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Ninjō
in Japanese, is human feeling that complements and opposes the value of '' giri'', or social obligation, within the Japanese worldview. Broadly speaking, ''ninjō'' is said to be the human feeling that inescapably springs up with social obligation. As ''ninjō'' is a culture-specific term, the validity or importance of this concept is subject to a wide range of viewpoints, inextricably tied into one's perspective on nihonjinron, which compares Japan with other cultures to establish what is unique about the country. Concept ''Ninjō'' is roughly translated as "human feeling" or "emotion" and could also be interpreted as a specific aspect of these terms such as generosity or sympathy towards the weak. The classic example of ''ninjō'' is that of a samurai who falls in love with an unacceptable partner (perhaps somebody of low social class or somebody of an enemy clan). As a loyal member of his clan, he then becomes torn between the obligation to his feudal lord and his person ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Giri (Japanese)
is a Japanese value roughly corresponding to "duty", "obligation", or even "burden of obligation" in English. It is defined as "to serve one's superiors with a self-sacrificing devotion" by Namiko Abe. It is also associated with the complex Japanese values that involve loyalty, gratitude, and moral debt. This value is so integral to Japanese culture that the conflict between ''giri'' and ''ninjō'', or "human feeling", is said to have been the primary topic of Japanese drama since earlier periods in history. Concept ''Giri'' is defined as social obligation and is best explained in the way it goes in direct conflict with ''ninjō.'' According to Doi Takeo, giri can be classified with those forms and actions that locates the self in relation to society whereas ''ninjō'' falls within the category of the inner and intimate realm of the self. Scholars refer to the dynamics of the ''giri''-''ninjō'' relationship as a dichotomy that reflects the human dilemma of needing to belong ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Japanese Language
is spoken natively by about 128 million people, primarily by Japanese people and primarily in Japan, the only country where it is the national language. Japanese belongs to the Japonic or Japanese- Ryukyuan language family. There have been many attempts to group the Japonic languages with other families such as the Ainu, Austroasiatic, Koreanic, and the now-discredited Altaic, but none of these proposals has gained widespread acceptance. Little is known of the language's prehistory, or when it first appeared in Japan. Chinese documents from the 3rd century AD recorded a few Japanese words, but substantial Old Japanese texts did not appear until the 8th century. From the Heian period (794–1185), there was a massive influx of Sino-Japanese vocabulary into the language, affecting the phonology of Early Middle Japanese. Late Middle Japanese (1185–1600) saw extensive grammatical changes and the first appearance of European loanwords. The basis of the standard dialect moved f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nihonjinron
is a genre of texts that focus on issues of Japanese national and cultural identity. The concept became popular after World War II, with books and articles aiming to analyze, explain, or explore peculiarities of Japanese culture and mentality, usually by comparison with those of Europe and North America. The literature is vast, ranging over such varied fields as sociology, psychology, anthropology, history, linguistics, philosophy, biology, chemistry and physics so in addition to the common generic word ''nihonjinron'', a variety of topical subgenres exist, divided up by specific theme or subject-matter. For example: * : "new theories on climate" (implying the influence of climate on peoples) * : "theories on Japanese culture" * : "theories on Japanese society" * : "theories on Japan" * : "theories on the Japanese economy" Books written by non-Japanese authors may also be classed as ''nihonjinron'', if they share, contribute to, or reflect the vision, premises, and perspectives c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Samurai
were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They had high prestige and special privileges such as wearing two swords and ''Kiri-sute gomen'' (right to kill anyone of a lower class in certain situations). They cultivated the '' bushido'' codes of martial virtues, indifference to pain, and unflinching loyalty, engaging in many local battles. Though they had predecessors in earlier military and administrative officers, the samurai truly emerged during the Kamakura shogunate, ruling from 1185 to 1333. They became the ruling political class, with significant power but also significant responsibility. During the 13th century, the samurai proved themselves as adept warriors against the invading Mongols. During the peaceful Edo period (1603 to 1868), they became the stewards and chamberlains of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shinjū
''Shinjū'' (心中, the characters for "mind" and "centre") means "double suicide" in Japanese, as in '' Shinjū Ten no Amijima'' (''The Love Suicides at Amijima''), written by the seventeenth-century tragedian Chikamatsu Monzaemon for the ''bunraku'' puppet theatre. In common parlance ''shinjū'' is used to refer to any group suicide of people (two or more individuals) bound by love, typically lovers, parents and children, and even whole families. A double suicide without consent is called '' Muri-Shinjū'' (無理心中) and it is considered as a sort of murder–suicide. In Japanese theatre and literary tradition, double suicides are the simultaneous suicides of two lovers whose ''ninjo,'' (personal feelings) or love for one another are at odds with ''giri'', social conventions or familial obligations. Double suicides were rather common in Japan throughout history and double suicide is an important theme of the puppet theatre repertory. The tragic denouement is usually know ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the " Bard of Avon" (or simply "the Bard"). His extant works, including collaborations, consist of some 39 plays, 154 sonnets, three long narrative poems, and a few other verses, some of uncertain authorship. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. He remains arguably the most influential writer in the English language, and his works continue to be studied and reinterpreted. Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children: Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith. Sometime between 1585 and 1592, he began a successful career in London as an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Romeo And Juliet
''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with ''Hamlet'', is one of his most frequently performed plays. Today, the Title character, title characters are regarded as archetype, archetypal young lovers. ''Romeo and Juliet'' belongs to a tradition of tragic Romance (love), romances stretching back to Ancient history, antiquity. The plot is based on an Italian tale translated into verse as ''The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet'' by Arthur Brooke (poet), Arthur Brooke in 1562 and retold in prose in ''Palace of Pleasure'' by William Painter (author), William Painter in 1567. Shakespeare borrowed heavily from both but expanded the plot by developing a number of supporting characters, particularly Mercutio and Count Paris, Paris. Believed to have been written between ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aeneid
The ''Aeneid'' ( ; la, Aenē̆is or ) is a Latin Epic poetry, epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy, Trojan who fled the Trojan_War#Sack_of_Troy, fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Ancient Rome, Romans. It comprises 9,896 lines in dactylic hexameter. The first six of the poem's twelve books tell the story of Aeneas' wanderings from Troy to Italy, and the poem's second half tells of the Trojans' ultimately victorious war upon the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins, under whose name Aeneas and his Trojan followers are destined to be subsumed. The hero Aeneas was already known to Greco-Roman legend and myth, having been a character in the ''Iliad''. Virgil took the disconnected tales of Aeneas' wanderings, his vague association with the foundation of Ancient Rome, Rome and his description as a personage of no fixed characteristics other than a scrupulous ''pietas'', and fashioned th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yose
''Yose'' (Japanese: 寄席) is a form of spoken vaudeville theatre of Japan cultivated since the 18th century. The term also refers to the exclusive theater where ''yose'' is held. History The ''yose'' was a popular form of spoken theatre in the Edo period. The term is the shortened form of ''Hito yose seki'' (人寄せ席), roughly "Where people sit together". Towards the end of the Edo period, there were several hundred theatres, about one per district (町, ''chō''). The entrance fee, the "wooden door penny" (木戸銭, ''Kido-zeni''), was small. A number of variants existed: * "Narrative stories" (講談, ''Kōdan'') * "Emotional stories" (人情噺, ''Ninjō-banashi'') * "Comic stories" (落語, ''Rakugo'') * "Magic Arts" (手品, ''Tejina'') * "Shadow theatre" (写し絵, ''Utsushi-e'') * "Imitation of several people" (八人芸, ''Hachinin-gei'') * "Ghost Stories" (怪談, ''Kaidan'') * "Artful Tales" (芸屋噺) and others The main direction was the ''kōdan'', the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
