Culture
Japanese Literature
Japanese literature spans a period of almost two millennia of writing. Early work was heavily influenced by Chinese literature, but Japan quickly…
Culture
Culture
Japanese Folk Music
There are four main kinds of Japanese folk songs (min'yō): work songs, religious songs (such as sato kagura, a form of Shintoist music), songs used for…
Culture
Lecture by Mr Fusanosuke NATSUME
Mr Fusanosuke NATSUME is the foremost manga (comic) critic of today and one of the few who systematically critiques Japanese manga and its industry. In…
Culture
Shakuhachi History
The bamboo flute first came to Japan from China via Korea. The shakuhachi proper, however, is quite distinct from its continental ancestors, the result of…
Culture
Shakuhachi
The shakuhachi (尺八 in Japanese, pronounced /shakoo-hatchee/) is a Japanese end-blown flute which is held vertically like a recorder instead of being held…
Culture
Shamisen
A shamisen or samisen (Japanese: 三味線, literally "three taste strings"), also called sangen (literally "three strings") is a three-stringed musical…
Culture
Sumo
Sumo (相撲 Sumō, alternatively 大相撲 Ōzumō), or Sumo wrestling, is a competition contact sport wherein two wrestlers or rikishi face off in a circular area.…
Culture
Samurai
Samurai (侍 or sometimes 士) is a common term for a warrior in pre-industrial Japan. A more appropriate term is bushi (武士) (lit. "war-man") which came into…
Culture
History Japanese Tea Ceremony
Though it is not native to the country, the drinking of tea was introduced to Japan in the 9th century CE by a Buddhist monk from China, where it had…
Culture
Types of ceremony
Two main schools, the Omotesenke and Urasenke, have evolved, each with its own prescribed rituals. There are also other, lesser-known schools. Currently,…
Culture
Japanese Tea Ceremony
The Japanese tea ceremony (cha-no-yu, chado, or sado) is a traditional ritual influenced by Zen Buddhism in which powdered green tea, or matcha (抹茶), is…
Culture
Takuma Sato - Interview
Japanese Lifestyle had an exclusive interview with Takuma Sato, F1 driver for British American Racing, while he was in Melbourne for the 2004 Melbourne…