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Christina T

Japan --  Encyclopædia Britannica Online School Edition - 0 views

school.eb.com/...article

japanese culture

shared by Christina T on 09 Dec 08 - Cached
  • Japan is a country marked by contrast between old and new. The country values its complex and ancient cultural tradition.
  • The islands of Japan form an arc that stretches about 1,500 miles (2,400 kilometers) from northeast to southwest.
  • Much of Japan's original vegetation has been replaced by farming or by plant species brought in from other countries.
  • ...17 more annotations...
  • The burakumin (people of the village) are ethnically the same as the majority of Japanese. However, their ancestors were members of the former outcast class. The burakumin are often treated unfairly.
  • Shinto is based on the worship of local spirits in nature.
  • Japan has a rich and complex culture. Native Japanese traditions have been mixed with cultural styles adapted from China and, later, from the West. Japanese culture and art emphasize understated simplicity, elegance, and grace. For example, the traditional Japanese tea ceremony, flower arranging, and garden design are highly stylized and refined. On the other hand, contemporary Japanese society fully embraces Western-style popular culture—influenced by television, motion pictures, and advertising.
  • modern Japanese writers include Soseki Natsume, Ryunosuke Akutagawa, Osamu Dazai, Jun'ichiro Tanizaki, and Yukio Mishima.
  • Poetry plays a central role in Japanese culture.
  • The carefully composed paintings used few brush strokes to suggest a scene in nature.
  • Japanese No plays are generally short, stylized, and heroic.
  • Today the martial arts are more important as competitive sports and as aids to physical and mental fitness.
  • The Japanese economy grew remarkably throughout the 1960s, '70s, and '80s.
  • Historical records, however, show that Japan was not united as one state until the late 4th or early 5th century AD. It was ruled by the Yamato dynasty.
  • Meanwhile, Japan was developing trade contacts with the outside world.
  • By the mid-19th century the Tokugawa shogunate was unable to keep European and United States traders away.
  • A new government was established under the young emperor Mutsuhito, who took the name of Meiji, meaning “enlightened government.”
  • Japan soon sought to build an empire. It successfully fought a war with China (1894–95) and with Russia (1904–05).
  • The Japanese government believed that expansion through military conquest would help the economy.
  • Under the terms of surrender, Japan had to give up all the territory it had acquired since 1895.
  • Japan rebuilt its ruined economy, using new technology in every major industry.
Paloma Gomez

"Artist" Leaves Dog To Die on Exhibition Display - Killing Animals as Form of Contempor... - 0 views

news.softpedia.com/...Exhibition-Display-82091.shtml

shared by Paloma Gomez on 09 Dec 08 - Cached
  • A man who calls himself an artist ties a dog to a wall inside an art gallery. No, you heard me correctly - we're not talking about the night janitor who caught the starving animal littering the front steps of the gallery and decided to vent a lifetime of frustration by pulling off a ridiculously cruel stunt. We're talking about a man who calls himself an artist. His name is Guillermo Vargas Habacuc and the year is 2007. Guillermo is one of the artists taking part in an art exhibition that takes place at a Costa Rican gallery - pompously called "Centro Nacional de la Cultura" (National Center for Culture). He pays a bunch of kids to catch the street dog, which he cruelly baptizes "Natividad" (Spanish for "birth"). His aim is to make an artistic statement about the fragility and the misery in which all dogs - indeed, all human beings live, and he achieved just that by letting the dog starve to death tied to a wall, in plain view of the exhibition visitors, some of whom demanded futilely that the dog be released.
    • Paloma Gomez
      Paloma Gomez on 09 Dec 08
       
      Tells how the man caught the dog and what he did once he put in on display
  • Paloma Gomez on 09 Dec 08
     
    Tell how the animal was caught and put on display... also tells what his explanation or reason is for doing what he did
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