Published sometime between 1829 and 1833 was Katsushika Hokusai’s most famous work, the woodblock print, The Great Wave off Kanagawa. Which was the first print in his series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji.

It is probably the most recognisable works of Japanese art in the world and original impressions of the print are in many western collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the British Museum, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne and in Claude Monet’s home in France, among many other collections.

The image depicts an enormous wave threatening boats off the coast of the town of Kanagawa (the present-day city of Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture) with Mount Fuji sat in the centre, which could easily be mistaken as part of the water if you weren’t aware of the scenes location.

In the scene there are three oshiokuri-bune, fast boats that are used to transport live fish. There are eight rowers per boat, clinging to their oars. There are two more passengers in the front of each boat, bringing the total number of human figures in the image to thirty. Using the boats as reference, the wave must be between 10 and 12 meters tall.

Given that the series was very popular when it was produced, printing continued until the woodblocks started to show significant wear. It is likely that the original woodblocks printed around 5,000 copies. Given that many impressions have been lost, in wars, earthquakes, fires and other natural disasters, few early impressions survive in which the lines of the woodblocks were still sharp at the time of printing. The remaining prints and subsequent reproductions vary considerably in quality and condition. This gradual degradation is why museums will brag about their prints being “early” issues.

Later impressions typically have a darker grey sky, and can be identified by a break in the line of the wave behind the boat on the right.

Though thousands were printed, it’s estimated only hundreds of The Great Wave off Kanagawa remain. A specimen’s state determines its value. The first state from Nishimuraya Yohachi publishing featured a distinctive blue outline, while the second had a black outline. The former is said to fetch $40,000 to $60,000, while the latter would command half that. Even a good replica could score a collector a few grand.

Heikegani is a species of crab which is native to Japan whose shell resembles a human face. According to Japanese folklore these small crabs contain the souls of the fallen samurai warriors from the Battle of Dan-no-ura in 1185AD which took place in Japan’s inland sea, where the crabs are found.

This crucial battle was a cultural and political turning point in Japanese history, Minamoto Yoritomo became the first Shogun, or military ruler, of Japan.  Dan-no-ura marked the beginning of seven centuries, in which Japan was ruled by warriors and Shoguns instead of Emperors and aristocrats.

The ruling Taira clan (Heike), was led by their child-Emperor, Antoku, and his grandmother, Tokiko Taira. The Heike had ruled Japan for many decades, but now, massively outnumbered, they were defeated at the hands of the Minamoto.

For the losing Heike samurai, surrendering to the enemy was never an option so those that were not slain in battle, committed suicide by drowning themselves along with their emperor. Their bodies became food for the heikegani crabs who lay in wait on the sea floor.

According to the Japanese legend, the souls of the Heike samurais were reincarnated into the Heikegani crabs who ate their remains, their angry faces now shown on the shells of the crabs. To this day, it is said that the Heikegani crabs roam the depths of the oceans around Japan, searching for the lost heirlooms of their empire.

The locals refuse to eat the crabs that are marked with faces (not all are), throwing them back into the sea.

Somewhere between a game and a sport, Bo-Taoshi is played at schools and military training academies around the country. In fact, it was originally designed as a military training exercise. In terms of the rules and the way the game is played it is very similar to the game capture the flag, with some elements of rugby. Literally, the name means “pole bring-down,” and in a way this name summarizes the sport quite well.

The best way to explain the game is in fact to watch it so I have added a YouTube video to the bottom of the article for you to check out. But here is a rundown of some of the rule and the aim of the game.

To start two teams of 150 individuals each vie for control of a single large pole. Each team is split into two groups of 75 attackers and 75 defenders.

The defenders begin in a defensive formation respective to their own pole, while the attackers assume position ready to charge the other team’s pole. A team is victorious if it is able to lower the upright pole of the opposing team to a thirty-degree angle from the ground, before the other team reaches the same goal.

Technically outright violence and fighting is not allowed you can expect to see kicks to the face and people throwing themselves into the frey.

To break this down even further here is an overview of various positions team members are assigned during the game. It looks like complete chaos when you first see it but once you understand the roles you realise there is method to the madness.

Defence

• Pole support – to hold the pole in the upright position.
• Barrier – the largest part of the defence, their job is to protect the pole.
• Interference – harass and interrupt attacks that get within the barrier.
• Scrum disabler – scrum is the offensive strategy in which the attackers use their teammate’s back to spring themselves over the barrier and onto the pole. The scrum disablers do whatever they can to eliminate this attack.
• Ninja – this is the single man at the top of the pole. This is one of the most important positions on defence. The ninja must lean to the opposite side if the pole is being tilted to counteract the weight.

Offence

• Springboard/scrum – the scrum acts as stepping stones so their offensive teammates can jump over the barrier and have easy access to the pole.
• Pole attackers – in charge of taking the ninja down and using their weight to bring the pole down.
• General support attackers – Do anything to make it hard on the defence.

So now you have a slight idea of the rules and jobs of the individual players the best thing to do is check out the video and see for yourself and if you wanna see more just give it a search on YouTube, there is a good short documentary called Japans Game of War on YouTube which explains in  more detail.

Personally I would have loved to have played this at school.

If you’re an adult that works regularly around young children in Japan you may want to watch your back. Because in Japan there is a prank that is not really known in the western world. That prank is known as Kancho!

So what is it?

Well……put simply Kancho is when someone, usually a child sneaks up on you and makes a gun shape with their forefingers and pokes up from behind right in your butt.

If you’re a teacher, parent, older sibling you better try to at all times watch your back parts from being probed, you could also find yourself getting a probe from someone at work, high school or college (some people just don’t mentally grow up)!

It’s not just a game played in Japan, Korea and the Philippines also have their own version. It is so common and popular they even have statues to commemorate the good old days of Kancho.

The word is a slang adoption of the Japanese word for enema. In accordance with widespread practice, the word is generally written in katakana when used in its slang sense, and in kanji when used for enemas in the medical sense.

This year Japan’s 100+ population increased by 2,132 from last year to reach a record 67,824. The advancement of medicine and people’s greater understanding of being health conscious is keeping this figure growing year on year. It has risen 47 years on the bounce!

Woman lead this figure counting for an incredible 87.9% of this years over 100 club.

Nabi Tajima, 117, born in August 1900, is Japan’s oldest woman, hailing from the town of Kikai, Kagoshima Prefecture in southwestern Japan. The oldest man is Masazo Nonaka, 112, born in July 1905, a resident of Ashoro, in Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido.

Following the death of a 113-year-old man in Israel who had been recognized by Guinness World Records as the world’s oldest man, Nonaka could become the next record holder.

In 1963, when the data were first collected, the number of centenarians stood at 153. After eclipsing the 10,000 mark in 1998, the figure broke the 50,000 line in 2012.

Life expectancy in Japan was projected at 87.14 for women and 80.98 for men last year.

Having a look at the average life expectancy for the globe that currently sits at an average of 71.5 years, 68.4 for males and 72.8 for females.

In comparison with some of the world’s centenarian population the UK currently only has 13,780, the USA 72,000 and India 27,000 and in the entire world, in 2015 there were 451,000.

Japan currently sits as the second best life expectancy only behind the small principality of Monaco.

In the past, Japan’s centenarians were presented with cups of pure silver by the country’s prime minister, but from last year the government decided to switch to silver-plated cups to cut costs probably as there are so many each year now.

Looks like Japans lifestyle and diet adds years to your life!

Shichinin no Samurai or Seven Samurai as it’s known in the west is a classic Japanese adventure/drama movie released way back in 1954. It is well known and respected amongst those who know about movies and is often regarded as one of the greatest films of all time. Its influence in the years since is still felt with movies such as The Magnificent Seven based on it and even the new Justice League DC comic’s movie coming out this year has used some of the influence of this 50’s film. It has remained highly influential, often seen as one of the most “remade, reworked, referenced” films in cinema.

The story takes place in 1586 during the Sengoku Period of Japanese history. It follows the story of a village of farmers that hire seven Ronin (master less samurai) to combat bandits who will return after the harvest to steal their crops. They succeed in hiring the warming-hearted veteran Kambei Shimada that advises that they need six other samurai to protect their lands. Kambei recruits the necessary five samurai and the brave jester Kikuchiyo and move to the village. After a feared reception, Kambei plots a defence strategy and the samurai start training the farmers how to defend their lands and families for the battle that approaches.

Directed and written by legendary director Akira Kurosawa the film took a year to complete. After three months of pre-production the film had 148 shooting days spread out over a year—four times the span covered in the original budget, which eventually came to almost half a million dollars. Toho Studios closed down production at least twice.

Kurosawa and the writers were innovative in refining the theme of the assembly of heroic characters to perform a mission. Seven Samurai was among the first films to use the now-common plot element of the recruiting and gathering of heroes into a team to accomplish a specific goal.

If you haven’t seen it before it’s definitely worth a watch.

You may know the three legged crow as the symbol of Japans national football team as well as the Japanese Football Association but what are the origins of this strange creature.

From experience from visits to Japan I know crows are everywhere and they are very large and intelligent and can be quite intimidating, especially in parks and around castles where they form large flocks. But why a 3 legged crow?

The mention of Yatagarusu, the 3 legged crow is seen in a number of places in Shinto, it’s appearance is seen as evidence of the will of heaven or divine intervention in human affairs and is a mark of rebirth and rejuvenation (the crow has historically cleaned up after great battles symbolized the renaissance after such tragedy)

It first appears in mythology as a messenger sent by the sun goddess Amaterasu to guide Emperor Jimmu when he gets lost in hostile territory in Kumano on his way to Yamato.

Although no one is 100% sure, it is thought the 3 legs may represent the three ancient clans that dominated Kumano’s history. Or perhaps the three main virtues of the gods: chi (wisdom), jin (benevolence) and yuu (valor). Then again, the three legs may stand for heaven, earth and mankind. (As in the Taoist triad).

Legend points to the crow’s skill as a navigator, always able to find the way in unknown lands. Yatagarasu was said to have guided the emperor who had lost his way to the place.

The Japanese soccer association has adopted the crow as its mascot to make sure the ball finds its way into the goal. It is said that it will help those who are lost to find a path.

Kendama is a traditional Japanese toy. The ken has three cups and a spike which fits into the hole in the ball. The idea of the toy? Simply to catch one object with the other with both objects being attached by a string…..simple right? well simple to play but very hard to master, see the skills video at the bottom of the article.

Here are the rules…..

To play with a kendama, the easy way, you hold the toy, and pull the ball upward so that it may either be caught in one of the cups or land with the hole on the spike.

Then if you feeling more skilled this leads onto more advanced tricks that include sequential balances, juggles, and catches. There are eleven prescribed moves on the kendama trick list for achieving a kyu ranking and several more for a dan ranking. A 10-kyu rating (the lowest beginner grade) is attained by simply catching the ball in the largest cup.

A book published by the Japan Kendama Association lists 101 different tricks for the toy and there are supposedly tens of thousands of trick variations. Different stances and grips are required to perform different tricks.

While most people play with kendamas for personal fun, competitions do take place, especially in Japan, where many kendama shokūgekìs (Japanese for battle) are held.

Participation in such competitions entails performing lists of tricks in sequence or completing particular tricks repeatedly for as long as possible. Additionally, tricks may be performed head to head with a rival to determine a winner. The first competitor to fail a trick loses.

Check out these guys below and see the pro’s in action!

If you have visited Japan you most probably would have seen these round looking guys in temples or in gift shops. So what are they and what is the meaning of them?

Well they are called Daruma dolls!

It is a hollow, round, traditional Japanese doll modelled after Bodhidharma, the founder of the Zen sect of Buddhism. They are usually red in colour and are of similar design. Some people consider them as toys but they are designed to feature deep symbolism and are more than often regarded as a talisman for good luck and fortune.

When purchased, the eyes are plain and white so a person can decide on a goal or wish and then they just paint one eye in. Once the goal is achieved, the second eye is filled in.  One explanation as to how this custom started says that in order to motivate Daruma-san to grant your wish, you promise to give him full sight once the goal is accomplished.

Daruma’s are still usually made of papier-mâché, have a round shape, are hollow and weighted at the bottom so that they will always return to an upright position when tilted over. In Japanese, this is called okiagari, meaning to get up (oki) and arise (agari). This characteristic has come to symbolize the ability to have success, overcome adversity, and recover from misfortune.

Though it is not certain, the origins of Daruma’s traditional red colouring probably came from the colour of priest’s robes.

Daruma’s facial hair is a symbolic representation of the animals well known in Asian culture to embody longevity: the crane and the tortoise. The eyebrows are in the shape of a crane, while the cheek hair resembles the shell of the tortoise.

At the end of the year, all the Daruma are brought back to the temple they were purchased from for a traditional burning ceremony. This ceremony, called the Daruma Kuyō is held once a year, usually right after New Year’s Day.

In New Zealand the new school year starts in February and university in March. There has been a debate on starting the academic year later so that families and children can enjoy the stable, hot weather in February.

In Japan, the academic year starts on the first of April, with the entrance ceremony on the first week and the first class soon afterwards. Japanese people regard it as part of the culture, with cherry blossoms symbolizing the beginning of spring. We were a bit disappointed that when our son started his primary school all the cherry blossoms had fallen due to an unusually warm spring.

In many countries the academic year starts when summer is over, because children traditionally had to help with agricultural family business. Why April in Japan then?

It turns out it was originally not for cultural and symbolic reasons.  In 1886 the start of the fiscal year became April, taking after Britain’s accounting year. Until then schools had started at various times of the year, but gradually they started to begin in April because of the convenience.

Some educational institutions, including Tokyo University, have tried to move it to September in order to align with schools and universities in the northern hemisphere, but haven’t gained enough support for the change. After all, many countries start their academic year at different times of the year, and the Japanese people have cherished April as a start of new life.

This is the last article I will upload regularly on this website. Thank you so much for reading my articles for the past two years!

Sakura saitara ichinensei (Cherry Blossoms bloom, then I will be Year 1)