Tradition




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	BONSAI - The art of growing trees in miniature


	The art of growing miniatural trees is, in fact, the result of human imagination. The interweave between talent and human imagination is a form throgh that human being oppose the nature, a fight carryed into the narrow space of a vase.

For us, the Bonsai art is in many times viewed as one of the strangeness of Asia. For Japanese people she has, simultaneous, estetical values and philosophical values.

Bonsai, this litle trees grown in vases, are appointed to exppress, miniaturaly, the beauty of nature, his eternity and also to suggest a landscape.


	In Japanese mind, Bonsai must be more than �a tree viewed through the other side of a telescope", like many people say, Bonsai must be really a work of art.


	IKEBANA - The art of flower arrangements


	Ikebana, the name for Japanese flower arrangement, means "make flowers come alive." When we cut flowers to arrange them, they die. The goal for the arranger is to bring life back to the flowers.


	CHANOYU - The tea ceremony


	Chanoyu is a popular art in Japan and is becoming better known in other parts of the world as well.
	Like so many aspects of Japanese culture, the practice of drinking tea was brought from China at least a thousand years ago. The quasi-spiritual nature of tea drinking was present in China; Buddhist monks recommended tea as an aid to meditation and other religious practices. In Japan, however, tea (especially green tea) developed its own character, and the Japanese tea ceremony is a peculiarly Japanese phenomenon.


	The tea ceremony was brought to a high art in Zen temples and in ordinary homes by Zen practioners, and today even the simplest and most secular tea ceremony still embraces the Zen aesthetic of simplicity, austerity, and devotion.


	ORIGAMI - The art of paper folding


	The beauty of Origami, the ancient Japanese art of making various shapes and forms with paper through combinations of surfaces and lines, transcends the barriers created by differences in language.


			Origami is first mentioned in the 4th century AD. Square and rectangular pieces of paper were cut and folded into symbolic representations of the spirit of God and hung at the Kotai Jingu (Grand Imperial Shrines) of Ise as objects of worship. Later Origami came to be used in various other kinds of ceremonies.


			Orizuru.The Japanese people are often said to be gifted with skilled hands. The skillfulness of the Japanese ca be found in the delicate industrial arts, that is, in the products made by trained and skilled crafts people. If you wish to see the skillfulness of an ordinary Japanese, I suggest you go up to a woman and ask her to make an Orizuru (folded paper crane). Most people would quickly fold, without using glue or scisoors, a crane out of a square piece of paper such as a candy wrapper. In this simple action you may observe the traditional craftsmanship of the Japanese.





	Senbazuru.One Thousand Cranes are still widely made, especially by girls. Comprising numerous folded paper cranes connected with a thread for hanging, it derives from the ancient Japanese belief that one can have one's wishes come true by folding one thousand paper cranes. You have probably noticed the Senbazuru hanging from the monuments at Peace Park.


	Origami is useful in many aspects of daily living such as interior decorations and as fashion accessories. In the field of packaging design, Origami has been applied to the development of practical and attractive paper boxes, cartons and wrappings.


	KATANA - The Japanese sword


	Japanese swords have been made for over a thousand years. Many people consider them one of the finest examples of artistry in steel.


	SHODO - The Japanese clligraphy

Calligraphy is an art form that has been studied for over three thousand years. A knowledge of calligraphy is an important step in the understanding of Japanese culture. Calligraphy is not merely an exercise in good handwriting, but rather the foremost art form of the Orient. It is the combination of the skill and imagination of the person who has studied intensely the combinations available using only lines. In the West, calligraphy was intended to suppress individuality and produce a uniform style. Japanese calligraphy (sho in Japanese) attempts to bring words to life, and endow them with character.

Styles are highly individualistic, differing from person to person. Japanese calligraphy presents a problem for westerners trying to understand it; the work is completed in a matter of seconds so the uninitiated cannot really appreciate the degree of difficulty involved. However, bear in mind that the characters must be written only once. There is no altering, touching up, or adding to them afterwards.


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