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Begin Japanology
''Weekend Japanology'', ''Begin Japanology'', and ''Japanology Plus'' are Japanese television programs aired on NHK World, and presented by Peter Barakan. The programs explore aspects of traditional and contemporary Japan and interview experts in various fields. The series premiered under the title ''Weekend Japanology'', which was first broadcast in 2002 in Japan and beginning in other countries on April 6, 2003. Weekend Japanology is mostly talk-show style, typically hosted by Peter Barakan and Mami Kikuchi. It eventually developed into ''Begin Japanology'' (first broadcast on October 5, 2007 in Japan and in other countries on March 14, 2008) ''Japanology Plus'' (first broadcast April 3, 2014)) is the most recent show. Other than the title, little has changed in the content or format. ''Japanology Plus'' has two presenters: Peter Barakan, who guides the viewer through the show, and Matt Alt, who presents the section ‘’Plus One’’ with useful tips. The show also has an o ...
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Shinkansen
The , colloquially known in English as the bullet train, is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan. It was initially built to connect distant Japanese regions with Tokyo, the capital, to aid economic growth and development. Beyond long-distance travel, some sections around the List of metropolitan areas in Japan, largest metropolitan areas are used as a commuter rail network. It is owned by the Japan Railway Construction, Transport and Technology Agency and operated by five Japan Railways Group companies. Starting with the Tokaido Shinkansen () in 1964, the network has expanded to consist of of lines with maximum speeds of , of Mini-shinkansen lines with a maximum speed of , and of spur lines with Shinkansen services. The network links most major cities on the islands of Honshu and Kyushu, and connects to Hakodate on the northern island of Hokkaido. An extension to Sapporo is under construction and was initially scheduled to open by fiscal year 2030, but in December ...
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Kagura
is a type of Shinto ritual ceremonial dance. The term is a contraction of the phrase , indicating the presence of gods () in the practice. One major function of is , involving a procession-trance process. Usually a female shaman will perform the dance and obtain the oracle from the god—in the setting, the dancer herself turns into the god during the performance. Once strictly a ceremonial art derived from , has evolved in many directions over the span of more than a millennium. Today, it is very much a living tradition, with rituals tied to the rhythms of the agricultural calendar, thriving primarily in parts of Shimane Prefecture, and urban centers such as Hiroshima. Types of There are two major types of : and . consists of slow circular movement, stressing quiet and elegance, while consists of quick leaping and jumping, stressing activation and energy. The two types can be understood as two phases of : is a preparation process for trance and is the unconscious tr ...
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Japanese Garden
are traditional gardens whose designs are accompanied by Japanese aesthetics and philosophical ideas, avoid artificial ornamentation, and highlight the natural landscape. Plants and worn, aged materials are generally used by Japanese garden designers to suggest a natural landscape, and to express the fragility of existence as well as time's unstoppable advance. Ancient Japanese art inspired past garden designers. Water is an important feature of many gardens, as are rocks and often gravel. Despite there being many attractive Japanese flowering plants, herbaceous flowers generally play much less of a role in Japanese gardens than in the West, though seasonally flowering shrubs and trees are important, all the more dramatic because of the contrast with the usual predominant green. Evergreen plants are "the bones of the garden" in Japan. Though a natural-seeming appearance is the aim, Japanese gardeners often shape their plants, including trees, with great rigour. Japanese literatur ...
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Edo Period
The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characterized by prolonged peace and stability, urbanization and economic growth, strict social order, Isolationism, isolationist foreign policies, and popular enjoyment of Japanese art, arts and Culture of Japan, culture. In 1600, Tokugawa Ieyasu prevailed at the Battle of Sekigahara and established hegemony over most of Japan, and in 1603 was given the title ''shogun'' by Emperor Go-Yōzei. Ieyasu resigned two years later in favor of his son Tokugawa Hidetada, Hidetada, but maintained power, and defeated the primary rival to his authority, Toyotomi Hideyori, at the Siege of Osaka in 1615 before his death the next year. Peace generally prevailed from this point on, making samurai largely redundant. Tokugawa sh ...
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Rakugo
is a form of Japanese verbal comedy, traditionally performed in '' yose'' theatres. (Bibliographyvolume 38(1)article
The lone sits on a raised platform, a . Using only a and a as props, and without standing up from the seiza sitting position, the rakugo artist depicts 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.


Description

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 a narrative stunt (
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Sushi
is a traditional Japanese dish made with , typically seasoned with sugar and salt, and combined with a variety of , such as seafood, vegetables, or meat: raw seafood is the most common, although some may be cooked. While sushi comes in numerous styles and presentation, the current defining component is the vinegared rice, also known as , or . The modern form of sushi is believed to have been created by Hanaya Yohei, who invented nigiri-zushi, the most commonly recognized type today, in which seafood is placed on hand-pressed vinegared rice. This innovation occurred around 1824 in the Edo period (1603–1867). It was the fast food of the ''chōnin'' class in the Edo period. Sushi is traditionally made with medium-grain white rice, although it can also be prepared with brown rice or short-grain rice. It is commonly prepared with seafood, such as Squid as food, squid, Eel as food, eel, Japanese amberjack, yellowtail, Salmon as food, salmon, Tuna as food, tuna or Crab stick, ...
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Manga
are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics and cartooning. Outside of Japan, the word is typically used to refer to comics originally published in Japan. In Japan, people of all ages and walks of life read manga. The medium includes works in a broad range of genres: action, adventure, business and commerce, comedy, detective, drama, historical, horror, mystery, romance, science fiction and fantasy, erotica ( and ), sports and games, and suspense, among others. Many manga are translated into other languages. Since the 1950s, manga has become an increasingly major part of the Japanese publishing industry. By 1995, the manga market in Japan was valued at (), with annual sales of 1.9billion manga books and manga magazines (also known as manga anthologies) in Japan (equivale ...
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Shakuhachi
A is a Japanese longitudinal, end-blown flute that is made of bamboo. The bamboo end-blown flute now known as the was developed in Japan in the 16th century and is called the .Kotobank, Fuke shakuhachi.
The Asahi Shimbun
Kotobank, Shakuhachi.
The Asahi Shimbun
A bamboo flute known as the or was derived from the Chinese Xiao (flute), xiao in the Nara period and died out in the 10th century.
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Hiroshi Senju
is a Japanese ''Nihonga'' painter known for his large scale waterfall paintings. Biography Hiroshi Senju was born in Tokyo. He has one brother, composer Akira Senju, and one sister, violinist Mariko Senju. He completed the BFA, Tokyo University of the Arts in 1982. He completed the MFA program in Fine Arts at Tokyo University of the Arts in 1984. He completed the doctoral course at Tokyo University of the Arts in 1987. His graduation work was purchased by The University of Tokyo. The End of Dream, solo exhibition, Manly Art Gallery & Museum, Sydney, Australia was held in 1989. He is the father of artificial intelligence entrepreneur Hikari Senju. His success largely came about in the 1990s in response to his gigantic waterfall paintings. These paintings are often hung in corporate and public buildings, and Senju has been said to be one of a few artists today whose work is recognized by the general public. One of Senju’s waterfalls was the first painting by an Asian artist ...
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Japanese Mobile Phone Culture
In Japan, mobile phones became ubiquitous years before the phenomenon spread worldwide. In Japanese, mobile phones are called , literally "portable telephones", and are often known simply as ''keitai'' (携帯). A majority of the Japanese population own cellular phones, most of which are equipped with enhancements such as video and camera capabilities. As of 2018, 65% of the population owned such devices. This pervasiveness and the particularities of their usage has led to the development of a mobile phone culture, or "keitai culture", which especially in the early stages of mobile phone adoption was distinct from the rest of the world. Features Japan was a leader in mobile phone technology. The first commercial camera phone was the Kyocera Visual Phone VP-210, released in Japan in May 1999. The first mass-market camera phone was the J-SH04, a Sharp J-Phone model sold in Japan in November 2000. It could instantly transmit pictures via cell phone telecommunication. The J-Pho ...
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