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51 Japanese Characters

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A playful approach to Japan

What is an Otaku, a Jukensei, a Narikin or an Obatarian? Where does the name Yakuza come from, and what is special about Fugu? What exactly is Shintoism and what is Kabuki?

Japanese society is full of special expressions for certain strange, cute or funny characters and Japanese cultural phenomena. Being a Gaijin in Japan, I tried to lift the curtain and shed some light on the areas of Japanese society that are often perceived as being mysterious and closed. I wanted to know the exact qualities of an Obatarian, a Narikin, an Otaku, a Bosozoku or an Ikeike Onna.

I began to collect Japanese characters and cultural phenomena and searched for a way to portray Japanese society – the traditional and the modern part of it. Thus I combined the modern and playfull part of Japan, by turning the character-loving Japanese society itself into characters with the old and reduced style of the traditional Japan, by using one simple shape for all of the 51 characters, presenting them on a simple white background with nothing else than the characters itself. I limited the collection to 51, because in ancient times, the Japanese syllable alphabets Hiragana and Katakana used to have 51 characters – 51 Japanese Characters.

The result is an insightful collection of figurines showcasing several typical members and cultural phenomena of Japanese society — an easy and playful approach to Japan …

More than 100 000 people have visited the website yet. The Projekt was shown in various magazines like novum, PAGE, form, IdN Magazine, Computer Arts Projects, Global Innovation Report, urban etc. and was featured on drawn.ca, spiegel.de, cpluv.com, iza.ne.jp, netdiver.net, ehrensenf.de, trend.gyao.jp, delicious.com, ecrans.fr and many other websites and webzines.

IDEA & DESIGN
Peter Machat

TECHNIQUE
Vektor, Offset

神主

Kannushi. He is a Shinto priest. Shinto is an ancient Japanese religion which believes in the existence of many gods known as kami. The kami live in humans, animals, mountains, rivers, objects and so on. At any time new kami can arise while others fall into oblivion. Japan was created by the Shinto gods Izanagi and Izanami who poked a spear into the sea – the drops that dripped back formed the islands of Japan.

彼は神道の祭主だ。神道とは、日本古来の宗教で、人間、動物、山、川、または物にまで、あらゆるものに、神が宿ると信じられている。それらの神は時に新しく生まれたり、また忘れ去られ消えたりすることもある。神話では、神道の神であるイザナギとイザナミが、海に投げ込んだ槍によって、日本は生まれたという。槍からしずくが落ちて、それが日本列島を形作ったと言われている。

能楽

Noh. He is an actor of the oldest Japanese theatre, the noh theatre. He wears the mask of a young woman – one of the 60 frequently used masks. All characters, even the women’s roles, are performed by men. The only role that is performed without a mask is the character of an older man. In the Edo era performing and watching the noh theatre was a privilege of the samurai.

彼は由緒ある古典芸能、能楽の役者をしている。身につけている面は、ひんぱんに使う60の面のうちのひとつ、若い女性の面だ。能の舞台は女の役であっても、すべて男性が演じ、翁の役のみが面なしで演じられる。江戸時代では、能楽は武士の特権的な娯楽で、演者も武士であった。

歌舞伎

Kabuki. He wears the costume of the Kabuki hero. Kabuki was founded in the early 17th century and was, in contrast to the No Theatre, the popular culture of the townspeople. Even though it was founded by a woman, all Kabuki actors are men and even the women’s roles are performed by men, called “oyama”. The individual kanji characters, from left to right, mean sing, dance, and skill.

これは、歌舞伎のヒーローの衣装だ。歌舞伎とは、17世紀の初めに、能楽に対して始まった、人気ある庶民文化である。歌舞伎の創始者は女性であるけれども、歌舞伎俳優はすべて男であり、「女形」と呼ばれる男が、女の役までこなす。「歌舞伎」とは「歌」=sing、「舞」=dance、「伎」=skill、である。

お坊さん

Obosan. Buddhism is based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, who lived about 563 to 483 BC and is known as the Buddha, the awakened or the enlightened one. Buddhism teaches followers to purify and train their mind, to perform good deeds and to avoid bad and harmful ones. The aim of these practices is to end the cycle of death and rebirth, called samsara, by reaching nirvana, the state of the absolute truth.

仏教は釈迦(ゴータマ・シッダールタBC483~563)の教えをもとにしており、彼自身が仏陀であるとされている。仏陀とは、目覚めたもの、悟りをひらいたものという意味をもつ。仏教は己のこころを浄化し、精神を鍛え、善行を行い、邪悪でよこしまなものから逃れることを教えとしている。この修行は死と再生の輪廻から解脱し、絶対真理に到達することを目的としている。

コスプレ

Cosplay. She loves anime and manga. Every Sunday she dresses up in the costume of her favourite anime figure and meets other cosplayers in Harajuku and the Yoyogi park. She likes people to take pictures of her and is very happy if she finds herself in one of her beloved cosplay magazines. She wants to be one of the big cosplayers in the increasingly international scene.

彼女はアニメとマンガが大好き。毎週日曜日は、お気に入りのアニメのキャラクターのコスチュームを着て、原宿や代々木公園へコスプレ友達に会いに行く。彼女は写真を撮られるのが好きで、愛読コスプレ雑誌に自分の写真が載るのをとても誇りに思っている。彼女はもっとインターナショナルシーンで有名になりたいと思っている。

ヤクザ

Yakuza. The name Yakuza is the slang pronuncia-tion of the numbers 8-9-3 which, in a Japanese card game similar to black jack, is a useless hand. The Yakuza generally can be seen as a Japanese mafia, which is in the entertainment, prostitution, drug and gambling business. Since the Yakuza was forbidden, visible signs such as his traditional tattoos, seen as a sign of strength, are vanishing.

ヤクザとは8−9−3の語呂合わせからきていると言われている。それはブラックジャックによく似た日本のカードゲームにおいて、役に立たない手である。彼らは日本のマフィアで、娯楽・売春・クスリ・賭博などのビジネスを行っている、というのが漠然とした一般的認識といっていいだろう。ヤクザが禁じられた後、この彼のしているようなヤクザっぽい入れ墨を、彼らは服の下に隠すようになった。

忍者

Ninja. He is something like a secret service for security and espionage. Trained in ninjutsu he can move extremely quietly, hide himself and climb up roofs and walls. Using all sorts of special weapons including gunpowder, poison, smoke bombs, firecrackers and special combat techniques, he can fight very efficiently even against heavily armed opponents.

彼の仕事は、身辺警護やスパイ活動などの極秘任務である。忍術使いである彼は、音を立てずに歩くことができ、自在に姿を隠し、屋根や城壁にのぼることができる。火薬、毒薬、煙幕、爆竹などの特殊な武器、そして戦闘術をつかい、鎧兜の相手をも、かるがると倒すことができる。

お祭り

Matsuri. He wears a happi – the traditional Japanese matsuri dress. Matsuri is a form of holiday or festival which is held by a local temple or shrine. A matsuri is a big and lively event with games, street fairs, special Japanese festival food and usually a big procession, where a portable shrine, a mikoshi, is carried through the streets. Every region has its own matsuris with special local features.

彼は日本の祭りの衣装、“はっぴ”を着ている。祭りとは、地域の神社などで催される、祝祭、祭典のようなものだ。祭りには、ゲームがあったり、露店が並んで、特別なお祭りのたべものが食べられたり、大勢でみこしをかついだりする。地方ごとに、それぞれ違った祭りの特色が見られる。

切腹

Seppuku. All his life he has been loyal to his master. After losing his honor, there was only one possibility to regain it – seppuku, harakiri. It is the traditional Japanese form of honourable suicide. Before him many Japanese feudal warriors practised harakiri to avoid falling into enemy hands, as a privileged alternative to execution, after a private misfortune or out of loyalty to a dead master.

彼は生涯かけて主人に仕えてきた。彼がもしその名誉を失ったら、切腹してその罪を償なわなければならない。日本の慣習では、これがみごとな最後であるとみなされた。かつて、たくさんの武将たちが、自らの栄誉を守り、敵の手に落ちるのを避けるためや、己の失態を償うために自害した。また主人が逝ったあと、忠義に従ってハラキリをすることもあった。

芸者

Geisha. She is the classical Japanese entertainer of men. She is a master of the traditional Japanese arts including music – especially playing the shamisen, dancing, singing and the traditional tea ceremony. Although rumors exist regarding prostitution of geishas in ancient Japan, she is certainly not a prostitute.

彼女は日本の伝統的なやり方で男の人へ接待をする。音楽を含めた日本の伝統芸能の達人で、特に三味線、日本舞踊、小唄、茶道が得意だ。かつての芸者は、からだを売ることがあったかもしれないが、彼女はそういうことは絶対にしない。

サムライ

Samurai. He is a complete warrior. Loyalty, honour and obedience are his ideals. He is well educated, writes poems and believes in the ideals of Zen. During his whole life he tries to refine his skills in martial arts, sword, bow and spear fighting. He is not afraid to die and dedicates his life to his leader. He follows him into victory or death. He wears samurai combat armour.

彼は根っからの武将だ。忠義、名誉、主人への服従、それらが人生における彼の課題だ。詩を詠み、禅を極めた豊かな教養の持ち主で、剣・弓・槍の稽古に努め、たゆむことなく武芸に励み、彼は死などおそれない。人生を主人に捧げているのだ。「勝利か死」のどちらかしかない彼は、鎧兜に身を包む。