Welcome to the Japanese New Year
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A 5 Day Tokyo Itinerary
What To Do In Tokyo - A 5 Day Tokyo Itinerary by NERD NOMADS NerdNomads.com Tokyo has been on our bucket list for many years, and when we nally booked tickets to Japan we planned to stay ve days in Tokyo thinking this would be more than enough. But we fell head over heels in love with this metropolitan city, and ended up spending weeks exploring this strange and fascinating place! Tokyo has it all – all sorts of excellent and corky museums, grand temples, atmospheric shrines and lovely zen gardens. It is a city lled with Japanese history, but also modern, futuristic neo sci- streetscapes that make you feel like you’re a part of the Blade Runner movie. Tokyo’s 38 million inhabitants are equally proud of its ancient history and culture, as they are of its ultra-modern technology and architecture. Tokyo has a neighborhood for everyone, and it sure has something for you. Here we have put together a ve-day Tokyo itinerary with all the best things to do in Tokyo. If you don’t have ve days, then feel free to cherry pick your favorite days and things to see and do, and create your own two or three day Tokyo itinerary. Here is our five day Tokyo Itinerary! We hope you like it! Maria & Espen Nerdnomads.com Day 1 – Meiji-jingu Shrine, shopping and Japanese pop culture Areas: Harajuku – Omotesando – Shibuya The public train, subway, and metro systems in Tokyo are superb! They take you all over Tokyo in a blink, with a net of connected stations all over the city. -
Japanese New Year
Japanese New Year New Year (shogatsu or oshogatsu) is the most important holiday in Japan. Most businesses shut down from January 1 to January 3, and families typically gather to spend the days together. Years are traditionally viewed as completely separate, with each new year providing a fresh start. Consequently, all duties are supposed to be completed by the end of the year, while bonenkai parties ("year forgetting parties") are held with the purpose of leaving the old year's worries and troubles behind. Homes and entrance gates are decorated with ornaments made of pine, bamboo and plum trees, and clothes and houses are cleaned. On New Year's eve, toshikoshi soba (buckwheat noodles), symbolizing longevity, are served. A more recent custom is watching the music show "kohaku uta gassen", a highly popular television program featuring many of Japan's most famous J-pop and enka singers in spectacular performances. January 1 is a very auspicious day, best started by viewing the new year's first sunrise (hatsu-hinode), and traditionally believed to be representative for the whole year that has just commenced. Therefore, the day is supposed be full of joy and free of stress and anger, while everything should be clean and no work should be done. It is a tradition to visit a shrine or temple during shogatsu (hatsumode). The most popular temples and shrines, such as Tokyo's Meiji Shrine, attract several million people during the three days. Most impressive are such visits at the actual turn of the year, when large temple bells are rung at midnight. -
Elements of the Ubranscape in Tokyo
Teka Kom. Arch. Urb. Stud. Krajobr. – OL PAN, 2012, VIII/1, 75-92 ELEMENTS OF THE UBRANSCAPE IN TOKYO Ewa Maria Kido CTI Engineering Co., Ltd. Consulting Engineers, 2-15-1 Nihonbashi Ningyocho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, Japan e-mail: [email protected] Abstract. Tokyo Metropolis (Tōkyō-to) of 13 mln people, crowded, colored, noisy, made of very freely designed buildings, with railway loop line separating the inner center from the outer center – from one side is similar to other large metropolises in Japan, and from another – being a capitol and having the Imperial Palace as its symbolical center, is unique. This article discusses elements of urbanscape, such as transportation infrastructure – roads and railways; junctions and city centers – neighborhoods; urban interiors – streets and squares; border lines and belts – rivers, parks; do- minant urban structures, outstanding elements – landmarks, and characteristic sights, that contrib- ute to aesthetic appeal of the landscape of Tokyo. The conclusion is that although both European cities and Tokyo have well-functioning centers, as well as sub-centers of the polycentric metropo- lises, their forms are differing because they reflect local urban planning, aesthetics, and culture. Key words: urbanscape, urban planning, Tokyo, elements of urbanscape, urban landscape INTRODUCTION Urban landscape is a combination of a city’s form and contents that includes natural and built environment. As an outcome of urban and landscape design, it involves arrangement and functioning of cities, with particular focus on architec- ture, infrastructure and green zones. Design of urban space has become increas- ingly important for the long-term development and well-being of urban commu- nities, and can provide cities with a unique identity. -
Shinjuku Park Tower : Access Map Park Hyatt Tokyo/Living Design Center Ozone/The Conran Shop Shinjuku/Park Tower Hall
SHINJUKU PARK TOWER : ACCESS MAP PARK HYATT TOKYO/LIVING DESIGN CENTER OZONE/THE CONRAN SHOP SHINJUKU/PARK TOWER HALL By train ● Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line ● Toei Oedo Line ● JR Shinjuku Station 12 minutes walk Nishi-Shinjuku Station Shinjuku Nishiguchi Station ● Toei Shinjuku Line, Keio New Line Shinjuku Station 10 minutes walk Shinjuku I-LAND ● Keio New Line Hatsudai Station 8 minutes walk Shinjuku Nomura Bldg. Odakyu halc ● Toei Oedo Line Tochomae Station 8 minutes walk Hilton-Tokyo L-Tower Studio ALTA ● Odakyu Line Sangubashi Station 10 minutes walk Shinjuku Mitsui Bldg. Shuttle bus stop ● Kinokuniya Book Tokyo Metro Shinjuku Center Bldg. Isetan Sumitomo Bldg. Marunouchi Line Shinjuku Station Shinjuku Mitsukoshi ALCOTT Hyatt Regency Tokyo Shinjuku Station ●Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line By bus ●Tokyo Metro Hukutoshin Line Kumano Jinjya Shinjuku Post Office ●JR line Shinjuku 3 Chome Station Keio Plaza Hotel ●Odakyu line By Keio Bus from JR Shinjuku Station (West Exit, No.21) "S01 Shinjuku Metropolitan ● Toei Oedo Line Keio Bus ●Keio line Otsuka furniture shop Loop" to Park Hyatt Tokyo A4 Tochomae Station Tokyo Metropolitan ■Shuttle Bus Service Juniso St. Shinjuku Central Park Main Building No.1 Shinjuku high school South Exit A shuttle bus service is available between SHINJUKU PARK TOWER and the Bank of Nishi-Shinjuku 1-Chome Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ on the first floor of the L Tower (Shinjuku Station West Exit) Shinjuku NS Bldg. (Shuttle buses leave every 10-15 minutes from 10:10a.m.) Shinjuku Central Park South KDDI Bldg. Koshu-Kaido Ave. ● Tokyo Metropolitan Toei Oedo Line Takashimaya Times Square Monday/Tuesday/Thursday 10:10～19:20 at interval of ten to fifteen minute Main Building No.2 ● Shinjuku Station Toei Shinjuku Line・ Friday/Saturday/Sunday 10:10～19:50 at interval of ten to fifteen minute Keio New Line Washington Hotel Shinjuku Station Wednesday 10:10～16:50 at interval of fifteen minute Nishi-Shinjuku Shuto Expressway Shinjukugyoen Tsunohazu kumin Shinjuku Ramp Center Mae Bunka Univ. -
Shinto Ritual Building Practices
Shinto Ritual Building Practices Philip E. Harding History of Art 681 The Ohio State University Shinto, the native religion of Japan, is a very diverse tradition yet one unified by certain ritual practices. Roughly speaking, Shinto can be divided into “folk Shinto” and “shrine Shinto,” but even within these divisions can be found considerable diversity. Every village has its own local traditions that operate independently from, yet related to the shrine tradition. (The folk activities take place on land owned by the shrine.) Within the shrine system there is also diversity, and today we can readily identify at least eighteen separate cults, each with its own style of shrine building1. Within Japan’s own official histories the shrine tradition, particularly the Imperial shrine tradition, has been given the most attention. This tradition experienced continental influences from China and was the one with which the Japanese upper class identified itself. Japan’s folk traditions, practiced in the locale where they first evolved, have largely gone without reference in Japan’s history of art and architecture. Both traditions, however, embrace many related themes and practices. One can find formal dualities expressed in the design of the folk forms and layouts of shrine buildings, as well as some shared motifs such as a “heart pillar.” Most significantly, both traditions periodically build and re-build sacred structures so that the particular built forms are simultaneously ephemeral and enduring – sharing in a kind of temporal immortality. These periodic rebuilding practices serve to reinforce cultural memory and place individuals into the larger stream of sacred time which transcends the temporal, constantly changing world of mortal time. -
Teacher's Guide
Year of the Monkey TEACHER’S GUIDE Journey with Newspapers In Education and Wing Luke Museum to learn how different Asian Americans celebrate New Year’s. 121110886_04 INTRODUCTION This Wing Luke Museum teacher’s guide accompanies Chapters 1-3 of the three-week series in The Seattle Times. Journey with Newspapers In Education and Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience and learn about New Year celebrations for Asian ethnic communities in the Pacific Northwest. Families in these communities have maintained some of the cultural traditions and celebrations of their ancestral homelands, while living here in Seattle. One of the most important celebrations to Asian Americans is the New Year. You will learn about some of the customs for the Japanese New Year, the Vietnamese New Year and the Hmong New Year. Students will also have the opportunity to discuss and share their own family and cultural traditions, and to dive into deeper discussions and writing assignments regarding the history of immigration, culture, food, celebrations, traditions and cultural stereotypes in the American media of Asian and Pacific Islanders. NOTE TO EDUCATORS The first section of Lessons 1-3 were written for K-5th grade classes and are extensions of the articles printed in The Seattle Times on Jan. 29, Feb. 5, and Feb. 12, 2016. The second sections of Lessons 1–3 and Lessons 4–6 were written at a 4th–9th grade level and refer back to the article series on Asian New Year’s printed in January 2013. The 2013 series is posted at nie.seattletimes.com. -
The Otaku Phenomenon : Pop Culture, Fandom, and Religiosity in Contemporary Japan
University of Louisville ThinkIR: The University of Louisville's Institutional Repository Electronic Theses and Dissertations 12-2017 The otaku phenomenon : pop culture, fandom, and religiosity in contemporary Japan. Kendra Nicole Sheehan University of Louisville Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.library.louisville.edu/etd Part of the Comparative Methodologies and Theories Commons, Japanese Studies Commons, and the Other Religion Commons Recommended Citation Sheehan, Kendra Nicole, "The otaku phenomenon : pop culture, fandom, and religiosity in contemporary Japan." (2017). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 2850. https://doi.org/10.18297/etd/2850 This Doctoral Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by ThinkIR: The University of Louisville's Institutional Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ThinkIR: The University of Louisville's Institutional Repository. This title appears here courtesy of the author, who has retained all other copyrights. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE OTAKU PHENOMENON: POP CULTURE, FANDOM, AND RELIGIOSITY IN CONTEMPORARY JAPAN By Kendra Nicole Sheehan B.A., University of Louisville, 2010 M.A., University of Louisville, 2012 A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences of the University of Louisville in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Humanities Department of Humanities University of Louisville Louisville, Kentucky December 2017 Copyright 2017 by Kendra Nicole Sheehan All rights reserved THE OTAKU PHENOMENON: POP CULTURE, FANDOM, AND RELIGIOSITY IN CONTEMPORARY JAPAN By Kendra Nicole Sheehan B.A., University of Louisville, 2010 M.A., University of Louisville, 2012 A Dissertation Approved on November 17, 2017 by the following Dissertation Committee: __________________________________ Dr. -
Through the Case of Izumo Taishakyo Mission of Hawaii
The Japanese and Okinawan American Communities and Shintoism in Hawaii: Through the Case of Izumo Taishakyo Mission of Hawaii A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE DIVISION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAIʽI AT MĀNOA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN AMERICAN STUDIES MAY 2012 By Sawako Kinjo Thesis Committee: Dennis M. Ogawa, Chairperson Katsunori Yamazato Akemi Kikumura Yano Keywords: Japanese American Community, Shintoism in Hawaii, Izumo Taishayo Mission of Hawaii To My Parents, Sonoe and Yoshihiro Kinjo, and My Family in Okinawa and in Hawaii Acknowledgement First and foremost, I would like to express my deep and sincere gratitude to my committee chair, Professor Dennis M. Ogawa, whose guidance, patience, motivation, enthusiasm, and immense knowledge have provided a good basis for the present thesis. I also attribute the completion of my master’s thesis to his encouragement and understanding and without his thoughtful support, this thesis would not have been accomplished or written. I also wish to express my warm and cordial thanks to my committee members, Professor Katsunori Yamazato, an affiliate faculty from the University of the Ryukyus, and Dr. Akemi Kikumura Yano, an affiliate faculty and President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Japanese American National Museum, for their encouragement, helpful reference, and insightful comments and questions. My sincere thanks also goes to the interviewees, Richard T. Miyao, Robert Nakasone, Vince A. Morikawa, Daniel Chinen, Joseph Peters, and Jikai Yamazato, for kindly offering me opportunities to interview with them. It is a pleasure to thank those who made this thesis possible. -
Representations of Pleasure and Worship in Sankei Mandara Talia J
Mapping Sacred Spaces: Representations of Pleasure and Worship in Sankei mandara Talia J. Andrei Submitted in partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Columbia University 2016 © 2016 Talia J.Andrei All rights reserved Abstract Mapping Sacred Spaces: Representations of Pleasure and Worship in Sankei Mandara Talia J. Andrei This dissertation examines the historical and artistic circumstances behind the emergence in late medieval Japan of a short-lived genre of painting referred to as sankei mandara (pilgrimage mandalas). The paintings are large-scale topographical depictions of sacred sites and served as promotional material for temples and shrines in need of financial support to encourage pilgrimage, offering travelers worldly and spiritual benefits while inspiring them to donate liberally. Itinerant monks and nuns used the mandara in recitation performances (etoki) to lead audiences on virtual pilgrimages, decoding the pictorial clues and touting the benefits of the site shown. Addressing themselves to the newly risen commoner class following the collapse of the aristocratic order, sankei mandara depict commoners in the role of patron and pilgrim, the first instance of them being portrayed this way, alongside warriors and aristocrats as they make their way to the sites, enjoying the local delights, and worship on the sacred grounds. Together with the novel subject material, a new artistic language was created— schematic, colorful and bold. We begin by locating sankei mandara’s artistic roots and influences and then proceed to investigate the individual mandara devoted to three sacred sites: Mt. Fuji, Kiyomizudera and Ise Shrine (a sacred mountain, temple and shrine, respectively). -
Territoriality by Folk Boundaries and Social-Geographical Conditions in Shinto-Buddhist, Catholic, and Hidden Christian Rural Communities on Hirado Island, Western Japan
Geographical Review of Japan Series B 92(2): 51–71 (2019) Original Article The Association of Japanese Geographers Territoriality by Folk Boundaries http://www.ajg.or.jp and Social-Geographical Conditions in Shinto-Buddhist, Catholic, and Hidden Christian Rural Communities on Hirado Island, Western Japan IMAZATO Satoshi Faculty of Humanities, Kyushu University; Fukuoka 819–0395, Japan. E-mail: [email protected] Received December 10, 2018; Accepted November 24, 2019 Abstract This article explores how the sense of territoriality and various background conditions of Japanese rural communities affect the emergence of folk boundaries, which are viewed here as the contours of residents’ cognitive territory represented by religion-based symbolic markers. Specifically, I look at how the particular social-geograph- ical conditions of different communities create diverse conceptions of such boundaries, including the presence or absence of the boundaries, within the same region. Here, I focus on three Japanese villages encompassing seven local religious communities of Shinto-Buddhists, Catholics, and former Hidden Christians on Hirado Island in Kyushu. These villages are viewed respectively as examples of contrastive coexistence, degeneration, and expansion in territoriality. Among the seven religious communities, only those believing in Shinto-Buddhism, as well as Hid- den Christianity, have maintained their folk boundaries. These communities satisfy the conditions of an agglomer- ated settlement form, a size generally larger than ten households, a location isolated from other communities within the village, and strong social integration. In contrast, Catholics have not constructed such boundaries based on their historical process of settlement. However, they have influenced the forms of Shinto-Buddhists’ territoriality, although not those of Hidden Christians. -
Contemporary Popular Beliefs in Japan
Hugvísindasvið Contemporary popular beliefs in Japan Ritgerð til B.A.-prófs Lára Ósk Hafbergsdóttir September 2010 Háskóli Íslands Hugvísindadeild Japanskt mál og menning Contemporary popular beliefs in Japan Ritgerð til B.A.-prófs Lára Ósk Hafbergsdóttir Kt.: 130784-3219 Leiðbeinandi: Gunnella Þorgeirsdóttir September 2010 Abstract This thesis discusses contemporary popular beliefs in Japan. It asks the questions what superstitions are generally known to Japanese people and if they have any affects on their behavior and daily lives. The thesis is divided into four main chapters. The introduction examines what is normally considered to be superstitious beliefs as well as Japanese superstition in general. The second chapter handles the methodology of the survey written and distributed by the author. Third chapter is on the background research and analysis which is divided into smaller chapters each covering different categories of superstitions that can be found in Japan. Superstitions related to childhood, death and funerals, lucky charms like omamori and maneki neko and various lucky days and years especially yakudoshi and hinoeuma are closely examined. The fourth and last chapter contains the conclusion and discussion which covers briefly the results of the survey and what other things might be of interest to investigate further. Table of contents 1. Introduction .................................................................................................................... 3 1.1 What is superstition? ............................................................................................... -
HIRATA KOKUGAKU and the TSUGARU DISCIPLES by Gideon
SPIRITS AND IDENTITY IN NINETEENTH-CENTURY NORTHEASTERN JAPAN: HIRATA KOKUGAKU AND THE TSUGARU DISCIPLES by Gideon Fujiwara A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in The Faculty of Graduate Studies (Asian Studies) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) April 2013 © Gideon Fujiwara, 2013 ABSTRACT While previous research on kokugaku , or nativism, has explained how intellectuals imagined the singular community of Japan, this study sheds light on how posthumous disciples of Hirata Atsutane based in Tsugaru juxtaposed two “countries”—their native Tsugaru and Imperial Japan—as they transitioned from early modern to modern society in the nineteenth century. This new perspective recognizes the multiplicity of community in “Japan,” which encompasses the domain, multiple levels of statehood, and “nation,” as uncovered in recent scholarship. My analysis accentuates the shared concerns of Atsutane and the Tsugaru nativists toward spirits and the spiritual realm, ethnographic studies of commoners, identification with the north, and religious thought and worship. I chronicle the formation of this scholarly community through their correspondence with the head academy in Edo (later Tokyo), and identify their autonomous character. Hirao Rosen conducted ethnography of Tsugaru and the “world” through visiting the northern island of Ezo in 1855, and observing Americans, Europeans, and Qing Chinese stationed there. I show how Rosen engaged in self-orientation and utilized Hirata nativist theory to locate Tsugaru within the spiritual landscape of Imperial Japan. Through poetry and prose, leader Tsuruya Ariyo identified Mount Iwaki as a sacred pillar of Tsugaru, and insisted one could experience “enjoyment” from this life and beyond death in the realm of spirits.