I introduce a book today. I saw it at the book store the other day, it looked interesting and I tried reading it. “Everyday is a good day: 15 happiness taught by ‘Tea'” (only in Japanese) by Noriko Morishita.

First I introduce the overview.

Twenty-five years have passed since I began learning tea. Everyday I stumbled upon my job and kept searching for my whereabouts with anxiety. In the sorrow of broken heart, death of my father, when I noticed, there was “tea” beside me. Freedom that has come to me in a straitjacket of rules. A mind resting that “Only staying here is okay”. I smell rain, I can hear one grain of rain… Together with the pleasures of tasting the seasons with five senses, “I am alive now!” I spell that impression vividly.

In Japan, it is often said that there is no honorific in English, but there is not much expression same as Japanese, there are many English in expressions to respect others.

Today is about English expression that I think is good.

I am a freelance graphic and digital designer, occasionally I am asked about the working hours of my work. “Is it a designer so you are a night type, aren’t you?” or “Do you work any day on weekdays as well as all day?” etc. I think that there are freelance designers of various styles, but I am extremely “ordinary”. 5 weekdays, 9: 00-18: 00. (Although there are some changes depending on the projects, it is usually this time zone) So, there is nothing different from the world.

In other words, I am living a more regular life than when I was an office worker. As I have noticed in such a life, today is about that.

The other day, “Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region’ (Nagasaki, Kumamoto Prefecture) were declared registrations to the World Cultural Heritage, Today is about “Shirakami-Sanchi” which was registered World Natural Heritage Site.

Shirakami-Sanchi (literally white god mountain area) has been registered as a World Natural Heritage Site, and since this is the 25th anniversary this year, I went to “Beech School” because a special lecture was held by the local guides of Shirakami-Sanchi.

The end of the Tanabata series which has been on since July 7, this time about “Bamboo”.
The Star Festival
Five Colors of Strips

At the Tanabata event, people decorate wish things in strips and decorate them with bamboo together with Tanabata decorations such as folding cranes and windsocks. It sounds silly and winds in the wind, it is very nice to have a taste. Well, why is bamboo?

The Tanabata series following the previous blog “The Star Festival“. This time for the second time is “Five Colors of Strips (Tanzaku)”.

In the ancient Chinese ancestral event “Kikoden”, they were decorating the five colors threads, and after being transmitted to Japan, they have been changed to strips to decorate Japanese poems (Waka). And from the Edo era when ordinary people spread to wishes and the “Milky Way” and other words and pictures wrote down on the strips, turning to hang them on bamboo leaves. Incidentally, Tanabata remains as a custom in China, Korea, Taiwan, etc., but only in Japan, writing a wish in a strip and hanging it on the bamboo leaf. I thought again that Japanese culture likes to write songs and write something.

There are also meanings for the five colors, and the color based on the Chinese Yin-Yang five-line theory is derived. The Yin-Yang five-line theory is that everything has two conflicting aspects of “yin and yang” and has five elements of “Tree / Fire / Earth / Gold / Water” which is the root of all of this world. The color applied to these five elements is “Blue / Red / Yellow / White / Black“, each of which has its own meaning.

There are many annual events in Japan, among them there are many people to participate in and there is a high awareness of Tanabata (The star festival) today. I did not know its origin which seemed to know but actually I did not know well, so I searched it.

– Ancient Japanese event “Tanabata”
– Chinese ancient events “Kikoden”
– Legend of Orihime and Hikabi (Orihime represents Vega, Hikoboshi represents Altair)

It seems these three stories combine and is connected to the present Tanabata.

I wrote about “Smile spreads” in the last blog, today I thought that there were other contagious things, so it’s about that.

Cultures, dance & music deeply carved into human DNA. Always dance & music what forms the center of culture regardless of region or era. For some people it is said that acts indispensable to human beings, impulse more than acts indispensable for human beings.

Back to the stone age. In the days before religion was born, animism (the idea that a spirit or a spirit resides in everything regardless of a biological or inorganic matter) was believed, and prayers and wishes to God are the origins . Not only in Japan but also in other cultures and religions dance & music were born spontaneously as acts of prayer, I think that it was inevitable for humanity.

Smile is contagious, so I introduce the results of the experiment. First of all, please watch this video.

I found something interesting when I was studying onomatopoeia (onomatopoeia / mimetic word) in the last blog, so today it is about that.

First of all, once again about the definition of each of the onomatopoeia and mimetic words.

onomatopoeic word

Onomatopoeias are imitated sounds of things by lexical phrases. Even the same language varies from age. For example, dogs’ barks are expressed as “biyo” by Kyogen etc. It is relatively common to be written in katakana (sometimes referred to as onomatopoeia but now onomatopoeia is more common. There is also a position that calls a word simulating the voice of humans and animals of lower class of onomatopoeia as a onomatopoeia). The boundary between onomatopoeias and mimetic words is sometimes not clear. For example, “zazaza” in “bathed in water” is a sound that is leaning against the body, even if water represents an endless amount of water falling down, it is decided whether it is an onomatopoeic word or a mimetic word Hateful.

(from JapaneseWikipedia)