Why are Japanese people fond of cherry blossoms?

For many Japanese, cherry blossoms (Sakura) symbolize human life and its transience. Cherry blossoms, the country’s national flower comes into full bloom around the end of March to April, depending on the weather and varying by regions. April is the month when Japanese children start the new school year. It is also the month when companies start their new business financial years and when many new graduates start to work. So the cherry blossom season starts as a new beginning for people from all walks of life.

After a brief one-week of full blooming, however, the small round-shaped flowers start to flutter gracefully from their trees. The blossoms are said to be the most beautiful when the pink petals float gently onto the ground. This final moment epitomizes that “all things will eventually pass” and embodies natural symbols of impermanence, hope and renewal in life.

Sakura cannot be separated from Japan’s culture. It is written about frequently in traditional poetry like haiku and tanka, appears in several songs, both traditional and contemporary, serves as inspiration for kimono prints and textiles and even has a niche in the food and confectionery market (wagashi -和菓子）. Sakura will always have a cherish place in the heart of Japanese people who look forward to hanami (cherry blossoms viewing) every year. 

Hina Matsuri, Girl’s Day on March 3

March 3 is Hina Matsuri (Doll or Girls’ Festival) when people pray for the happiness and healthy growth of girls. Families with young daughters mark this day by setting up a display of dolls inside the house and offer Hina-arare rice crackers and other food to the dolls.

Traditionally, this day is called Joushi (上巳) or Momo no Sekku (Girl’s Day), one of the five days in the year, each announces the change of the season in the traditional Japanese calendar. It is said that Joushi was first celebrated by courtiers during the Heian period (794-1192). On the third of the lunar month, courtiers floated rice wine down a stream in the palace garden. Each guest would take a sip and then write a poem called Waka (和歌). At some point, paper dolls were introduced and this gradually began to be celebrated as Girl’s Day. In some rural parts of the country, people would release paper dolls into rivers after the festival to be washed away, praying that the dolls would take people's place in carrying away sickness and bad luck and pray for health and prosperity. The event is also celebrated with bowls of claim broth. Claims are thought to be a symbol of luck in marriage for girls, as one half of a claim shell will only match perfectly with its other half, and no other half.


Display of dolls in a five-tier decoration platform

While it’s rare to see several tiered platform display like the picture above in a small crammed apartment in big cities, it’s more common to see a single-tiered decorations with one male and one female doll that to do not take up much space and at the same time parents are able to celebrate this occasion with their daughters.

Nevertheless in a traditional house, different dolls wear costumes of the imperial court during the Heian period and are placed on a tiered platform covered with red felt. The size of the dolls and number of steps vary, but usually the displays are of five or seven layers.
The top tier is reserved for the emperor and the empress. A miniature gilded folding screen is placed behind them. On the second tier are three ladies-in-waiting, and on the third are five male court musicians. Ministers sit on either side of trays of food on the fourth step, and the fifth row features guards flanked by an orange tree to the left and a cherry tree to the right.
 
These days, most families take their beautiful collection of dolls out of the closet around mid-February and put it away again as soon as Hinamatsuri is over. This is because of an old superstition that families that are slow in putting back the dolls have trouble marrying off their daughters.

Children's Song  うれしいひな祭り（Happy Hina Matsuri)

あかりをつけましょ　ぼんぼりに          Let's light up the paper-shade lamps
お花をあげましょ　桃の花                    Let's wreathe the platform with peach flowers
五人ばやしの　笛太鼓                         And, enjoy flutes and drums of the five court musicians           
今日はたのしい　ひなまつり                For today we celebrate the doll festival

お内裏様(だいりさま)と　おひな様       See the emperor and the empress
二人ならんで　すまし顔                        Sit side by side still and composed
お嫁にいらした　姉様に                        And, see snow-white faced court lady 
よく似た官女の　白い顔                        Reminds me of my sister when she was a bride                    

金のびょうぶに　うつる灯(ひ)を           Dim lght reflected on the golden folding screen    
かすかにゆする　春の風                      With spring breeze swaying feebly felt
すこし白酒　めされたか                        Did he take a sip of the sake from the altar?
あかいお顔の　右大臣                          The bearded reddish face of that minister

着物をきかえて　帯しめて                    Change in your kimono and fasten your obi belt
今日はわたしも　はれ姿                       For today we make our formal appearance
春のやよいの　このよき日                    Warm spring bless this good day
なによりうれしい　ひなまつり                There is nothing more wonderful than the doll festival

Art Masters Who Inspire (2): Hokusai, The Great Wave off Kanagawa

The renowned ukiyo-e master Katsushika Hokusai (葛飾北斎, 1760-1849）has been attracting renewed attention in Japan. The Sumida Hokusai Museum opened in Tokyo in November 2016,  displaying more than 1,500 artworks, sketchbooks, illustrated albums, poetry, instructional manuals. Best known for his iconic print, “The Great Wave off Kanagawa”, Hokusai was an important influence on the nineteenth-century Western artists like Degas and Van Gogh. Composer Claude Debussy (1862-1918) drew inspiration from the artist for his orchestral work “La Mer”.

The first exhibition Hokusai no kikan (Hokusai’s Return) features 120 works, including some of the artist’s most famous creations. There is also a seven-meter long emaki scroll displaying a panoramic view of the Sumida River. Other exhibits at the museum include portraits of Hokusai and works depicting everyday activities in Sumida where the artist spent most of his lifet there.

Many of the Hokusai’s famous prints, including those from the Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji series are exhibited. The large, colour wood-block prints series depict Mt Fuji in differing seasons from different places and distances were produced from 1830 to 1832 when Hokusai was around age of 72 and at the height of his career. In this series, Hokusai’s wide-ranging imagination allowed him to “played around” with Mt Fuji, dwarfing, coloring, turning it upside down or hiding it against a surging or imposing background to the delights of his audience.

As an artist who sought perfection, Hokusai was always dissatisfied with his creations. At the age of 75, he created another series of sketches known as One hundred Views of Mount Fuji and in a postscript to this 1834 collection, he wrote:

“At the age of 90, I will come closer to the essence of art, at 100 I will reach the level of the divine, and at 110 each point and line will have a life of its own. I hope the gods of longevity will grant me the time to confirm the truth of my words".



Great Wave off Kanangawa in Thirty-Six Views of
Mt Fuji





Great Wave off Kanangawa in One hundred
Views of Mt Fuji

Comparing the “Great Wave off Kanagawa” in Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji series on the left and One- Hundred Views of Mount Fuji  on the right, you can find that that in the former, the crest of the wave looks like claws against the silhouette of Mt Fuji while the latter, crest of the wave looking like flying birds, thus depicting his ever-changing imaginations.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Besides the Mt Fuji series, Hokusai also went on to create other impressive landscape works like the suspension bridge series from “The Remarkable Views of Bridges in Various Provinces” and the waterfall series called “A Tour of Waterfalls in Various Provinces”. Like the “Great Wave off Kanagawa”, composition consists of a dwarfed against a surging background frame the scene yet the dual presence is nevertheless a harmonious part of this magnificent view.

 

The Suspension Bridge on the Border of HIda and
Etchu Provinces



Kirifuri Waterfall at Kurokami Mountain in
Shimotsuke

 

 

Hokusai Kirifuri Sketchbook of Manga, also attaches attention for the influence on contemporary mangaka, a collection of sketches focusing on pictorial and humorous storytelling, introduce the charms of unique field of Japanese culture.

This new museum certainly allows visitors to explore the rich life and creations of the artist, a day worth a visit.

 

Mamemaki: Demons Out! Luck in!

Setsubun (節分) celebrated yearly on February 3 in Japan is accompanied by a special custom called mamemaki (豆まき）, literally means “bean scattering”. This is to drive away evils who bring misfortune and bad health for the coming year and welcome fortune into the household.  Setsubun, "division of seasons", used to mark the end of winter and summer, means the day before the first day of spring (立春risshun）

Roasted soybeans called the "fortune beans" (福豆fukumame,) are thrown either out the window or at a member of the family wearing an oni or an ogre mask, while the people shout  "Demons out! Luck in!" (鬼は外! 福は内!, Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!?) and then eat the soybeans, one for each year of one’s life to bring good luck and prevent sickness for the year to come. While this is still a common practice in households, many people also attend a shrine or temple's spring festival where this is done.

In popular temples like Senso-ji in Asakusa, Tokyo or the Naritasan Shinshou-ji, Chiba, where they receive wide media coverage, celebrities, sumo wrestlers or kabuki actors are invited and they throw roasted soy beans, small envelopes with money, sweets, candies and other prizes. Crowds of nearly 100,000 people who attend the annual festival turn wild with everyone pushing and shoving to get the gifts tossed from above.

Another practice like in the Kansai area or Osaka, it is customary for families to eat uncut makizushi called eho-maki (恵方巻, lucky direction roll) while facing the direction considered to be auspicious usually determined by the zodizc symbol of that year. Eho-maki can also be purchased at stores in the Kanto area and it is getting more recognized as a part of Setsubun tradition. In some families living near the coastal area, it's common to put up small decorations of sardine and holly leaves (柊鰯 hiragi iwashi) on their house entrances so that bad spirits will not enter. Other practice such as in more remote areas would include religious dance, festival and bringing tools inside the house that might normally be left outside to prevent the spirits from harming them.

 

Children's Song: 豆まき (Mamemaki)

おにはそと  ふくはうち              Demon Out! Luck In!
ぱらっ　ぱらっ ぱらっ　ぱらっ   Parat Parat Parat Parat
まめのおと                                 Sound of bean scattering
おには　こっそり  にげていく     Demon slips away quietly

おにはそと  ふくはうち               Demon out! Luck in!
ぱらっ　ぱらっ ぱらっ　ぱらっ    Parat Parat Parat Parat
まめのおと                                  Sound of bean scattering
はやく　おはいり  ふくのかみ    Happy Luck, Quick! Come in

Seven-Herbs Rice Porridge (Nanakusa-Gayu)

Japan has a tradition for eating the Nanakusa-Gayu (七草粥) on January 7 of each year, called Jinjitsu (人日). It is one of the five annual traditions (go-sekku 五節句) that are held in Japan. The nanakusa-gayu is made with rice, water, or a light broth and seven edible wild herbs. The rice soup or porridge is meant to let the “overworked” stomach and digestive system rest and bring longevity and health in the coming year. And, the seven herbs of spring (haru no nanakusa 春の七草) are chosen for their unique health promoting properties consist of:

• Water Dropwort — seri (せり)  increase appetite
• Shepherd’s Purse — nazuna (なずな) rich in iron
• Cudweed — gogyō (ごぎょう) prevents cold
• Chickweed — hakobera (はこべら) rich in Vitamin A
• Nipplewort— hotoke-no-za (ほとけのざ) rich in dietary fiber
• Turnip — suzuna (すずな) rich in vitamins
• Radish — suzushiro (すずしろ) promotes digestion and prevents colds

These herbs are readily available in packs in any supermarkets in Japan, after the New Year. It’s fairly easy to make the rice porridge by boiling the rice into a hot porridge kayu and then chop and mix the herbs into it with a spoonful of salt and soybean sauce.

Wishing you good health throughout the year!

O-Zoni (お雑煮): Japanese Mochi Soup for the New Year’s Day

Zoni (雑煮), often with the honorific "o-" as o-zoni, is a Japanese soup containing mochi rice cakes, fish and vegetables. The soup is considered the most auspicious dish to be eaten on New Year’s Day.

Zoni prepared by households varies depending on the regions in terms of the mochi used, stock soup and ingredients.
 

In the Kanto and Tohoku region, for instance, the mochi are cut into squares and grilled before being added to the stock. In the Kansai and the Chugoku region, a round, boiled mochi is generally preferred while in most of the Kyushu region, a round mochi is popular, but grilled or boiled difference changes depending on area.

In terms of soup stock, in the Kanto region, zoni consists of a clear soup called sumashi-jiru which is flavored with dashi, a stock made from flakes of dried bonito, kombu and soy sauce. In the Kansai region and eastern Shikoku, zoni is made with a stock of white miso, while in parts of Fukui Prefecture, zoni is made with a stock of red miso.

The ingredients added to the soup depend on local specialty-what is readily available in that region. Below is a picture of some of the different zoni-s and ingredients prepared by different regions.



 

  But whatever the style is, considering that the first day of the month had been called Tsukitachi (rising of the moon), eating zoni on the morning after that means that the body is prepared to accept new things.

Osechi Ryori (おせち料理): Japanese New Year’s Cuisine

Osechi ryori has an array of colorful customary dishes packed together in special 3-layered boxes called jubako (重箱), but these days people prepare these traditional dishes and arrange them using modern tableware. Many of the dishes are either dried or contain a lot of sugar or vinegar to preserve the food and enough is made to last a few days since New Year’s is a time for rest.

As the most important customary meal of the year, each dish serves as a symbol or wish for the coming year has a meaning attached:

Kuromame (sweetened black beans), In Japanese, the word for bean, “mame,”is a homonym for “health” and “diligence”

Kazunoko (herring roe) Herring roe in Japanese is read as kazu (number) and ko (child) symbolizes a wish for many children (fertility).

Tazukuri (dried anchovies) Tazukuri literally translates as “making rice crops” and eating these tiny fish on New Year’s symbolizes abundant harvest (In the olden days, anchovies were used as fertilizers).

Goubo (burdock root seasoned with sesame or vinegar) Burdock is eaten as a wish for good health and an abundant harvest because the roots of the burdock plant grow deep into the ground and represent a crane (the symbol of a fruitful year),

Datemaki (sweet omelet mixed with fish paste or shrimp) Datemaki looks like a scroll so eating this dish on New Year’s is a wish for scholarship and culture.

Kohaku Kamaboko (Japanese fishcake) The pink (red) and white kamaboko are auspicious colors in Japan and resemble the first sunrise of the New Year. Color red is believed to be a talisman against evil and white signifies purity

Kurikinton (sweet chestnuts) The bright yellow gold color symbolized wealth.

Tai (grilled red seabream) Tai means luck because it rhymes with medetai (めでたい, congratulatory). Tai as a king of fish, is also eaten in other special occasions such as weddings or winning sumo wrestling championship.

Ebi (shrimp) Ebi signify old people because of its curved body, so eating them is believed to symbolize longevity.

Renkon (vinegar lotus root) Lotus root, enable you to look through its many holes in it, is a symbol of an unobstructed view of the future

Kohaku Namasu (red and white vinegar daikon and carrots) Red and white is a persistent color scheme in many osechi dishes, symbolizing a good omen

Konbu Maki (dried herring wrapped in seaweed) The word “konbu" means “happiness”. Much like the rolled shape of datemaki, the shape of konbu maki symbolizes a wish for scholarship and culture.

Go ahead and impress your Japanese friends with the various osechi meanings

Year-End Soba to End the Year and Welcome a New Year

Eating a bowl of toshikoshi soba (年越しそば） with the family to accompany the joya-no-kane, or striking of the temple bells a total of 108 times (to ring away evils of the old year) at midnight on New Year's Eve (大晦日) can be observed in Japan.

Soba (buckwheat noodles) is one of the most favorite food in Japan. The long, thin brownish noodles are made from a mixture of sobako (buckwheat flour) and wheat flour. The ratio of the mixture varies depending on the shop or region, mostly 8:2 or 10. There are two ways of eating soba, hot in broth, or cold in dipped soy-based sauce on a bamboo plate called zaru-soba which you can serve it plain or with variety of toppings, like deep-fried shrimps.

 

Eating toshikoshi soba on the 31 December has been popular in Japan since the mid-18^th century or the mid-Edo era. In those days, it is said that eating soba noodles right before New Year symbolize cutting off of bad luck and debts in that the year because it can be easily cut by chopsticks. It also symbolizes longevity and a sustained prosperity for the family since the noodles are long and thin. As buckwheat is a hardy crop, it can survive in cold climates and recover quickly with just little sunlight from wind and rain damages, soba noodles also signify resilience and strength.

There is also another an interesting story that is made popular in the Edo era. It is said that goldsmithsat that time used sobako dumplings to pick up stray pieces of gold dust that had gathered on the tatami mat on the last day of the year. So eating the year-end soba is also associated with wealth accumulation and good fortune.
 

Last but not least, research has found that soba is good for cleansing the blood and lowering blood pressure. So, for a health-conscious Japanese society, eating toshikoshi soba seems to also help to clean the body from the inside to look forward to the coming New Year.

10 reasons why Japanese people wear surgical face masks.

1.    When down with a cold or flu

 

Masks were primarily worn by people who had already come down with an illness. If you are feeling sick but can’t take the day off, for the well-being of others, it’s courteous to wear a surgical mask to cover your mouth and nose so as not to spread the infection to your class or office or other commuters. 

2.    For allergy reason

 

According to mass media reports in March 2015,  it is found that 1 in 4 Japanese people are hayfever sufferers. There are different kinds of airborne viruses including the pollen grains that are released from typical seed trees, like cedar (杉) and Japanese cypress（ヒノキ), between February to May, while gramineae pollen grains is (イネ科) at its peak in July and August and ragweed (ブタクサ), between September and October. While there is no conclusive proof that wearing one can actually stop pollen invasion and relieve allergy symptom, many take antihistamines in addition to wearing masks as a basic protection

3.    For protection

 

Commuting in Japan often means spending an hour or more on a crowded train or bus, and not everyone has the space enough to cover their mouth when they cough or sneeze. People just do the right thing to wear a mask than having to breath in someone else’s viruses close by and become sick later. Many people wear masks when they get on domestic airplanes or the Shinkansen too - during the winter and spring seasons.

4.    For anti-social reason

Teenagers wear them, along with audio headsets, to signal a lack of desire to direct communicate with those around them while they are accustomed to communicate indirectly through the social media. Many young women, seeking to avoid harassment from public eyes, also appreciate the relative anonymity the masks provide.

5.    To keep warm

Surgical mask can also be used to keep your nose and cheek warm on a cold winter day. You can safely wear one without attracting any attention outside the hospital. You can even wear one under your ski mask when you go skiing.

 

6.    When not wearing any make-up.

In the Japanese society where attention is always paid to neatness in appearance and attire, wearing masks to hide from the public proved to be handy when one needs to dash out to run errands without bothering with make-up or a touch of the lip-stick.

7.    As part of Fashion

Some people see masks as a fashionable accessory. An online search for this product will bring up hundreds of results, and an increasing number of companies are offering masks in floral, polka dots and lingerie prints, not to mention ninja-style masks for guys.

8.    To Concentrate

Believe it or not I have tried that before. A number of people said that a mask helps them focus on study or work. People wearing masks can be seen in public libraries, not to mention, some sleeping comfortably on their chairs wearing one.

9.    Jobs that require wearing masks

Masks are a must for singers as it keeps her or his throat moist before a live concert. Street contractors or factory workers wear masks to protect themselves against dust and pollution. Celebrities who don't want to be noticed in public with no makeup, wear masks when they travel.

10.   Calls from government agencies

 

When it comes to preventing massive influenza and viruses outbreak, especially in seasonal winter, masks become widely recommended. Health agencies would urge mask use, along with frequent hand-washing. Many schools too ask students to come to school with masks and advise them to refrain from touching their noses with hands and fingers.

Chushingura: A Story behind “Bushido”, the Soul of Japan

Every year from November to December, a familiar historical story is told in kabuki repertoires, bunraku plays, movies, TV drama and even novels, entitled Chushingura (忠臣蔵, The Treasury of Loyal & Dutiful Retainers). This tragic and touching story is related to an incident that involves forty-seven ronins (leaderless samurai warriors) and their mission to avenge the death of their lord master in the Edo era.   


Artwork of Utagawa Hiroshige

Called the “Ako Incident” (赤穂事件), this true historical event occurred at the Pine Corridor of Edo Castle in 1701 when there was a tension over matters of protocol between two daimyo lords, Asano Naganori, the lord of Ako and Kira Yoshinaka, a court master. It is said that the corrupted Kira insulted Asano into drawing his sword and attempting to kill him. Asano was immediately sentenced to commit seppuku, the ritual suicide by the shogunate authorities, his lands were confiscated and house was abolished while Kira was left unpunished. Asano’s retainers were angry and vowed to take revenge for their lord but this proved to be an arduous task. After almost two years of careful and secret planning, they finally killed Kira and went to the grave of their lord to convey this. They then surrendered themselves to the authorities and were ordered to commit seppuku. Seppuku is an honorable death which is unlikely for committing any murder but somehow they could for their loyalty and conduct and now the forty-seven ronins lie peacefully besides their master at Sengakuji Temple, Takanawa, Tokyo 

The Ako incident remains as a legend. Ako city in Hyogo Prefecture, the ancient ruling base of Asano and his retainers, holds the Ako Gishisai festival (赤穂義士祭）on December 14 every year to commemorate this event. http://www.city.ako.lg.jp/

“Bushido” (武士道) has long been referred to for hints and insights into the character of the Japanese people. “Bushido” symbolizes the ethical code of samurai warriors that is based on a moral way of life and can be traced back to Chūshingura. This “way” stressed on loyalty, courage and honor until death.

Chūshingura, been one of the most popular themes of all literature and historical stories in Japan, often strikes a chord with many Japanese people, even now, because it symbolizes bushido that commonly embraced an emblematic virtues of dedication, benevolence, courage, respect, politeness, sincerity, honor, loyalty and self-control in which all good people would persevere in their daily lives.