[D] Anime & Manga that spotlight Japanese Culture (Trailers + Synopsis)

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[D] Anime & Manga that spotlight Japanese Culture (Trailers + Synopsis)

Post by Ojisama » 20 Jan 2022, 14:35

Inspired by an article on CBR.com, I thought it would be nice to have a thread about anime series that throw a light on traditional Japanese Culture.

To kick off.

Chiayafuru

Chiayafuru features characters who want to become top Karuta players.

The anime describes a form of Karuta known as e-awase karuta. There are 2 sets of 100 cards. 1 set is the "reading" set, and have traditional Japanese poems written on them. The cards are drawn in turn, and the poem is read aloud. The other set of cards only have the last few lines of the poems, and are laid out on the floor. Players have to recognise the poem and locate the corresponding card on the floor, and remove it before their opponent does. The game improves memory and spatial awareness, and is often used as a learning aide in Japanese elementary schools.

The anime doesn't just focus on Karuta, but also explores themes like competitiveness, relationships and High School life.

As a child, Chihaya Ayase had only one dream: to see her elder sister Chitose become Japan's most successful model. However, upon defending her ostracised classmate Arata Wataya from his bully—Chihaya's childhood friend Taichi Mashima—she discovers the world of competitive karuta and soon becomes enamoured with the sport.

Based on the Ogura Hundred Poets anthology, this card game where poems are studied requires excellent memory, agility, and a tremendous endurance from the players. Full of hope, Chihaya joins the Shiranami Society together with the newly reconciled Arata and Taichi, embarking on an exciting journey for the title awarded to the top-ranked female player—Queen of Karuta.

Since middle school, Chihaya grew distant from a dispassionate Taichi and separated from Arata. However, in order to improve her skills, Chihaya decides to create a karuta club in her high school. With the help of Taichi, another veteran player, and a few spirited newcomers, Chihaya's new-founded Mizusawa Karuta Club aims for victory in the Omi Shrine's national championship.




There is also a live action drama version.

To those just starting on the journey of life I say...
Bang your own drum. Walk your own path. Live wildly. Love fiercely. 
As you near the end, look back with no regrets.

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Anime that spotlight Japanese Culture

Post by Ojisama » 21 Jan 2022, 00:55

To be honest, I'm still catching up with this anime. It runs to 3 series, the last of which aired in 2020. The live-action is in the form of 3 movies aired between 2016 and 2018. The manga is still publishing and currently runs to 47 volumes.

Until I started watching, I had no idea that the game even existed. That there were/are National Tournaments is just mindboggling. I suppose they don't need to memorise the whole poem, just link the first and last lines, but even so.

The reviews that I have read for the movies rate them quite well for accuracy to the anime, so I think it will be down to individual preferences, and which format is easier for you to obtain.
To those just starting on the journey of life I say...
Bang your own drum. Walk your own path. Live wildly. Love fiercely. 
As you near the end, look back with no regrets.

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Anime that spotlight Japanese Culture

Post by Ojisama » 22 Jan 2022, 22:01

2nd series.

Maiko-san Chi no Makanai-san. (Kiyo in Kyoto: From the Maiko House)

The series focusses on the young girls who come to train as Maiko, the precursors of Geisha. Maiko are generally aged around 17, and live year round in Kagai, the Maiko district of Kyoto. In the mornings they have lessons in singing, dancing and playing musical instruments. In the afternoons and evenings they go out to "work" supporting their senior Maiko and Geisha. The protagonist, Kiyo, works in the kitchen of a Maiko house having failed to pass the assessments to continue as a Maiko. Her best friend Sumire is a star on the rise. The series looks into the daily lives of the two and creates a window into this previously closed world.

Since Kiyo is a cook, there is also a substantial focus on food.

Kiyo and Sumire came to Kyoto from Aomori Prefecture, dreaming of becoming maiko. But after an unexpected turn of events, Kiyo starts working as the live-in cook at the Maiko House. Their story unfolds in the Kagai, the Geiko and maiko district in Kyoto, alongside their housemate maikos. Kiyo nourishes them daily with her home-cooked meals, and Sumire strives toward her promising future as the once-in-a-century maiko.

Step into the glamorous Kagai, warm your heart with behind-the-scenes anecdotes and Kiyo's kitchen episodes. Stay tuned for this touching tale of 2 childhood friends lifting each other up as they grow together.


This has just finished airing in Japan, having run intermittently throughout the last year on NHK. Each 25 minute episode actually contains 2 shorter 10 minute episodes, and filler material about food and Japanese culture.



Misuwano is an OVA that approaches the same topic

To those just starting on the journey of life I say...
Bang your own drum. Walk your own path. Live wildly. Love fiercely. 
As you near the end, look back with no regrets.

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[A] Anime that spotlight Japanese Culture

Post by Ojisama » 27 Jan 2022, 14:34

Number 3

Mashiro no Oto (Those Snow White Notes)

This anime brings our attention to the Shamisen. A traditional stringed instrument similar to a Banjo. Having only 3 strings, it is played with a bamboo pick shaped like a car windscreen scraper.

Setsu has moved to Tokyo following the death of his Grandfather, who taught him to play the Shamisen. He has given up playing after being criticised for being unoriginal. His mother forces him to enrol in an Academy, where he gradually gets drawn into the affairs of the newly formed Shamisen Appreciation Society. Will this time enable him to come up with a unique style that would have earned the approval of his Grandfather?

This aired in spring 2021, and I'm sorry I missed it. It looks interesting and is going on my watch list. I will update this post when I have watched a few episodes.

[Updated] I am about halfway through, and I think it is fabulous! Lot's of music played on this traditional instrument, and focuses on the fact that the music is still evolving and can still be of interest to a modern audience.



The Shamisen has found it's way into modern music, with groups such as Wagakki Band, who seek to fuse modern and traditional instruments into a unique rock sound. (Be patient, the Shamisen comes in at about the 2 minute mark, followed a little later by other traditional instruments)

To those just starting on the journey of life I say...
Bang your own drum. Walk your own path. Live wildly. Love fiercely. 
As you near the end, look back with no regrets.

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[A] Anime & Manga that spotlight Japanese Culture (Trailers + Synopsis)

Post by Ojisama » 13 Jul 2022, 11:23

Number 4

Tsurune

Being a Martial Artist, I am naturally drawn to anime and manga that depict the grace, beauty and power of these traditional "sports," and Tsurune certainly fits the bill.

It is based around the sport of Kyudo, the modern version of Japanese Archery. Kyujutsu (The Skill of the Bow) originated within the Samurai class of feudal Japan, and along with other traditional martial arts was refined and ritualised into a more peaceful sport during the 18th and 19th Centuries (Edo period) which became the modern Kyudo (Art of Bow). The anime focuses more on the competitive aspects of Kyudo, but does touch on the "spiritual" aspects as well

"Tsurune"—It's the sound made by the bowstring when an arrow is released, and the sound that inspired Minato Narumiya to learn Kyuudo, a modern Japanese martial art focusing on archery. However, an incident during his last middle school tournament caused him to quit the sport.

But soon, many factors conspire to make Minato take up the bow once again: the start of a new Kyuudo club in his high school, a chance encounter with a mysterious archer, and the support of his childhood friends, Seiya Takehaya and Ryouhei Yamanouchi. Together with his childhood friends and his new teammates, Kaito Onogi and Nanao Kisaragi, Minato rekindles his love for Kyuudo and works with his team toward their aim of winning the prefectural tournament.








To those just starting on the journey of life I say...
Bang your own drum. Walk your own path. Live wildly. Love fiercely. 
As you near the end, look back with no regrets.

User avatar
Ojisama
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Posts: 15507
Joined: 08 Nov 2021, 23:12
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[A] Anime & Manga that spotlight Japanese Culture (Trailers + Synopsis)

Post by Ojisama » 13 Jul 2022, 12:09

Now for the first manga in this collection.

Kurogane (by Ikezawa, Haruto) Not to be confused with other manga that have the same name.

Kurogane Hiroto is in high school, where he is academically the top of his class but literally the worst in physical activity. Born with a weak body, he has no endurance, speed nor strength and Hiroto wants nothing more than to be a hero. Fate teases him by giving him phenomenal eye sight, which allows him to see well beyond anyone else in sports, but his body is not able to react to any of it.

He learns from his friend Shiratori, who wants to recruit him for the Kendo team, about a rumor about a ghost named Tojo Sayuri, who wields a katana and haunts an alley in the city. Half curious, Hiroto goes there only to find that the ghost is real and that Tojo Sayuri has been looking for a successor to her Sakura sword style for 150 years. Sayuri chooses him as the successor after being able to dodge her attack and forces him to learn the Sakura style. Even with the help of the ancient swordsman ghost, Hiroto has to overcome his poor motor skills in order to be the hero he always wanted to be.


When you put the supernatural storyline aside, you have a pretty good story about Kendo, the sport as a whole, and the people that practice it. The equipment. Training. How a club forms a team. Why the order of competition is important. 
To those just starting on the journey of life I say...
Bang your own drum. Walk your own path. Live wildly. Love fiercely. 
As you near the end, look back with no regrets.

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