Hi everyone. This is my first blog of NIPPON Life.
This is my Japanese Visual Anthropology class project and I will write about many Japanese scenes here and I will also write down my thoughts about that same topic. I don't have a clear image of visual anthropology, but I think that I get some ideas as I go through writing this blog.
I hope that you enjoy my page and get to know about Japan a little more.
For the first topic, I will write about an event that I recommend for the people who have just arrived in Japan.
We just had “Otsukimi” this week. It’s an event where people pray to the full moon and offer some traditional foods.
This custom came from China in the Heian era. Taro and Japanese pampas grass are used for offering. People liken taro to the full moon and pampas grass to rice ears and they pray for good crops and give thanks to the full moon that lighted up the fields and helped their harvest. I think that ancient Chinese and Japanese tried to give their wish a tangible shape and doing so, be closer to the moon.
However, the meaning of Otsukimi has changed. Last week, I got a flier with the photo I'm showing above from a Japanese sweets shop. The photo shows new rice cakes for Otsukimi. I thought they were cute.
Not only in this photo but in many websites you can find a variety of sweets for this season.
These days, the majority of people don't pray but enjoy Otsukimi, with their loved ones. It's difficult to say which one is better: the traditional style or the modern style to celebrate Otsukimi, but I think the modern style shows the prosperity of Japan (of course because now it is able to import ingredients from other countries). So, the modern way might be better, I mean, we are symbolically thanking the moon for this new affluency of Japan.
Link: Let's try the Otsukimi quiz! Note that it's in romanized Japanese.
http://www.nic-nihongonokai.info/quiz/0008/index_r.php
This is my Japanese Visual Anthropology class project and I will write about many Japanese scenes here and I will also write down my thoughts about that same topic. I don't have a clear image of visual anthropology, but I think that I get some ideas as I go through writing this blog.
I hope that you enjoy my page and get to know about Japan a little more.
For the first topic, I will write about an event that I recommend for the people who have just arrived in Japan.
We just had “Otsukimi” this week. It’s an event where people pray to the full moon and offer some traditional foods.
This custom came from China in the Heian era. Taro and Japanese pampas grass are used for offering. People liken taro to the full moon and pampas grass to rice ears and they pray for good crops and give thanks to the full moon that lighted up the fields and helped their harvest. I think that ancient Chinese and Japanese tried to give their wish a tangible shape and doing so, be closer to the moon.
However, the meaning of Otsukimi has changed. Last week, I got a flier with the photo I'm showing above from a Japanese sweets shop. The photo shows new rice cakes for Otsukimi. I thought they were cute.Not only in this photo but in many websites you can find a variety of sweets for this season.
These days, the majority of people don't pray but enjoy Otsukimi, with their loved ones. It's difficult to say which one is better: the traditional style or the modern style to celebrate Otsukimi, but I think the modern style shows the prosperity of Japan (of course because now it is able to import ingredients from other countries). So, the modern way might be better, I mean, we are symbolically thanking the moon for this new affluency of Japan.
Link: Let's try the Otsukimi quiz! Note that it's in romanized Japanese.
http://www.nic-nihongonokai.info/quiz/0008/index_r.php
2 件のコメント:
You have picked an interesting subject for your first post. Since you are a native anthropologist, I think that students are going to be especially interested in your ideas and perspectives.
Moon viewing shows how traditions enter Japan, how they become "Japanese" and how they modernize as well. A good example of the latter is the moon viewing menu at a certain fast food restaurant...
Can you fix the layout of your photos?
You provide an interesting and fun link - but you might want to inform your readers beforehand that it is in Japanese.
Also, please enable anonymous comments.
I am looking forward to your future posts.
One of your classmates wrote about this subject as well...
http://samuraisushi.wordpress.com/2008/09/17/early-impressions-of-japan/
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