There’s a thousand year tradition that Japanese pass their family crests from generation to generation. The family crest is called “Kamon” in Japanese, which could be seen everywhere...
Hiroko Matsuyama
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Shugendo: Japanese Mountain Worship and Spiritual Powers
Shugendo, can be translated into “The way of Mastering the Force”, is a form of religion which requires a harsh and beyond imagination training and discipline. Nowadays, not just Buddhist monks and Shrine priests but many laymen or even...
Tokonoma: Japanese Alcove Design, Styles, and Scrolls
Tokonoma is the Japanese alcove we can see in the reception rooms of the traditional Japanese houeses. It’s taken as a focal point for the interior as it provides the sense of hospitality for the guests. Let’s take a look at its history...
Japanese Garden: History, Design Principles, and Elements
Japanese Garden Basics for Creating Your Own One Do you want to create a Japanese style garden? Japanese garden has a unique set of compositions, which makes us feel still and calm. What is it about them? Understanding the basics, its design...
Yukata: Japanese Traditional Casual Dress for Summer
Overview of Yukata Yukata is a traditional dress designed to spend comfortably in the hot humid summer in Japan. For example, navy and white color combination are popular colors you see on traditional ones since indigo works as insect deterrent and...
Japanese Tea House: Architecture of Ultimate Spiritual World
Japanese tea house, Chashitsu in Japanese, is where chado, the tea ceremony takes place, which expresses Japanese sentimentality and aesthetics through the act of drinking tea. It is a rare place you can reflect yourself, feel the connection with...
Japanese Architecture: Overview of Wide Varieties of Buildings in History
Japanese Architecture – Japan boasts the wide varieties of architecture from Horyuji Temple, the oldest surviving wooden building in the world, to the cutting edge modern architecture. What makes Japanese architecture different from others...
Onryo: Duality of Vengeful Spirits and Japanese Ghost Stories
Onryo – Japanese vengeful spirits or ghost, now popular thanks to the films such as The Ring, The Grudge or Dark Water. Is Onryo only female who have pitch-black long hair covering up her face putting white floaty clothes on? That’s far...
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Yakuza: History of Japanese Organized Crime Syndicates
Yakuza is Japanese mafia whose activities are permeated throughout the Japanese society. The police call them Violent Groups while the Yakuza call themselves Chivalrous Groups, which is their true face? Let’s take a look at their history from...
Japanese Buddhism #2: End of the World Belief, Pure Land, and Zen
Japanese Buddhism #2: We have seen the early Japanese Buddhism was for the court elites and used as a tool to centralize the power for the state in Japanese Buddhism #1. This climate changes from the Kamakura period when the Samurai rose as a ruling...
Japanese Onomatopoeia: The Mede-up Words Convey Perfect Subtlety
Japanese Onomatopoeia – What’s onomatopoeia? It’s the words which express the sound of things in general. The term came from France which has 600 Onomatopoeia, English has 1000 Onomatopoeia, and Japanese has roughly 5000...
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Japanese Family Crest Consulting Services
For your comprehensive understanding of possible Kamon(s) and family roots in Japan, we designed the Japanese Family Crest Consulting Service to give you the sense of the succession of the lineage of your family based on the historical facts backed...
