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Shigaraki Ware
Shigaraki ware (信楽焼) is a type of stoneware pottery made in Shigaraki area, Japan. The kiln is one of the Six Ancient Kilns in Japan. Although figures representing the tanuki are a popular product included as Shigaraki ware, the kiln and local pottery tradition has a long history. History The development of kilns during the medieval period are thought to have taken place through the transformation of Sue ware technology. In the later half of the Heian period, Sue ware production came to an abrupt decline, with production now centralizing in the Owari, Mino, Bizen, and Omi provinces. Political collapse in the Heian period caused Sue ware potters to begin producing inexpensive wares such as ''tsubo'' (jars), ''kame'' (wide mouthed bowls), and ''suribachi'' (mortars or grinding). The Sue ware workshops began producing in characteristic regional blocks. All these led to the development of kilns in the region known as the ‘Six Old Kilns’. The regional blocks co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bizen, Okayama
is a city located in Okayama Prefecture, Japan. History The city was founded on April 1, 1971. On March 22, 2005, the towns of Hinase and Yoshinaga (both from Wake District) were merged into Bizen. As of this merger, the total area became 258.23 km². The township of Imbe became a part of the city, which is particularly famous for its Bizen ware. It is home to literary critic Hakuchō Masamune's birthplace, which is now a museum. Population , the city has an estimated population of 35,610 and a population density of 140 people per km². Notable people from Bizen * Masamune Atsuo, researcher of Japanese literature and a poet *Hakuchō Masamune, critic, novelist, and dramatist *Risa Shigetomo, long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance running comes two d ... * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Japanese Tea Ceremony
The Japanese tea ceremony (known as or ) is a Japanese cultural activity involving the ceremonial preparation and presentation of , powdered green tea, the procedure of which is called . While in the West it is known as "tea ceremony", it is seldom ceremonial in practice. Most often tea is served to family, friends, and associates; religious and ceremonial connotations are overstated in western spaces. While in the West it is known as a form of tea ceremony, in Japan the art and philosophy of tea can be more accurately described as "Teaism" as opposed to focusing on the ceremonial aspect. Zen Buddhism was a primary influence in the development of the culture of Japanese tea. Much less commonly, Japanese tea practice uses leaf tea, primarily , a practice known as . Tea gatherings are classified as either an informal tea gathering () or a formal tea gathering (). A is a relatively simple course of hospitality that includes confections, thin tea, and perhaps a light meal. A is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Japanese Pottery And Porcelain
, is one of the oldest Japanese crafts and art forms, dating back to the Neolithic period. Kilns have produced earthenware, pottery, stoneware, glazed pottery, glazed stoneware, porcelain, and blue-and-white ware. Japan has an exceptionally long and successful history of ceramic production. Earthenwares were made as early as the Jōmon period (10,500–300BC), giving Japan one of the oldest ceramic traditions in the world. Japan is further distinguished by the unusual esteem that ceramics holds within its artistic tradition, owing to the enduring popularity of the tea ceremony. Japanese ceramic history records distinguished many potter names, and some were artist-potters, e.g. Hon'ami Kōetsu, Ogata Kenzan, and Aoki Mokubei.Henry Trubner 1972, p. 18. Japanese anagama kilns also have flourished through the ages, and their influence weighs with that of the potters. Another characteristically Japanese aspect of the art is the continuing popularity of unglazed high-fired stone ... [...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] |
Anagama Kiln
The ''anagama'' kiln (Japanese Kanji: 穴窯/ Hiragana: あながま) is an ancient type of pottery kiln brought to Japan from China via Korea in the 5th century. It is a version of the climbing dragon kiln of south China, whose further development was also copied, for example in breaking up the firing space into a series of chambers in the ''noborigama'' kiln. An ''anagama'' (a Japanese term meaning "cave kiln") consists of a firing chamber with a firebox at one end and a flue at the other. Although the term "firebox" is used to describe the space for the fire, there is no physical structure separating the stoking space from the pottery space. The term ''anagama'' describes single-chamber kilns built in a sloping tunnel shape. In fact, ancient kilns were sometimes built by digging tunnels into banks of clay. The anagama is fueled with firewood, in contrast to the electric or gas-fueled kilns commonly used by most modern potters. A continuous supply of fuel is needed for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lake Biwa
is the largest freshwater lake in Japan, located entirely within Shiga Prefecture (west-central Honshu), northeast of the former capital city of Kyoto. Lake Biwa is an ancient lake, over 4 million years old. It is estimated to be the 13th oldest lake in the world. Because of its proximity to Kyoto, references to Lake Biwa appear frequently in Japanese literature, particularly in poetry and in historical accounts of battles. Name The name ''Biwako'' was established in the Edo period. There are various theories about the origin of the name ''Biwako'', but it is generally believed to be so named because of the resemblance of its shape to that of a stringed instrument called the ''biwa''. Kōsō, a learned monk of Enryaku-ji in the 14th century, gave a clue to the origin of the name ''Biwako'' in his writing: "The lake is the Pure land of the goddess Benzaiten because she lives on Chikubu Island and the shape of the lake is similar to that of the ''biwa'', her favorite instrument ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sen No Rikyū
, also known simply as Rikyū, is considered the historical figure with the most profound influence on ''chanoyu,'' the Japanese "Way of Tea", particularly the tradition of '' wabi-cha''. He was also the first to emphasize several key aspects of the ceremony, including rustic simplicity, directness of approach and honesty of self. Originating from the Sengoku period and the Azuchi–Momoyama period, these aspects of the tea ceremony persist. Rikyū is known by many names; for consistency, he will be referred to as Rikyū in this article. There are three '' iemoto'' ('' sōke''), or 'head houses' of the Japanese Way of Tea, that are directly descended from Rikyū: the Omotesenke, Urasenke, and Mushakōjisenke, all three of which are dedicated to passing forward the teachings of their mutual family founder, Rikyū. Early life Rikyū was born in Sakai in present-day Osaka Prefecture. His father was a warehouse owner named , who later in life also used the family name Sen, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zen Buddhist
Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and later developed into various sub-schools and branches. From China, Chán spread south to Vietnam and became Vietnamese Thiền, northeast to Korea to become Seon Buddhism, and east to Japan, becoming Japanese Zen. The term Zen is derived from the Japanese pronunciation of the Middle Chinese word 禪 (''chán''), an abbreviation of 禪那 (''chánnà''), which is a Chinese transliteration of the Sanskrit word ध्यान ''dhyāna'' ("meditation"). Zen emphasizes rigorous self-restraint, meditation-practice and the subsequent insight into nature of mind (見性, Ch. ''jiànxìng,'' Jp. '' kensho,'' "perceiving the true nature") and nature of things (without arrogance or egotism), and the personal expression of this insight in dail ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nagano Prefecture
is a landlocked prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Nagano Prefecture has a population of 2,052,493 () and has a geographic area of . Nagano Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture to the north, Gunma Prefecture to the northeast, Saitama Prefecture to the east, Yamanashi Prefecture to the southeast, Shizuoka Prefecture and Aichi Prefecture to the south, and Gifu Prefecture and Toyama Prefecture to the west. Nagano is the capital and largest city of Nagano Prefecture, with other major cities including Matsumoto, Ueda, and Iida. Nagano Prefecture has impressive highland areas of the Japanese Alps, including most of the Hida Mountains, Kiso Mountains, and Akaishi Mountains which extend into the neighbouring prefectures. The abundance of mountain ranges, natural scenic beauty, and rich history has gained Nagano Prefecture international recognition as a world-class winter sports tourist destination, including hosting the 1998 Winter Olympics and a new ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kiln
A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, a type of oven, that produces temperatures sufficient to complete some process, such as hardening, drying, or chemical changes. Kilns have been used for millennia to turn objects made from clay into pottery, tiles and bricks. Various industries use rotary kilns for pyroprocessing—to calcinate ores, to calcinate limestone to lime for cement, and to transform many other materials. Pronunciation and etymology According to the Oxford English Dictionary, kiln was derived from the words cyline, cylene, cyln(e) in Old English, in turn derived from Latin ''culina'' ("kitchen"). In Middle English the word is attested as kulne, kyllne, kilne, kiln, kylle, kyll, kil, kill, keele, kiele. For over 600 years, the final "n" in kiln was silent. It wasn't until the late 20th century where the "n" began to be pronounced. This is due to a phenomenon known as spelling pronunciation, where the pronunciation of a word is surmised from its spelling ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Feldspar
Feldspars are a group of rock-forming aluminium tectosilicate minerals, also containing other cations such as sodium, calcium, potassium, or barium. The most common members of the feldspar group are the ''plagioclase'' (sodium-calcium) feldspars and the ''alkali'' (potassium-sodium) feldspars. Feldspars make up about 60% of the Earth's crust, and 41% of the Earth's continental crust by weight. Feldspars crystalize from magma as both intrusive and extrusive igneous rocks and are also present in many types of metamorphic rock. Rock formed almost entirely of calcic plagioclase feldspar is known as anorthosite. Feldspars are also found in many types of sedimentary rocks. Compositions The feldspar group of minerals consists of tectosilicates, silicate minerals in which silicon ions are linked by shared oxygen ions to form a three-dimensional network. Compositions of major elements in common feldspars can be expressed in terms of three endmembers: * potassium feldspar (K- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
