36 Views of Mount Fuji (Hokusai)

Form the artist Andō Hiroshige's "36 Views of Mount Fuji", see 36 Views of Mount Fuji (Hiroshige).

36 Views of Mount Fuji (富嶽三十六景, Fugaku Sanjūrokkei) is an ukiyo-e series of 46 large, color woodblock prints by the Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai (1760–1849). The series depicts Mount Fuji in differing seasons and weather conditions from a variety of different places and distances. It actually consists of 46 prints created between 1826 and 1833. The first 36 were included in the original publication and, due to their popularity, 10 more were added after the original publication.

While Hokusai's 36 Views of Mount Fuji is the most famous Ukiyo-e series to focus on Mount Fuji, there are several other series with the same subject, including 36 Views of Mount Fuji, by Hiroshige, and 100 View of Mount Fuji, also by Hokusai. Mount Fuji is a popular subject for Japanese art due to its cultural and religious significance. This belief can be traced to the The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, where a goddess deposits the elixir of life on the peak. As Henry Smith explains, "Thus from an early time, Mt. Fuji was seen as the source of the secret of immortality, a tradition that was at the heart of Hokusai's own obsession with the mountain."^[2]

The most famous single image from the series is widely known in English as The Great Wave off Kanagawa (神奈川沖浪裏, Kanagawa-oki nami-ura), although a more correct translation might be, "Off Kanagawa, the back (or underside) of a wave." It depicts three boats being threatened by a large wave while Mount Fuji rises in the background. While generally assumed to be a tsunami, the wave was probably intended to simply be a large ocean wave.

Each of the images was made through a process whereby an image drawn on paper was used to guide the cutting of a wood block. This block was then covered with ink and applied to paper to create the image. The complexity of Hokusai's images includes the wide range of colors he used, which required the use of a series of blocks for each of the colors used in the images.

№	Image	Name	Japanese	Translation
1		The Great Wave off Kanagawa	神奈川沖浪裏	Kanagawa-oki nami-ura
2		Mount Fuji in Clear Weather (also known as Red Fuji)	凱風快晴	Gaifū kaisei
3		A Shower Below The Summit	山下白雨	Sanka hakū
4		Fuji seen through the Mannen bridge at Fukagawa, Edo	深川万年橋下	Fukagawa Mannen-bashi shita
5		The Fuji seen from the Surugadai hill, Edo	東都駿台	Tōto sundai
6		The coast of seven leagues in Kamakura	青山円座松	Aoyama enza-no-matsu
7		Senju in the Musashi Province	武州千住	Bushū Senju
8		Tama River in the Musashi Province	武州玉川	Bushū Tamagawa
9		Inume pass in the Kai Province	甲州犬目峠	Kōshū inume-tōge
10		Fujimi Fuji view field in the Owari Province	尾州不二見原	Bishū Fujimigahara
11		Asakusa Honganji temple in the Eastern capital (Edo)	東都浅草本願寺	Tōto Asakusa honganji
12		Tsukada Island in the Musashi Province	武陽佃島	Buyō Tsukuda-jima
13		Shichiri beach in Sagami Province	相州七里浜	Soshū Shichiri-ga-hama
14		Umegawa in Sagami Province	相州梅沢庄	Soshū umezawanoshō
15		Kajikazawa in Kai Province	甲州石班沢	Kōshū Kajikazawa
16		Mishima pass in Kai Province	甲州三嶌越	Kōshū Mishima-goe
17		Lake Suwa in the Shinano Province	信州諏訪湖	Shinshū Suwa-ko
18		Ejiri in the Suruga Province	駿州江尻	Sunshū Ejiri
19		The Fuji from the mountains of Tōtōmi	遠江山中	Tōtōmi sanchū
20		Ushibori in the Hitachi Province	常州牛掘	Jōshū Ushibori
21		A sketch of the Mitsui shop in Suruga street in Edo	江都駿河町三井見世略図	Kōto Suruga-cho Mitsui Miseryakuzu
22		Sunset across the Ryōgoku bridge from the bank of the Sumida River at Onmayagashi	御厩川岸より両国橋夕陽見	Ommayagashi yori ryōgoku-bashi yūhi mi
23		Sazai hall - 500 Rakanji temple	五百らかん寺さざゐどう	Gohyaku-rakanji Sazaidō
24		Tea house at Koishikawa. The morning after a snowfall	礫川雪の旦	Koishikawa yuki no ashita
25		Shimomeguro	下目黒	Shimo-Meguro
26		Watermill at Onden	隠田の水車	Onden no suisha
27		Enoshima in the Sagami Province	相州江の島	Soshū Enoshima
28		Shore of Tago Bay, Ejiri at Tōkaidō	東海道江尻田子の浦略図	Tōkaidō Ejiri tago-no-ura
29		Yoshida at Tōkaidō	東海道吉田	Tōkaidō Yoshida
30		The Kazusa Province sea route	上総の海路	Kazusa no kairo
31		Nihonbashi bridge in Edo	江戸日本橋	Edo Nihon-bashi
32		Village of Sekiya at Sumida River	隅田川関屋の里	Sumidagawa Sekiya no sato
33		Bay of Noboto	登戸浦	Noboto-ura
34		The lake of Hakone in the Sagami Province	相州箱根湖水	Sōshū Hakone kosui
35		The Fuji reflects in Lake Kawaguchi, seen from the Misaka pass in the Kai Province	甲州三坂水面	Kōshū Misaka suimen
36		Hodogaya on the Tōkaidō	東海道保ケ谷	Tōkaidō Hodogaya
37		Honjo Tatekawa, the timberyard at Honjo	本所立川	Honjo Tatekawa
38		Pleasure District at Senju	従千住花街眺望の不二	Senju Hana-machi Yori Chōbō no Fuji
39		Goten-yama-hill, Shinagawa on the Tōkaidō	東海道品川御殿山の不二	Tōkaidō Shinagawa Goten'yama no Fuji
40		Nakahara in the Sagami Province	相州仲原	Sōshū Nakahara
41		Dawn at Isawa in the Kai Province	甲州伊沢暁	Kōshū Isawa no Akatsuki
42		The back of the Fuji from the Minobu river	身延川裏不二	Minobu-gawa ura Fuji
43		Ono Shinden in the Suruga Province	駿州大野新田	Sunshū Ōno-shinden
44		The Tea plantation of Katakura in the Suruga Province	駿州片倉茶園の不二	Sunshū Katakura chaen no Fuji
45		The Fuji from Kanaya on the Tōkaidō	東海道金谷の不二	Tōkaidō Kanaya no Fuji
46		Climbing on Fuji	諸人登山	Shojin tozan

Fashion Contest

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Omamori

Omamori (お守り, o-mamori) are Japanese amulets dedicated to particular Shinto deities as well as Buddhist figures. The word mamori (守り) means protection, with omamori meaning honorable protector.

Musical Instumental(Part 1)

Part 1:
Koto

The koto (琴 or 箏) is a traditional Japanese stringed musical instrument derived from Chinese zither (Guzheng). The koto is the national instrument of Japan. Koto are about 180 centimetres (71 in) long and have 13 strings that are strung over 13 movable bridges along the length of the instrument. Players can adjust the string pitches by moving these bridges before playing, and use three finger picks (on thumb, forefinger, and middle finger) to pluck the strings.

The character for koto is also read as sō in certain contexts. Though often called by a number of other names, these terms almost always refer to similar, but different instruments, such as the Chinese guzheng (箏) or guqin (琴, called kin in Japanese).

History
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he koto was introduced to Japan in the 7th to 8th century from China, and largely derived from the Chinese Guzheng. It was initially played only in the royal court, but this situation changed in the 17th century -- primarily because of the influence of Yatsuhashi Kengyo (1614-1684). Though the koto, like many Japanese instruments derived from Chinese ones, has likely not changed much over the centuries, the guzheng has, and thus it is no longer valid to call them the same instrument. The koto used in gagaku is called gakuso.

Yatsuhashi Kengyo was a blind shamisen player who learned koto from an "official" court player named Hosui, in defiance of the rules which then stated that koto could not be taught to blind people (or women, incidentally). Possibly because of his personal experience with these restrictions, Yatsuhashi spent the rest of his life making the koto more accessible.

He invented a new "tranquil tuning" (平調子 hira joushi) to play the common people's songs more naturally. He composed (or is credited with composing) pieces that are still irreplaceable staples of the koto repertoire today, including Rokudan and Midare. (These compositions were partly responsible for the koto becoming respected as a solo instrument in its own right.) Perhaps most importantly, his example led other non-elite, including women, to learn the koto too.

Before I wrapped it out here is a video how's a koto sounds like:

Tanabata 七夕, たなばた

Tanabata (七夕, tanabata, たなばた) or The Star Festivals, meaning "Evening of the seventh") is a Japanese star festival, derived from the Chinese star festival, Qi Xi (七夕 "The Night of Sevens")．Every year Japanese people celebrate this festival on July, 7.

It celebrates the meeting of Orihime (Vega) and Hikoboshi (Altair). The Milky Way, a river made from stars that crosses the sky, 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. Since the stars come out at night, the celebration is held at night.

History

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The festival originated from The Festival to Plead for Skills (乞巧節; qǐ qiǎo jié, or 乞巧奠; きっこうでん), an alternative name for Qi Xi, which was celebrated in China and also was adopted in the Kyoto Imperial Palace from the Heian Period. The festival spread to the general public by the early Edo period, became mixed with various Obon or Bon (盆）traditions (because the Bon was held on 15th of the seventh month then), and developed into the modern Tanabata festival. In the Edo period, girls wished for better sewing and craftsmanship, and boys wished for better handwriting by writing wishes on strips of paper. At this time, the custom was to use dew left on taro leaves to create the ink used to write wishes. Incidentally, the Bon is now held on the 15th of August on the solar calendar, close to its original date on the lunar calendar, making Tanabata and Bon as further separate events.

The name Tanabata is remotely related to the Japanese reading of the Chinese letters 七夕, which used to be read as "Shichiseki" (しちせき). It is believed that a Shinto purification ceremony existed around the same time, in which a Shinto miko weaved a special cloth on a special weaver called Tanabata 棚機 (たなばた) near waters and offered it to a god to pray for protection of rice crops from rain or storm and for good harvest later in autumn. Gradually this ceremony merged with 乞巧奠（きっこうでん, (The Festival to Plead for Skills) and became Tanabata 七夕. Oddly the Chinese writing 七夕 and the Japanese reading Tanabata (たなばた) joined to mean the same festival, although originally they were two different things, an example of ateji.

The Story

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Like Qi Xi and Chilseok, Tanabata was inspired by the famous Chinese folklore, The Princess and the Cowherd.

Orihime (織姫, Weaving Princess) the daughter of the Tentei (天帝, Sky King, or the universe itself) wove beautiful clothes by the bank of the Milky Way (天の川 Amanogawa). Her father loved the cloth that she wove and so she worked very hard every day to weave it. However, she was sad that because of her hard work she could never meet and fall in love with anyone. Concerned about his daughter, Tentei arranged for her to meet Hikoboshi (彦星, Cow Herder Star) sometimes called Kengyuu (牽牛, Chinese name of Hikoboshi) who lived and worked on the other side of the Amanogawa River (Milky Way). When the two met, they fell instantly in love with each other and were shortly married. However, once married, Orihime no longer would weave cloth for Tentei and Hikoboshi allowed his cows to stray all over Heaven. In anger, Tentei separated the two lovers across the Amanogawa River and forbade them to meet. Orihime became despondent at the loss of her husband and asked her father to let them meet again. Tentei was moved by his daughter’s tears and allowed the two to meet on the 7th day of the 7th month if Orihime worked hard and finished her weaving. The first time they tried to meet, however, they found that they could not cross the river because there was no bridge. Orihime cried so much that a flock of magpies came and promised to make a bridge with their wings so that she could cross the river. If it rains, the magpies cannot come and the two lovers must wait till next year.

The following variation of the story is known in China and Japan: A young farmer named Mikeran discovered on his farm a robe which, unbeknownst to him, belonged to a goddess named Tanabata. Soon after, Tanabata visited Mikeran and asked if he had found it. He lied and told the goddess that he hadn't but would help with her search. Eventually the pair fell in love, were wed and had many children. However, one day Tanabata noticed a piece of cloth which had once belonged to her robe on the roof of Mikeran's hut. His lie discovered, Tanabata agreed to forgive him on the condition that he weave a thousand pairs of straw shoes, but until that time, she would leave him. Mikeran was unable to weave the shoes in his lifetime and thus never met Tanabata again. However, it is said that the pair meet once a year when the stars Altair and Vega intersect.

Qi Xi

Sendai Tanabata Festival

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The Sendai Tanabata festival began shortly after the city was founded in the early Edo Period. The Tanabata festival gradually developed and became larger over the years. Although the festival's popularity started to dwindle after the Meiji Restoration, and almost disappeared during the economic depression that occurred after World War I, volunteers in Sendai revived the festival in 1928 and established the tradition of holding the festival from August 6 to August 8.

During World War II it was impossible to hold the festival, and almost no decorations were seen in the city from 1943 to 1945, but after the war, the first major Tanabata festival in Sendai was held in 1946, and featured 52 decorations. In 1947, the Showa Emperor Hirohito visited Sendai and was greeted by 5,000 Tanabata decorations. The festival subsequently developed into one of the three major summer festivals in the Tohoku region and became a major tourist attraction. The festival now includes a fireworks show that is held on August 5.

At the Sendai Tanabata festival, people traditionally use seven different kinds of decorations, which each represent different meanings. The seven decorations and their symbolic meanings are:

Paper strips (短冊; Tanzaku) : Wishes for good handwriting and studies	Paper Kimono (紙衣; Kamigoromo) : Wishes for good sewing. Wards off accidents and bad health.	Paper Crane (折り鶴; Orizuru) : Family safety, health, and long life	Purse (巾着; Kinchaku) : Good business
Net (投網; Toami) : Good fishing and harvests	Trash Bag (くずかご; Kuzukago) : Cleanliness and unwastefulness	Streamers (吹き流し; Fukinagashi) : The strings that Orihime uses to weave