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Mono No Aware
, , and also translated as , or , is a Japanese idiom for the awareness of , or transience of things, and both a transient gentle sadness (or wistfulness) at their passing as well as a longer, deeper gentle sadness about this state being the reality of life. Origins and analysis The idiom comes from Heian period literature, but was picked up and used by 18th century Edo period Japanese cultural scholar Motoori Norinaga in his literary criticism of ''The Tale of Genji,'' and later to other germinal Japanese works including the . It became central to his philosophy of literature; he saw it as the main theme of ''The Tale of Genji''. His articulation was the result of well-established poetic readings of ''The Tale of Genji'' and the concept became central to his own; ''Genji'' was "instrumental" in the term's establishment. According to Norinaga, to "know" is to have a shrewd understanding and consideration of reality and the assortment of occurrences present; to be affected by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Japanese Language
is the principal language of the Japonic languages, Japonic language family spoken by the Japanese people. It has around 123 million speakers, primarily in Japan, the only country where it is the national language, and within the Japanese diaspora worldwide. The Japonic family also includes the Ryukyuan languages and the variously classified Hachijō language. There have been many Classification of the Japonic languages, attempts to group the Japonic languages with other families such as Ainu languages, Ainu, Austronesian languages, Austronesian, Koreanic languages, Koreanic, and the now discredited Altaic languages, Altaic, but none of these proposals have gained any widespread acceptance. Little is known of the language's prehistory, or when it first appeared in Japan. Chinese documents from the 3rd century AD recorded a few Japanese words, but substantial Old Japanese texts did not appear until the 8th century. From the Heian period (794–1185), extensive waves of Sino-Ja ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Donald Richie
Donald Richie (April 17, 1924 – February 19, 2013) was an American-born author who wrote about the Japanese people, the culture of Japan, and especially Japanese cinema. Although he considered himself primarily a film historian, Richie also directed a number of experimental films, the first when he was seventeen. Biography Richie was born in Lima, Ohio. During World War II, he joined the United States Merchant Marine and served aboard Liberty ships as a purser and medical officer. By then he had already published his first work, "Tumblebugs" (1942), a short story.''Introduction'' by Leza Lowitz, in ''Botandoro'' by Donald Richie In 1947, Richie first visited Japan with the American occupation force, a job he saw as an opportunity to escape from Lima, Ohio. He first worked as a typist, and then as a civilian staff writer for the '' Pacific Stars and Stripes''. While in Tokyo, he became fascinated with Japanese culture. He was struck by the relative acceptance of gay men an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Mai Mai Miracle
is a Japanese animated film based on Nobuko Takagi's autobiography, ''Maimai Shinko''. It was produced by the animation studio Madhouse, distributed by Shochiku, and directed by Sunao Katabuchi. The film debuted at the Locarno International Film Festival in Switzerland on August 15, 2009. The movie's plot is partially based on research on Sei Shōnagon's ''The Pillow Book''. Plot background It's the spring of 1955 in Mitajiri (in the countryside around then small-town Hōfu) in Yamaguchi Prefecture, southwestern Japan. A nine-year-old girl named Shinko Aoki grew up hearing her grandfather's tales of life a thousand years ago, and is able to vividly see the past. Back then, a princess named Nagiko Kiyohara lived in the same village, at a time when the area was known as the province of Suō and its capital Kokuga. Shinko claims that her ability to see the past is a gift from the single cowlick on her forehead, which she calls her “mai mai”. Shinko invites Kiiko Shimazu, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Isao Takahata
was a Japanese director, screenwriter and producer. A co-founder of Studio Ghibli, he earned international critical acclaim for his work as a director of Japanese animated feature films. Born in Ujiyamada, Mie Prefecture, Takahata joined Toei Animation after graduating from the University of Tokyo in 1959. He worked as an assistant director, holding various positions over the years and collaborating with colleague Hayao Miyazaki, eventually directing his own film, '' The Great Adventure of Horus, Prince of the Sun'' (1968). He continued his partnership with Miyazaki, and under Nippon Animation directed the television series '' Heidi, Girl of the Alps'' (1974), ''3000 Leagues in Search of Mother'' (1976), and ''Anne of Green Gables'' (1979). Takahata, Miyazaki and others formed Studio Ghibli in 1985, where he would direct '' Grave of the Fireflies'' (1988), '' Only Yesterday'' (1991), '' Pom Poko'' (1994), and '' My Neighbors the Yamadas'' (1999). His last film as director was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Only Yesterday (1991 Film)
is a 1991 Japanese animated drama film written and directed by Isao Takahata, based on the 1982 manga ''Omoide Poro Poro'' by Hotaru Okamoto and Yuko Tone. Produced by Toshio Suzuki, it was animated by Studio Ghibli for Tokuma Shoten, Nippon Television Network and Hakuhodo, and distributed by Toho. The film follows a twenty seven year-old Taeko Okajima as she takes a holiday with her relatives in the country, during the course of her trip she reminisces about her life when she was ten. The ending theme song is a Japanese translation of Amanda McBroom's composition " The Rose". The film was released on July 20, 1991. A surprise box office success, it attracted a large adult audience and became the highest-grossing Japanese film of 1991 in the country. It has also been well received by critics outside of Japan—maintaining a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. To celebrate the film's 25th anniversary, GKIDS released the film for the first time in an English-language format on Feb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Anime
is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Japanese, describes all animated works, regardless of style or origin. Many works of animation with a Anime-influenced animation, similar style to Japanese animation are also produced outside Japan. Video games sometimes also feature themes and art styles that are sometimes labelled as anime. The earliest commercial Japanese animation dates to 1917. A characteristic art style emerged in the 1960s with the works of cartoonist Osamu Tezuka and spread in the following decades, developing a large domestic audience. Anime is distributed theatrically, through television broadcasts, Original video animation, directly to home media, and Original net animation, over the Internet. In addition to original works, anime are often adaptations of Japanese ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Kaoru Mori
is a Japanese manga artist from Tokyo and the creator of the manga series '' Shirley'', '' Emma'', and '' A Bride's Story''. Many of her works are centered on female characters in the 19th century, such as a maid in Victorian Britain and a bride in Turkic Central Asia. Career She also wrote ''dōjinshi'' (self-published manga) under the pen name as a member of the '' dōjin'' circle Lady Maid. In 2010, Mori's first published work, ''Shirley'', was revived in a two-part continuation called ''Shirley Madison'' in ''Fellows!'' (now '' Harta'') magazine. Her latest work, ''A Bride's Story'', began serialization in the same magazine in 2008 and transferred to magazine in 2021. Mori visited Finland in 2014, participating in the Animecon event held in Kuopio. The Setagaya Literary Museum in Tokyo featured her and fellow manga artist Aki Irie in an exhibition between November 2024 and February 2025. Style Mori's works are known for their high level of detail in terms of clo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Kozue Amano
is a Japanese manga artist. She is widely known as the creator of ''Aria'', which proved to be a best-selling hit, and was adapted into an anime television series consisting of 3 seasons, 2 movies and 2 OVAs. As of autumn 2010, Amano's work releases have been shifted from a monthly schedule to a seasonal one (every 3 months) owing to pregnancy and subsequent childcare. Works * (1995–1996, serialized in '' Monthly Shōnen Gangan'', Enix); (2005 reprint by Mag Garden is a Japanese publishing company that focuses on manga-related publications and is also involved in the development of anime and live-action adaptations. It was founded on June 5, 2001, by Yoshihiro Hosaka along with former manga artists of Enix ...) * – ''Amano Kozue Tanpenshū 1'', a collection of short stories (1996, Enix); (2004 reprint by Mag Garden) * (1997–2001, serialized in '' Monthly GFantasy'', Enix) * – ''Amano Kozue Tanpenshu 2'', a collection of short stories (1999, Enix); (2004 reprin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Hitoshi Ashinano
is a Japanese manga artist. He is most noted for ''Yokohama Kaidashi Kikō'', for which he won the 2007 Seiun Award for Best Science Fiction Manga. Another notable work is ''PositioN''. Prior to his debut, Ashinano worked as an assistant to manga artist Kōsuke Fujishima. Works * (2014–2017) * (2007–2013, ''Afternoon'') *''Kumabachi no koto'' (February 2007, ''Afternoon'') *''Touge'' (July 2006, ''Afternoon'') (included in the 10th volume of the new edition of Yokohama Kaidashi Kikō) *''PositioN'' (1999–2001, '' Afternoon Season Zōkan'' and '' Bessatsu Morning'') *''Turbo Type S'' (2006, tribute manga for '' E no Moto'') *''Yokohama Kaidashi Kikō is a Japanese science fiction manga series written and illustrated by Hitoshi Ashinano. It was serialized in Kodansha's ''Monthly Afternoon'' magazine from June 1994 to February 2006, with a concluding postscript episode in July 2006, and c ...'' (1994–2006, ''Afternoon'') References 1963 births Living people ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Sense
A sense is a biological system used by an organism for sensation, the process of gathering information about the surroundings through the detection of Stimulus (physiology), stimuli. Although, in some cultures, five human senses were traditionally identified as such (namely Visual perception, sight, Olfaction, smell, Somatosensory system, touch, taste, and hearing), many more are now recognized. Senses used by non-human organisms are even greater in variety and number. During sensation, sense organs collect various stimuli (such as a sound or smell) for Transduction (physiology), transduction, meaning transformation into a form that can be understood by the brain. Sensation and perception are fundamental to nearly every aspect of an organism's cognition, behavior and thought. In organisms, a sensory organ consists of a group of interrelated Sensory neuron, sensory cells that respond to a specific type of physical stimulus. Via Cranial nerves, cranial and spinal nerves (nerves ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Yasunari Kawabata
was a Japanese novelist and short story writer whose spare, lyrical, subtly-shaded prose works won him the 1968 Nobel Prize in Literature, the first Japanese author to receive the award. His works have enjoyed broad international appeal and are still widely read. Early life Born into a well-established family in Osaka, Japan, Kawabata was orphaned by the time he was four, after which he lived with his grandparents. He had an older sister who was taken in by an aunt, and whom he met only once thereafter, in July 1909, when he was ten. She died when Kawabata was 11. Kawabata's grandmother died in September 1906, when he was seven, and his grandfather in May 1914, when he was fifteen. Having lost all close paternal relatives, Kawabata moved in with his mother's family, the Kurodas. However, in January 1916, he moved into a boarding house near the junior high school (comparable to a modern high school) to which he had formerly commuted by train. After graduating in March 1917, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
