#attempting research

[inkyami]

Hana Matsuri aka Flower Festival (花祭), celebrated on April, 8 — unofficial holiday dedicated to the birth of Buddha. The festival derives from China and was first celebrated in 606 during the reign of the empress Suiko. It's popularity grew during the Meiji period (1868-1912). For the holiday each temple puts a special altar with the basin of tea and the statue of a newborn Buddha, richly decorated with flowers. Visitors pour the tea on the statue, thus recreating the legend of the birth of Buddha (couldn't find any tea or dragons in Gautama's story, but okay, my sources said the description was accurate, so I'll just trust them for now and roll with it). The tea itself is believed to be healing, so lots of visitors take some of it home. The flowers are meant to remind of the Lumbini gardens, the birthplace of Buddha. 

[inkyami]

Kuchisake-onna (口裂け女) — a yokai from one of the most famous Japanese urban legends. “Slit-mouthed woman”, as any urban folklore, has numerous tellings and stories of origin. The story itself is always the same — a woman, covering the mutilated part of her face, asks a stranger whether she is beautiful. Depending on an answer, she either slits the throat of a victim or cuts the corners of their mouth to resemble hers. The ways to survive wildly vary from story to story and include giving ambiguous answers, bribing with candy, or excusing yourself by running late for a meeting. 

[inkyami]

Ōmisoka

Ōmisoka (大晦日))—Japanese traditional celebration on the last day of the year. Traditionally, the name means "great thirtieth day", but in 1873 it was set as December 31, or New Year's Eve.  It is believed that the new year should be started fresh and without debts. Therefore, traditions include house cleaning in order to please the gods of the new year. Nowadays the tradition has spread further than family homes, and cleaning days are held both In schools and offices.  One of the most well-known decorations is kadomatsu — a composition made with bamboo, pine and fern, placed to welcome ancestral spirits or gods. They are decorated with numerous shintoism symbols to promise longevity, prosperity, steadfastness and wealth. As for the dinner table, one of the traditional dishes is toshikoshi soba (”the long year-crossing noodle”) — soft noodles are as easy to cut through as future difficulties, and as long as the future years to come. There are also special meals prepared in advance in order to relax and not cook for the first days of the new year. People often visit Shinto and Buddhism shrines. Temples strike a large bonshō bell 108 times — once to purify from each of the 108 earthly temptations believed to cause human suffering. 

[inkyami]

Shichi-Go-San

The meaning of the title is simple — “Seven” (Shichi/七), “Five” (Go/五), “Three” (San/三). It is a holiday marking a traditional rite of passage for three- and seven-year-old girls and five- and three-year-old boys, held to celebrate their growth and well-being. High mortality rates among young children created the culture in which the child during their first years was thought to be only partially connected to the world of the living. Several periods of growth were marked as ”passage” to a new part of life, since the chances of an early death were lessening. Additionally, the ages 3, 5 and 7 are considered lucky in East Asian numerology.  Shichi-Go-San is originated in the Heian period amongst court nobles.  Over time, this tradition passed to the samurai class who added a number of rituals, including the change of the haircuts and the kids wearing adult garments for the first time (boys of age five could wear hakama, while girls of age seven try on obi). By the Meiji period, the practice was adopted amongst commoners as well, and included the ritual of visiting a shrine to drive out evil spirits and wish for a long healthy life. Nowadays it remains the central part of the celebration.

I should note that the old japanese way of calculating age (kazoedoshi) differs from the western tradition — children are one year old at birth and gain a year on each New Year's Day (not the birthday).  

[inkyami]

Awa-Odori & Obon

Unlike my previous project on slavic mythology, here I’m researching and illustrating the culture to which I do not belong. Therefore, despite checking various sources, I cannot be 100% sure of not making any cultural mistakes either in a discriptions or illustrations. If there are any — please, let me know!)

Awa-Odori (阿波踊り) — one of the largest dance festivals in Japan and a part of the Obon festival. Awa is the old name for Tokushima Prefecture, and odori means dance. The festival originates from the Buddhist priestly dances celebrating harvest. Groups of  ren (連) dancers and musicians parade through the streets, demonstrating several different awa-odori traditional dances. Performers wear traditional obon dance costumes, and chant and sing. Spectators are often encouraged to join the dance. Men and women dance in different styles, though the rules are often bent nowadays.  

Obon (お盆), a Japanese Buddhist three-day celebration where the spirits of deceased ancestors are said to visit their living relatives for a few days of the year. This Buddhist-Confucian custom has evolved into a family reunion holiday during which people return to ancestral family places and visit their ancestors' graves, and when the spirits of ancestors are supposed to revisit the household altars. To guide them, people hang lanterns, which became one of the festival’s symbols. 

踊る阿呆に The dancers are fools 見る阿呆 The watchers are fools 同じ阿呆なら Both are fools alike so 踊らな損、損 Why not dance? 

[inkyami]

Gion Matsuri

Unlike my previous project on slavic mythology, here I’m researching and illustrating the culture to which I do not belong. Therefore, despite checking various sources, I cannot be 100% sure of not making any cultural mistakes either in a discriptions or illustrations. If there are any — please, let me know!)

The history of Gion Matsuri (祇園祭) is almost as ancient as the history of Kyoto itself. In the medieval times the city has often been plagued with various epidemics. To please the gods and the local spirits, in 869 it was decided to hold a ceremonial parade, depicting 66 stylized halberds to represent each province. Apparently, spirits seemed to like the performance, as it was from now on held in cases of all Kyoto’s misfortunes. It was purely a religious ceremony at first, but, as the time came by, various performances, music numbers and dances were added to the procession. The festivities escalated, and by the time of 14th century stylized halberds have been transformed into unbelievably enormous and luxurious float-like constructions, and the procession itself has been turned into the month-long festival.

The modern-day Gion Matsuri no longer counts 66 floats, though by the number of participants and onlookers it is one of the biggest celebrations in Japan. The festival is held an entire month, all the events are dated, and the most famous and spectacular happen on 16–18 of July, including Yamaboko Junkō (float parade). The festival itself has become an inspiration for many celebrations throughout the country.

[inkyami]

Try to visit State Museum of Oriental Art as often as I can to picture it’s incredible treasures. Fortunately (or should I say alas), it is never crowded.