Incubation period

The history of music before the twentieth century revolved around musicians and their instrument makers. Events likely to have a significant effect on this particular period of time seemed consistent. Well-tempered tuning was perfected, and soon after J.S. Bach rewrote the musical book with his groundbreaking composition, The Well-Tempered Clavier. The creation of the pianoforte fostered Beethoven's playing and writing and opened up a new powerful responsiveness. Autonomy and self-determination…

The ancient Japanese culture can be traced back to 8000 BC during the Jomon Period in Japan, although most archaeologists agree that it could go as far back as 100,000 years (“Early Japanese History”). The ancient Japanese culture is one of the most studied and historic cultures in the world. The Jomon period is known for is their advanced pottery techniques for that time period -- hence the name Jomon, which means "patterns of plaited cord” (“Ancient Japan”). The ancient Japanese culture was…

When I signed up to take music appreciation, I knew it would be the perfect class for me. I myself take up being a musician as a hobby, I’ve played the guitar for years and have a basic understanding of music in the world. I knew that music had deep history within its roots, but I always had a curiosity to learn a slice of that history which is exactly what this class did. Besides playing an instrument and make music, I also became very fond of listening to music as a hobby. I began to have a…

“Sapokanikan” is the first single released from Joanna Newsom’s 2015 album Divers. Shorter than most of the songs on her last album Have One On Me, the song resembles a union of the styles she used on Have One On Me and her debut album The Milk-Eyed Mender. “Sapokanikan”, like much of Joanna’s music, relies heavily on obscure references to tell a greater tale. Newsom’s overall message is about death and being forgotten and her references, language, and imagery tie together to paint a picture of…

Many social and economic changes took place in the middle and late Edo period that gave rise to such developments as “Pictures of the Floating World.” The steady commercial growth, albeit an entirely domestic one as a result of Japan’s isolationist policy, and peace that were established by the Tokugawa shogunate eventually led to a highly prosperous merchant class. Regarded as the lowest rank in the social hierarchy, some of the townspeople were even more affluent than the samurai, who occupied…

The Edo period (Tokugawa Shoganate period) was a self-efficient society based on a principle of total utilization of finite resources. It was officially established on March 24th 1603 and ended with the Meji Registration on May 3rd 1868. At this time, peace and prosperity roamed throughout Japan. The Tokugawa Shoganate period was the last primitive Japanese government which lasted between 1603 and 1867. The leaders of this government were the shogun and each shogun was a part of the Tokugawa…

Kamakura Culture The culture of the Kamakura period was based on the tradition of the national culture of the Heian era and was a mixture of the values of the emerging warriors and peasants. The Kamakura period overwhelmed political and military aspects; however, in terms of culture, it lagged behind the aristocratic culture of long - established tradition. Later, the new culture of unauthorized warrior readers gradually began to overtake the traditional culture. The characteristic of this age…

Tomoe Gozen takes place in Japan during 1001 CE - 1500 CE. This time period was marked by Tomoe Gozen as a rare and exceptional person that became a female samurai. The genre of this story is a legend because it is a very well known traditional story that is passed down from generation to generation. There is no actual proof that Tomoe Gozen existed because her story was based on an oral tale.The Tale of Heike, was passed on by blind monks. Tomoe Gozen's fascinating life as a female samurai has…

Cole Conte Art 368 Japanese Art Fall 2017 Due Friday, October 13th The Tale of Genji is Murasaki Shikibu’s 11th century masterpiece, this piece is considered as the world's first novel and first defining illustrative story. The illustrative story of Genji gives us a glimpse of the Heian era of Japanese’ art style, along with the actual ongoings of the empress’s entourage during the time. The book is composed of 54 chapters, the actual Genji Monogatari Emaki, commonly called the Tale of Genji…

Japanese literature resulted from using China’s language system and implementing its own ideas. The ideas that were spread during this time were a result of a cultural diffusion, which led to Japan developing their own writing system during the Nara period near 700 A.D. Both countries’ poetry continues show much of this development and growth. As a result of using the Chinese language system, two distinct types of literature formed: one being native to Japan, the other called kanbum which…