Low Down

Asuka and  Nara  periods in  Japan  are very important; it was the first official, documented time when Buddhism was officially introduced as an  official  religion. It was utterly something new for  Japan  and its people which were organized within Shinto culture. Images, signs, sounds, colors and doctrines revolutionized their way of thinking. Shinto refers to practices and beliefs, a dance, a song, all around a particular community and a particular religion. Its culture were written down in the historical books of Kojiki and Nihon. It is set of mythological stories, loose one, instead of firm religious facts. The objects of beliefs were gods and spirits. In Kami theology natural places were  worshiped , trees, rocks, rivers, they all created sacred places. It is the oldest Japanese shrine. Apart from the Buddhism  religion , other important elements were incorporated into the Japanese culture;  [1] the Chinese language ...

Junichiro Tanizaki’s biography has been already presented in my blog, for that reason he  doesn't  have to be portrayed and well-described. His works are shocking, filled with sexuality, sensuality, wild erotic obsessions and destruction. He describes the rapid changes of Japanese society of the XX century. The “West Traditions” jeopardizes the orient Japan – [1] Japanese traditions. It may be easily say that he was a forerunner of a new literary genre – aesthetic one, one of his books “The Tattooer” presents an utterly male-dominated domain, in which if women were tattooed it symbolized a close attachment to the  man, it meant she belonged to him. The tattooer is an artist, like a painter or a photographer is,  to his works he needs an inspiration, he finds it in beautiful geisha, he selects them, not every girl fulfills his requirements. The choice is random; “... to His sharp eyes a human foot was as expressive as a face …” “…is a foot to be fed by men’s blood, a ...

She represents freedom and  independence , she stood for courage and outspoken lines, undoubtedly shaped the Japanese literature forever. Her controversial books are breathlessly read worldwide, no surprise, she made Japanese women “free”, she gave them an “independent thinking”. It took years since her perception of the world was fully understood, yet, she was outstanding writer, sadly passed away recently, left unquestionable heritage behind. The women she writes about dream of being  independent , the independence stands for freedom, Taeko always underlined that it must be intellectual and spiritual freedom, otherwise, the women she so eagerly fought for always remind victims of their own ‘lack of choice”, “fragile breakthrough”. It is a marriage that makes women “immobilized” – it shall be understood by the fact that their decision are stuck – the bravery halted and diminished by the male dominance, strong personality features which stops women’s attempts to be d...

The history of Japan is full of mysticism, folk stories and ever-lasting traditions. The timeline is divided by periods, the earliest one called [1] Jomon period lasted between 13000BC till 300BC. It was characterized by pottery craftsmanship, [2] core-pottery  masterpieces . The pottery-making tradition indicated that there were rather solid built villages, non-migrating ones, cultivating [3] sedentary life, for the reason of the pottery itself which is fragile, yet, heavy and uncomfortable to transport. Japanese islands were mainly inhabited by hunters and fishermen. Early pottery vases and settlements. [4] Yayoi Period lasted between 300BC to 300AC is dominated by agriculture, the rice became the prime ingredient of Japanese diet. This period is often called – “The Rice Period”. Within the rural areas there was an advanced technology of rice rising, the societies evolved, developed, became richer due to the rice trade. The powerful land lords dominated the social structure...

“A Personal Matter” by Kenzaburo Oe is a novel of lost illusions, of a lost freedom, and about an unwilling sacrifice one will have to agree for in order to achieve stability. The early [1] 1960s is still marked by post-war period in  Japan but also by transformations, the development, the independence. The independence is what the main character of the novel loses – Bird is going to be a father – when he finally becomes one he finds out that nothing is all crack up to be. His dreams of better future are ruined. Bird tries to find a way to escape from responsibility – the child and its birth (not easy one) seems to be a burden, Bird  doesn't  need one, so he escapes, avoids confrontation. The relation of father – child is distracted, it must be rebuilt, it must be strong; however there’s one thing that halts the whole process – the past, the past must be left behind, unfortunately, our hero, cannot leave it alone.   The main hero is a dreamer, he dream...