Chapter 5 Lesson 3

Describe what you think Japan culture was like. Put your answer under the question section.

 During the Middle Ages there was a great exchange of ideas through many Japanese artists, scribes, traders, and diplomats who visited China.  The Chinese influenced literature, science, and religion.  Religion became an intricate part of their everyday life. Most Japanese adopted both Shinto and Buddhist beliefs.  Buddhism inspired many Japanese to produce paintings and to write both poems and plays

 The arts of Japan revealed the Japanese love of beauty and simplicity.  Artisans made wooden statues, furniture, and household items with many of them having a shiny black and red coating called lacquer.  They used watercolors and ink to paint landscapes on paper scrolls or on silk.  The art of origami and arranged flowers became part of the culture.  Buddhist monks and the samurai turned tea drinking into a beautiful ceremony.

 The person enters and rinses his hands and mouth with water from a wooden dipper, guests crawl through a small passageway to enter the tea room. The guest clears their mind and prepares for the meal. The host enters and serves a light meal, which is followed by tea. Tea bowls are made by hand. The bowls are different according to summer and winter

Chanoyu : Tea Ceremony

Tea Ceremony Equipment Green Tea

A Japanese Tea Master

A Japanese Tea House

Origami : The Art of Japanese Paper Folding

Ikebana : The Art of Japanese Flower Arranging  Tallest --> Heaven e Middle --> Man e Smallest --> Earth  Tallest --> Heaven e Middle --> Man e Smallest --> Earth

 During the Middle Ages the Japanese wrote poems, stories, and plays.  Japan’s oldest form of poetry was the tanka. The tanka was an unrhymed poem of five lines. They were to capture nature’s beauty and the joys and sorrows of life.  In the 1600’s a new form of poetry called the haiku developed.

Haiku : 17-syllable poem Matsuo Basho, Master of Haiku Spring departs. Birds cry Fishes' eyes are filled with tears. Spring departs. Birds cry Fishes' eyes are filled with tears.

 In 1000 A.D. a woman named Lady Murasaki Shikibu wrote Japan’s first novel.  It describes the adventures of a Japanese Prince.  Some believe it’s the world’s first novel, or long fictional story.

 The Japanese created plays. The oldest type of play is called Noh.  Created in the 1300’s, Noh plays were used to teach Buddhist ideas.  They danced, gestured, and chanted poetry to the music of drums and flutes.

Noh Theater Traditional Weeping Gesture Woman Heavenly-beingDemonness Woman Heavenly-beingDemonness Old Man Warrior Demon God Old Man Warrior Demon God

Noh Theater The Play Aoi no Ue

Noh Theater : 8-man chorus

1.Hair: the longer the better! 2.Lightness of skin was admired. 3.Both women and men wore white powder. 4.Blackened teeth 5.Shaved eyebrows and painted false one.

 Members of the court wore clothing embroidered with gold, silver, and multicolored thread Women wore 12 or more silk robes at a time, all tied with a single sash. The sleeve of each robe was different length so that the woman’s arm was a rainbow of colors.

List three new things you learned about Japanese culture! When you are done, share with the class!!