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Momijigari (play)
or ''Maple Viewing'' (English title) is a Japanese narrative, performed as theatre in kabuki as ''shosagoto'' (dance-focused play) and Noh. It was also the first narrative ever filmed in Japan. The Noh play was written by Kanze Nobumitsu during the Muromachi period. Other titles for the play include ''Yogoshōgun'' and ''Koremochi''. The Noh Play ''Momijigari'' was originally a Noh play, written by Kanze Nobumitsu (d. 1516). A beautiful woman of seemingly high rank (played by the ''shite'' or lead actor), along with her retinue of female attendants (the '' tsure'') are visiting Togakushi-yama, a mountain in Shinano Province, here for the seasonal maple-leaf viewing. The group commence a banquet. A warrior of the Taira clan who has been out deer-hunting approaches. He is (played by the ''waki'' or secondary actor). Rather than to disturb the party by riding past, he dismounts, intending to leave. But he is accosted by the lady to drink ''sake'' with her. Koremochi becomes dru ...
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Kabuki
is a classical form of Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily-stylised performances, the often-glamorous costumes worn by performers, and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers. Kabuki is thought to have originated in the very early Edo period, when founder Izumo no Okuni formed a female dance troupe who performed dances and light sketches in Kyoto. The art form later developed into its present all-male theatrical form after women were banned from performing in kabuki theatre in 1629. Kabuki developed throughout the late 17th century and reached its zenith in the mid-18th century. In 2005, kabuki theatre was proclaimed by UNESCO as an intangible heritage possessing outstanding universal value. In 2008, it was inscribed in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists, UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Etymology The individual kanji that make up the word ''kabuki'' can be read as , , and . ...
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Hannya
The mask is a mask used in Japanese Noh theater, representing a jealous female demon. It is characterized by two sharp bull-like horns, metallic eyes, and a leering mouth. Etymology is the Sino-Japanese pronunciation of ''bō rě'' (般若), which in turn is the Chinese pronunciation of '' prajñā'' (प्रज्ञा), the Sanskrit word for "wisdom". The word ''prajñā'' was commonly used in forming Buddhist Dharma names, such as Prajñātārā or Prajñāvikrama. This implies that ''hannya'' may be referring to the shortened name of a monk, and not wisdom as an abstract concept. One tradition states the mask is named after an artist monk called , who is said to have perfected its creation. An alternative explanation is that the artist would need a great deal of wisdom in order to create this mask. Characteristics The mask is used in many Noh and plays, as well as in Shinto ritual dances. The mask portrays the souls of women who have become demons due to obses ...
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National Museum Of Modern Art, Tokyo
The in Tokyo, Japan, is the foremost museum collecting and exhibiting modern Japanese art. This Tokyo museum is also known by the English acronym MOMAT (National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo). The museum is known for its collection of 20th-century art and includes Western-style and Nihonga artists. History The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, was the first National Museum of Art in Japan and dates back to 1952, when it was established as an institution governed by the Ministry of Education. The architect of the building was Kunio Maekawa. On two later occasions, neighbouring premises were purchased and the Museum was further enlarged. The most recent re-design of MOMAT was conceived by Yoshirō Taniguchi (father of Yoshio Taniguchi who designed the extension of MOMA in New York). Collections The collection contains many notable Japanese artists since the Meiji period as well as a few contemporary Western prints. In the early years of the 20th century, Matsukata Kojiro ...
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Shibata Tsunekichi
was one of Japan's first filmmakers. He worked for the photographer Shirō Asano and the Konishi Camera shop, the first in Japan to import a motion picture camera. Along with Kanzo Shirai, he made the earliest films in Japan, mostly of geisha, Ginza, and selections of scenes from popular plays. His first exhibition was at the Tokyo Kabuki-za in 1899. After that he focused mainly on Kabuki plays. In 1898, before starting his work with Shirai, he shot five documentary films of street scenes in Tokyo for the Lumière Company, numbers 981–985 in the Lumière catalogue. It appears negatives for these films still exist and one print of #985. If this is true, it would make the documentary work the oldest extant films by a Japanese filmmaker, though not the first films shot in Japan. Early works * ''Armed Robber: Shimizu Sakakichi'' (not surviving) * '' Momijigari'' starring Ichikawa Danjūrō IX was one of the most successful and famous Kabuki actors of the Meiji period (1868 ...
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Onoe Kikugoro V
Hamanoshima Keishi (濱ノ嶋 啓志, born 21 March 1970 as Keishi Hamasu) is a former sumo wrestler from Uto, Kumamoto, Uto, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. A former amateur champion, he turned professional in 1992, reaching the top ''makuuchi'' division in 1994. His highest rank was ''komusubi''. After his retirement from active competition in 2004 he became an toshiyori, elder of the Japan Sumo Association and founded Onoe stable in 2006, which has produced a number of top division wrestlers. Career He took part in national sumo competitions at high school and was an amateur champion at Nihon University, where he was a contemporary of the future ''maegashira'' Higonoumi. He made his professional debut in January 1992, joining Mihogaseki stable. He had ''makushita tsukedashi'' status because of his amateur achievements and so began at the bottom of the ''makushita'' division. He won the ''jūryō'' division championship in September 1993 with an 11–4 record. He reached the top ''m ...
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Emperor Meiji
, also called or , was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession. Reigning from 13 February 1867 to his death, he was the first monarch of the Empire of Japan and presided over the Meiji era. He was the figurehead of the Meiji Restoration, a series of rapid changes that witnessed Japan's transformation from an isolationist, feudal state to an industrialized world power. At the time of Emperor Meiji's birth in 1852, Japan was a feudal pre-industrial country dominated by the isolationist Tokugawa shogunate and the ''daimyō'' subject to it, who ruled over the country's 270 decentralized domains. By the time of his death, Japan had undergone an extensive political, economic, and social revolution and emerged as one of the great powers on the world stage. ''The New York Times'' summarized this transformation at the emperor's funeral in 1912: "the contrast between that which preceded the funeral car and that which followed it was striking indeed. ...
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Traditional Japanese Music
Traditional Japanese music is the folk or traditional music of Japan. Japan's Ministry of Education classifies as a category separate from other traditional forms of music, such as (court music) or (Buddhist chanting), but most ethnomusicologists view , in a broad sense, as the form from which the others were derived. Outside of ethnomusicology, however, usually refers to Japanese music from around the 17th to the mid-19th century. Within this framework, there are three types of traditional music in Japan: theatrical, court music, and instrumental. Theatrical Japan has several theatrical forms of drama in which music plays a significant role. The main forms are kabuki and Noh. Noh or music is a type of theatrical music used in Noh theatre. Noh music is played by an instrumental ensemble called . The instruments used are the stick drum, a large hourglass-shaped drum called the , a smaller hourglass-shaped drum called the , and a bamboo flute called the . The ensemble is p ...
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Nagauta
is a kind of traditional Japanese music played on the and used in kabuki theater, primarily to accompany dance and to provide reflective interludes. History It is uncertain when the was first integrated into kabuki, but it was sometime during the 17th century; Malm argues that it was probably before 1650. The first reference to as music appears in the second volume of (1703). However, there is no musical notation in this collection, meaning that it is only possible to make observations about lyrics, which tend to be longer than other texts. By the 18th century, the had become an established instrument in kabuki, when the basic forms and classifications of crystallized as a combination of different styles stemming from the music popular during the Edo period. is considered a subset of . Many of the "classic" repertoire was composed in the 19th century, which is the time of the best-known composers as well. Many pieces are based on Noh theater, partly due to the n ...
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Takemoto
Takemoto (written: , , or ) is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: *, Japanese voice actor *, Japanese playwright and puppet theatre director *Iwao Takamoto (1925–2007), American animator, television producer, and film director *, Japanese manga artist *, Japanese footballer and manager *, Japanese artistic gymnast *, Japanese politician *, Japanese author and fashion designer *Tina Takemoto TT Takemoto is an American artist and associate professor of visual studies and dean of Humanities & Sciences at California College of the Arts in San Francisco. Takemoto's work explores issues of race and queer identity. They have presented wo ..., American artist *, Japanese director of anime series *, Japanese footballer *, Japanese swimmer {{surname Japanese-language surnames ...
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Kawatake Mokuami
(birth name Yoshimura Yoshisaburō; 吉村芳三郎) (1 March 1816 – 22 January 1893) was a Japanese dramatist of Kabuki. It has been said that "as a writer of plays of Kabuki origin, he was one of the greatest, if not the greatest, Japan has ever known".Miyake, Shutarō. ''Kabuki Drama''. Tokyo: Japan Travel Bureau, Inc., 1971. p50. He wrote 150 or so plays over the course of his 58-year career,Miyake. p149. covering a wide variety of themes, styles, and forms, including short dance pieces, period plays (''jidaimono''), contemporary genre pieces (''sewamono''), tragedies and comedies, as well as adaptations of foreign (Western) stories,Kawatake Mokuami
. ''Kabuki Jiten'' (歌舞伎事典, "Kabuki Encyclopedia"). Japan Arts Council, 2001-2003. Accessed 26 September 2008.
though he is perhaps most famou ...
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Yamagami
Sacred mountains are central to certain religions, and are usually the subjects of many legends. For many, the most symbolic aspect of a mountain is the peak because it is believed that it is closest to heaven or other religious realms. Many religions have traditions centered on sacred mountains, which either are or were considered holy (such as Mount Olympus in Greek mythology) or are related to famous events (like Mount Sinai in Judaism, Christianity and descendant religions or Mount Kailash in Hinduism). In some cases, the sacred mountain is purely mythical, like the Hara Berezaiti in Zoroastrianism. Mount Kailash is believed to be the abode of the deities Shiva and Parvati, and is considered sacred in four religions: Hinduism, Bon, Buddhism, and Jainism. Volcanoes, such as Mount Etna in Italy, were also considered sacred, Mount Etna being believed to have been the home of Vulcan, the Roman god of fire and the forge. Themes of sacrality in sacred mountains Edwin Bernbaum, ...
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