Transcript BACK - Merk Zone

Click here
for a tour.
JAPAN
Chureito Pagoda
What Would You Like To Learn?
Click on the elements of culture below to read, listen, and watch
lessons related to Japanese culture. Record notes.
FOOD
HISTORY
ARTS/CRAFTS
MUSIC
FOLK TALES
LANGUAGE
DANCE
HISTORY
Click the image for a
timeline.
Click the flag for a
video on history!
• Japan or, also known in the
native language as “Nippon or
Nihon, ”is an island nation in
East Asia.
• Capital: Tokyo
• Emperor: Akihito
Prime Minister: Shinzō Abe
• Population: > 126 million (2012)
• Official language: Japanese
• Government: Unitary,
Parliamentary, Constitutional
Monarchy
NEXT
• Land: 145,925 sq mi
Click
image to
zoom in.
BACK
HISTORY OF LANGUAGE
• Japanese writing is clearly taken from Chinese, but the
language itself (i.e. speech) is a mystery.
• There are five vowel phonemes in Modern Japanese,
namely /a/, /i/, /u/, /e/, /o/.
• Unlike English, lengthened vowels are important in
distinguishing words.
• Most also begin with a consonant. And so, we can
form words like Na-ga-no and u-tsu-ku-shi-i (beautiful).
NEXT
Image source
WRITTEN LANGUAGE
Image source
Click
image to
zoom in.
• The writing system of Japanese is
probably the most famous aspect of the
language because it is so complex.
• The systems of writing are:
Kanji & Kana
en.wikipedia.org
NEXT
LANGUAGE
BACK
JAPANESE FOOD
• Influenced by China and Korea.
– Rice was introduced from Korea in 400 B.C.
• Religion plays a major role in Japan’s culinary development.
– Buddhism became the official religion in the 6th Century.
– Prohibited meat and fish early on.
– Eventually, when it could be preserved, the island nation
included fish.
Click here to
access video.
NEXT
JAPANESE SWEETS
• Daifukumochi (大福餅), or Daifuku (大福) (literally
"great luck"), is a Japanese confection consisting of a
small round mochi (glutinous rice cake) stuffed with
sweet filling, most commonly anko, sweetened red
bean paste made from azuki beans.
• Daifuku comes in many varieties. The most common is
white-, pale green-, or pale pink-colored mochi filled
with anko.
Click the
image for the
history of
Daifuku.
HISTORY OF DAIFUKU
• Daifuku was originally called
Habutai mochi (腹太餅) (belly thick rice cake)
because of its filling nature.
• Later, the name was changed to Daifuku mochi(大腹
餅) (big belly rice cake).
• Since the pronunciations of Fuku (腹) (belly) and
Fuku (福) (luck) are the same in Japanese, the name
was further changed to Daifuku mochi (大福
餅) (great luck rice cake), a bringer of good luck.
• By the end of the 18th century, Daifuku were gaining
popularity and people began eating them toasted.
They were also used for gifts in ceremonial
occasions.
BACK
FOLK TALES
• Japanese folk tales are called, "mukashi
banashi".
• They begin with a set phrase like, "Once
upon a time (Mukashi Mukashi aru tokoro
ni …)".
Click the icon to hear how to say
Click the picture to read the
story of Hanasaka Jiisan.
“Once upon a time...”
The characters of a "mukashi banashi"
often include an old man and an old
woman, or man w/ a name like Taro or Jiro.
• There are a few hundred stories that are
considered standard Japanese folktales.
• Many Japanese grow up being very familiar with them. There
was a popular TV series called, "Manga Nihon Mukashi
Banashi", which is an animated version of famous folktales.
Information source
NEXT
FOLK TALES – THE 2 FROGS
Click here to listen
to the tale.
source
NEXT
FOLK TALES – THE STONE CUTTER
BACK
Image source
ART: NETSUKE
NETSUKE are miniature sculptures that were invented in 17thcentury Japan to serve a practical function (the two Japanese
characters ne+tsuke mean "root" and "to attach"). Traditional
Japanese garments—robes called kosode and kimono—had no
pockets; however, men who wore them needed a place to store
their personal belongings.
Their solution was to place such objects in
containers (called sagemono) hung by cords
from the robes' sashes (obi). The containers
may have been pouches or small woven
baskets, but the most popular were
beautifully crafted boxes (inrō), which were
held shut by ojime, which were sliding beads
on cords. Whatever the form of the container,
the fastener that secured the cord at the top
of the sash was a carved, button-like toggle
called a netsuke.
Click the image
for examples.
NEXT
ORAGAMI
• ori meaning "folding", and
kami meaning "paper"
(kami changes to gami due to
rendaku)
• Japanese art of paper folding, which
started in the 17th century AD at the
latest and was popularized outside of
Japan in the mid-1900s
• The goal of this art is to transform a
flat sheet of paper into a finished
sculpture through folding and
sculpting techniques, and as such the
use of cuts or glue are not
considered to be origami.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origami
Click the image for the
history of Oragami.
NEXT
source
ORAGAMI HISTORY
Click here for a brief video.
Click
image to
zoom in.
BACK
ORIGAMI
Click the crane to learn how to make one.
• You can use a regular
sized paper, but you will
need scissors to simply
make it into a square.
Watch the video for how
to do that!
• You may also use origami
paper which is thinner
and already square.
BACK
Images=ClipArt
JAPANESE FOLK DANCE
• Like most folk dances, the forms practiced by
Japanese folk dancers evolved out of the
community activities for generation after
generation. For example, the So-Ran Bushi, a
traditional song that accompanies the bon dance,
was developed by the fishermen in Hokkaido
centuries ago. Other examples of traditional folk
dances are:
– Iyomanzai - A New Year's celebratory dance, this asks
the gods for peace during the coming year. Danced
using fans, the performers create shapes such as boats,
trees, and birds to symbolize good fortune.
– Ayakomai - is a dance with a history going back half a
millennium; it is a prayer of thanks to the gods.
– Sakura - Literally meaning "cherry blossom", this is a
dance of Spring performed by a woman, happily
celebrating the sunny blue skies and bright cherry
blossoms in bloom.
NEXT
BON ODORI DANCE
Click below for music.
image source
• The steps to Bon odori are something that are a part of traditional
Japanese education, handed down from generation to generation.
– Men - Starting with the right side, put the arm and foot forward, just
touching the ground with your toes. Cross right foot over left, then repeat
the step using the left arm and foot instead. The men's hands form small
triangular patterns in the air as they crouch down, arms held above their
shoulders.
– Women - Very similar in basic steps to the men's, the key difference lies in
the fact that traditional kimonos are much more restrictive. The kicks and
moves are more precise and short, necessitated both by their clothing
and also the geta--sandals they wear to perform in.
BACK
CLICK HERE to
watch highlights
from a former Star
Festival.
TANABATA
NEXT
SINGING
Click here for music.
NEXT
MUSIC 音楽
• The music of Japan includes a wide array of
performers in distinct styles both traditional
and modern.
• The word for music in Japanese is 音楽
(ongaku), combining the kanji 音
("on" sound) with the kanji 楽
("gaku" music).
• Traditional Japanese music is quite different
from Western Music as it is often based on
the intervals of human breathing rather than
mathematical timing.
• There are two forms of music recognized to
be the oldest forms of traditional Japanese
music. They are shōmyō (声明 or 聲明), or
Buddhist chanting, and gagaku (雅楽) or
orchestral court music, both of which date to
the Nara and Heian periods.
Click the images to learn more about
some of Japan’s traditional instruments.
BACK
• The koto is probably the most familiar
Japanese instrument in the world.
• In ancient tradition, a kind of koto is used as
the symbol of music, one of the attributes of
a scholar in the Chinese Confucian tradition.
• Although the koto is used in Gagaku and
some of the pieces for solo koto are very old,
most of its development was in the Edo
period and there is also a broad range of
modern music for the koto.
• Usually it is a solo instrument, but can be
played with several kotos at one time or with
the kind of chamber music called "sankyoku"
with koto, shamisen and shakuhachi or
kokyu (a kind of bowed version of the
shamisen).
• The body of the instrument is a box made
from a hollowed-out section of paulownia
wood.
• There are thirteen silk strings, which are all
the same length and are attached parallel
along the length of the instrument.
• Movable bridges called "koto bashira" are
placed under each string to produce
different pitches.
KOTO
Click the instrument for a
video!
BACK
• The biwa is the chosen instrument
of Benten, goddess of music,
eloquence, poetry, and education
in Buddhism.
• Simple biwas were used by blind
priests telling stories from the Tales
of the Heike about the battles
between the Genji and Heike clans.
– This style of narrative singing has been
transmitted to the present, but there
are almost no performers left and it is
now more or less an ancient curiosity.
BIWA
Click the
instrument
for a video!
• Modern biwa comes from the island
of Kyushu.
– Tales of the Heike are still an
important part of biwa music.
• There are 3 different kinds: Gagakubiwa, Gogen-biwa, and Mōsō-biwa.
– They vary by size of instrument or
plectrum, amount of strings or frets,
and use. For example, the Gogen-biwa
was not used to accompany singers.
BACK
• It was originally introduced from
China into Japan in the 8th century
and underwent a resurgence in the
early Edo Period.
– In the mid-Kamakura period, a Zen
priest went to Sung dynasty China and
learned the shakuhachi piece Kyurei.
– In turn, he taught the shakuhachi to his
disciples who then established different
temples throughout Japan.
• Fuke monks or priests (komusō) were
noted for playing
the shakuhachibamboo flute as a
form of meditationknown
as suizen ("blowing meditation"), an
innovation from the
earlier zazen ("sitting meditation") of
other Zen sects.
• The shakuhachi is made from a length
of bamboo 3.5 to 4.0 cm. in diameter
cut close to the root with seven
nodes.
• There are usually five finger holes.
Four in the front and the fifth on the
back.
SHAKUHACHI
Click the instrument for
a video!
BACK
• The shamisen is a remodeled version of the
snake-skin covered sanshin or jabisen
which came to Japan from the Ryukyu
islands in the Muromachi period.
• Around 1562, the instrument was
introduced into Japan by trade ships.
SHAMISEN
Click the instrument for a video!
– It is derived from a similar Chinese instrument.
The Chinese instrument was inspired from an
instrument called sanshin in Iran. It is said Iran
was inspired by a 3 string instrument in Egypt.
• The instrument has 3 strings and is played
with a plectrum or "bachi.“
• The plectrum is held in the right hand and
plays with forceful strokes that not only
pluck the strings but hit the skin or wood of
the body of the instrument to produce a
percussive sound. The string can also be
played by plucking upward with the
plectrum. The left hand presses down on
the strings with the fingernails of the
forefinger, middle finger and ring finger.
BACK
SHIME-DAIKO
• Properly speaking, this drum is called
Sarugaku taiko, and is widely used in
Noh, Nagauta and Kagura.
Click the instrument for a video!
– It is essential to Japanese Noh, a
classical musical drama performed
since the 13th Century.
• This drum entered Japan with Gigaku
from the Korean kingdom of Kudara
long ago in the Asuka period.
• It is only used in some Noh plays, but
when it is used, it only is played in
the climactic final half of the play to
create an exciting effect.
• In the past the drum was held by one
person while another played it, but
now a wooden stand is used. The
drum is played with relatively thick
sticks.
BACK