Nihon invasion in my life

Ohayo~! Watashiwa Kristine desu~~ These days, Japanese culture fascinates me a lot. Not only that I'm yearning to visit Japan, but also to know more about their language, lifestyle, food, tradition, entertainment, animation, manga, people, fashion, etc. Here are some things people want to know about Japan: (based on my own knowledge)


1. Language. Japanese (people in Japan) speaks in different dialects. Dialects vary from north to south, east to west. However, many people think that the dialect used in Tokyo is the standard one. The writing is divided into three: Kanji (the most difficult one); Hiragana; and Katakana (the simplest one).

2. Lifestyle. These days, Japanese has been influenced by the western culture that few people can be seen wearing kimono. Their way of life is actually different from one prefecture to another. Of course, city adopts a more open culture than that of the countryside. Young adults from the city can easily follow the latest trend and fashion in technology and clothes. Their time flies relatively faster than in the countryside.

3. Food. Japanese food has a very eccentric and delicate preparation. They always use the ingredients available during the season. Breakfast might consist of miso soup, gohan (rice), nori (dried seaweed), pickles, and green tea. Lunch is usually simple and consists of noodles (udon or soba). Dinner might consist of rice, a main dish of fish or meat, a side dish of vegetables, miso soup, and pickled vegetables. Japanese usually use chopsticks when eating. Before eating the meal, the Japanese say "Itadakimasu" which is a polite phrase meaning "I receive this food." This expresses thanks to the person who prepared the food. At the end of the meal, the Japanese say "Gochiso-sama" which is a polite expression to give thanks for the delicious meal. Japanese usually eat the food on a low table. Most Japanese households have kotatsu (a low table with futon and heater).
**(sushi) Trivia: Japanese not only use raw fish, shrimp (ebi), crab (kani), but also chicken and pork as variations of sushi.














** (kotatsu) Japanese place this in their living room. Family gathering would usually happen here. They can play card games, study, talk, or watch TV while under the futon. This is very useful in cold season.

4. Tradition. As a part of the Japanese tradition, men usually dominates in the family. Men are the heir, the priority, and the one with the biggest responsibility. However, because of the global changes, this tradition has a little effect to the young adults except on those who are exemplary rich. Drinking tea is very common in Japanese culture. The right way of drinking tea calls for formality, posture, and ceremony (chadou). A delicious tea also needs a beautiful cup with ornamentals and wonderful design. Japanese are very particular on the different kinds of tea because they believe that it helps their body. Particularly, Japanese are very workaholic. They always do overtime work.

5. Entertainment, Animation, Manga. Young people and even adults are crazy about mangas (a collection of comic stories in a book). Their entertainment industry has been rich of jdoramas and animations taken from the mangas. The stories vary from school, culture, family matters, girl-boy relationship, horror, drama, suspense, comedy. Among the aforementioned, comical mangas are famous and widely spread. There were a lot of mangas made into jdoramas, movies, or soap opera. These entertainments keep the Japanese people relieved from stress and over work.

6. People. I don't really have lots of things to say about the Japanese people. However, as I've observed, they are passionate and loving. Based on the movies and dramas I've watched, they show a great respect on workmanship and seniority. They have always been respecting their sempai (someones who's older or studied before someone).

Lastly, 7. Fashion. Japanese are very fashionable. You can actually see that when you stand in the center of Tokyo where fashion floods. You can see different kinds of people walking from the latest hairstyle to the latest clothes to the latest gadgets.

**Ganguro. This fashion became popular in the year 2000.

This ends my sharing about Japan. I hope that I was able to share some useful information to you. If you have some queries about Japan, please don't hesitate to write your questions in the comment box. I may not have been to Japan yet, but I hope to see these things for real soon.

Ohayo gozaimasu!

Ikebana (生け花, Ikebana^? "arranged flower") is the Japanese art of flower arrangement, also known as kadō (華道, kadō^? the "way of flowers").

In contrast to the massing of blooms typical of flower arrangement in western countries, Japanese flower arrangement is based on the line of twigs and/or leaves, filled in with a small number of blooms. The container is also a key element of the composition. The structure of a Japanese flower arrangement is based on a scalene triangle delineated by three main points, usually twigs, considered in some schools to symbolize heaven, earth, and man and in others sun, moon and earth.

Ikebana, one of the traditional arts of Japan, has been practiced for more than 600 years. It developed from the Buddhist ritual of offering flowers to the spirits of the dead. By the middle of the fifteenth century, with the emergence of the first classical styles, Ikebana achieved the status of an art form independent of its religious origins, though it continued to retain strong symbolic and philosophical overtones. The first teachers and students were priests and members of the nobility. However, as time passed, many different schools arose, styles changed, and Ikebana came to be practiced at all levels of Japanese society.

Ikebana

looks very dainty
i like the color, so i took this pic
its beauty stays forever
like a serve of blueberry ice cream from the parlor
the biggest flower i've ever seen

Ikebana