Please recognize that, at present, these pages focus on the concept of culture as it has been articulated in Western scientific and philosophical traditions.  The English word "culture" is similar to words in other Romance languages, and indeed the concept has a similar history in many Western countries.  In other parts of the world, however, the elements of learned behaviors and meanings systems which we identify as representing something called "culture" might not be grouped together the same way.  Consequently, the definitions and discussions of culture which we've collected here are all from Western sources.  In contrast, the Western concept of culture can be applied to or exemplified by any human society, and therefore many of our examples and illustrations focus on non-Western peoples.

Lafcadio Hearn's Shadow in Kenji Miyazaw's Works

I just saw your reprint of the review of _ Bushido_  in "Dana" and have pointed it out to some other people, who I think should read Nitobe Inazo's excellent book.  There is an interesting association between Japan and Ireland, which is very agreeable to me since I like Japan and her people.   Interestingly, as Japan is the Land of the Rising Sun, so too has Ireland been called in Irish _fia fuinidh na greine_, Land of the Setting Sun.   In fact the flag of the mediaeval fianna, who were something like samurai and had a similar chivalric code, was called the _gal greine_, or 'sunburst.'   An image of the_gal greine_ can be seen here: <http://www.fotw.net/flags/ie-sun.html>. A different version of the _gal greine_ stands atop my computer, by the way.

It is possible to overemphasize similarities between the two cultures, but it has been remarked quite often that the Irish poetry of the 8th to 10th centuries was very much like your own _haiku_, succinct, vivid in its images, and highly introspective.  That specific species of poetry was unique in European literature, by the way- at least until the 20th century.

In any case, thanks for adding the review from "Dana" to your website and best wishes to you and yours; le gach dea-mhein chughat agus chum do churaim fein, as we say in Irish,

I am sending, more seriously, the URL for a site called the Triads of Ireland, which are brief maxims regarding ancient Gaelic law and life. Each _triad_explains some principle in three aspects. The language is Old Irish, which flourished from about 700 to 900 AD.

Three, by the way, was a magical number among the Celts and this was so even before Christianity was introduced. Other aspects of the Gaelic mind include:
1. The half-said thing.  The Gaels were not blatant in speech, but subtler, as are the Japanese, as far as I can tell.
2. The Gaels had a special liking for _twi-light_ places, for example- the seashore and _twi-light_, itself.  The seashore was where the sea and land met.  And twilight the _place_ where night and day contended.  Twilight in Irish, in fact, is _comhrac idir lo 's oidhche_, the battle between day and night_.

By the way, the are several Gaelic words for _dawn_, one of which is 'camhaoir," which derives from the phrase: _caomh an t-oir_, the East is beautiful.  Like_Nihongo_, Irish is a vivid and beautiful medium of communication.

The Triads of Ireland:
http://www.lincolnu.edu/~focal/docs/triads/triads.html
 

The Spirit of the Nation: The Seoul National Cemetery

Aterui the Great Hero of Emishi

Chaguchagu Umako Parade from Takizawa Village to Morioka City, Iwate

Juan Goto and Crypto-Christians in Fukuwara, Mizusawa Ward, Oshu City, Iwate

"Nihon-no-Matsuri" 2006 in Sapporo