Days of Gods and of Demons @daysofgodsanddemons-blog - Tumblr Blog

Last night in Tokyo!! Went to Hub for some drinks. My teacher had these cute little alien things. Fun times with those. Late night walking led to some awesome graffiti finds. Great last night.

#last night #tokyo #little aliens

The last supper in Tokyo. Yaki-udon. Delicious. They cook it in front of you!! (And yes, I picked out the chicken and gave it to my friends if you were wondering).

#last supper #yaki-udon #dinner #tokyo #japan

The studio does glasswork on the side.

The ukiyo-e print. And Samurai Jack backgrounds. My mind works in mysterious ways.

#samurai jack #backgrounds #ukiyo-e

The woolies from Samurai Jack. Now there was a damn good show.

#woolies #samurai jack

Abstract prints. The top one (Russian doll-esque) reminds me so much of the woolies from Samurai Jack.

#ukiyo-e

Ship prints. In dusk (pink) and early morning (blue).

#ukiyo-e #ships

Safari prints. Inspired by actual African safaris taken by the grandfather two generations ago. The top images of the tigers is actually the largest wood block print in the world. Confirmed by Guiness World Records. No big deal. But, seriously. It was just hanging on the wall and he is like here are some tigers. And oh. By the way. Largest in the world. It was inspiring just to be there.

#safari #ukiyo-e #prints #wood block #japan

The master carver at work. Dragons. Rad.

#carver #wood block #prints #ukiyo-e

A very blurry picture (sorry). But, the picture shows that two generations ago the woodblock prints hanging in Princess Diana's private rooms were from this ukiyo-e studio. No big deal.

#ukiyo-e #princess diana #awesome #nbd

Public vs. Private: Tatemae and Honne

According to Hector Garcia's A Geek in Japan...

We could define honne as the wishes, opinions, and true feelings every individual has, whereas tatemae refers to social obligations and the opinions that have been adapted or adjusted to society. Tatemae is evident when words and true intentions don't fully coincide. What is expressed orally by the individual is tatemae, and what he really thinks is honne.

From the Western point of view, concealing the truth may be looked on with disfavor. In Japan, however, preserving harmony is more important, and that's why true thoughts (honne) are not usually expressed in straighforward way, for fear of hurting people's feelings.

According to The Japanese Mind...

These two words are often considered a dichotomy contrasting genuiningly held personal feelings and opinions from those that are socially controlled. Honne is one's deep motive or intention, while tatemae refers to motives or intentions that socially-tuned, those that are shaped, encouraged, or suppressed by majority norms.

#tatemae #honne #japan

Prints of the apprentice. The prints were actually really amazing in meaning. Not speaking Japanese (unfortunately), I didn't comprehend the full meaning of these works until Rei, the apprentice, told us. The fist side of the print names flower blossoms/perfume that would be associated with smells (a smell guessing game played in ancient lady-houses). On the back, those same characters spell out the ladies names (the lovers of Genji from the Tale of Genji). Very cool. What a brilliant guy. The front side is the public world (tatemae) and the back side is the private world (honne).

#ukiyo-e #tale of genji