***Yuna*** says:
The village of Ogimachi, in Shirakawa-go, has the biggest group of gassho-zukuri houses in Japan. These are traditional mountain houses specific of the central Hida region. All are part of the UNESCO World Heritage.
~SBA73
Gassho-zukuri is a house built of wooden beams combined to form a steep thatched roof that resembles two hands together.
You can see houses such as these in other parts of the country. In Shirakawa, they are called "Kiritsuma-Gassho-zukuri," and the roof can be looked triangular just like a standing book open.
It is the characteristic of these houses in this country.
The structure is built to suit the environment in Shirakawa. It is made to with stand heavy snowfall.
The house face north and south, to minimize wind resistance.
They are also built for be comfort in both summer and winter. The houses stand in a certain direction to adjust the amount of sun in order to keep the room cool in the summer and warm in the winter.
***Yuna*** says:
A traditional Japanese dining room looking out onto a garden at Nanzenji Temple.
~ Lil
Nanzen-ji is a Zen Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan. Emperor Kameyama established it in 1291 on the site of his previous detached palace. Nanzen-ji is not itself considered one of the "five great Zen temples of Kyoto"; however, it does play an important role in the "Five Mountain System" which was modified from Chinese roots.
***Yuna*** says:
Hatsumode (初詣, hatsumōde) is the first shrine visit of the New Year in Japan. Some people visit a Buddhist temple instead. Many visit on the first, second, or third day of the year as most are off work on those days. Generally, wishes for the new year are made, new o-mamori (charms or amulets) are bought, and the old ones are returned to the shrine so they can be burned. There are often long lines at major shrines throughout Japan.
~ajpscs
***Yuna*** says:
Sumo is a competitive contact sport where a wrestler (rikishi) attempts to force another wrestler out of a circular ring (dohyō) or to touch the ground with anything other than the soles of the feet. The sport originated in Japan, the only country where it is practiced professionally.
The Japanese consider sumo a gendai budō(a modern Japanese martial art), though the sport has a history spanning many centuries. The sumo tradition is very ancient, and even today the sport includes many ritual elements, such as the use of salt for purification, from the days sumo was used in the Shinto religion. Life as a rikishi is highly regimented, with rules laid down by the Sumo Association. Professional sumo wrestlers are required to live in communal "sumo training stables" known in Japanese as heya where all aspects of their daily lives—from meals to their manner of dress—are dictated by strict tradition.
***Yuna*** says:
Kimika, Miyagawa-cho's most popular maiko. Miyagawa-cho is one of Kyoto's five hanamachi (flower towns), or geisha entertainment districts.
~ mboogiedown
The kimono is a Japanese traditional garment worn by women, men and children. The word "kimono", which literally means a "thing to wear" (ki "wear" and mono "thing"), has come to denote these full-length robes.
Today, kimonos are most often worn by women, and on special occasions. Traditionally, unmarried women wore a style of kimono called furisode,[5] with almost floor-length sleeves, on special occasions. A few older women and even fewer men still wear the kimono on a daily basis. Men wear the kimono most often at weddings, tea ceremonies, and other very special or very formal occasions. Professional sumo wrestlers are often seen in the kimono because they are required to wear traditional Japanese dress whenever appearing in public.
***Yuna*** says:
Anime originated about 1917.
Anime, like manga (Japanese comics), has a large audience in Japan and high recognition throughout the world. Distributors can release anime via television broadcasts, directly to video, or theatrically, as well as online.
Both hand-drawn and computer-animated anime exist.
Many commentators refer to anime as an art form.[20] As a visual medium, it can emphasize visual styles. The styles can vary from artist to artist or by studio to studio. Some titles make extensive use of common stylization: FLCL, for example, is known for its wild, exaggerated stylization. Other titles use different methods: Only Yesterday or Jin-Roh take much more realistic approaches, featuring few stylistic exaggerations; Pokemon uses drawings which specifically do not distinguish the nationality of characters
This is Yuna, where I got my flickr name from, a great anime, but watch it first before you let your children watch it.
***Yuna*** says:
mboogiedown says ~
A geisha plays the role of a samurai during Kyoto's Festival of Ages.
Tomoe-Gozen (1180) - As the wife of General Yoshinaka, she fought courageously alongside her husband in battle. She was one of the few examples of a true female samurai in japanese history.
Tomoe fought beside her husband, Minamoto-no-Yoshinaka, as one of his most trusted captains in the Gempei War. In 1183, Yoshinaka captured Kyoto from Heike forces. His success went to his head and his ever-suspicious cousin, Yoritomo, ordered his half-brother, Yoshitsune, to destroy the would-be upstart. Tomoe fought gloriously in her husband’s last battle. Reports of her end are mixed. Some say she died in battle, others that she took Yoshinaka’s head with her and perished in the sea, and others say she ended her days as a nun.
***Yuna*** says:
Fomal Haut says ~
Principal Japanese staple crop; an annual marshland plant of tropical origin; introduced into Japan in the Yayoi period (ca 300 BC− ca AD 300), either from China or the Korean peninsula. Rice cultivation was traditionally regarded as a religious act−an invoking of the inadama or spirit of the rice plant (see ta no kami). Supplications to the deity survive today in various forms of folk performing arts. Many festivals in honor of tutelary deities are also harvest festivals (see also agricultural rites). It is generally agreed that the Japanese extended family (ie) system evolved within the context of the rice culture, which required intensive farming, a sophisticated system of water control, and communal cooperation (see yui). In this sense rice may be said to have determined the very contours of Japanese society.
***Yuna*** says:
In northern Japan the small village of Inakadata plants five different varieties of rice to produce “Rice field art” This is an annual event and attracts many thousands of tourists. Every year they have a different subject matter.
This year depicts two Japanese Gods. Daikoku on the left and Ebisu on the right.
They use 5 kind of rice to make this art. Taken in Inakadate Aomori Japan.
~ Glen Waters
***Yuna*** says:
As autumn deepens, the green leaves of deciduous trees begin to set the countryside on fire in shades of red, orange and yellow. This blaze of glory before winter sets in is admired around the world, but only in Japan has "Autumn Leaf Viewing" been ingrained as a popular cultural passtime. It is as imortant as viewing the cherry blossoms in the spring, but unlike cherry blossom viewing, which tends to be a rowdy affair, autumn viewing is a time of solitude and reflection.
The trees with the most dramatically vivid autumn colors are found in the mountainous and northern regions of Japan, where there is a severe discrepancy in temperature between day and night.
When the sun rays hit the red leaves and make them glitter warmly, it is called teriha.
~ mboogiedown
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