As I See Japan..... from L.A.: 10 Ways to Be Happy

As I See Japan..... from L.A.: 10 Ways to Be Happy
Very simple ways to be happy. Some are easy to do.

What I did on the beginning of a new year

It's the 1st of 2009, the beginning of a new year.
I got up 8 in the morning, ate "Zouni", and went to the buddhist temple near my home. There are many temples and shrines in Japan. A lot of people go to the temples and shrines to pray for happiness for the new year. This is the first visit paid on the New Year holidays, and it is called "Hatsumode."

I saw my next door people getting ready for the New Year yesterday. An old couple next to my house were cleaning the doors and windows with rags and a broom. I could see others vaccuming their rooms. Another person close to my house was washing his car in front of his house. All this activity makes me feel a little guilty. This is a very common scene you often see at the end of the year in Japan. I clean part of the house, but I don't have enough time or energy to do everything.

Why did the bakufu decided to open the ports to American?

At the end of the 18th century, Russians, English, and American ships started coming to Japan. They asked the bakufu to open the country to them because they wanted to trade with Japan.
But the bakufu rejected their requests and stuck to a policy of isolation. In 1853, when Commodore Matthew Perry came from America to Uraga port near Edo with his squadron of four modern steam ships, the bakufu aslo rejected his request . But when they showed their military force by firing warning shots from cannons on their ships, the bakufu realzed that it couldn't avoid conflicts unless their requests were accepted. It finally adecided to change the policy of isolation which had lasted over 200 years. That was the beginning of modern Japan.

Why did the "Tokugawa Bakufu" continued for such a long period?

It is said that Tokugawa Bakufu continued about 270 years. It's quite a long time in Japanese history. Why was it possible? The Tokugawa Shogunate or "bakufu" had very clever policies on how to keep feudal lords under its control. One of them was sankinkoutai, which literally means
an alternate-year residence in Edo. Those days, daimyos or feudal lords were obligated to live in Edo and their own deudal domains for a year to show their loyality to the shogunate. Moving with great numbers of servants and subordinate worriors cost them huge amounts of money, so the bakufu was sure that they couldn't afford to prepare the weapons necessary for rebellions. Their wives and the eldest sons were also obligated to live in Edo like hostages.

What is "Genji Monogatari"?

"Genji Monogatari" is one of the most famous novels written by Murasaki Shikibu in the 11th century. It's a story of Hikaru Genji, a Japanese version of Don Juan. It's written in old Japanese and most of us modern Japanese people cannot read and understand the story without translation. You can read it in English by the translation of Arthur Waley. Yosano Akiko and Setouchi Jyakuchou's modern Japanese translation are also available.

Waht is "kofun"?

"Kofun" is a burial mound that was built for the people of the ruling class in ancient Japan.
When people in power died, they bulit graves and placed their bodies in stone rooms with their possessions. So "kofun" is a Japanese version of the Egyptian pyramids. Many "kofun" were
built during the 4th century.