Japanese Discovery

Japanese Discovery

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This is a club for all that is Japan related that is not anime or manga. (The rest of the forum is dedicated to that!) This is a club to discover Japanese culture by posting videos, webpages and other things Japan related.


Come join, explore the true culture, lifestyle, history, and beauty of Japan!
UNDERSTAND THE WORLD BETTER!

You can find more information from the Japanese National Travel Agency [JNTO]
http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/


Administration ~

Keichii Morisato

 

Hope everyone had a great weekend! Today's cultural note is about yukata (ゆかた- 浴衣)

Notes: Literally meaning "bathing clothes," a yukata is like a lightweight, simplified kimono, and its name reflects its traditional purpose as a means of getting to and from the ofuro with a minimum of clothing. At ryokan, or traditional Japanese inns, which are often built around the sites of naturally occurring hot springs, your room will come with yukata available for use during your stay, and you'll see guests cruising around in them as they make their way to and from the communal onsen for an evening soak. However, the yukata isn't just for bath time -- they turn out to be the perfect attire for the hot and humid months of a Japanese summer, their easy, breezy style both beautiful and comfortable. Especially during summer festivals, it's common to see both men and women strolling around in this traditional Japanese garment.
Content information provided by Human Japanese

 

Cultural Note:
O-mikuji (おみくじ- 御神籤)
Meaning: Printed fortune at Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples in Japan. Available all year, but especially popular during New Year's celebrations, O-mikuji are small booklets that you draw from a box and which purport to foretell what will happen in various parts of your life -- health, finances, love, and so on -- over the following year. Japanese people are not particularly superstitious and take this with varying amounts of seriousness, but it still feels good to draw a positive fortune. If you get a good one, you're supposed to bring it back home. If you happen to get an unfortunate O-mikuji, the tradition is to tie it to a tree specified for that purpose. In the photo, a traveler draws a Dai-Kichi, the best possible category out of 12 that range from "Great blessing" to "Great curse." But whatever you draw, the O-mikuji tradition is a fun part of Japanese shrine and temple culture.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O-mikuji

Photos by Keiji Koizumi

 

cell phone culture in japan
keitai denwa (携帯電話) literally "portable telephones," and are often known simply as keitai. As many people have cell-phones in Japan including more than 30% of students in elementary school , and more than 50% in middle school , this has to lead to the development of a mobile phone culture, or "keitai culture."
The keitai is shown in many anime shows


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_mobile_phone_culture

 

PHOTO OF THE WEEK
Summertime is in full bloom with Japanese hydrangeas at the Hakusan Shrine in Tokyo. About 3000 colorful hydrangeas begin blooming and will create a beautiful scene in this month. The shrine is a famous place where you can relax and enjoy the beginning of summer with stunning hydrangeas

 

Thank you BK

PHOTO OF THE WEEK
Susukino in Sapporo is Japan's largest entertainment district north of Tokyo. It is packed with stores, bars, restaurants, karaoke shops, pachinko parlors and clubs. Of special interest to noodle lovers is the Ramen Yokocho, a narrow lane lined with shops serving Sapporo's famous ramen. In February, Susukino serves as a site of the Snow Festival, hosting an ice sculpture competition.

 

Human Japanese

Cultural Note: If you were raised to eat your noodles with a minimum of noise and commotion, you might be surprised to find this rule being flagrantly violated at every Japanese noodle shop. Unlike Western manners, slurping one's noodles, be they ramen, soba, or udon, is not only allowed, it's actually encouraged. And, even though your mother might disapprove, it's also completely normal to lift the bowl to your mouth as you gulp down all the delicious goodness. Interestingly, this only goes for Japanese noodles. If you walk into an Italian or French bistro, you'll find the patrons twirling the pasta on their forks with the best of them. But pop over to the ramen shop next door and it's a different story as every single customer demonstrates a truly remarkable ability to almost inhale their meal. So remember, when in Japan, imitate the locals and slurp up!

Picture source: http://www.madameriri.com/2013/02/04/外人にはできない？日本で初めて「麺すする体験/

 

Human Japanese

Cultural Note: Tanabata (たなばた - 七夕) What if a tale of star-crossed lovers were actually about…stars? The festival of Tanabata, held July 7 (though this can vary by region), is based on the story of Orihime and Hikoboshi, who correspond to the stars Vega and Altair. After meeting, they fell so madly in love that they ignored all their other responsibilities. This caused Orihime's father to separate the two by putting them on opposite sides of the Milky Way ('Ama-no-gawa', "River of the heavens"). Orihime cried until her father relented and allowed the two to meet once a year, at the festival of Tanabata. Festivities vary by locale, but one defining feature is that people (usually children but adults as well) write their wishes on strips of paper and then tie them to bamboo trees. Tanabata is a well-loved festival, and newscasters are always sure to mention how well various parts of Japan will be able to see the Milky Way on the night of Tanabata. Perhaps if you're in Japan on July 7, you'll look up and catch a glimpse of Orihime and Hikoboshi out on their annual date.

Picture source: http://plaza.rakuten.co.jp/rain23/diary/200707060000/ & http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanabata

 

I need dis!

Visit Japan
PHOTO OF THE WEEK
Yunohama Hot-spring in Yamagata prefecture, one of the prominent hot-spring villages facing the Sea of Japan.
There is a white sand beach where you can play marine sports, and the place is well known as a popular resort area.
Many people visit there to enjoy the hot-springs and the stunning beach during summer. Ahhh....

 

Visit Japan
GOOGLE DOODLE HOLIDAY!
Today, July 7th, is a Tanabata in Japan. Tanabata (七夕, meaning "Evening of the seventh") is a Japanese star festival, originating from the Chinese Qixi Festival. It celebrates the meeting of the deities Orihime and Hikoboshi (represented by the stars Vega and Altair respectively). According to legend, the Milky Way separates these lovers, and they are allowed to meet only once a year on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month of the lunisolar calendar. The date of Tanabata varies by region of the country, but the first festivities begin on July 7 of the Gregorian calendar.

 

PHOTO OF THE WEEK
Kitsuki Castle (Kitsuki-jo) stands on top of a plateau roughly 100 feet high overlooking Morie Bay, east of the city of Kitsuki in Oita Prefecture. Many people say that the castle looks like a cow lying down. What do you think?
>> http://tinyurl.com/mrfvjge

 

Human Japanese
Japanese Food: Menchi katsu (メンチカツ) Time to learn two new words that combine to create one delicious dish. 'Menchi' comes from the English word "mince" and refers to a ground meat, often beef, pork, or chicken. By itself, the word is often also 'minchi,' but in this dish, it's usually 'menchi.' The word 'katsu' comes from the English word "cutlet," and as used in Japanese, refers to a breaded and fried strip or small cut of meat. Putting these two together, you might guess that 'menchi katsu' will be a breaded and fried dish made from a ground meat mixture (as opposed to whole meat cuts), and you would be correct! As is customary, into this ground meat mixture will go a host of delicious spices. Watch the video below to see a beautiful batch being created.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFETdlfkNGA

 

Sounds good. Om nom nom.

 

Looks good too

 

Cube-shaped watermelons are on display at a store in Tokyo Midtown. The melons come from an agricultural cooperative in Zentsuji, Kagawa Prefecture, which ships about 600 nationwide, with a price tag of 15,750 yen. The melons are grown this way by being put into cubes of translucent plastic while still on the vine. The idea was originally to make it easier for them to fit into refrigerators.

 

Human Japanese
Cultural Note: Sotsugyou (Graduation, そつぎょう, 卒業）- The school year in Japan starts in April and runs (with a short summer break and other holidays) through March of the following year. Graduations ceremonies, therefore, are always in March, the same time of year as the cherry trees start blooming. Because of this, there is a strong mental association between the sakura blossom and that sense of "between-ness"--the goodbyes to the old and the hellos to the new--that is a part of graduation, and this imagery shows up frequently in poetry and song lyrics.

Photo by Keiji Koizumi

 

Visit Japan
PHOTO OF THE WEEK
Hello from Minato Mirai, Yokohama's waterfront playground! More here >> http://ow.ly/n8o9i

 

Human Japanese
Cultural Note: Obi (おび - 帯) Meaning: Sash or belt. This word can refer to the sash of a kimono or yukata, which is tied in various ways to create beautiful and distinctive bows and shapes.

It also can refer to the belts in martial arts. A "black belt" is a 'kuro-obi."

More information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obi_%28sash%29

 

Human Japanese
Japanese Food: Tori no karaage (とりの　からあげ - 鳥の　唐揚げ ) Fried chicken is one of those classics it seems that just about everyone loves, and Japan is no different. Unlike a bucket from KFC (which has a presence in Japan and is popular), however, the Japanese dish 'tori no karaage' usually means small chunks of boneless chicken. Because this is Japan after all, the spice mixture make use of soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger, garlic, and sake. Yummy!

On a language-related side note, the 'tori' from this name sounds like the generic word for "bird," but when it comes to food, this word almost always means chicken specifically, and in this case it is usually (though not always) written with the character 鶏.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEX_rCVTPKE