Summary: This was the age of the Tokugawa family, the era of Edo, a period of over two-and-a-half centuries during which Japan was hermetically sealed off from the rest of the world and only a few Dutch and Chinese-constantly watched and treated like pariahs-were allowed to live on Japanese soil and to trade with the Japanese. This program treats the history of Japan during this period: the established...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
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Summary: This program savors the peaceful splendor of autumn in Kyoto. First, visits to Kozan-ji Temple, an example of early Kamakura architecture and repository of a painting by Toba Sojo; Sanzen-in Temple, immortalized by 18th-century poet Ueda Akinari; and many other temples offer views of the region's beautiful red-colored maples. Then, the video covers the autumn festival in Arashiyama, the Jidai...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: The history of Japan past and present is the story of the kami, the supernatural, not quite godlike spirits who underlie the Japanese-ness of Japan-who created the Japanese islands at the beginning of time and remain today the ones responsible for health and luck, for success in childbirth and business, for the proper functioning of silicon chips and the uniqueness and unity of the Japanese....
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
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Summary: In 1540, Portuguese navigators and Jesuit priests landed in a Japan of shoguns and samurai, where the arts of warfare had been refined to hitherto unknown heights of cruelty. Although Westernisms quickly became the rage in Japan, the Japanese soon recognized the long arm of colonialism. Christian priests and converts were persecuted and martyred and, in 1650, Japan shut tight its doors to the...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
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Summary: This program examines the Japanese matsuri or "summer festival," perhaps the best elucidation of that country's ancient polytheism. Ceremony footage from Tokyo and surrounding areas illustrates various festival activities and explores the Japanese cultural emphasis on community, cooperation, and folk worship. Commentary by Japanese cultural scholar Yoshi Morikatsu, interviews with festival...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: Japan in the modern age: a people existing between the protection of the kami and the geological dangers of earthquake. This program covers the cataclysmic events of the 20th century-the devastating earthquake of 1923, the rise of militarism, the accession of Emperor Hirohito, the Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere, the Pacific War, Hiroshima, and the American occupation of Japan-but its...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
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Summary: Even today, the geisha epitomize the beauty of Japan's past. But theirs is a dying profession as the glare of Tokyo neon competes with the more mellow glow of Kyoto. Drawing on interviews with the world-renowned Mineko Iwasaki and other geisha and those who idolize them, this program places the geisha squarely in the context of contemporary Japan. In addition to background on the geisha...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
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Summary: Their world is ruled by a strict code of privacy and silence, and in Japan their title is a byword for exotic allure. Called "entertainers" by some and "prostitutes" by others, the geisha are a secretive sorority in high demand by members of Japan's wealthy elite. Filmed in collaboration with Arthur Golden, author of the best-selling Memoirs of a Geisha, this program captures the geisha...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
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Summary: This documentary explores sobering developments linked to Japan's emphasis on intense academic pressure and conformity: 2,000 teen suicides per year, a 60 percent increase in crime since 1994, and the phenomenon of hikikomori children-those who have collapsed emotionally and withdrawn from society. Gritty footage shot in chaotic classrooms and dysfunctional homes, combined with commentary from...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: Winner of the 1968 Nobel Prize for Literature, Kawabata Yasunari wrote novels that expressed the transitory nature of love and beauty. This program traces Kawabata's life and career, focusing on his importance in Japan's Neosensualist movement and the development of his finely tuned, elegiac sensibility. Personal and historical events that shaped the author's creative journey-including the loss...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: Elegant, flowing, and steeped in mythology, the kimono has survived for fifteen hundred years as a symbol of Japanese tradition and a mirror of Japan's evolving culture. From medieval courtesans adorned in sensual finery to samurai warriors whose clothing signified their military allegiance, anyone donning a kimono accepted and perpetuated its meanings. Today, knowledge of its traditions and...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2008
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Summary: Filmed in Japan, this program pushes beyond the stereotypes to objectively examine the history of manga, how manga are drawn, and manga's influence on Japanese life as illustrated by cosplay bars, where people dress up as their favorite characters; manga kissa, 24/7 manga cafes; and Comicket, the twice-annual comics market that draws hundreds of thousands of visitors. The program also...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2008
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Summary: The arrival of Commodore Perry in 1854 marked the stage for Japan's dramatic leap from the Middle Ages into modernity. The ports of Japan were forced open; the English, French, Russians, and Dutch promptly demanded-and got-the same privileges. In 1868, the last shogun gave way to a 15-year-old emperor, who dressed in Western-style clothes. Edo became Tokyo, education became a national passion,...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
View online at AVOD
Summary: The biwa, a pear-shaped, wooden lute, is played using a triangular plectrum. With no structured tuning, the instrument is adjusted to complement the player's voice, allowing for a highly personalized music. This program showcases the sounds of one of Japan's oldest stringed instruments through performances by Yoshiko Sakata, a noted biwa player and composer who plays both traditional songs and...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: More than 80 years of unstinting devotion to his craft have made 98-year-old Yatsujiro Yamaguchi one of the best textile artists in Japan-and perhaps the world. Filmed at the Nishijin Textile Center and other locations, this program showcases the obi, the key component of traditional female garb and the epitome of Japanese elegance and refinement, as woven by Mr. Yatsujiro. Noh costumes are...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: Men playing the stage roles of women is as old as the history of theater; in the tradition of Kabuki, the portrayal of female characters has become a tradition of its own. This program looks at the history of Kabuki and the role of women, and looks particularly at the dynastic development of the onnagata-the female impersonator-and the intricate techniques and details by which a thoroughly...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
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Summary: The shakuhachi, a kind of wooden flute, was introduced to Japan sometime between the 8th and 12th centuries and was used in court music as well as in Buddhist monasteries as a vehicle for enlightenment. This program features performances and discussion by Shozan Tanabe, one of Japan's most recognized players of the shakuhachi. Along with recordings of his music, Tanabe talks about the history...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
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Summary: Traditionally, a Japanese household contained an extended family, several generations under one roof. Now, cultural sensibilities and sweeping demographic changes have meant that young and old choose to live apart. This program examines how these factors have affected care of the elderly in a country with the longest-lived population in the world. Seniors discuss the challenge of living alone...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
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Summary: Tokyo's Yasukuni shrine honors and venerates the spirits of Japanese soldiers and officers-including convicted and executed war criminals. This program explores the history of the Shinto shrine, the complexity of its functions, and the controversies generated when political leaders appear there. Interviews with visitors, an inside look at the shrine's adjacent museum of war memorabilia, and a...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
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Summary: This program captures the essence of spring in Kyoto. First, the program presents the region's gorgeous displays of cherry blossoms and other flowers at Heian Jingu Shrine, built to commemorate Kyoto's 1,100 years as capital of Japan; in Maruyama Park; by Togetsu Bridge; and at a number of famous temples. Next, traditional seasonal events are profiled, including the Miyako-odori and...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
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Summary: This program explores the glories of summer in Kyoto. The video starts with a tour of the Kurama-dera Temple, spotlighting its history as a shrine to the Sonten trinity, its fire festival and bamboo-cutting ceremony, and the locale's natural beauty. It continues with visits to the gardens of the Tendai Buddhist Manshu-in Temple and Zen Buddhist Ryoanji Temple, as well as to the Gion festival,...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: There is an old Japanese adage that "the best food is that which is least prepared." This program looks at Kyoto-style sushi both as a delicacy and as a symbol of Japanese cultural aesthetics. Footage of Kitamura Norio and Kitakura Hiroyuki-two of Japan's foremost sushi chefs-illustrates their specialized approaches to oshi sushi and nigiri sushi while capturing the care they put into every...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
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Summary: Elegant and lyrical, The Tale of Genji-written by Murasaki Shikibu, considered by many to be the world's first novelist-predates the seminal Don Quixote by an incredible 600 years. This extraordinarily beautiful program traces the plot, which centers on the romantic relationships of the noble hero Genji, through the panels of a series of illustrated hand scrolls dating from the early 12th...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
View online at AVOD
Summary: Tokyo is one of the most technologically advanced cities on the planet, but Japan's low birth rate and the diversifying interests of its young people are causing Tokyo to rely increasingly on skilled immigrant labor. This program examines the implications of that change, gathering insightful commentary from a wide range of Japanese society about multiculturalism, racism, and interracial...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006