Fun of Good Old Japanese - 江戸・明治に学ぶ　楽しむ生き方

    “ Waju” is a river island  in central Japan. Waju museum shows us their lives by photos and models. English panels would help your understanding.  It is a flood-prone area, so people's lives have been difficult ever since, however they learned how to prepare in case of flood emergencies. As shown in their photos, people are happy and have decent houses too.  Flood control technology dramatically reduces disasters, therefore factories which use lots of water are built in the waju area now.  I introduce their old lives here. I took photos under the approval of Ogaki City office.   岐阜県大垣市、河川に囲まれ、堤防の内側にある輪中の生活を展示 した資料館です。  豊富な写真や模型によって、浸水を覚悟した暮らしが良くわかりました。苦労は多かったはずですが、写真に写っている人たちは良い顔をしていましたし、家も貧しいものではありませんでした。今は、技術が進歩して、浸水の恐れは激減し、豊富な水を生かして工場を誘致しています。ここでは、昔の輪中の生活を紹介します。 大垣市の許可を得て撮影しました。  Waju is an island village surrounded by a levee. People built a bank around their house, thereafter a bank surrounded a whole village. Many waju were buil...

Contents 1．Fun of working、働く楽しみ（ Part1 ） 2． Various funs in leisure hours、余暇の楽しみいろいろ（ Part2 ） 3． Fun of Gathering、集まる楽しみ（ Part2 ） 4． Fun of Traveling、旅の楽しみ（ Part3 ） 5．Fun of eros (loving)、性愛の楽しみ（ Part3 ） 6．Fun of Reading、知る楽しみ（Part4）…this article/本記事 7．Fun of Owning、持つ楽しみ（Part4）…this article/本記事 8．Sustainable life、サステイナブルな暮らし（Part4）…this article/本記事 9．Conclusion、まとめ（Part4）…this article/本記事   6 ． Fun of Reading 、知る楽しみ   People enjoyed reading even in the farming area where no book stores were. They borrowed the classic novels from their acquaintances 1). Although war chronicle tales and comic books were popular, a citizen in Akita owned a set of the first official history books “Kojiki” which were issued in 712 2). I am surprised that people read such a difficult book. A Chinese asked me, “Why did Japanese farmers learn reading and writing even in the Edo period? There was no promotion system like the Chinese imperial examination system called Kakyo ( Keju).” “A loc...

  Contents 1．Fun of working、働く楽しみ （ Part1 ） 2 ． Various funs in leisure hours 、余暇の楽しみいろいろ（ Part2 ） 3 ． Fun of Gathering 、集まる楽しみ（ Part2 ） 4 ． Fun of Traveling 、旅の楽しみ（ Part3 ） … this article/ 本記事 5 ． Fun of eros (loving) 、性愛の楽しみ（ Part3 ）… this article/ 本記事 6 ． Fun of Reading 、知る楽しみ（ Part4 ） 7 ． Fun of Owning 、持つ楽しみ（ Part4 ） 8 ． Sustainable life 、サステイナブルな暮らし（ Part4 ） 9 ． Conclusion 、まとめ（ Part4 ）   4 ． Fun of Traveling   People enjoyed not only gathering but also traveling which was the most joyful thing in their lives . Btw, Japanese people began traveling in the 6 th century; they had to bring rice, fabrics and so on to the capital (Nara, Kyoto) as a tax. Men went to Kyushu (near Korean peninsula) for serving in the army. In medieval era, ordinary people began pilgrim 1).  In the peaceful  Edo period (1603 ～ 1868), people traveled a lot. They made a group to travel because for safety reasons. They traveled with villagers, however, after leaving th...