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Hyottoko
is a comical Japanese character, portrayed through the use of a mask. His mouth is puckered and skewed to one side. Some masks have different eye sizes between the left and right eyes. He is often wearing a scarf around his head (usually white with blue dots). There is a similar character for women called or . The origin of the name comes from and , because the character is blowing fire with a bamboo pipe, hence the shape of the mouth. Local dialects transformed it into ''Hyottoko'' (ひょっとこ), palatalizing ''hio'' to ''hyo'' and making the /t/ geminate. History Hyottoko seems to have been a legendary character in Japan in the past, and is now a stock character. In Iwate Prefecture, there is a myth about the origin of Hyottoko. In the story, there was a boy with a bizarre face who could create gold out of his belly button, so when someone died in a house, you would put the mask of this boy at the top of the fireplace to bring good fortune to the house. The name of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Japanese Legendary Creatures
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 Japane ... {{disambiguation Language and nationality disambiguation pages ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nondualism
Nondualism, also called nonduality and nondual awareness, is a fuzzy concept originating in Indian philosophy and Eastern religions, religion for which many definitions can be found, including: nondual awareness, the nonduality of seer and seen or nondifference of subject and object; the identity of conventional Phenomenon#Philosophy, phenomena and ultimate reality, or the "nonduality of duality and nonduality"; metaphysical monism, the nonplurality of the world and "the interconnection of all things." It may also refer to a negation of Dualism (Indian philosophy), dualistic thinking; and to the Mysticism, mystical unity with God or with Ultimate reality. The English term is derived from Sanskrit terms such as "Advaita Vedanta, advaita" (अद्वैत), "not-two" or "one without a second," which in various Hinduism, Hindu philosophies refers to the identity of Atman-Brahman, ''Atman'' and ''Brahman''; and ''advaya'', also meaning "not two," but referring to various Bu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Meshimori Onna
or , literally "meal-serving woman," is the Japanese term for the women who were hired by ''hatago'' inns at the ''shukuba'' (post stations) along ''kaidō'' routes in Japan during the Edo era. They were originally maidservants hired by the inns, although as traffic along the ''kaidō'' grew and competition between the inns increased, they were often engaged in prostitution. Many inns had prostitutes in order to attract a larger number of travellers. In 1718, the Tokugawa shogunate issued a law limiting the number of ''meshimori onna'' to two per inn, giving the inns tacit permission to employ a limited number of prostitutes. See also *Nakai (Japanese vocation) A is a woman who serves as a waitress at a ''ryokan'' or Japanese inn. Originally written as (meaning "in the house" in Japanese), which meant the anteroom in a mansion of a ''kuge'' (noble man) or ''gomonzeki'' (the princess of Mikado). Nowa ... References Further reading * 五十嵐 富夫1981『飯盛女―� ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prostitution In Japan
Prostitution in Japan has existed throughout the country's history. While the Prostitution Prevention Law of 1956 states that "No person may either do prostitution or become the customer of it", loopholes, liberal interpretations and a loose enforcement of the law have allowed the Japanese sex industry to prosper and earn an estimated 2.3 trillion yen ($24 billion) per year. Sex trade and sex services may be referred to as , which also means "manners", "customs" or "public morals". Since Japanese law defines prostitution as "intercourse with an unspecified person in exchange for payment", most services offer specifically non-coital services, such as conversation, dancing or bathing, sometimes accompanied by sexual acts that legally are not defined as "intercourse", in order to remain legal. History From the 15th century, Chinese, Koreans, and other East Asian visitors frequented brothels in Japan. This practice later continued among visitors from "the Western region ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hakuin Ekaku
was one of the most influential figures in Japanese Zen Buddhism. He is regarded as the reviver of the Rinzai school from a moribund period of stagnation, focusing on rigorous training methods integrating meditation and koan practice. Biography Early years Hakuin was born in 1686 in the small village of Hara, at the foot of Mount Fuji. His mother was a devout Nichiren Buddhist, and it is likely that her piety was a major influence on his decision to become a Buddhist monk. As a child, Hakuin attended a lecture by a Nichiren monk on the topic of the Eight Hot Hells. This deeply impressed the young Hakuin, and he developed a pressing fear of hell, seeking a way to escape it. He eventually came to the conclusion that it would be necessary to become a monk. Shōin-ji and Daishō-ji At the age of fifteen, he obtained consent from his parents to join the monastic life, and was ordained at the local Zen temple, Shōin-ji. When the head monk at Shōin-ji took ill, Hakuin was sent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ribaldry
Ribaldry or blue comedy is humorous entertainment that ranges from bordering on indelicacy to indecency. Blue comedy is also referred to as "bawdiness" or being "bawdy". Sex is presented in ribald material more for the purpose of poking fun at the foibles and weaknesses that manifest themselves in human sexuality, rather than to present sexual stimulation either overtly or artistically. Also, ribaldry may use sex as a metaphor to illustrate some non-sexual concern, in which case ribaldry borders satire. Like any humour, ribaldry may be read as conventional or subversive. Ribaldry typically depends on a shared background of sexual conventions and values, and its comedy generally depends on seeing those conventions broken. The ritual taboo-breaking that is a usual counterpart of ribaldry underlies its controversial nature and explains why ribaldry is sometimes a subject of censorship. Ribaldry, whose usual aim is ''not'' "merely" to be sexually stimulating, often does address la ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Muromachi Period
The is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate (''Muromachi bakufu'' or ''Ashikaga bakufu''), which was officially established in 1338 by the first Muromachi '' shōgun'', Ashikaga Takauji, two years after the brief Kenmu Restoration (1333–1336) of imperial rule was brought to a close. The period ended in 1573 when the 15th and last shogun of this line, Ashikaga Yoshiaki, was driven out of the capital in Kyoto by Oda Nobunaga. From a cultural perspective, the period can be divided into the Kitayama and Higashiyama cultures (later 15th – early 16th centuries). The early years from 1336 to 1392 of the Muromachi period are known as the '' Nanboku-chō'' or Northern and Southern Court period. This period is marked by the continued resistance of the supporters of Emperor Go-Daigo, the emperor behind the Kenmu Restoration. The Sengoku period or Warring States period, wh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Miko
A , or shrine maiden,Groemer, 28. is a young priestess who works at a Shinto shrine. were once likely seen as shamans,Picken, 140. but are understood in modern Japanese culture to be an institutionalized role in daily life, trained to perform tasks, ranging from sacred cleansing to performing the sacred dance. Appearance The traditional attire of a is a pair of red (divided, pleated trousers), a white (a predecessor of the kimono), and some white or red hair ribbons. In Shinto, the color white symbolizes purity. The garment put over the during dances is called a . Traditional tools include the , the (offertory -tree branches), and the . also use bells, drums, candles, , and bowls of rice in ceremonies. Definition The Japanese words and ("female shaman" and "shrine maiden" respectively)Kokugo Dai Jiten Dictionary, Revised edition, Shogakukan, 1988. are usually written as a compound of the kanji ("shaman"), and ("woman"). was archaically written (, or "g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ame-no-Uzume
is the goddess of dawn, mirth, meditation, revelry and the arts in the Shinto religion of Japan, and the wife of fellow-god Sarutahiko Ōkami. She famously relates to the tale of the missing sun deity, Amaterasu Omikami. Her name can also be pronounced as Ama-no-Uzume. She is also known as Ōmiyanome-no-Ōkami, an ''inari kami'' possibly due to her relationship with her husband. She is also known as Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto, The Great Persuader, and The Heavenly Alarming Female. She is depicted in kyōgen farce as Okame, a woman who revels in her sensuality. Mythology Amaterasu and the cave Amaterasu's brother, the storm god Susano'o, had vandalized her rice fields, threw a flayed horse at her loom, and brutally killed one of her maidens due to a quarrel between them. In turn, Amaterasu became furious with him and retreated into the Heavenly Rock Cave, Amano-Iwato. The world, without the illumination of the sun, became dark and the gods could not lure Amaterasu out of her ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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