Chinese composition introducing Japan

Japan is located in the Pacific Ocean east of the Asian continent. Japan's land area is 377,873 square kilometers. The entire land is composed of four main islands: Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu. There are about 4,000 small islands around these four islands. Japan's land area is roughly equivalent to Germany and Switzerland. The combined area of ??these two countries is slightly smaller than the U.S. state of California. The northern part of Japan has a temperate monsoon climate, and the southern part has a subtropical monsoon climate. Compared with areas at the same latitude on the Asian continent, winters are mild and summers are cooler. Japan's geography is characterized by a complex coastline, numerous volcanoes and deep canyons. All these make Japan one of the countries in the world that people must see.

Japan means "the land of the rising sun", also known as the land of cherry blossoms. Volcanoes and earthquakes rule the country. The national flower is the cherry blossom and the national bird is the green pheasant. The population is about 120 million. Japanese is a universal language. The capital, Tokyo, has a population of 12 million. The emperor is the symbol of the country. The current emperor "Akihito" succeeded to the throne in January 1989 and is the 125th emperor of Japan.

Japanese shrine belief originated in the Jiangnan region of China. It is a custom associated with the culture of the southern subtropical broad-leaved forests. Because it is suitable for the Japanese archipelago, it has developed independently and evolved into the modern customs we see today. Shinto, which is closely related to Japanese life, possesses the solemnity and elegance unique to Japan. It would be a mistake to seek the origin of Shinto and shrines from the Korean Peninsula, which is located in the cold temperate zone and has a sparse culture in the south. There is also a theory that Shinto was born from the Chinese Taoist sect. It is better to say that Shinto and Taoism are ancient primitive beliefs from southern Asia. The things that Japan's shrines and shrine beliefs should be written off in a big way did not happen in Japan, but were differentiated in a unique and unprecedented form in neighboring countries such as Korea and China.

According to statistics, there are more than 80,000 shrines in Japan, some of which can be divided into several main categories. They are:

1. Imperial Shrine

These shrines were directly funded and managed by the government during the Shinto state period. Imperial shrines can be recognized by the imperial chrysanthemum crowns, and they are often called "jingu" rather than "shrines". For example, Meiji Jingu Shrine is a shrine dedicated to Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken. The number of visitors at the beginning of each new year is the largest among all shrines in Japan.

2. Inari Shrine

Inari Shrine is dedicated to the god Inari. They can be recognized from the fox statues, as foxes are considered messengers of the god Inari. There are 10,000 Inari shrines in Japan, among which Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto is the most famous.

3. Hachiman Shrine

Hachiman Shrine is dedicated to the war god Hachiman, who was particularly popular among the major military clans in the past. Among the tens of thousands of Hachiman shrines in Japan, the most famous is probably Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine in Kamakura.

4. Tenjin Shrine

Tenjin Shrine is dedicated to Sugawara Michizane, a scholar and politician of the Heian period. They are particularly popular among students preparing for entrance exams. The symbols of Tenjin Shrine are a statue of an ox and Sugawara Michizane's favorite plum tree. The first and most famous Tenjin shrine is Dazaifu Tenmangu near Fukuoka.

5. Sengen Shrine

Sengen Shrine is dedicated to the Fuji Shinto sacred tree Hanana no Kaiyahime. There are more than a thousand Sengen Shrines throughout Japan, and the main Sengen Shrine stands at the foot and top of Mount Fuji.

6. Shrines dedicated to the founders of wealthy clans

Some wealthy families in Japanese history established shrines to commemorate the founders of their clans. The most famous examples are several Tosho shrines dedicated to Tokugawa Ieyasu, including the famous Nikko Toshogu Shrine. Other examples include the Koyama Shrine in Kanazawa, dedicated to Maeda Toshiie, the founder of the Maeda clan.

7. Local shrines

Many shrines worship local gods and have no connection with other shrines.

As the saying goes, there are specializations in the arts. Since there are so many shrines in Japan, which shrine can you pray for most easily and your wishes will come true?

What is the tea ceremony? The tea ceremony is a highly formalized method of preparing tea for guests. You can appreciate life through the form of drinking tea, that's all. Japanese tea ceremony originated from China, but it has taken a different path from the master. From tea ceremony to ceramics, it seems that without exception, it can find a new path. This may be the scary thing about this Japanese apprentice.

The origin of the Japanese tea ceremony can be traced back to the 16th century, but the introduction of tea was completed by envoys sent to the Tang Dynasty. There were no native tea trees in ancient Japan, and there was no habit of drinking tea. Ever since the envoys to the Tang Dynasty in the Nara Period brought tea back to Japan, tea as a beverage has taken root in Japan.

The tea party in the Tang Dynasty was roughly like this: a set of tea sets, including a copper basin for burning charcoal, a kettle, a water tank, a waste water bowl, a basin stand holding a bamboo spoon, and a pair of Clamps for holding charcoal and a round holder for the lid. Tea is made by frying, fermenting and extruding the leaves of the tea tree. Put the crushed tea into a teapot, add water and bring it to a boil, then serve it in a ceramic tea cup. This is the simplest way to have tea.

In the early Heian period, the eminent Japanese monk Saicho (AD 767-AD 822, the founder of the Tendai sect in Japan) who was sent to the Tang Dynasty brought Chinese tea trees back to Japan and began to plant them in the Sakamoto area of ??Kinki. It is said that this was the beginning of tea cultivation in Japan. During the Kamakura period, Zen monk Eisai learned tea processing methods in China and brought high-quality tea seeds back to Japan for dissemination. In 1211 AD, he wrote Japan's first tea-drinking monograph, "Eating Tea for Health".

China’s tea culture comes from the daily customs of the common people, while Japan’s tea drinking culture follows a top-down path, just like the capitalist reform during the Meiji period. When tea was first introduced to Japan, it was completely a luxury product that could only be enjoyed by the royal family, nobles and a few high-ranking monks. The tea ceremony was regarded as an elegant and advanced culture and was limited to the royal family. Both the content and form tried their best to imitate the Tang Dynasty. . Since the Kamakura period, people have been ideologically influenced by "Eating Tea to Maintain Health", and it has become more and more common to regard tea as a panacea. The rapid development of tea cultivation also created favorable conditions for tea to enter ordinary people's homes. During this period, tea drinking activities, centered on temples, began to gradually spread to the people.

Different from the Chinese method of fermenting tea leaves, Japanese tea naturally dries steamed tea leaves and grinds them into powder, which is called "Matcha" (final tea). By the Muromachi period, tea farmers in Kinai held tea tasting parties to rate tea. This tea gathering developed into an entertainment event for many people to taste tea, and the original tea ceremony etiquette was developed. During this period, "tea fighting", in which the samurai class was the protagonist, became the mainstream of tea culture, with entertainment as its main feature. By the 13th century, the emerging samurai class, with their abundant financial resources, often held tea fighting parties where they tasted tea leaves from various places and gambled. They were extravagant to show off their wealth and expand their friendships. Later, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, the third generation shogun of the Muromachi shogunate, refined Doucha and prepared the conditions for the transition to religious "schoin tea". The eighth shogun, Ashikaga Yoshimasa, built the "Dojinsai" in Higashiyama, Kyoto, where he lived in seclusion. The floor was covered with tatami mats, four and a half of which were used per day. This architectural design with the whole room covered with tatami mats was used for reference by later generations, forming various "teahouses". Previously, the tea fighting party was held in a larger space, which seemed noisy and did not pay attention to etiquette. However, Tongrenzhai reduced and closed the open and unfixed space, which created a stable indoor space for the formation of the tea ceremony. This kind of room is called an academy-style building, and the tea party held in it is called "academy tea". "Academy Tea" requires absolute silence in the tea room, and concise questions and answers between host and guest, thereby eliminating the chaotic trend of tea fighting. Shuyuan Tea completed the task of combining the foreign Tang culture with Japanese culture, and basically established the current Japanese tea ceremony tea ordering procedures. In short, by the end of the Muromachi period, it was only a matter of time before the tea ceremony was born.

The above three articles can be combined