Japanese Culture: Art, history and society

Japanese Culture: Art, history and society The Japanese culture is one that is rich within an historical and traditional context. Many of the traditional practices established hundreds of years ago can be seen today in modern Japan and are a direct reflection of significant historical accounts. The role of woodblock art in Japanese culture is one such reflection to which many historical references and traditions were recorded and captured in pictorial form. The art of woodblock printing first appeared as early as the 1600s within the cities of Kyoto and Osaka. These early forms of woodblock printing (spoken as Ukiyo-e in the Japanese native tongue) were a very simplistic process utilizing black ink and colored chalk. Typically during this initial time period, the art form was considered a lower class of art and therefore was not sought after by the higher class. Over time the woodblock printing process became more complex with the introduction of various colors by the artist. For this reason the art form became a group effort of artist, wood block carver, printer, and publisher. The popularity of the townsmen woodblock printing began to take root over the centuries as it migrated from the smaller villages to the city of Edo at its pinnacle during the nineteenth century. Revered as the classical era of Ukiyo-e, the Edo period spanned from early seventeenth century until its recorded end in 1868. The Japanese experienced a great deal of peace during this span of time under the rule of the Tokugawa Clan. This era of peace however, came with a great deal of political oppression and complete seclusion from the world outside its shores. The city of Edo began to flourish culturally as the lower class indulged in knowing pleasures and theater performances. The concentration of cultural activity within Edo had given way to new subjects and perspective within woodblock printing artwork. The long practiced subject of woodblock printing had shifted from landscape etchings to more contemporary settings of the city life. What had originally been a century old technique for copying text, the woodblock prints became a highly sought after commodity to visitors of Edo. The printing technique had evolved into a sophisticated practice, depicting landscapes, inner city dwellings, actors, actresses and performers during the seventeenth century. There are a myriad of woodblock prints linking to historical and contemporary events during the Edo period. One such print is the, Furyu The Great Battle of the Frogs, commissioned in 1864 by Kyosai. This print depicts two large forces of frogs engaged in battle across a narrow body of water. The severed heads of the slain enemy can be seen impaled on stakes as the opposing forces wage a vicious battle. This print is believed by some to represent a playful rendition of the Tokugawa clan fighting the Choshu forces. The exact interpretation of the artwork remains unknown, however, prints that may have shown a negative view towards the Tokugawa clan were oppressed and the artist imprisoned. The Tokugawa clan was dissolved in 1868 and the emperor was restored as the ruling authority in what began to be known as the Meiji Era. Political oppression continued into the new era as government officials regulated any publications that did promote national peace and the sanctity of the country. There is evidence to suggest that a strong conviction to suppress mockery and disapproval from the common wealth continued as late as the nineteenth century. The printmaker Kyosai and other citizens of Edo may not have perceived this turn of the tide in leadership of the country as a blessing. The economy of Edo had suffered greatly during this transition of power between the Tokugawa rule and the new Meiji era. A new slogan, Fukoku kyohei, was formulated under the emperor. The objective was to develop far reaching policies to transform society in an effort to catch up with the west. The dramatic changes that took place are well represented in the woodblock prints that were produced during this time frame. Once more, the Meiji Period had opened the shores of its country to commerce and trade among the rest of the world. Over the next three decades the popularity of woodblock prints as a commercial item had lost its appeal among the Japanese citizens; however it did remain the prevailing technology routinely used to print pictures and texts within books. A centuries old tradition of perfected woodblock printing that had captured the very essence of Japanese culture had come under pressure from western ideals and influences. An influx of western technologies such as photography, lithographs and other metal type processes quickly gained a foothold over the traditional methodologies of woodblock printing. Publishers, despite adopting metal type technology, continued to commission woodblock prints for supplements in newspapers and other illustrations. In 1894 publishers were confronted with the task of rallying open support from citizens for the war with China, and in an instance reverted from the new metal type print processes to the traditional woodblock methodology in production runs. The publishers recognized that woodblock prints in the style of ukiyo-e were their most influential means for gaining public attention. Many artists such as Kobayashi Kiyochika and Mizuno Toshikata, contributed to the attention of the war by creating more than three thousand prints. Over one hundred thousand of the more popular prints were sold during the war. As the zeal for the China War ended, numerous artist and craftsmen found that their services were no longer needed. The war prints were no longer a sought after commodity. Although sales of the popular prints diminished in time among widely used metal type printing technology, the widespread use of woodblock printing had left a lasting impression within Japanese tradition. In the brief years following the China War woodblock prints were still commissioned in the use for the reproduction of paintings and ukiyo-e for export. During this time, however, the birth of a new creative print movement was taking root. An artist by the name of Yamamotot Kanae had the revolutionary vision to create a print which utilized traditional woodblock methods. The now famous print entitled, Fisherman had attracted the attention of a new breed of artist. The new theory of the Sosaku Hanga movement defined what an artist should be at the turn of the early twentieth century. In the traditional role of ukiyo-e printmaking the processes were completed separately and meant that the design, wood carving and printing (publishing) of the woodblock prints were completed by highly skilled individuals. The Sosaku Hanga artist held the opposing view that the artist should be involved at every step of the process to the prints completion. The Sosaku Hanga movement and other developing art theories around that time period, which utilized woodblocks as their median for new age expressions, never became as popular as the traditional commercialized prints had become in centuries past.

Cryptography :: Exploratory Essays

Cryptography Cryptography is the science of preparing communication intended to be intelligible only to the person possessing the key or method of developing the hidden meaning by cryptoanalysis using apparently incoherent text (Encarta Encyclopedia). The movie mercury rising is a good example of cryptography. It’s about a little boy who is autistic. The little boy can do puzzles such as cryptography easily. One day while on the computer the boy cracks a highly secretive government code. The governmental agency wants the young boy found and killed for cracking the code it took years to write. Cryptography started a long, long time ago with Julius Caesar. When he wanted only his people to know something he used cryptography. He did this by replacing A’s with D’s, B’s with E’s, and so on down the alphabet. This was known as "shift by 3", for obvious reasons. The Jewish writers also used a code of their own called Atbash. They did it by reversing the alphabet, they used the last letter of the alphabet in place of the first, the next to last for the second, and so on. Atbash is exemplified in the Bible, Jeremiah 25:25, where "Sheshech" is written for Babel (Babylon). As you can see, cryptography has been used for many years and is continuing to become more high tech. The term cryptography is sometimes restricted to the use of ciphers, that is, to methods of transposing the letters of plain text (unencrypted) messages, or to methods involving the substitution of other letters or symbols for the original letters of a message. And to various combinations of such methods, all according to prearranged systems. Ciphers of various types have been and can be devised. All of them fall into to one of two categories, transposition and substitution. In transportation ciphers, the message is usually written, without word divisions. They are rows of letters arranged in a rectangular block. The letters are then transposed in a prearranged order such as by vertical columns, diagonals, or spirals. There are two types of ciphers, simple and complex. In a simple substitution cipher is particular letter or symbol is substituted for each. In a multiple substitution (polyalphabetic) ciphers, a keyword of number is employed. And in more complicated polyalphabetic systems, the letters of the keyword may tell which of a series of mixed substitution alphabets is to be used to encipher each letter of the message. Cryptography :: Exploratory Essays Cryptography Cryptography is the science of preparing communication intended to be intelligible only to the person possessing the key or method of developing the hidden meaning by cryptoanalysis using apparently incoherent text (Encarta Encyclopedia). The movie mercury rising is a good example of cryptography. It’s about a little boy who is autistic. The little boy can do puzzles such as cryptography easily. One day while on the computer the boy cracks a highly secretive government code. The governmental agency wants the young boy found and killed for cracking the code it took years to write. Cryptography started a long, long time ago with Julius Caesar. When he wanted only his people to know something he used cryptography. He did this by replacing A’s with D’s, B’s with E’s, and so on down the alphabet. This was known as "shift by 3", for obvious reasons. The Jewish writers also used a code of their own called Atbash. They did it by reversing the alphabet, they used the last letter of the alphabet in place of the first, the next to last for the second, and so on. Atbash is exemplified in the Bible, Jeremiah 25:25, where "Sheshech" is written for Babel (Babylon). As you can see, cryptography has been used for many years and is continuing to become more high tech. The term cryptography is sometimes restricted to the use of ciphers, that is, to methods of transposing the letters of plain text (unencrypted) messages, or to methods involving the substitution of other letters or symbols for the original letters of a message. And to various combinations of such methods, all according to prearranged systems. Ciphers of various types have been and can be devised. All of them fall into to one of two categories, transposition and substitution. In transportation ciphers, the message is usually written, without word divisions. They are rows of letters arranged in a rectangular block. The letters are then transposed in a prearranged order such as by vertical columns, diagonals, or spirals. There are two types of ciphers, simple and complex. In a simple substitution cipher is particular letter or symbol is substituted for each. In a multiple substitution (polyalphabetic) ciphers, a keyword of number is employed. And in more complicated polyalphabetic systems, the letters of the keyword may tell which of a series of mixed substitution alphabets is to be used to encipher each letter of the message.

Clinical Nursing Essay

Introduction Nurses utilize multiple theories daily to care for patients and their families, though these theories range from grand, to situation-specific, to mid-range the nurse tends to focuses on which theory will provide the best care to his/her patient. Perhaps in my opinion mid-range theories with their growing frequency of use are best suited for nursing in the 21st century. Mid-range theories are said to be middle rather than ordinary but they are specific enough to evaluate observed situations (McCurry, Revell, &Roy, 2009). There are multiple reasons why mid-range theories offer some of the most up to date information when it comes to the care of our patients and families, but let’s just break it down to three; interpersonal relations, family, and health promotion. The middle range theories of these three examples will provide a set of assumptions and/or predictions from specific situations confirmed by research (Nolan & Grant, 1991). Interpersonal relations First, Hildegard Peplau’s Theory of Interpersonal Relations has influenced patient care in the 21st century worldwide. What is so crucial and probably most significant with this mid-range theory is its focus on human issues and its value of future generations (Barker, 1998). Nurses utilize this theory to treat each patient as an individual realizing that each person and their situation are unique. By applying this knowledge to each patient the nurse is able to develop a therapeutic relationship, which will promote the planning and implementation of nursing care. For nursing care to be successful they must view the nurse/patient relationship as a partnership being aware both are working together for a common goal (Barker, 1998). Also, interpersonal relations are used in all areas of nursing, which is why it is so important for the future of nursing, because without these relationships we would not be effective in our profession. These relationships are needed to expand our know ledge of each patient and their situation. By establishing trust the patients are encouraged to express themselves openly and honestly. Therefore the relationship built bridges barriers that may have hindered the patient outcome. Family Second, Hildegard Peplau’s mid-range theory of family systems has revolutionized the nursing approach in which families are incorporated into decision makers. Currently, families are viewed as the most influenecial person when it comes to the care of their loved one, meaning not only are nurses to build a therapeutic relationship and trust with the patient but with their family as well (Forchuck & Dorsay, 1995). This theory molds nurses into advocates for the family unit, which in turn influences the patient’s quality of life. These relationships with families are crucial when it comes to care, for example, if a patient was unable to provide the nurse with health history or tell them when they are in pain the family is able to be the eyes, ears and speech of their loved one. This action improves the care for the patient and nurses need the families as much as the patient needs the nurse. This is one of the reason’s why this theory works in the 21st century even w ith all the technology in the world, we as nurses still need the human interaction to open our eyes to the patient/family dynamic. Family system nursing is both the individual and the family simultaneously instead of just merely family nursing where the nurse takes care of the patient within the context of the family (Forchuck & Dorsay, 1995). This practice focuses on the interactions and relationships made between the nurse, individual and family. In order for this theory to be successful the nurse must be aware of the range of choices and downfalls associated with family system nursing. Also it is necessary to build on these relationships to provide creative personal choice and consistent flow of care for the patient to enhanced achievable goals. This engagement of nursing with family systems opens the door for problem solving of patient situations, which implements structure in the nurse/individual/family relationship (Forchuck & Dorsay, 1995). Health promotion Third, is the promotion and maintenance of health by utilizing Nola Pender’s Health Promotion Model. Health promoting behavior is enhanced through nursing practice, which enhances the patient’s overall well being. This mid-range theory is important today because it guides a supportive and educative system in health promotion in a patient who needs teaching and  demonstration in performing self-care. By applying this method the nurse is able to identify patient’s health promoting behavior’s such as, health importance, self-efficacy, perceived control of health and perceived health status to find any gaps and/or barriers to their health promoting behavior (Simmons, 1990). By promoting health the nurse seeks to care for the individual by developing these behaviors of healthy living, which sets the stage for the individuals to gain knowledge to care for themselves. This applies to all nurses who actively promote healthy living by becoming an active influence in developing healthy living behaviors through education and guidance. Conclusion These middle range theories set the groundwork for research. Each are utilized daily in clinical practice to provide the best patient care. The rationale for considering the middle range theories is an important factor when considering a care plan, which requires the use of the nursing process. These theories follow the nursing process and help guide our responses to promote, educate, integrate and build relationships with these individuals and their families with the same common goal of promoting health. These authors point out how the nursing profession is influential in the care of other and how their actions influence health beliefs. These middle range theories build on other theories, which is why they are so important in nursing practice today. These theories can be used in different areas of nursing as well as using multiple theories in one area of nursing such as mental health. Also, middle range theories have identified multiple interventions for health related issues throug h simple research (McCurry et al., 2009). Nurses like myself have adopted these theories and incorporate them into daily practice to increase my own understanding of my patient and their situations and this is why I chose middle range theories. References Barker, P. (1998). The future of the Theory of Interpersonal Relations? A personal reflection on Peplau’s legacy. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 5, 213-220. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2850.1998.00128.x Forchuk, C. & Dorsay, J. (1995). Hildegard Peplau meets family systems nursing: innovation in theory-based practice. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 21, 110-115. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2648.1995.21010110.x McCurry, M. & Roy, C. (2009). Knowledge for the good of the individual and society: linking philosophy, disciplinary goals, theory, and practice. Nursing Philosophy, 11, 42-52. doi:10.1111/j.1466769X.2009.00423.x Nolan, M. & Grant, G. (1992). Mid-range theory building and the nursing theory-practice gap: a respite care case study. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 17, 217-223. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2648.1992.tb01876.x Simmons, S. (1990). The Health-Promoting Self-Care System Model: directions for nursing research and practice. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 15, 1162-1166. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2646.1990.tb01708.x

Symbolism in John Updikes A P - 1440 Words

John Updikes short story A P recounts how an adolescent supermarket cashier named Sammy has his life changed forever when three girls in bathing suits shop in the store where he works. He is the first person narrator who shapes the tale with his descriptions, attitudes and opinions. He is the protagonist who grows up quickly in a single day and the only round, fully developed character in the tale. As you proceed through the story and become acquainted with Sammys opinions and ideas, it becomes obvious that Sammy has made the only choice that affords the possibility of real joy and fulfillment in his future. He is ready for a change. Sammys life revolves around his job at a local A P supermarket in a small Massachusetts town†¦show more content†¦But he is smitten with the girl he calls Queenie who appears to be the leader of the group. He talks of her long white prima-donna legs (97), straps that are off her shoulders looped loose around the cool tops of her arms (98) so that there was nothing between the top of her suit and the top of her head except her... I mean, it was more than just pretty (98) and with breasts like the two coolest scoops of vanilla I had ever known were there(101). Age, physical characteristics and dress arent the only differences that he notices between the girls and the regular customers. The girls also walk the store aisles against the usual traffic pattern and the regular customers find that disconcerting. Obviously, these girls do not follow the social conventions of the town. When the girls arrive at Sammys check out counter he learns Queenie is buying herring in sour cream for her mother. Lengel, the manager, taking notice of them, comes over and tells them they are not at the beach and the store wants them decently dressed when they come in here(100). While the embarrassed girls defend themselves against Lengels continued criticism, Sammy imagines Queenies house where the snacks will be eaten. He slid right down her voice into her living room. Her father and theShow MoreRelatedRebellion And Symbolism In John Updikes A P1842 Words   |  8 PagesThe short story â€Å"A P,† tells the story of a nineteen-year-old boy named Sammy who works in the local town grocery store. Sammy is the narrator of the story; one day while he was working at the cash register, three girls wearing nothing but bathing suits walk in. He instantaneously notices the girls, one in particular. He named her Queenie and she is seen as the leader or ‘queen bee’ of the three girls. As these girls walk through the grocery store they start to create a scene and get the attentionRead MoreJohn Updike s A P, As A Reflector Of Our Society1270 Words   |  6 Pagessystems of classification, John Updike utilizes his short story â€Å"AP†, as a reflector of our society. 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In this particular case he is using the character’sRead MoreJohn Updikes AP Essay767 Words   |  4 PagesIn John Updike’s short story, AP the writer takes you on a youths memory that involves the choices and consequences that life can deal to anyone who has not had time to test a rash decision. The narrator is an immature nineteen-year-old cashier who is about to make a giant leap from adolescence to manhood. Sammy narrates with opinions of not only his life, but also the people in the town. Sammy opposes with the way these people live their lives, and is determined to set a different course for hisRead MoreAnalysis Of A P 940 Words   |  4 Pages6- What is the theme of â€Å"AP†? What literary devices are employed in the story? Love, disillusion, religion†¦ every story has its own theme and its author leads the readers all the way to its understanding. The short story â€Å"AP† is not an exception of this. 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In â€Å"AP† by John Updike, the symbolism portrays the theme of the desire for change. The girls’ immodesty is a symbol of rebellion, revealing the theme of the desire for change. As Sammy acknowledges in the short story, the story takes place â€Å"north of Boston† (UpdikeRead MoreThe Rise And Fall Of Troy Maxon1278 Words   |  6 PagesThis combination of symbolism, allusion, allegory, vernacular, setting, and character development creates a timeless snapshot into the African American culture, which in some form persists today. For example, the central symbol to the play, the fence, starts as a chore based on Rose’s unsuccessful desire to keep her family in, as explained by Bono, and Troy’s determination after the death of his mistress to finish it to keep Death out. Additionally, the allegorical use of the AP as Cory’s employerRead MoreBiography of Annie Prolux 993 Words   |  4 Pagescurious wife. The climax is when Mrs. Croom finds the dead bodies. There was a satisfactory resolution because Mrs. Croom found her husbands secret. One of the quotes that helps tell Prolux story is, â€Å"When you live a long way out, you make your own fun.† John Updike was born in Reading, Pennsylvania. He was an only child and his parents shared a house with his grandparents. At the age of thirteen his parents moved his mother’s birthplace on an eighty acre farm near Plowville. He was an excellent student