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Culture
With the use of various techniques and the application of minimalism, variously coloured flowers are assembled, with their leaves and stalks
carefully placed to produce graceful and natural shapes and lines.
Manga
Manga are Japanese comics that tell stories on a broad array of topics — science fiction, comedy, suspense and thriller, action, romance, horror,
and more.
The earliest documentation of the use of the term was towards the end of the 1700s, when a picturebook by Santo Kyoden called “Shiji no
yukikai” was published. Since then, more works have been published, targeting both male and female, young and old.
In the last 20 years, manga have gained recognition outside Japan and have been translated into various foreign languages to accommodate
their international readers.
Once a manga series establishes a strong fan base, it may be made into an anime series, such as Naoko Takeuchi’s “Sailor Moon”, Akira
Toriyama’s “Dragon Ball”, Masashi Kishimoto’s “Naruto” and Eiichiro Oda’s “One Piece”.
Samurai and Ninja
Samurai were high-ranking warriors in Japan during the Edo Period. They lived in accordance with the bushido (or the way of the warrior), which
emphasised respect, ethics, self-discipline and loyalty. Weapons used included samurai swords, yumi (or longbows), pole weapons, cannons,
tanegashima (or Japanese matchlocks), staffs, clubs and chains. They also wore a special kind of armour consisting of iron-plates.
Some well-known samurai in Japanese history are Miyamoto Musashi, Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Takeda Shingen, Date Masamune,
Tokugawa Ieyasu and Uesugi Kenshin.
Today, many samurai districts around the country remain and are popular tourist attractions, including those in Usuki and Kakunodate.
Ninja, on the other hand, were covert warriors who specialised in infiltration, espionage, guerrilla warfare, assassination and sabotage. They
lived during feudal Japan and were primarily trained in effective espionage and disguise techniques, as well as various survival skills. Contrary
to the way they are portrayed in popular media, ninja did not wear all-black costumes. Instead, they dressed just like any civilian so as to be
able to blend in and not draw attention. Their weapons included star discs, knives, darts, spikes and swords.
Iga and Koga are the two most famous ninja clans in Japanese history, and both are located in Mie Prefecture. Nowadays, there are a variety
of ninja-related attractions in the regional villages where people can tour their old but well-preserved ninja houses, watch a demonstration of
ninja techniques, and explore museums that feature many kinds of ninja weapons, clothes, and other artefacts.
Some popular ninja in Japanese history are Hattori Hanzo, Kato Danzo, Fuma Kotaro, Momochi Sandayu, Ishikawa Goemon, Mochizuki
Chiyome and Fujibayashi Nagato.
Music Types
Traditional
Traditional Japanese music come in two forms: the gagaku (orchestral court music) and the shomyo (Buddhist chanting), both of which
originated during the Nara and Heian periods. They were played using traditional musical instruments, such as the biwa (a type of stringed
instrument), taiko (a type of drum), fue (flute) and shamisen (a three-stringed instrument).
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