Posts Tagged ‘japan’
Ninja -The Ancient Warriors Of Feudal Japan
Written by MichaelZ on February 17, 2011 – 4:25 am -Ninja were the ultimate warriors of feudal Japan. A history from the Ninja is hard to trace. For the reason that there was few, if any records kept of the existence. Most of what’s known in regards to the Ninja is extracted from stories that have been passed on from generation to generation.
Nonuse was initially unveiled in Japan in 522 A.D. being a religion practiced by priests. These priests were not violent people, these were “mystics” who gathered and shared information for your ruling classes. The Ninja as we know them were not introduced until later. It wasn’t until 645 A.D. that the priests perfected their fighting skills making it utilization of their understanding of nonuse. This is given that they found themselves being harassed through the central government and located in required to protect themselves. In 794-1192 A.D. the newest civilization flourished is actually it, a fresh class of wealthy, privileged families. These families fought collectively in tries to make or destroy emperors. The requirement for spies, informants now assassins grew because they families dueled for power. They were suspicious and jealous of just one another and would make use of any means important to eliminate any possible threats. Therefore, the practitioners of nonuse were in great demand. Using this, the Ninja was created.
Because the Ninja gained popularity, so did the stories of their superhuman abilities. This reputation was often encouraged with the Ninja themselves. Since they were a relatively weaker people then their counterparts, the Samurai, and were susceptible to attack from the many warring families around them, it turned out for their benefit to have others believe that they had such powers. Powers like having the effectiveness of ten men, capacity to develop into animals, fly and turn invisible when needed. The Ninja movies also included with the relevant skills by having the Ninja jump over buildings in a single jump, catch bullets of their teeth, and pay attention to into the future.
At this point you must understand the Samurai to truly understand just why the Ninja were so effective along with such demand. The Samurai’s life was to “live from the sword, die by the sword”, without having concern with death in any respect. His sword was his very existence, his soul. With this particular he followed the warrior?s code of honor, the Bushido. The bushido was to be followed constantly. In case a Samurai were to stray in the code although then commit seppuku, another term for hara-kiri. This is a ritual suicide where they will cut their stomach open making use of their smaller sword. The Ninja followed no such code. Their only code was to do whatever it takes to have the job done. This gave the Ninja a terrific advantage without delay, adds the use of a wide variety of weapons and you have an outstanding warrior. Considering that the Samurai can’t sneak into an enemy’s house, given it was against their code, they are able to not carry out such tasks as assassination and sabotage. This is how Ninjas arrived. Of course , if that meant sneaking up behind a Samurai warrior and killing him before he even knew he what food was in danger which was very permissible from the Ninja. The bushido could not allow for this. Because of this the Samurai were scared of the Ninja. A fear the Ninja had earned.
Tags: Ancient, japan, ninja, ninjasPosted in Air Travel | Comments Off
What Japan really has to offer
Written by MichaelZ on January 8, 2010 – 5:51 am -In a land renowned for innovative technology, are we justified in being shocked that they have the most complicated public toilets as well? Concentrating on comfort, cleanliness and even trying to ease humiliation, Jap toilets are far beyond what most expect, though for anybody living there, these should be fast turning into the norm.
Of course we cannot go into the health befits of the squat toilets from yesteryears that are still common here, but are actually not as innovative as you’d hope from the Japanese. Those you’d find in other Asian nations as well, mostly in villages though.
When it comes to a bit of innovation, it starts here by getting shot of humiliation. Talk about the pain of knowing somebody is in a stall next to you and can basically hear you making some funny sounds ; funny to them but embarrassing for you. Japanese tech people have cured this by making a device frequently known as a ‘Sound Princess’. Found in just about all of the device, when turned on, literally sounds like a flushing toilet, drowning out any other sound that could be made when using the facilities. This makes sure that even the shyest of people can relax, knowing no-one can hear them.
What Japan actually has to offer in modern toilets industry, if you want to name it that, are the washlets having a variety of features to delight everybody ( yes, we are still speaking toilets ). The control panel for the Washlet might remind you of something you may see in a spaceship; these toilets may look normal, but are anything but normal.
A common feature on each is a bidet, which can be mixed with toilet paper, or used on its own to bathe everything and everything. Most have 2 nozzles, with adjustable water pressure to each area, carefully cleaning without being uncomfortable. Many Washlets have built in dryers, making toilet paper unnecessary. Comfort doesn’t stop here though , with heaters attached, cold seats are a thing of the past. Some models actually have automated lid opening, closing and flushing, catering to males and females with the push of a button.
Making those certain visits to the loo isn’t welcomed by any one, but Eastern have made all of it an experience worth trying. The sole main problem that most travellers face in these toilets is the language barrier. The control panels have Japanese instructions and once seated getting up can become hard. There’s no query though that these toilets are catching up in the remainder of the world as well, even the hitech man in black, Will Smith, when building his place got the Japanese to supply his toilets.
For more information about travel and useful tips for tourists, visit famouswonders.com and check out Daitokuji Temple.
Tags: gossip, japan, toilets, touristsPosted in Air Travel | Comments Off
Latern Light and Japanese Culture
Written by MichaelZ on January 8, 2010 – 5:50 am -“We may simply have lost our appreciation for handmade goods.” Igarashi san has been making chochin paper lanterns in his little shop for his entire life. His pop too, and his grandfatherand great granddad and even great, great granddad. The tools & equipment that surround him today, in truth, have outlasted his ancestors, their wooden surfaces worn smooth with age. Since the beginning of the Meiji age ( 1868 - 1912) Kanazawa voters have been buying Igarashi chochin from the store, in the heart of old Kanazawa’s merchant district, near the back of the castle. The shelves are stacked high with beautifully decorated lanterns - vibrant bursts of color peppering the dusty confines of the tiny workshop.
Chochin lanterns have a reasonably long history in Japan - there is evidence of them being used in temples in the 10th century - and were used basically as a portable means of lighting. Only occasionally used within, they customarily hung outside a place, church or business or else in the entrance, ready to be postponed on a pole and carried before anyone going out at night. Igarashi-san reckons that at a previous point they were so generally used there would be been around forty or fifty chochin shops just in Kanazawa. These days there remain only himself and one other local craftsman in the trade and the other fellow ( Matsuda-san ) has long since diversified, making standard umbrellas his mainstay.
Making a chochin is a fiddly, fairly delicate procedure despite the attractively the attractively straightforward appearance of the end product. And, when asked what are the most vital qualities in his profession Igarashi-san replies, his bright eyes dead heavy, “patience and concentration.” The average sized lantern according to Igarashi-san, at roughly thirty cm across, can be produced at a rate of roughly 2 a day by one man including the majority of the painting. However some actually huge ones have left the Igarashi shop over time - his largest was a matsuri monster measuring five shaku ( one shaku = 30.3cm in the old Japanese measuring system) in diameter with an intricate year of the rabbit design on it. The old lantern maker is hard-headed about the fact that people want cheaper, mass-produced, plastic covered lanterns today - he even sells them himself - but he is confident in the knowledge that a well-made paper lantern is a nice thing, superior in many ways to these garish modern impostors.
“You can correct a good chochin,” he tells us, “you can replace one rib or fix a hole in the paper no problem.” “Plastic lanterns have no internal frame and can not be patched.” A paper lantern regardless of how well made lasts only about a year (natural beauty is always fleeting) whereas a plastic one might last twice that and cost half as much. On top of that, we as a society may have simply lost our appreciation for handmade products. Price has become our main incentive as customers. We do not care to grasp how things were made nowadays, or who made them, or else Igarashisan would be the prosperous head of a chain of shops.
The walls of the Igarashi Chochinya and his ready-to-hand scrapbook sport countless monochrome pictures and press clippings showing a proud, broad-shouldered young man with powerful, thick arms and a fetching grin showing off classy paper spheres with matsuri lights glimmering in the background. Humbly showing us them, his warm, friendly grin only slips a little as he tells us that he’s going to be the last of his family line making lanterns here.
Do you love to see the world? Want to see some of the best places in the world? Visit famouswonders.com to get an idea of where to go for your next vacation. Make sure to also check out Mount Fuji information.
Tags: culture, heritage, japan, japanesePosted in Air Travel | Comments Off