Like this post? Help us by sharing it! I have met thousands of travellers to Japan over the years and one thing that is routinely commented on is how peaceful, organised, quiet, clean and just generally calm people are in Japan. Whether getting stuffed into a crowded rush-hour train, waiting 90 minutes for a bowl […]
Arts & Entertainment
Shinto and Buddhist Influences on Anime and Manga – Part II
Like this post? Help us by sharing it! Part II I’ve described how Japanese religions have made an impression on the country’s main media export: manga and anime. References to Japanese religion and folklore often appear in media as tropes, storytelling devices for describing situations the creator can assume the audience will recognize. In Part I we examined Shinto and natural […]
Shinto and Buddhist Influences on Anime and Manga – Part I
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No-face, Chihiro and Zeniba from 'Spirited Away' (image courtesy of Studio Ghibli & Studio Canal)
Like this post? Help us by sharing it! Part I Just as Christian symbolism and references have made their way into popular media worldwide, Japanese religions have also made an impression on the country’s main media export: manga and anime. References to Japanese religion and folklore often appear in media as tropes, which the website TV […]
Invitations to Stillness: Japanese Gardens as Metaphorical Journeys of Solace
Like this post? Help us by sharing it! This post, courtesy of our friends at Kyoto Journal, is adapted and condensed from an article by Japanese garden expert Mark Hovane. You can click here to read the entire article, and read other insightful stories about Japan and Asia in Kyoto Journal. There is a significant […]
How we can use “wa” 和 now more than ever
Like this post? Help us by sharing it! The beauty of Japanese kanji characters is that they can convey so much meaning in so few strokes. Take the kanji “wa” 和 for example. It has numerous connotations wrapped up in just eight simple lines, and one those meanings, “harmony”, is particularly significant during this time of worldwide crisis. Let’s […]
Paper Screens: Book Recommendations
Like this post? Help us by sharing it! So many wonderful books have been written to help us better understand the Japanese people. These books help us reconcile the contradiction of a culture that finds beauty in unrefined simplicity and yet feels infinitely bizarre and complex to most foreigners. Travellers, scholars, and Japanophiles have written volumes about […]
Like this post? Help us by sharing it! So many wonderful books have been written to help us better understand the Japanese people. These books help us reconcile the contradiction of a culture that finds beauty in unrefined simplicity and yet feels infinitely bizarre and complex to most foreigners. Travellers, scholars, and Japanophiles have written volumes about […]