書道は毛筆と筆で文字を書く芸術で、精神的な深みや美しさが表されます。もともと中国から伝わったものですが、日本では表意文字の漢字に加え、日本で発明された表音文字の仮名を組み合わせて独特の文字芸術をつくりあげてきました。
Shodo
Shodo is the art of drawing characters with brush and India ink to express spiritual depth and beauty. Shodo originally came from China, but in Japan,Chinese characters(kanji) were combined with the Japanese syllabary(kana), devised in Japan, to create this unique character art.
仏教伝来とともに香が中国から日本に伝えられました。はじめは仏前に用いられましたが、少しずつ香を独立して楽しむようになり、室町時代の中期には茶道とともに発展し、１つの独立した芸術としてその様式が確立しました。香道では、香木を炊いてその香りを観賞する、香の優劣を判定して遊ぶ、幾種類かの香を炊いて１つのテーマを表現する、などがあります。
Kodo (Incense ceremony)
Incense, along with Buddhism, was introduced into Japan from China(538). At first,it was used in front of Buddhist statues, but it gradually came to be enjoyed independently. In the middle of the Muromachi Period(1333-1573), it deceloped in association with the tea ceremony, and the style of using incense as an independent art was developed.
With Kodo there are several approaches. One can burn aromatic wood and appreciate the fragrance, play a game by judging the relative quality of two linds of incense, or express a theme common to the fragrances of several kinds of burning incense.
華道は16世紀頃から盛んになった日本の伝統的な芸術の１つで、「生け花」とも呼ばれ、６世紀に仏教の僧が仏前に花を捧げたのがその起源だといわれています。自然の花を使って天、地、人の3要素をバランスよく表現するという考え方が基本となります。
Kado
Kodo is a traditional Japanese art that has flourished since the sixteenth century. Also called ikebana,its origin is said to date from the sixth century when Buddhist priests offered up flowers before Buddha.
Its fundamental concept is to express the three elements of heaven, earth, and mankind in a balanced composition, using natural flowers.
茶道は、16世紀頃千利休が大成しました。利休は禅の精神をとりいれ、簡素と静寂を旨とする日本独特の「わび」の心を重んじました。
Sado
Sado or cha no yu(tea ceremony)was perfected by Master Sen no Rikyu in the 16th century. It is based on the spirit of Zen anf focuses on pusuing the Japanese “wabi” aesthetic,a simple and calm state of mind.
神楽は神道の神に捧げる日本古来の神聖な演奏と舞。宮中で行われる神楽を「御神楽」、民間の神社などで行われるものを「里神楽」といいます。
Kagura
Kagura is Japanese indigenous sacred music and dance dedicated to the Shinto gods.Kagura performed in the Imperial Court is called “mikagura” and those performed mainly at shrines are called “satokagura”.
日本の伝統的な弦楽器です。木製で長さは約180cm、幅は約30cmあり、右手の親指、人差指、中指に爪を付けて弾きます。13本の弦が柱と呼ばれる駒の上に張ってあり、柱の位置で音の高さが決まります。江戸時代には琴の演奏は女性のたしなみとされていました。
Koto
Koto is a traditional Japanese stringed instrument, made of wood. It’s about 180 centimeters in length, about 30 centimeters in width, and it is played with plectrums attached to the thumb, index and middle fingers of the right hand. Thirteen strings are stretched over bridges and the pitch is detrained by the position of bridges. In Edo Period, performing the koto was considered a necessary accomplishment for women.
バンジョーに似た形の弦楽器で、フレットのないのが特徴です。3本の弦をばちで弾いて演奏し、歌舞伎や文楽、民謡の伴奏に使われます。中国から沖縄を経て日本全国に普及し、独自の発展を遂げました。江戸時代以降、日本の代表的な楽器となりました。
Shamisen
This is a stringed instrument shaped like a banjo, but its outstanding feature is that it has no frets. It is played by striking its three strings with a plectrum and is used as accompaniment for Kabuki and bunraku plays and folk songs. It came from China through Okinawa and spreat throughout Japan, where it then developed independently. From the Edo Period on, it became the musical instrument most representative of Japan.
邦楽とは広義には日本の音楽のことを意味しますが、一般的には近世に発達した三味線、箏、尺八などの音楽のことをさし、雅楽や民謡は含まれません。邦楽は、浄瑠璃をはじめとする語り物と、長唄や小唄をはじめとする歌い物とにわけられ、いずれもその主たる伴奏楽器は三味線であるという共通点があります。
Hogaku
Hogaku in the broad sense refers to the music of Japan, but it usually indicates such music as that of shamisen, koto , and shakuhachi,which developed in the modern era , and does not include ancient court music and folks songs.
The general classifications of hogaku can be divided into narrated stories, including ballad drama, and sung or chanted pieces, including long epic songs and little ballads. Both have in common the shamisen as the principal accompanying instrument.
日本舞踊は江戸自体以降、歌舞伎舞踊から発生したもので、長唄、常磐津、清元などの楽曲にあわせて舞います。 現在は、花柳流、藤間流、西川流、岩井流をはじめとする100以上の流派があります。
Nihon buyo
Nihon buyo is classical Japanese dance that developed through kabuki dance.It is performed along with nagauta, tokiwazu ,kiyomoto and so on. Currently , there are more than 100 schools,including the Hanayagi,Fujima ,Nishikawa and Iwai.
落語は江戸時代に発達した寄席演芸です。落語家は着物姿で高座という舞台に座り、主に対話形式で、語呂あわせや洒落を用いながらこっけいな話を独演します。話の終わりに「落ち」がつくのが特徴です。小道具には扇子や手ぬぐいなどが使われ、落語家はこれらを色々なものに見立てながら、観客を想像の世界へと導きます。
Rakugo
Rakugo, a vaudeville performance developed in the Edo Period. The rakugo artist sits on stage on a dais, wearing kimono, and performs his humorous piece solo, with puns and wordplay, usually in the form of a dialogue.
The main feature is applying the “punch line” at the end of the piece. Folding fans and hand towels are used for props. In making these sorts of props come alive, rakugo artists lead the spectators into an imaginative world.
