“Tora Tora Tora” (Tiger Tiger Tiger) is a Japanese party/drinking game played by Maiko with their clients. The game is another version of “Jyan ken pon” (the Japanese name for Rock, Paper, Scissors). The game is played between two players who start on opposite sides of a wall, or as in this case, a rice...Read More
Paths Paths are generally constructed of beaten earth that can be left plain or covered with sand or fine gravel, on top of which stepping stones can be placed. Irregular, flat stepping stones were used in the tea roji to guide the visitor to the tea house. Later stepping stones were introduced into other gardens....Read More
We continue our discourse of Japanese Gardens with this discussion of some of the elements commonly used in Japanese gardens. Waterfalls Waterfalls are used to indicate where water enters a pond, to highlight a scene or to provide a focus. The decorative use of rocks, another important element of Japanese gardening, can be found in both...Read More
Japanese Gardens 101 – Part 2: Japanese Garden Types We continue our garden discussion with a brief description of some of the common Japanese garden types. It should be noted that few gardens will be just one these types. Most gardens could be classified into two or more of these types. Pond Gardens The idea...Read More
Anyone who knows me can tell you that I love movies. Of course, it is only natural that I love Japanese movies. When thinking about Japanese movies, the name of Akira Kurosawa will always be mentioned. In a career that spanned more than 50 years, Kurosawa directed 30 films. He is widely regarded as one...Read More
There is no doubt the Japanese have an extraordinary sense of aesthetics. This is evident from their traditional, colorful, silken kimonos to their trend-setting modern clothing designs, the stylized theatrical arts of Kabuki, Noh and Bunraku and their elegant but simple Ikebana floral arrangements. But perhaps this sense of aesthetics is no more evident than in...Read More
Even though they are an actual animal living in Japan, Tanuki are also among the most recognizable images in Japanese folklore, and have been part of Japanese folklore since ancient times. The legendary tanuki is reputed to be mischievous and jolly, a master of disguise and shape-shifting but somewhat gullible and absent-minded. Statues of tanuki...Read More
This is a Japanese party/drinking game played by Maiko and Geiko (Geisha) with their clients at tea houses. The game is called Konpira, and the rules are very simple. The two players face each other and alternate touching the box or table between them. If the box is on the table when it is their...Read More
There were thousands of Ukiyo-e artists, however, three stand out. They are Utamaro, Hokusai and Hiroshige. Utamaro (1750-1806) Utamaro Kitagawa is highly appreciated as the dominating Ukiyo-e artist of the late eighteenth century. Yet little is known about his life. Neither the precise date of Utamaro’s birth, his birthplace, nor any substantial information about his...Read More
Although the artist typically received all the credit for the prints, there were four people involved with the making of the prints: The artist who drew the prints and decided on the color scheme, the publisher who commissioned and managed the work, the printer who created the final prints and the carver who cut the...Read More
