Zōri
Zōri are flat and thonged Japanese sandals made of rice straw or cloth, lacquered wood, rubber, or, most synthetic materials. Zōri are quite similar to flip-flops. Like all Japanese sandals, zōri allow for free circulation of air around the feet, a feature that came about because of the humid climate that predominates throughout most of Japan, they are slipped on and off, important in a culture where shoes are removed and put back on, where tying shoelaces would be impractical in a tight kimono. The traditional forms of zōri are seen. While geta are now worn with the informal yukata, zōri are worn with the more formal kimono; the formality of the occasion affects the choice of zōri. The bulrush covered zōri that resemble tatami mats are not used with kimono, but are considered working wear or matched with casual Western or Japanese clothing, they rank close to the wooden geta. The hanao, or thongs, are either black, depending on the occasion. One wears white-thonged zōri as formal wear, as opposed to wearing a black-thonged zōri for informal wear.
Most occasions dictate. The hanao of informal zōri can be made of a velour-like material, as in the case of straw imitation zōri; the hanao for more formal coloured vinyl zōri are either thin vinyl or brocade straps, or wider and padded vinyl or fabric straps. The fabric is either the fabric used for the shoe, or chirimen, crepe-like Japanese silk or rayon fabric. Men's zōri might feature leather or leather imitation hanao; the hanao wear and stretch and they sometimes call for replacing. Sometimes, hanao can be replaced through flaps of the sole. At other times, the hanao cannot be replaced. Women's vinyl zōri are formal, but less formal than fabric, or sometimes brocade covered zōri, that are used with the most formal of kimono, for example and funeral wear. Men's zōri are plastic straw imitation, with foam or cork soles. Women's zōri are flat, except for the straw imitation zōri; the soles come in different angles. There are modern zōri that are left uncovered by fabric or vinyl, the shoe, except for the inner sole, is black, hard plastic with a non-slip outer sole.
The outer sole is gray, genuine leather. Https://matcha-jp.com/en/3536
Japanese clothing
There are two types of clothing that the Japanese wear: the Japanese clothing, such as kimonos, Western clothing. Japanese traditional fashion combines multiple styles, it represents the culture's visible artistic and traditional values and joins them together to create a form of fashion recognizable to foreign cultures. The most well known form of Japanese traditional fashion is the kimono, but other types include the yukata and the hakama; the different styles have been produced and transformed by artists well known in Japan, including fashion designers Issey Miyake, Yohji Yamamoto, Rei Kawakubo. Their works have influenced numerous designers outside of the country that showcase their designs in fashion shows exposed internationally. From the intricate patterns to the layers of fabric, the essence of beauty, found in traditional wear has influenced the modern fashion, immersed in Japan's community on a daily basis, specially found in Tokyo, the capital of Japan. Although the traditional wear for Japan became popularized during the Heian period and was worn casually at the time, it is now rare to find people doing so due to the difficult process associated with the wardrobe.
Each type of garment corresponds to a special occasion, such as ceremonies, or weddings. The materials and layers used for the clothing differentiate them and their significance, as the looks are often worn seasonally; the clothing that embodies the culture represents Japan's traditional values that remain in their community to this day. As it became popular in the Western world, there has been controversy regarding cultural appropriation with the costumes of the culture the "Kimono Wednesday" event held at the Boston Museum of Arts. Traditional garments are now worn for ceremonies and special events. In more recent years, western clothing is worn in day-to-day life. Social segregation of clothing was noticeable in the Nara period, through the division of upper and lower class. Women of higher social status wore clothing that covered the majority of their body, or as Svitlana Rybalko states, "the higher the status, the less was open to other people's eyes". For example, the full-length robes would cover most from the collarbone to the feet, the sleeves were to be long enough to hide their fingertips, fans were carried to protect them from speculative looks.
When the Heian period began, the concept of the hidden body remained, with ideologies suggesting that the clothes served as "protection from the evil spirits and outward manifestation of a social rank". This proposed the held belief that those of lower ranking, who were perceived to be of less clothing due to their casual performance of manual labor, were not protected in the way that the upper class were in that time period; this was the period in which Japanese traditional clothing became introduced to the Western world. As time passed, new approaches to the costume were brought up, but the original mindset of a covered body lingered; the new trend of tattoos competed with the social concept of hidden skin and led to differences in opinion among the Japanese community and their social values. The dress code, once followed on a daily basis reconstructed into a festive and occasional trend. In Japan, modern fashion history might be conceived as the gradual westernization of Japanese clothes.
The woolen and worsted industries were a product of Japan's re-established contact with the West in the 1850s and 1860s. Before the 1860s, Japanese clothing consisted of a great variety of kimono; these first appeared with no distinction between male and female. After Japan opened up for trading with the outside world, other clothing options started to come in; the first Japanese to adopt western clothing were officers and men of some units of the shōgun's army and navy. Sometime in the 1850s these men adopted woolen uniforms worn by English marines stationed at Yokohama. To produce them domestically was not easy, cloth had to be imported; the most significant of this early adoption of Western styles was its public origin. For quite a while, the public sector remained as major champion of the new garb; the style only grew from there. Soon and bureaucrats were urged to adopt Western clothing, thought to be more practical; the Ministry of Education ordered that Western-style student uniforms be worn in public colleges and universities.
Businessmen, doctors and other leaders of the new society wore suits to work and at large social functions. Although western-style dress was becoming more popular for workplaces and streets, it was not worn by everybody. Since World War II most areas have been taken over by western clothing. Thus, by the opening of the twentieth century, western dress was a symbol of social dignity and progressiveness. However, the vast majority of Japanese stuck to their fashions, in favor of the more comfortable kimono. Western dress for street wear and Japanese dress at home remained the general rule for a long time. An example of Eastern influence from Japan that spread to the rest of the world is evident in the late 1880s. An ordinary wool blanket was used as a shawl for women, a red blanket was featured in Vogue for winter wear; until the 1930s, the majority of Japanese wore the kimono, Western clothes were still restricted to out-of-home use by certain classes. The Japanese have interpreted western clothing styles from the United States and Europe and made it their own.
Overall, it is evident throughout
Jika-tabi
Jika-tabi is a type of outdoor footwear worn in Japan. It was invented in the early 20th century. An ingenious accession to practicality, jika-tabi is more reflective of the underlying structure of the human foot. Known as "tabi boots", they are modelled on tabi, traditional split-toe Japanese socks. Like other tabi, jika-tabi have a divided toe area so that they can in theory be worn with slip-on thonged footwear, but they are heavy-duty, resemble boots. Tokujirō Ishibashi, a brother of Shōjirō Ishibashi, the founder of the major tire company Bridgestone Corporation, is credited with their invention. Being made of heavy, tough material and having rubber soles, jika-tabi are used by construction workers and gardeners, rickshaw-pullers, other workmen. Though being replaced by steel-toed, rigid-sole shoes in some industries, many workers prefer them for the softness of their soles; this gives wearers tactile contact with the ground, the concomitant gripping ability lets them use their feet more agilely than rigid-soled shoes allow.
This is useful for workers who traverse girders on construction sites and need to be sure what is under their feet. Carpenters and gardeners wearing these boots can, if they wish, use their feet as an extra pair of hands, for example to hold objects in place. There is a line of knee-high all-rubber jika-tabi, used by workers in rice fields and/or wet and muddy environments. In more recent years, jika-tabi manufacturers, like Marugo and Rikio have introduced the "steel toe" and "hard resin" versions which are approved by the Japan Occupational Safety and Health Resource Center. A variation on the jika-tabi, called the matsuri tabi, is so called because it is most worn during festivals, it differs from the regular jika-tabi in having extra cushioning for the sole. Outside Japan, where they are available from online and martial-arts shops, jika-tabi are appreciated by practitioners of the martial art of Bujinkan budo taijutsu when training outdoors. Other people like wearing them for certain kinds of exercise trail-running and climbing.
In recent years, jika-tabi have been seen in Hollywood movie productions. Examples include The Wolverine, 47 Ronin, Big Hero 6, Star Trek, Thor: The Dark World. In 2017, a report described how the World War II Battle of Milne Bay in Papua was the first time that forces of the Allies of World War II saw Japanese Kaigun Tokubetsu Rikusentai in action; the Allies had Australian troops with some American units. The jika-tabi shoes were used by the Japanese special forces, were a liability as the Allies’ rout and mopping up operation was aided by the distinctive boot tread pattern being easy to identify and follow through the muddy forests. Examples of the boots are held by the Australian War Memorial. What Are Ninja Shoes
Shichi-Go-San
Shichi-Go-San is a traditional rite of passage and festival day in Japan for three- and seven-year-old girls and five-year-old boys, held annually on November 15 to celebrate the growth and well-being of young children. As it is not a national holiday, it is observed on the nearest weekend. Shichi-Go-San is said to have originated in the Heian period amongst court nobles who would celebrate the passage of their children into middle childhood; the ages 3, 5 and 7 are consistent with East Asian numerology, which holds that odd numbers are lucky. The practice was set to the fifteenth of the month during the Kamakura period, its meaning is to celebrate the survival of children, because in the past people have lost their children due to poor health conditions. So, until the age 7, children were thought to be offsprings of Japanese Gods. Over time, this tradition passed to the samurai class. Children—who up until the age of three were required by custom to have shaven heads—were allowed to grow out their hair.
Boys of age five could wear hakama for the first time, while girls of age seven replaced the simple cords they used to tie their kimono with the traditional obi. By the Meiji period, the practice was adopted amongst commoners as well, included the modern ritual of visiting a shrine to drive out evil spirits and wish for a long healthy life; the tradition has changed little since the Meiji period. While the ritual regarding hair has been discarded, boys who are aged five and girls who are aged three or seven are still dressed in kimono—many for the first time—for visits to shrines. Three-year-old girls wear hifu with their kimono. Western-style formal wear is worn by some children. A more modern practice is photography, this day is well known as a day to take pictures of children, it is common to observe the rite based on the traditional way of calculating age, or kazoedoshi, in which children are one year old at birth and gain a year on each New Year's Day. In this case, girls celebrate in the year in which they would reach an age according to the modern calculation of two or six, boys in the year in which they would reach an age according to the modern calculation of four.
Chitose ame "thousand year candy", is given to children on Shichi-Go-San. Chitose ame is long, thin and white candy, which symbolizes healthy growth and longevity, it is given in a bag decorated with a turtle, which represent long life in Japan. Chitose ame is wrapped in a thin and edible rice paper film that resembles plastic. In Crayon Shin-chan episode 26-3 "My Shichi-Go-San", the Nohara family celebrates Shichi-Go-San. In the OVA Mega Man: Upon a Star, Roll makes a promise with Akane at a Japanese festival that she will wear a kimono on this event. In Mama Loves the Poyopoyo-Saurus episode 11-2 "Shobo-san who came in slobbing mama double", the Poyota family celebrates Shichi-Go-San. In Paranoia Agent episode 8, "Happy Family Planning", the character Fuyubachi falls asleep on the train holding chitose ame, which he gives to the young girl Kamome-kun. In Katte ni Kaizō episode 3, "To Celebrate This Child's 7th Birthday", it's said that Kaizo is scared of 3-5-7 because of a childhood memory. In Osomatsu-san episode 17, a picture of Jyushimatsu wearing kimono for 3-5-7 is shown in the photo album.
In the anime Dragonball Z episode 38, Kuririn asks Gohan if he's going to keep wearing that "Shichigosan suit". In the OVA of My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU, when taking the group photo with the service club members, Hachiman mentioned about their position looks like what happens during Shichi-Go-San. In the manga Honey and Clover chapter 19, Hagu has Coming Of Age photos taken as she turns 20, but Morita edits the photo to make it look like a Shichi-Go-San photograph, because she looks so young. In the edited photo, Hagu is holding a bag of chitose ame. Children's Day Hinamatsuri Japanese festivals Culture of Japan Holidays of Japan Tokyo with Kids website
Geisha
Geisha, geiko, or geigi are Japanese women who entertain through performing the ancient traditions of art and singing, are distinctively characterized by traditional kimonos and makeup. Contrary to popular belief, geisha are not the Eastern equivalent of a prostitute; the word geisha consists of two kanji, 芸 meaning "art" and 者 meaning "person" or "doer". The most literal translation of geisha into English would be "artist", "performing artist", or "artisan". Another name for geisha is Geiko, which translates as "Woman of Art"; this term is used to refer to geisha from Western Japan, which includes Kanazawa. Apprentice geisha are called Maiko "Woman of Dance", or Hangyoku, "Half-Jewel", or by the more generic term o-shaku "one who pours"; the white make-up and elaborate kimono and hair of a maiko is the popular image held of geisha. A woman entering the geisha community does not have to begin as a maiko, having the opportunity to begin her career as a full geisha. Either way, however a year's training is involved before debuting either as a maiko or as a geisha.
A woman above 21 is considered too old to be a maiko and becomes a full geisha upon her initiation into the geisha community. On average, Tokyo apprentices are older than their Kyoto counterparts. Geisha began the earliest stages of their training at a young age, sometimes as early as 6 years old; the early Shikomi and Minarai stages of geisha training lasted for years and months, longer than in contemporary times. A girl is a shikomi for up to a year while the modern minarai period is one month, it is still said that geisha inhabit a separate world which they call the Karyūkai or "The Flower and Willow World". Before they disappeared, the courtesans were the colourful "flowers" and the geisha the "willows" because of their subtlety and grace. In the early stages of Japanese history, there were female entertainers: Saburuko were wandering girls whose families were displaced from struggles in the late 600s; some of these saburuko girls sold sexual services, while others with a better education made a living by entertaining at high-class social gatherings.
After the imperial court moved the capital to Heian-kyō in 794 the conditions that would form geisha culture began to emerge, as it became the home of a beauty-obsessed elite. Skilled female performers, such as Shirabyōshi dancers, thrived. Traditional Japan embraced sexual delights and men were not constrained to be faithful to their wives; the ideal wife was a modest manager of the home. For sexual enjoyment and romantic attachment, men did not go to courtesans. Walled-in pleasure quarters known as yūkaku were built in the 16th century, in 1617 the shogunate designated "pleasure quarters", outside of which prostitution would be illegal, within which yūjo would be classified and licensed; the highest yūjo class was the geisha's predecessor, called tayuu, a combination of actress and prostitute playing on stages set in the dry Kamo riverbed in Kyoto. They performed erotic dances and skits, this new art was dubbed kabuku, meaning "to be wild and outrageous"; the dances were called "kabuki", this was the beginning of kabuki theater.
These pleasure quarters became glamorous entertainment centers, offering more than sex. The accomplished courtesans of these districts entertained their clients by dancing and playing music; some were renowned calligraphers. They all became specialized and the new profession, purely of entertainment, arose, it was near the turn of the eighteenth century that the first entertainers of the pleasure quarters, called geisha, appeared. The first geishas were men, entertaining customers waiting to see the most popular and gifted courtesans; the forerunners of the female geisha were the teenage odoriko: expensively trained as chaste dancers-for-hire. In the 1680s, they were popular paid entertainers in the private homes of upper-class samurai, though many had turned to prostitution by the early 18th century; those who were no longer teenagers adopted other names—one being "geisha", after the male entertainers. The first woman known to have called herself geisha was a Fukagawa prostitute, in about 1750.
She was a skilled singer and shamisen player named Kikuya, an immediate success, making female geisha popular in 1750s Fukagawa. As they became more widespread throughout the 1760s and 1770s, many began working only as entertainers in the same establishments as male geisha; the geisha who worked within the pleasure quarters were imprisoned and forbidden to sell sex in order to protect the business of the oiran. While licensed courtesans existed to meet men's sexual needs, machi geisha carved out a separate niche as artists and erudite female companions. By 1800, being a geisha was considered a female occupation; the gaudy Oiran began to fall out of fashion, becoming less popular than the chic and modern geisha. By the 1830s, the evolving geisha style was emula
Oiran
Oiran were courtesans in Japan. The oiran were considered prostitute. However, they are distinguished from ordinary yūjo in that they were entertainers, many became celebrities outside the pleasure districts, their art and fashions set trends and, because of this, cultural aspects of oiran traditions continue to be preserved to this day. The word oiran comes from the Japanese phrase oira no tokoro no nēsan which translates loosely into "the lass at our place." When written in kanji, the word consists of two characters, 花 meaning "flower", 魁 meaning "leader" or "first." Technically, only the high-class prostitutes of Yoshiwara were called oiran, although the term is applied to all. Courtesan culture arose in the early Edo period. At this time, laws were passed restricting brothels to pleasure quarters, which were walled districts set some distance from the city center. Although there were many such quarters, the three with the most lasting prominence were the Shimabara in Kyoto, the Shinmachi in Osaka, in Edo, the Yoshiwara.
These grew into large, self-contained neighborhoods offering all manner of entertainment, including fine dining, free performances, frequent festivals and parades. Compared to yūjo, whose primary attraction was their sexual favors, courtesans were first and foremost entertainers. In order to become an oiran, a woman had to be educated in a range of skills, including the traditional arts of sadō, calligraphy. Oiran learned to play the koto, shakuhachi and shamisen. Clients expected them to be well-read and able to converse and write with wit and elegance. Within the pleasure quarters, courtesans' prestige was based on their beauty, character and artistic ability, rather than their birth; the highest rank of courtesan was the tayū, followed by the kōshi. Unlike a common prostitute, the tayū had sufficient prestige to refuse clients, her high status made a tayū pricey—a tayū's fee for one evening was between one ryo and one ryo three bu, well beyond a laborer's monthly wage and comparable to a shop assistant's annual salary.
In 1761, the last tayū of the Yoshiwara retired, marking the end of the tayū and kōshi ranks in that pleasure quarter. The word "oiran" therefore appeared in the Yoshiwara as a polite term of address for any remaining woman of courtesan rank; the isolation within the closed districts resulted in the oiran becoming ritualised in many ways and removed from the changing society. Strict etiquette governed appropriate behavior, their speech preserved the formal court standards rather than the common language. Casual visitors were rejected. In a time when both dress and hairstyles were becoming simpler, oiran's costumes became more and more ornate, culminating in a style with eight or more pins and combs in the hair, many layers of ornamented garments derived from the early Edo period; the entertainments offered were derived from those of the original courtesans generations before. The culture of the oiran grew rarefied and remote from everyday life, their clients dwindled; the rise of the geisha ended the era of the oiran.
Geisha were entertainers who provided a suitable backdrop for the courtesans, their restrained dress and hairstyles were intended to prevent them from competing with courtesans. However, their sartorial restraint translated into chic, their relative lack of formality into approachability; the types of entertainment they offered were more to the average person's taste. Most they were much less expensive than the courtesans. By the late 19th century, geisha had replaced oiran as the companion of choice for wealthy Japanese men. Oiran continued to see clients in the old pleasure quarters, but they were no longer at the cutting edge of fashion. During World War II, when any show of luxury was frowned upon, courtesan culture suffered; the anti-prostitution laws of 1958 dealt it the final blow. Tayū continue to entertain, but no longer provide sex. However, there are fewer than five tayū, in comparison to the three hundred geisha in Kyoto today; the last remaining tayū house is located in Shimabara, which lost its official status as a hanamachi in the late 20th century because of the tayūs' decline.
However, some still recognize Shimabara as a "flower town," since geisha and tayū still work there and the activity of the tayū is growing. The few remaining women still practising the arts of the tayū do so as a preservation of cultural heritage rather than as a profession or lifestyle; the Bunsui Sakura Matsuri Oiran Dōchū is an annual event held every April in Niigata. The parade, which takes place under the Spring cherry blossoms re-enacts the walk made by top courtesans around their district in honour of their guests; the modern parade features three oiran in full traditional attire with 70 accompanying servants. The oiran, who are named Shinano and Bunsui, have a slow distinctive gait because they wear 15 cm high wooden sandals. Due to the event's popularity in Japan, organisers are inundated with applications to be one of the three oiran or a servant. Dōchū is a shortened form of oiran-dochu, it is known as the Dream Parade of Echigo; the Ōsu Street Performers' Festival is an event held around Ōsu Kannon Temple in Nagoya yearly around the beginning
Renaissance
The Renaissance is a period in European history, covering the span between the 14th and 17th centuries and marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity. The traditional view focuses more on the early modern aspects of the Renaissance and argues that it was a break from the past, but many historians today focus more on its medieval aspects and argue that it was an extension of the middle ages; the intellectual basis of the Renaissance was its version of humanism, derived from the concept of Roman Humanitas and the rediscovery of classical Greek philosophy, such as that of Protagoras, who said that "Man is the measure of all things." This new thinking became manifest in art, politics and literature. Early examples were the development of perspective in oil painting and the recycled knowledge of how to make concrete. Although the invention of metal movable type sped the dissemination of ideas from the 15th century, the changes of the Renaissance were not uniformly experienced across Europe: the first traces appear in Italy as early as the late 13th century, in particular with the writings of Dante and the paintings of Giotto.
As a cultural movement, the Renaissance encompassed innovative flowering of Latin and vernacular literatures, beginning with the 14th-century resurgence of learning based on classical sources, which contemporaries credited to Petrarch. In politics, the Renaissance contributed to the development of the customs and conventions of diplomacy, in science to an increased reliance on observation and inductive reasoning. Although the Renaissance saw revolutions in many intellectual pursuits, as well as social and political upheaval, it is best known for its artistic developments and the contributions of such polymaths as Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, who inspired the term "Renaissance man"; the Renaissance began in the 14th century in Italy. Various theories have been proposed to account for its origins and characteristics, focusing on a variety of factors including the social and civic peculiarities of Florence at the time: its political structure, the patronage of its dominant family, the Medici, the migration of Greek scholars and texts to Italy following the Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks.
Other major centres were northern Italian city-states such as Venice, Milan and Rome during the Renaissance Papacy. The Renaissance has a long and complex historiography, and, in line with general scepticism of discrete periodizations, there has been much debate among historians reacting to the 19th-century glorification of the "Renaissance" and individual culture heroes as "Renaissance men", questioning the usefulness of Renaissance as a term and as a historical delineation; the art historian Erwin Panofsky observed of this resistance to the concept of "Renaissance": It is no accident that the factuality of the Italian Renaissance has been most vigorously questioned by those who are not obliged to take a professional interest in the aesthetic aspects of civilization – historians of economic and social developments and religious situations, most natural science – but only exceptionally by students of literature and hardly by historians of Art. Some observers have called into question whether the Renaissance was a cultural "advance" from the Middle Ages, instead seeing it as a period of pessimism and nostalgia for classical antiquity, while social and economic historians of the longue durée, have instead focused on the continuity between the two eras, which are linked, as Panofsky observed, "by a thousand ties".
The word Renaissance meaning "Rebirth", first appeared in English in the 1830s. The word occurs in Jules Michelet's 1855 work, Histoire de France; the word Renaissance has been extended to other historical and cultural movements, such as the Carolingian Renaissance and the Renaissance of the 12th century. The Renaissance was a cultural movement that profoundly affected European intellectual life in the early modern period. Beginning in Italy, spreading to the rest of Europe by the 16th century, its influence was felt in literature, art, politics, science and other aspects of intellectual inquiry. Renaissance scholars employed the humanist method in study, searched for realism and human emotion in art. Renaissance humanists such as Poggio Bracciolini sought out in Europe's monastic libraries the Latin literary and oratorical texts of Antiquity, while the Fall of Constantinople generated a wave of émigré Greek scholars bringing precious manuscripts in ancient Greek, many of which had fallen into obscurity in the West.
It is in their new focus on literary and historical texts that Renaissance scholars differed so markedly from the medieval scholars of the Renaissance of the 12th century, who had focused on studying Greek and Arabic works of natural sciences and mathematics, rather than on such cultural texts. In the revival of neo-Platonism Renaissance humanists did not reject Christianity. However, a subtle shift took place in the way that intellectuals approached religion, reflected in many other areas of cultural life. In addition, many Greek Christian works, including the Greek New Testament, were brought back from Byzantium to Western Europe and engaged Western scholars for the first time since late antiquity; this new engagement with Greek Christian works, the return to the original Greek of the Ne
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