This form of writing is associated by many with the ancient Chinese and Japanese. We all know that calligraphy involves more than writing, but is an art form in itself. In Japan, it used to be that all children learned the basics of calligraphy, or shodo in the native language. With technology pervading society as fast as it is, however, less and less people are actually learning shodo. Both adults and children seem to have forgotten about this ancient art form.
Recently however, a sprinkling of young artists has been breathing life into this art form. They have in fact extended their stage to the rest of the world. Takeda Soun is well known for his “performance shodo†wherein he creates calligraphy on stage with music on the background. His performances have been well received in many European countries. He is only one among many young Japanese who value this ancient art and wish for it to continue to be known and appreciated the world over.
[tags]Japan, writing. culture, calligraphy, shodo, characters[/tags]
Posted March 24th, 2007 by geisha | Comments Off
Who has not heard of the really scary Japanese ghost stories? Movies like The Grudge have reached a very wide audience all over the world, with Hollywood even making their own version of it. Ask any fan, though, the Japanese original cannot be matched. In Japan, ghost stories were called kwaidan or kaidan. Though it refers to horror stories in general, the word kaidan has its roots in the Edo Period folktales.
Today, however, kaidan is not the commonly used term for this genre of stories. More often than not, movies and books focusing on this theme are referred to by the katakana hora or kowai hanashi in standard Japanese. For an old fashioned effect, authors use the term kaidan.
Stories under this genre often have plots that revolve around Buddhist concepts. As such, karma and ghostly vengeance abound. In these stories, ghosts have amazing powers that they use to wreak havoc in their human tormentor’s life. Sometimes, they not only target one person but humanity in general. Try watching one of these films or reading one of these books and you will fully see what kaidan is.
[tags]Japan, Edo Period, folktales, folklore, ghost stories, kaidan, kwaidan, hora[/tags]
Posted March 14th, 2007 by geisha | Comments Off
