Art and Sports and Gourmet
Art can be artistic works and activities expressed through human creativity and sensitivity in a wide variety of forms and genres, including painting, sculpture, photography, music, performing arts, literature, and architecture.
Art can be something that moves and delights people, opens new perspectives, evokes deep thought and empathy, respects human freedom of expression and creativity, and forms a rich humanity and culture. Artists look at themselves, society, nature, and the universe, and express themselves through their unique perspectives and styles.
Art has not only visual beauty and emotion, but also has the power to send social messages, raise issues, and provoke thought. It reflects cultural and social backgrounds, historical contexts, and personal experiences, feelings, and thoughts, and has the power to inspire and make people think, and to cast criticisms and questions about society and culture, It also encourages social and cultural change, shaping and transforming people’s values and consciousness.
Furthermore, art is closely related to artificial intelligence and computer technology.
Sport is an important activity that can be considered inclusive of the physical, social, and cultural aspects of human life and can bring joy and inspiration to many people.
There are many genres of sports, including ball games (soccer, basketball, baseball, etc.), track and field (track and field running, diving, throwing, etc.), swimming, gymnastics, martial arts, water sports, and winter sports.
Gourmet refers to a high level of interest in and appreciation of food. Food culture plays an important role in people’s lives, and eating can promote social interaction and cultural ties.
Gourmet food expresses a high level of interest in culinary quality, choice of ingredients, cooking methods, and presentation, and also reflects the characteristics of a particular region or culture, and is a means of experiencing tastes and traditions unique to that region.
In this blog, we will discuss and provide information on various aspects of art and sports and gourmet.
Art
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
- The Netherlands and 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.
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.
Sports General
- 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.
Surfing
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” by Yoshio Kataoka, published in 1980 and now out of print. It contains five short stories about Hawaii and surfing.
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.
Yoshio Kataoka on his surfing novel “The Wave Calls” and his photo essay “100 Miles to the Sea.
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 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.
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.
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.
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
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
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.
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.
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.
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
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
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.
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