Festivals in Japan (Matsuri)

There are numerous festivals (matsuri) in Japan since, almost every shrine celebrates one of its own. Most festivals are held to celebrate the historical events or the shrine's deity. Some of them are celebrated for several days. An important fact about the festivals is local shrine's kami (god) is carried through the town and  it is the only time of the year kami leaves the shrine. Every matsuri has its own characteristics. While some of them are calm and silent, others can be energetic and noisy.

I will emphasize on the most famous and important festivals.

Aoi Matsuri

Aoi matsuri's main atraction is a large parade of over 500 people are dressed in the aristocratic style of the Herian Period.

Gion Matsuri

The highlight of this festival is the parade of the floats on July 17. It is one of the most famous festivals in Japan.

Tenjin Matsuri

It is a festival that featuring a lavish procession not only through the streets, but also on boats on the river that is accompanied by a firework display.

Sanja Matsuri

It is the festival of Asakusa Shrine, Sanja Matsuri is one of Tokyo's three big festivals. Mikoshi is carried through the Asakusa streets.

Nebuta Matsuri 

It features festival floats with huge latterns. The festival attracs several millon visitors every year.

Religion in Japan

There are two major religions in Japan. First one is Shinto which is as old as Japanese culture, and second one is Buddhism which is imported from the mainland in sixth century. Since then, two religions have been co-existing harmoniously and most of the Japanese consider themselves Buddhist or Shintoist or both.

Firstly, I want to mention about Shinto religion. Shinto means ''the way of the gods'' and it remains Japans' major religion alongside Buddhism. It does not have founder or sacred scripture. I think it is deeply rooted in Japanese people and their culture. In Shinto gods are called ''Kami'' and they are sacred spirits which can take form into wind, rain, mountain and so on. They believe when people die they will be Kami and they are revered by their families. The kami of extraordinary people are even enshirined at some shrines.

In Shinto, there are no absolutes and right or wrong, because they believe nobody is perfect. It is an optimistic faith. They believe people are fundemantally good and evil is believed to be caused by evil spirits. Most Shinto ritiuals are done to keep away evil spirits. Today, people seek support from Stinto by praying at home or shrines to be safety, for good health, for success and so on.

Buddhism was imported Japan by China and Korea, however it did not spread among people since its complex theories. There were also a few initial conflics with Shinto, but soon they were able to co-exist.

There are a lot of forms of Buddhism, but the most common one is Zen. There are also Zen schools established in twelfth century named Rinzai and Soto. According to Zen, one can achieve self enlighenment with trough meditation and discipline. At present, Zen enjoy a greater popularity overseas than within Japan.

Japanese Traditional Martial Arts

If we are talking about Japan, it is necessary to talk about martial arts. There is an enourmous variety of Japanese martial arts. It is a way of life which indicates physical, self-improvement and a lot of practise. The historical origin of martial arts originates from warrior traditions of samurai. The history of Japanese martial arts has an considerable importance to the culture as it forms the tradional substructure. The word ''martial'' means fighting, it was a skill rather than a sport during that period and it helped people to protect themselves from combating attack.  

Most of the martial arts were imported from China and they were gradually modified by the Japanese. Archery and sword fighting were the main two arts and some of them became rituals in Zen Buddhism. I will talk about most important Japanese arts, they are generally categorized into five fightings: Karate, Aikido, Juijutsu, Judo and Kendo.

 

Karate is the most popular martial art and invented by Funakoshi. Karate means empty hand. Funakoshi impressed the emperor of Japan by showing his skills and started teaching it. He opened a dojo (training hall) in Tokyo. After this Karate gained popularity inside and outside of Japan. 

Aikido is another popular martial art in Japan. It is a self defensive art. Ai means ''harmony'', Ki means ''source of energy'' and do means ''the way''. Three of them means it is a way of keeping harmony in the body. Aikido has a religious influence as the Japanese believe it is the way of saving people from danger or devil.

Juijutsu means gentle art which is an ancient art. Ironically, it is based on throwing techniques of the body to attack enemy.  

Additional to these, Kendo and Judo has an importance to them. Kendo is an martial art which utilizes words. It is a fencing martial art and requires a lot of skill and discipline.It differs from Judo which is unarmed  combative art. The rules of it are very complicated, but it is very popular martial art globally.

Kendo

Judo

It can not be denied that Japanese martial arts is a powerful weapon for common people to self-defense and for Japanese culture it has a huge importance.