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About Japanese Traditions...
How many Japanese traditions do you know?
Sometimes one can see them in hand-painted motif, decorating Japanese antiques.

1		sado/tea ceremony The custom of drinking tea was brought to Japan from China. ' Sen-no Rikyu' made it an art in the sixteenth century. The simple and tranquil atmosphere of the tea ceremony provides spiritual training.
2		kado/flower arrangement ' Ikebana' is the art of displaying flowers following certain rules. It began with the Buddhist monks who used flowers to decorate altars. The skill was made into an art by ' Ikenobo' in the fifteenth century.
3		kabuki 'Kabuki' probably came from 'noh'. It reached its present form in the Edo period. 'Kabuki' is a combination of song , dance and stylized acting. The stage is elaborate and the costumes are very colorful.
4		noh 'Noh' is a dance and drama that started in the fourteenth century. It is based on folk myths and religion. The movements in a noh drama are stylized and controlled. The main actor usually wears a mask called a 'nohmen'. 'Kyogen' is a traditional short comedy drama performed during the breaks between 'noh' plays.
5		ukiyoe 'Ukiyoe' are woodblock prints from the eighteenth century. They were very popular with the general population. Artists used rich colors to paint beautiful women ,' kabuki 'actors and landscapes.' Ukiyoe 'had an influence on Vincent van Gogh and other famous western painters.
6		bonsai/miniature potted plant This is a traditional form of gardening. Young trees are planted in small pots and are bound with wire to make them grow into a certain shape. The trees look like mature trees in shape,though they are very small in size.It takes many years to grow a good bonsai tree.

About Japanese Sensibilities...

Wabi austere refinement	A frame of mind in which spiritual richness can be found in the simple and tranquil. This mentality forms an important basis of the traditional tea ceremony.
Sabi quiet simplicity	A poetic ideal fostered by Basho in haiku in which profound meaning can be found in the detached and the dispassionate. Evocations of sabi in painting are seen in scenes of desolation.

Thank you!