My brother came out over Christmas break, which mainly achieved two things:
It completely destroyed any hope I had of migrating to warmer climates for the 2 weeks. It gave me an excuse to do a lot of ramen-related traveling in the Kansai region.
Miyajima is one of the Nihon Sankei, one of the three most scenic places in Japan, and is definitely my favourite place. Miyajima is situated just outside Hiroshima and is reached by ferry.　The ferry takes only about 10 minutes and you can soon see what the island is most famous for – the giant red torii (shrine gate) floating in the water.
In my article last May, entitled My tutelage in Japanese graffiti, aka Shodo, I gave a very brief introduction to Japanese calligraphy, and some points on brush stroke principles and techniques. This time I want to introduce and describe some of the basic styles of shodo, and highlight their differences.
The Japanese deem the twentieth year of an individual’s life as the one which signifies the official “coming of age.” In all aspects of Japanese society, the twentieth year marks the age where teenagers are thrust into the world of adulthood, whereby they become morally, and often, economically responsible for their future. Every January, scores of teenagers experience a sudden revolution in their physical and social being, one which is marked by joyous celebrations – and in this case, long, beautifully carved wooden bows and exquisitely designed kimonos.
If you run around Japan long enough you’re bound to see or hear about this store, but in this photo it’s the building itself that’s important. What used to be here before American-man-size clothing? (that’s your hint >:D)
Hey Hyogo JETs, hope your winter vacations have been great! Now, I know all the ski trips, Valentine’s chocolate, naked men melées and graduation ceremonies are wrapping up, but don’t resign yourself to Facebook and Cracked.com just yet. Not that I’m knocking either of them – heck, they’re bookmarked on both of my school computers. I’ll never look at Grimace the same way again…sniffle…