P2+Moore

= Samurai Arts =

= Calligraphy = Calligraphy is a type of visual art, and is also referred to as “fancy writing”. Japanese calligraphy has three main writing styles – Kaisho, which literally means “correct writing”, and strokes are made in a clear and deliberate way. Gyousho, which literally means “traveling writing”, which refers to semi-cursive style of Japanese calligraphy. And last Sousho, which means “grass writing”, and this is the full and flowing cursive form of Japanese calligraphy. Japanese calligraphy’s origins can be traced back to China around 4,500 years ago. Calligraphy had already developed some by the time it got to Japan at around the 6th century (500’s). Japanese calligraphy has continued to grow and develop in style and form with zen-ei sho representing the latest stage in this evolution.

=Poetry= There are many forms of Japanese poetry. There is Haiku, which is the most famous. Haiku has a sentence pattern of 5,7,5. Japanese haiku has changed a lot over time. The first haiku's were created by two poets working together on one poem. Another form of poetry is Tanka. Tanka is older than Haiku, but is not as well known or famous. Each verse has 31 syllables and 5 lines. Tanka is written to express one’s feelings, and is generally longer than haiku so that it allows the poet to express his/her feelings. The Tanka has been a well written type of Japanese poetry for approximately 1300 years. Another type of Japanese poetry is Renga. In Renga, each verse has 31 syllables with 5 lines. The order of the syllables is 5, 7, 5, 7, and 7. Over time, a technique developed so that two poets could enjoy writing one poem at the same time, and this was known as Renga. Many people thought of Renga as a competitive game, and it was used at parties as a form of entertainment. Renga is known to be longer than other forms of Japanese poetry, and can reach up to 100 verses. Renga is really a fun kind of entertainment that people can enjoy.

=Painting= Japanese painting is one of the oldest and most highly refined of Japanese visual arts, and has a wide variety of genres and styles. The origins of Japanese paintings can go back to Japans prehistoric period. Japanese art has continued to change throughout history. The latest period in Japanese painting is the “Postwar Period,” which is 1945-Present. The government sponsored Japan Art Academy which was formed in 1947. Government sponsorship of art exhibitions have ended, though art exhibitions are replaced by private exhibitions. One is the //Nitten//. The Nitten was initially the exhibition of the Japan Art Academy, and ever since 1958 it has been run by a different private cooperation. Some very important artists in the postwar period were Ogura Yuki, Uemura Shoko, Koiso Ryouhei, and Kaii Higashiyama.

=Ikebana= Ikebana is a form of flower arrangement done by samurai and by others now. It isn’t a common art, but an art none the less. Samurai do this art a lot in their free time. It sounds like a thing that women would do but it’s not. It’s something calming that the samurai can do after a stressful day. The art of ikebana started after Tokugawa took over and let samurai have time to actually preform the art. Samurai are still enjoying fashioning Ikebana, and now a lot of people do it. Samurai design ikebana with blossoms, wood and other things that are nature-like. At the end when the samurai is done designing it looks like a whole garden by itself. It sometimes takes weeks to finish the arrangement. = = =Appearance= A samurai’s head was shaved and the sides and the back of his hair was pulled back and tied together in a ponytail and his whole head is usually greased. Armor was made out of metal plates and laced together with leather straps. This is so the samurai has as much mobility as possible sense their tactic of fighting is with a sword. The helmet has a visor on it and it covers the back of the neck to protect from any side attacks. The suit of armor has an iron collar that is additional protection, they also have a sword that is usually 3 pounds and takes about 3 months to make. The entire suit of armor is worn over a silk kimono or robe with loose-fitting pantaloons (pants).

Samurai Arts were very important in Ancient Japan. It was the daily life and living of the samurai.

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Deal, William E. Hand Book to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan. New York: Facts on File Inc. 2006

Wikipedia contributors. "Calligraphy." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 19 Mar. 2012. Web. 20 Mar. 2012.

"About Japanese Calligraphy." Japanese Calligraphy: The History and Forms of Japanese Calligraphy. Japanese Name Translation. Web. 20 Mar. 2012.

Oracle Thinkquest"Types of Japanese Poetry." ThinkQuest. Oracle Foundation. Web. 20 Mar. 2012.