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Mono No Aware
, literally "the pathos of things", and also translated as "an empathy toward things", or "a sensitivity to ephemera", is a Japanese idiom for the awareness of , or transience of things, and both a transient gentle sadness (or wistfulness) at their passing as well as a longer, deeper gentle sadness about this state being the reality of life. Origins and analysis The idiom comes from Heian period literature, but was picked up and used by 18th century Edo period Japanese cultural scholar Motoori Norinaga in his literary criticism of '' The Tale of Genji,'' and later to other germinal Japanese works including the . It became central to his philosophy of literature; he viewed it the main theme of ''The Tale of Genji''. His articulation was the result of well-established poetic readings of ''The Tale of Genji'' and the concept became central to his own; ''Genji'' was "instrumental" in the term's establishment. According to Norinaga, to "know" is to have a shrewd understanding and c ...
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Men Dancing To Samisen
A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is referred to as a boy (a male child or adolescent). Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromosome from the father. Sex differentiation of the male fetus is governed by the SRY gene on the Y chromosome. During puberty, hormones which stimulate androgen production result in the development of secondary sexual characteristics, thus exhibiting greater differences between the sexes. These include greater muscle mass, the growth of facial hair and a lower body fat composition. Male anatomy is distinguished from female anatomy by the male reproductive system, which includes the penis, testicles, sperm duct, prostate gland and the epididymis, and by secondary sex characteristics, including a narrower pelvis, narrower hips, and smaller breasts without mammary glands. Throughout human history, traditional gender roles have often defined an ...
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Yasunari Kawabata
was a Japanese novelist and short story writer whose spare, lyrical, subtly shaded prose works won him the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1968, the first Japanese author to receive the award. His works have enjoyed broad international appeal and are still widely read. Early life Born into a well-established family in Osaka, Japan, Kawabata was orphaned by the time he was four, after which he lived with his grandparents. He had an older sister who was taken in by an aunt, and whom he met only once thereafter, in July 1909, when he was ten. She died when Kawabata was 11. Kawabata's grandmother died in September 1906, when he was seven, and his grandfather in May 1914, when he was fifteen. Having lost all close paternal relatives, Kawabata moved in with his mother's family, the Kurodas. However, in January 1916, he moved into a boarding house near the junior high school (comparable to a modern high school) to which he had formerly commuted by train. After graduating in March 191 ...
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Science Fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel universes, extraterrestrial life, sentient artificial intelligence, cybernetics, certain forms of immortality (like mind uploading), and the singularity. Science fiction predicted several existing inventions, such as the atomic bomb, robots, and borazon, whose names entirely match their fictional predecessors. In addition, science fiction might serve as an outlet to facilitate future scientific and technological innovations. Science fiction can trace its roots to ancient mythology. It is also related to fantasy, horror, and superhero fiction and contains many subgenres. Its exact definition has long been disputed among authors, critics, scholars, and readers. Science fiction, in literature, film, television, and other media, ...
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Paradigm Shift
A paradigm shift, a concept brought into the common lexicon by the American physicist and philosopher Thomas Kuhn, is a fundamental change in the basic concepts and experimental practices of a scientific discipline. Even though Kuhn restricted the use of the term to the natural sciences, the concept of a paradigm shift has also been used in numerous non-scientific contexts to describe a profound change in a fundamental model or perception of events. Kuhn presented his notion of a paradigm shift in his influential book '' The Structure of Scientific Revolutions'' (1962). Kuhn contrasts paradigm shifts, which characterize a Scientific Revolution, to the activity of normal science, which he describes as scientific work done within a prevailing framework or paradigm. Paradigm shifts arise when the dominant paradigm under which normal science operates is rendered incompatible with new phenomena, facilitating the adoption of a new theory or paradigm. As one commentator summarizes: ...
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Yasujirō Ozu
was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. He began his career during the era of silent films, and his last films were made in colour in the early 1960s. Ozu first made a number of short comedies, before turning to more serious themes in the 1930s. The most prominent themes of Ozu's work are marriage and family, especially the relationships between generations. His most widely beloved films include ''Late Spring'' (1949), '' Tokyo Story'' (1953), and ''An Autumn Afternoon'' (1962). Widely regarded as one of the world's greatest and most influential filmmakers, Ozu's work has continued to receive acclaim since his death. In the 2012 ''Sight & Sound'' poll, Ozu's ''Tokyo Story'' was voted the third-greatest film of all time by critics world-wide. In the same poll, ''Tokyo Story'' was voted the greatest film of all time by 358 directors and film-makers world-wide. Biography Early life Ozu was born in the Fukagawa, Tokyo, the second son of merchant Toranosuke Ozu and his wif ...
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Sunao Katabuchi
is a Japanese animation director, screenwriter, and storyboard artist. He is director of Contrail Co. Ltd. He has been a part-time lecturer at Nihon University College of Art since 2006, and a Project Professor at the college of Art of at the same university since 2018. He has also served as a part-time lecturer at the Graduate School of Tokyo University of the Arts since 2013. He is married to a fellow director of anime Chie Uratani. Biography Katabuchi was born in Hirakata, Osaka in 1960. While studying at Nihon University College of Art's Department of Cinema, he participated in the writing team of '' Sherlock Hound'' directed by Hayao Miyazaki. After graduating, he joined Telecom Animation Film. In the same year, Hayao Miyazaki asked him to participate in '' Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind'' as a scriptwriter, but he had to decline for various reasons. He traveled to the U.S. several times to work on '' Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland'', a Japan-U.S. co- ...
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Mai Mai Miracle
is a Japanese animated film based on Nobuko Takagi's novelization of her autobiography, ''Maimai Shinko''. It was produced by the animation studio Madhouse, distributed by Shochiku, and directed by Sunao Katabuchi. The film debuted at the Locarno International Film Festival in Switzerland on August 15, 2009. The movie's plot is partially based on research on Sei Shōnagon's ''The Pillow Book''. Plot background It's the spring of 1955 in Mitajiri (in the countryside around then small-town Hōfu) in Yamaguchi Prefecture, southwestern Japan. A nine-year-old girl named Shinko Aoki grew up hearing her grandfather's tales of life a thousand years ago, and is able to vividly see the past. Back then, a princess named Nagiko Kiyohara lived in the same village, at a time when the area was known as the province of Suō and its capital Kokuga. Shinko claims that her ability to see the past is a gift from the single cowlick on her forehead, which she calls her “mai mai”. Shinko invite ...
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Isao Takahata
was a Japanese director, screenwriter and producer. A co-founder of Studio Ghibli, he earned international critical acclaim for his work as a director of Japanese animated feature films. Born in Ujiyamada, Mie Prefecture, Takahata joined Toei Animation after graduating from the University of Tokyo in 1959. He worked as an assistant director, holding various positions over the years and collaborating with colleague Hayao Miyazaki, eventually directing his own film, ''The Great Adventure of Horus, Prince of the Sun'' (1968). He continued his partnership with Miyazaki, and under Nippon Animation directed the television series '' Heidi, Girl of the Alps'' (1974), '' 3000 Leagues in Search of Mother'' (1976), and ''Anne of Green Gables'' (1979). Takahata, Miyazaki and others formed Studio Ghibli in 1985, where he would direct '' Grave of the Fireflies'' (1988), '' Only Yesterday'' (1991), '' Pom Poko'' (1994), and '' My Neighbors the Yamadas'' (1999). His last film as director was ...
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Only Yesterday (1991 Film)
is a 1991 Japanese animated drama film written and directed by Isao Takahata, based on the 1982 manga of the same title by Hotaru Okamoto and Yuko Tone. It was animated by Studio Ghibli for Tokuma Shoten, Nippon Television Network and Hakuhodo, and distributed by Toho. It was released on July 20, 1991. The ending theme song is a Japanese translation of Amanda McBroom's composition " The Rose". ''Only Yesterday'' explores a genre traditionally thought to be outside the realm of animated subjects: a realistic drama written for adults, particularly women. The film was a surprise box office success, attracting a large adult audience and becoming the highest-grossing Japanese film of 1991 in the country. It has also been well received by critics outside of Japan—it has a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. To celebrate the film's 25th anniversary, GKIDS released the film for the first time in an English-language format on February 26, 2016, featuring the voices of Daisy Ridl ...
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Anime
is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of the English word ''animation'') describes all animated works, regardless of style or origin. Animation produced outside of Japan with similar style to Japanese animation is commonly referred to as anime-influenced animation. The earliest commercial Japanese animations date to 1917. A characteristic art style emerged in the 1960s with the works of cartoonist Osamu Tezuka and spread in following decades, developing a large domestic audience. Anime is distributed theatrically, through television broadcasts, Original video animation, directly to home media, and Original net animation, over the Internet. In addition to original works, anime are often adaptations of Japanese comics (manga), light novels, ...
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Kaoru Mori
is a Japanese manga artist from Tokyo and the creator of the manga series ''Shirley'', '' Emma'', and '' A Bride's Story''. Many of her works are centered on female characters in the 19th century, such as a maid in Victorian Britain and a bride in Turkic Central Asia. She also wrote ''dōjinshi'' (self-published manga) under the pen name as a member of the ''dōjin'' circle Lady Maid. Mori's works are known for their high level of detail in terms of clothing design, historical nuances, and background work. Her manga series are often published outside Japan in larger, hardbound editions to complement the heavy detail seen on every page. Similar to authors such as Hiromu Arakawa, Mori often depicts herself in unflattering self-portraits with a simple outline for a body and a head full of wild hair, as she is very reluctant to show her face during public events or interviews. In 2010, Mori's first published work, ''Shirley'', was revived in a two-part continuation called ''Shirl ...
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Kozue Amano
is a Japanese manga artist. She is widely known as the creator of ''Aria'', which proved to be a best-selling hit, and was adapted into an anime television series consisting of 3 seasons and 2 OVAs. As of autumn 2010, Amano's work releases have been shifted from a monthly schedule to a seasonal one (every 3 months) owing to pregnancy and subsequent childcare. Works * (1995–1996, serialized in '' Monthly Shōnen Gangan'', Enix); (2005 reprint by Mag Garden) * – ''Amano Kozue Tanpenshū 1'', a collection of short stories (1996, Enix); (2004 reprint by Mag Garden) * (1997–2001, serialized in ''Monthly GFantasy'', Enix) * – ''Amano Kozue Tanpenshu 2'', a collection of short stories (1999, Enix); (2004 reprint by Mag Garden) * , also known as ''Princess' Smile'', (2000, Enix) * (2001, serialized ''Monthly Stencil'', Enix); (2003 reprint by Mag Garden) * (2002–2008, serialized in ''Monthly Comic Blade'', Mag Garden) * (2008–2021, serialized in ''Monthly Comic Bla ...
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