Topic: Reference Guide / Gods of Japan

My boyfriend is crazy about taking pictures of zizos, and do the painting and printmaking out of it.
Zizo is a daity of travelers and dead children which is stood on the street.
I call it Street Buddha. My guy is Mexican and he name it, Bulitas. (small Buddha)

Topic: Reference Guide / Traditional Colours

The traditional colors of Japan are a collection of colors traditionally used in Japanese Literature, textiles such as kimono, and other Japanese arts and crafts.

See the Wiki Page
It has RGB (easily converted into CMYK with your preferred software) and Hex codes!

Topic: Reference Guide / JAPANESE 78's

sorry ‘bout the problems with Matts site, apparently its for business only and they object to music downloads so he’s moving it ,i will keep you informed.

Topic: Reference Guide / JAPANESE 78's

awesome!! thanks otofuru!!

Topic: Reference Guide / JAPANESE 78's

downloadable mp3 ‘s of Japanese 78 recordings from
matt spong archive
site is blocked ’sorry!,will tell you were it’s moved.

Topic: Reference Guide / Language Resources

thank you both this is so helpfu!

Topic: Reference Guide / Language Resources

Hi hi!! came across this webbie with fun simple japanese phrases we can learn and use!
Japanese.About.com =D

Topic: Reference Guide / Language Resources

A very cool collection of various Japanese language resources, even has a sushi quiz!!

Japanese Language Learning Resources

Topic: Reference Guide / Kanji Dictionary

found another site i wanted to add… (while looking for kanji for a tattoo… lol)

The Kanji Site

Topic: Reference Guide / Kanji Dictionary

Here’s one I just found now, with nice vectors of Kanji for sale.

Kanji*JAPAN

Topic: Reference Guide / Kanji Dictionary

Hi! i came across these sites while trying to name my latest drawing.. If you’re looking for japanese names for your artwork or character, maybe you can check out these sites?

Baby Name World
Behind the Name

Topic: Reference Guide / Art

For beautiful Calligraphy, you can’t go past Eri Takase’s site, which I’ve watched evolve over the years

Takase Studios – Fine Japanese Calligraphy

Topic: Reference Guide / Art

Aya Kato’s site and work is so good, it almost brings a tear to your eye!

cheval noir

Topic: Reference Guide / Art

And of course – our group’s Blog!

Topic: Reference Guide / Art

A truly stunning collection of Japanese Woodblock Prints.

These are all sorted into a database by all sorts of keywords. You can even have your own collection of favourites.

Claremont College’s Digital Library

Chikanobu and Yoshitoshi Woodblock Prints

Examples of late 17th century to early 20th century Japanese woodblock prints from the Scripps College Collection of Japanese Prints by the artists Chikanobu (1838-1912) and Yoshitoshi (1839-1892).

Topic: Reference Guide / Art

Start Drawing is a blog that features Asian artists, and there is some magnificent stuff to be found there.

WARNING*** ***WARNING***
This site sometimes contains Adult Content

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED

StartDrawing.org (this link now works)

Topic: Reference Guide / Swordsmanship

oooh! this is very cool! :) thanks damien!

Topic: Reference Guide / Swordsmanship

I thought we could do with some links on the Japanese sword and its related martial arts.

The Japanese Sword Guide
Everything you could possibly want to know about the Japanese sword

Japanese Sword visual glossary
Parts of the sword labelled with their Japanese names

Tozando
Tozando sell swords and equipment for Japanese martials arts, and is therefore a good spot to look for reference images

Iaido
An explanation of Iaido on Wikipedia. It’s a good overview of the style.

Topic: Reference Guide / Japanese Buddhist Proverbs

101 Zen Stories
Great collection of Zen stories.

The Noble Eightfold Path
This is an incredibly useful and indepth explanation of each of the elements of the eightfold path. It’s a big read, but I found it very helpful.

Topic: Reference Guide / Green Tea

A good collection of sites about Green Tea, including what it is, its health benefits, tea ceremony, images, shops, etc

Teas.com.au – Green Tea

Tea Ceremony – TeaHyakka Magazine
this site is really good, it even covers the layout of a tea ceremony room (A chashitsu)

Green Tea on Japan-Guide

Japanese Green Tea Online
fantastic site and images

Tea things, articles for tea lovers – Green Tea

Topic: Reference Guide / Gods of Japan

This site is the greatest reference for all things spiritual in Japan I have ever come across.

It covers EVERYTHING, so much stuff I don’t even know where to start to tell you about it.

There are topics such as:

Dragons
7 Lucky Gods
(plenty of) Buddha
Gardens
Kitchen Gods (!!!)
Red Clothing
etc, etc

My advice is to scroll down a little, and have a look at the A-Z list!

GODS of Japan, A-to-Z Photo Dictionary of Japanese Buddhism

Topic: Reference Guide / Sushi

You all know i’m a Sushi-Fangirl, so here are a few sites i’ve come across, with some fantastic info, and images.

Sushi FAQ
excellent site with images and definitions

Sushi Now
with even bigger, brighter pictures, i’m hungry!

Tokyo Food Page
funky site, with a guide to more than sushi

Koo-Ki Sushi
IT’S CHOCOLATE!

Topic: Reference Guide / Japanese Buddhist Proverbs

a HUGE list of Japanese Buddhist Proverbs, with the English and Japaneses translations, unfortunately, no Kanji for this one

Japanese Buddhist Proverbs

Topic: Reference Guide / Kamon - Family Crests

thanks for the info, will take a look now!

Topic: Reference Guide / Kamon - Family Crests

A design element in themselves, some of you may have seen them, and wondered what they’re all about. They are Kamon, or Japanese Family Crest.

Often used on fabric of clothing to show membership to a clan or define individuals, it wasn’t until the 12th Century when they were used in battle, on flags, tents, and equipment.

This site is a great one, as they’re sorted in to Plants, Animals, Patterns, etc.

Kamon Classifications

More info on Wikipedia here, with examples of modern day usage, significance, etc

Kamon, Mon