Sunday, April 26, 2009

Yunomi

Yunomi

"A yunomi (Japanese: 湯のみ) is a form of teacup, typically made from a ceramic material, being taller than wide, with a trimmed or turned foot. Unlike the more formal chawan tea bowl which is used during the Japanese tea ceremony, the yunomi is made for daily (or informal) tea drinking."

Bokeh

Bokeh

"Bokeh (derived from Japanese, a noun boke 暈け, meaning 'blurred or fuzzy') is a photographic term referring to the appearance of point of light sources in an out-of-focus area of an image produced by a camera lens using a shallow depth of field."

Monday, April 20, 2009

Eromenos

Eromenos

"In the pederastic tradition of Classical Athens, the eromenos (Greek ἐρώμενος, pl. ἐρώμενοι, "eromenoi") was an adolescent boy who was in a love relationship with an adult man, known as the erastes (ἐραστής)."

Hsin Hsin Ming

Hsin Hsing Ming
Hsin Hsin Ming - Verses on the Perfect Mind

"Xinxin Ming (alt. spellings: Xin Xin Ming or Xinxinming) (信心銘) (Wade-Giles: Hsin Hsin Ming; Japanese: Shinjinmei (or Shinjin no Mei)) a verse attributed to the Third Chinese Chan (Zen) Patriarch Jianzhi Sengcan 僧璨 (d. 606) (Wade-Giles: Chien-chih Seng-ts'an; Japanese: Kanchi Sosan), is one of the earliest Chinese Chan expressions of the Buddhist mind training practice."

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Japanese Culture - Japanese aesthetics

Japanese aesthetics

Japanese Culture - Ensō

Ensō

"Ensō (円相) is a Japanese word meaning 'circle' and a concept strongly associated with Zen."

Japanese Cuisine - Kaiseki

Kaiseki

"Kaiseki (懐石 ?) or kaiseki ryōri (懐石料理 ?) is a traditional multi-course Japanese dinner analogous to Western haute cuisine."

Japanese Culture - Hitsuzendo

Hitsuzendo

"Hitsuzendo (筆禅道 ,hitsuzendō?), or the 'Art of the Brush', is a method of achieving Samādhi (Jap.: samaai) (unification of individual with the highest reality)."

Japanese Culture - Shodo (Japanese calligraphy)

Japanese calligraphy

"Japanese calligraphy (書道 ,shodō?) is a form of calligraphy, or artistic writing, used for writing the Japanese language."

Japanese Culture - Zazen

Zazen

"Zazen (坐禅; Chinese: zuò chán pinyin or tso-chan Wade-Giles) is at the heart of Zen Buddhist practice. The aim of zazen is just sitting, 'opening the hand of thought'."

Japanise Cuisine - Kaki (Persimmon)

Persimmon

"The Japanese Persimmon or kaki (柿) (Diospyros kaki), 'shizi' (柿子) in Chinese, is the most widely cultivated species."

'known to the ancient Greeks as "the fruit of the gods"'

English Language - Astringent

Astringent

"An astringent (also spelled adstringent) substance is a chemical that tends to shrink or constrict body tissues, usually locally after topical medicinal application."

Japanese Cuisine - Arare (food)

Arare (food)

"Arare (あられ "hailstones") is a type of bite-sized Japanese cracker made from glutinous rice and flavored with soy sauce."

Japan Photos - Geisha, Geiko, and Maiko

Flickr: maiko.gallery's Photostream

Japanese History - 53 Stations of the Tōkaidō

53 Stations of the Tōkaidō

"The 53 Stations of the Tōkaidō (東海道五十三次 ,Tōkaidō Gojūsan-tsugi?) are the rest areas along the Tōkaidō, which was a coastal route that ran from Nihonbashi in Edo (modern-day Tokyo) to Sanjō Ōhashi in Kyoto."

Japanese Culture - Ateji

Ateji

"In modern Japanese, ateji (当て字, 宛字 or あてじ ?) are kanji used phonetically to represent native or borrowed words."

Japan (Asia) Photos

Okinawa Soba's Photostream

Japan Photos - Geiko, Geisha, and Maiko

Miegiku's Photostream

Japan Photos - Ochaya and Yakata of Kyoto

Ochaya and Yakata of Kyoto

Japanese History - Oiran, Tayu, and Kamuro

Oiran

"Among the oiran, the tayū (太夫 or 大夫 ?) was considered the highest rank of courtesan or prostitute, and were considered suitable for the daimyo."

Don't forget Kamuro! (ref?)

Science - Biocomplexity

Biocomplexity

"Biocomplexity is the study of complex structures and behaviors that arise from nonlinear interactions of active biological agents, which may range in scale from molecules to cells to organisms."

Japanese History - Mōri Motonari

Mōri Motonari

"He had three sons, Mōri Takamoto, Kikkawa Motoharu, and Kobayakawa Takakage, whom he encouraged to work together for the benefit of the Mōri clan. In one instance, he is said to have handed each of his sons an arrow and asked each snap it. After each snapped his arrow, Motonari produced three arrows and asked his sons to snap all three at once. When they were unable to do so (according to a legend still taught today), Motonari explained that one arrow could be broken easily, but three arrows held together could not."