Recently, 6W have been learning all about Japan and its culture! We kicked off our exciting topic with a workshop where we made traditional Japanese fans and choreographed a dance with them! Fans are very important in Japanese culture; in fact, in traditional Japanese dress you can’t be considered fully clothed unless you are carrying a folding fan (called an ogi). There are two types of Japanese fans, the folding fan and the uchiwa or “screen” fan. Historically Japanese of every gender, age and social level have carried fans, and many of them are beautifully painted to tell stories or convey messages to those who know how to decipher the symbols. Fans are often given as gifts to honor births or birthdays, and these fans are often covered in floral designs. In Japanese imagery, flowers are symbolic of life-chrysanthemums especially because their many petals stand for many long years. Animals (such as the tortoise and the crane) that live long lives are also painted on birthday fans.
Here are some photos of us with our fan designs.
We have also been exploring several fun facts about Japan, such as:
- Did you know that there are more pets in Japan than children? And that the country is made up of about 6852 islands?
- Many of the world’s most well-known companies are Japanese, such as Nintendo (the gaming company that created games like Mario, Pokémon and Animal Crossing), Sony (the electronics company that created PlayStation), Toyota (A car manufacturing company) and much more!
- The currency used in Japan is Yen (¥). One Yen is equivalent to 0.0066-pound sterling. This means that ¥10 is equivalent to £0.066! I wonder how much Yen I would need to buy a house...?
- Shinto and Buddhism are Japan's two major religions. Shinto is as old as the Japanese culture, while Buddhism was imported from the mainland in the 6th century. Buddhism was founded by Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha), who Buddhists follow the teachings of, in order to reach a stage where there is no suffering (nirvana). Interestingly, Buddhists have no holy book.
We also learned how to count in Japanese! Here are the numbers 1-10:
Ichi (1), Ni (2), San (3), Shi (4), Go (5), Roku (6), Shichi (7), Hachi (8), Kyuu (9), Juu (10)!
In conclusion, we are really enjoying this exciting topic and we cannot wait to see what we will learn about this fascinating country next! Do you have any facts to share about Japan? Have you ever visited this beautiful country?
We hope you enjoyed reading about our stunning start to Japan!
~Jasmine & Leila (6W)
