Blog #4: The comeback of a tradition - kaya (Koichi Saito)

A traditional thing which has made a comeback I choose is a kaya (蚊帳). This is an item that prevent us from mosquitoes. As kaya is made from a net, mosquitoes cannot go through it; therefore, we wouldn't be bitten by them. From this picture, we can know people in edo era used it as well.

In the old days, most of all houses in Japan had it. It was a kind of a symbol of summer in Japan. Without using a fun or an air conditioner, we can feel cool because the wind blow through the kaya. It has made a comeback especially in kindergartens in Japan. When children take naps, they entered it and sleep.

The reason why kaya is making a comeback is connected to the environmental problems, such as global warming. Using air conditioner needs lots of energy, and in order to produce the energy, CO2 is emitted. To stop this bad spiral, using "eco-item" is promoted by the government. I think this is the biggest reason why kindergartens started to use this production. Also, it's good for the children. In the kaya, the children can sleep well, a teacher said. It is a win-win solution for both the government and the kindergartens

I totally agree with this comeback. We don't rely on the electronic devices too much. The people in old ages were able to spend their life without them. They made efforts and invention in order to live more comfortably. We have to learn this way of thinking from them.

blog#4 The comes back of tradition -sensu- (Mayuko Kengaku)

Hi this is Mayuko.

There are a lot of traditional things in japan. All of them are unique and have interesting characteristics.

I choose Sensu 扇子　as a thing that has made a comeback in Japan.

Sensu is Japanese holding fan which was produced during Heian period (794-1192).  Sensu is made of paper on a bamboo frame, usually with a design painted on them. From ancient period, Japanese has been using Sensu not only to cool or refresh their selves but also as fashion item. However, opportunity to use a Sensu decreased by the spread of an electric fan or air-conditioners.

In recent years, I have many chances to see people who use Sensu during summer. In addition, there is Sensu area in the department store and there are many people who come to buy Sensu. People are used to consider Sensu as thing which old people use. But nowadays, there are many kinds of Sensu which design is very fashionable.

I think why Sensu is making a comeback is Sensu is very easy to carry and cool or refresh ourselves whenever we want. Moreover, after Tohoku earthquake (3.11), people start to economize power so Sensu is one of the best ways to get cooler without using air-conditioning. Also, there are many modern designs Sensu which young people like so that young people use Sensu as fashion item.

 I think it is very good thing that traditional thing is making a comeback because traditional things are very simple, but very useful. There are long history and ancient people’s idea in the behind. We must carry over them to next generation.

Blog#4 The comeback of traditional electric fan

Hello everybody, this is Eikou.

 

I chose “an electric fan”. When I was thinking of what is good for this project, and then suddenly came up with the idea, an electric fan, that reminds me of traditional summer in Japan.

 

First of all, I would like to introduce what it is. As you might have already known, basically, the electric fan is used in summer to produce winds with three or four wings spinning, so that people can feel it cool especially in summer. But how it is making a comeback nowadays?

 

When I went to Yodobashi camera, I was very surprised because I saw the electric fan without wings. Now I think that was the first symbol of the comeback of electric fan!

The main reason why it has made the comeback is, I think because of the earthquake occurred in Fukushima region. Since then many people have been saving their electricity usage, and that led people to use the electric fan again because it has less electric power consumption than the air conditioners.

 

Another possible reason for the electric fan’s comeback is that its merits are now being recognised once again. More specifically, it is said that if you are in the room with air conditioners all day long in summer, it will be very harmful (not healthy at all anyway). But instead of doing this electric fan is somewhat better because the wind produced by the electric fan is a lot more natural than that of air conditioners.

 

In my opinion, it is a good idea to use the electric fan more frequently because we can stay healthier, and save the electricity as well, which means we can kill the two birds with one stone. Therefore I totally agree with the idea of more common use of the electric fan.

 

Blog#4 The comeback of a tradition Furoshiki (Yuna Kahara)

Hi, this is Yuna.

I want to introduce traditional goods that have made a comeback in Japan. ‘make a comeback’ means things which grow in popularity again after declining for a while.

Everyone must have heard before, the goods are called Furoshiki. Furoshiki have been used since the Nara period, more than 1300 years ago. There were many hand-made Furosiki then and women used to make their own furoshiki and also make for families. People used them for wrapping folded cloth when they take a bath. There are many people wore Kimono (Japanese traditional cloth) then and they were indistinguishable whose cloth. Wrapping cloth with Furosiki made it easy to tell the difference.

After industrial revolution, people started to buy things instead of making by their own. Furoshiki was little by little replaced by new types of bags and wrapping paper.

Nowadays, many people and government are concerned with ecological problems and these problems are more serious than we think. Using environment-friendly goods has become a recent fat and that’s why Furoshiki has made a comeback in Japan.

Japanese-style has become popular especially among young people. Nowadays, young people tend to use Furoshiki to wrap gift and they can get their own Furoshiki by choosing color and a pattern of marks at shops. There are many stores specializing in hand-made Furoshiki. You can find books which show how to use Furoshiki at bookstore.

I think this is a good boom. People can not only know Japan’s tradition thoroughly but also learn the importance of taking good care of things and not waste precious resources. We can buy Furosiki online and also choose our favorite design from many types of Furosiki. I hope more and more young people pay attention to Furoshiki and use them.

Blog#4: The comeback of a tradition- Suteteko (Minori Tango)

I chose Suteteko as a thing which has made a comeback in Japan. I chose this product because about two years ago my farther bought one in summer. I had never heard the name before, and when I first saw it, I had no idea what it was. However it looked so comfortable and stylish and it seemed to exist from a long time ago in Japan.

             

First of all, let me explain what Suteteko is. Suteteko is mainly men’s underpants resembling loose Bermuda shorts. It can be the protection against the cold, protect pants from damages, breathe well, dry quickly and absorb sweat. It first spread in the Meiji era. People used it as underwear of Kimono and Hakama. Suteteko of the early days was mainly used as inner wears or pajamas, but nowadays it came back as a dressing gown in summer.

 

 Suteteko has been used mainly by men of the old and middle age. However about from 2008, Suteteko has been produced putting an emphasis on design, and several inner makers and famous apparel brands, such as UNIQLO have entered Suteteko industry, and that helped Suteteko come back into vogue not only among men but also among women and young generations. UNIQLO has started to put special advisers in the Suteteko booth to teach customers about Suteteko who do not know about it.

 

 In my opinion, this comeback is a good thing, because as Suteteko breathes well in summer while protects against the cold in winter, I think it is very ecological.  The damage of global warming has been getting serious as the year goes by, therefore we need to use the things which have the wisdom of ancient people in order to live comfortably. I think Japan has many things which resemble Suteteko such as Sensu and so on.

 

The comeback of a tradition - Japanese style wedding, Shinzenshiki (Minami)

For many people, a wedding is one of the biggest and most important events in their lives.  In recent years, Japanese style weddings have been coming back in Japan.  Solemn Japanese weddings are popular today. 

This type of wedding, Shinzenshiki, is generally held in a shrine by a Shinto priest and shrine maidens.  It was the original style of weddings in Japan, and the first wedding was held in Meiji era.  After spread of Western culture throughout Japan, Shinzenshiki had been diminishing and Western style wedding had taken the place of it.  This type of wedding is held in a church by a priest.  A lot of Japanese women might be attracted to beautiful dresses and veils.  Until several years ago, gorgeous Western style weddings were general in Japan. 

However, Japanese style weddings have revived among young couples in this century.  The cause of the popularity was that the number of talents who held Japanese style weddings has been recently increasing.  Though most people might imagine a wedding in a church until then, they came to find that a Japanese style wedding was also wonderful. 

The main reason that Shinzenshiki has been popular again is that people found that kimono suit Japanese.  It seems that there are a lot of couples who would like to show guests their suited styles.  Brides can be graceful in kimono and bridegrooms can be cool in hakama. 

I think that the comeback of a Japanese style wedding is a very good thing.  It is a precious chance for people to experience traditional style events of their countries such as a wedding.  Especially, Shinzenshiki is the wedding that only couples in Japan can hold, unlike Western style wedding.  It seems that experiencing Japanese style weddings make Japanese actually realise that they are Japanese and love their country more than ever before.