tea Ceremony
The host, or temae performs the ceremony while seated in seiza, or kneeling position, and every movement or gesture is carefully choreographed. The water is heated with a cast iron pot that is placed over charcoal burner that is buried into the floor of the teahouse.
Wet ash is sprinkled around the charcoal to prevent heat from spreading to the outer edge of the chamber. After cleaning the lip that holds the floor replacement, the pot is placed onto the lip.

The correct water temperature would be around 176 degrees F (80º C). This would be the equivalent of taking a boiling teapot off of the fire, and letting it sit for around 1 minute.

it is customary for the guest to bow when entering the teahouse or room, and bowing is also performed by the practitioner or temae before the ceremony begins.

The matcha should be put through a sieve to break up any clumps that may have formed. After straining, the matcha is placed into a small lacquer tea-caddy known as a chaki.
Put the powdered matcha tea into the empty bowl, then use a bamboo ladle to add water. For a thick, strong-tasting tea referred to as ‘Koicha,’ use two heaping servings from a bamboo matcha spoon, or approximately one level teaspoon of matcha per 4 to 6 ounces (60 ml) of water.

For a weaker-tasting tea which is called ‘Usucha,’ you would use half of the amount of powdered matcha tea. The tea should fill the cup only 1/3 full.

Using firm wrist action in the shape of an ‘M,’ the tea is whipped into a froth using the ‘Chasen’ bamboo tea-whisk. There should be a uniform film of froth, with no visible air bubbles.

When the tea bowl is presented to the guest it is rotated 180 degrees, to present the more decorated side of the tea-bowl to the viewer. The rotation of the bowl is done in quarter turns.
Wagashi
Sweet rice cakes known as ‘wagashi’ were a traditional gift between samurai, and are served during the ritual Chado tea-ceremony to compliment the bitter Matcha tea. Wagashi has a spongy texture and semi-sweet flavor that can be an acquired taste. Traditionally, wagashi made from mochi (glutinous rice), red bean paste, and fruit sweetened with mizuame and suikazura.

Geisha

Geisha , Geishaor Geiko , Geiko
are traditional, female Japanese
entertainers,
whose skills include performing various Japanese arts, such as classical music
and dance. Contrary to popular belief, geisha are not prostitutes.

“Geisha girls”

“Geisha girls”
(pronounced “geesha”), also known as “panpan girls,” were Japanese women who worked as prostitutes
during the period of the Allied Occupation of Japan. They almost
exclusively serviced American GIs stationed in the country. The
term is a mispronunciation of the word geisha. The mispronunciation persists
among some westerners.

Adding to the confusion is
the fact that these women dressed in kimono and imitated
the look of geisha. Americans unfamiliar with the culture of Japan did not know
the difference between these costumed prostitutes and actual geisha. Shortly after their arrival in 1945, occupying American GIs
are said to have congregated on the Ginza
and shouted in unison “We want geesha girls!”

Eventually, the term
“geisha girl” became a general word for any female Japanese
prostitute or worker in the mizu shobai, and included bar hostesses
and streetwalkers.

Geisha girls are speculated
by researchers
to be largely responsible for the continuing misconception in the West that
geisha are prostitutes.

Modern geisha

Modern geisha still live in traditional geisha houses
called okiya in areas called hanamachi
“flower towns”, particularly
during their apprenticeship. Many experienced geisha are successful enough
choose to live independently. The elegant, high-culture world that geisha are a
part of is called karyūkai (”the flower and willow world”).

Young women who wish to become geisha
now most often begin their training after completing junior high
school or even high school or college,
with many women beginning their careers in adulthood. Geisha still study
traditional instruments like the shamisen, shakuhachi (bamboo flute), and drums, as well as traditional
songs, Japanese traditional dance, tea ceremony, literature and poetry. By
watching other geisha, and with the assistance of the owner of the geisha house,
apprentices also become skilled in the complex traditions surrounding selecting
and wearing kimono,
and in dealing with clients.

Kyoto is considered by many to be where
the geisha tradition is the strongest today, including Gion Kobu. The geisha in
these districts are known as geiko. The Tokyo hanamachi of Shimbashi,
Asakusa
and Kagurazaka
are also well known.

In modern Japan, geisha and
maiko are now a rare sight outside hanamachi. In the 1920s there were
over 80,000 geisha in Japan, but today there are far fewer. The exact number is
unknown to outsiders, and is estimated to be from 1,000 to 2,000, mostly in the
resort town of Atami. Most common are sightings of tourists
who pay a fee to be dressed up as a maiko.

A sluggish economy, declining interest
in the traditional arts, the exclusive nature of the flower and willow world,
and the expense of being entertained by geisha have all contributed to the
tradition’s decline.

Geisha are often hired to attend
parties and gatherings, traditionally at tea houses (ochaya)
or at traditional Japanese restaurants (ryōtei).
Their time is measured by the time it takes an incense stick to burn, and is
called senkōdai ( “incense stick fee”) or gyokudai
(”jewel fee”). In Kyoto the terms “ohana”
(”hanadai”, meaning “flower fees”, are preferred. The
customer makes arrangements through the geisha union office (kenban),
which keeps each geisha’s schedule and
makes her appointments both for entertaining and for training.

The main types of formal kimono are:

• Kuro tomesode, a formal kimono for married women. Kuro means black, and tomesode implies sleeves of short width. Kuro tomesode typically have five family crests as well.

• Iro tomesode, another formal kimono for married women, though less formal than the kuro tomesode. It too has five crests and sleeves of short width. The word iro implies color, which differentiates this formal kimono from the kuro tomesode.

• Uchikake, a long robe that is an integral part of the traditional Japanese bridal costume.

• Shiromuku, another traditional bridal robe. The shiromuku is white.

• Furisode, a kimono with wide, flowing sleeves. Furisode are for single women, and are very colorful and feature ornate designs.

• Houmongi, a modified version of the furisode or tomesode. Houmongi are meant for formal visits.

• Mofuku, a kimono for mourning. The mofuku features no design or pattern.

The standard kimono pattern includes the following parts:

Length: 158 cm
Sleeve and shoulder width: 63 cm
Sleeve width: 32 cm
Shoulder width: 31 cm
Sleeve depth: 49 cm

The standard kimono pattern includes the following parts:

• Eri (collar)
• Erisaki (collar end)
• Erishita (collar underside)
• Furi (sleeve portion below the arm hole)
• Mae sode (sleeve front)
• Mae migoro (body front)
• Suso (hem)
• Senui (back middle seam)
• Ushiro migoro (body back)
• Tomoeri (collar topside)
• Ushiro sode (sleeve back)
• Sodeguchi (sleeve opening)
• Sode haba (sleeve width)
• Kata haba (shoulder width)
• Yuki (sleeve and shoulder width)
• Sodetsuke (armhole seam)
• Sodetake (sleeve depth)
• Miyatsuguchi (opening under armhole)

Kimono are clothes worn in Japan. Kimono are designed to match the seasons. They are also designed for different occasions. When a baby is born, if it is a girl, it is dressed in a white under garment and a bright yuzen or dyed kimono; if a boy is born, he wears a black kimono with the family crest on it. Another occasion for wearing a kimono is Shichi-go san.

On the “Coming of Age” day a girl wears a furisode (kimono with long flowing sleeves), a boy wears a sahaori (half-coat) and a hakama with the family crest. Only unmarried women wear a furisode. A married woman wears a tomesode. A tomesode only has a pattern on the bottom half. A colored tomesode can also be worn on formal occasions