For the past few years, I’ve dabbled in growing bonsai. Well, I’m better at killing them than growing them so far. I have a soft heart for Walmart and Lowes clearance rack orphans, but they tend not to have the best survival chances. Bonsai is a Japanese method of miniaturizing trees and shaping them into…
Tag: japanese culture
A Brief History of Japanese Paper Fans
Paper fans symbolize Japan, right up there with giant robots, sushi, geisha, and kimono. While a humble part of fashion and summer, the fan has a history of its own. Japan isn’t unique in having fans. It’s the most convenient way to cool off, after all. A leaf or anything flexible can become a fan,…
Japan and the Language of Flowers
“If I were asked to explain the Japanese spirit, I would say it is wild cherry blossoms glowing in the morning sun!” — Motoori Norinaga (1730-1801) Japan’s flower language isn’t as well develop as in the West. Japan’s stories and theater focused on humanizing plants as opposed to using them to convey emotions and messages….
Felice Beato and Kimbei Kusakabe, Photographers of 1800s Japan
The mid-to-late 1800s marked a shift in Japanese history: the Meiji Restoration. The old guard, the Tokugawa Shogunate, with their isolationist attitudes were overthrown, and Japan began a miraculous modernization movement. When you consider the shift, it is amazing. Japan went from being primarily agriculturally-based in 1853 when Commodore Matthew Perry of the US forced…
Sex, Zen, and Poetry. The Life of Ikkyu Sojun
When we think of monks, we think of bald guys sitting around praying and studying all day long. Monks shirk women, booze, and other worldly pleasures. Back in the 15th century, one Zen monk turned this tradition on its back. Ikkyu Sojun decided to be true to himself and that meant regular trips to brothels….