80-414: Rakugo ( 落語 , literally 'story with a fall') is a form of Japanese verbal comedy, traditionally performed in yose theatres. The lone storyteller ( 落語家 , rakugoka ) sits on a raised platform, a kōza ( 高座 ) . Using only a paper fan ( 扇子 , sensu ) and a small cloth ( 手拭 , tenugui ) as props, and without standing up from the seiza sitting position, the rakugo artist depicts
160-670: A colossal bronze statue of the Buddha Vairocana in the Tōdai-ji temple. Wood has traditionally been used as the chief material in Japan, along with traditional Japanese architecture. Statues are often lacquered , gilded , or brightly painted, although there are commonly few traces of this on the surface. Bronze and other metals are generally not used. Other materials, such as stone and pottery , have had extremely important roles in traditional sculpture. The music of Japan includes
240-760: A combination of three scripts: Chinese characters pronounced as " kanji " ( 漢字 ) in Japanese, hiragana , and katakana . Japan had no writing system prior to adopting kanji from China in 751 CE, and like Chinese, kanji are used extensively in Japanese as logograms . Presently, there is a notable number of kanji in modern Japanese with a different meaning from the corresponding hanzi character used in modern Chinese. Modern Japanese also features far fewer simplified Chinese characters in comparison to modern Chinese as Japanese typically uses fewer kanji, mainly for nouns , adjective stems, and verb stems. Both hiragana and katakana are phonetic syllabaries derived from
320-674: A dual-structure model, in which Japanese populations are descendants of the indigenous Jōmon people and later arrivals of people from the East Eurasian continent, known as the Yayoi people . Japan's indigenous culture originates primarily from the Yayoi people who settled in Japan between 1000 BCE and 300 CE. Yayoi culture spread to the main island of Honshu , mixing with the native Jōmon culture. Modern Japanese have an estimated 80% Yayoi and 20% Jōmon ancestry. The second hypothesis proposes
400-541: A humorous character, had an older origin, in 8th century entertainment brought from China, developing itself in sarugaku . In kyōgen , masks are rarely used and even if the plays can be associated with the ones of noh, currently many are not. Kabuki appears in the beginning of the Edo period from the representations and dances of Izumo no Okuni in Kyoto. Due to concerns over the number of actresses engaged in selling sex,
480-428: A long and complicated comical (or sometimes sentimental) story. The story always involves the dialogue of two or more characters. The difference between the characters is depicted only through change in pitch, tone, and a slight turn of the head. The speaker is in the middle of the stage, and his purpose is to stimulate the general hilarity with tone and limited, yet specific body gestures. The monologue always ends with
560-421: A narrative stunt ( punch line ) known as ochi ( 落ち , lit. "fall") or sage ( 下げ , lit. "lowering") , consisting of a sudden interruption of the wordplay flow. Twelve kinds of ochi are codified and recognized, with more complex variations having evolved through time from the more basic forms. Early rakugo has developed into various styles, including the shibaibanashi ( 芝居噺 , theatre discourses) ,
640-424: A number of theories about the origins of Japanese, the strongest arguments for affiliation are with Korean on the basis of similar syntax. More controversially, it has also been paired with Altaic languages due to a similar number of systems and verb forms. While Japanese is the only official language of Japan, other languages such as Ainu and Ryukyuan are spoken on the Japanese islands. Written Japanese uses
720-587: A physical gesture. Many artists contributed to the development of rakugo . Some were simply performers, but many also composed original works. Among the more famous rakugoka of the Tokugawa period were performers like Anrakuan Sakuden (1554–1642), the author of the Seisuishō ( Laughter to Chase Away Sleep , 1628), a collection of more than 1,000 stories. In Edo (today's Tokyo ) there also lived Shikano Buzaemon [ ja ] (1649–1699) who wrote
800-523: A separate style in its own right as Japanese writers began writing their own works about Japan. The Tale of Genji , written by Murasaki Shikibu during the Heian period , is known worldwide as a unique Japanese literature. Since Japan reopened its ports to Western trading and diplomacy in the 19th century, Western and Eastern literature have strongly affected each other and continue to do so. Japanese calligraphy , rendered using flowing, brush-drawn strokes,
880-999: A series of younger lecturers, the master performed. Around 1900, 70 such theatres were still active, of which the Suehiro-tei (末廣亭) in Shinjuku district, the Tachibana-tei (立花亭) in Kanda and the Suzumoto-tei (鈴本亭) in Ueno were the best known. They were broadcast on radio from the 1920s onwards, while most yose theatres later had to close due to the surge in cinema competition. So the yose lives on today on television and radio and in special live broadcasts . Other forms include Manzai (漫才) and Naniwa-bushi (浪花節). Edomoji ( Japanese : 江戸文字; furigana : えどもじ ) are Japanese lettering styles invented for advertising during
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#1732782341332960-495: A tripartite model of genomic origin. This hypothesis proposes that contemporary Japanese people are from three distinct ancestral groups: Jōmon, Yayoi and Kofun , with 13%, 16% and 71% of genetic ancestry, respectively. During the Kofun period, it is said that migrant groups from China came to Japan and settled on the island, bringing with them various cultural advances and centralized leadership. The migrants who came to Japan during
1040-403: A variety of colors, styles, and sizes. Men mainly wear darker or more muted colors, while women tend to wear brighter colors and pastels, and, especially for younger women, often with complicated abstract or floral patterns. In previous decades, married women wore short sleeved kimono, whereas unmarried women wore long sleeved kimono to both formal and informal occasions; however, the rise in both
1120-400: A while. ‘’Mawari ochi’’: A punchline that ends the story by returning to the beginning. ’’Mitate ochi’’: An ochi that uses unexpected punchlines. ’’Manuke ochi’’: An ochi that ends the story with a dumb or ridiculous joke ’’Totan ochi’’: An ochi using a signature phrase. ’’Buttsuke ochi’’: An ending with a punch line based on a misunderstanding. ’’Shigusa ochi’’: A punchline that uses
1200-472: A wide array of styles both distinctly traditional and modern . Traditional Japanese music is quite different from Western music and is based on the intervals of human breathing rather than mathematical timing; traditional music also typically slides between notes, a feature also not commonly found in Western music. The word for music in Japanese is ongaku (音楽), combining the kanji on (音, "sound") with
1280-479: Is also used in a highly formalized manner to imitate "nature" and the expressive energy and artistic potential of noise are accepted and incorporated. Traditional Japanese music finds its first major historic periods in the Nara (710–794) and Heian (794–1185) periods. The two most common kinds of music during this time were the music of the court ( Gagaku ) and the music of Buddhist rituals ( shōmyō ). The music of
1360-408: Is an ethnic religion focusing on ceremonies and rituals. In Shinto, followers believe that kami – Shinto deities or spirits – are present throughout nature, including rocks, trees, and mountains. Humans can also be considered to possess a kami . One of the goals of Shinto is to maintain or strengthen the connection between humans, nature, and kami . The religion developed in Japan prior to
1440-567: Is considered the father of the rakugo tradition of the Kamigata area (Kamigata rakugo ( 上方落語 ) ). His works are included in the Karukuchi tsuyu ga hanashi ( Jocular Tsuyu's Stories , date of composition unknown), containing many word games, episodes from the lives of famous literary authors, and plays on the different dialects from the Tokyo , Osaka , and Kyoto areas. Of a similar structure
1520-455: Is considered to be a traditional art form, as well as a means of conveying written information. Typical calligraphic works can consist of phrases, poems, stories, or even characters represented by themselves; the style and format of the calligraphy can mimic the subject matter through aspects such as the texture of the writing and the speed of the brush strokes. Several different styles of Japanese calligraphy exist, with considerable effort put into
1600-406: Is considered to be one way for people to ensure a better future, with the ultimate goal of Buddhism being to escape the cycle of death and rebirth by attaining true insight. Christianity was introduced in the 16th century. When the religion was banned during the 17th century, a group of hidden Christians blended Christian theology with Shinto and Buddhist practices. Hidden Christian Sites in
1680-428: Is considered to hold the same importance as traditional building architecture, and both are influenced by similar historical and religious backgrounds. A primary design principle of a traditional garden is the creation of the landscape based on, or at least greatly influenced by, the style of three-dimensional monochrome ink ( sumi ) landscape painting known as sumi-e or suibokuga ; as such, garden landscaping
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#17327823413321760-497: Is described that the monks had gained a reputation for their beautiful voices and narrative arts. The direct ancestor of rakugo is a humorous story among the stories narrated by otogishū in the Sengoku Period (1467–1615) . Otogishū were scholars, Buddhist monks and tea masters who served daimyo (feudal lord), and their duty was to give lectures on books to daimyo and to be a partner for chatting. Anrakuan Sakuden , who
1840-525: Is elevated to the status of an artform in Japan. Traditional Japanese sculptures mainly focused on Buddhist images, such as Tathagata , Bodhisattva , and Myō-ō . The oldest sculpture in Japan is a wooden statue of Amitābha at the Zenkō-ji temple. In the Nara period, Buddhist statues were made by the national government to boost its prestige. These examples are seen in present-day Nara and Kyoto, most notably
1920-411: Is the Karukuchi gozen otoko ( One-liners: An Important Storyteller , date of publication unknown) in which are collected the stories of Yonezawa Hikohachi I [ ja ] , who lived in Ōsaka towards the end of the 17th century. An example from Yonezawa Hikohachi's collection: A man faints in a bathing tub. In the great confusion following, a doctor arrives who takes his pulse and calmly gives
2000-440: Is the art of painting a scene or object using diluted black ink. Painting has been an art in Japan for a very long time: the brush is a traditional writing and painting tool, and the extension of that to its use as an artist's tool was probably natural. Japanese painters are often categorized by what they painted, as most of them constrained themselves solely to subjects such as animals, landscapes, or figures. Chinese papermaking
2080-468: Is the national and primary language of Japan. The language is a lexically distinct pitch-accent system . Early Japanese is known primarily by its state in the 8th century when the three major works of Old Japanese were compiled. The earliest attestation of the Japanese language was found in a Chinese document from 256 CE. However, the Japanese language has no genetic relationship with Chinese, nor any clear affiliation with any other language. While there are
2160-482: The kosode ( ' short sleeve ' ), with longer-sleeved garments being known as furisode ( ' swinging sleeve ' ). The earliest versions of the kimono were heavily influenced by traditional Chinese clothing, known today as hanfu ( kanfuku ( 漢服 ) in Japanese). This influence was spread through Japanese envoy missions to China, resulting in extensive Chinese cultural adoption by Japan as early as
2240-400: The ongyokubanashi ( 音曲噺 , musical discourses) , the kaidanbanashi ( 怪談噺 , ghost discourses, see kaidan ) , and ninjōbanashi ( 人情噺 , sentimental discourses) . In many of these forms the ochi , which is essential to the original rakugo, is absent. Rakugo has been described as "a sitcom with one person playing all the parts" by Noriko Watanabe, assistant professor in
2320-584: The Government of Japan 's Agency for Culture Affairs, 66.7 percent of the population practices Buddhism , 25.6 percent practices Shintoism, 7.7 percent other religions. According to the annual statistical research on religion in 2018 by the Government of Japan 's Agency for Culture Affairs, about two million or around 1.5% of Japan's population are Christians . Other religions include Islam (70,000) and Judaism (2,000), which are largely immigrant communities with some ethnic Japanese practitioners. Shinto
2400-748: The Meiji period (1868–1912) the expression rakugo first started being used, and it came into common usage only in the Shōwa period (1926–1989). One of the predecessors of rakugo is considered to be a humorous story in setsuwa . The Konjaku Monogatarishū and the Uji Shūi Monogatari were setsuwa collections compiled from the Heian period (794–1185) to the Kamakura period (1185–1333); they contained many funny stories, and Japanese Buddhist monks preached Buddhism by quoting them. In Makura no Sōshi , it
2480-571: The Muromachi period and ceramics since the Edo period . Japanese crafts became known in Europe after Nanban trade . Ikebana is the Japanese art of flower arrangement. It has gained widespread international fame for its focus on harmony, color use, rhythm, and elegantly simple design. It is an art centered greatly on expressing the seasons and is meant to act as a symbol to something greater than
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2560-595: The Shikano Buzaemon kudenbanashi ( Oral Instruction Discourses of Shikano Buzaemon ) and the Shika no makifude ( The Deer's Brush , 1686), a work containing 39 stories, eleven of which are about the kabuki milieu . Tatekawa Enba I [ ja ] (1743–1822) was author of the Rakugo rokugi ( The Six Meanings of Rakugo ). Kyoto was the home of Tsuyu no Gorobei I [ ja ] (1643–1703), who
2640-504: The Tang dynasty , and to a lesser extent by other Asian countries . For example, one of the scripts for writing in the Japanese language is Chinese characters ( kanji ), but Japanese has no genetic relationship with Chinese . Since the Meiji era , Japan has been primarily influenced by Western countries . The inhabitants of Japan experienced a long period of relative isolation from
2720-410: The Tang dynasty , have influenced Japanese culture throughout history. After 220 years of isolation, the Meiji era opened Japan to Western influences, enriching and diversifying Japanese culture. Popular culture shows how much contemporary Japanese culture influences the world. There are two competing hypotheses that try to explain the lineage of the Japanese people. The first hypothesis proposes
2800-616: The Western world over the past few centuries has led to many of its terms, such as origami , tsunami , karaoke , and pop cultural terms like shonen and shōjo being incorporated into the English language. Words like these have also been added to the Oxford English Dictionary . Shinto and Buddhism are the primary religions of Japan. According to the annual statistical research on religion in 2018 by
2880-413: The shamisen and used in kabuki theater), uki-ma implies a slight lengthening of the first of a pair of beats, while tsume-ma implies the reverse. It is this meaning of timing that is seen as a unique aesthetic to explain otherwise inexplicable aspects of Japanese performing arts. Japanese music stresses sound quality and prizes the richness and complexity of each instrument's sound spectrum. Noise
2960-425: The 18th century. The term also refers to the exclusive theater where yose is held. The yose was a popular form of spoken theatre in the Edo period . The term is the shortened form of Hito yose seki (人寄せ席), roughly "Where people sit together". Towards the end of the Edo period, there were several hundred theatres, about one per district (町, chō ). The entrance fee, the "wooden door penny" (木戸銭, Kido-zeni ),
3040-446: The 20th-21st centuries include Yoko Ono , Suzuka Nakamoto , Koji Tamaki , Hideto Takarai , Takahiro Moriuchi , Kenshi Yonezu , and Haruomi Hosono . Popular groups of the same eras include The Oral Cigarettes , Yoasobi , Bump of Chicken , King Gnu , Mrs. Green Apple , Fishmans , and Perfume . The four traditional theatres from Japan are noh (or nō ), kyōgen , kabuki , and bunraku . Noh had its origins in
3120-529: The 5th century CE. It was during the 8th century, however, that Chinese fashions came fully into style, and following the cancellation of the 20th mission to Tang dynasty China, these fashions developed independently, with the overlapping, V-shaped collar becoming women's fashion and the precursor to the modern kimono. Kimono, alongside all other items of traditional Japanese clothing, are known collectively as wafuku , meaning 'Japanese clothing', as opposed to yōfuku , Western-style clothing. Kimono come in
3200-601: The 6th century CE, after which point followers built shrines to worship kami . Buddhism developed in India around the 6th and 4th centuries BCE and eventually spread through the Sinosphere and South East Asia. It arrived in Japan during the 6th century CE, where it was initially unpopular. Most Japanese people were unable to understand the difficult philosophical messages present in Buddhism; however, an appreciation for
3280-589: The Chinese man'yōgana of the 5th century. Hiragana and katakana were developed from simplified kanji; hiragana emerged somewhere around the 9th century and were mainly used by women for informal language while katakana was mainly used by men in formal language. By the 10th century, both systems were used commonly by everyone. Japanese vocabulary consists of 49% words of Chinese origin , 33% words of Japanese origin , and 18% loanwords from other languages, including European languages , words of mixed origin, and
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3360-465: The Department of Modern Languages and Comparative Literature at Baruch College . The precursor of rakugo was called karukuchi ( 軽口 , literally 'light-mouth') . The oldest appearance of the kanji which refers specifically to this type of performance dates back to 1787, but at the time the characters themselves (落とし噺) were normally read as otoshibanashi ("dropping story"). In the middle of
3440-538: The Kofun period appear to have had ancestry that mainly resembles the ancestry of the Han Chinese population of China. The Jomon people were hunter-gathers ; the Yayoi people introduced rice cultivation; and the Kofun migrants introduced imperial state formation. Japanese culture was influenced from ancient times to the Middle Ages primarily by multiple Chinese dynasties , with substantial derivation from
3520-746: The Nagasaki Region have become World Heritage Sites , and the unique style of Christian art is now recognized. Despite being a minority religion in Japan, Christian chapel marriage ceremonies are a popular wedding style in Japan. A minority of Japanese are Muslims. Cultural differences and a predominantly non-Muslim society present unique challenges for Japan's Muslim community, mostly immigrants from Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Iran. Muslims are scattered in Japan. Mosques and halal food are scarce due to their dispersion. Family-linked long-term residents are assimilating into Japanese society despite language and cultural barriers. Analysts say
3600-560: The Nara period can be classified as belonging to the first international period in Japanese music history. The court music was all of Chinese, Korean, or Indian origin and was played primarily by foreign musicians in its original style. Gagaku classical music has been performed at the Imperial court since the Heian period . At the same time, Buddhist ritual music exerted some influence on the native vocal style. While poetry anthologies indicate that folk music had continued its steady pace,
3680-491: The authors' assumptions or perceptions of Japanese exceptionalism; these are predominantly written in Japan by Japanese people, though examples have also been written by foreign residents, journalists and even scholars. Early works of Japanese literature were heavily influenced by cultural contact with China and Chinese literature , often written in Classical Chinese . Eventually, Japanese literature developed into
3760-423: The average age of marriage and the numbers of women never marrying in Japan has led to the divide between sleeve length becoming one more of age, with most women in their early twenties wearing long sleeved kimono only to formal occasions, and most women past their early twenties wearing short sleeved kimono to formal events, regardless of marriage status. Other developments include the abandoning of layered kimono and
3840-428: The base of the shoe to the floor, and are worn by men and women with kimono or yukata ; zōri are flat-based or sloping sandals made of a number of different materials, and are considered to be more formal than geta. Fashion trends and consumer apathy have hurt the Japanese kimono industry. Kimono sales and traditional tailors suffered after WWII due to Western fashion. Innovative and diverse kimono makers have revived
3920-437: The coats would be constructed from several layers of heavy cotton stitched together, and would be soaked in water to provide protection from fire. Alongside traditional clothing, Japan also has distinct footwear; tabi , ankle-length split-toed socks, are commonly worn with the kimono, and are designed to be worn with traditional shoes such as geta and zōri . Geta are thonged sandals mounted on wooden blocks extending from
4000-849: The declining industry. Internationally, the industry has tried casual styles. Cultural appropriation is hard. The Boston Museum of Fine Arts' "Kimono Wednesdays" led to cultural appropriation debates. Asian-American protesters cited Orientalism, racism, and cultural appropriation. Protests sparked global cultural debate and appropriation. The protests lacked Japanese and Japanese-American representation, say critics. Scholars say Edward Said's "Orientalism" may not always apply (O'Dwyer, 2015). Cultural appropriation could harm kimono exhibitions. War can hinder cultural exchange and Japanese fashion abroad. Japanese mainstream media and cultural commentators rarely mention it. Cultural appropriation may lead to kimono experimentation, say Japanese commentators. Cultural appropriation and Japanese fashion remain hot topics. Globally,
4080-613: The eighteenth century, in secular performances, the shamisen lute and koto , invented in China and brought to Japan during the Nara Period , 13-string zither as used for genteel entertainment and professionally controlled by blind musicians who had the rights to heike narrative. The shamisen , modified from the Chinese sanxian introduced via the Ryukyu Islands in the late sixteenth century, came into its own in
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#17327823413324160-491: The establishment of the first theater dedicated to rakugo ( yose ) by Sanshōtei Karaku and Sanyūtei Enshō, and the revival of rakugo . During the Edo period, thanks to the emergence of the merchant class of the chōnin , rakugo spread to the lower classes. Many groups of performers were formed, and collections of texts were finally printed. During the 17th century the actors were known as hanashika (found written as 噺家 , 咄家 , or 話家 ; "storyteller"), corresponding to
4240-475: The floating world', is a genre of woodblock prints that exemplifies the characteristics of pre-Meiji Japanese art. Because these prints could be mass-produced, they were available to a wide cross-section of the Japanese populace – those not wealthy enough to afford original paintings – during their heyday, from the 17th to 20th century. Japanese lacquerware and ceramics have historically gained international fame, and lacquerware has been actively exported since
4320-416: The flower itself. The kimono is the national garment of Japan, having developed from Chinese court clothing in the Nara period following the exchange of diplomatic envoys between the two countries at that time. The word kimono translates literally as 'thing to wear on the shoulders'; however, this term developed some time around the Edo period, before which most kimono-like garments were referred to as
4400-586: The historical records and relics show us music that was primarily instrumental and often connected with dance. By the time of the Kamakura period, most traces of the international character of Japanese music had disappeared. Court music in general was declining, while there was a steady growth of more theatrical arts. The indigenous folk ritual music of flute and drums here encountered the aristocratic aesthetic of poetry and literary tales. Japan's indigenous musical culture can still be found in much of folk music and
4480-701: The industry must balance cultural integrity and innovation (O'Dwyer, 2015). Japanese architecture was originally heavily influenced by Chinese architecture and later developed many unique aspects indigenous to Japan. Examples of traditional architecture are seen at temples , Shinto shrines , and castles in Kyoto and Nara . Some of these buildings are constructed with traditional gardens , which are influenced by Zen ideas. Some modern architects, such as Yoshio Taniguchi and Tadao Ando are known for their amalgamation of Japanese traditional and Western architectural influences. Traditional Japanese garden architecture
4560-786: The instructions: "Pull the plug and let the water out." Once the water has flowed completely out of the tub he says: "Fine. Now put a lid on it and carry the guy to the cemetery." For the poor man is already dead. The joke becomes clearer when one notes that a Japanese traditional bathing tub is shaped like a coffin. Current rakugo artists include Tachibanaya Enzō , Katsura Bunshi VI , Tachibanaya Takezō II , Tatekawa Shinosuke and Hayashiya Shōzō IX . Furthermore, many people regarded as more mainstream comedians originally trained as rakugoka apprentices , even adopting stage names given to them by their masters. Some examples include Akashiya Sanma , Shōfukutei Tsurube II , and Shōfukutei Shōhei . Another famous rakugo performer, Shijaku Katsura II ,
4640-427: The kanji gaku (楽, "enjoyment"). Major aesthetic concepts are jo-ha-kyū and ma . Jo-ha-kyū (序破急) roughly translates to "beginning, break, rapid", it essentially means that all actions or efforts should begin slowly, speed up, and then end swiftly. Ma literally means a space or interval between two points (in space or time). In music, it refers to rhythm. In nagauta (長唄, literally "long song") (played on
4720-404: The made-in-Japan pseudo-English known as wasei-eigo . The Latin alphabet is often used in modern Japanese, especially for company names, logos, advertising, and when inputting Japanese into a computer. The Hindu–Arabic numerals are often used for numbers and can be read in either Japanese or English, but traditional Sino–Japanese numerals are also common. The influence of Japanese culture in
4800-504: The modern term, rakugoka ( 落語家 , "person of the falling word") . Before the advent of modern rakugo there were the kobanashi ( 小噺 ) : short comical vignettes ending with an ochi , popular between the 17th and the 19th centuries. These were enacted in small public venues, or in the streets, and printed and sold as pamphlets. The origin of kobanashi is to be found in the Kinō wa kyō no monogatari ( Yesterday Stories Told Today , c. 1620),
4880-449: The music of Shinto festivals in local communities. Several traditional instruments were adopted and assimilated into Japanese culture from various sources. They were further experimented with and developed by Japan. One of the imported end-blown bamboo flutes from China developed into the shakuhachi , which became the ritual instrument of the Fuke sect of Zen monks. By the middle of
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#17327823413324960-424: The outcome; in some cases, it can take over one hundred attempts to produce the desired result of a single character. This form of calligraphy is known as shodō ( 書道 ) , literally meaning 'the way of writing or calligraphy', or more commonly, shūji ( 習字 ) , 'learning how to write characters'. Commonly confused with calligraphy is the art form of sumi-e ( 墨絵 ) , literally meaning 'ink painting', which
5040-521: The outside world for over 220 years during the Tokugawa shogunate until the arrival of the " Black Ships " and the Meiji era. Today, the culture of Japan stands as one of the most influential cultures around the world, mainly because of the global reach of its popular culture . In 2023, U.S. News & World Report ranked Japan's cultural influence as the highest in Asia and 4th worldwide. Japanese
5120-456: The participation of women in the plays was forbidden by the government in 1629, and the feminine characters had passed to be represented only by men ( onnagata ). Recent attempts to reintroduce actresses in kabuki had not been well accepted. Another characteristic of kabuki is the use of makeup for the actors in historical plays ( kumadori ) and the performance of nagauta ballads. Japanese puppet theater ( bunraku ) developed in
5200-405: The process become Japanized (domesticated) and different from its model. Hybrid music has resulted, such as enka , J-pop , and ‘contemporary Japanese music’ ( gendai hōgaku ) or ‘new Japanese music’ ( shin-hōgaku ). Famous enka singers include Hibari Misora , Saburo Kitajima , Ikuzo Yoshi , and Haruo Minami. One notable contemporary influence on Japanese musical music came from Ainu music and
5280-439: The religion's art is believed to have led to Buddhism later growing in popularity. Buddhism is concerned with the cycle of rebirth and karma . In Buddhism, a person's status in society is considered unimportant, instead their good or bad deeds are valued, as every person eventually becomes ill, ages, dies, and is eventually reincarnated into a new life, a cycle known as saṃsāra ; the suffering people experience during life
5360-450: The same age and began telling funny stories to the general public for a price. Rakugo in this period was called Tsujibanashi , but once it lost popularity, rakugo declined for about 100 years. In 1786, Utei Enba presided over a rakugo show at a ryōtei , a traditional Japanese catering venue, in Mukōjima. He is regarded as the father of the restoration of rakugo . His performances led to
5440-522: The same period as kabuki, in both competition with and collaboration with its actors and authors. The origin of bunraku , however, is older, beginning in the Heian period. In 1914, the Takarazuka Revue was founded, a company solely composed by women who introduced the revue to Japan. Yose Yose (Japanese: 寄席) is a form of spoken vaudeville theatre of Japan cultivated since
5520-466: The small Muslim community and cultural differences between Islam and Japan reduce future conflicts. Syncretic Sufi Islam may increase Japan's Muslim population. The Japanese "national character" has been written about under the term Nihonjinron , literally meaning 'theories/discussions about the Japanese people' and referring to texts on matters that are normally the concerns of sociology, psychology, history, linguistics, and philosophy, but emphasizing
5600-620: The so-called nationalist composer Ifukube Akiraa (b. 1914 in Hokkaido) who brought the tonkori zither onto the World Music scene. In the late 20th century Japanese music rose in popularity with Aidoru (Japanese Idols) with popular audition shows such as the Suta¯tanjo¯(A Star Is Born). Japanese music further evolved in the jazz, pop, R&B, and Rock music genres and continues into today. Popular artists of
5680-599: The standardisation of the length of short sleeved women's kimono to a range of roughly 49–52 centimetres (19–20 in) in length, both developments driven by fabric shortages in WWII. The happi coat is another form of traditional clothing. A happi (commonly Anglicised as "happy") coat is a straight sleeved coat typically decorated with a family crest and/or kanji along the collar. In previous centuries, happi -style coats known as hikeshi sashiko banten or simply hikeshi banten were commonly worn by firefighters ;
5760-472: The theatrical contexts of bunraku puppet drama and kabuki drama. Japan is the second largest music market in the world behind the United States, and is the largest in Asia, with most of the market dominated by Japanese artists . Local music often appears at karaoke venues on lease from record labels . Western music has been adopted and adapted to the Japanese context and has often in
5840-419: The union of the sarugaku , with music and dance made by Kan'ami and Zeami Motokiyo . Among the characteristic aspects of it are the masks, costumes, and the stylized gestures, sometimes accompanied by a fan that can represent other objects. The Noh programs are presented in alternation with the ones of kyōgen , traditionally in numbers of five, but currently in groups of three. The kyōgen , of
5920-409: The work of an unknown author collecting approximately 230 stories describing the common class . ’’Niwaka ochi’’: An ochi using a pun, it is also called 'Jiguchi Ochi.' ’’Hyoshi ochi’’: An ochi that uses repeated punchlines. ’’Sakasa ochi’’: An ochi with a twist punchline, one where roles are reversed ’’Kangae ochi’’: A punchline that is hard to understand but people will laugh after pondering for
6000-473: Was a master of all variants and laid the foundation for modern performance practice. He published his lectures under the title " Peony Lantern" (牡丹燈籠, Botan dōrō ) and Shiobara Tasuke (塩原多助). The later Kaidan botan dōrō (怪談牡丹燈籠) from 1884 was also successful, with Enchō's lectures having been taken down in shorthand . Small theatre spaces typically seating 200 people existed for performances. Most theatres operated on an Iromonoseki (色物席) basis, i.e., after
6080-526: Was an otogishū and a monk of the Jōdo-shū , is often said to be the originator of rakugo , and his 8 volumes of Seisui Sho contain 1000 stories, including the original stories of rakugo . Around 1670 in the Edo period (1603–1867), three storytellers appeared who were regarded as the first rakugoka . Tsuyuno Gorobe in Kyoto , Yonezawa Hikohachi in Osaka , and Shikano Buzaemon in Edo built simple huts around
6160-419: Was called Kōshaku (講釈), roughly "Explanatory Lectures", and was only common in places where the bushi (武士), i.e. the Japanese nobility, played a role in which the common people were interested. The lecturers, called hanashi-ka (噺家), corresponded to the rakugo narrators of the present day. A well-known lecturer at the end of the Edo period into the Meiji era was San'yūtei Enchō (三遊亭 圓朝; 1839-1900), who
6240-673: Was introduced to Japan around the 7th century. Later, washi was developed from it. Native Japanese painting techniques are still in use today, as well as techniques adopted from continental Asia and from the West. Schools of painting such as the Kano school of the 16th century became known for their bold brush strokes and contrast between light and dark, especially after Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu began to use this style. Famous Japanese painters include Kanō Sanraku , Maruyama Ōkyo , and Tani Bunchō . Ukiyo-e , literally means 'pictures of
6320-657: Was known outside Japan for his performances of rakugo in English. Culture of Japan The culture of Japan has changed greatly over the millennia, from the country's prehistoric Jōmon period , to its contemporary modern culture, which absorbs influences from Asia and other regions of the world. Since the Jomon period, ancestral groups like the Yayoi and Kofun, who arrived to Japan from Korea and China, respectively, have shaped Japanese culture. Rice cultivation and centralized leadership were introduced by these groups, shaping Japanese culture. Chinese dynasties, particularly
6400-565: Was small. A number of variants existed: and others. The main direction was the kōdan , the narrative stories. The beginning goes back to the beginning of the Edo period, to the Taiheiki-yomi (太平記読), the recitation of the Taiheiki . In addition, there were military stories such as the "revenge stories" (仇討物, Adauchi-mono ), "chivalric stories" (俠客物, Kyōgaku-mono ), "civic stories" (世話物), etc. When this form of lecture developed, it
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