Studio Ghibli
Studio Ghibli produces the anime-style of these works, directed by Hayao Miyazaki. Akira Kurosawa is another legendary Japanese creator of these works.
films/movies
Tea ceremonies prepare this powdered green tea.
matcha
Haiku exemplify these literary works, whose other non-Japanese forms include limericks and sonnets.
poems
Formerly known as Edo, this most populous city also serves as Japan’s capital.
Tokyo
The main ingredient of sushi is this grain, which is mixed with vinegar when accompanying “sashimi.”
rice
Chihiro, renamed Sen, entertains No-Face while working in a bathhouse in this film and is aided by Haku after her parents are turned into pigs by the witch Yubaba.
Spirited Away
The Zen school of this religion’s Mahayana branch largely influenced Japanese tea ceremonies.
Buddhism
This is the total number of syllables, or morae, in a haiku.
17
Allied bombers spared this former capital of Japan in order to preserve its historic sites. As such, today, it is considered the cultural capital of Japan.
Kyoto
Dyed, green horseradish often substitutes this spicy paste, as it is much cheaper.
Wasabi
This acorn-loving character is lent an umbrella while waiting with Satsuki and Mei for the Catbus and is the title “Neighbor” of a Ghibli film.
Totoro
Tea scoops and whisks are traditionally carved from the stalks of this plant.
bamboo
These periods are denoted in traditional haiku by phrases called “kigo,” such as “cherry blossoms” or “the first snow.”
seasons
The city of Osaka is home to the most famous Japanese example of these structures. European counterparts often have moats or keeps.
Castles
“Gari,” a palate cleanser served with sushi, are thin, pickled slices of this food.
ginger
A candy tin is tossed into a field of these creatures, from which Setsuko’s spirit emerges. Her brother Setsuko buries these creatures, which had lit an abandoned bomb shelter for them.
fireflies
Less commonly, tea ceremonies use whole leaves, which produce this other form of tea.
sencha
Haiku poets, or “haijin,” create these other works in the “haiga” style.
paintings
Located on Hokkaido, this city hosted Asia’s first Winter Olympics in 1972 in addition to an annual Snow Festival, which took place near its world-famous brewery.
Sapporo
Depending on its fattiness, this fish can be served as “akami,” “chutoro,” and “otoro.”
tuna
Studio Ghibli is named after one of these things. The Wind Rises centers on the creation of one of these objects, another of which Porco Rosso uses to fend off pirates in another Ghibli film.
fighter airplanes
The rough, aged pottery used in tea ceremonies exemplifies this Japanese aesthetic that accepts imperfection and modesty.
wabi-sabi
A frog jumps into water in “Old Pond,” a haiku by this most famous Japanese haijin.
Matsuo Basho
Portugeuse traders in this Japanese port introduced both tempura and Catholicism; the Dutch traded from its artificial island of Dejima. This city, however, is more famous for being bombed toward the end of World War Two.
Nagasaki
“Uni” is the roe of these sea creatures.