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Iya Valley
The Iya Valley (祖谷 ''Iya'') region in Tokushima Prefecture, Japan is a scenic area known for its dramatic mountain valleys, thatched roof farmhouses and historic vine bridges. Although access has improved in recent years, the Iya Valley and the inner parts of Shikoku have historically been remote and difficult to enter, making them a favorite retreat for refugees and defeated warriors. Most notably, members of the Taira clan (aka Heike clan) were rumored to have entered the area after losing the Genpei War to the Minamoto clan in the late 12th century. In modern times, the Iya Valley has become an increasingly popular tourist destination due to its natural environment and to being one of the last few vestiges of old world Japan. Although the west part of the valley (known as Nishi-Iya) has good road access and other tourist facilities, the eastern area known as Higashi-Iya (東祖谷) or Oku-Iya (奥祖谷) is still relatively difficult to access. Several vine bridges, once t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iya Valley Seen From The Iya Valley Observatory 001
Iya may refer to: People * Iya Abubakar, Nigerian politician * Iya Arepina, Russian actress * Iya Kiva (b. 1984), Ukrainian poet, translator, journalist, critic * Iya Nacuaa Teyusi Ñaña, Mixtec ruler * Iya Savvina, Soviet actress * Iya Villania, Australian actress Places * Iya, Iran, a village in East Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Mount Iya, volcano in Indonesia * Iya (river), river in Irkutsk Oblast in Russia * Iya Station, railway station in Japan * Iya Valley, valley in Japan Other uses * Iya (mythology) in Lakota mythology * Iyayu language, ISO 639-3 code "iya" * ''Iya'' the term in the Edo language for the Walls of Benin IYA may refer to: * International Year of Astronomy (IYA2009) {{disambig, geo, given name ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sake
Sake, also spelled saké ( ; also referred to as Japanese rice wine), is an alcoholic beverage of Japanese origin made by fermenting rice that has been polished to remove the bran. Despite the name ''Japanese rice wine'', sake, and indeed any East Asian rice wine (such as huangjiu and cheongju), is produced by a brewing process more akin to that of beer, where starch is converted into sugars which ferment into alcohol, whereas in wine, alcohol is produced by fermenting sugar that is naturally present in fruit, typically grapes. The brewing process for sake differs from the process for beer, where the conversion from starch to sugar and then from sugar to alcohol occurs in two distinct steps. Like other rice wines, when sake is brewed, these conversions occur simultaneously. The alcohol content differs between sake, wine, and beer; while most beer contains 3–9% ABV, wine generally contains 9–16% ABV, and undiluted sake contains 18–20% ABV (although this is often ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Koi Banner
, meaning "carp streamer" in Japanese, are carp-shaped windsocks traditionally flown in Japan to celebrate , a traditional calendrical event which is now designated as , a national holiday in Japan. are made by drawing carp patterns on paper, cloth or other nonwoven fabric. They are then allowed to flutter in the wind. They are also known as . Children's Day takes place on May 5, the last day of Golden Week, the largest break for workers and also a week in which many businesses, state schools, and some private schools close for up to 9–10 days for the designated national holidays. Landscapes across Japan are decorated with from April to early May, in honor of children for a good future and in the hope that they will grow up healthy and strong. The is included in Unicode as . Description A typical set consists of, from the top of the pole down, a pair of with a ball-shaped spinning vane, a mounting , and finally the . For the windsock above the , two main kinds are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wisteria Floribunda
''Wisteria floribunda'', common name , is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae, native to Japan. Growing to , it is a woody, deciduous twining climber. It was first brought from Japan to the United States in the 1830s. Since then, it has become one of the most highly romanticized flowering garden plants. It is also a common subject for bonsai, along with '' Wisteria sinensis'' (Chinese wisteria). The flowering habit of Japanese wisteria is perhaps the most spectacular of the ''Wisteria'' genus. It sports the longest flower racemes of any wisteria; Some of those cultivars can reach in length. These racemes burst into great trails of clustered white, pink, violet, or blue flowers in early- to mid-spring. The flowers carry a distinctive fragrance similar to that of grapes. The early flowering time of Japanese wisteria can cause problems in temperate climates, where early frosts can destroy the coming years' flowers. It will also flower only after passing from juven ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alex Kerr (Japanologist)
Alex Kerr (born June 16, 1952) is an American writer and Japanologist. Biography Originally from the Bethesda area in Montgomery County, Maryland, Kerr's father, a naval officer, was posted in Yokohama from 1964 to 1966. Kerr returned to the states and studied Japanese Studies at Yale University. After studying Chinese Studies at the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, Kerr moved back to Japan full-time in 1977. He lived in Kameoka, near Kyoto, working with the Oomoto Foundation, a Shintō organisation devoted to the practise and teaching of traditional Japanese arts. An expert on Japanese culture and art, he frequently writes and lectures in Japanese. Through his experiences in Japan, as related in his books, he has become an avid art collector and patron of Japan's traditional theatre and other arts. He also worked in business, working for Trammell Crow in the 1980s. Kerr currently has several residences. He lives in Bangkok, Thailand for half of the year, and Kyoto for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chiiori
is the name of an Edo period ''minka'' farmhouse in the Iya Valley, western Tokushima, Japan. Dating from around 1720, the house is believed to be the second oldest in Iya. (The oldest, nearby Kimura House, is designated an Important Cultural Property) Chiiori preserves its original structure, irori 囲炉裏 floor hearths, and pine floors blackened by hundreds of years of smoke from the irori. The house is unusual for farm houses in Japan because there are no ceilings (except over the small sleeping rooms). This was because for much of the Edo period, tobacco was a leading crop of Iya, and villagers used to hang the tobacco up in the rafters to smoke over the irori. Due to the lack of ceilings, Chiiori has a dramatic wide-open interior. Purchased by Alex Kerr in 1973, Chiiori features in Alex's book Lost Japan is a 1993 book written by American Japonologist Alex Kerr. Background The book deals with Kerr's life in Japan and on aspects of Japanese culture by which he was fasc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Irori
An ''irori'' (, ) is a traditional Japanese sunken hearth fired with charcoal. Used for heating the home and for cooking food, it is essentially a square, stone-lined pit in the floor, equipped with an adjustable pothook – called a ''jizaikagi'' () and generally consisting of an iron rod within a bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, bu ... tube – used for raising or lowering a suspended pot or kettle by means of an attached lever which is often decoratively designed in the shape of a fish.Fahr-Becker (2001), p196 Historically ''irori'' served as the main source of residential heating and lighting, providing a place to cook, dry clothing, and serve as a communal gathering location. Gallery File:Japanese Traditional Hearth L4817.jpg, Irori File:Irori ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Japanese Traditional Hearth L4817
Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspora, Japanese emigrants and their descendants around the world * Japanese citizens, nationals of Japan under Japanese nationality law ** Foreign-born Japanese, naturalized citizens of Japan * Japanese writing system, consisting of kanji and kana * Japanese cuisine, the food and food culture of Japan See also * List of Japanese people * * Japonica (other) * Japonicum * Japonicus * Japanese studies Japanese studies (Japanese: ) or Japan studies (sometimes Japanology in Europe), is a sub-field of area studies or East Asian studies involved in social sciences and humanities research on Japan. It incorporates fields such as the study of Japanese ... {{disambiguation Language and nationality disambiguation pages ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Minka
are vernacular houses constructed in any one of several traditional Japanese building styles. In the context of the four divisions of society, were the dwellings of farmers, artisans, and merchants (i.e., the three non-samurai castes). This connotation no longer exists in the modern Japanese language, and any traditional Japanese-style residence of appropriate age could be referred to as . are characterized by their basic structure, their roof structure, and their roof shape. developed through history with distinctive styles emerging in the Edo period. Types The term literally means houses of the people. It covers houses that accommodated a wide variety of people from farmers to village headmen, merchants and low level samurai.Nishi & Hozumi (1996), p82 come in a wide range of styles and sizes, largely as a result of differing geographic and climatic conditions as well as the lifestyle of the inhabitants. They generally fall into one of four classifications: farmhouse ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yukigassen
is a snowball fighting-competition from Japan. Today there are annual tournaments in Sōbetsu, Hokkaidō in Japan, Kemijärvi in Finland, Vardø in Norway, Murmansk in Russia, Mount Buller, Victoria in Australia, Luleå in Sweden, Anchorage in Alaska, Aparan in Armenia, Jasper, Alberta and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in Canada. The word consists of the Japanese words yuki (snow) and kassen (battle) with rendaku. Hence ''yukigassen'' means snow battle, but is a common term for 'snowball fight' in Japanese. Gameplay Yukigassen is a game between two teams with seven players each. The game is played on a court with certain measurements, and the winner is determined through rules made by the Japan Yukigassen Federation. It is similar to capture the flag; players are eliminated when hit with snowballs. Players wear special yukigassen helmets with face shields, and a set number of snowballs (90) are made in advance. Tournaments * World Championship in Sōbetsu, Hokkaidō, Japa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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