Overview of Japanese Festivals and Matsuri

Overview of Japanese Festivals and Matsuri Japanese Festivals are the traditional occasions. They gather people to celebrate shrines deity, four seasons or historical events. People sing and dance to express their hopes and appreciation. Matsuri is the name of Japanese Festivals. The festival can be held for several days. There are lots of Japanese Festivals, but they usually have the traditional ways to celebrate. Procession is one of the most important things during those matsuri that celebrates shrines kami(deity). People carry deity and go around the town. It is the only period that deity leaves the temple in the year. There are entertainments during the festival. People wear specific traditional costume. They play music with Taiko(Japanese drum). Fireworks light up the matsuri too; there are always fireworks during the festival. The Japanese festivals are energetic and powerful. The Japanese Festivals are held also for the four seasons. In Spring, people celebrate for the rebirth and awakening of the new life. In summer, people thought its a bad season that brings humid weather with epidemic, so they hold festival to scare the evil spirit away. In autumn, people celebrate for the mellow foods from the farmer. The festivals of thanksgiving are held. In winter, people celebrate for the new year. Major Japanese Festivals In Japan, there are hundreds of matsuri. Some of them are local and unknown, and some of them are famous, which even foreigners come to Japan to feel these matsuri. In the following, the report will introduce several major Japanese Festivals. Gion Matsuri A living symbol of Kyotos 1,200 years of rich, colorful history the description of Kyoto Visitors guide. The Gion Matsuri is a festival in Kyoto. Its one of the best festival of Kyoto. Its in the top three matsuri in Japan. Japanese also put this matsuri into the top three prettiest matsuri in Japan. It is the most famous and biggest Japanese Festival, which is held for one month. The Gion Matsuri is from July 1st to 29th every year in Tasaka-jinja Shrine, Gion-cho, Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto City. The Gion Matsuri Festival is above 1100 years old. In the year 869 A.D., Kyoto was suffering from epidemics, floods, fires and earthquakes. To pray for the end of plaque and placate the gods, procession of the Yasaka shrine began. That was the first festival, the men carried numbers of wooden floats to please the gods. The plague soon ended, so the festival became popular. People did the procession every year. Soon, it became the festival with music, dance, comic plays, and artistic treasures. People started to make giant floats with beautiful decoration. The elaborate floats are the highlight of the Gion Matsuri. There are 32 floats, which are divided into two types, yama and hoko. Yama floats are about 6 meter and weight about 1400kg. It shows the scenes from Japanese history and mythology with bear pine trees, shrines, and mannequins. The hoko are massive 2-storied, nearly 10-ton combinations of music hall and museum that are hauled by teams of up to 50 men. Hoko are giant floats, which are about 25 meter and 12,000kg on large wooden wheels and pulled by 50 men. People describe them as a mobile art museums. During the parade, there are people wearing tradition costume and playing drums and bells. The are seated on the floats. Some dolls are put on the floats. The floats are displayed form the 14th to the 16th , the main event of the Gion Matsuri. The displays are full of food stands and drink vendors. Traditional Japanese Festival Music is played. The climax of the Gion Matsuri is that the boy, standing on the top of the floats, uses sword to cut the rope that represents bad luck. This event is the most important, so the boy cant mess up. He needs to practice for 3 months before this event. With the Gion Matsuri, the city is flourish. Today, Japanese is still using their traditional way to pray for a auspicious year. Sapporo Snow Festival The Sapporo Snow Festival is one of Japans largest winter events. It holds for 7 days, starting in the second week of February. It takes place in Odori Site, Susukino Site,and Satorando Site in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. About 2 millions of visitors come to this festival every winter. Hundreds of beautiful snow statues and ice sculptures that made by artists from around the world line up on the Odori Park, the community Dome Tsudome, and the main street in Suskino. The Snow Festival started in 1950 with six local high school students. They built six snow statues in Odori Park. In 1955, the Japan Self-Defense Forces built the first massive snow sculpture. This made the Snow Festival become famous. In 1974, there began to have the International Snow Statue Competition. Year by year, it became the Sapporo Snow Festival. Till today, It is the 62nd Sapporo Snow Festival. The main site of this festival is in Odori Park. It is 1.5 kilometer long. The snow statues and ice sculptures make this place a snow museum. There are about 400 statues in total every year. You can see many creative and realistic works. There are not just statues. Skating Rink, Snowboard Straight Jumping Platform,The Slide, and Bush-walking on Skis are also the events in Snow Festival. The snow festival light up Sapporo. The whole world can see Japaneses creativity. The art of snow and ice shows how Japanese appreciates this season. Tanabata Tanabata is known as the star festival. It is a nationwide festival in Japan. It takes place in the seventh day of the seventh month each year in Japan. It is originated from a Chinese legend in 2,000 years ago. There were two stars, Altair and Vega, the lovers. They were separated by the Milky Way and allowed to see each other in only the 7th day of the 7th month of the lunar calendar, so every region will have different date of this festival. This story spread to Japan in the 8th centery. Tanabata is celebrated on July 7th or August 7th in Japan,which is around the seventh day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar. The most famous event in Japan for celebrating Tanabata is to write your wishes on a piece of paper, and hang that piece of paper on a bamboo tree. The reason Japanese does this is that they think the meeting of Altair and Vega will bring luck. In some place, people put lantern on the bamboo and let it float on the river. The Tanabata festival in Sendai is most famous in Japan, which is held from August 6th to 8th. People wear yukata(the Japanese garment) and watch the fireworks. They fireworks is about two hours non-stop. 12,000 of fireworks will be shot and light up Sendai. Aomori Nebuta Matsuri Aomori Nebuta Matsuri is known as one of the most famous matsuri in Japan. This is a summer festival held in Aomori City, Aomori Prefecture from August 2 to 7. The Aomori Nebuta Matsuri is one of the greatest three matsuri in the Tohoku region, which are the Sendai Tanabata Matsuri, the Akita Kanto Matsuri and the Aomori Nebuta matsuri. Every year, more than 3,000,000 people come to see this matsuti . Aomori Nebuta matsui is a parade of colorful float lanterns called Nebuta with Japanese drum and dancers called haneto from all over the world. Usually Nebutas are shape of samurai warriors, but is can be shape of any historical people and legend characters. Reasons that this msaturi is very popular are that rhyme of drums and sounds of bamboo flute make people to feel happy and this parade is free to join so anyone can go up there and join the parade and dance along with those music. No one knows the theory of the origin of this matsuri, but there are two possible theories about the origin of this festival. One of the theories is that in the 8th Century in Aomori, there was one Shogun called Sakanoue no Tamuramaro. He wanted to expand his territory so he ordered his army to create something large and that looks like human to scare his enemy. Those large creatures called Nebuta. Place where he used Nebuta to scare people is now called Aomori city and thats why some people believe this can be one of the theories. Next theory is that development from Tanabata festival of China. During the Tanabata festival people light up a candle inside of toro that made by wooden frame and paper and float it on the water. As time passed, this toro became bigger and bigger and it became the unique shape like today. Today, the Nebuta can be 9 meter wide, 5 meters high and more than four tons of weight. It is not easy to make because it needs more than three months to create it and some of the Nebuta cost even more than $200,000. Hakata Dontaku Festival Hakata Dontaku Festival is one of the most famous and well known festivals and also one of the largest festivals in Japan. Every year, more than 2,000,000 people came to see this festival from all over the world. This festival takes place only for two day on May 3 and 4 in Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture. Hakata Dontaku Festival used to call as Matsubayashi Festival that started in Kyoto in the time of Muromachi period (1333-1568). During that time this festival is for only farmers and people in towns to greet their landowner and leader as a New Years greeting. Name of the festival changed to Dontaku from Matsubayashi during the Edo period (1603-1868). During Edo period Japan let people trade with all other countries because of this many people from other countries came to Japan and gave Japanese people to culture of other countries. Many culture from different counties mixed with former Japanese culture. Word Dontaku came from Dutch word zondag, which means holiday. Main event of this festival is Dontaku parade which is 1230 meter long. Any one can join to this parade and dance freely. This festival is very closely related with Japaneses three good fortune gods called Fukurokujyu, Ebisu and Daikokuten. During parade of time festival people need to wear custom as those gods. Conclusion Festivals and matsuri are very important things for Japanese and those are part of their culture that has been passed so many years. Japanese festivals affect Japanese life a lot because many people will back to their home to see their regions festivals even they are busy and thats time to see their parents. So festivals for Japanese are not only time to enjoy, but also backing to their home place and good time to spend time with their parents. For the worldwide, Japanese Festival is unique to every other countries festival. The Japanese Festivals usually have long history. And they are held every year. Form this part, we can see how Japanese organizes well in these things. Japanese concentrate on every little part on the festival, from music, clothes, decorations, to foods. Thats why they can attract that much foreigners to visit their country. Words: 2,369

Overview of Japanese Festivals and Matsuri

Overview of Japanese Festivals and Matsuri Japanese Festivals are the traditional occasions. They gather people to celebrate shrines deity, four seasons or historical events. People sing and dance to express their hopes and appreciation. Matsuri is the name of Japanese Festivals. The festival can be held for several days. There are lots of Japanese Festivals, but they usually have the traditional ways to celebrate. Procession is one of the most important things during those matsuri that celebrates shrines kami(deity). People carry deity and go around the town. It is the only period that deity leaves the temple in the year. There are entertainments during the festival. People wear specific traditional costume. They play music with Taiko(Japanese drum). Fireworks light up the matsuri too; there are always fireworks during the festival. The Japanese festivals are energetic and powerful. The Japanese Festivals are held also for the four seasons. In Spring, people celebrate for the rebirth and awakening of the new life. In summer, people thought its a bad season that brings humid weather with epidemic, so they hold festival to scare the evil spirit away. In autumn, people celebrate for the mellow foods from the farmer. The festivals of thanksgiving are held. In winter, people celebrate for the new year. Major Japanese Festivals In Japan, there are hundreds of matsuri. Some of them are local and unknown, and some of them are famous, which even foreigners come to Japan to feel these matsuri. In the following, the report will introduce several major Japanese Festivals. Gion Matsuri A living symbol of Kyotos 1,200 years of rich, colorful history the description of Kyoto Visitors guide. The Gion Matsuri is a festival in Kyoto. Its one of the best festival of Kyoto. Its in the top three matsuri in Japan. Japanese also put this matsuri into the top three prettiest matsuri in Japan. It is the most famous and biggest Japanese Festival, which is held for one month. The Gion Matsuri is from July 1st to 29th every year in Tasaka-jinja Shrine, Gion-cho, Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto City. The Gion Matsuri Festival is above 1100 years old. In the year 869 A.D., Kyoto was suffering from epidemics, floods, fires and earthquakes. To pray for the end of plaque and placate the gods, procession of the Yasaka shrine began. That was the first festival, the men carried numbers of wooden floats to please the gods. The plague soon ended, so the festival became popular. People did the procession every year. Soon, it became the festival with music, dance, comic plays, and artistic treasures. People started to make giant floats with beautiful decoration. The elaborate floats are the highlight of the Gion Matsuri. There are 32 floats, which are divided into two types, yama and hoko. Yama floats are about 6 meter and weight about 1400kg. It shows the scenes from Japanese history and mythology with bear pine trees, shrines, and mannequins. The hoko are massive 2-storied, nearly 10-ton combinations of music hall and museum that are hauled by teams of up to 50 men. Hoko are giant floats, which are about 25 meter and 12,000kg on large wooden wheels and pulled by 50 men. People describe them as a mobile art museums. During the parade, there are people wearing tradition costume and playing drums and bells. The are seated on the floats. Some dolls are put on the floats. The floats are displayed form the 14th to the 16th , the main event of the Gion Matsuri. The displays are full of food stands and drink vendors. Traditional Japanese Festival Music is played. The climax of the Gion Matsuri is that the boy, standing on the top of the floats, uses sword to cut the rope that represents bad luck. This event is the most important, so the boy cant mess up. He needs to practice for 3 months before this event. With the Gion Matsuri, the city is flourish. Today, Japanese is still using their traditional way to pray for a auspicious year. Sapporo Snow Festival The Sapporo Snow Festival is one of Japans largest winter events. It holds for 7 days, starting in the second week of February. It takes place in Odori Site, Susukino Site,and Satorando Site in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. About 2 millions of visitors come to this festival every winter. Hundreds of beautiful snow statues and ice sculptures that made by artists from around the world line up on the Odori Park, the community Dome Tsudome, and the main street in Suskino. The Snow Festival started in 1950 with six local high school students. They built six snow statues in Odori Park. In 1955, the Japan Self-Defense Forces built the first massive snow sculpture. This made the Snow Festival become famous. In 1974, there began to have the International Snow Statue Competition. Year by year, it became the Sapporo Snow Festival. Till today, It is the 62nd Sapporo Snow Festival. The main site of this festival is in Odori Park. It is 1.5 kilometer long. The snow statues and ice sculptures make this place a snow museum. There are about 400 statues in total every year. You can see many creative and realistic works. There are not just statues. Skating Rink, Snowboard Straight Jumping Platform,The Slide, and Bush-walking on Skis are also the events in Snow Festival. The snow festival light up Sapporo. The whole world can see Japaneses creativity. The art of snow and ice shows how Japanese appreciates this season. Tanabata Tanabata is known as the star festival. It is a nationwide festival in Japan. It takes place in the seventh day of the seventh month each year in Japan. It is originated from a Chinese legend in 2,000 years ago. There were two stars, Altair and Vega, the lovers. They were separated by the Milky Way and allowed to see each other in only the 7th day of the 7th month of the lunar calendar, so every region will have different date of this festival. This story spread to Japan in the 8th centery. Tanabata is celebrated on July 7th or August 7th in Japan,which is around the seventh day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar. The most famous event in Japan for celebrating Tanabata is to write your wishes on a piece of paper, and hang that piece of paper on a bamboo tree. The reason Japanese does this is that they think the meeting of Altair and Vega will bring luck. In some place, people put lantern on the bamboo and let it float on the river. The Tanabata festival in Sendai is most famous in Japan, which is held from August 6th to 8th. People wear yukata(the Japanese garment) and watch the fireworks. They fireworks is about two hours non-stop. 12,000 of fireworks will be shot and light up Sendai. Aomori Nebuta Matsuri Aomori Nebuta Matsuri is known as one of the most famous matsuri in Japan. This is a summer festival held in Aomori City, Aomori Prefecture from August 2 to 7. The Aomori Nebuta Matsuri is one of the greatest three matsuri in the Tohoku region, which are the Sendai Tanabata Matsuri, the Akita Kanto Matsuri and the Aomori Nebuta matsuri. Every year, more than 3,000,000 people come to see this matsuti . Aomori Nebuta matsui is a parade of colorful float lanterns called Nebuta with Japanese drum and dancers called haneto from all over the world. Usually Nebutas are shape of samurai warriors, but is can be shape of any historical people and legend characters. Reasons that this msaturi is very popular are that rhyme of drums and sounds of bamboo flute make people to feel happy and this parade is free to join so anyone can go up there and join the parade and dance along with those music. No one knows the theory of the origin of this matsuri, but there are two possible theories about the origin of this festival. One of the theories is that in the 8th Century in Aomori, there was one Shogun called Sakanoue no Tamuramaro. He wanted to expand his territory so he ordered his army to create something large and that looks like human to scare his enemy. Those large creatures called Nebuta. Place where he used Nebuta to scare people is now called Aomori city and thats why some people believe this can be one of the theories. Next theory is that development from Tanabata festival of China. During the Tanabata festival people light up a candle inside of toro that made by wooden frame and paper and float it on the water. As time passed, this toro became bigger and bigger and it became the unique shape like today. Today, the Nebuta can be 9 meter wide, 5 meters high and more than four tons of weight. It is not easy to make because it needs more than three months to create it and some of the Nebuta cost even more than $200,000. Hakata Dontaku Festival Hakata Dontaku Festival is one of the most famous and well known festivals and also one of the largest festivals in Japan. Every year, more than 2,000,000 people came to see this festival from all over the world. This festival takes place only for two day on May 3 and 4 in Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture. Hakata Dontaku Festival used to call as Matsubayashi Festival that started in Kyoto in the time of Muromachi period (1333-1568). During that time this festival is for only farmers and people in towns to greet their landowner and leader as a New Years greeting. Name of the festival changed to Dontaku from Matsubayashi during the Edo period (1603-1868). During Edo period Japan let people trade with all other countries because of this many people from other countries came to Japan and gave Japanese people to culture of other countries. Many culture from different counties mixed with former Japanese culture. Word Dontaku came from Dutch word zondag, which means holiday. Main event of this festival is Dontaku parade which is 1230 meter long. Any one can join to this parade and dance freely. This festival is very closely related with Japaneses three good fortune gods called Fukurokujyu, Ebisu and Daikokuten. During parade of time festival people need to wear custom as those gods. Conclusion Festivals and matsuri are very important things for Japanese and those are part of their culture that has been passed so many years. Japanese festivals affect Japanese life a lot because many people will back to their home to see their regions festivals even they are busy and thats time to see their parents. So festivals for Japanese are not only time to enjoy, but also backing to their home place and good time to spend time with their parents. For the worldwide, Japanese Festival is unique to every other countries festival. The Japanese Festivals usually have long history. And they are held every year. Form this part, we can see how Japanese organizes well in these things. Japanese concentrate on every little part on the festival, from music, clothes, decorations, to foods. Thats why they can attract that much foreigners to visit their country. Words: 2,369

Overview of Japanese Festivals and Matsuri

Overview of Japanese Festivals and Matsuri Japanese Festivals are the traditional occasions. They gather people to celebrate shrines deity, four seasons or historical events. People sing and dance to express their hopes and appreciation. Matsuri is the name of Japanese Festivals. The festival can be held for several days. There are lots of Japanese Festivals, but they usually have the traditional ways to celebrate. Procession is one of the most important things during those matsuri that celebrates shrines kami(deity). People carry deity and go around the town. It is the only period that deity leaves the temple in the year. There are entertainments during the festival. People wear specific traditional costume. They play music with Taiko(Japanese drum). Fireworks light up the matsuri too; there are always fireworks during the festival. The Japanese festivals are energetic and powerful. The Japanese Festivals are held also for the four seasons. In Spring, people celebrate for the rebirth and awakening of the new life. In summer, people thought its a bad season that brings humid weather with epidemic, so they hold festival to scare the evil spirit away. In autumn, people celebrate for the mellow foods from the farmer. The festivals of thanksgiving are held. In winter, people celebrate for the new year. Major Japanese Festivals In Japan, there are hundreds of matsuri. Some of them are local and unknown, and some of them are famous, which even foreigners come to Japan to feel these matsuri. In the following, the report will introduce several major Japanese Festivals. Gion Matsuri A living symbol of Kyotos 1,200 years of rich, colorful history the description of Kyoto Visitors guide. The Gion Matsuri is a festival in Kyoto. Its one of the best festival of Kyoto. Its in the top three matsuri in Japan. Japanese also put this matsuri into the top three prettiest matsuri in Japan. It is the most famous and biggest Japanese Festival, which is held for one month. The Gion Matsuri is from July 1st to 29th every year in Tasaka-jinja Shrine, Gion-cho, Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto City. The Gion Matsuri Festival is above 1100 years old. In the year 869 A.D., Kyoto was suffering from epidemics, floods, fires and earthquakes. To pray for the end of plaque and placate the gods, procession of the Yasaka shrine began. That was the first festival, the men carried numbers of wooden floats to please the gods. The plague soon ended, so the festival became popular. People did the procession every year. Soon, it became the festival with music, dance, comic plays, and artistic treasures. People started to make giant floats with beautiful decoration. The elaborate floats are the highlight of the Gion Matsuri. There are 32 floats, which are divided into two types, yama and hoko. Yama floats are about 6 meter and weight about 1400kg. It shows the scenes from Japanese history and mythology with bear pine trees, shrines, and mannequins. The hoko are massive 2-storied, nearly 10-ton combinations of music hall and museum that are hauled by teams of up to 50 men. Hoko are giant floats, which are about 25 meter and 12,000kg on large wooden wheels and pulled by 50 men. People describe them as a mobile art museums. During the parade, there are people wearing tradition costume and playing drums and bells. The are seated on the floats. Some dolls are put on the floats. The floats are displayed form the 14th to the 16th , the main event of the Gion Matsuri. The displays are full of food stands and drink vendors. Traditional Japanese Festival Music is played. The climax of the Gion Matsuri is that the boy, standing on the top of the floats, uses sword to cut the rope that represents bad luck. This event is the most important, so the boy cant mess up. He needs to practice for 3 months before this event. With the Gion Matsuri, the city is flourish. Today, Japanese is still using their traditional way to pray for a auspicious year. Sapporo Snow Festival The Sapporo Snow Festival is one of Japans largest winter events. It holds for 7 days, starting in the second week of February. It takes place in Odori Site, Susukino Site,and Satorando Site in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. About 2 millions of visitors come to this festival every winter. Hundreds of beautiful snow statues and ice sculptures that made by artists from around the world line up on the Odori Park, the community Dome Tsudome, and the main street in Suskino. The Snow Festival started in 1950 with six local high school students. They built six snow statues in Odori Park. In 1955, the Japan Self-Defense Forces built the first massive snow sculpture. This made the Snow Festival become famous. In 1974, there began to have the International Snow Statue Competition. Year by year, it became the Sapporo Snow Festival. Till today, It is the 62nd Sapporo Snow Festival. The main site of this festival is in Odori Park. It is 1.5 kilometer long. The snow statues and ice sculptures make this place a snow museum. There are about 400 statues in total every year. You can see many creative and realistic works. There are not just statues. Skating Rink, Snowboard Straight Jumping Platform,The Slide, and Bush-walking on Skis are also the events in Snow Festival. The snow festival light up Sapporo. The whole world can see Japaneses creativity. The art of snow and ice shows how Japanese appreciates this season. Tanabata Tanabata is known as the star festival. It is a nationwide festival in Japan. It takes place in the seventh day of the seventh month each year in Japan. It is originated from a Chinese legend in 2,000 years ago. There were two stars, Altair and Vega, the lovers. They were separated by the Milky Way and allowed to see each other in only the 7th day of the 7th month of the lunar calendar, so every region will have different date of this festival. This story spread to Japan in the 8th centery. Tanabata is celebrated on July 7th or August 7th in Japan,which is around the seventh day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar. The most famous event in Japan for celebrating Tanabata is to write your wishes on a piece of paper, and hang that piece of paper on a bamboo tree. The reason Japanese does this is that they think the meeting of Altair and Vega will bring luck. In some place, people put lantern on the bamboo and let it float on the river. The Tanabata festival in Sendai is most famous in Japan, which is held from August 6th to 8th. People wear yukata(the Japanese garment) and watch the fireworks. They fireworks is about two hours non-stop. 12,000 of fireworks will be shot and light up Sendai. Aomori Nebuta Matsuri Aomori Nebuta Matsuri is known as one of the most famous matsuri in Japan. This is a summer festival held in Aomori City, Aomori Prefecture from August 2 to 7. The Aomori Nebuta Matsuri is one of the greatest three matsuri in the Tohoku region, which are the Sendai Tanabata Matsuri, the Akita Kanto Matsuri and the Aomori Nebuta matsuri. Every year, more than 3,000,000 people come to see this matsuti . Aomori Nebuta matsui is a parade of colorful float lanterns called Nebuta with Japanese drum and dancers called haneto from all over the world. Usually Nebutas are shape of samurai warriors, but is can be shape of any historical people and legend characters. Reasons that this msaturi is very popular are that rhyme of drums and sounds of bamboo flute make people to feel happy and this parade is free to join so anyone can go up there and join the parade and dance along with those music. No one knows the theory of the origin of this matsuri, but there are two possible theories about the origin of this festival. One of the theories is that in the 8th Century in Aomori, there was one Shogun called Sakanoue no Tamuramaro. He wanted to expand his territory so he ordered his army to create something large and that looks like human to scare his enemy. Those large creatures called Nebuta. Place where he used Nebuta to scare people is now called Aomori city and thats why some people believe this can be one of the theories. Next theory is that development from Tanabata festival of China. During the Tanabata festival people light up a candle inside of toro that made by wooden frame and paper and float it on the water. As time passed, this toro became bigger and bigger and it became the unique shape like today. Today, the Nebuta can be 9 meter wide, 5 meters high and more than four tons of weight. It is not easy to make because it needs more than three months to create it and some of the Nebuta cost even more than $200,000. Hakata Dontaku Festival Hakata Dontaku Festival is one of the most famous and well known festivals and also one of the largest festivals in Japan. Every year, more than 2,000,000 people came to see this festival from all over the world. This festival takes place only for two day on May 3 and 4 in Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture. Hakata Dontaku Festival used to call as Matsubayashi Festival that started in Kyoto in the time of Muromachi period (1333-1568). During that time this festival is for only farmers and people in towns to greet their landowner and leader as a New Years greeting. Name of the festival changed to Dontaku from Matsubayashi during the Edo period (1603-1868). During Edo period Japan let people trade with all other countries because of this many people from other countries came to Japan and gave Japanese people to culture of other countries. Many culture from different counties mixed with former Japanese culture. Word Dontaku came from Dutch word zondag, which means holiday. Main event of this festival is Dontaku parade which is 1230 meter long. Any one can join to this parade and dance freely. This festival is very closely related with Japaneses three good fortune gods called Fukurokujyu, Ebisu and Daikokuten. During parade of time festival people need to wear custom as those gods. Conclusion Festivals and matsuri are very important things for Japanese and those are part of their culture that has been passed so many years. Japanese festivals affect Japanese life a lot because many people will back to their home to see their regions festivals even they are busy and thats time to see their parents. So festivals for Japanese are not only time to enjoy, but also backing to their home place and good time to spend time with their parents. For the worldwide, Japanese Festival is unique to every other countries festival. The Japanese Festivals usually have long history. And they are held every year. Form this part, we can see how Japanese organizes well in these things. Japanese concentrate on every little part on the festival, from music, clothes, decorations, to foods. Thats why they can attract that much foreigners to visit their country. Words: 2,369

Essays --

Aleksander Pushkin, had a very short lived life, but still became the one of the most or most recognizable principal figure of literature in Russia’s history, a role with equivalence to that of William Shakespeare in the English culture. Pushkin started writing off the work of Karamzin as an inspiration and other writers construct a new, westernized language, which he used to form unique masterpieces such as â€Å"I remember the wonderful moment,† which were built upon the basis literary custom established by other famous poets such as Vasilii Zhukovskii who laid down the foundation and led the way for the pre-Romantic and Romantic texts of Konstantin Batiushkovand Evgeny Boratynskii. Pushkin influenced virtually all the major Russian writers who followed him, as well as entire movements of literature, including the texts of late classicism, Romanticism, and early Realism. His influence on Russian culture went even farther; his talents could be viewed by many through musical and theatrical works such as the operas of Tchaikovsky and Mussorgsky. Aleksandr Pushkin was born in Moscow on 6 June 1799 into a poor, but cultured aristocratic family, with a long and recognizable distinguished lineage and would create the start of Modern Russian Literature. On his father's side, he was a long descendent of an ancient noble family. On the other side his mother was one of the many great granddaughters of Gannibal, the legendary Abyssinian; most believe to be the source his African blood. Unfortunately for Pushkin, his mother took little, to no interest in the development of her son, entrusting him French tutors and nursemaids who played the biggest roles in childhood. Pushkin got acquainted with the Russian language through communication with m... ... Pushkin was the first to use everyday speech in his poetry, fusing Old Slavonic with vernacular Russian. This blend gave his works their rich, melodic quality. Alexander Pushkin as Russia's most influential and admired poet, during a time when Russia had no major impact on Literature, and most great literature was being written in English and French, revolutionized Russian literature with love poems, narrative poems, short stories, political poems, plays, novels, fairy tales, and histories. Pushkin with a unique mind, being skeptical and having a sense of irony helped him capture what it means to be Russian, winning the hearts of his fellow countrymen. His writing style contains distinctive rhythmic patterns that are difficult, or nearly impossible to translate, so non-Russian speakers have not always been able to appreciate the true beauty and power of his work.

Biodiversity at Risk Due to Urbanization

Forestry â€Å"Indo-Burma Forests† Forests, some of the most essential ecosystems in the world, house about forty to seventy-five percent all plants and animals globally. Unfortunately, the amount of biodiversity in forests is severely at risk due to the increasing deforestation over the past four decades. It is estimated in the biological community that approximately 50,000 species are completely wiped out annually as a result of arbitration, land clearance, logging, and other human techniques.Dry. Edward Wilson, a Harvard professor, predicts that half of all of earth's species could be extinct in about 50 years, unless the deforestation rate decreases. In 2011, Conservation International (also known as C') conducted a study of the top ten most endangered forests in the world (half of them located Asia-Pacific Region). Of the ten, the Indo-Burma forests were deemed the number one most endangered forest. Encompassing approximately 2,373,000 km, the forests spreads from eastern India to Southern china.The Indo- Burma forests are considered to be one of 34 â€Å"biodiversity hotshots,† a term coined y Norman Myers (a British biologist), which is a biographic landscape characterized by outstanding levels of habitat loss and plant endemics. Over ninety- five percent of the region's forests have been destroyed, which leaves only about five percent of the original forest area still standing; therefore, the Indo-Burma forests are the most vulnerable forests globally. The Indo-Burma forests are positioned in the midst of floodplains, lakes, and rivers.These various waterways give off life and prosperity, allowing richness in biodiversity as well as resources. This region is home oh number of the largest freshwater fish, bird, and turtle species. There is also, an assortment of ecosystems embodied in this hotshot, comprising of dry evergreen, wet evergreen, and deciduous forests. There are also several patches of woodlands and scrubbings on karts limestone ridges, some in costal lands as well as dispersed heath forests. Additionally, a broad range of distinct, restricted vegetation developments, including seasonally flooded grasslands, lowland floodplain swamps, and mangroves.This vast biological diversity is a result of topographical interaction, soil hegemonies, climate change, and seasonal rainfall patterns. The plant species are abundantly diverse with 13,500 vascular plants estimated with about half of them being endemic. The flora of forests range from a variety of ginger and orchids (over 1,000 different orchid species found in Thailand alone) to tropical hardwood trees including Disintegrations (teak) and Dipterous (which happens to be commercially valuable).The animal species are even more widespread as Indo-Burma is continually unmasking biological treasures. In the last twelve years, [the following] six age mammals have been discovered: The Salsa, the Inmate Mountain, the Large- Antlered Mountain, the Leaf Deer, the Grey S wanked Doug, and the Inmate Rabbit. There are approximately 430 mammal species residing in the region; over seventy species and seven types are endemic. Over 280 amphibian species are found in the hotshot, but there is not high level of endemics outside of the genus level.The region has noteworthy freshwater fish creatures; there are over 1,260 recognized species (about 10% of the world's total freshwater fish). There are more than 1,260 bird species with over 60 being endemic. The floodplain wetlands and the rivers are absolutely essential for bird species conservation since population numbers have declined due to human expansion and hunting. The reptile population is one of the more prevalent species of the region. Almost 520 species of reptile reside there which more than 200 species being endemic and twelve genera.This Indo-Burma hotshot carries perhaps the largest assortment of freshwater turtles globally; there are exactly 53 species (57 including tortoises), signifying 20% of the world's species. A popular species is the Chitchatted, a striped narrow-headed turtle with a soft-shell, which can grow up to about 120 centimeters. These species are decreases in number as well, mostly due to the overexploitation on behalf of wildlife trade. Of the 22 non- marine turtle species that are endangered, almost half of them are found in the Indo- Burma region.Other prominent reptiles include the Ellipsis butterfly lizard, the Chinese crocodile lizard, and the Siamese crocodile. Humans have greatly impacted life for the animals, however, and the overall environment. Indo-Burma was actually one of the primary lands used by humans in the development of agriculture; Hereford, fire has been used more and more over the years to clear out land needed to fit agricultural needs and other human demands. As demand for agricultural goods has skyrocketed over the past years due to population and market expansion, forest destruction became widespread.Huge areas of lowland forests soon became replaced with tree plantations (oil palm, teak, and rubber), while hill forests and Montana were threatened by sugarcane, coffee, tea, and vegetable crop plantations. In addition to plantations, forests become endangered by mining for ores and gems, firewood collection, charcoal production, and logging. The marine ecosystem simultaneously became under great pressure in many areas due to development. Draining for the cultivation of wet rice has damaged freshwater wetlands and floodplain swamps (mainly in Vietnam, Thailand, and Manner).The damming of rivers have also become way more prevalent in efforts to generate electricity and maximize water storage to support the economic growth of the country as well as for exportation of goods and services to bordering countries to increase foreign exchange income; regrettably, damming a river not only converts that small body of eater into a large pond, but it decreases the oxygen content and overall temperature, as well as in amp lifies water turbidity down the river and river-bed erosion.The operational measures of the reservoir has resulted in sporadic or frequent flooding of sandbanks, stretches of channel assortment, sandbars, and other territory that is generally uncovered during dry season [severely impacting turtle species and nesting birds]. Mangroves in the region have been transformed to aquaculture ponds, while mudflats have been comprehensively afforested with mangrove or shed by piles of nets, which greatly effects their significance as a feeding habitat for migrating birds and other specimen.Furthermore, ecosystems of sand dunes are in severe danger due to forestation, and overfeeding along with excessive use of [destructive] fishing methods have produced a considerable problem with both the offshore and coastal aquatic ecosystems. Being that only 5% of natural habitats are left in a pristine state and 10%-25% of damaged land due to habitat loss and exploitation of resources, something had to b e done to decrease the probability of omelet extinction of the forests. In the Indo-Burma hotshot, protected area structures have become the foundation of government conservation program.There is officially 236,000 km of land protected, representing nearly ten percent of the original amount of vegetation in the region. Conversely, only 132,000 km (almost six percent) is in the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (CNN) protected area categories one to four. Together, the countries of Lower Mekong (Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Ala P. D. R. ) have above 13 percent f their territory contained by an arrangement of protected areas.A fine approach to ensuring that the system of protected areas effectively preserves representative biodiversity is by securing the species that face the greatest danger of extinction globally. Endangered species worldwide are shielded best by targeting preservation investment to the sites in which they are prevalent; the se areas are known as â€Å"key biodiversity areas† (Kbps). More efforts towards the conservation of the Indo-Burma forests are currently in the making and there are many organizations and individuals that are eager to contribute.

Morality Is An Important Component Of A Human Being Because

Morality is an important component of a human being because it helps shape the ethical foundation that every human being has. Whether to be good, evil, honest, or deceitful are just some of the traits morality helps us develop. Thus, it is evident that morality is a crucial component of a human being. However, what ultimately drives moral action? This question is debated and investigated against many philosophers, a few of them being Thomas Hobbes, Frans de Waal, and David Hume. Hobbes believes that in the state of nature, humans have no laws, morals, police force, property, government, culture, knowledge, or durable infrastructure. Within this state of nature, people have no morals and do as they please without any consequence. As†¦show more content†¦Both are powerful forces that contribute to morality. However, Hume concludes that it is the sentiment, feeling, or pleasure that human beings feel that ultimately shape their morality. Both Hume and Hobbes have opposing views regarding whether or not humans are naturally moral. Hume believes that humans are naturally moral. According to Hume, humans derive their morality through sentiments or feelings that help shape behavior and action. Hobbes, however, believes that humans are selfish individuals and in turn do not have moral values. This is described as the state of nature. He further believes that humans do not have a unified moral code or system and must thus find a higher power that would help shape their behavior. Such a power, Hobbes argues, should be the government as it develops laws that all humans must abide by. Hobbes describes this as common wealth. Frans de Waal begins his argument by first stating the question as to whether or not a human’s moral actions originated from the psychological and behavioral nature of our evolutionary ancestors. He concludes this thought by saying that our moral actions do, in fact, originate from the psychological and behavioral nature of our evolutionary ancestors. De Waal further argues that the foundations of human morals are found in the primates of today. They are composed of actions and emotions whose evolutionary role assists us in our social organization and unity. In the beginning pages of his book, De WaalShow MoreRelatedEssay about Morality1221 Words   |  5 Pages Morality   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Moral philosophy is very important to the success of an individual. But, before I tell you why moral philosophy is so important, and how it has helped me in my life, let me give you a little background knowledge. Rational knowledge has two components. These components are material and formal. Formal knowledge is not object oriented, and is based on reason. Formal knowledge is logic, or the laws of thought. Material knowledge is object oriented, and has two components. 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