With the release of their eighteenth single "Love So Sweet", Arashi began gaining commercial success as "Love So Sweet" was used as the opening theme song for the high-rating drama Hana Yori Dango 2, making it one of the top five best-selling singles of 2007 in Japan and the group's first single to exceed 400,000 copies sold overall in nearly seven years. For the next two years, Arashi gained a number of achievements and records as they became the first artist to place the top two rankings on the Oricon singles yearly chart for two consecutive years with their singles "Truth/Kaze no Mukō e" and "One Love" in 2008 and "Believe/Kumorinochi, Kaisei" and "Ashita no Kioku/Crazy Moon (Kimi wa Muteki)" in 2009,simultaneously topped the 2009 Oricon singles, album and music DVD yearly charts, and became the third artist in Oricon history to monopolize the top three best-selling singles of the year. In 2010, all six of Arashi's singles ranked within the top ten of the Oricon singles yearly chart, and their million-selling studio album Boku no Miteiru Fūkei was named the best-selling album of the year in Japan.As of May 2015 the group had sold over 30 million records.
Dining etiquette
1. Tables and sitting
Many restaurants and homes in Japan are equipped with Western-style chairs and tables. However, traditional Japanese low tables and cushions, usually found on tatami floors, are still very common. Tatami mats, which are made of straw, can be easily damaged and are hard to clean, thus shoes or any type of footwear are always taken off when stepping on tatami floors.When dining in a traditional tatami room, sitting upright on the floor is common. In a casual setting, men usually sit with their feet crossed and women sit with both legs to one side. Only men are supposed to sit cross-legged. The formal way of sitting for both sexes is a kneeling style known as seiza. To sit in a seiza position, one kneels on the floor with legs folded under the thighs and the buttocks resting on the heels.
When dining out in a restaurant, the host will guide you to your seat and it is polite to wait to be seated. The honored or eldest guest will usually be seated at the center of the table farthest from the entrance. In the home, the most important guest is also seated farthest away from the entrance. If there is an alcove or tokonoma in the room, the guest is seated in front of it. The host sits next to or closest to the entrance.
Yamishibai: Japanese Ghost Stories also known in Japan as Yami Shibai
(闇芝居 Yami Shibai, lit. Dark Play) and Theater of Darkness is a 2013
Japanese animated series. The first season was directed by Tomoya
Takashima, with scripts written by Hiromu Kumamoto and produced by ILCA.
Each episode was animated in such a way so as to mimic the kamishibai
method of story-telling. The series is organized into a collection of
shorts with each episode being only a few minutes in length. Each
episode features a different tale based on myths and urban legends of
Japanese origin.
Flowers such as the sakura and chrysanthemum are national symbols of Japan. Such flowers have the power to invoke powerful emotions. They're ingrained in Japanese thinking.
Beyond these national symbols, other flowers have more subtle meanings. In Japan, flowers are a traditional gift for both men and women. They are often used to convey what can't be spoken.
The language of flowers (Hanakotoba, 花言葉) is fading. These days, many Japanese are unaware that flowers have traditional meanings. However, flower meanings do make occasional appearances in modern popular culture such as manga and anime.
These are amongst the most popular flowers in Japan.
Beyond these national symbols, other flowers have more subtle meanings. In Japan, flowers are a traditional gift for both men and women. They are often used to convey what can't be spoken.
The language of flowers (Hanakotoba, 花言葉) is fading. These days, many Japanese are unaware that flowers have traditional meanings. However, flower meanings do make occasional appearances in modern popular culture such as manga and anime.
These are amongst the most popular flowers in Japan.
Description
Satsuki azaleas have a diverse range of flower forms and color patterns with multiple patterns often appearing on a single plant. Satsuki bloom from May to June; the name “Satsuki” in Japanese is reference to their blooming period, the fifth month of the Asian lunar calendar.
The custom that only women give chocolates to men appears to have originated from the translation error of a chocolate-company executive during the initial campaigns.In particular, office ladies give chocolate to their co-workers. Unlike western countries, gifts such as greeting cards, candies, flowers, or dinner dates are uncommon, and most of the activity about the gifts is about giving the right amount of chocolate to each person. Japanese chocolate companies make half their annual sales during this time of the year.
Imperial Japan's rapid industrialization and militarization under the slogan Fukoku Kyōhei (富国強兵?, "Enrich the Country, Strengthen the Army") led to its emergence as a world power, eventually culminating in its membership in the Axis alliance and the conquest of a large part of the Asia-Pacific region. At the height of its power in 1942, the Empire of Japan ruled over a land area spanning 7,400,000 square kilometres (2,857,000 sq mi), making it one of the largest maritime empires in history.
After several large-scale military successes during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) and the Pacific War, the Empire of Japan also gained notoriety for its war crimes against the peoples of the countries it conquered. After suffering many defeats and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, however, the Empire of Japan surrendered to the Allies on September 2, 1945. A period of occupation by the Allies followed the surrender, and a new constitution was created with American involvement. The constitution came into force on May 3, 1947, officially dissolving the Empire. American occupation and reconstruction of the country continued well into the 1950s, eventually forming the current nation-state whose full title is the "State of Japan" (Nippon-koku) simply rendered "Japan" in English.
The Emperors during this time, which spanned the entire Meiji and Taishō, and the lesser part of the Shōwa eras, are now known in Japan by their posthumous names, which coincide with those era names: Emperor Meiji (Mutsuhito), Emperor Taishō (Yoshihito), and Emperor Shōwa (Hirohito).
The Nihon Shoki begins with the Japanese creation myth, explaining the origin of the world and the first seven generations of divine beings (starting with Kunitokotachi), and goes on with a number of myths as does the Kojiki, but continues its account through to events of the 8th century. It is believed to record accurately the latter reigns of Emperor Tenji, Emperor Temmu and Empress Jitō. The Nihon Shoki focuses on the merits of the virtuous rulers as well as the errors of the bad rulers. It describes episodes from mythological eras and diplomatic contacts with other countries. The Nihon Shoki was written in classical Chinese, as was common for official documents at that time. The Kojiki, on the other hand, is written in a combination of Chinese and phonetic transcription of Japanese (primarily for names and songs). The Nihon Shoki also contains numerous transliteration notes telling the reader how words were pronounced in Japanese. Collectively, the stories in this book and the Kojiki are referred to as the Kiki stories.
The tale of Urashima Tarō is developed from the brief mention in Nihon Shoki (Emperor Yuryaku Year 22) that a certain child of Urashima visited Horaisan and saw wonders. The later tale has plainly incorporated elements from the famous anecdote of "Luck of the Sea and Luck of the Mountains" (Hoderi and Hoori) found in Nihon Shoki. The later developed Urashima tale contains the Rip van Winkle motif, so some may consider it an early example of fictional time travel.
Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno is the first of two 2014 Japanese movies directed by Keishi Otomo and based on a manga by Nobuhiro Watsuki.
The new films are based on the Kyoto arc from the original manga and revolve around former government assassin Shishio Makoto’s desperate struggle to overthrow the government of Japan.
The new films are based on the Kyoto arc from the original manga and revolve around former government assassin Shishio Makoto’s desperate struggle to overthrow the government of Japan.
Movie info
- Original title
- るろうに剣心 京都大火編
- Transliterated title
- Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Taika-hen
- Release date
- August 1, 2014
- Directed by
- Keishi Otomo
- Written by
- Nobuhiro Watsuki (manga)
- Distributed by
- Warner Bros.
Plot
An assassin named Shishio Makoto was once contracted by the government, but has since become obsessed with tearing it down. In his previous adventure, Himura Kenshin was primarily concerned with protecting Kamiya Kaoru, but the stakes are now much higher as he struggles to protect the nation itself.Featured Cast
| Takeru Satoh | Himura Kenshin | |
| Emi Takei | Kamiya Kaoru | |
| Yusuke Iseya | Shinomori Aoshi | |
| Munetaka Aoki | Sagara Sanosuke | |
| Yu Aoi | Takani Megumi | |
| Ryunosuke Kamiki | Seta Sojiro | |
| Min Tanaka | Nenji Kashiwazaki (old man) | |
| Kazufumi Miyazawa | Okubo Toshimichi | |
| Yukiyoshi Ozawa | Ito Hirobumi | |
| Yosuke Eguchi | Saito Hajime | |
| Tatsuya Fujiwara | Shishio Makoto | |
| Kaito Oyagi | Myojin Yahiko | |
| Maryjun Takahashi | Komagata Yumi | |
| Ryosuke Miura | Sawagejo Cho | |
| Tao Tsuchiya | Makimachi Misao |
Arashi (嵐?, literally Storm) is a popular Japanese idol group consisting of five members formed under the Johnny's Entertainment talent agency. The group was officially formed on September 15, 1999 in Honolulu, Hawaii and made their debut CD on November 3, 1999. The group was initially signed to Pony Canyon
and released one studio album and six singles—beginning with their 1999
eponymous debut single before moving to the Johnny's subsidiary label J Storm in 2001, which was initially set up for their succeeding releases.While their debut single debuted atop the Oricon weekly chart selling a
little over half a million copy, the group subsequently faced slowly
declining sales.With the release of their eighteenth single "Love So Sweet", Arashi began gaining commercial success as "Love So Sweet" was used as the opening theme song for the high-rating drama Hana Yori Dango 2, making it one of the top five best-selling singles of 2007 in Japan and the group's first single to exceed 400,000 copies sold overall in nearly seven years. For the next two years, Arashi gained a number of achievements and records as they became the first artist to place the top two rankings on the Oricon singles yearly chart for two consecutive years with their singles "Truth/Kaze no Mukō e" and "One Love" in 2008 and "Believe/Kumorinochi, Kaisei" and "Ashita no Kioku/Crazy Moon (Kimi wa Muteki)" in 2009, simultaneously topped the 2009 Oricon singles, album and music DVD yearly charts, and became the third artist in Oricon history to monopolize the top three best-selling singles of the year.In 2010, all six of Arashi's singles ranked within the top ten of the Oricon singles yearly chart, and their million-selling studio album Boku no Miteiru Fūkei was named the best-selling album of the year in Japan.
To protect Japan's cultural heritage, the country's government selects through the Agency for Cultural Affairs important items and designates them as Cultural Properties
under the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties. Designated
items are classified in a number of categories one of which is Monuments
(記念物 kinenbutsu?). This category includes historic locations such as shell mounds, ancient tombs, sites of palaces, sites of forts or castles,
monumental dwelling houses and other sites of high historical or
scientific value; gardens, bridges, gorges, mountains, and other places
of great scenic beauty; and natural features such as animals, plants,
and geological or mineral formations of high scientific value.
The government further designates "significant" monuments classifying them in three categories: Historic Sites (史跡 shiseki?), Places of Scenic Beauty (名勝 meishō?), and Natural Monuments (天然記念物 tennen kinenbutsu?). Items of particularly high significance receive higher classifications: Special Historic Sites (特別史跡 tokubetsu shiseki?), Special Places of Scenic Beauty (特別名勝 tokubetsu meishō?), and Special Natural Monuments (特別天然記念物 tokubetsu tennen kinenbutsu?) respectively. As of August 20, 2012 there are 919 Natural Monuments, 1632 Historic Sites, 333 Places of Scenic Beauty, 75 Special Natural Monuments, 61 Special Historic Sites and 36 Special Places of Scenic Beauty. Since a single item can fall under more than one of these categories, the total number of sites is less than the sum of designations.
The government further designates "significant" monuments classifying them in three categories: Historic Sites (史跡 shiseki?), Places of Scenic Beauty (名勝 meishō?), and Natural Monuments (天然記念物 tennen kinenbutsu?). Items of particularly high significance receive higher classifications: Special Historic Sites (特別史跡 tokubetsu shiseki?), Special Places of Scenic Beauty (特別名勝 tokubetsu meishō?), and Special Natural Monuments (特別天然記念物 tokubetsu tennen kinenbutsu?) respectively. As of August 20, 2012 there are 919 Natural Monuments, 1632 Historic Sites, 333 Places of Scenic Beauty, 75 Special Natural Monuments, 61 Special Historic Sites and 36 Special Places of Scenic Beauty. Since a single item can fall under more than one of these categories, the total number of sites is less than the sum of designations.
