JUNE 2000 QUESTIONS
- (Linda Zook, Canada)
Do Japanese families have pets? Which pet is the most popular?
About 40% of Japanese families have pets. Many apartment buildings in Japan have rules saying that you cannot have pets, so some people who want to own a pet are not able to. The most popular pets are dogs, followed by cats and fish. You can find out what Japanese people think about pets in an opinion poll conducted by the Asahi Shimbun newspaper.
- (No Name)
Please could you give some details about the tea ceremony.
The practice of drinking green tea came to Japan from China well over
1,000 years ago. The tea ceremony--a special way of making, serving,
and drinking tea called sado ("way of tea") in Japanese--developed
in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The tea ceremony takes place
in a special room decorated with scrolls of calligraphy and seasonal
flowers. The host prepares tea for the guests using traditional tea-making
utensils and a method designed to bring inner peace to all the people
in the room. To find out more and see pictures of tea-making, visit
The Tea Ceremony on our
sister site, Japan Access.
- (Anne Wood, Australia)
We think there is a kite festival held in Nagasaki every April. Could you give us any information about the event?
You're right! There is a kite festival held every year on the first Sunday in April. The kind of kites flown at the festival are called hata. Nagasaki is famous for these kites. They do not look like other Japanese kites but are very similar to some Indian fighting kites. Find out more and see pictures of hata at the Japanese Kite Collection. You could also visit Kite History of Japan for more information on kites in Japan.
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