Turning Japanese!^^

konbanwa :D

2008-11-18T09:00:00.001-08:00

just to have the pleasure of writing here that...I AM LIVING IN TOKYO! :D

dreams do come true... :)

btw....i forgot about this blog and started a new one in livejournal.

Urban Culture - Visual Kei

2007-08-28T10:05:00.000-07:00

Such a complex structure inside the urban masses, that seems to come out today as a fashion among young people in an alternative ground: it is visual kei.

I must confess i was surprised with a mist of pleasure and admiration when years ago i found what this really is. I couldn't stop feeling entangled by it, surprised, wanted everything related to it...! And some months ago it all hit me again: like a secret well-hidden in a little box, it came out and suddenly visual kei was everywhere in the alternative scene. People stopped asking "what?!" when asked about visual kei, and the "weird looks" didn't seem that weird anymore as people started to exhibit the hair, the makeup, the clothes...of VK. And i remembered it like a sweet memory and wished to feel it again in my daily life. =) Now come on...i myself am not a great example of VK, as i don't present myself with that looks day after day. But i love it!*winks with a grin*

The other day I was simply dressed walking down the street, going to a party and someone called me "emo" and i was: "fuck, me an emo?!" - i confess i didn't knew what an emo was until some month ago... :x And then I thought, well what can i do? The VK fashion hit the emo's too...i guess they wear some VK stuff too and let's admit: they have great hair. o_O

Of course i don't exclude the main role played by the music in the VK scene. Bands like the former Malice Mizer, Moi Dix Mois, Fatima, Ayabie, An Cafe, Alice Nine, Deadman, the former Due Le Quartz, Dir En Grey, GazettE, Schwarz Stein, Psycho Le Cemu, X-Japan, Sadie, Vidoll and even ... Miyavi - who i know...is not a band!;) [and i don't want to exclude none.] have strong influences in VK and we can even say that without them, there wouldn't be VK.

For those who don't know VK, here is a simple definition:

Visual kei (ヴィジュアル系, vijuaru kei) is a movement among Japanese musicians, that is characterized by the use of eccentric, sometimes flamboyant looks. This usually involves striking make-up, unusual hair styles and elaborate costumes, often, but not always, coupled with androgynous aesthetics.
These looks have enjoyed popularity among independent underground projects, as well as artists achieving mainstream success, with influences from visuals-conscious Western phenomena such as glam rock but also with national influences from Kabuki Theatre. The music performed encompasses a large variety of genres like pop, heavy metal and electronica. Magazines published regularly in Japan with visual kei coverage are Arena 37°C, Fool's Mate and Shoxx. Noted bands who at least at some point sported a visual kei theme include Dir en grey, Luna Sea and Malice Mizer.
Popularity and awareness of such groups outside of Japan is sparse, but has seen an increase in recent years. While the successful X Japan launched an attempt to enter the international market as early as 1992, it would still take another decade until live concerts and regular domestic releases by visual kei themed bands in Europe and North America came to pass.

こんにちは。- Konnichiwa! long time no see :\

2007-08-16T09:43:00.000-07:00

hi to everyone who passes by my humble blog... :)
i didn't take care of it as i should cause i am currently living in Lisbon and we still don't have access to the internet, so...from time to time i'll write something here, always promising it would be at least once a week.

the good news is that i have a japanese teacher and i'll be sharing some of my lessons with you, nippon-fans!;)

ミート麿程なく!

JAM videos! :D

2007-07-08T07:39:00.000-07:00

Judy and Mary :)

2007-07-08T06:34:00.000-07:00

wow...i knew this would happen sooner or later, in about a month i had no time or enough energy to write something here. But now that i'm "officially" on vacations (even though I'll restart working tomorrow in a new place) i though about posting some little things here.

and here it is!

Judy and Mary - this i didn't knew until Kei (now in spain working in marbella :P) told me he liked a lot this band. I was curious, and found out some records in slsk, which i downloaded and i admit: it sounded weird at first, because of the vocals and me not knowing enough japanese to decipher the lyrics but...about a week later (or sooner), i was feeling addicted to it!;)

"Dammit, it's really one of the coolest things «i found» lately!" - this was about some months ago and now, i have 3 albums called "Orange Sunshine" [1994], " The Power Source" [1997] and "Pop Life" [1998]. As you can see, they are from the 90's, when me (as well as Kei) were just kids but, the same happens in other cases when our favourite musics are almost all the time, in almost every cases, from a decade or two ago (if not even earlier!). For me, the 90's weren't as much captivating as the 80's and all that spray hair, spikes, weird ballrooms, extravagant makeup, cool cartoons, cassettes, madonna and boy george clones just to mention some things. Even so, Judy and Mary were like a breath of fresh air directly form the 90's into my daily life, with musics such as "Irotoridori no Sekai", "Sanpo Michi" (hope i'm writing this correctly!), "Cheese Pizza", "Daydream", "Sobakasu", "Hello!Orange Sunshine" among others. My favourite one is definately "Irotoridori no Sekai" *.* =)*

I compate them in a certain aspect to a "The Cure japanese girly vocals" with all the adorability in the voice/lyrics, with some musics so happy and sad the both feeling mix themselves creating a sound so unique. They explained "Judy" and "Mary" are the two conflicting personalities embodied in every human being.

Here's what wikipedia writes about them:

"JUDY AND MARY was a Japanese multi-genre band known for their innovative punk, rock, and pop meldings of noisy but melodic music in the 1990's.They formed in 1991 when bassist Yoshihito Onda (恩田快人, Onda Yoshihito?) met vocalist Yuki Isoya (磯谷有希, Isoya Yūki?) in Hakodate, Hokkaidō. Much later, drummer Kohta Igarashi (五十嵐公太, Igarashi Kōta?) and guitarist Takuya Asanuma (浅沼拓也, Asanuma Takuya?) were added to round out the group.
In 1992, they released their independent album Be Ambitious with an accompanying video on Chainsaw Records. They were picked up by Epic/Sony Records and released their first major label single, Power of Love in 1993. Their first debut major label album, J.A.M, was released in 1994. With each release they grew in popularity until they became one of the most popular and well-known bands in Japan. One of their songs, Sobakasu, was used as the first opening theme for the popular and famous anime TV series Rurouni Kenshin.
In all, they released seven albums, three compilation albums and twenty-two singles. Judy and Mary broke up in March 2001 following the WARP Tour Final held at the Tokyo Dome, where fans bid them a tearful farewell. A recording of that concert is also available on DVD as well.
Yuki is now enjoying a successful solo career, under the name YUKI. Takuya is also currently a solo artist. Onda has joined a new band called the Hot Rod Crue."

Singles:

Power of Love (22 September 1993)
Blue Tears (21 November 1993)
Daydream (21 April 1994)
Hello! Orange Sunshine (21 August 1994)
Cheese "PIZZA" (2 November 1994)
Chiisa na Koro kara (21 January 1995)
Over Drive (19 June 1995)
Doki Doki (21 October 1995)
Sobakasu (19 February 1996) (used as the 1st opening theme for the popular anime series Rurouni Kenshin)
Classic (28 October 1996)
Kujira No. 12 (21 February 1997)
Lovely Baby (21 May 1997)
LOVER SOUL (21 May 1997)
Sanpomichi (15 October 1997)
Music Fighter (1 April 1998)
Iro toridori no Sekai (9 September 1998)
Tegami wo kaku yo (11 November 1998)
Brand New Wave Upper Ground (23 February 2000)
Hitotsu dake (15 July 2000)
Mottö (22 November 2000)
Lucky Pool (24 January 2001)
Peace ~strings version~ (9 March 2001)

Albums:

Be Ambitious -indie- (4/?/1992)
J.A.M. -debut- (21 January 1994)
Orange Sunshine (1 December 1994)
Miracle Diving (4 December 1995)
The Power Source (26 March 1997)
Pop Life (24 June 1998)
Warp (7 February 2001)

Compilations:

44982 VS 1650 -pop life suicide tour lives- (1999)
Fresh -best singles- (23 March 2000)
The Great Escape ~Complete Request Best~ (23 May 2001)
COMPLETE BEST ALBUM FRESH [2006.2.8]

Books/Publications:

JAM Book (15 March 1996)
YUKI Girly Rock -yuki biography- (1997)
YUKI Girly Swing -yuki autobiography & diary- (1997)
YUKI Girly Folk -yuki bio- (2000)
YUKI Girly Boogie -yuki autobio- (2000)
YUKI Girly Wave -yuki bio- (2004)
YUKI Girly Tree -yuki autobio) (2004)
What's In JAM-PACK (memorial compilation of 'What's In' magazine articles)

Yuki's Official Site: www.yukiweb.net/

Weekly Photo - Extreme Japanese Art

2007-06-24T10:17:00.000-07:00

I know I haven't posted for about 10 days but now i'm back and i've found some photos of what's called an extreme japanese art, that i found very interesting. Enjoy!

Trends in Japan - Gothic Lolitas Documentary

2007-06-13T15:52:00.000-07:00

with special presence of Mana-sama ^_^

2nd Chapter of Gackt's Autobiography: Shuusei (Birth)

2007-06-13T15:41:00.000-07:00

2. Sparta Ongaku Kyouiku[A Spartan Music Education]

Ever since I can remember, there was an environment around me that made it only natural that I play the piano. I started when I was three years old. My father played the trumpet, and both of my parents had the common thought to make me learn the piano. My house was a classical home. There were a lot of orchestral works. Later, somehow, there was chanson and tango.
It's a funny story, but… Because I couldn't watch TV, I knew absolutely nothing about rock itself. My father also really liked Enka. However, he never listened to it in the house, but always while he was driving. His car always smelled very strongly of perfume, and to me, who got very carsick, it seemed like torture. It was definitely like being drunk. Enka was what was on during that time I felt drunk and terrible. I wanted to hurry up and get out of the car. I put my hands over my ears and just pray that I could get out. Just because of Enka, I became conditioned to do that. I really hated Enka. Now when I listen to it, it's a nice melody. But when I was young, I didn't listen to the lyrics, and Japanese music itself was incompatible with me. In my music textbook appear many nursery rhymes and songs and minor chords. Why is Japanese music so dark and depressing? All the melodies are sad. Compared to this, classical orchestral pieces are violent and forceful. Bright.
Inevitably, I became attracted more to foreign music than Japanese music. The teacher who started teaching me from when I was three was a good person. I loved the piano. Maybe it was because it was fun seeing this teacher. I liked it so much that I never complained about practicing.
However, when I entered elementary school, piano lessons became unpleasant. I started having doubts and questions when I was seven years old. Practicing piano became shameful for me. I felt strongly, "I'm being made to do it." It was agonizing. We moved a few times, and one after another I changed different teachers, and this was one of the causes for me hating piano.
At seven years old was when I drowned in the ocean, right? From that time on, my world became an open gallery. No matter what teacher I had at that time, they would beat me. I was slapped on the arm and the shoulder. "Do you feel like doing it?" they would say in a cold voice. In my heart, resistance would flare up. I wanted to quit piano, However, my parents wouldn't let me. I wondered how I could quit. The only thing I could do was make my teacher hate me. I twisted a chain around his front door and tied it to the key so that you couldn't get in from the outside. He called me a stupid kid [lit: mischievous] and threw a rock at me. I made him very angry, but all I wanted to make him say was, "This child is irresponsible. Make him quit." I also wanted to make my parents think, "His teacher isn't home." My wish came true, and I was just able to quit piano when I was 11 years old.

Religion's cute, but creation chemistry is complex (by Rowan Hooper)

2007-06-13T15:36:00.000-07:00

The ancient Chinese believed the universe began inside a cosmic egg. In Japanese mythology, two gods, Izanagi and Izanami, stirred the oceans with a giant spear, forming the islands of Japan and, eventually, its people. There are countless more creation myths. Every culture has them. But I like to think that the Buddha understood the absurdity of speculating about the origin of life, when he reportedly said the following:
"Conjecture about the origin of the world is an unconjecturable that is not to be conjectured about, that would bring madness and vexation to anyone who conjectured about it."

I think he's right, because conjecture based on mythology can only bring madness, or delusion. He was a wise man to see that.
Luckily however, long after the Buddha died, a system of learning about the world came along — a system known as science, that isn't based on conjecture, but on collecting and verifying information. Using this system, scientists do indeed make conjectures about origins.
Another wise man, Charles Darwin, was one of the first in the modern world to do that. Life, he wrote in 1871, may have begun in a "warm little pond, with all sorts of ammonia and phosphoric salts, lights, heat, electricity, etc. present, [so] that a protein compound was chemically formed ready to undergo still more complex changes."
Since then, Darwin's suggestion has been much refined.
Before life arose we know there must have been some chemical mechanisms for generating energy — that is, some simple metabolic process must have been available to convert food into energy. There also must have been some sort of genetic system for telling the metabolic processes how to copy themselves. Understanding these processes is one thing, but the problem remains: What preceded these pre-life steps?
Ken Dill, a pharmaceutical chemist at the University of California, San Francisco, has an idea that this column is only too happy to report, seeing as it is based on natural selection — except that Dill's idea has natural selection operating on a nanoscale. Enzymes can cooperate and compete with each other in simple ways and, Dill says, successful ones become stable, or "locked in."
It's analogous, Dill says, to the way memories form, and ants forage. In the brain, neurons fire at different rates and connections form between different points. Neural pathways are laid down and a wiring pattern gets set into the architecture of the brain. When ants forage, they wander about randomly. When they discover food, they lay down a trail that other ants can follow. The ants that follow then lay down their own "food this way" chemical, and the trail grows stronger and clearer.
Dill, working with colleague Justin Bradford, built a mathematical model to investigate how this process could work in the "primordial soup" of simple chemicals that Darwin envisaged.
Natural selection works by picking out the traits that are best suited to the environment, and Dill and Bradford used the same principle in their model. Instead of genes and traits being selected — as happens in "normal" natural selection — in the model, chemicals interact.
So what happens?
In the "soup" of the model are two types of enzymes — chemicals that catalyze reactions. Enzyme A catalyzes reaction 1, and enzyme B catalyzes reaction 2. The researchers assume that A produces a chemical that B uses. A will naturally "seek out" enzyme B because it "wants" that chemical. The result is that the two enzymes will come into proximity, and form a complex, AB.
I'm using "seek out" and "wants" as shorthand. The enzymes don't make conscious decisions, of course. But if one makes a chemical that the other uses, it follows from basic chemistry that more complex molecules will form. It doesn't require any consciousness — nor even life.
Dill is excited about what this means.
"A major question about life's origins is how chemicals, which have no self-interest, became 'biological' — driven to evolve by natural selection," he says. "This simple model shows a plausible route to this type of complexity."
Complexity is a factor that puzzled biologists for centuries before Darwin solved the problem of how it arises.
The puzzle is what drove people to creation myths such as the Chinese cosmic egg, or the various myths in Judaism, Christianity or Islam that describe a supreme being who created the universe, the world and everything in it? Some religious people falsely think they can use science to support their myths, most notoriously at the moment, the creationists of the so-called Intelligent Design movement.
Darwin showed how life could evolve complexity through a simple, unconscious process — natural selection — that leads to things such as eyes and hands that look like they've been designed for a purpose but don't actually require any direction. Dill and Bradford, writing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, show how complex molecules could also arise without direction.
"This simple model shows a plausible route to this type of complexity," said Dill.
What's exciting about the work is that it can be tested. An experiment can be set up that tests to see if real catalysts, such as A and B in the model, do form complexes. Cosmic eggs and Abrahamic stories of God creating the heavens and the earth are cute enough, but they're only stories. How much more thrilling to think that we may one day be able to explain how life began.
The second volume of Natural Selections columns translated into Japanese is published by Shinchosha, priced 1,500 yen. The title is "Hito wa ima mo shinka shiteru (The Evolving Human: How new biology explains your journey through life)."

Made in Japan - Camera for Dogs!

2007-06-13T09:06:00.000-07:00

Anime Expo 2007

2007-05-29T12:26:00.000-07:00

"ANIME EXPO® 2007 ANNOUNCES J-ROCK CONCERT OF THE CENTURY
J-Rock Gods Join Forces and Debut at Nation's Largest Convention"

That's what I read and as I kept reading I was getting even more excited about the event, even if it's obvious I cannot go cause it's in USA, but just read the program!

Location: Long Beach Convetion Center, Southern California.

What it is: the largest anime/manga convention in the country, that serves to trade, commerce and just simply expand the interests of the general public on animation/comics industry- it's a meeting place for members of the industry to conduct business and the general public to appreciate.

Dates: from June 29 to July 2, 2007.

Sponsors: ADV Films, Bandai Entertainment, Copic Markers, Digital Manga, Gaia Online, Go!Media, Infinity Studios, Imaginasian TV (IaTV) and the Los Angeles Times.

Guests: SKIN (Gackt, Miyavi, Yoshiki and Sugizo!!!) performs June 29th, 2007 at Anime Expo® 2007; Aya Hirano, Eisaku Inoue, Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, Masaru Kitao, Minori Chihara , ORESKABAND, Tetsuro Araki , Yuko Goto among others.

Program:

AMV Contest (Anime Music Video Contest)

AX Idols and Masquerade (Anime Expo) - Have you ever wished you could sing your favorite Anime song for American Idol or just knew you were the next great voice in Anime? Well, now's your big chance. AX Idol will be holding open auditions for everyone who would like to try his or her hand at being the next Anime Voice Acting and Singing Superstars.
Cosplay Events:

* Masquerade: a costume contest for all levels of amateur costumers representing anime/manga video games, original costumes and anime/manga/video game based live actions.

* Masquerade Ball: turn your favourite Japanese Pop Culture character into an elegant ghoul or zombie.

* Pop Shock: Whether you're into J-Pop, J-Rock, EGL (Elegant Gothic Lolita) / EGA (Elegant Gothic Aristocrats), Visual Kei or anything in between, Pop Shock is just for you. To anyone who knows the difference between Miyavi and Izam, do we have an event for you!

* Midnight Tea: This is a competitive event for enthusiasts of the Lolita/Aristocrat culture. Imagine a life size diorama & costume contest! This event gives the contestants a chance to create and design a themed tea party by decorating tea sets, tables, cushions and most importantly, show craftsmanship at creating a Lolita or Aristocratic themed tea party.

* Chibi Masquerade: Chibi Masquerade is a new, no stress, low calorie, high fiber, noncompetitive event open to all attendees of Anime Expo® 2007. Since there is no judging, there are no awards to worry about. It's all about the fun and then some!
Costumes that are actual representations or original creations inspired by any anime, manga, video game or J-Pop Culture may enter the event. Any costumer can enter and can simply display their costumes or perform a simple skit. This is a walk-in event only.

There will be dance, karaoke contests, exhibits, film/videos and workshops/panels, an art show and model contest!=)

fOr MoRe InFoS gO tO www.anime-expo.org/ !!!

Weekly Photo - Girls Change

2007-05-29T12:01:00.000-07:00

Japanese Artists - X-Japan

2007-05-27T11:50:00.000-07:00

X-Japan (エックスジャパン) were a group, originally named X (エックス), formed in 1982 by the drummer and pianist Yoshiki Hayashi and vocalist Toshimitsu "Toshi" Deyama. The group had a breakthrough success with their album "Blue Blood" in 1989, the 2nd. Even starting as a power/speed metal band, they later went more on a progressive basis with much emphasis on ballads. Just 3 more albums and the band broke up in 1997, leaving a legion of fans. The group has sold over twenty million records and over two million videos (on VHS and DVD).

The history of the band begins in 1982, under the name of "X" and marks an X-era until 1992, in a decade, they released their 1st single in 1985, "I'll Kill You", on Dada Records. To ensure a continuous outlet for the band's publications, Yoshiki founded the independent label Extasy Records in the following year on which a second single ("Orgasm") was released, as well as the group's debut album, "Vanishing Vision" in 1988.

X's lineup consisted in: Toshi (出山利三)- vocals, Hideto "Hide" Matsumoto (松本秀人)- lead guitar, Tomoata "Pata" Ishizuka (石塚智昭)- rhythm guitar, Taiji Sawada (沢田泰司) - bass, and Yoshiki (林佳樹)- drums and piano.

The band makes a cameo in the 1988 comedy "Tokyo Pop", starring the late "Carrie Hamilton" and "Diamond Yukai".

After being signing with Sony Records, the band's second album "Blue Blood" was released in 1989 and spawned several successful singles, such as "Kurenai" and "Endless Rain" (2 of my favourites actually!), as well as a VHS containing one of the concerts of the subsequent tour (later re-released on DVD). Recordings for the follow-up album "Jealousy" took place in Los Angeles. It was released in July 1991 and shortly followed by the band's first performance in Japan's largest live venue, the Tokyo Dome. The later show in the dome would later be released both on CD and VHS/DVD.
By 1992 the band's ongoing success in Japan made an international breakthrough appear likely enough to warrant the renaming to "X Japan", in order to distinguish the group from the United States punk band X. Around the same time, Taiji was replaced by Hiroshi "Heath" Morie (森江博), supposedly due to creative differences with Yoshiki. He went on to work with "Loudness" and "Cloud Nine". While still named X, the band appeared on two heavy metal samplers, Heavy Metal Force III and Skull Thrash Zone Volume I.

The new group era was marked by their new contract with Atlantic Records, leaving Sony. The single "Art of Life" was released in August 1993, notable for containing only the almost 29 minutes long title track, which would only be performed twice for a live audience.

At this time, some members maintained several side projects. In 1994, Hide released his first solo album named "Hide Your Face", with a different sound from the one we are used to with X-Japan, a more alternative rock side of Hide was given to the audience. Yoshiki collaborated with Queen drummer Roger Taylor on the single "Foreign Sand" and provided the Japanese contribution to the international "Kiss" tribute album "Kiss My Ass", a orchestral arrangement of the song "Black Diamond". A compilation with orchestral treatments of X Japan songs, titled "Eternal Melody" was also released. It was performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra and among others featured "The Beatles" producer George Martin as an arranger.

In 1996, "Dahlia", was released. It was the band's 1st studio album in more than 3 years. Even with relatively little new material, as the singles included in it were being released a few months after "Art of Life". Around that time, the group dropped most of its original visual kei aesthetics in favor of a more casual look. "Dahlia" would be the band's last major release, since vocalist Toshi left the group, the subsequent dissolution being officially announced in September 1997. X Japan performed their farewell show at the Toyko Dome on December 31, making it the last of five consecutive New Year's Eves the group performed in that stadium.
Much has been made of Toshi's departure, including allegations of him joining a cult and being influenced by it. Toshi has since denied these claims, stating that his decision to leave X Japan dated back as far as April 1996, more than a year before he met the organization's leader, Masaya and that the glamorous, success-oriented life of a rock star failed to satisfy him emotionally, as opposed to a simpler life and career.

After the breakup, while re-issues, compilations and live footage continue to be released until today, the former members of X Japan have since then pursued various other projects: Hide continued his solo career as Hide with "Spread Beaver", which now formally included his previous live band. The group did not last long though, due to Hide's death in May 1998, which left fans and colleagues equally surprised and shocked.
Pata and Heath, along with "Spread Beaver" percussionist/programmer I.N.A. founded "Dope Headz" in 2001 which released two albums and then ceased activity. The trio also provided a track for the Hide tribute album "Tribute Spirits". Heath is currently pursuing a solo career and Pata is a member of "Ra:In" (an acronym for "rock and inspiration").

Yoshiki has engaged in numerous activities, such as being briefly a member of the pop band "Globe", producing singles for the Korean rock band "TRAX" and working on his solo project Violet UK, which as of February 2007 has not yet published a major release.
In March 2007, Toshi announced on his website that he and Yoshiki had recently resumed working together, stating that a "new project" would start soon. In May Toshi stated that an X Japan reformation is scheduled for December 2007. On May 25, 2007, the formation of the supergroup "Skin" was announced, which besides Yoshiki consists of pop/rock artists Gackt and Miyavi, as well as former Luna Sea guitarist Sugizo. The band will give its debut at the Anime Expo convention in Long Beach, California on June 29, 2007 (THIS I JUST HAVE TO SEE! BUT WHERE'S THE $?*snif...*).

北野武 - Takeshi Kitano

2007-05-26T13:32:00.000-07:00

Takeshi is a japanese film-maker, actor, comedian, presenter, poet and painter and even one-time video game designer. As a film director, he has received critical acclaim, both in his native Japan and abroad, for his highly idiosyncratic cinematic work. With the exception of his works as a film director, he is known almost exclusively by the name Beat Takeshi (ビートたけし, Bīto Takeshi). Since April 2005, he has been a professor at the Graduate School of Visual Arts, Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music.

Kitano has his own film company, Office Kitano, which launched Tokyo Filmex in 2000.
Kitano's films are usually dramas about Yakuza gangsters or the police, referred to by critics as being highly deadpan to the point of near-stasis. He often uses long takes where nothing appears to be happening, or with edits that cut immediately to the aftermath of an event. Many of his films express a bleak or nihilistic philosophy, but they are also filled with a great deal of humor and remarkable affection for their characters. Kitano's films paradoxically seem to leave controversial impressions. While formally disguised as dark comedies or gangster movies, his films raise moral questions and provide food for thought.
While Kitano's international fame continues to rise, the Japanese public knows him primarily as a TV host and comedian. His portrayal of Zatoichi in the 2003 movie by the same name is said to be his biggest domestic commercial success.
During interviews, Kitano is careful to hide his enigmatic personality behind the mask of being a comedian and regular guy. He hosts a weekly television program called Beat Takeshi's TV Tackle (ビートたけしのTVタックル), a kind of panel discussion among entertainers and politicians regarding controversial current events. But Kitano's primary role is to provide comic relief and he rarely shares his true feelings regarding controversial social issues.
Although he interviewed Shoko Asahara, founder of the controversial Japanese religious movement Aum Shinrikyo, on at least two occasions (a fact little known outside Japan), his attitude towards religion is unknown. Kitano confirmed in a video interview that he was forbidden to access the NHK studios for five years for having exposed his body during a show when it was totally forbidden.

His professional career started in Meiji University. After dropping out of Meiji University, where he studied engineering for four years, he found work as an elevator operator in a nightclub and learned a great deal about the business from the comedian Senzaburo Fukami. When one of the club's regular performers fell ill, Kitano took his place on stage, and a new career was born.
In the 1970s he formed a comic duo with his friend Kiyoshi Kaneko. They took on the stage names Beat Takeshi and Beat Kiyoshi; together referring to themselves as Two Beat (sometimes romanized as The Two Beats). This sort of duo stand-up comedy, known as manzai in Japan, usually features a great deal of high-speed back-and-forth banter between the two performers. In 1976 they performed on television for the first time and became an instant success, propelling their act onto the national stage. The reason for their popularity had much to do with Kitano's material, which was much more risqué than traditional manzai. The targets of his jokes were often the socially vulnerable, including the elderly, the handicapped, the poor, children, women, the ugly and the stupid. Complaints to the broadcaster led to censorship of some of Kitano's jokes and the editing of offensive dialogue. Although Two Beat was one of the most successful acts of its kind during the late '70s and '80s, Kitano decided to go solo and the duo was dissolved. Some autobiographical elements relating to his manzai career can be found in his film Kids Return (1996).
Many of Kitano's routines involved him portraying a gangster or other harsh character, and his first major film role, Nagisa Oshima's Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (where he starred opposite Tom Conti, Ryuichi Sakamoto and David Bowie) featured him cast as a sadistic POW camp sergeant during World War II.

After several other roles, mostly comedic, in 1989 he was cast in the lead for Violent Cop (Sono Otoko, Kyōbō ni Tsuki) as a sociopathic detective who responds to every situation with violence. When the original director (Kinji Fukasaku) fell ill, Kitano offered to step in, and rewrote the script heavily. The result was a financial and critical success in Japan, and the beginning of Kitano's career as a filmmaker.
Kitano's second film as director and first film as screenwriter, released in 1990, was Boiling Point (3-4X Jūgatsu). Masahiko Ono plays the lead role of a young man whose baseball coach is threatened by a local yakuza. He and a friend travel to Okinawa to purchase guns so they can get revenge, but along the way they are befriended by a psychotic gangster played by Kitano, who has his own revenge to plot. With complete control of the script and direction, Kitano uses this film to cement his style: shocking violence, bizarre black humor and stoically shot 'still' scenes. In spite of this, the film was considered a failure and did not recover its production costs upon initial release.
Kitano's third film, A Scene at the Sea (Ano Natsu, Ichiban Shizukana Umi), was released in 1991. It featured no gangsters, but instead a deaf garbage collector who is determined to learn how to surf after discovering a broken surfboard while working. A young girl (also deaf) follows his progress and is quick to assist him wherever possible. Kitano's more delicate, romantic side came to the fore here, along with his trademark deadpan approach.
Foreign audiences (that would outnumber his domestic audience in the coming years) began to take notice of Kitano after the 1993 release of Sonatine. Kitano plays a Tokyo yakuza who is sent by his boss to Okinawa to help end a gang war there. He is tired of gangster life, and when he finds out the whole mission is a ruse, he welcomes what comes with open arms.
The 1995 release of Getting Any? (Minna Yatteruka!) showed Kitano returning to his comedic roots. This Airplane!-like assemblage of comedic scenes, all centering loosely around a Walter Mitty-type character trying to have sex in a car, met with little acclaim in Japan. Much of the film satirizes popular Japanese culture, such as Ultraman or Godzilla and even the Zatoichi character that Kitano himself would go on to play eight years later.

In August 1994, Kitano was involved in a motorcycle accident and suffered injuries that caused the paralysis of one side of his body, and required extensive surgery to regain the use of his facial muscles. (The severity of his injuries was apparently due to him not fastening the chin strap on his helmet.) Kitano later stated that the "accident" was actually a suicide attempt. Some speculated that the depression leading to the suicide attempt may explain the nihilistic atmosphere of his early films. Many in the foreign press speculated that he might never be able to work again. Kitano put any such thoughts to rest by making Kids Return in 1996, soon after his recovery. At the time it became his most successful film yet in his native Japan.
After his motorcycle "accident", Kitano took up painting. His bright, simplified style is reminiscent of Belarusian painter Marc Chagall. His paintings have been published in books, featured in gallery exhibitions, and adorn the covers of many of the soundtrack albums for his films. His paintings were featured prominently in his most critically acclaimed film, 1997's HANA-BI (released as Fireworks in North America). Although for years already Kitano's largest audience had been the foreign arthouse crowd, HANA-BI cemented his status internationally as one of Japan's foremost modern filmmakers.
Kikujiro (Kikujirō no Natsu), released in 1999, featured Kitano as a ne'er-do-well crook who winds up paired up with a young boy looking for his mother, and goes on a series of misadventures with him. Brother (2001), shot in Los Angeles, had Kitano as a deposed Tokyo yakuza setting up a drug empire in L.A. with the aid of a local gangster played by Omar Epps. Despite a large buzz around Kitano's first English language film, the film was met with tepid response in the US and abroad. Dolls (2002) had Kitano directing but not starring in a film with three different stories about undying love; it met with unfavorable critical and public reception.

Between the underwhelming response to Brother and Dolls, Kitano became a punching bag for the press in the United States, who wondered if he had lost his ability to make a good film. Criticism was less severe in Europe and Asia though many commentators were not as lavish with their praise as they had been with previous Kitano films. 2003's Zatoichi, in which Kitano directed and starred, silenced many of these dissenters. With a new take on the character from Shintaro Katsu's long-running film series, Zatoichi was Kitano's biggest box office success in Japan, did quite well in limited release across the world, and won countless awards at home and abroad, including the Silver Lion award at the prestigious Venice Film Festival (the same award earned by Kurosawa for his Seven Samurai).
Kitano's latest film, Takeshis' was released in Japan in November 2005 with an unusual tagline, reading "500% Kitano - Nothing to Add!" in English. Kitano also stars regularly in other films. Among his most significant roles were Nagisa Oshima's 1999 film Taboo (Gohatto), where he played Captain Hijikata Toshizo of the Shinsengumi; and Kitano in Battle Royale (2000), a controversial Japanese blockbuster set in a bleak dystopian future where a group of teenagers are randomly selected each year to kill each other on a deserted island. He also appeared in the film adaptation of William Gibson's Johnny Mnemonic, although his on-screen time was greatly reduced for the American cut of the film. Kitano used to be a regular collaborator with composer Joe Hisaishi, who has created scores for many of his films. However, during the making of Dolls they had an argument, apparently over which tunes to include on the film's soundtrack, and have not worked together since.

Kitano has written over fifty books of poetry, film criticism, and several novels, a few of which have also been adapted into movies by other directors.
Kitano was also notorious for four video games put out by Nintendo Famicom (NES) including Takeshi no Chousenjou (Takeshi's Challenge) by Taito Corporation.
He has also become a popular television host. Takeshi's Castle, a game show hosted in the 1980s by Kitano featuring slapstick-style physical contests, has gained cult popularity in the United States (where portions are broadcast on Spike TV as MXC, formerly Most Extreme Elimination Challenge) and in Europe, particularly in the United Kingdom where it was given a voiceover by Craig Charles, these feature very little of Takeshi Kitano as they are heavily edited. More recently, he hosted Koko ga hen da yo, nihonjin (roughly meaning "People of Japan, This Doesn't Make Sense!"), a talk show where a large panel of Japanese-speaking foreigners from around the world debate current issues in Japanese society. Another of his shows is Sekai Marumie ("The World Exposed"), a weekly collection of various interesting video clips from around the world, often focusing on the weird aspects of other countries, and with a regular section on daring rescues, taken from the American program Rescue 911. On this show, he plays the child-like idiot, insulting the guests and wearing strange costumes.
The now internationally acclaimed Takeshi Kitano was awarded an honorary Bachelor of Science in engineering by Meiji University on September 7, 2004, 34 years after he dropped out to pursue his career in entertainment.
He was an early supporter of enka singer Kiyoshi Hikawa, and actually gave Hikawa his stage name.
On January 21, 2007, his former comic pupil Hideo Higashikokubaru ran for governor of Miyazaki prefecture and was elected.

As a Director:

1989 - Violent Cop (その男、凶暴につき, Sono otoko, kyobo ni tsuki, lit. This man has gone mad)
1990 - Boiling Point (３－４Ｘ１０月, 3-4X jugatsu, lit. Third and fourth of October)
1991 - A Scene at the Sea (あの夏、いちばん静かな海, Ano natsu, ichiban shizukana umi, lit. That summer the sea was very calm)
1993 - Sonatine (ソナチネ, Sonachine)
1995 - Getting Any? (みんな　やってるか！, Minnâ-yatteruka!)
1996 - Kids Return (キッズ・リターン, Kidzu ritān)
1997 - HANA-BI (aka Fireworks in North America) Golden Lion award winner at Venice Film Festival
1999 - Kikujiro (菊次郎の夏, Kikujirō no natsu, lit. Kikujiro's summer)
2000 - Brother
2002 - Dolls (ドールズ, Dōruzu)
2003 - Zatoichi (座頭市) Silver Lion award winner at Venice Film Festival
2005 - Takeshis'
2007 - Kantoku Banzai

As an actor:

1969 - Go, Go Second Time Virgin (ゆけゆけ二度目の処女, Yuke yuke nidome no shojo), by Koji Wakamatsu extra performance
1980 - Makoto (まことちゃん, Makotochan), by Toyota Fujioka
an anime, cameo appearance as voice actor (seiyū)
1981 - Dump Migratory Bird (ダンプ渡り鳥, Danpu Wataridori) by Ikuo Sekimoto
1981 - Manon (マノン), by Katsuhiro Maeda
1981 - Completely... With That Air! (すっかり・・・その気で!, Sukkari... sono ki de!), by Juichi Tanaka first starring work.
1982 - Secret of Summer (夏の秘密, Natsu no Himitsu)
1983 - Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (戦場のメリークリスマス, Senjou no merī kurisumasu) (aka Furyo in Europe), by Nagisa Oshima, a Japanese/American movie shot in Java.
1989 - Violent Cop (その男、凶暴につき, Sono otoko, kyobo ni tsuki), by himself
1990 - Boiling Point (３－４Ｘ１０月, 3-4X jugatsu, lit. San tai yon ekkusu jugatsu) (aka Jugatsu in France), by himself
1993 - Sonatine (ソナチネ, Sonachine) by himself
1995 - Getting Any? (みんな　やってるか！, Minnâ-yatteruka!), by himself
1995 - Johnny Mnemonic, by Robert Longo
a Hollywood movie shot in Canada. Adapted from Johnny Mnemonic by William Gibson. Credited as Takeshi.
1995 - Gonin, by Takashi Ishii
1997 - HANA-BI (aka Fireworks in North America), by himself
1998 - Tokyo Eyes, by Jean-Pierre Limosin, a French/Japanese movie shot in Tokyo.
1999 - Kikujiro (菊次郎の夏, Kikujiro no natsu), by himself
1999 - Taboo (御法度, Gohatto), by Nagisa Oshima
2000 - Brother (aka Aniki, Mon Frère in France), by himself
a Japanese/American movie shot in Los Angeles & Tokyo.
2000 - Battle Royale (バトル・ロワイヤル, Batoru rowaiaru), by Kinji Fukasaku
2001 - Battle Royale: Special Edition (バトル・ロワイヤル特別篇, Batoru rowaiaru tokubetsu ami), by Kinji Fukasaku
2003 - Zatoichi (座頭市), by himself
2003 - Battle Royale II: Requiem (バトル・ロワイヤルII 鎮魂歌, Batoru rowaiaru II chinkon uta) by Kinji and Kenta Fukasaku
2004 - Izo by Takashi Miike
2004 - Blood and Bones (血と骨, Chi to hone), by Yoichi Sai
2005 - Takeshis', by himself

Odd things happened in Japan...

2007-05-26T13:19:00.001-07:00

It was somewhere in the XVIII to the XIX century that fishermen tried to earn some little fortunes by exhibiting what they called "mermaid mummies". The dead mermaids that these men caught were then exposed to an audience that payed to see them, as it was a living proof that the mythological creatures really existed and so close to their own waters. So...the owners of the mummies, the fishermen, were either selling them or showing them by payment in some fairs, like the ones in circus.

Here are some pictures of the mermaid mummies :

that were later discovered to be a fraud...

as they were nothing more than parts of fishes (body) to which were attached heads of monkeys and then, the whole thing was made old, dissecated, to have the appearance of a real mummy.

So this was the real look of a mermaid? Kind of ugly and small, don't you think? o_O

Quiz Result - JRock Hair

2007-05-24T18:55:00.000-07:00

http://www.quizilla.com/users/bokuXgaXinai/quizzes/What%20JRock%20hairstyle%20are%20you%3F

Weekly Photo - A View Over Fiji

2007-05-23T04:31:00.000-07:00

a great photo, by the Photographer N.Miyazaki =) love it!

芸妓 - about geishas

2007-05-20T12:33:00.000-07:00

A geisha (芸妓) is a traditional japanese female entertainer whose skills include performing various Japanese arts, such as music, singing, and dancing. They also engage their clients with light conversation.

"Geisha," is a proper noun. Like all Japanese nouns, there are no distinct singular or plural variants of the term. The word consists of two kanji, 芸 (gei) meaning "art" and 者 (sha) meaning "person" or "doer". The most direct translation of geisha into English would be "artist" or "performing artist".
Another term used in Japan is geiko (芸妓), a word from the Kyoto dialect. Full-fledged geisha in Kyoto hanamachi are called geiko. This term is also commonly used in the Kansai region to distinguish geisha practiced in traditional arts from onsen geisha, who are prostitutes that have co-opted the term geisha. Prostitutes wear their bow, or obi, at the front of their kimono, but geisha wear their obi at the back. True geisha usually had the luxury of a professional aid to help them in the difficult process of dressing; their clothing is made up of several layers of kimono and undergarments, and an obi is more than a simple band of cloth. Dressing could take over an hour, even with professional help. Prostitutes, however, had to take off their obi several times a day, so theirs were far less complex, and tied at the front for ease of removal and replacement.
Apprentice geisha are called maiko. This word is made of the kanji 舞 (mai) meaning "dancing" and 子 or 妓 (ko) meaning "child". It is the maiko, with her white make-up and elaborate kimono and hairstyle, that has become the stereotype of a "geisha" to westerners, rather than the true geisha.
Tokyo geisha generally do not follow the ritualized Kyoto maiko apprentice process. The training period can be six months to a year - notably shorter than a Kyoto maiko - before she debuts as a full geisha. The trainee is referred to as a han'gyoku (半玉) or "half-jewel", or by the more generic term o-shaku (御酌) lit. "one who pours (alcohol)". On average, Tokyo geisha tend to be older than their Kyoto counterparts, many holding formal degrees from university.

Traditionally, they began their training at a very young age. Although some girls were sold to geisha houses ("okiya") as children, this was not common practice in reputable districts. Daughters of geisha were often brought up as geisha themselves, usually as the successor ("atotori" meaning heir) or daughter-role ("musume-bun") to the okiya.
The first stage of training was called shikomi. When girls first arrived at the okiya, they would be put to work as maids. The work was difficult with the intent to "make" and "break" the new girls. The most junior shikomi of the house would have to wait late into the night for the senior geisha to return from engagements, sometimes as late as two or three in the morning. During this stage of training, the shikomi would go to classes at the hanamachi's geisha school. In modern times, this stage still exists, mostly to accustom the girls to the traditional dialect, traditions and dress of the "karyūkai".
Once the recruit became proficient with the geisha arts, and passed a final, nerve-wracking dance exam, she would be promoted to the second stage of training: minarai. Minarai are relieved from their housekeeping duties. The minarai stage focuses on training in the field. Although minarai attend ozashiki (banquets in which guests are attended by geisha), they do not participate at an advanced level. Their kimono, more elaborate than even a maiko's, are intended to do the talking for them. Minarai can be hired for parties, but are usually uninvited (yet welcomed) guests at parties that their onee-san ("onee-san" meaning "older sister", and is the Minarai's senior) attends. They charge 1/3 hanadai. Minarai generally work closely with a particular tea house (called "minarai-jaya") learning from the "oka-san" (proprietor of the house). These techniques are not taught in school, as skills such as conversation and gaming can only be absorbed through practice. This stage lasts only about a month.
After a short period of time, the third (and most famous) stage of training began, called maiko. Maiko are apprentice geisha, and this stage can last for years. Maiko learn from their senior geisha mentor and follow them around to all their engagements. The onee-san/imoto-san (junior) relationship is extremely important. Since the onee-san teaches her maiko everything about working in the hanamachi, her teaching is vital. She will teach her proper ways of serving tea, playing shamisen, and dancing, the casual talk of conversation, which is also important of a maiko to learn for future invitations to more teahouses and gatherings. The onee-san will even help pick the maiko's new professional name with kanji or symbols related to her own name. One would suggest that geisha are prone to "flirt", but it is only their nature to seem demure and innocent. Regional variations exist, as the han'gyoku of Tokyo are known for being sassy and the Kyoto maiko are known for being demure.
After a period as short as six months (in Tokyo) or as long as five years (in Kyoto), the maiko is promoted to a full-fledged geisha, and charge full price for their time. Geisha remain as such until they retire.

Modern geisha still live in traditional geisha houses called okiya in areas called hanamachi (花街 "flower towns"), particularly during their apprenticeship. Many experienced geisha who are successful enough choose to live independently. The elegant, high-culture world that geisha are a part of is called karyūkai (花柳界 "the flower and willow world").
Young women who wish to become geisha now most often begin their training after completing junior high school or even high school or college, with many women beginning their careers in adulthood. Geisha still study traditional instruments like the shamisen, shakuhachi (bamboo flute), and drums, as well as traditional songs, Japanese traditional dance, tea ceremony, literature and poetry. By watching other geisha, and with the assistance of the owner of the geisha house, apprentices also become skilled in the complex traditions surrounding selecting and wearing kimono, and in dealing with clients.
Kyoto is considered by many to be where the geisha tradition is the strongest today, including Gion Kobu. The geisha in these districts are known as geiko. The Tokyo hanamachi of Shimbashi, Asakusa and Kagurazaka are also well known.

In modern Japan, geisha and maiko are now a rare sight outside hanamachi. In the 1920s there were over 80,000 geisha in Japan, but today there are far fewer. The exact number is unknown to outsiders, and is estimated to be from 1,000 to 2,000, mostly in the resort town of Atami. Most common are sightings of tourists who pay a fee to be dressed up as a maiko.
A sluggish economy, declining interest in the traditional arts, the exclusive nature of the flower and willow world, and the expense of being entertained by geisha have all contributed to the tradition's decline.
Geisha are often hired to attend parties and gatherings, traditionally at tea houses (茶屋, ochaya) or at traditional Japanese restaurants (ryōtei). Their time is measured by the time it takes an incense stick to burn, and is called senkōdai (線香代, "incense stick fee") or gyokudai (玉代 "jewel fee"). In Kyoto the terms "ohana" (お花）and "hanadai" (花代), meaning "flower fees", are preferred. The customer makes arrangements through the geisha union office (検番 kenban), which keeps each geisha's schedule and makes her appointments both for entertaining and for training.

There remains some confusion, particularly outside Japan, about the nature of the geisha profession. Geisha are frequently depicted as expensive prostitutes in Western popular culture. Geisha are entertainers, their purpose being to entertain their customer, be it by reciting verse, playing musical instruments, light conversation. Geisha do not engage in paid sex with clients.[1]
During the Edo period, prostitution was legal and licensed by the government. Geisha were strictly forbidden from gaining a prostitution license, and were officially forbidden to have sex with their customers.
Geisha have been confused with the traditional high-class courtesans called oiran. Like geisha, oiran wear elaborate hairstyles and white makeup. A simple way to distinguish between the two is that oiran, as prostitutes, tie their obi in the front. Geisha tie their obi in the back in the usual manner.
In Japan there is also a modern variety of prostitute known as the Onsen geisha. These women typically work in onsen towns such as Atami and market themselves to tourists as "one-night geisha."

Geisha are expected to be single women. Those who choose to marry must retire from the profession. While geisha engagements may include flirting, this is not expected. A true geisha is not paid for sex, although an individual geisha may choose to pursue sexual relationships with men she meets through her work outside the context of her role as a geisha.
It was traditional in the past for established geisha to take a danna, or patron. A danna was typically a wealthy man, sometimes married, who had the means to support the very large expenses related to a geisha's traditional training and other costs. This sometimes occurs today as well.
Although a geisha and her danna may be in love, sex is not expected in exchange for the danna's financial support. The traditional conventions and values within such a relationship are very intricate and not well understood, even by many Japanese.

A geisha's appearance changes throughout her career, from the girlish, heavily made up maiko, to the more sombre appearance of an older established geisha.

Today, the traditional make-up of the apprentice geisha is one of their most recognizable characteristics, though established geisha generally wear full white face makeup characteristic of maiko only during special performances.
The traditional makeup of an apprentice geisha features a thick white base (originally made with lead or rice powder) with red lipstick and red and black accents around the eyes and eyebrows.
The application of makeup is hard to perfect and is a time consuming process. Makeup is applied before dressing to avoid dirtying the kimono. First, a wax or oil substance, called bintsuke-abura, is applied to the skin. Next, white powder is mixed with water into a paste and applied with a bamboo brush. The white makeup covers the face, neck, and chest, with two or three unwhitened areas (forming a "W" or "V" shape) left on the nape, to accentuate this traditionally erotic area, and a line of bare skin around the hairline, which creates the illusion of a mask.
After the foundation layer is applied, a sponge is patted all over the face, throat, chest and the nape and neck to remove excess moisture and to blend the foundation. Next the eyes and eyebrows are drawn in. Traditionally charcoal was used, but today modern cosmetics are used. The eyebrows and edges of the eyes are colored black; a maiko also applies red around her eyes.
The lips are filled in using a small brush. The color comes in a small stick, which is melted in water. Crystallized sugar is then added to give the lips lustre. Rarely will a geisha color in both lips fully in the Western style, as white creates optical illusions. The lower lip is colored in partially and the upper lip left white for maiko, and newly full-fledged geisha will color in only the top lip fully. Most geisha wear the top lip colored in fully or stylized, and the bottom lip in a curved stripe that does not follow the shape of the lip.
Maiko who are in their first stage of training will sometimes color their teeth black for a short period of time. This practice used to be common among many different classes of women in Japan, but survives only in some districts, or even families.
For the first three years, a maiko wears this heavy makeup almost constantly. During her initiation the maiko is helped with her makeup by either her "older sister" (an experienced geisha who is her mentor) or the "mother" of her geisha house. After this she applies the makeup herself.
After a maiko has been working for three years, she changes her make-up to a more subdued style. The reason for this is that she has now become mature, and the simpler style shows her own natural beauty. For formal occasions the mature geisha will still apply white make-up. For geisha over thirty, the heavy white make-up is only worn during special dances which require her to wear make-up for her part.

Geisha always wear kimono. Apprentice geisha wear highly colorful kimono with extravagant obi. Always, the obi is brighter than the kimono she is wearing to give a certain exotic balance. Maiko wear the obi tied in a style called 'darari'. Older geisha wear more subdued patterns and styles. The sign of a prosperous okiya is having geisha not wearing a kimono more than once, meaning that those okiyas with higher economic status will have "storehouses" of sorts where kimono are stored and interchanged between geisha.
The color, pattern, and style of kimono is also dependent on the season and the event the geisha is attending. In winter, geisha can be seen wearing a three-quarter length haori lined with hand painted silk over their kimono. Lined kimono are worn during colder seasons, and unlined kimono during the summer. A kimono can take from 2-3 years to complete, due to painting and embroidering.
Geiko wear red or pink nagajuban, or under-kimono. A maiko wears red with white printed patterns. The junior maiko's collar is predominantly red with white, silver, or gold embroidery. Two to three years into her apprenticeship, the red collar will be entirely embroidered in white (when viewed from the front) to show her seniority. Around age 20, her collar will turn from red to white.
Geisha wear a flat-soled sandal, zori, outdoors, and wear only tabi (white split-toed socks) indoors. In inclement weather geisha wear raised wooden clogs, called geta. Maiko wear a special wooden clog known as okobo.

The hairstyles of geisha have varied through history. In the past, it has been common for women to wear their hair down in some periods, but up in others. During the 17th century, women began putting all their hair up again, and it is during this time that the traditional shimada hairstyle, a type of traditional chignon worn by most established geisha, developed.
There are four major types of the shimada: the taka shimada, a high chignon usually worn by young, single women; the tsubushi shimada, a more flattened chignon generally worn by older women; the uiwata, a chignon that is usually bound up with a piece of colored cotton crepe; and a style that resembles a divided peach, which is worn only by maiko. This is sometimes called "Momoware," or "Split Peach."
These hairstyles are decorated with elaborate haircombs and hairpins (kanzashi). In the seventeenth century and after the Meiji Restoration period, hair-combs were large and conspicuous, generally more ornate for higher-class women. Following the Meiji Restoration and into the modern era, smaller and less conspicuous hair-combs became more popular.
Geisha were trained to sleep with their necks on small supports (takamakura), instead of pillows, so they could keep their hairstyle perfect. To reinforce this habit, their mentors would pour rice around the base of the support. If the geisha's head rolled off the support while she slept, rice would stick to her hair and face. The geisha would thus have to repeat the tiresome process of having her hair elaborately styled.
Many modern geisha use wigs in their professional lives, while maiko use their natural hair. However, either one must be regularly tended by highly skilled artisans. Traditional hairstyling is a slowly dying art.

The growing interest in geisha and their exotic appearance have spawned various popular culture phenomena both in Japan and in the West, most recently by the popularity of the biography of former geiko Iwasaki Mineko, Geisha of Gion ("Geisha, a Life" in the US).
The short lived animated series "Clerks" depicted geisha as prostitutes. When a Geisha tells Randall they are there to serve him, he requests chocolate and pornographic magazines, to which they reply "you no need magazine".
Geisha is known to be the ultimate in womenhood. Therefore the term is also used in many items normally related with women other than the traditional Japanese geisha. A good example is the Dutch jeans label Geisha Jeans : a very successful jeans label with young feminine styles.

Films featuring geisha:

Sisters of the Gion (1936) - Dir. Kenji Mizoguchi

Geisha Girl (1952) - Dir. George P. Breakston
A Geisha (1953) - Dir. Kenji Mizoguchi
The Teahouse of the August Moon (1956) - Dir. Daniel Mann
The Barbarian and the Geisha (1958) - Dir. John Huston
The Geisha Boy (1958) - Dir. Frank Tashlin
My Geisha (1962) - Dir. Jack Cardiff

The World of Geisha (1972) - Dir. Tatsumi Kumashiro
Ai no corrida / In the Realm of the Senses (1976) - Dir. Nagisa Oshima
American Geisha (1986) - Dir. Lee Philips
The Geisha House (1999) - Dir. Kinji Fukasaku
Zatoichi (2003) - Dir. Takeshi Kitano
Fighter in the Wind (2004) - Dir. Yang Yun-ho
Memoirs of a Geisha (2005)
DOA: Dead or Alive (2006) - Dir. Cory Yuen

Books about geisha:

Geisha, A Life by Mineko Iwasaki(with Rande Brown)
The Flower and Willow World by A.C. Scott
Geisha: A Living Tradition by Kyoko Aihara
Geisha of Pontocho by P.D. Perkins
Geisha: A Unique World of Tradition, Elegance and Art by John Gallagher
Geisha: Beyond the Painted Smile by The Peabody Essex Museum
The Life of a Geisha by Eleanor Underwood
Little Songs of the Geisha - Traditional Japanese Ko-Uta by Liza Crihfield Dalby
Nihongami no Sekai: Maiko no kamigata (The World of Traditional Japanese Hairstyles: Hairstyles of the Maiko) by Tetsuo Ishihara (English Translation: Peter MacIntosh)

source: wikipedia has it all....

at first, i thought about writing something myself but they have such a great definition that i had to put here, i couldn't explain it better. And "Memoirs of a Geisha", one of the better books I read and films I saw. :)

Weekly Photo - The Green Building in Japan

2007-05-10T15:23:00.000-07:00

Tea and Japan

2007-05-09T15:10:00.000-07:00

How the beverage was introduced in the culture is like an enigma for us today. The tea, something that is now so usual (I drink it almost everyday) and is sold in every supermarket with many different flavours, in many different packages is really, as old as 2000 years? The truth is that in the Oriental world everything has it's own time of growth, development and acceptance that is not the same for us.

A widely spreaded theory is that the beginning of the tea industry in Japan started in the year of 1191, when a buddhist monk named Esai came back from a journey that took him to China, and planted seeds to extract later some leaves to do a beverage and then started others on the "business", influencing others to do the same, claiming the drink made from the leaves had many health benefits.

500 years after, the tea was used powdered, in matcha form. Prior to the Endo period (1600-1868), it was confined to the royal area meaning only rulers could benefit from it, it was like a royal drink!

It was not until the mid-18th century that the processing method for sencha was discovered. The special cultivation techniques for gyokuro were developed in the in the mid-19th century.

Japanese Tea Gardens

Let us look at the Japanese tea gardens which would provide a good opportunity to survey some impressive landscapes, to surrender to fascination of endless vistas, enigmatic mists, gargantuan mountains. For thousands of years, the landscape in which tea is grown – so propitious to contemplation and meditation – has brought mankind closer to the heavens, if not the gods. It is probably no coincidence, that it was a Buddhist monk named Saicho, a member of the Tendai sect, who first brought tea plants to Japan from China early in the ninth century.
Japanese Tea gardens are unlike any others. It is sometimes hard to believe that tea is being grown on them. From a distance, they look like vast stretches of some vivid green liquid that veils the hills, frozen into motionless waves. This effect is due to the way the bushes are planted and pruned; they are not spaced apart, as elsewhere, but are placed sided by sided by side to form lengthy, tight strips thirty yards long, whose uniform are slightly curved surface forms an enormous plucking table. All these strips are identical in size, planted in paralell rows, roughly a yard apart, perpendicular to the slope. Except perhaps in Java or Bali, with their terraced rice fields, no other growers have managed to sculpt the land so beautifully. But everyone knows that, in Japan, the functional is inevitably beautiful.

Japan produces only green tea, known as o-Cha. It is grown in the Mount Fuji area, on the island of Kyushu, and in Shizuoka, the main growing region known for its infinite variety of the most common tea, Sencha. In winter, hot – air fans protect the tea plants from the threat of frost. The afternoon wanes delightfully in the Uji countryside, near Kyoto, where natural springs spill down the finely carved emerald hills. In the garden, women in long red aprons glide slowly between the motionless waves.

That tea is what some people consider the finest green tea on the planet – Gyokuro, “Precious Dew.” Nowhere else is tea cultivated with such care. Three weeks before the harvest, as soon as the first buds appear, the entire plantation is covered with mats of bamboo, reed or dark canvas to filter out 90 percent of the light. The tiny leaves that grow in the semi–darkness thus have a higher chlorophyll content (hence emerald green color) and a lower tannin content (rendering the tea less bitter). Gyokuro is the mellowest of green teas. Like the rare teas of China, it is harvested only once each year, in later April or early May, according to the imperial method that removes only the bud and, if quality allows, the first leaf. Once reduced to powder, the precious tea from this garden becomes Marcha uji, the subtlest of Matcha teas, used in the traditional Japanese tea ceremony.

Different Types of Japanese Teas

The various kinds of green tea produced in Japan differ according to cultivation and the method used in processing the leaves.

Sencha

Sencha makes up to 90% of all Japanese processed leaf tea. The leaves are dark green and needle-shaped. Brewed with hot (not boiling) water, sencha has a mildly astringent flavor.

Gyokuro

Gyokuro is the top grade of leaf among Japan's green teas. It is made from the tenderest leaves of tea bushes kept covered by bamboo blinds during cultivation. Gyokuro is grown in the Uji district of Honshu near Kyoto. Its dark leaves produce a light yellowish-green tea when brewed. Gyokuro is less astringent than sencha.

Matcha

Matcha is a powdered form of green tea used mainly in the Japanese Tea ceremony (chanoyu). Like gyokuro, it is made from the choicest tea leaves, which are steamed, dried, and then ground into powder. Hot water is added to the powder and then rapidly beaten with a whisk. The tea is cloudy dark green in color and has a astringent flavor.

Kamairicha

Kamairicha is produced in northen Kyushu on a limited scale. It is made by rosting the leaves in a highly heated vat (200-300 degrees). The leaves are then dried by churning them in a slightly cooler vat (about 100 degrees). Kamairicha is reddish brown in color and has a slight roasted flavor that lacks the leafy taste of sencha.

Bancha

Bancha is a low-grade tea. It essentially is the same at sencha but made from older, brittle leaves. Bancha has a yellowish brown tint and a slightly astringent taste.

Hojicha

Hojicha is made from sencha and bancha heated at high temperature (150 degrees celsius) until the leaves turn brown, has a strong roasted flavour. It is dark reddish brown colour and has a strong robust flavour.

Brewing

In Japan, high-grade green teas like gyokuro and sencha are considered best brewed at a relatively low temperature (50-80 degrees); coarser teas like bancha and hojicha, which are characterized mainly by their aromatic fragance, are best brewed at a higher temperature ( 90-100 degrees). In general two to three grams of loose tea are stepped for about one to two minutes in approximately 2 dl of hot water to make an avarage cup of Japanese green tea.

source: International Tea Importers.

And something extra: you can also choose between mango and green tea ice-cream flavour! ^^

Puffy Ami Yumi

2007-05-07T15:06:00.000-07:00

Here's one I really love!

Camui Gackt...my heaven ;)

2007-05-06T10:33:00.000-07:00

Name: Gackt Camui (he says his real name is Camui M. S. Gackt)

Sex: Male Age: He claims to be over 400 years old...

Birthdate: July 4, 1540, he says; rumors say the actual year was 1973 (further sources have said that this birth year is not far off, though Gackt will not release the actual date for publicity reasons)

Birthplace: Okinawa

Hometown: Kyoto

Height: 180cm (about 5' 11")

Weight: 60 kg (132 lbs.)

Bloodtype: A

Waist: 68 cm (about 27 in)

Ring size: 10 - 14

Inner leg (inseam): 90 cm (35.4 in)

Shoe size: 25.5 cm (10 in - size 8)

Eyesight: 3.5

Favorite Comic: Banana Fish

Gackt was once part of Malice Mizer, a well-known J-rock band but later went solo. Although he is no longer part of the group, he says he still loves all members of the band in their own special ways. He composes his own music and originally wanted to be a conductor. He reads all his fanmail and even occasionally responds to lucky fans. Gackt says that he became psychic after a near-death experience during his childhood. He also says he used to be possessed by spirits. Gackt's parents were very strict and only allowed him to watch educational TV programs and listen to Classical music.

Early life

Gackt has never released his real name or birth date. Since his Malice Mizer era, Gackt claims to be a vampire born on July 4, 1540. Media speculation is that he was actually born on July 4, 1973. Further investigation has led researchers to believe that his real name is Satoru Okabe, but none of this is known for certain. Gackt was born in Okinawa, Japan and was raised by strict parents. At the age of seven, Gackt nearly drowned in the sea of Okinawa. According to his autobiography (Jihaku), after being saved, he developed paranormal abilities, seeing things and people that others could not. As a result, he was committed to isolation in a mental hospital. In the same autobiography, Gackt claims he does not want to have children so that he won't pass these problematic abilities to them. Gackt is and has always been extremely competitive and has even stated, "It's not that I want to win, it's just that I don't want to lose." His parents, both musicians, began his formal lessons in classical piano when he was three, even though it was physically impossible for him to play. After many years of having no real interest in these lessons, his competitive nature made him want to master the piano after one day seeing a friend play better than him. His musical preference later shifted to brass instruments though, after seeing his father play the trumpet. When Gackt turned seventeen, his taste in music changed from classical to rock. As a result of this, he began learning to play instruments that deviated from the classical standards of music, eventually focusing on contemporary rock. Gackt started as a drummer for both a Japanese recording studio and an unknown band. Later on he formed the band, Cains:feel.

Solo career

After leaving Malice Mizer, Gackt began a solo career with a band he created called "GacktJOB,"" which consisted of several members including You (violin/rhythm guitar), Yukihiro "Chachamaru" Fujimura (lead guitar/effects), Masa (rhythm guitar), Ren (bass), Toshi (drums), Yosh (choreographer/dancer), and Igao (keyboards). GacktJOB later added Ryuichi Ryu Nishida on drums, and Ju-ken on bass. Gackt's live shows often included homoerotic play (fan service) with some of these members. His solo career has been a great success as he continues to maintain a level of popularity far greater than he achieved with Malice Mizer. His fans (whom he calls "Dears") are from many different countries around the world.In addition to music, Gackt has been involved as an actor in various TV commercials (usually playing himself), and in the Japanese drama Hero's Hero. He also co-wrote and co-starred in the hit vampire movie Moon Child with HYDE, vocalist of L'Arc-en-Ciel, with whom he is rumored to have had a romantic relationship; Gackt and Hyde are still close friends and deny such statements. Gackt is also officially an author, having written, Moonchild: Requiem, and several as-yet unpublished short stories. In 2003 he published his autobiography entitled Jihaku, in which he displayed his deep thoughts and described events which had a profound impact on his life. Gackt worked as a runway model for his favorite designer, Yoshiyuki Konishi; designed his own stage-wear and clothing line; and opened his own private, members-only restaurant and bar, Tamaly Bar, complete with his own personal and family recipies.Gackt was also involved in the PlayStation 2 game 'Bujingai', for which he performed some of the voices as well as doing motion capture for the game's protagonist. He has also appeared in Japanese commercials for the hit game 'Metal Gear Solid 2', and his name appeared on a dog tag in the game. Other voice-over work of Gackt's includes the character 'Seiji' from the anime New Fist of the North Star (Shin Hokuto no Ken). He also performed the ending theme Tsuki no Uta for the anime Texhnolyze.Gackt is usually cited as being the model for the 'Final Fantasy VIII' lead Squall Leonhart's character design (although the game's character designer has claimed the actual inspiration for Squall was the American actor River Phoenix). However, a character with his likeness will not appear in Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII. Instead he will be recorded doing motion work and digitally inserted into the game, so he will be performing in live action.In early 2005 he was asked to write and perform the theme songs for the Gundam movie 'Zeta Gundam: A New Translation', a movie eagerly anticipated the anime-community. The songs were 'Metamorphoze' and a rearrangement of a previously released song, Kimi ga Matteiru kara.Gackt's next single is "Redemption" which is also the theme for Dirge of Cerberus, and will be relased along side the game in Feburary. Also, recent news to Dears members have been made known: Tamaly bar will be closing its doors forever at the end of this year, thus ending Gackt's career as a bar owner.

source: www.asiafinest.com

Gackt - autobiography :)

2007-05-06T07:03:00.000-07:00

The post above gives you just a small amount of information about who is Camui Gackt, but it is through his own words that we can trully understand the person hidden under that name, the person he trully is, no matter what. So I'll be posting his autobigraphy once a month or perhaps sooner than you think, so you could all learn something more about this great personality, perhaps the most famous asian guy in the music world. [yup, I forgot to mention who Gackt is (to all of you who don't have a clue), when posting autobiography].

SHUUSEI [BIRTH]

1. Youshouki no Rinshi Taiken to Kakuri Byoutou Seikatsu
[My Near-Death Experiences as a Child and Life in the Hospital Isolation Ward]

I am in a cradle. It sways gently back and forth. My field of vision, dim. Peeping out at my mother's face. Above her head, a mobile spins fitfully, playing a music box tune.

In the next instant, one year old, two years old, three years old…the memories of those times reappear before me very vividly. Me crawling. Walking on unsteady legs. Trying so hard to say words that I remembered. I couldn't talk very well.

"Ma…ma…"

Her words to me also come back to me like this.

"Tomorrow you have a piano lesson."

"Practice!"

Bright, sunny days. Sweat sliding along the piano keyboard…

Along the axis of time, these events are truly just several seconds long. Between them, a few very long [lit: enormous] memories run around my head with ferocious speed. Every moment of these memories that I lived till then become vivid images and begin to spin like a revolving lantern.

Am I going to die….?

Up until now, I have thought this 15 times.

The first time this revolving lantern happened was when I was seven years old.

Drowning in the Okinawa sea, being swallowed by the waves, painfully, struggling and struggling, my feet unable to touch the bottom, seeing things above my head being pulled along forcefully by the waves. Pulled along by the water. Though I tried to breathe, all that entered my mouth was saltwater.

As I could do nothing but drink the saltwater, all sound suddenly disappeared. A gentle sensation, a warm sensation, and there was a feeling as if I was being completely embraced by something. It doesn't matter what you call it. I was enveloped in a relief that I had not felt until that moment.

It was just after that moment. The revolving lantern began to move. All the memories I had since my birth till then began to one by one flash through my mind.

It was the first time this happened. I felt no fear. I thought that surely I was going to die.

But I didn't die.

Thereafter, whenever I come close to death, the revolving lantern spins. In situations where I may die, such as traffic accident, a fight, it appears suddenly.

It has happened 15 times. That's a little much, perhaps.

I was a mischievous child. I had a tendency to face death.

When I drowned, I was terribly afraid. A part of the reason was, I think, that I was violently afraid of death. But at the same time, I was fascinated by death. I was caught by it. If I didn't try to go close to it, then I wouldn't see it. I wanted to go as close as I could to it because I wanted to examine it. That was the kind of boy that I was.

Because of this, I would intentionally do things that were dangerous. I did things many times that made me wonder if I would die. Of course, I was always scared, but when that moment drew near, I was always calm.

Just a little more. Just a little more and I can maybe see the answer. That was the feeling. At that level, I couldn't die. If I was at that level, I could do it. I wanted to see more and more into the next world. There were times I'd cheer myself up by telling myself that.

For example, I loved bikes and when I was a teenager I would ride often. The city had a lot of curbs, and I think that at that time, I had a strange way of getting up on the curb [lit: attack]. I didn't have any skill, but I felt I could get up to that level. I really loved that feeling.

I was going faster and faster, and when I crossed over one area, there was a second when I saw everything in slow motion. That feeling lasted for a long time and it was as if I saw everything clearly. In that place that I crossed, surely something was there, and I wanted to see it. Because I wanted to savor that, I was reckless.

Until I saw the revolving lantern, I would continue to drive at things with all my might. When I can see the revolving lantern, it is the first time I have a consciousness of death. Then, I am in the place between life and death. Until I felt that, I could not do things to the fullest.

Now, I think, "That was strange." I was a dangerous child.

I sought death and I didn't know the meaning of life. What does it mean to live? Where can I find the value of my life and existence?

Truthfully, questions like that also had the opportunity to be born from my personal experiences when I was seven years old.

After I drowned, I became able to see many things. That day, all boundaries were broken. After my eyes were opened, until now, I became able to see completely things that before I could not see. I couldn't distinguish between people who were living and people who were not.

When I talked to the people who were not living, it must have been bizarre watching me from the outside. My parents were of course surprised.

"Who are you talking to?"

"Uncle."

"Where is Uncle?"

As they said that, they would laugh.

Perhaps they laughed and ignored it. But didn't they ignore it because their hearts were afraid to face me?

This began happening with more and more frequency, and I became thought of as very mentally strange. People talked about me, and I became uncertain of the meaning of my existence. Because I could see both live people and dead people, I didn't understand what life itself meant.

This continued, and when I was ten years old, I suddenly collapsed. I had a violent pain in my stomach and intestines, and I couldn't move.

After I was taken to the hospital, I was told that the cause was unknown. They told me that while that was the case, I probably had some sort of infectious disease.

So I was suddenly isolated. Isolated, in confinement, thrown into a hospital ward that was more a prison. I think that they put me in the pediatric ward because I was so young. Children who were heavily ill, had infectious diseases, or had terminal illnesses were in that ward. Being ten years old, that's what I thought. All of them were in a cage, and were likely to go down the corridor at any time.

Down the corridor, in another sick ward, were children who were probably going to die. I often knew when that would happen.

Talking with those children, I would then feel, "That child is going to die tomorrow."

The next morning, I would hear the nurses' feet go pattering down the hallway. Then I knew that one of my friends had died.

Those were hard days. I couldn't stand it. Just when I made a friend, they would be dead the next day. And that was something only I knew. It was hell.

Being in a place like that, I grew very strange. But because I was not mentally strong, I did not receive a quick release.

Why didn't they release me? Because I wasn't normal? What is the difference between being normal and not normal?

I thought incredibly hard about that. I couldn't escape. I had to do something to get out of there. So I continued to think.

I began to watch my senior doctor. When I imitated him exactly, I was observed to be "normal." This went on for about ten days or so. Suddenly, they told me, "You can go home."

I didn't change at all. But though nothing inside of me changed…

To the adults who said "I told you so," I had only a feeling of deep distrust.

But I didn't want to ever go back to that hospital.

So, from then on, I continued to copy the people who my parents and other adults of that generation said were correct.

All the while, I held on to the thought of "What on earth am I?"

Weekly Photo - The Basics of English Language for Japanese!

2007-05-03T17:00:00.000-07:00

And that's how you learn english in Japan...and these books trully exist! A Japanese is always ready with these books that will explain just about everything when travelling abroad, in case someone needs a more private conversation...

"Irezumi", the Japanese Tattoos

2007-05-02T15:12:00.000-07:00

I thought I could write about japanese tattoos after seeing one with my own eyes. They are absolutely amazing and worth a reference not only because of the aestethics but the cultural meanings that inspire that kind of art.

Even if they are often related to Yakuza, the japanese mafia, and therefore seen as negative (in many public restrooms people with tattoos aren't alowed to come in!), many young people tend to tattoo their bodies nowadays.

To understand this form of art, let's go back to the beginning, to a brief history of the Irezumi.

The most widely spread version says that tattoo was adopted in Japan from China in V BC. In China it has been used since XI BC. In III AC Chinese travellers mentioned that noble people in Japan used facial tattoos. However, archaeologists believe that the early settlers of Japan, the Ainu people, who live din the country from 7000 to 250 BC used tattoos. The Japanese are sure that the mythical governor of Japan Jimmu (660-585 BC) had beautiful tattoos and they were the topic of poems made by the queen Senoyatatara.Japanese tattoos can be divided into two classes: irezumi and gaman. Irezumi has been generally used on wrongdoers, meaning "to put ink into the skin". Gaman means patience and self-control. A separate kind of
tattoo is kakusi-boro – women tattoos made by rubbing rice powder in the skin. This
tattoo can be seen as a white picture when a woman is excited or after having a bath.The main motives of Japanese tattoo were connected with legends about the sea, and the main heroes were carp, dragons and Samurais.

Japanese tattoo art has undergone through many difficulties and often was very fashionable.
Tattoo was the most popular during the period of Edo and its collapse took place in 1868, after Meizi banned it. The illustrations of ancient Japanese poems confirm that tattoo in Japan was considered as a feature of privileged class. Till the beginning of XVII tattooing in Japan was not of great artistic value, and Japanese tattooists chose simple motives.In XVII tattoo became a separate kind of arts. In due course tattoo became fashionable among some groups. At the beginning of XIX in Edo (Tokyo) almost every labourer had a tattoo.

That time tattoo became extremely popular among firemen. They were working without clothes, and thus all the body, except for face, hands and feet, was tattooed. It was like working clothes indeed. Fishermen pictured fish on their bodies, prostitutes – crabs (tenacity symbol), gamblers had tattoos with playing cards or dice. Tattoos helped geishas to avoid the ban on naked body demonstration. It often happened so that a geisha and her partner fell in love and in this case they made tattoos together. For example, they made a picture of birthmark on the palms so that their thumbs covered the tattoo when palms of the two lovers were together. Names of beloved were also tattooed together with inoti – the destiny. This symbolises everlasting love.
Tattoo popularity in Japan increased thanks to famous actors as they considered tattoo to be a means of expressiveness on the stage. At the end of XVIII one of the most beautiful tattoo belonged to the actor Nakamura Utaemon IV. XVIII - XIX centuries were the successful period of Japanese tattoo – they got a philosophical meaning as well as esthetical value. Japanese tattoo art was greatly affected by ukiyo-e - the floating world culture. Dragon and carp were the most required motives of tattoo. When tattoo became a kind of arts, Japanese masters got great popularity. They were named “hori”, “horimono” being exact synonym of “tattoo”. The famous tattooists of the Edo period are still remembered, such as Karakusa Gonta, Darumakin, Horiuno, Ichimatsu, Chiyaribun, Iso, Horitsun, Kane and Hori-ichi. Even now the experts in hori-mono refuse to use electronic machine for tattooing. The most obvious feature of Japanese tattoo is its amplitude.
Tattoo may be made in the course of several years and may have a shape of a kimono or a coat. Such a tattoo covers almost the whole trunk and even hands and thighs.

The main features of Japanese tattoos:

- skewness;

- distinct role of leading motives;

- repetition of minor motives;

- minor motives have geometrical shapes, while leading motives are figured;

- most motives are decorated;

- infill with colours;

- diversity of colours;

- use of human body’s plastic

– muscles make tattoos play;

- nipples and navel used as a part of the tattoo plot;

- some compositions are dynamic, some are interpreted static;

- most plots are developed before tattooing or are copied (though now client may develop its own tattoo);

- composition is amplified with geometric figures or inscriptions.

Japanese tattoo has several motives that can be divided into four groups: flora, fauna, religious and mythological motives:

Chrysanthemum, some time ago it was the attribute of Mikado, later – the symbol of persistence and resolution.

Peony – the symbol of success and wealth.

Sakura flowers – they fall off the tree, submissively – the way Samurai dies for his Master. Sakura flowers are the symbol of time and fragility of being.

Maple leaf – it has the same meaning as a red rose in Europe. Dragon symbolises power and rule and unites fire and water.

Carp is associated with courage and stoicism.

Tiger is the symbol of fearlessness.

Sea motives have a special place in Japanese tattoo and it can be explained easily: the life of the Japanese is associated with the sea. Very often waves are the background of the tattoo and may dictates the style.

In addition, Japanese tattoo has such heroes as those of legends, saints, samurais, geishas, actors etc. It is very important that portraits are never made in front – they are always turned at an angle of three fourth. Many motives of Japanese tattoo are of Chinese origin, such as tiger, dragon, chrysanthemum and peony.

Tattooists use bamboo sticks with needles at the end. One-four needles are needed for a picture drawing, thirty needles – for making a tattoo colourful. These needles are named hari.

Traditional Japanese tattoo is executed in five steps:

The first step (suzi) – the outline is inked.

The second step includes outlining and fixing the shape of the tattoo by one – four needles with black ink.

The third step is based on skin pricking with many needles – this allows to reach the desired composition of colour and tone.

The fourth step (tsuki-hari) consists of skin-deep pricking using not many needles without shading. Needles are pricked by light blows of palms.

The fifth step, the most painful and technically complicated, includes deep pricking that is totally controlled by tattoist.

Japanese tattooists use mainly black and red pigments, bronzed colour is used not very often, green and yellow pigments – rarely. After every procedure of tattooing a client has to take a bath – it makes a person feel better, and a tattoo looks showy. Alcohol is forbidden after making a tattoo – it may poison a person badly in this situation. Currently tattoo art has a negative connotation for the majority of the Japanese people. In the eyes of average Japanese a tattoo is considered a mark of a yakuza - a member of the Japanese mafia - or a macho symbol of members of the lower classes. People with tattoos are likely to be stigmatized and regarded as misfits in Japanese society. For example, from the very moment of getting a tattoo a representative of yakuza can’t marry a woman from a “good” family and be employed by a company not connected with the criminal world. Mostly often yakuza members prefer the compositions associated with icons of the Hana-funa cards – the favourite game of the group. This game’s motives are mostly often connected with cherry flowers and maple leaves painted in red and black. Other compositions used by yakuza include such Buddha heroes as Nio Fudo – the guardian of the criminal world. At the same time yakuza members avoid tattooing the images of goddesses – Kannon or Benten – as they do not represent strength, courage and cruelty. Goddesses’ images often are used in tattoo compositions of other social groups.

After this: I want one for myself too! =)

Harajuku! 原宿

2007-05-01T16:11:00.000-07:00

Harajuku or 原宿, as it's a japanese name, is one of the most famous areas of Tokyo, around the popular Harajuku station, in Yamanote line, Shibuya [Tokyo, Japan]. And why is it so famous? Take a look at the pictures and you'll know why! It's mainly a meeting area for teenage, artists, has a store department with Laforet that works with most of the famoust trademarks among young people. Close by, there's the Meiji Temple and Yoyogi Park. Takeshita street, where all the younsters buy their clothes and Omotesando, a place full of expensive boutiques and coffee-shops are located near by. But what most characterizes Harajuku are the people that spend their weekends there, making the Sundays at Harajuku so famous. Street artists as well as young people dressed extravagantly were Harajuku's trademark in the 90's, when Omotesando was closed at Sundays, and in a new way, the same scene characterizes the area nowadays. Visual Kei fans, Cosplay, Gothic Lolitas, Punksters, Rockabillies and many others, walk in the streets confined to Harajuku and let people take their pictures as if it was a show there were planning.

" The area known as "Ura-Hara" (back streets of Harajuku) is a center of Japanese fashion for younger people — brands such as Bathing Ape and Undercover have shops in the area. Harajuku street style is promoted in Japanese and international publications such as Fruits." - quoted in Wikipedia.

So as we can see, it's one of the most famous (if not the most) areas of Tokyo and perhaps all Japan. Everyone wants to go there, everyone wants to take a picture, everyone would like to expose their insanity in Harajuku just for one day...because it must be contagious.

You can take a look at some videos here:

http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=harajuku

and you can find some good information about Harajuku here:

http://www.photopassjapan.com/tokyo-harajuku/

Turning japanese

2007-05-01T15:45:00.001-07:00

I thought I'd give a try and start writing about something else, giving a new face to this blog. Just because it has a link on a bellydance blog doesn't mean I have to write just about it or stuff connected to it, right? ;) So let's name this phase as a "turning japanese" phase, and the ones that know me well will know that I always had a crush on japanese culture and trends. I even started to learn the language on my own a few months ago but as I'm a lazy person, I left it behind. After meeting and hanging out with Diu and Kei, two japanese guys that work in a sushi-ya in my town, that passion for Japan just kept growing and I had to expand it somehow. So my japanese lessons re-started and the will to show everyone just how fascinating Japan is, "forced" me to write here about all the faces of Japan.
I hope you will enjoy it as I do!
Apart, some bellydance stuff will appear here too from time to time, as well as some crazy shit coming from me o_O*
Enjoy! ^^

Shadiyah turned into Sayuri! :D*

sou parecida com...

2006-12-06T08:40:00.000-08:00

ora bem...ripostando ao blog Nos as Odaliscas...aqui vao umas fotos mais decentes que as minhas da shisha!:P

http://www.myheritage.com

as pessoas...

2006-11-28T12:04:00.000-08:00

quero falar das pessoas. as pessoas que somos, as pessoas que fomos, as pessoas que seremos...e principalmente de pessoas integras, que nos fazem acordar dia apos dia, que nos ajudam com um sorriso na cara sem nos pedirem nada em troca, que nos dao confiança, ajuda, esperança...essas pessoas, que merecem a minha amizade, a minha confiança, tudo que ha de bom no mundo, elas sabem quem sao e quero expressar o quanto as amo (sim...e q ha diferentes tipos de amor, nao começem ja a pensar em parvoices!). Muitas vezes somos uma pessoa diferente daquela que ja fomos, porque nos cansamos de ser assim, porque magoou outras pessoas ou a nos mesmos, porque nao deveriamos...porque o objectivo e progredir e nao estagnar. Deveriamos tomar como exemplos atitudes dignas, que nos façam felizes e aos outros felizes e ai reside a maior adversidade que se nos impoe, tantas vezes agimos de determinadas formas por estarmos indecisos, por nao sabermos como agir ou simplesmente por medo. E eu tambem levanto a mao e declaro-me culpada pois ja agi assim...penso que e impossivel jamais agir movida pelo receio ou pela ignorancia de um facto mas estou decidida a contornar esses obstaculos que se me deparam. E assim que devemos ir em frente, viver...e e dificil...muito dificil...por isso agradeço de coraçao a todos os que me ajudam a ir em frente.
tu, que estiveste ao meu lado em todas as alturas, boas e mas, que me fizeste sofrer mas tambem me fizeste sorrir, que es a grande força na minha vida e uma das pessoas que mais amo, roubaste-me o coraçao e sinto orgulho de amar alguem como tu;
tu, que me deste vida, lutaste e continuas a lutar lado a lado comigo para que o meu futuro seja no minimo, confortavel, feliz...;
tu, que me ensinaste praticamente tudo o que deveria saber na vida, para ultrapassar os obstaculos, e que tenho pena nao continuar a ouvir a tua sabedoria;
tu, que me aturaste desde cedo e me deste a tua amizade, tivemos as nossas loucuras e criamos memorias que ao recordar sorrimos;
tu, que me ajudaste quando precisei sem pedir nada em troca senao a minha amizade que ja tinhas mesmo sem saber;
voces, que partilham da minha rotina do dia-a-dia, mas que sao uma das razoes por me apetecer levantar da cama de manha;
por todos voces, por tudo o que fizeram por mim e pelos outros, por tudo o que representam...

AMO-VOS! :)

ps: a bela foto que agora farto-me de usar para quase tudo: da autoria de Daniela Amaral, mais que uma grande fotografa, uma grande amiga. :)

2006-11-01T08:03:00.000-08:00

visitem :)

2006-11-01T08:02:00.000-08:00

criança inocente

2006-10-15T16:26:00.000-07:00

Querer as vezes voltar a ser uma criança inocente, que nada sabe da vida e tem ainda tudo para aprender...por vezes sinto essa necessidade...mas sei que nao conseguiria...porque ja vivi muito, porque ja senti demasiado. Parece que essa inocencia me deixou para sempre e levou consigo a pureza da minha alma, tao bela...tao pura enquanto criança. Talvez agora conseguisse amar sem pedir nada em troca, sem questionar...talvez agora olhasse para o mundo de outra forma...sorrindo, com um brilho nos olhos. Teria a força que agora nao tenho...um corpo calejado de dor, feito do sal das lagrimas que me correram pela face durante todos estes anos. Teria uma visao diferente de tudo, teria mais vontade! Mas ainda hei-de ter essa vontade, ainda hei-de ostentar esse brilho...serei novamente essa criança...num corpo de mulher.

antes de morrer gostaria...

2006-10-12T18:19:00.000-07:00

Sei que ainda sou nova e provavelmente terei toda uma vida em frente para tentar (e afortunadamente realizar) tudo o que desejo alcançar caso nao morra cedo como o meu irmao, mas talvez por isso mesmo tenho um certo receio de poder nao conseguir tudo o que gostaria e os meus desejos vao sendo cada vez mais simples, mais humildes...talvez as minhas metas vao sendo cada vez mais curtas para evitar tristezas e frustraçoes de nao conseguir o que desejo mas penso que cada ser humano tem o seu direito as pequenas coisas da vida, a ver muitos dos seus desejos cumpridos (desde que nao incluam episodios desumanos, repletos de malvadez) e eu, como nao sou excepçao, tenho os meus.Antes de morrer gostaria de visitar o Egipto, de andar de camelo no deserto e ver as piramides, de passar uns belos dias de praia nas ilhas gregas, de ir ao Mexico e mesmo a Patagonia (sim, vacas e relva, como diz uma amiga minha), enfim...de viajar e conhecer de perto tudo o que costumo ver apenas nos livros e tv e de apontar no atlas. Gostaria de conseguir ser uma grande dançarina do ventre, de conseguir criar coreografias assim do nada e executa-las como ninguem, de ter a capacidade de conseguir simplesmente dançar com toda a alma e cativar. Gostaria de aprender a tocar violino, o meu instrumento favorito a que se segue a harpa, que obviamente tambem gostaria de saber tocar nem que fosse apenas para mim mesma umas melodias belas e comoventes, de fazer sonhar a qualquer momento do dia. Gostaria de conseguir ler todos aqueles livros que estou sempre a dizer "ainda me falta ler", todos os que estao na lista de espera e de conseguir descobrir e ler alguns mais, de aumentar o meu conhecimento e achar que consigo ter uma conversa minimamente culta (pois...e verdade, as vezes tenho esse receio de nao conseguir estar a altura de certas conversaçoes...e tambem e por mim, acho excelente ter a capacidade de ter a resposta pronta na ponta da lingua para praticamente qualquer opiniao).Gostaria de conseguir ter um trabalho eficiente, com o qual sonhei, de pelo menos ser algo relacionado com o meu curso e se nao der, algo que consiga ser util e interessante.Gostaria de ter pelo menos um filho da pessoa que amo, de ver as nossas caracteristicas misturarem-se no sangue de uma pessoa criada por nos, a qual demos a vida...um novo ser, novinho em folha, a nascer para este mundo e quem sabe o quem sera, o que fara...ate pode ser que desse um grande contributo a sociedade e ao mundo, isso nunca sabemos ao nascer.Tantas coisas gostaria de fazer, ver, ter...mas a mais importante: gostaria de dizer de boca cheia e sabendo que tal e verdade "sou feliz" e sorrir ao olhar em redor.

Saudades!

2006-10-12T17:01:00.000-07:00

Saudades! Sim...talvez...e porque nao?
Se o nosso sonho foi tao alto e forte
Que bem pensara ve-lo ate a morte
Deslumbrar-me de luz o coraçao!

Esquecer! Para que?...Ah! Como e vao!
Que tudo isso, Amor, nao nos importe.
Se ele deixou beleza que conforte
Deve-nos ser sagrado como pao!

Quantas vezes, Amor, ja te esqueci,
Para mais doidamente me lembrar,
Mais doidamente me lembrar de ti!

E quem dera que fosse sempre assim:
Quanto menos quisesse recordar
Mais a saudade andasse presa a mim!

(Florbela Espanca)

um poema algo masoquista...

quero descer por entre as tuas maos

2006-10-08T16:14:00.000-07:00

quero descer por entre as tuas maos e sonhar no teu abraço... respirar felicidade em cada instante em que nos tocamos, cada minuto, cada segundo... saber que nesse instante somos um so, que as nossas almas tambem se unem e os nossos coraçoes pulsam num so tom, na melodia que nos une... amo-te, nunca me hei-de cansar de o dizer: amo-te, meu amor...

Truque da Polaroid

2006-10-07T15:36:00.000-07:00

olhou-o a dormir
escorregou por entre os-lençois-quentes, virou-o
a respiraçao coalhava pelas costas, ele finge dormir
solta um ligeirissimo e desordenado resfolegar, ao sentir o sexo retirar-se
amanha nem sequer falaremos disto
dormimos.

outros dias em que a solidao é mais cruel, olha-o so sentado aqui no meio do quarto
frente aos textos emendados, remediados, remendados,
ferido ele masturba-se
depois acorda-o, conta uma historia qualquer, beija-o
sorri-lhe com os labios a tremerem de abelhas
ele continua a dormir, indiferente ao mel,
vagueio pela casa,
rente aos angulos estreitos dos corredores, sem saber por onde fugir-me.

(Al Berto)