Art and Sports and Gourmet

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Art and Sports and Gourmet

Introduction

In this blog, we discuss and give information on three themes: art, sports, and food.

Art is the expression of human creativity and sensitivity through diverse forms such as painting, music, and performing arts, and has the power to inspire emotion and thought and influence society and culture, and also touches on its relationship with AI and computer technology.

Sports are physical, social, and cultural activities, and a wide range of genres exist, such as ball games and athletics, which bring joy and stimulation to many people.

Gourmet refers to a deep interest in food culture and plays an important role in promoting social interaction through the experience of unique regional tastes and traditions through the quality, ingredients, and cooking methods of food.

These three themes are explored in more detail below.

Art

Japanese Art and Culture

Reading Haiku from a Haiku History and Communication Perspective

Reading Haiku from a Haiku History and Communication Perspective. Haiku has its roots in renga. In renga, a number of renshu (people who attend renga and renku gatherings and recite together) take turns reading the first 31 characters of a waka poem (575) and the last 31 characters (77) to create 100 haiku.Unlike novels, in which a single person creates his or her own worldview, haiku is a collaborative effort, and like social networking sites such as Twitter today, it is a means of conveying a moment of daily life in short sentences.

The Beauty of the Japanese Language – About the Imperial Anthology of Poetry

The Beauty of the Japanese Language – About the Imperial Anthology of Poetry. Waka poetry is a poetic form that occupies a very important position in classical Japanese literature, and is a work of art that symbolises the beauty of the Japanese language, captures nature and human emotions in a concise yet profound way, and makes the most of the phonology and rhythm of the Japanese language. In this article, I would like to discuss these imperial anthologies. The following are representative imperial waka poems.

Yosa Buson, Tsurezuregusa and the Pillow Book

Yosa Buson, Tsurezuregusa and the Pillow Book. One of Buson Yosa’s haiku, mentioned in “Reading Haiku from the Perspective of Haiku History and Communication”, is called Harukaze no tsumakae shitashi shunsho (Harukaze no tsumakae shitashi shunsho). In this haiku, the author almost intends to say that the spring breeze gently blew back the skirt of a woman’s kimono, but in fact the spring breeze gently blew back the edge of the booklet of Harukaze no tsumakae sho (Haru-sho).

What is beauty in language?

What is beauty in language?. Words, even if they have no visible form, have an effect on our emotions, such as a line that strikes us like a bolt of lightning, a sentence that moves us to tears just by reading it, or a saying that inspires us with courage just by listening to it. In this article, I would like to discuss these words and beauty.

Ukiyo-e and Shin-prints – Onnenchi Shinshin in the Art World

Ukiyo-e and Shin-prints – Onnenchi Shinshin in the Art World. It is said that “new prints” are currently enjoying a bit of a boom among art fans. When I once read an interview with an overseas arphist visiting Japan, his answer to a routine question about what he did in Japan was, “I bought prints.

Shinpanga is a very niche genre of woodblock prints produced in the 50 years or so from the Taisho era to the early Showa era, while inheriting the tradition of Ukiyo-e production since the Edo era. In the past few years, art exhibitions have been held all over the country.

Zen and Art

Zen and Art. In Zen Buddhism, enlightenment is “the realization of the Buddha nature, which is the original nature of all living things. It is said that Buddha nature is “the ability to perceive things that are beyond the scope of verbal understanding. Enlightenment is passed on from master to disciple, not through words (logos), but through sensory and physical experiences such as zazen and koans. It is said that the state of enlightenment can be expressed in various ways, and in Japan in particular, enlightenment is expressed in poetry, painting, architecture, and other fields.

In 2016, the Tokyo National Museum in Ueno held a special exhibition entitled “Zen: Shaping the Mind,” commemorating the 1150th anniversary of Rinzai Zenji and the 250th anniversary of Hakuin Zenji. Zen: Shaping the Mind” held at the Tokyo National Museum in Ueno in 2016.

Sesshu and Freedom

Sesshu and Freedom. Sesshu was an ink painter active in the Muromachi period (late 1400s), about 600 years ago, and a Zen monk trained at Shokokuji Temple in Kyoto. Sesshu traveled to China (1468) on a Ming Dynasty ship sent by the Ouchi clan of Yamaguchi, as described in “Kaido yuku – Choshu Road,” and had the opportunity to experience the real world of ink and wash painting for two years. After returning to Yamaguchi, he is said to have completed Japanese-style ink painting based on Chinese painting.

Hasegawa Tohaku and the Kano School, Sesshu’s Successors

Hasegawa Tohaku and the Kano School, Sesshu’s Successors. As mentioned in the previous article, “Sesshu and Freedom,” Hasegawa Tohaku created a unique Japanese ink painting style that influenced many famous painters who followed in his footsteps. For example, Hasegawa Tohaku, who competed with the Kano School during the Momoyama period, called himself “Sesshu V.” In the early Edo period, Kano Tanyu of the Kano School consciously adopted the “Sesshu style,” which later became the standard of the Kano School. In this article, we will discuss Hasegawa Tohaku and the Kano school with which he was competing.

Sotatsu Tawaraya and Korin Ogata – Timeless Designs Based on Unique Composition

Sotatsu Tawaraya and Korin Ogata – Timeless Designs Based on Unique Composition. Tawaraya Sotatsu was an artist of the early Edo period, a contemporary of Hon’ami Koetsu, also known as the “Three Brushes of Kan’ei.” He revived techniques that had been discontinued since the 12th century in order to create gorgeous decorations on paper used for calligraphy (ryogami), which was a favorite medium during that period. In addition, he created innovative paper decorations with gold, silver, mud, mica printing, and colorful paintings, and became a painter who met Koetsu’s expectations. Korin Ogata inherited the style of Sotatsu Tawaraya, and one of his representative works is “Tsubamezabana (Swallowtail Flowers)” in the Nezu Museum, Tokyo.

The History of Japanese Art and Buddhist Sculpture

The History of Japanese Art and Buddhist Sculpture. Because sculpture and Buddhist statues are closely associated with religion, religious sculptures are historically treated as very important works of art, and they are admired in religious ceremonies and celebrations, or simply as works of art. In this article, I would like to discuss these perspectives on Buddhist statues, tracing the history of art in Japan.

Art in the Meiji Era: Fenollosa, Okakura Tenshin, and Tea Books

Art in the Meiji Era: Fenollosa, Okakura Tenshin, and Tea Books. In this issue, I would like to discuss the flow of art after the Meiji period (1868-1912), which I left out a little in “History of Japanese Art and Buddhist Sculptures.

The Meiji Restoration brought an end to the shogunate system of the Edo period, established the Meiji government, and brought about large-scale social and cultural changes modeled after Western modernization. This Meiji Restoration is an important turning point in Japanese history, and has had a profound impact on art and culture as well.

The Beauty of Fluctuation – Japanese Painting and Japanese Calligraphy

The Beauty of Fluctuation – Japanese Painting and Japanese Calligraphy. The term nihonga has been interpreted in two ways. The general interpretation is that it refers to paintings created using traditional Japanese painting materials and techniques, and in a narrower sense it refers to paintings of the Kano, Tosa, Rim, and Nanga schools from the Edo period onward. This section describes the history of these Japanese paintings and the history of calligraphy, which is “Japanese-style calligraphy.

The Tale of Genji Picture Scrolls and UX Design Tips

The Tale of Genji Picture Scrolls and UX Design Tips. The Tale of Genji Emaki is a Japanese picture scroll depicting the paintings and text of the Heian-period literary work The Tale of Genji, which is also the setting of NHK’s current historical drama series, To the Luminous Prince. The Tale of Genji picture scroll uses various techniques characteristic of Heian-period Japanese painting, as shown below, which enhance the beauty and narrative of the scroll as a whole. Hints for application UX design that can be derived from the composition of The Tale of Genji Picture Scroll, which has these characteristics, can be applied to metaverse design, for example, in the following applications.

Fu-ryu doryu – Even the un-fu-ryu parts are fǔryū

Fu-ryu doryu – Even the un-fu-ryu parts are fǔryū. In the chapter “Enjoying Fluctuation” in his book “Zen-teki Seikatsu,” Munehisa Gen’yu, the priest of Fukujuji Temple in the Rinzai sect of Zen Buddhism and an Akutagawa Prize-winning author, says that “furyu” is “fluctuation” like a willow swaying in the wind, and the ability to enjoy this fluctuation is the highest pleasure that only humans have.

History of Fireworks and Fireworks in Edo, Tamaya and Kagiya

History of Fireworks and Fireworks in Edo, Tamaya and Kagiya. The history of “Noroi,” which is said to be the prototype of fireworks, can be traced back to BC, such as ancient India, Greece and Rome. Gunpowder was accidentally invented by a Chinese medicine-making alchemist, and later gunpowder passed into the hands of military engineers to be used in weapons. It is said that firecrackers and other fireworks were on the market during the Southern Song dynasty. One of the most famous fireworks displays in Tokyo is the Sumida River Fireworks Festival. This is derived from a fireworks display held in the Edo period (1603-1867), and has been preserved in various ukiyoe prints.

Western Art and History

Paintings around Holland  – The Dog of Flanders and Rubens

Paintings around Holland  – The Dog of Flanders and Rubens. As described in “Travels in Holland along the Highway to Karatsu, Hirado, Sasebo and Nagasaki” and “Travels in Holland along the Highway to Karatsu, Hirado, Sasebo and Nagasaki,” the Netherlands in the 17th century became one of the strongest commercial and industrial nations in the world, thanks to world trade and the development of agriculture and industry, including urban gardening (tulips), glass art, woolen goods, shipbuilding, brewing and printing. The Netherlands had established a golden age. In this article, I would like to discuss some of the painters associated with the Dutch region.

Realism in the Dutch Golden Age – Rembrandt and Vermeer

Realism in the Dutch Golden Age – Rembrandt and Vermeer. This section describes the paintings of the Dutch Golden Age (1568-1648), a period when the Netherlands had global influence, mainly from the end of the Eighty Years’ War (1568-1648), the war of independence of the Netherlands, to the 17th century (Dutch Golden Age), painted by Dutch or foreign painters active in the Netherlands. This section describes the paintings of the Dutch Golden Age.

How Van Gogh became Van Gogh

How Van Gogh became Van Gogh. From the end of 2023 to the beginning of 2024, the exhibition Van Gogh and Still Life Painting – From Tradition to Innovation opened at the SOMPO Museum of Art in Shinjuku, Tokyo, introducing the still life paintings of Vincent van Gogh and the masters of Western painting, starting with the museum’s iconic Sunflowers. In Kaido ni Ikiru Holland Kiko, Ryotaro Shiba visits Van Gogh’s trail.

Graphic art and posters from Central and Eastern Europe

Graphic art and posters from Central and Eastern Europe. The eastern region of Europe, Eastern Europe, also known as Eastern Europe, is an area of Europe with a particularly complex ethnic composition and a wide variety of cultures and religions. Central and Eastern Europe (Central Eastern Europe) is also a region with a rich artistic tradition that reflects its complex history and diverse cultural background. The art scene in Central and Eastern Europe has been deeply influenced by historical, social and political transitions, and is marked by a diversity of styles and expressions. Graphic design and poster art have developed as important art forms in Central and Eastern Europe with their own unique characteristics.

Mucha, Art Nouveau, Mingei and Art Deco

Mucha, Art Nouveau, Mingei and Art Deco. Alphonse Mucha (1860-1939) was a representative of Art Nouveau, an artistic style that flourished in Europe from the end of the 19th to the beginning of the 20th century, and an artist who produced many posters, decorative panels, calendars, etc., which are described in “Graphic Art and Posters in Central and Eastern Europe”. He is also a pioneer in the field of graphic art, as described in “Graphic art and posters in Central and Eastern Europe”.

Art and Technology

Art and Programming

Art and Programming. In “Hackers and Painters: Creators of the Computer Age” by Paul Graham, a well-known lisp hacker, the connection between programming, design, and drawing is discussed. In “Beautiful Code,” also published by O’Reilly, top programmers talk about their feelings about “beautiful code” and describe code emotionally as “graceful, expressive, and full of beauty. Even if they are not such well-known people, there are probably many people who find beauty in programming, which is supposed to be digital and inorganic in nature.

Generative Art, Programs and Algorithms

Generative Art, Programs and Algorithms. At Clojure/Conj2018, one of the Clojure conferences, I saw Tyler Hobbs give a talk on generative art called “CODE GOES IN, ART COMES OUT”.

According to wiki, generative art is

Generative art refers to works of art that are algorithmically generated, synthesized, or constructed by computer software algorithms or mathematical/mechanical/random autonomous processes. By taking advantage of the computational freedom and computational speed of computers, and by implementing theories derived from natural science, many works are made to express themselves in a unified, organic manner, somewhere between artificial and natural.

Generative art is an art form that uses natural scientific systems as its main creative method. The difference between generative art and other art forms is that generative art requires the design and creation of mechanisms that operate autonomously. Works of art with systems may implement scientific theories such as complex systems and information theory.

International Art and Figures

Isamu Noguchi and his work

Isamu Noguchi and his work. Isamu Noguchi (1904 – 1988) was a Japanese-American sculptor, designer and stage artist, widely known for his sculptures, furniture designs and landscape designs. He is regarded as one of the leading artists of the 20th century due to the diversity of his work, which includes sculpture, furniture design and landscape design.

Sports

Sports General

Breathing (Zen and its relationship to cognitive activity and sport)

Breathing (Zen and its relationship to cognitive activity and sport). Breathing is the only organ in the internal organs that can be consciously changed. Various phrases such as ‘breath matching’, ‘A-Un breathing’, ‘drinking breath’, ‘holding breath’, ‘holding breath’, ‘draining breath’, ‘long breath’ and ‘hiding breath’ indicate that breathing is closely connected to the mind and body. In this article, I would like to discuss the relationship between Zen and sports, focusing on this breathing.

Emotions, the autonomic nervous system and the ‘regulating’ effect

Emotions, the autonomic nervous system and the ‘regulating’ effect. The topic of how to deal with emotions (vexations) is an important element of Zen and mindfulness, as described in ‘Zen, metacognition and AI’. In recent years, the main approach to emotion theory has been to recognise that emotions cannot be captured by philosophical or religious concepts in the mind alone, but are influenced by physiological factors, as described in ‘On Emotion Recognition, Buddhist Philosophy and AI’. One of the most important physiological factors is the autonomic nervous system. In this article, the autonomic nervous system will be discussed based on ‘The Science of the Autonomic Nervous System: What it means to be “physically fit”’.

Japanese martial arts and phantom techniques

Japanese martial arts and phantom techniques. There are various ‘XX-do’ in Japan, including Shinto, as described in ‘Kaminashi, Kaminarizuki and the Japanese Gods’. Among these, there are a variety of martial arts that originate from the techniques of ancient warriors. Among these martial arts, there are so-called ‘phantom techniques’ or ‘lost techniques’, such as techniques that do not appear in current competitions or are special and highly difficult. In this article, I would like to discuss these phantom techniques.

Surfing

surfing and hawaii island

surfing and hawaii island. In terms of search engines, it seems that “surfing” is described as following hyperlinks one after another, which seems to be a little different from that of actual surfing. In actual surfing, you slide down the slope formed by waves using a board called a surfboard, and the mechanism that generates the waves you are riding is as follows.

The Island of Surfing

The Island of Surfing. The Island of Surfing” by Yoshio Kataoka, published in 1980 and now out of print. It contains five short stories about Hawaii and surfing.

Surfboards

Surfboards. Surfboards are an essential piece of gear for surfing. Let me introduce them. First, the wood board is said to be the origin of today’s surfboards. In ancient Hawaii, people enjoyed surfing on wooden boards such as Paipo, Alaia, and Olo. Next are fiberglass surfboards, which were the mainstream until a decade ago.

100 miles to the sea

100 miles to the sea. Yoshio Kataoka on his surfing novel “The Wave Calls” and his photo essay “100 Miles to the Sea.

Court Inside California’s Ocean Taught Me

Court Inside California’s Ocean Taught Me. The Japanese translation of this memoir by Daniel Duane is currently out of print. The title of the English version is “Caught Inside: A Surfer’s Year on the California Coast“, and it seems to be available in pay-per-view.

Triathlon & Marathon

triathlon and Hawaii island and ironman race

triathlon and Hawaii island and ironman race. Triathlon is a sport that originated in Hawaii, where surfing was developed. Triathlon consists of three basic events: swimming (swim), biking (bike), and running (marathon). It would become a sport.

One of the most famous episodes of the Ironman Race is that it started when a group of U.S. Navy servicemen were having a banquet and discussed which was the toughest, long-distance swimming, cycle road racing, or marathon running, and decided to try them all at once. The race started as a competition to see who could do the best, rather than a competition to see who could beat the fastest time, until the race became an Olympic event.

summer sky , triathlon and DNF

summer sky , triathlon and DNF. Looking at the slightly humid summer sky reminds me of the moment during a triathlon race when I had to stop moving my body due to a problem and just sit there and look at the sky. Since the race is 10 hours long in total, there are a surprising number of cases where you encounter problems during the race. For example, even if you only look at the bike part, in overseas races, bicycles are disassembled and carried in a large carrying case, and then assembled by yourself on site. For example, gears may not change or brakes may not work.

History of Mt. Fuji Climbing and Mountain Climbing Race

History of Mt. Fuji Climbing and Mountain Climbing Race. Fuji, an active volcano spanning Shizuoka and Yamanashi prefectures in Japan, stands 3,776 meters high, is registered as a World Heritage site, and will become widely known as a symbol of Japan. The trend of mass mountaineering as a form of religion later became a major breakthrough in the mid-Edo period. The “Fuji-ko,” a private group of believers, was responsible for its prosperity.

One of the oldest and most famous trail races in Japan is the “Fuji Ascent Race. Fuji, which takes place every July in Fujiyoshida City, Yamanashi Prefecture.

BORN TO RUN

BORN TO RUN. The story begins with the writer, who is 193cm tall and weighs 104kg, jogging a mere three miles (5km) on a snowy farm road, when he suddenly feels a severe pain and shows it to a sports medicine doctor, who diagnoses him with an inflamed cuboid bone and gives him a thick injection in the sole of his foot. I was diagnosed with an inflammation of the cuboid bone (sole) and given a thick injection in the sole of my foot, and told to wear motion-controlled running shoes costing at least $150 and custom-made orthotics ($400).

Baseball

Angel Ball

Angel Ball. Kazuaki Teraya is a 41-year-old divorcee who lives in Innoshima, Hiroshima Prefecture, with his two elementary school-aged sons while driving a truck.
One night, Kazuaki Teratani suffers a traffic accident and is given a magical ball that flies as he wishes by a mysterious angel who appears in front of him.
One night, Kazuaki suffers a car accident and a mysterious angel appears in front of him and gives him a “magic ball that flies as he wishes.” Kazuaki goes to take the test to join the Hiroshima Carp in order to fulfill his childhood dream of making the Carp the best in Japan.

Gourmet

History of Tea and the Japanese Tea Ceremony

History of Tea and the Japanese Tea Ceremony. Tea is a drink made from the leaves and stems of the Camellia sinensis evergreen tree. In Japan, tea is said to have come from Tang China during the Nara period (710-794), and there is a record of Saicho offering tea to the emperor as described in “Kaido yuku Eizan no Shodo (Saicho and the Tendai sect),” which was written in the book “Kukai and the Shikoku pilgrimage to Santiago,” and a record of Kukai taking tea seeds back to Japan, which is the origin of Yamatocha The tea ceremony was started by Kukai, who brought back tea seeds to Japan, and this is the origin of Yamato tea.

On the Road to Saga Walking (A Journey Back to Kyoto) Origin of Tofu　

On the Road to Saga Walking (A Journey Back to Kyoto). This trip will take you to Sagano, a natural beauty spot in the western part of Kyoto. The journey in Sagano begins at Suio, a mountain gorge, which was described as a “ravine in the middle of a ravenous desire” in ancient times. At Watarigetsukyo Bridge in Arashiyama, the author describes the Hata clan, a warrior tribe from the ancient times who settled in the Yamashiro Province (Kyoto) and are said to have pioneered the Tano region with their civil engineering skills. Next, he visited Tenryu-ji Temple and ate Saga’s specialty, yudofu (tofu), at Chion-in, the pagoda of Tenryu-ji Temple, while describing the origin of tofu.

On the Road: Sakai-Kishu Kaido Udon suki and ramen

On the Road: Sakai-Kishu Kaido. This time, we will travel south from Osaka to Kansai International Airport. In Sakai, we will recall the free cities of the Warring States Period, and then head to Nanshu Zenji Temple, which was founded by the monk Sawan. Then we will eat udon sukiyaki at Miu Miu, which has its main restaurant in Sakai.

On the Road: Kanda Area curry and rice

On the Road: Kanda Area. The route of the trip starts near the intersection of Kyoritsu Women’s University auditorium. This area was called Gojiin Kehara during the Edo period and the end of the Edo period, and the story jumps from Tokugawa Ieyasu’s construction of a castle town at the time of his entry to the Kanto region to anecdotes by Fukuzawa Yukichi and novels by Mori Ogai. Eventually, the journey moves on to the Kanda area, “one of the world’s leading cities for learning things”. At the site of Kanda Otamagaike Pond, visitors will come into contact with the Chiba Dojo of the Hokushin Itto school of swordsmanship, and then they will experience Edo learning at the Yushima Seido Temple. Next, while stopping by Nikolai-do and Kanda Myojin, we step into the antiquarian bookstore district of Jimbocho, where we end our journey with a discussion of the masters of publishing and bookstores.

History of cider and Mitsuya

History of cider and Mitsuya. It is said that carbonated drinks were first introduced to Japan in 1853 (Kaei 6) when the American Perry’s fleet arrived, but the history of Mitsuya cider is much older, beginning in the Heian Period. They became products in 1884, when a private factory launched Mitsuya Hirano Water and Mitsuya Tansan, incorporating names derived from legends. The water from Hirano Onsen became widely recognised by the public as ‘Hirano Water’ and at the same time the Mitsuya trademark was established.

Udon and soba noodles

Udon and soba noodles. The book “On the Road to Min, China” mentions that one of the Chinese characters imported from China along with Zen was udon. Soba (buckwheat noodles), according to the wiki, “are Japanese noodles processed from buckwheat flour made from the grain buckwheat, and dishes made from them. It is sometimes referred to as ‘Japanese buckwheat noodles’ or ‘Japanese buckwheat noodles’ in contrast to Chinese buckwheat noodles, or as ‘Yamato soba’ in contrast to Okinawa soba. Originally, buckwheat seeds/ buckwheat flour were eaten in a variety of ways, but since the spread of buckwheat noodles, or soba-kiri, the word ‘soba’ simply means buckwheat noodles.” The same is true of buckwheat noodles.

Konnyaku and chilli

Konnyaku and chilli. Konnyaku is a food produced from the taro plant or its bulbous stem. Due to its low-calorie and healthy properties, konjac cuisine in Japan is widely used in traditional Japanese cooking as well as in modern, health-conscious dishes. Each household and region has its own recipes, offering a wide variety of dishes. Chilli pepper (togarashi, capsicum, bansho) is a pungent spice made from the fruit of the Capsicum genus (Solanaceae), which is native to Central and South America, and is used as a spice not only by cultivated species but also by wild species. Japanese chilli cuisine is not only spicy, but also enhances the flavour of the ingredients, and is incorporated into regional specialities and home cooking, allowing for a rich variety of dishes to be enjoyed.