Japan History and Culture

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 -

The Hiyoko Cakes  ( HIYOKO MANJU,ひよこ饅頭)

This is a popular Japanese sweet cake called “Hiyoko”. This special confection can be a good souvenir and gift.  A word “Hiyoko” means chick in Japanese.

The Hiyoko Cakes is a baby chick shaped sponge cake born in 1912 in Iizuka. The sponge cake is a little bit hard and is filled with white sweet bean paste.  People have since loved the pretty shape and the mellow flavor of bean jam in the skin of savory bun. This was ranked in an older ranking.   Actually, before Tokyo Banana, Hiyoko was the most popular souvenir of Tokyo.  People think this is a Tokyo specialty, but originally it comes from Kyushu. They do look very similar. Here is a comparison.  The one on the left is a Fukuoka Hiyoko, while the one on the right is a Tokyo Hiyoko.

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.

Japanese badminton (Hanetsuki)

Hanetsuki is a Japanese traditional game, similar to badminton, played without a net, and is played with a wooden paddle called hagoita and a shuttlecock called hane and is made from colorful feathers. This game is a young girls game that is played at New Years.

The game can be played in two fashions, by one person attempting to keep the shuttlecock aloft as long as possible, or by the two people batting it back and forth. Girls who fail to hit the shuttlecock get marked on the face with India Ink by a stroke of a brush. While the game’s popularity has declined in recent times, beautifully ornamented hagoita are still a popular collection item, it has since become a custom to give a hagoita as a gift to celebrate the birth of a girl.

 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.

Japanese Beckoning Cat (Maneki Neko)

 An old Japanese tradition, the Maneki Neko has become a popular collector’s item all over the globe.

The Maneki Neko (literally “Beckoning Cat”; also known as Welcoming Cat, Lucky Cat, Money cat or Fortune Cat) is a Japanese sculpture often made of ceramic believed to give good luck to the owner. Often used in businesses– A raised left paw attracts customers while a raised right paw supposedly attracts money. The sculpture depicts a cat beckoning with an upright paw, and is usually displayed in restaurants and shops. The sculpture is based on the Japanese Bobtail cat breed.

Maneki Neko come in different colors, styles, and degrees of ornateness. In addition to sculptures, Maneki Neko can be found as keychai s, piggy banks, air fresheners, and miscellaneous ornaments. 

The Many Varities Of The Maneki Neko. 

Each color of the Maneki Neko  has a different meaning.
 

Tricolor Maneki Neko: The background is white with random black spots ringed with orange. This coloring is considered especially lucky and is the most popular color.

White Maneki Neko: White cats indicate purity and are the second most popular type.

Black Maneki Neko: Black Maneki Neko are believed to keep away evil and are especially popular with women.

 Pink Maneki Neko: A newly popular color, pink Maneki Neko cats are associated with attracting love.

Red Maneki Neko: Red is a protective color and is believed to ward off evil spirits and illness.

 
Gold Maneki Neko: Associated with wealth.

Purple Maneki Neko: Sweet Dreams and is believed to Brings artistic strength.

 

Green Maneki Neko: Believed to bring academic achievement.

Rock Paper Scissors (Jan-ken-pon or Janken)

Jan-ken-pon  is the most popular game among Japanese children and it is  a subset of games played using only the hands, symbolizes both the spirit, theme and the categories of this competition.

The hand in the game

 -“Rock (Gu)” for a fist.

 

 -“Scissors (Paa)” for the index and middle fingers, parted and extended.

-“Paper  (Choki)” for  an open hand

Rules

The exchange is won as determined by the rules:

1. rock breaks scissors

2. scissors cut paper

3. paper wraps rock.

 

Jan Ken Pon Song

A Japanese version of “Rock, Paper, Scissors”
Played with hands behind back until final line.

Japanese Translation:

Jan-Ken-Pon
Jan-ken-pon yo, jan-ken-pon
Jan-ken-pon yo, Goo, cho-ki, pa

English Translation:

Rock, Paper Scissors
Rock, paper, scissors
One, two, three

Japanese Good-luck charm (Omamori)

Omamori are Japanese amulets dedicated to particular Shinto deities as well as Buddhist figures. and the Japanese people believe that omamori is a charm that protects the holder and gives good luck. literally, the word mamori means to “protect” or “defend”, with omamori meaning “honorable protector”. Originally omamori were kept in small bamboo tubes or worn around the neck.

Nowadays Omamori are small pieces of paper or fabric packets or small bags (omamori bukuro) ritually consecrated in the temple. They are typically made with the name of the originating temple on the front and a charm on the back for prosperity, health, travel, or a multitude of other purposes. Generic omamori exist, but most of them cover a single area: health, love, or studies, to name only a few. More recently it has become popular for stores in Japan to feature generic omamori with popular characters such as Mickey Mouse, Hello Kitty, Snoopy, Kewpie, etc.

Amulets do not expire, but it is common practice to replace them, usually once a year. Old omamori are usually returned to the shrine or temple to be burned.

Some popular omamori are:

• Kanai Anzen - For good health and help with illness.
• Koutsu Anzen - Protection for drivers and travelers of all sorts.
• Emmusubi - Available for singles and couples to ensure love and marriage.
• Anzan - Protection for pregnant women during term and to ensure a safe and easy delivery.
• Gakugyojoju - for students and scholars.
• Shobaihanjo - Success in business and matters of money.

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.

The Tale of Genji (Genji monogatari)

Author

Murasaki Shikibu is said to be the author of The Tale of Genji. Although the same can be said for all women of Murasaki’s time, her real name and the date of birth and death cannot be confirmed even for her, the leading author of her day. The name of Murasaki Shikibu was that used for a court lady with “Murasaki” being used as a given name while “Shikibu” refers to her father’s position at the court. Beside writing The Tale of Genji, Murasaki also showed her genius in her other famous book called The Diary of Murasaki Shikibu.

Murasaki Shikibu was born in a middle-level family of nobility during the middle of the Heian Period. Her father, Fujiwara Tametoki, was known as a scholar and man of literacy although he accomplished little of note as an official in the government. Perhaps in compensation for this, he took pains to see that his daughter was well learned. Murasaki Shikibu was remarkable when yet a child learning to read books that even educated boys found difficult.

Murasaki’s childhood was not a happy one as her mother passing away soon after she was born followed by her elder sister on whom she depended. Murasaki married rather late into a family of similar social class. Within a few years, her husband died leaving Murasaki with a daughter and much grief and pain. It was against this background that Murasaki began writing The Tale of Genji in which she looks closely at the relationships of men and women and the unfortunate circumstances in which women find themselves placed in.

Prime Minister Fujiwara no Michinaga appears to have found Murasaki a position working for the Empress Akiko based on the Murasaki’s fame that resulted from the popularity of The Tale of Genji. Various theories exist as to when the writing of The Tale of Genji was finished but it seems likely that she continued writing it while serving the Empress. Although it is not certain as to the date of Murasaki’s death, she likely passed away shortly after she finished the famous novel, perhaps when she was forty or so.

Date of creation

The Tale of Genji (Genji Monogatari) was written around 1000-1025during the Heian Period.

Summary of the Tale of Genji

In early 11th-century Japan, Kiritsubo, a woman of the lower ranks of the court, gave birth to a son whom she named Genji. The emperor showed such a liking for Genji that he brought him into the court so he could be raised in his company. Genji flourished and became a master of speech, manners, poetry, and music. He grew into an attractive young man as well. Both men and women were quick to notice his strikingly handsome looks.
While not the entirety of the book, nor the ultimate focus of Murasaki’s writing, a strong theme of Genji is the notion of love, lust, and the interaction of members of the opposite sex. It is upon this aspect that I wish to dwell for just a moment.

After Genji had reached physical and emotional maturity, he spent most of his time showing his affections by writing poems to women that had little interest in him. Most of the women knew that nothing would ever result in an affair with him and resisted as much as possible.

Although these women admitted that they had similar feelings toward Genji, they knew that the relationship with him would never grow. Genji’s affairs often involved women from outside the court. Such behavior was scandalous for a person of his position, so he needed to carry out his affairs in complete secrecy. Genji went through great troubles to hide his illicit affairs and to please his peers at the court. He conscripted secret messengers from both inside and outside the palace, went out of his way to Utsusemi’s house because the stars were not in the right alignment, visited Yugao’s house only at night, and adopted a child under the guise that he wanted to be her father.

Each affair is significantly different from all others. In one of the first chapters, Genji tries to win the affections of Utsuemi by sending her messages and visiting her at odd hours during the night. The relationship between Yugao and Genji was never stable. Genji had a man named Koremitsu visit and tell him about the house in which Yugao lived before Genji talked to anyone there. This relationship ended with the nexpected death of Yugao after she and Genji first made love. Shortly after, Genji keeps a young girl named Murasaki. When the nun who raised her died, Genji immediately brings the girl to the palace and provided a room and friends for her—no matter how many people protested it.

While Genji did not have a physical relationship with Murasaki at this point, he definitely said that this was his intention in the future. In the mean time, Genji lusts after a princess because he cannot resist the beauty of the music she plays on the zither. Almost instantly he declares his love for her and pursues her with a flurry of letters. She never answers. The more he finds out about the princess, however, the less he likes of her. Genji cannot help but feel guilty after admitting this love, though, and maintains the relationship long after his feelings die down. In one of the last affairs, Genji is on the receiving side of lust. An elderly lady, who Genji calls an outrageous flirt, starts fawning on him and Genji has to think of creative ways to dodge the situation without losing face.

The Tale of Genji is at least in part a story about the interactions between Genji and the people (mostly women) that he encounters. The tale mostly explores the different themes of love, affection, friendship, filial loyalty, and family. Genji wanders through the landscape of life, death, and love while maintaining a teflon-like dignity. The story does not have a true, unifying conflict; it is composed of mini-sagas that overlap each other and complicate each other the further the story progresses.

Structure of Story

The Tale of Genji has 54 chapters and over 1,000 pages of text in its English translation. The Tale of Genji is broadly divided into three sections. The first part of thirty-three chapters concerns itself with the first half of Genji’s life starting with Chapter Kiritsubo and ending with Chapter Fuji-no-uraba (Arthur Waley’s translation of The Tale of Genji, Part 1 Chapter 1 to Part 4 Chapter 5). The second portion begins with the marriage of Onna-Sannomiya to a commoner in Chapter Wakana Part I (Ibid., Part 4 Chapter 6) and ends with Chapter Mirage (Ibid., Part 4 Chapter 12). There is a chapter following this that is entitled “Hidden Behind the Clouds” which has no text. This chapter is not found in The Tale of Genji. The third section starts with Chapter Niou (Ibid., Part 5 Chapter 1) in which Kaoru plays the major role. It ends with Chapter The Bridge of Dreams (Ibid., Part 6 Chapter 13). From Chapter The Bridge Maiden (Ibid., Part 5 Chapter 4) to the end shifts the stage to Uji city and is thus often called the Uji Appendix.