Another form of Japanese theater is Kabuki. Unlike Nō, it is very active and fast paced. The "art of walking" is exchanged for dance, singing, and elaborate stage rigs. The stages were amazing, interacte, and large constructions that allowed for much more visiual entertainment. The stages would have entire underground tunnels and areas so that stage crews were able to work the effects on the stage. In this way, the manager of the stages and productions had to work very closly with all members of the theater; only through collaborated work, would a sucessful play be executed. The actors were, of course, treated especially well. The actors continued to be all males, but no longer wore masks. One of the most famous Actors of this theater is Bando Tamasaburo, an actor who perfected the women role. He moves with such grace and beauty that he always packs the audience with adoring fans- both genders alike. His beauty wis admired by women and his appeal captivates male fans.
This video is a compilation of Bando Tamasaburo's amazing acting.
This Video gives more information on Kabuki Theater
私はじゅぎょうの日本のぶんがくがあります。Masksをよみます。本はオくありません。でも、りっぱです。A very big symbol used in the novel is the masks of the Nō theater, and as a result, the novel also talks about the dance and theater of Nō.
A very distinct characteristic of the Nō theater is the style of the masks. The masks represent a type of character instead of an actual character. The masks are considered pieces of art themselves because they are made according to exact rules and details, and are not known for being interpretations of the artist. The mask artist would teach his students the details and skills, and then the student would teach his own students. The masks are not very deep, and are meant to simply sit on the face of the actor. Authentic masks are very rare and valuable, and families consider them heirlooms.
The masks each represent a certain character type, so when an actor wears a mask, he is said to become the character. In the time of Nō theater, only men could be actors, but they still were said to become the character of the mask, even if it was a women mask. The actors would sit in front of mirrors and look at themselves in costume and mask, and prepare themselves to become the character when on stage. The three main masks used in Fumiko Enchi's Masks were:
The Ryō No Onna: The spirit of a women who died of heart break, most commonly from the death of a lover.
The Masagami: A women who has gone mad from confusion and love.
The Fukai: An old, tired women. A mother who has lost a child and is sad and vengeful. Usually represents maternal love.
Grave of the Fire Files is just one of those movies that makes you bawl like a baby. It's a trade make of studio Ghibli and a true work of art by Hayao Miyazaki.
studio Ghibli is renown for its amazing and effective animated story telling, and once again delivers an amazing and touching story for all audiences.
There talent combined with the creative power house Miyazaki is a true recipe for success...and tears...lots of tears. One of the most prevalent themes found in Miyazaki's films is the destructiveness of war, and although he mostly focuses on strong female protagonist, he still captures the hearts of thousands with his young, children protagonists in this film.
The story is so compelling and disturbing because it is realistic, and people can easily feel sorrow and hope for the siblings. The movie has had so much success that a TV drama was released in Japan in 2005 to honor the 60th anniversary of WWII. The drama was actually told from the cousin's point of view, and was meant to show how war can change a generous women into a hard, unforgiving women. In 2008 another movie was released that differed from the TV drama.
The anime film has been dubbed and can be seen for free on YouTube. I recommend that everyone watches it, and becomes aware of the devastation that WWII has caused, and how wars in the future and present can still be affecting people in this way. The worst thing that can happen to humanity is ignorance. The next is silence.
So this is probably the one thing that gets me the most weird glances when I tell people about my hobbies...
Vocaloids are sound synchronization programs in which the user can arrange instruments and a "Diva" to create a song.
Yup, it's a thing.
There are many Vocaloids, and each one has it's own unique sound. A voice actor is recorded making various sounds and words, and then the program is made. The program allows for anyone to become a song writer, and because of that, has become exponentially popular.
How you ask?
When a song is written, the writer enters the information into the program and the song is made. The writer then partners with an artist and a PV, or music video, is made. The video is then uploaded to Nico Nico Douga (the Japaneses equivalent to YouTube). Then, let the fandom takes over.
So, here is the process of how a fan made song becomes viral and world famous!
First, let's look at one of the most famous of songs from the most famous Vocaloid out there, Hatusne Miku's "Wold is Mine".
Adorable yes? So, a song has been made. People are going to like it. So, covers come along. And not just that, but also alternate versions of the song. As crazy fans usually do, fan pairings have been made among the Vocaloids; the most famous being Miku and Kaito.
So here, we have a cover done by a very famous Vocaloid singer (these are legit things guys), Clear, and an alternate version of the original video in which Kaito is singing to Miku to get her attention.
So, people are obviously loving the song so much that they make and watch parodies. Sony, the developer of the Vocaloids, actually made a video game, Project Diva, in which you play famous Vocaloid songs. Yes, fan made songs are put into real video games. Here, is game play from the arcade version.
Fans continue to show their love for the songs and the games by dressing in the costumes from the video game and PVs as well as buying merchandise.
Cosplay
Cosplay
Figma (figure)
Phone Straps
The videos and songs get so famous that even English speakers begin to make covers of the songs on YouTube. Miku-Tan, the singer below, is famous for her covers. English speakers also buy merchandise, sell fan made crafts and prints, and cosplay at Anime Conventions. Project Diva will be released in English latter this year!
The ultimate proof of the intensity of the fandom for Vocalids are the concerts. In Japan, Sony has developed a holographic/projector technology especially for the concerts. they also hire an elite band, choreographers, reserve a stadium- you know what, just see for your self. *before you ask, yes, those are real fans who paid lots of real money to go to these concerts.
These concerts are held several times a year and feature other Vocaloids and new popular songs.
If you are not fully convinced of how amazing these guys are, pleas scroll up to the beginning of the post and read again and repeat the process until you realize that robotic stars are just as popular as the real ones!
If you are interested in other songs or hearing the other Vocaloids, pleas just ask! I have playlists full of their music, and I can recommend songs from any genre. You like Rock? The lost's Ones Weeping or Love is War. You like cute romantic music? Melt. You like the most random music ever but really catchy? Nya Nya (the viral one, you know, the pop tart with a rainbow? that's Miku's voice!) or Po Pi Po (also known as the vegetable song). Really! Just hear the right song, and you'll be ready to join the fandon that's been taking over the world!
Concert Shots
The Vocaloids in their altered costumes for their Album cover art
The costumes for their famous song "Love is War" by famous Japaneses band Supercell
Cosplay group doing "Just a Game" PV costume designs
よくはなふだをします。I find it to be a very entertaining and challenging game. The game has many elements similar to that of western styled card games, but it also has it's on unique qualities that has definitely compelled me to spend hours away warring against a computer! In a sort of continuation to my Summer Wars post and for my friends who have shown interest in learning, I am making this post about how to play はなふだこいこい！
But first, a little history! In the middle of the 16th century Japan had a lot of contact with European traders, ambassadors, and missionaries, and along with many other things, these Europeans brought card games with them to Japan. The Japaneses really enjoyed the games...as well as the gambling. Towards the mid 17th century, when all contact with the West was banned, the cards and gambling where banned heavily as well. Still smitten by the games, the Japaneses began "a cat and mouse" (all of this is from wiki, so don't take this as law but like a rough history) game with the government; the people would make cards, they would get popular, the government would ban it, and repeat. One of these cards types was actually 48 cards with 4 groups of 12, like the current はなふだ. Eventually, the government realized that the common people, not just the gamblers, enjoyed playing, so they lessened the sever restrictions. Unfortunately, by then people had lost interest. The man who actually made the game popular was Fusajiro Yamauchi, the founder of the Nintendo company. He made professional cards and had his company manufacturer them. After a slow start, the Yakuza (the Japaneses mafia) began to use the cards for gambling and the game became popular. There are many variants to the game, but the one featured in Summer Wars and the one I learned was こいこい。
Ok, history's done! Now for the game....
The deck has 48 cards, with 12 groups, or as an analogy to standard poker cards, "suits". They represent the 12 months of the year, and are named after them. Each "suit" had 4 cards, like the four weeks in a month. はなふだ, or "Flower Cards", have flowers instead of numbers. Each "suit" typically has two plain flower cards and two special cards. One scores points by making combination, or ゆか (yuka) with these plain and special cards.
That's all 48! You just need to look at the pictures and memorize which ones go in which month. Now, the Yuka!
かす。Kasu (Plains)
.
10 Plain cards. 1 point. Each Additional 1P after.
The "additional" means that if you get 11 plains,
it's 2 points; 1 for the first 10 and then an
additional point for the 11th plain.
たんざく。Tanzaku (Ribbons)
5 Ribbons. 1 point. Each Additional 1P after.
たね。Tane (Animals)
5 Animals. 1 point. Each Additional 1P after.
いのーしかーちょ。Ino-Shika-Cho (Boar-Deer-Butterfly)
Animal cards of Clover, Maple, Peony. 5 points. (Fun fact! In Naruto, Ino's, shikamaru's, and Choji's family combination is named after this yuka!)
あかたん。Akatan (Red Poetry Ribbons)
All 3 red poetry ribbons. 6 points.
あおたん。Aotan (Blue Ribbons)
All 3 blue ribbons. 6 points.
さんこ。Sanko (3Brights)
3 Bright cards not containing Rain man card. 6 points.
あめーしこ。Ame-Shiko (Rain man)
4 Brights containing Rain man card. 8 points.
しこ。Shiko (4Brights)
4 Bright cards not containing Rain man card. 10 points.
ごこ。Goko (5Brights)
All 5 Bright cards. 15 points.
つきーふだ。Tsuki-fuda (Monthly Cards)
All four cards in one group shown right on screen. 4 points.
おやーけん。Oya-Ken (Dealer's Privilege)
If neither gets any Yaku, Dealer wins 6 points. The dealer is always chosen at the beginning of the game, by both players drawing a card, and the one with the "better card", as in the one who gets the card from the earliest month, is the dealer, and gets the first turn. If both cards are from the same month, then the most powerful card determines the dealer.
ばけーふだ。Bake-Fuda (Wild Card)
The animal card of Chrysanthemum can be regarded as a plain card as well. If you have this, 9 plain cards and this card will be the Yaku of Kasu.
Rules change from game to game, but with the game I usually play, there are more yukas.
つきみでいっぱい。Tuskimi de ippai (Viewing the moon) is 5 points made with the moon bright and the bake-fuda.
かくらでいっぱい。Sakura de ippai (Viewing the cherry blossoms) is also 5 points and made with the sakura bright and the bake-fuda.
The game Play
You have 8 cards shown in a bottom row, that's your hand. On your turn, you should discard one of them, so that you match up the card you select and one of 8 cards in the center area. If there is none matching up, the card you select will remain in the center area.
The cards matched up come to your card located at bottom right, where you are making and keeping your yuka (this is in reference to the flash game I will talk about below). You win when you get any kind of Yaku. At this point you can chose to declare "Koi Koi" to keep going farther to aim more Yaku for more points.
The thing about declaring Koi Koi is that if your opponent makes a yuka and dose not declare Koi Koi, you do not get any points, regardless of how many yukas you had made.
In the game I play, however, every time Koi Koi is declared, the amount of points you can get is doubled. As in, if your opponent declares Koi Koi, and then you make a yuka and stop the game, then what ever your yuka was worth is doubled and you get those points. Also, if you have over 7 points in yuka when you end the game, your points double. So, it is possible to have quadruple points at a time!
Here are some examples of game play from Summer Wars!
*for those of you who do not read manga, it is read from left to right, up to down. Manga is usually divided up in two or three rows per page. read the first row of panels first, starting from the left most picture and working your way right. Then, repeat in the next row. The speech bubbles are read in the same fashion.
Final words...
I took most of this information and images from this website (AKA I copied and pasted a lot...):
