Japanese Things 1-4 Flashcards
(12 cards)
The Japanese language has many dialects.
There are many dialects in Japan. We can tell where people are from by their dialects. Sometimes it is hard to understand a person with a strong dialect.
The two major Japanese dialects you will hear on TV are the Kanto and Kansai dialects. The official Japanese used in the TV news is based on the Kanto dialect from the Tokyo region. Also, the Emperor speaks mostly in the official Japanese.
The Kansai dialect is used in the areas of Osaka and Kyoto. The Kansai dialect is said to be funny and friendly.
There are two different religions.
Religious buildings in Japan are mostly of two types: Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples. Both of these religions have coexisted since the sixth century. A typical Japanese person will visit both shrines and temples.
In a shrine, the god of the shrine is worshipped. In a temple, the Buddha is worshipped. We go to the shrines to celebrate a beginning, like New Year’s Day or a birth. We go to temples to commemorate endings, like New Year’s Eve or funerals.
Kyoto is home to many shrines and temples. As of 2014 (two thousand fourteen), 16 (sixteen) religious buildings have the UNESCO World Heritage designation.
They are performers of the traditional arts.
The geisha are draditional female entertainers. They perform classical arts like dance and music in shows and banquets. You might see geisha in the Gion district of Kyoto.
The geisha start out as a trainee. In kyoto, the trainees are called maiko. You can tell a maiko from a full geisha by the length of the sash she wears on her kimono. The maiko wears a long, hangins sash and a full geisha wears a short one. After some years of training, a maiko becomes a geisha.
Most authentic geisha are in Kyoto or Tokyo. These geisha start training full-time while in their teens. Usually, they cannot go to school while training.
It’s a ritual with a long history.
The Japanese tea ceremony is a ritual of preparing and enjoying tea. In a tea ceremony, the guests go into a tea room and enjoy the tea prepared by their host.
This may sound simple, but there are many details in the serving and drinking of the tea! It takes many years of learning to become a master in the art of tea ceremony. The achitecture of the tea room and the display of traditional flower arrangement are also important to the ceremony.
The basis of the tea ceremony of today was established in the 16th (sixteenth) century. Today, there are different schools that have different styles.
It’s a traditional way of arranging cut flowers.
Japan has its own art of cut-flower arrangement. It is called kado, meaning “the way of flowers.” Currently, there are many kado schools that have different styles.
At first, kado was a Buddhist custom. It became an art form in the 16th (sixteenth) century. Since then, many different schools have been formed. Each school has developed a style of its own.
The traditional schools arrange the flowers to represent the elements of sky, human, and earth. These days, however, some schools like to try new forms.
It’s the traditional ethnic dress.
Most Japanese people wear western clothes in everyday life, but on special occasions we also wear a traditional ethnic dress called kimono. There are different types of kimono for men and women of different ages.
You will see people in formal kimono at weddings, funerals or at traditional gatherings. These kimono are multilayered, and can take more than one hour to put on. A single-layered kimono called yukata is easy to put on. This is often worn in the summer. Some yukata are used as sleepwear.
Many yukata are affordable, but some formal kimono or sashes made by famous makers can cost more than one million yen!
The oldest theatrical art in Japan.
Noh is Japan’s oldest theatrical art. It started in the 14th (fourteenth) century. It has drama, dance and music. It can be called a mask theater because the main actors wear masks in many of the shows. Kyogen is a comedy performance. It is performed between noh shows for the audience to relax.
Noh and kyogen actors chant and dance based on classical scripts. In many shows, there are background chanters and drummers.
Many noh scripts are classical masterpiece literature. Noh and kyogen shows are usually performed on special noh stages. Many of these stages are in Tokyo or Kyoto.
It’s a classical puppet theater.
Bunraku is a traditional puppet theater. The puppets are delicately controlled by puppeteers. On the side, there are chanters and shamisen players. The shamisen is a stringed instrument that looks like a banjo.
Bunraku, like noh and kabuki, is one of the Japanese theatrical arts with World Heritage designation. Bunraku became popular around the 17th (seventeenth) century in Osaka and Tokyo.
One of the most famous bunraku scripts is the classical title, The Love Suicides at Sonezaki. Set in the feudal times of Japan, it is a drama of a man and a woman. Perhaps you can say it is the Japanese version of Romeo and Juliet.
It’s a comedy performed by a duo.
Manzai is a stand-up comedy performed by a duo. The duo exchanges comical dialogues. This form of comedy was developed in the Kansai region in the early 20th (twentieth) century.
In a typical manzai performance, one person plays the role of boke, or thickhead, and the other plays the tsukkomi, or straight guy. The people from Kansai like to talk in this comical style even in normal conversation.
The Yoshimoto Comedy Company founded in Osaka is the most famous comedy troupe in Japan. They produce Japan’s top comedians along with comic theaters, TV programs, and movies.
It’s a women-only musical.
Takarazuka’s unique characteristic is that all the artists are young single women. So, male roles are also performed by women. The shows feature singing, acting, and dancing. The music is usually in a style similar to Broadway musicals.
The Takarazuka Revue was established in the early 20th (twentieth) century. Thier shows includes fantasies, comedies, and classical Japanese and Western stories. The very popular show, Rose of Versailles, is a story created based on the former Royal Family of France.
Takarazuka is most popular among young women. Artists who play the male roles are especially popular.
Seasonal ingredients are featured.
Kaiseki is a Japanese multi-course meal. In Kyoto and Osaka, there are many fine kaiseki restaurants that are famous throughout Japan and the world. Some have been given Michelin stars.
A Kyoto kaiseki meal comprises several courses of Japanese delicacies such as sashimi, or sliced raw fish, grilled fish, and soup. In kaiseki there is no such thing as a main course. Seasonal ingredients are featured. The courses are presented beautifully on fine plates and bowls.
Kaiseki started in Kyoto as a light meal served before a tea ceremony. The food culture was polished while serving aristocratic families.
A favorite dish in Osaka.
Okonomiyaki is the Japanese pancake, and takoyaki are octopus balls. They are served in restaurants at reasonable prices or cooked at home. Both are served with a Worcestershire-like sauce.
The batter for okonomiyaki is made from flour, eggs, and stock. We mix minced cabbage and seafood or meat into the batter and fry the mixture on a hotplate. At many okonomiyaki restaurants, you do the pan-frying yourself on a hotplate attached to the table.
Takoyaki’s main ingredient is octopus. Other ingredients are similar to those of okonomiyaki, but, unlike the okonomiyaki, they are bite-size balls. We often buy a set of several balls from a stand on the streets.
