Transcript Japanese Culture

Japanese Culture
Mount Fuji
Samurai sword
Samurai
• Professional Japanese warriors who swore
absolute loyalty to their overlord and
practiced BUSHIDO or THE WAY OF
THE WARRIOR, a code of behavior based
on honor.
• Ronin were unemployed Samurai.
Samurai Armor
Shogun-Military leader of Japan
• Tokugawa Ieyas
(1542-1616) was one
of the first and most
powerful Shoguns.
His rule began 265
years of peace.
• This is his armor. “If a
bird doesn’t sing, I’ll
wait for it to sing.”
• A samurai's principles were:
• loyalty to his master
• self discipline
• respectful/ethical behavior
• if defeated or dishonored, a samurai should
commit ritual suicide - seppuku
Shintoism-National Religion of
Japan
Shinto -The Way of the Spirits
• Has no founder or sacred texts.
• Evolved from a belief in nature spirits,
called KAMI. Kami are worshipped and
can take the form of natural objects
(mountains, wind, rain) or abstract things
like goodness or fertility, ancestors or
national heros.
• Kami can be anything that inspires awe or
reverence.
• Chief God is the Sun Goddess.
• Man is seen as inherently good and pure,
who is corrupted by outside influences
• Shintoism - natural state of the cosmos is
one of harmony - divine, natural, and
human elements are all intimately related.
Kabuki Theatre
• Kabuki was begun by a
shrine maiden named Okuni
in the 17th century.
• Kabuki combines music,
dance and song with
beautiful costumes.
• All parts are played by men.
• Plays are about the historical
Edo period (1600-1800s).
Noh Drama
• Very formal and
stylized, Noh is also
performed by men.
• Masks represent
various emotions and
characters: vengeful
ghost, holy man,
warrior, lady, etc.
Noh Stage
Noh mask
!Really Scary! :)
• Noh is very unrealistic-for ex., the passage
of years might be shown by the movement
of a fan.
• Frequently there are only 2 main characters,
a restless ghost and a wandering priest.
Bonsai Trees
• The art of growing dwarf trees in
shallow pots.
• Brought to Japan by Zen Buddhist
monks, the art is very symbolic.
• Tree is planted to one side
(asymmetrical) because the center
is where heaven & earth meet and
must remain empty.
• The tree symbolizes the unity
between God, man, and nature.
Tea Ceremony
• Cha no yu or Tea Ceremony is a very
intricate ritual that evolved. Zen monks
brought green tea to Japan from China.
• The wars between various clans caused
much animosity. The tea ceremony evolved
to bring a moment of peace and harmony
between people. The ritual must be
conducted with no mistakes.
Haiku poetry
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Brief, unrhymed poem, 3 lines long
1st line has 5 syllables
2nd line has 7 syllables
3 line has 5 syllables
Haikus present simple images and moods,
sort of a “snapshot” of a moment.
Spring departs.
Birds cry
Fishes' eyes are filled with tears
Japanese gardens
• In contrast to the geometrically arranged
plants of a Western-style garden, the
Japanese garden creates a scenic
composition that mimics nature.
• It was once believed that any place surrounded
by stones was inhabited by the gods.
• Garden designers followed 3 basic
principles:
• reduced scale - nature in miniature
• symbolization - white sand symbolizes
water
• borrowed views - using views outside
the garden (mountains, for example)
Two main styles
• Tsukiyama (wet style) - small hills and
stones rep. Mountains; pond rep. Ocean
• Karensasui –(dry style) influenced by Zen
Buddhism - white sand = ocean, stones =
hills
Karensasui - dry garden
Zen Buddhism
• Emphasized meditation, concentration and
self-discipline as the way to enlightenment.
• Samurai were attracted to Zen because of its
simplicity and self-discipline and applied it
to the martial arts.
• Zen monks try to confuse their students at
first, to teach them to abandon preconceived ideas.
• Koans-a subject to meditate upon; usually a
paradoxical statement to test enlightenment.
Koans-Zen exercises
• What is the sound of 1 hand clapping?
• A monk asked Ummon, “What is Buddha?”
Ummon answered him: Dried dung. This
teaches non-differentiation (everything
is one), even lowly dung. It also is a
good testing koan, to see who can tell
the difference between Buddhism and
a piece of crap.
Ukiyo-e – “pictures of the floating
world”
• Japanese paintings of the “floating world”
pleasure district of Edo. These are unique
creations of the Edo period in Japan.