Old Tokyo
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Buddhism
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Japanese New Year
O-Bon Festival
Offerings
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Amulets and Talismans
A monk serving as gardener at the Buddhist temple Myoman-ji in Kyoto rakes representative patterns in the gravel of the dry landscape garden.
Many aspects of Japan, richly endowed with nature and with a unique culture, have become widely recognized around the world as symbols of the country. Among the creative arts there is a reputation for perfection and for the practitioners’ investment of decades of effort toward mastery. Certain icons are valued not only for their intrinsic beauty but for the fact that they were found to be worthy of appreciation. In some cases, that appreciation itself evolved into a kind of honored art form.
bonsai
Bonsai refers to the skill and art of dwarfing trees and bushes as well as to the potted plants themselves. Originating in China as a thousand-year-old aristocratic art form of a miniature tray landscape, bonsai was introduced to Japan around the twelfth century, at about the time Zen Buddhism was adopted.
Bonsai is considered a creation of the microcosm of nature. Practitioners require a decade to learn the basics of maintenance, which involves root and branch pruning, wiring and shaping of branches, repotting and watering. With proper care, the trees can eventually become a treasured family heirloom over many generations, carrying memories of family ancestors and evoking a sense of continuity and eternity. As an ever-changing piece of nature, a bonsai plant is considered to be a living artwork. To be properly appreciated, four elements have to be considered: the choice of pot or tray, the spread of the roots, the shape of the trunk and the balance of the branches.
A mini bonsai pine at a hobbyist exhibition.
An old bonsai treasure is exhibited at Meiji Shrine’s Spring Grand Festival in Tokyo.
A family-operated nursery, one of a group of eleven at Bonsai Village, Omiya.
An array from the bonsai collection of the Tokyo garden Happo-en.
Gardeners work at Bonsai Village, eleven nurseries dating from the early twentieth century.
A Chinese juniper is part of a Tokyo hobbyist mini bonsai exhibit.
A bear willow (kuma yanagi) on display at a Tokyo hobbyist mini bonsai exhibit.
castles
During the feudal era (1185–1868), when the ablest of samurai rose to lead their own domains as daimyo or overlords, owing their allegiance to the great shogun ruler, simple hilltop fortresses were transformed into architecturally impressive castles called shiro, not only magnificent residences but also formidable governing centers of castle towns.
Castles once numbered in the hundreds across the country. Some daimyo owned several in their domains. Out of a sense of self-protection, at one point the shogun restricted each daimyo to only one in the main locale of his residence. Under the “one castle per province” policy, many had to be dismantled by their owners.
Time also took its toll and many castles fell into disrepair, particularly once the nation entered “modern times” following the Meiji Restoration (1868–1912), and they seemed to remind people of the happily bygone feudalistic days. Others were lost to bombing during World War II because they had often been occupied by the military to store munitions, and thus became “targets.” Castle ruins remain in many provincial towns, but actual still-standing castles with intact towers (tenshukaku) number only twelve today.
The number of tenshukaku symbolized a daimyo ’s power. Sometimes extra gables were added to confuse the enemy about the castle’s actual size. The construction could appear quite decorative, with windows of various shapes, beautiful tiling, family crests, ornamental gates, doors with decorative iron-work—touches one might not expect warriors to appreciate. But samurai were often well trained in aesthetics through such activities as the tea ceremony, calligraphy, gardening, poetry and Noh drama as a respite from the martial aspect of their lives.
Japan’s remaining castles are carefully tended as symbols of Japan’s rich cultural heritage and to encourage both domestic and international tourism.
Ironwork reinforces and decorates a gate and door at Edo Castle in the heart of Tokyo.
Nagoya Castle in Aichi Prefecture.
Hirosaki
