OCTOBER 28TH 2014 - Portal Diplomático
Transcript of OCTOBER 28TH 2014 - Portal Diplomático
Nature in
Japan • 75% of the territory is
steep mountains densely
forested with abundant
water and unpopulated
• 118 active vulcanoes
• Frequent natural disasters:
typhoons, earthquakes,
tsunamis,extreme
temperatures and heavy
rains
The importance of
Nature
Ancestral cults of
iwa-kura (sacred
stones) and kami-ike
(sacred ponds)
Imparmanence: day,
night, seasons,
death
JAPANESE CULTURE
• VI th century: Buddhism & Chinese culture imported into Japan; Geomancy;
Confuncionism
• C. 1000 “Genji Monogatari” by Murasaki Shikibu
• XI th century: “Sakuteiki” – book of gardening
• XIII th century: Zen Buddhism
• XIV th century: Ink painting; shoin architecture; Noh (Zeami);
• XVI th century: Wabi tea ceremony; contact with portuguese traders;
• XVII th century: Kabuki ; woodblock print; isolation of Japan till XIX th century (1862)
SOME KEY CONCEPTS TO UNDERSTAND
THE JAPANESE CULTURE
• Ma – space; gap; pause; interval
• Mu – nothingness
• Fuzei – emotional response to Nature
• Impermanence
• Assimetry
• Deep reserve
• Simplicity
• Naturalness
TOURISM IN JAPAN
2013 total: 10, 363, 904
• Asia (China, Korea Taiwan): 8,115,789
• North America (USA, Canada) : 981,981
• Europe (UK, France, Germany): 904,132
2014 from Jan to Aug: an increase of 25,8%
Source: Japan National Tourism Organization
POETRY
Haiku (Basho):
furu ike ya
kawazu tobikomu
mizu no oto
or (according to L. Hearn),
old pond
frogs jumped in
sound of water