 |
| The Garden / Niwa Information on Japan |
| Welcome to the Asahi no Gakkoo school garden. This is a peaceful place where you can relax and even learn a thing or two about Japan and it's culture. I want to take you into the world of the Japanese culture. Mindset is key in this beautiful, doll-like world, which is based on peace and respect above all else. Perhaps the most famous aspect of Japan is it's wonderous and ornate tea ceremony which when performed in full can take as many as 2 - 4 hours to complete. The purpose of it is to instill an atmosphere of calmness and serenity in it's participants, because "a calm mind is an accurate mind". The four main points of the tea ceremony - as well as a good outline of the whole culture - are Wa Kei Sei Jiyaku which means Calm Respect Purity Serenity. This is the backbone of the Japanese way of life. |
|
| Here are a list of LINKS I've compiled, as well as a brief description of each. Please take advantage of these resourses. I have personally visited and/or used each one of these sites, and I personally gaurantee their niftiness ^_^. ENJOY!! |
 |
| Japanese Culture @ About.com: This is quite possibly the coolest website I've ever seen. It is just BURSTING with resources!! There are more "How to speak Japanese" pages, lists of schools and jobs in both the US and Japan, guides and links to anime/manga, several very good international penpal services, Japanese fonts and installers, some games, and very good HIRAGANA, KATAKANA, and KANJI displays! Miyabi: This is a good "history of Japan" site, detailing how the culture came to be. It also defines Miyabi, which is the Japanese ethic of perfectionism and beauty. Hikyaku Picture Gallery: A nice picture gallery of important places in Japan. There are lots of pictures of cities, buildings, and nature-shots. UCLA Research on Japan: A nice overall guide to both modern and ancient culture, sports, and family living. My Language Exchange: A most excellent site dedicated to one-on-one message board, chatroom, and email based language exchanging. Talk to people from all over the world to trade information about both language and culture; not just Japanese, but any other country as well!! This makes great linguistic practice!! Anime Web Turnpike: A complete anime/manga search engine. You can find just about ANYTHING here, as well as information on conventions, international business, and trade. I practically LIVE here. MAML: This is another complete anime/manga search engine. If you can't find it on the Anime Web Turnpike, you'll find it here. |
 |
| Thank you for your interest in the Japanese culture. I hope you will use everything here to instill and further a love of Japan. More links will be added in time, but I handpick all of them, to ensure you have access to only the best. If you have of know of some more sites that you think should belong here, email me the url at [email protected] and I'll review them. You may now LEAVE THE GARDEN and return to the school. |