Devil's Bat's

I'm Genius

2012-02-07T17:12:00.003+07:00

Genius (plural geniuses) is something or someone embodying exceptional intellectual ability, creativity, or originality, typically to a degree that is associated with the achievement of unprecedented insight.

There is no scientifically precise definition of genius, and indeed the question of whether the notion itself has any real meaning has long been a subject of debate. The term is used in various ways: to refer to a particular aspect of an individual, or the individual in their entirety; to a scholar in many subjects (e.g. Isaac Newton or Leonardo da Vinci) or a scholar in a single subject (e.g. Albert Einstein or Stephen Hawking). Research into what causes genius and mastery is still in its early stages, but psychology already offers relevant insights.

Historical development

Galton

The assessing of intelligence was initiated by Francis Galton and James McKeen Cattell. They had advocated the analysing of reaction time and sensory acuity as measures of "neurophysiological efficiency" and the analysing of sensory acuity as a measure of intelligence.

Galton is regarded as the founder of psychometry (among other kinds of assessing, such as fingerprinting). He studied the work of Charles Darwin. Charles Darwin showed that traits must be inherited before evolution can occur. Reasoning that eminence is caused by genetic traits he did a study of their heritability, publishing it in 1869 as Hereditary Genius. His method was to count and assess the eminent relatives of eminent men. He found that the number of eminent relatives is greater with closer degree of kinship, indicating to him that a genetic trait is present in an eminent line of descent that is not present in other lines.^{[citation needed]} This work is considered the first example of historiometry, an analytical study of historical human progress.

Albert Einstein, a 20th-century symbol of scientific genius.

Galton's theories were elaborated from the work of two early 19th-century pioneers in statistics: Karl Friedrich Gauss and Adolphe Quetelet. Gauss discovered the normal distribution (bell-shaped curve): Given a large number of measurements of the same variable under the same conditions, they vary at random from a most frequent value, the "average," to two least frequent values at maximum differences greater and less than the most frequent value. Quetelet discovered that the bell-shaped curve applied to social statistics gathered by the French government in the course of its normal processes on large numbers of people passing through the courts and the military. His initial work in criminology led him to observe "the greater the number of individuals observed the more do peculiarities become effaced..." This ideal from which the peculiarities were effaced became "the average man."

Himself a child prodigy, Galton was inspired by Quetelet to define the average man as "an entire normal scheme"; that is, if one combines the normal curves of every measurable human characteristic, one will in theory perceive a syndrome straddled by "the average man" and flanked by persons that are different. In contrast to Quetelet, Galton's average man was not statistical, but was theoretical only. There was no measure of general averageness, only a large number of very specific averages. Setting out to discover a general measure of the average, Galton looked at educational statistics and found bell-curves in test results of all sorts; initially in mathematics grades for the final honors examination and in entrance examination scores for Sandhurst.

Galton now departed from Gauss in a way that became crucially significant to the history of the 20th century AD. The bell-shaped curve was not random, he concluded. The differences between the average and the upper end were due to a non-random factor, "natural ability," which he defined as "those qualities of intellect and disposition, which urge and qualify men to perform acts that lead to reputation ... a nature which, when left to itself, will, urged by an inherent stimulus, climb the path that leads to eminence." The apparent randomness of the scores was due to the randomness of this natural ability in the population as a whole, in theory.

Galton was looking for a combination of differences that would reveal "the existence of grand human animals, of natures preeminently noble, of individuals born to be kings of men." Galton's selection of terms influenced Binet: geniuses for those born to be kings of men and "idiots and imbeciles", two English pejoratives, for those at the other extreme of the "normal scheme." Darwin read and espoused Galton's work. Galton went on to develop the field of eugenics.

Psychology

Genius is expressed in a variety of forms (e.g., mathematical, literary, performance). Genius may show itself in early childhood, as a prodigy with particular gifts (e.g., understanding), or later in life. Geniuses are often deemed as such after demonstrating great originality. They tend to have strong intuitions about their domains, and they build on these insights with tremendous energy. There is a cited link between creativity of genius and genetic mutations linked to psychosis.

Wayne Gretzky is widely regarded as having mastered ice hockey.

A hypothesis called multiple intelligences put forth by Harvard University professor Howard Gardner in his 1983 book Frames of Mind states there are at least seven types of intelligences, each with its own type of genius.

Malcolm Gladwell's book Outliers popularized a great deal of research into geniuses and mastery. Gladwell mentions the work of psychologist Anders Ericsson, who is an expert on expertise. As a result of his research, Ericsson suggests that it takes approximately 10,000 hours of deliberate practice to master something — what he calls the "10,000 rule." Outliers spends a great deal of time discussing other elements of chance that play a role in the creation of a genius, including Robert K. Merton's "Mathew Effect" (e.g. the rich get richer).

According to Ericsson, mentors play an important role in attaining mastery. Only so much can be taught, however, since many of a genius' skills may be implicit, meaning it is difficult for them to explain in words (i.e., make explicit) how they do what they do.

IQ tests

One usage of the noun "genius" is closely related to the general concept of intelligence. One currently accepted way of attempting to measure one's intelligence is with an IQ test. The label of "genius" for persons of high IQ was popularized by Lewis Terman. He and his colleague Leta Hollingworth suggested different scores as a cut-off for genius in psychometric terms. Terman considered it to be an IQ of 140, while Hollingworth put it at an IQ of 180.

In addition to the fundamental criticism that intelligence measured in this way is an example of reification and ranking fallacies, the IQ test has also been criticized as having a "cultural bias" in its interpretation despite assurances that these tests are designed to eliminate test bias.

Anders Ericsson argues that generally (with highly demanding fields like theoretical physics as the exception), after a person's IQ surpasses 120, their success is determined more by other qualities. In other words, there may be general decreasing return on raw mental power. Ericsson proposes social skills as an example of other qualities that are then more relevant to success. He also warns that IQ does not measure what many would consider "creativity" — sometimes measured by looking at an individual's Latent inhibition instead of IQ.

Philosophy

Leonardo da Vinci is widely acknowledged as having been a genius and a polymath.

Various philosophers have proposed definitions of what genius is and what that implies in the context of their philosophical theories.

In the philosophy of David Hume, the way society perceives genius is similar to the way society perceives the ignorant. Hume states that a person with the characteristics of a genius is looked at as a person disconnected from society, as well as a person who works remotely, at a distance, away from the rest of the world. "On the other hand, the mere ignorant is still more despised; nor is any thing deemed a surer sign of an illiberal genius in an age and nation where the sciences flourish, than to be entirely destitute of all relish for those noble entertainments. The most perfect character is supposed to lie between those extremes; retaining an equal ability and taste for books, company, and business; preserving in conversation that discernment and delicacy which arise from polite letters; and in business, that probity and accuracy which are the natural result of a just philosophy."^{[citation needed]}

In the philosophy of Immanuel Kant, genius is the ability to independently arrive at and understand concepts that would normally have to be taught by another person. For Kant, originality was the essential character of genius. This genius is a talent for producing ideas which can be described as non-imitative. Kant's discussion of the characteristics of genius is largely contained within the Critique of Judgement and was well received by the Romantics of the early 19th century. In addition, much of Schopenhauer's theory of genius, particularly regarding talent and the "disinterestedness" (i.e. "free play") of aesthetic contemplation, is directly derived from paragraphs of Part I of Kant's Critique of Judgment.

“	"Genius is a talent for producing something for which no determinate rule can be given, not a predisposition consisting of a skill for something that can be learned by following some rule or other."	”
—Immanuel Kant

In the philosophy of Arthur Schopenhauer, a genius is someone in whom intellect predominates over "will" much more than within the average person. In Schopenhauer's aesthetics, this predominance of the intellect over the will allows the genius to create artistic or academic works that are objects of pure, disinterested contemplation, the chief criterion of the aesthetic experience for Schopenhauer. Their remoteness from mundane concerns means that Schopenhauer's geniuses often display maladaptive traits in more mundane concerns; in Schopenhauer's words, they fall into the mire while gazing at the stars, an allusion to Plato's dialogue Theætetus, in which Socrates tells of Thales (the first philosopher) being ridiculed for falling in such circumstances.

“	Talent hits a target no one else can hit; Genius hits a target no one else can see.	”
—Arthur Schopenhauer

In the philosophy of Nietzsche, genius is merely the context which leads us to consider someone a genius. In Twilight of the Idols, Nietzsche writes, "Great men, like great epochs, are explosive material in whom tremendous energy has been accumulated; their prerequisite has always been, historically and physiologically, that a protracted assembling, accumulating, economizing and preserving has preceded them – that there has been no explosion for a long time." In this way, Nietzsche follows in the line of German Idealism.

In the philosophy of Bertrand Russell, genius entails that an individual possesses unique qualities and talents that make the genius especially valuable to the society in which he or she operates. However, Russell's philosophy further maintains that it's possible for such a genius to be crushed by an unsympathetic environment during his or her youth. Russell rejected the notion he believed was popular during his lifetime that, "genius will out."

Kecerdasan itu

2012-02-07T17:01:00.003+07:00

Banyak pemikiran untuk mendefinisikan kecerdasan. Dalam beberapa kasus, kecerdasan bisa termasuk kreativitas, kepribadian, watak, pengetahuan, atau kebijaksanaan. Namun, beberapa psikolog tak memasukkan hal-hal tadi dalam kerangka definisi kecerdasan. Kecerdasan biasanya merujuk pada kemampuan atau kapasitas mental dalam berpikir, namun belum terdapat definisi yang memuaskan mengenai kecerdasan. Stenberg & Slater (1982) mendefinisikannya sebagai tindakan atau pemikiran yang bertujuan dan adaptif.

Struktur kecerdasan

Kecerdasan dapat dibagi dua yaitu kecerdasan umum biasa disebut sebagai faktor-g maupun kecerdasan spesifik. Akan tetapi pada dasarnya kecerdasan dapat dipilah-pilah. Berikut ini pembagian spesifikasi kecerdasan menurut L.L. Thurstone:

Pemahaman dan kemampuan verbal
Angka dan hitungan
Kemampuan visual
Daya ingat
Penalaran
Kecepatan perseptual

Skala Wechsler yang umum dipergunakan untuk mendapatkan taraf kecerdasan membagi kecerdasan menjadi dua kelompok besar yaitu kemampuan kecerdasan verbal (VIQ) dan kemampuan kecerdasan tampilan (PIQ)

Faktor yang memengaruhi kecerdasan

Terdapat beberapa faktor yang memengaruhi kecerdasan, yaitu:

Faktor Bawaan atau Biologis

Dimana faktor ini ditentukan oleh sifat yang dibawa sejak lahir. Batas kesanggupan atau kecakapan seseorang dalam memecahkan masalah, antara lain ditentukan oleh faktor bawaan.

Faktor Minat dan Pembawaan yang Khas

Dimana minat mengarahkan perbuatan kepada suatu tujuan dan merupakan dorongan bagi perbuatan itu.

Faktor Pembentukan atau Lingkungan

Dimana pembentukan adalah segala keadaan di luar diri seseorang yang mempengaruhi perkembangan inteligensi.

Faktor Kematangan

Dimana tiap organ dalam tubuh manusia mengalami pertumbuhan dan perkembangan.

Faktor Kebebasan

Hal ini berarti manusia dapat memilih metode tertentu dalam memecahkan masalah yang dihadapi. Di samping kebebasan memilih metode, juga bebas dalam memilih masalah yang sesuai dengan kebutuhannya.

Pengukuran taraf kecerdasan

Salah satu uji kecerdasan yang diterima luas ialah berdasarkan pada uji psikometrik atau IQ. Pengukuran kecerdasan dilakukan dengan menggunakan tes tertulis atau tes tampilan (performance test) atau saat ini berkembang pengukuran dengan alat bantu komputer. Alat uji kecerdasan yang biasa di pergunakan adalah :

Stanford-Binnet intelligence scale
Wechsler scales yang terbagi menjadi beberapa turunan alat uji seperti :
- WB (untuk dewasa)
- WAIS (untuk dewasa versi lebih baru)
- WISC (untuk anak usia sekolah)
- WPPSI (untuk anak pra sekolah)
IST
TIKI (alat uji kecerdasan Khas Indonesia)
FRT
PM-60, PM Advance

Kritik terhadap tes IQ

Kelemahan dari alat uji kecerdasan ini adalah terdapat bias budaya, bahasa dan lingkungan yang memengaruhinya. Kekecewaan terhadap tes IQ konvensional menimbulkan pengembangan sejumlah teori alternatif, yang semuanya menegaskan bahwa kecerdasan adalah hasil dari sejumlah kemampuan independen yang berkonstribusi secara unik terhadap tampilan manusia.

Stephen Jay Gould adalah salah satu tokoh yang mengkritik teori kecerdasan. Dalam bukunya The Mismeasure of Man (Kesalahan Ukur Manusia), ia mengemukakan bahwa kecerdasan sebenarnya tak bisa diukur, dan juga mempertanyakan sudut pandang hereditarian atas kecerdasan.

Gejolak Jiwa itu Psikologi ?

2012-02-07T16:49:00.002+07:00

Dalam kehidupan ini kita diharuskan mengetahui perbedaan budaya kita dengan budaya pada saat psikologi muncul sebagai ilmu pengetahuan. Apakah kajian ilmu tersebut sesuai dengan kebudayaan kita ataukah ada berbedaan di dalamnya. Misalkan, ketika kita adalah suku pedalaman yang masih menggunakan cara berburu dalam kehidupan sehari-hari maka berburu bisa menjadi tolak ukur kecerdasan kita sebagai masyarakat pedalaman, bukan dilihat dari bagaimana kecerdasan itu diukur dari bisa dan tidaknya kita menghitung matematika, menjawab soal-soal ujian, menjawab serangkaian tes kecerdasan dan lain-lain. Kesesuaian teori psikologi dengan kebudayaan kita itulah yang benar-benar harus kita pahami, sehingga teori-teori tersebut adalah teori yang benar-benar relevan dengan kebudayaan dan diri kita sebagai manusia

Psikologi adalah ilmu pengetahuan yang mempelajari perilaku manusia dalam hubungan dengan lingkungannya. Menurut asalnya katanya, psikologi berasal dari bahasa Yunani Kuno: "ψυχή" (Psychē yang berarti jiwa) dan "-λογία" (-logia yang artinya ilmu) sehingga secara etimologis, psikologi dapat diartikan dengan ilmu yang mempelajari tentang jiwa.

Metode Psikologi

Beberapa metodologi dalam psikologi, di antaranya sebagai berikut :

Metodologi Eksperimental
Cara ini dilakukan biasanya di dalam laboratorium dengan mengadakan berbagai eksperimen. Peneliti mempunyai kontrol sepenuhnya terhadap jalannya suatu eksperimen. Yaitu menentukan akan melakukan apa pada sesuatu yang akan ditelitinya, kapan akan melakukan penelitian, seberapa sering melakukan penelitiannya, dan sebagainya. Pada metode eksperimental, maka sifat subjektivitas dari metode introspeksi akan dapat diatasi. Pada metode instrospeksi murni hanya diri peneliti yang menjadi objek. Tetapi pada instrospeksi eksperimental jumlah subjek banyak, yaitu orang - orang yang dieksperimentasi itu. Dengan luasnya atau banyaknya subjek penelitian maka hasil yang didapatkan akan lebih objektif
Observasi Ilmiah
Pada pengamatan ilmiah, suatu hal pada situasi-situasi yang ditimbulkan tidak dengan sengaja. Melainkan dengan proses ilmiah dan secara spontan. Observasi alamiah ini dapat diterapkan pula pada tingkah laku yang lain, misalnya saja : tingkah laku orang-orang yang berada di toko serba ada, tingkah laku pengendara kendaraan bermotor dijalan raya, tingkah laku anak yang sedang bermain, perilaku orang dalam bencana alam, dan sebagainya.
Sejarah Kehidupan (metode biografi)
Sejarah kehidupan seseorang dapat merupakan sumber data yang penting untuk lebih mengetahui “jiwa” orang yang bersangkutan, misalnya dari cerita ibunya, seorang anak yang tidak naik kelas mungkin diketahui bahwa dia bukannya kurang pandai tetapi minatnya sejak kecil memang dibidang musik sehingga dia tidak cukup serius untuk mengikuti pendidikan di sekolahnya. Dalam metode ini orang menguraikan tentang keadaaa, sikap - sikap ataupun sifat lain mengenai orang yang bersangkutan. Pada metode ini disamping mempunyai keuntungan juga mempunyai kelemahan, yaitu tidak jarang metode ini bersifat subjektif.
Wawancara
Wawancara merupakan tanya jawab si pemeriksa dan orang yang diperiksa. Agar orang diperiksa itu dapat menemukan isi hatinya itu sendiri, pandangan-pandangannya, pendapatnya dan lain-lain sedemikian rupa sehingga orang yang mewawancarai dapat menggali semua informasi yang dibutuhkan.Baik angket atau interview keduanya mempunyai persamaan, tetapi berbeda dalam cara penyajiannya. Keuntungan interview dibandingkan dengan angket yaitu:
1. Pada interview apabila terdapat hal yang kurang jelas maka dapat diperjelas
2. interviwer(penanya) dapat menyesuaikan dengan suasana hati interviwee ( responden yang ditanyai)
3. Terdapat interaksi langsung berupa face to facesehingga diharapkan dapat membina hubungan yang baik saat proses interview dilakukan.
Angket
Angket merupakan wawancara dalam bentuk tertulis. Semua pertanyaan telah di susun secara tertulis pada lembar-lembar pertanyaan itu, dan orang yang diwawancarai tinggal membaca pertanyaan yang diajukan, lalu menjawabnya secara tertulis pula. Jawaban-jawabannya akan dianalisis untuk mengetahui hal-hal yang diselidiki.
Pemeriksaan Psikologi
Dalam bahasa populernya pemeriksaan psikologi disebut juga dengan psikotes Metode ini menggunakan alat-alat psikodiagnostik tertentu yang hanya dapat digunakan oleh para ahli yang benar-benar sudah terlatih. alat-alat itu dapat dipergunakan unntuk mengukur dan untuk mengetahui taraf kecerdasan seseorang, arah minat seseorang, sikap seseorang, struktur kepribadian seeorang, dan lain-lain dari orang yang diperiksa itu.
Metode Analisis Karya
Dilakukan dengan cara menganalisis hasil karya seperti gambar - gambar, buku harian atau karangan yang telah dibuat. Hal ini karena karya dapat dianggap sebagai pencetus dari keadaan jiwa seseorang .
Metode Statistik
Umumnya digunakan dengan cara mengumpulkan data atau materi dalam penelitian lalu mengadakan penganalisaan terhadap hasil; yang telah di dapat

Fungsi psikologi sebagai ilmu

Psikologi memiliki tiga fungsi sebagai ilmu yaitu:

Menjelaskan, yaitu mampu menjelaskan apa, bagaimana, dan mengapa tingkah laku itu terjadi. Hasilnya penjelasan berupa deskripsi atau bahasan yang bersifat deskriptif

Memprediksikan, Yaitu mampu meramalkan atau memprediksikan apa, bagaimana, dan mengapa tingkah laku itu terjadi. Hasil prediksi berupa prognosa, prediksi atau estimasi

Pengendalian, Yaitu mengendalikan tingkah laku sesuai dengan yang diharapkan. Perwujudannya berupa tindakan yang sifatnya preventif atau pencegahan, intervensi atau treatment serta rehabilitasi atau perawatan.

Pendekatan perilaku

Pendekatan perilaku, pada dasarnya tingkah laku adalah respon atas stimulus yang datang. Secara sederhana dapat digambarkan dalam model S - R atau suatu kaitan Stimulus - Respon. Ini berarti tingkah laku itu seperti reflek tanpa kerja mental sama sekali.

Pendekatan kognitif

Pendekatan kognitif menekankan bahwa tingkah laku adalah proses mental, dimana individu (organisme) aktif dalam menangkap, menilai, membandingkan, dan menanggapi stimulus sebelum melakukan reaksi. Individu menerima stimulus lalu melakukan proses mental sebelum memberikan reaksi atas stimulus yang datang.

Pendekatan psikoanalisa

pendekatan Psikoanalisa yang dikembangkan oleh Sigmund Freud

Pendekatan psikoanalisa dikembangkan oleh Sigmund Freud. Ia meyakini bahwa kehidupan individu sebagian besar dikuasai oleh alam bawah sadar. Sehingga tingkah laku banyak didasari oleh hal-hal yang tidak disadari, seperti keinginan, impuls, atau dorongan. Keinginan atau dorongan yang ditekan akan tetap hidup dalam alam bawah sadar dan sewaktu-waktu akan menuntut untuk dipuaskan.

Pendekatan fenomenologi

Pendekatan fenomenologi ini lebih memperhatikan pada pengalaman subyektif individu karena itu tingkah laku sangat dipengaruhi oleh pandangan individu terhadap diri dan dunianya, konsep tentang dirinya, harga dirinya dan segala hal yang menyangkut kesadaran atau aktualisasi dirinya. Ini berarti melihat tingkah laku seseorang selalu dikaitkan dengan fenomena tentang dirinya.

Kajian psikologi

Psikologi adalah ilmu yang luas dan ambisius, dilengkapi oleh biologi dan ilmu saraf pada perbatasannya dengan ilmu alam dan dilengkapi oleh sosiologi dan anthropologi pada perbatasannya dengan ilmu sosial. Beberapa kajian ilmu psikologi diantaranya adalah:

1. Psikologi perkembangan

Adalah bidang studi psikologi yang mempelajari perkembangan manusia dan faktor-faktor yang membentuk prilaku seseorang sejak lahir sampai lanjut usia. Psikologi perkembangan berkaitan erat dengan psikologi sosial, karena sebagian besar perkembangan terjadi dalam konteks adanya interaksi sosial. Dan juga berkaitan erat dengan psikologi kepribadian, karena perkembangan individu dapat membentuk kepribadian khas dari individu tersebut

2. Psikologi sosial

Bidang ini mempunyai 3 ruang lingkup, yaitu :

studi tentang pengaruh sosial terhadap proses individu, misalnya : studi tentang persepsi, motivasi proses belajar, atribusi (sifat)
studi tentang proses-proses individual bersama, seperti bahasa, sikap sosial, perilaku meniru dan lain-lain
studi tentang interaksi kelompok, misalnya kepemimpinan, komunikasi hubungan kekuasaan, kerjasama dalam kelompok, dan persaingan.

3. Psikologi kepribadian

Adalah bidang studi psikologi yang mempelajari tingkah laku manusia dalam menyesuaikan diri dengan lingkungannya, psikologi kepribadian berkaitan erat dengan psikologi perkembangan dan psikologi sosial, karena kepribadian adalah hasil dari perkembangan individu sejak masih kecil dan bagaimana cara individu itu sendiri dalam berinteraksi sosial dengan lingkungannya.

4. Psikologi kognitif

Adalah bidang studi psikologi yang mempelajari kemampuan kognisi, seperti: Persepsi, proses belajar, kemampuan memori, atensi, kemampuan bahasa dan emosi.

Wilayah terapan psikologi

Wilayah terapan psikologi adalah wilayah-wilayah dimana kajian psikologi dapat diterapkan. walaupun demikian, belum terbiasanya orang-orang Indonesia dengan spesialisasi membuat wilayah terapan ini rancu, misalnya, seorang ahli psikologi pendidikan mungkin saja bekerja pada HRD sebuah perusahaan, atau sebaliknya.

1. Psikologi sekolah

Psikologi sekolah berusaha menciptakan situasi yang mendukung bagi anak didik dalam mengembangkan kemampuan akademik, sosialisasi, dan emosi. Yang bertujuan untuk membentuk mind set anak

2. Psikologi industri dan organisasi

Psikologi industri memfokuskan pada menggembangan, mengevaluasi dan memprediksi kinerja suatu pekerjaan yang dikerjakan oleh individu, sedangkan psikologi organisasi mempelajari bagaimana suatu organisasi memengaruhi dan berinteraksi dengan anggota-anggotanya

3. Psikologi kerekayasaan

Penerapan psikologi yang berkaitan dengan interaksi antara manusia dan mesin untuk meminimalisasikan kesalahan manusia ketika berhubungan dengan mesin (human error)

4. Psikologi klinis

Adalah bidang studi psikologi dan juga penerapan psikologi dalam memahami, mencegah dan memulihkan keadaan psikologis individu ke ambang normal.

History of Japanese

2012-01-26T22:35:00.005+07:00

Japanese (日本語 Nihongo^?, [nihoŋɡo] ( listen)) is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese immigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic (or Japanese-Ryukyuan) language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists (see Classification of Japonic).

Japanese is an agglutinative language and a mora-timed language. It has a relatively small sound inventory, and a lexically significant pitch-accent system. It is distinguished by a complex system of honorifics reflecting the nature of Japanese society, with verb forms and particular vocabulary to indicate the relative status of the speaker, the listener, and persons mentioned in conversation. Japanese vowels are pure.

The Japanese language is written with a combination of three scripts: Chinese characters called kanji (漢字^?), and two syllabic (or moraic) scripts made of modified Chinese characters, hiragana (ひらがな or 平仮名^?) and katakana (カタカナ or 片仮名^?). The Latin alphabet, rōmaji (ローマ字^?), is also often used in modern Japanese, especially for company names and logos, advertising, and when entering Japanese text into a computer. Arabic numerals are generally used for numbers, but traditional Sino-Japanese numerals are also commonplace (see Japanese numerals).

Although Japanese is spoken almost exclusively in Japan, it has been spoken outside. Before and during World War II, when Japan occupied Korea, Taiwan, parts of China, the Philippines, and various Pacific islands,^[5] locals in those countries were forced to learn Japanese in empire-building programs. As a result, many elderly people in these countries can speak Japanese in addition to the local language.

Japanese emigrant communities (the largest of which are to be found in Brazil,^[6] with 1.4 million to 1.5 million Japanese immigrants and descendants, according to Brazilian IBGE data, more than the 1.2 million of the United States^[7]) sometimes employ Japanese as their primary language. Approximately 5% of Hawaii residents speak Japanese^{[citation needed]}, with an estimated 12.6% of the population of Japanese ancestry in 2008. Japanese emigrants can also be found in Peru, Argentina, Australia (especially in the eastern states), Canada (especially in Vancouver where 1.4% of the population has Japanese ancestry^[8]), the United States (notably California, where 1.2% of the population has Japanese ancestry^{[citation needed]}, and Hawaii), and the Philippines (particularly in Davao and Laguna).

Japanese is the de facto official language of Japan. There is a form of the language considered standard: hyōjungo (標準語^?), meaning "standard Japanese", or kyōtsūgo (共通語^?), "common language". The meanings of the two terms are almost the same. Hyōjungo or kyōtsūgo is a conception that forms the counterpart of dialect. This normative language was born after the Meiji Restoration (明治維新 meiji ishin^?, 1868) from the language spoken in the higher-class areas of Tokyo (see Yamanote) for communicating necessity. Hyōjungo is taught in schools and used on television and in official communications. It is the version of Japanese discussed in this article.

Formerly, standard Japanese in writing (文語 bungo^?, "literary language") was different from colloquial language (口語 kōgo^?). The two systems have different rules of grammar and some variance in vocabulary. Bungo was the main method of writing Japanese until about 1900; since then kōgo gradually extended its influence and the two methods were both used in writing until the 1940s. Bungo still has some relevance for historians, literary scholars, and lawyers (many Japanese laws that survived World War II are still written in bungo, although there are ongoing efforts to modernize their language). Kōgo is the dominant method of both speaking and writing Japanese today, although bungo grammar and vocabulary are occasionally used in modern Japanese for effect.

Dozens of dialects are spoken in Japan. The profusion is due to many factors, including the length of time the archipelago has been inhabited, its mountainous island terrain, and Japan's long history of both external and internal isolation. Dialects typically differ in terms of pitch accent, inflectional morphology, vocabulary, and particle usage. Some even differ in vowel and consonant inventories, although this is uncommon.

The main distinction in Japanese accents is between Tokyo-type (東京式 Tōkyō-shiki^?) and Kyoto-Osaka-type (京阪式 Keihan-shiki^?). Within each type are several subdivisions. Kyoto-Osaka-type dialects are in the central region, roughly formed by Kansai, Shikoku, and western Hokuriku regions.

Dialects from peripheral regions, such as Tōhoku or Kagoshima, may be unintelligible to speakers from other parts of the country. There are some language islands in mountain villages or isolated islands such as Hachijō-jima island whose dialect are descended from the Eastern dialect of Old Japanese. Dialects of the Kansai region are spoken or known by many Japanese, and Osaka dialect in particular is associated with comedy (see Kansai dialect). Dialects of Tōhoku and North Kantō are associated with typical farmers.

The Ryūkyūan languages, spoken in Okinawa and the Amami Islands (politically part of Kagoshima), are distinct enough to be considered a separate branch of the Japonic family; not only is each language unintelligible to Japanese speakers, but most are unintelligible to those who speak other Ryūkyūan languages. However, in contrast to linguists, many ordinary Japanese people tend to consider the Ryūkyūan languages as dialects of Japanese. This is the result of the official language policy of the Japanese government, which has declared those languages to be dialects and prohibited their use in schools.

Standard Japanese has become prevalent nationwide (including the Ryūkyū islands) due to education, mass media, and an increase of mobility within Japan, as well as economic integration
Japanese is a member of the Japonic languages family, which also includes the languages spoken throughout the Ryūkyū Islands. As these closely related languages are commonly treated as dialects of the same language, Japanese is often called a language isolate, but strictly speaking this is a misnomer, since the Ryukyuan languages are linguistically distinct.

All Japanese vowels are pure—that is, there are no diphthongs, only monophthongs. The only unusual vowel is the high back vowel /ɯ/ listen (help·info), which is like /u/, but compressed instead of rounded. Japanese has five vowels, and vowel length is phonemic, with each having both a short and a long version. Elongated vowels are usually denoted with a line over the vowel (a macron) in rōmaji, or a chōonpu succeeding the vowel in Japanese.

Some Japanese consonants have several allophones, which may give the impression of a larger inventory of sounds. However, some of these allophones have since become phonemic. For example, in the Japanese language up to and including the first half of the 20th century, the phonemic sequence /ti/ was palatalized and realized phonetically as [tɕi], approximately chi listen (help·info); however, now /ti/ and /tɕi/ are distinct, as evidenced by words like tī [tiː] "Western style tea" and chii [tɕii] "social status".

The "r" of the Japanese language (technically a lateral apical postalveolar flap), is of particular interest, sounding to most English speakers to be something between an "l" and a retroflex "r" depending on its position in a word. The "g" is also notable; unless it starts a sentence, many speakers – predominantly in eastern and northern Japan (except Hokkaido) and therefore also speakers in Tokyo-produced NHK radio programs – pronounce it /ŋ/, like the ng in "sing".

The syllabic structure and the phonotactics are very simple: the only consonant clusters allowed within a syllable consist of one of a subset of the consonants plus /j/. These type of clusters only occur in onsets. However, consonant clusters across syllables are allowed as long as the two consonants are a nasal followed by a homorganic consonant. Consonant length (gemination) is also phonemic.

Japanese word order is classified as subject–object–verb. Unlike many Indo-European languages, the only strict rule of word order is that the verb must be placed at the end of a sentence; other elements in the sentence may be in various orders for emphasis, or possibly omitted.^[9] This is because the Japanese sentence elements are marked with particles that identify their grammatical functions.

The basic sentence structure is topic–comment. For example, Kochira wa Tanaka-san desu (こちらは田中さんです). kochira ("this") is the topic of the sentence, indicated by the particle wa. The verb is desu, a copula, commonly translated as "to be" or "it is" (though there are other verbs that can be translated as "to be"), though technically it holds no meaning and is used to give a sentence 'politeness'. As a phrase, Tanaka-san desu is the comment. This sentence literally translates to "As for this person, (it) is Mr./Mrs./Miss Tanaka." Thus Japanese, like many other Asian languages, is often called a topic-prominent language, which means it has a strong tendency to indicate the topic separately from the subject, and the two do not always coincide. The sentence Zō wa hana ga nagai (象は鼻が長い) literally means, "As for elephant(s), (the) nose(s) (is/are) long". The topic is zō "elephant", and the subject is hana "nose".

In Japanese, the subject or object of a sentence need not be stated if it is obvious from context. In addition, it is commonly felt, particularly in informal spoken Japanese, that the shorter a sentence is, the better.^{[citation needed]} As a result of this grammatical permissiveness, there is a tendency to gravitate towards brevity; Japanese speakers tend to omit pronouns on the theory they are inferred from the previous sentence, and are therefore understood. In the context of the above example, hana-ga nagai would mean "[their] noses are long," while nagai by itself would mean "[they] are long." A single verb can be a complete sentence: Yatta! (やった!)"[I / we / they / etc] did [it]!". In addition, since adjectives can form the predicate in a Japanese sentence (below), a single adjective can be a complete sentence: Urayamashii! (羨ましい!)"[I'm] jealous [of it]!".

While the language has some words that are typically translated as pronouns, these are not used as frequently as pronouns in some Indo-European languages, and function differently. Instead, Japanese typically relies on special verb forms and auxiliary verbs to indicate the direction of benefit of an action: "down" to indicate the out-group gives a benefit to the in-group; and "up" to indicate the in-group gives a benefit to the out-group. Here, the in-group includes the speaker and the out-group does not, and their boundary depends on context. For example, oshiete moratta (教えてもらった) (literally, "explained" with a benefit from the out-group to the in-group) means "[he/she/they] explained [it] to [me/us]". Similarly, oshiete ageta (教えてあげた) (literally, "explained" with a benefit from the in-group to the out-group) means "[I/we] explained [it] to [him/her/them]". Such beneficiary auxiliary verbs thus serve a function comparable to that of pronouns and prepositions in Indo-European languages to indicate the actor and the recipient of an action.

Japanese "pronouns" also function differently from most modern Indo-European pronouns (and more like nouns) in that they can take modifiers as any other noun may. For instance, one does not say in English:

*The amazed he ran down the street. (grammatically incorrect insertion of a pronoun)

But one can grammatically say essentially the same thing in Japanese:

驚いた彼は道を走っていった。

Odoroita kare wa michi o hashitte itta. (grammatically correct)

This is partly because these words evolved from regular nouns, such as kimi "you" (君 "lord"), anata "you" (あなた "that side, yonder"), and boku "I" (僕 "servant"). This is why some linguists do not classify Japanese "pronouns" as pronouns, but rather as referential nouns, much like Spanish usted (contracted from vuestra merced, "your [(flattering majestic) plural] grace") or Portuguese o senhor. Japanese personal pronouns are generally used only in situations requiring special emphasis as to who is doing what to whom.

The choice of words used as pronouns is correlated with the sex of the speaker and the social situation in which they are spoken: men and women alike in a formal situation generally refer to themselves as watashi (私 "private") or watakushi (also 私), while men in rougher or intimate conversation are much more likely to use the word ore (俺 "oneself", "myself") or boku. Similarly, different words such as anata, kimi, and omae (お前, more formally 御前 "the one before me") may be used to refer to a listener depending on the listener's relative social position and the degree of familiarity between the speaker and the listener. When used in different social relationships, the same word may have positive (intimate or respectful) or negative (distant or disrespectful) connotations.

Japanese often use titles of the person referred to where pronouns would be used in English. For example, when speaking to one's teacher, it is appropriate to use sensei (先生, teacher), but inappropriate to use anata. This is because anata is used to refer to people of equal or lower status, and one's teacher has higher status.

Japanese nouns have no grammatical number, gender or article aspect. The noun hon (本) may refer to a single book or several books; hito (人) can mean "person" or "people"; and ki (木) can be "tree" or "trees". Where number is important, it can be indicated by providing a quantity (often with a counter word) or (rarely) by adding a suffix. Words for people are usually understood as singular. Thus Tanaka-san usually means Mr./Ms. Tanaka. Words that refer to people and animals can be made to indicate a group of individuals through the addition of a collective suffix (a noun suffix that indicates a group), such as -tachi, but this is not a true plural: the meaning is closer to the English phrase "and company". A group described as Tanaka-san-tachi may include people not named Tanaka. Some Japanese nouns are effectively plural, such as hitobito "people" and wareware "we/us", while the word tomodachi "friend" is considered singular, although plural in form.

Verbs are conjugated to show tenses, of which there are two: past and present, or non-past, which is used for the present and the future. For verbs that represent an ongoing process, the -te iru form indicates a continuous (or progressive) aspect, similar to the suffix ing in English. For others that represent a change of state, the -te iru form indicates a perfect aspect. For example, kite iru means "He has come (and is still here)", but tabete iru means "He is eating".

Questions (both with an interrogative pronoun and yes/no questions) have the same structure as affirmative sentences, but with intonation rising at the end. In the formal register, the question particle -ka is added. For example, Ii desu (いいです) "It is OK" becomes Ii desu-ka (いいですか？) "Is it OK?". In a more informal tone sometimes the particle -no (の) is added instead to show a personal interest of the speaker: Dōshite konai-no? "Why aren't (you) coming?". Some simple queries are formed simply by mentioning the topic with an interrogative intonation to call for the hearer's attention: Kore wa? "(What about) this?"; Namae wa? (名前は？) "(What's your) name?".

Negatives are formed by inflecting the verb. For example, Pan o taberu (パンを食べる。) "I will eat bread" or "I eat bread" becomes Pan o tabenai (パンを食べない。) "I will not eat bread" or "I do not eat bread". Plain negative forms are actually i-adjectives (see below) and inflect as such, e.g. Pan o tabenakatta (パンを食べなかった。) "I did not eat bread".

The so-called -te verb form is used for a variety of purposes: either progressive or perfect aspect (see above); combining verbs in a temporal sequence (Asagohan o tabete sugu dekakeru "I'll eat breakfast and leave at once"), simple commands, conditional statements and permissions (Dekakete-mo ii? "May I go out?"), etc.

The word da (plain), desu (polite) is the copula verb. It corresponds approximately to the English be, but often takes on other roles, including a marker for tense, when the verb is conjugated into its past form datta (plain), deshita (polite). This comes into use because only i-adjectives and verbs can carry tense in Japanese. Two additional common verbs are used to indicate existence ("there is") or, in some contexts, property: aru (negative nai) and iru (negative inai), for inanimate and animate things, respectively. For example, Neko ga iru "There's a cat", Ii kangae-ga nai "[I] haven't got a good idea".

The verb "to do" (suru, polite form shimasu) is often used to make verbs from nouns (ryōri suru "to cook", benkyō suru "to study", etc.) and has been productive in creating modern slang words. Japanese also has a huge number of compound verbs to express concepts that are described in English using a verb and an adverbial particle (e.g. tobidasu "to fly out, to flee," from tobu "to fly, to jump" + dasu "to put out, to emit").

There are three types of adjective (see Japanese adjectives):

形容詞 keiyōshi, or i adjectives, which have a conjugating ending i (い) (such as 暑い atsui "to be hot") which can become past (暑かった atsukatta "it was hot"), or negative (暑くない atsuku nai "it is not hot"). Note that nai is also an i adjective, which can become past (暑くなかった atsuku nakatta "it was not hot").
暑い日 atsui hi "a hot day".
形容動詞 keiyōdōshi, or na adjectives, which are followed by a form of the copula, usually na. For example hen (strange)
変なひと hen na hito "a strange person".
連体詞 rentaishi, also called true adjectives, such as ano "that"
あの山 ano yama "that mountain".

Both keiyōshi and keiyōdōshi may predicate sentences. For example,

ご飯が熱い。 Gohan-ga atsui. "The rice is hot."

彼は変だ。 Kare wa hen da. "He's strange."

Both inflect, though they do not show the full range of conjugation found in true verbs. The rentaishi in Modern Japanese are few in number, and unlike the other words, are limited to directly modifying nouns. They never predicate sentences. Examples include ookina "big", kono "this", iwayuru "so-called" and taishita "amazing".

Both keiyōdōshi and keiyōshi form adverbs, by following with ni in the case of keiyōdōshi:

変になる hen ni naru "become strange",

and by changing i to ku in the case of keiyōshi:

熱くなる atsuku naru "become hot".

The grammatical function of nouns is indicated by postpositions, also called particles. These include for example:

が ga for the nominative case. Not necessarily a subject.

彼がやった。Kare ga yatta. "He did it."

に ni for the dative case.

田中さんにあげて下さい。 Tanaka-san ni agete kudasai "Please give it to Mr. Tanaka."

It is also used for the lative case, indicating a motion to a location.

日本に行きたい。 Nihon ni ikitai "I want to go to Japan."

の no for the genitive case, or nominalizing phrases.

私のカメラ。 watashi no kamera "my camera"

スキーに行くのが好きです。 Sukī-ni iku no ga suki desu "(I) like going skiing."

を o for the accusative case. Not necessarily an object.

何を食べますか。 Nani o tabemasu ka? "What will (you) eat?"

は wa for the topic. It can co-exist with the case markers listed above, and it overrides ga and (in most cases) o.

私は寿司がいいです。 Watashi wa sushi ga ii desu. (literally) "As for me, sushi is good." The nominative marker ga after watashi is hidden under wa. (Note that English generally makes no distinction between sentence topic and subject.)

Note: The difference between wa and ga goes beyond the English distinction between sentence topic and subject.^{[contradiction]} While wa indicates the topic, which the rest of the sentence describes or acts upon, it carries the implication that the subject indicated by wa is not unique, or may be part of a larger group.

Ikeda-san wa yonjū-ni sai da. "As for Mr. Ikeda, he is forty-two years old." Others in the group may also be of that age.

Absence of wa often means the subject is the focus of the sentence.

Ikeda-san ga yonjū-ni sai da. "It is Mr. Ikeda who is forty-two years old." This is a reply to an implicit or explicit question who in this group is forty-two years old.

Japanese has an extensive grammatical system to express politeness and formality.

The Japanese language can express differing levels in social status. The differences in social position are determined by a variety of factors including job, age, experience, or even psychological state (e.g., a person asking a favour tends to do so politely). The person in the lower position is expected to use a polite form of speech, whereas the other might use a more plain form. Strangers will also speak to each other politely. Japanese children rarely use polite speech until they are teens, at which point they are expected to begin speaking in a more adult manner. See uchi-soto.

Whereas teineigo (丁寧語) (polite language) is commonly an inflectional system, sonkeigo (尊敬語) (respectful language) and kenjōgo (謙譲語) (humble language) often employ many special honorific and humble alternate verbs: iku "go" becomes ikimasu in polite form, but is replaced by irassharu in honorific speech and ukagau or mairu in humble speech.

The difference between honorific and humble speech is particularly pronounced in the Japanese language. Humble language is used to talk about oneself or one's own group (company, family) whilst honorific language is mostly used when describing the interlocutor and their group. For example, the -san suffix ("Mr" "Mrs." or "Miss") is an example of honorific language. It is not used to talk about oneself or when talking about someone from one's company to an external person, since the company is the speaker's "group". When speaking directly to one's superior in one's company or when speaking with other employees within one's company about a superior, a Japanese person will use vocabulary and inflections of the honorific register to refer to the in-group superior and their speech and actions. When speaking to a person from another company (i.e., a member of an out-group), however, a Japanese person will use the plain or the humble register to refer to the speech and actions of their own in-group superiors. In short, the register used in Japanese to refer to the person, speech, or actions of any particular individual varies depending on the relationship (either in-group or out-group) between the speaker and listener, as well as depending on the relative status of the speaker, listener, and third-person referents.

Most nouns in the Japanese language may be made polite by the addition of o- or go- as a prefix. o- is generally used for words of native Japanese origin, whereas go- is affixed to words of Chinese derivation. In some cases, the prefix has become a fixed part of the word, and is included even in regular speech, such as gohan 'cooked rice; meal.' Such a construction often indicates deference to either the item's owner or to the object itself. For example, the word tomodachi 'friend,' would become o-tomodachi when referring to the friend of someone of higher status (though mothers often use this form to refer to their children's friends). On the other hand, a polite speaker may sometimes refer to mizu 'water' as o-mizu in order to show politeness.

Most Japanese people employ politeness to indicate a lack of familiarity. That is, they use polite forms for new acquaintances, but if a relationship becomes more intimate, they no longer use them. This occurs regardless of age, social class, or gender.

The original language of Japan, or at least the original language of a certain population that was ancestral to a significant portion of the historical and present Japanese nation, was the so-called yamato kotoba (大和言葉 or infrequently 大和詞, i.e. "Yamato words"), which in scholarly contexts is sometimes referred to as wago (和語 or rarely 倭語, i.e. the "Wa}} words"). In addition to words from this original language, present-day Japanese includes a number of words that were either borrowed from Chinese or constructed from Chinese roots following Chinese patterns. These words, known as kango (漢語), entered the language from the 5th century onwards via contact with Chinese culture. According to the Shinsen Kokugo Jiten (新選国語辞典) Japanese dictionary, kango comprise 49.1% of the total vocabulary, wago make up 33.8%, other foreign words or gairaigo (外来語) account for 8.8%, and the remaining 8.3% constitute hybridized words or konshugo (混種語) that draw elements from more than one language.^[10]

There are also a great number of words of mimetic origin in Japanese, with Japanese having a rich collection of sound symbolism, both onomatopoeia for physical sounds, and more abstract words. A small number of words have come into Japanese from the Ainu language. Tonakai (reindeer), rakko (sea otter) and shishamo (smelt, a type of fish) are well-known examples of words of Ainu origin.

Words of different origins occupy different registers in Japanese. Like Latin-derived words in English, kango words are typically perceived as somewhat formal or academic compared to equivalent Yamato words. Indeed, it is generally fair to say that an English word derived from Latin/French roots typically corresponds to a Sino-Japanese word in Japanese, whereas a simpler Anglo-Saxon word would best be translated by a Yamato equivalent.

Incorporating vocabulary from European languages began with borrowings from Portuguese in the 16th century, followed by words from Dutch during Japan's long isolation of the Edo period. With the Meiji Restoration and the reopening of Japan in the 19th century, borrowing occurred from German, French, and English. Today most borrowings are from English.

In the Meiji era, the Japanese also coined many neologisms using Chinese roots and morphology to translate European concepts;^{[citation needed]} these are known as wasei kango (Japanese-made Chinese words). Many of these were then imported into Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese via their kanji in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.^{[citation needed]} For example, seiji 政治 ("politics"), and kagaku 化学 ("chemistry") are words derived from Chinese roots that were first created and used by the Japanese, and only later borrowed into Chinese and other East Asian languages. As a result, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese share a large common corpus of vocabulary in the same way a large number of Greek- and Latin-derived words – both inherited or borrowed into European languages, or modern coinages from Greek or Latin roots – are shared among modern European languages – see classical compound.^{[citation needed]}

In the past few decades, wasei-eigo ("made-in-Japan English") has become a prominent phenomenon. Words such as wanpatān ワンパターン (< one + pattern, "to be in a rut", "to have a one-track mind") and sukinshippu　スキンシップ (< skin + -ship, "physical contact"), although coined by compounding English roots, are nonsensical in most non-Japanese contexts; exceptions exist in nearby languages such as Korean however, which often use words such as skinship and rimokon (remote control) in the same way as in Japanese.

The popularity of many Japanese cultural exports has made some native Japanese words familiar in English, including futon, haiku, judo, kamikaze, karaoke, karate, ninja, origami, rickshaw (from 人力車 jinrikisha), samurai, sayonara, sudoku, sumo, sushi, tsunami, tycoon. See list of English words of Japanese origin for more.

Literacy was introduced to Japan in the form of the Chinese writing system, by way of Baekje before the 5th century.^[11] Using this language, the Japanese king Bu presented a petition to Emperor Shun of Liu Song in AD 478.^[12] After the ruin of Baekje, Japan invited scholars from China to learn more of the Chinese writing system. Japanese emperors gave an official rank to Chinese scholars (続守言/薩弘格/^[13]^[14] 袁晋卿^[15]) and spread the use of Chinese characters from the 7th century to the 8th century.

The table of Kana. (Hiragana top, Katakana in the center and Romaji on the bottom.)

At first, the Japanese wrote in Classical Chinese, with Japanese names represented by characters used for their meanings and not their sounds. Later, during the 7th century AD, the Chinese-sounding phoneme principle was used to write pure Japanese poetry and prose, but some Japanese words were still written with characters for their meaning and not the original Chinese sound. This is when the history of Japanese as a written language begins in its own right. By this time, the Japanese language was already distinct from the Ryukyuan languages.^[16]

An example of this mixed style is the Kojiki, which was written in AD 712. They then started to use Chinese characters to write Japanese in a style known as man'yōgana, a syllabic script which used Chinese characters for their sounds in order to transcribe the words of Japanese speech syllable by syllable.

Over time, a writing system evolved. Chinese characters (kanji) were used to write either words borrowed from Chinese, or Japanese words with the same or similar meanings. Chinese characters were also used to write grammatical elements, were simplified, and eventually became two syllabic scripts: hiragana and katakana which were developed based on Manyogana from Baekje.^[17] However this hypothesis "Manyogana from Baekje" is denied by other scholars.^[18]^[19]

Modern Japanese is written in a mixture of three main systems: kanji, characters of Chinese origin used to represent both Chinese loanwords into Japanese and a number of native Japanese morphemes; and two syllabaries: hiragana and katakana. The Latin alphabet is also sometimes used, and is known in Japan as a system called "Romaji." Arabic numerals are much more common than the kanji when used in counting, but kanji numerals are still used in compounds, such as 統一 tōitsu ("unification").

Hiragana are used for words without kanji representation, for words no longer written in kanji, and also following kanji to show conjugational endings. Because of the way verbs (and adjectives) in Japanese are conjugated, kanji alone cannot fully convey Japanese tense and mood, as kanji cannot be subject to variation when written without losing its meaning. For this reason, hiragana are suffixed to the ends of kanji to show verb and adjective conjugations. Hiragana used in this way are called okurigana. Hiragana can also be written in a superscript called furigana above or beside a kanji to show the proper reading. This is done to facilitate learning, as well as to clarify particularly old or obscure (or sometimes invented) readings.

Katakana, like hiragana, are a syllabary; katakana are primarily used to write foreign words, plant and animal names, and for emphasis. For example "Australia" has been adapted as Ōsutoraria (オーストラリア), and "supermarket" has been adapted and shortened into sūpā (スーパー). The Latin alphabet (in Japanese referred to as Rōmaji (ローマ字), literally "Roman letters") is used for some loan words like "CD" and "DVD", and also for some Japanese creations like "Sony".

Historically, attempts to limit the number of kanji in use commenced in the mid-19th century, but did not become a matter of government intervention until after Japan's defeat in the Second World War. During the period of post-war occupation (and influenced by the views of some U.S. officials), various schemes including the complete abolition of kanji and exclusive use of rōmaji were considered. The jōyō kanji ("common use kanji", originally called tōyō kanji [kanji for general use]) scheme arose as a compromise solution.

Japanese students begin to learn kanji from their first year at elementary school. A guideline created by the Japanese Ministry of Education, the list of kyōiku kanji ("education kanji", a subset of jōyō kanji), specifies the 1,006 simple characters a child is to learn by the end of sixth grade. Children continue to study another 939 characters in junior high school, covering in total 1,945 jōyō kanji. The official list of jōyō kanji was revised several times, but the total number of officially sanctioned characters remained largely unchanged.

As for kanji for personal names, the circumstances are somewhat complicated. Jōyō kanji and jinmeiyō kanji (an appendix of additional characters for names) are approved for registering personal names. Names containing unapproved characters are denied registration. However, as with the list of jōyō kanji, criteria for inclusion were often arbitrary and led to many common and popular characters being disapproved for use. Under popular pressure and following a court decision holding the exclusion of common characters unlawful, the list of jinmeiyō kanji was substantially extended from 92 in 1951 (the year it was first decreed) to 983 in 2004. Furthermore, families whose names are not on these lists were permitted to continue using the older forms.

A common ancestor of Japanese and Ryukyuan languages or dialects is thought to have been brought to Japan by settlers coming from either the mainland or nearby Pacific islands (or both) sometime in the early- to mid-2nd century BC, replacing the language(s) of the original Jōmon inhabitants,^[20] including the ancestor of the modern Ainu language. Very little is known about the Japanese of this period – because writing had yet to be introduced from China, there is no direct evidence; so anything that can be discerned about this period of Japanese must be based on reconstructions of Old JapaneseA common ancestor of Japanese and Ryukyuan languages or dialects is thought to have been brought to Japan by settlers coming from either the mainland or nearby Pacific islands (or both) sometime in the early- to mid-2nd century BC, replacing the language(s) of the original Jōmon inhabitants,^[20] including the ancestor of the modern Ainu language. Very little is known about the Japanese of this period – because writing had yet to be introduced from China, there is no direct evidence; so anything that can be discerned about this period of Japanese must be based on reconstructions of Old Japanese

Old Japanese is the first attested written form of Japanese – the earliest text (the Kojiki) dates to the early 8th century AD; the end of Old Japanese coincides with the end of the Nara period in 794. Old Japanese uses the Man'yōgana system of writing, which uses kanji for their phonetic values as well as semantic. Based on the Man'yōgana system, Old Japanese can be reconstructed as having 88 distinct syllables; texts written with Man'yōgana use two different kanji for each of the syllables now pronounced き ki, ひ hi, み mi, け ke, へ he, め me, こ ko, そ so, と to, の no, も mo, よ yo and ろ ro^[21] (the Kojiki has 88, but all later texts have 87, the distinction between mo₁ and mo₂ apparently being lost immediately following its composition). This set of syllables shrinks to 67 in Early Middle Japanese (though some were added through Chinese influence).

Due to these extra syllables, it has been hypothesized that Old Japanese's vowel system was larger than Modern Japanese's – perhaps containing up to eight vowels. According to Shinkichi Hashimoto, the extra in Man'yōgana derive from differences between the vowels of the syllables in question.^[22] These differences would indicate that Old Japanese had an eight-vowel system,^[23] in contrast to later Japanese's five vowels. The vowel system would have to have shrunk some time between these texts and the invention of the kana in the early 9th century. According to this view, the eight-vowel system of ancient Japanese would resemble that of the Uralic and Altaic language families.^[24] However, it is not fully certain that the alternation between syllables necessarily reflects a difference in the vowels rather than the consonants – at the moment, the only undisputed fact is that they are different syllables.

Old Japanese does not have /h/, but rather /ɸ/ (preserved in modern fu, /ɸɯ/), which has been reconstructed to an earlier /*p/. Man'yōgana also has a symbol for /je/, which merges with /e/ before the end of the period.

Several fossilizations of Old Japanese grammatical elements remain in the modern language – the genitive particle tsu (superseded by modern no) is preserved in words such as matsuge ("eyelash", lit. "hair of the eye"); modern mieru ("to be visible") and kikoeru ("to be audible") retain what may have been a frequentative suffix -ru (kikoyu > kikoyuru (the attributive form, which slowly replaced the plain form starting in the late Heian period) > kikoeru (as all shimo-nidan verbs in modern Japanese did)); and the genitive particle ga remains in intentionally archaic speech.

Early Middle Japanese is the Japanese of the Heian period, from 794 to 1185. Early Middle Japanese sees a significant amount of Chinese influence on the language's phonology – length distinctions become phonemic for both consonants and vowels, and series of both labialised (e.g. kwa) and palatalised (kya) consonants are added.^{[citation needed]} Intervocalic /ɸ/ merges with /w/ by the 11th century. The end of Early Middle Japanese sees the beginning of a shift where the attributive form (Japanese rentaikei) slowly replaces the uninflected form (shuushikei).

Late Middle Japanese covers the years from 1185 to 1600, and is normally divided into two sections, roughly equivalent to the Kamakura period and the Muromachi period, respectively. The later forms of Late Middle Japanese are the first to be described by non-native sources, in this case the Jesuit and Franciscan missionaries; and thus there is better documentation of Late Middle Japanese phonology than for previous forms (for instance, the Arte da Lingoa de Iapam). Among other sound changes, the sequence /au/ merges to /ɔː/, in contrast with /oː/; /p/ is reintroduced from Chinese; and /we/ merges with /je/. Some forms rather more familiar to Modern Japanese speakers begin to appear – the continuative ending -te begins to reduce onto the verb (e.g. yonde for earlier yomite), the -k- in the final syllable of adjectives drops out (shiroi for earlier shiroki); and some forms exist where modern standard Japanese has retained the earlier form (e.g. hayaku > hayau > hayou, where modern Japanese just has hayaku).

Late Middle Japanese has the first loanwords from European languages – now-common words borrowed into Japanese in this period include pan ("bread") and tabako ("tobacco", now "cigarette"), both from Portuguese.

Modern Japanese is considered to begin with the Edo period in 1600. Since old to middle, the de facto Standard Japanese had been Kansai dialect, especially Kyoto. However, during the Edo period, Edo (now Tokyo) developed into the largest city in Japan, and Edo Tokyo dialect became the Standard Japanese position. Since the end of Sakoku in 1853, the flow of loanwords from European languages has increased significantly – the last half-century or so has seen a very large volume of words borrowed from English,^[25] especially words about technology, including pasokon (a shortening of "personal computer"), intaanetto ("Internet"), and kamera ("camera"). Due to the large quantities of English loanwords, modern Japanese has developed a distinction between /tɕi/ and /ti/, and /dʑi/ and /di/; with the latter in each pair only found in loanwords.

Many major universities throughout the world provide Japanese language courses, and a number of secondary and even primary schools worldwide offer courses in the language. This is much changed from before World War II; in 1940, only 65 Americans not of Japanese descent were able to read, write and understand the language.^[26]

International interest in the Japanese language dates from the 19th century but has become more prevalent following Japan's economic bubble of the 1980s and the global popularity of Japanese popular culture (such as anime and video games) since the 1990s. About 2.3 million people studied the language worldwide in 2003: 900,000 South Koreans, 389,000 Chinese, 381,000 Australians, and 140,000 Americans studied Japanese in lower and higher educational institutions.

In Japan, more than 90,000 foreign students studied at Japanese universities and Japanese language schools, including 77,000 Chinese and 15,000 South Koreans in 2003. In addition, local governments and some NPO groups provide free Japanese language classes for foreign residents, including Japanese Brazilians and foreigners married to Japanese nationals. In the United Kingdom, study of the Japanese language is supported by the British Association for Japanese Studies. In Ireland, Japanese is offered as a language in the Leaving Certificate in some schools.

The Japanese government provides standardized tests to measure spoken and written comprehension of Japanese for second language learners; the most prominent is the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT), which features 5 levels of exams (changed from 4 levels in 2010), ranging from elementary (N5) to advanced (N1). The JLPT is only offered twice a year. The Japanese External Trade Organization JETRO organizes the Business Japanese Proficiency Test which tests the learner's ability to understand Japanese in a business setting. The Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation, which took over the BJT from JETRO in 2009, announced in August 2010 that the test would be discontinued in 2011 due to financial pressures on the Foundation. However, it has since issued a statement to the effect that the test will continue to be available as a result of support from the Japanese government.

When learning Japanese in a college setting, students are usually first taught how to pronounce romaji. From that point, they are taught the two main syllabaries, with kanji usually being introduced in the second semester. Focus is usually first on polite (distal) speech, which is what students would be expected to use when interacting with native speakers. Casual speech and formal speech usually follow polite speech, as well as the usage of honorifics.

Seppuku

2012-01-26T22:23:00.003+07:00

Seppuku (切腹^?, "stomach-cutting") is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment. Seppuku was originally reserved only for samurai. Part of the samurai bushido honor code, seppuku was either used voluntarily by samurai to die with honor rather than fall into the hands of their enemies, (and likely suffer torture), or as a form of capital punishment for samurai who had committed serious offenses, or performed for other reasons that had brought shame to them. The ceremonial disembowelment, which is usually part of a more elaborate ritual and performed in front of spectators, consists of plunging a short blade, traditionally a tantō, into the abdomen and moving the blade from left to right in a slicing motion.

Seppuku is also known as harakiri (腹切り, "cutting the belly"), a term more widely familiar outside Japan, and which is written with the same kanji as seppuku, but in reverse order with an okurigana. In Japanese, the more formal seppuku, a Chinese on'yomi reading, is typically used in writing, while harakiri, a native kun'yomi reading, is used in speech. Ross notes,

"It is commonly pointed out that hara-kiri is a vulgarism, but this is a misunderstanding. Hara-kiri is a Japanese reading or Kun-yomi of the characters; as it became customary to prefer Chinese readings in official announcements, only the term seppuku was ever used in writing. So hara-kiri is a spoken term and seppuku a written term for the same act."
The first recorded act of seppuku was performed by Minamoto no Yorimasa during the Battle of Uji in the year 1180.^[3] Seppuku eventually became a key part of bushido, the code of the samurai warriors; it was used by warriors to avoid falling into enemy hands, and to attenuate shame and avoid possible torture. Samurai could also be ordered by their daimyo (feudal lords) to carry out seppuku. Later, disgraced warriors were sometimes allowed to carry out seppuku rather than be executed in the normal manner. The most common form of seppuku for men was composed of the cutting of the abdomen, and when the samurai was finished, he stretched out his neck for an assistant to decapitate him. Since the main point of the act was to restore or protect one's honor as a warrior, those who did not belong to the samurai caste were never ordered or expected to carry out seppuku. Samurai generally could carry out the act only with permission.

Sometimes a daimyo was called upon to perform seppuku as the basis of a peace agreement. This would weaken the defeated clan so that resistance would effectively cease. Toyotomi Hideyoshi used an enemy's suicide in this way on several occasions, the most dramatic of which effectively ended a dynasty of daimyo. When the Hōjō were defeated at Odawara in 1590, Hideyoshi insisted on the suicide of the retired daimyo Hōjō Ujimasa, and the exile of his son Ujinao; with this act of suicide, the most powerful daimyo family in eastern Japan was put to an end.
In time, carrying out seppuku came to involve a detailed ritual. This was usually performed in front of spectators if it was a planned seppuku, not one performed on a battlefield. A samurai was bathed, dressed in white robes, and fed his favorite meal. When he had finished, his instrument was placed on his plate. Dressed ceremonially, with his sword placed in front of him and sometimes seated on special cloths, the warrior would prepare for death by writing a death poem.

Women have their own ritual suicide, jigai. Here, the wife of Onodera Junai, one of the Forty-seven Ronin, prepares for her suicide; note the legs tied together, a female feature of seppuku to ensure a "decent" posture in death

With his selected attendant (kaishakunin, his second) standing by, he would open his kimono (robe), take up his tantō (knife) or wakizashi (short sword)—which the samurai held by the blade with a portion of cloth wrapped around so that it would not cut his hand and cause him to lose his grip—and plunge it into his abdomen, making a left-to-right cut. The kaishakunin would then perform kaishaku, a cut in which the warrior was decapitated. The maneuver should be done in the manners of dakikubi (lit. "embraced head"), in which way a slight band of flesh is left attaching the head to the body, so that it be hung in front as if embraced. Because of the precision necessary for such a maneuver, the second was a skilled swordsman. The principal and the kaishakunin agreed in advance when the latter was to make his cut. Usually dakikubi would occur as soon as the dagger was plunged into the abdomen. The process became so highly ritualised that as soon as the samurai reached for his blade the kaishakunin would strike. Eventually even the blade became unnecessary and the samurai could reach for something symbolic like a fan and this would trigger the killing stroke from his second. The fan was likely used when the samurai was too old to use the blade, or in situations where it was too dangerous to give him a weapon in such circumstances.^[4]

This elaborate ritual evolved after seppuku had ceased being mainly a battlefield or wartime practice and become a para-judicial institution.

The second was usually, but not always, a friend. If a defeated warrior had fought honorably and well, an opponent who wanted to salute his bravery would volunteer to act as his second.

In the Hagakure, Yamamoto Tsunetomo wrote:

From ages past it has been considered an ill-omen by samurai to be requested as kaishaku. The reason for this is that one gains no fame even if the job is well done. Further, if one should blunder, it becomes a lifetime disgrace. In the practice of past times, there were instances when the head flew off. It was said that it was best to cut leaving a little skin remaining so that it did not fly off in the direction of the verifying officials.

A specialized form of seppuku in feudal times was known as kanshi (諫死, "remonstration death/death of understanding"), in which a retainer would commit suicide in protest of a lord's decision. The retainer would make one deep, horizontal cut into his stomach, then quickly bandage the wound. After this, the person would then appear before his lord, give a speech in which he announced the protest of the lord's action, then reveal his mortal wound. This is not to be confused with funshi (憤死, indignation death), which is any suicide made to state dissatisfaction or protest. A fictional variation of kanshi was the act of kagebara (陰腹, "shadow stomach") in Japanese theater, in which the protagonist, at the end of the play, would announce to the audience that he had committed an act similar to kanshi, a predetermined slash to the stomach followed by a tight field dressing, and then perish, bringing about a dramatic end.

General Akashi Gidayu preparing to carry out Seppuku after losing a battle for his master in 1582. He had just written his death poem, which is also visible in the upper right corner. By Tsukioka Yoshitoshi around 1890.

Some samurai chose to perform a considerably more taxing form of seppuku known as jūmonji giri (十文字切り, "cross-shaped cut"), in which there is no kaishakunin to put a quick end to the samurai's suffering. It involves a second and more painful vertical cut on the belly. A samurai performing jumonji giri was expected to bear his suffering quietly until perishing from loss of blood, passing away with his hands over his face.

[edit] Seppuku as capital punishment

While the voluntary seppuku described above is the best known form, in practice the most common form of seppuku was obligatory seppuku, used as a form of capital punishment for disgraced samurai, especially for those who committed a serious offense such as unprovoked murder, robbery, corruption, or treason. The samurai were generally told of their offence in full and given a set time to commit seppuku, usually before sunset on a given day. If the sentenced was uncooperative, it was not unheard of for them to be restrained, or for the actual execution to be carried out by decapitation while retaining only the trappings of seppuku; even the short sword laid out in front of the offender could be replaced with a fan. Unlike voluntary seppuku, seppuku carried out as capital punishment did not necessarily absolve the offender's family of the crime. Depending on the severity of the crime, half or all of the deceased's property could be confiscated, and the family stripped of rank.

Seppuku as judicial punishment was abolished in 1873, shortly after the Meiji Restoration, but voluntary seppuku did not completely die out. Dozens of people are known to have committed seppuku since then, including some military men who committed suicide in 1895 as a protest against the return of a conquered territory to China;^{[citation needed]} by General Nogi and his wife on the death of Emperor Meiji in 1912; and by numerous soldiers and civilians who chose to die rather than surrender at the end of World War II. This behavior had been widely praised by propaganda, which made much of a soldier captured in the Shanghai Incident (1932), who returned to the site of his capture to commit seppuku.^[6]
In 1970, famed author Yukio Mishima and one of his followers committed public seppuku at the Japan Self-Defense Forces headquarters after an unsuccessful attempt to incite the armed forces to stage a coup d'état. Mishima committed seppuku in the office of General Kanetoshi Mashita. His second, a 25-year-old named Masakatsu Morita, tried three times to ritually behead Mishima but failed; his head was finally severed by Hiroyasu Koga. Morita then attempted to commit seppuku himself. Although his own cuts were too shallow to be fatal, he gave the signal and he too was beheaded by Kog
European witness

The first recorded time a European saw formal seppuku was the "Sakai Incident" of 1868. On February 15, eleven French sailors of the Dupleix entered a Japanese town called Sakai without official permission. Their presence caused panic among the residents. Security forces were dispatched to turn the sailors back to their ship, but a fight broke out and the sailors were shot dead. Upon the protest of the French representative, financial compensation was paid and those responsible were sentenced to death. The French captain was present to observe the execution. As each samurai committed ritual disembowelment, the violent act shocked the captain, and he requested a pardon, due to which nine of the samurai were spared. This incident was dramatised in a famous short story, Sakai Jiken, by Mori Ōgai.

In the 1860s, the British Ambassador to Japan, Algernon Freeman-Mitford (Lord Redesdale) lived within sight of Sengaku-ji where the Forty-seven Ronin are buried. In his book Tales of Old Japan, he describes a man who had come to the graves to kill himself:

I will add one anecdote to show the sanctity which is attached to the graves of the Forty-seven. In the month of September 1868, a certain man came to pray before the grave of Oishi Chikara. Having finished his prayers, he deliberately performed hara-kiri, and, the belly wound not being mortal, dispatched himself by cutting his throat. Upon his person were found papers setting forth that, being a Ronin and without means of earning a living, he had petitioned to be allowed to enter the clan of the Prince of Choshiu, which he looked upon as the noblest clan in the realm; his petition having been refused, nothing remained for him but to die, for to be a Ronin was hateful to him, and he would serve no other master than the Prince of Choshiu: what more fitting place could he find in which to put an end to his life than the graveyard of these Braves? This happened at about two hundred yards' distance from my house, and when I saw the spot an hour or two later, the ground was all bespattered with blood, and disturbed by the death-struggles of the man.

Mitford also describes his friend's eyewitness account of a Seppuku:

There are many stories on record of extraordinary heroism being displayed in the harakiri. The case of a young fellow, only twenty years old, of the Choshiu clan, which was told me the other day by an eye-witness, deserves mention as a marvellous instance of determination. Not content with giving himself the one necessary cut, he slashed himself thrice horizontally and twice vertically. Then he stabbed himself in the throat until the dirk protruded on the other side, with its sharp edge to the front; setting his teeth in one supreme effort, he drove the knife forward with both hands through his throat, and fell dead.

During the Meiji Restoration, the Tokugawa Shogun's aide committed Seppuku:

One more story and I have done. During the revolution, when the Taikun (Supreme Commander), beaten on every side, fled ignominiously to Yedo, he is said to have determined to fight no more, but to yield everything. A member of his second council went to him and said, "Sir, the only way for you now to retrieve the honour of the family of Tokugawa is to disembowel yourself; and to prove to you that I am sincere and disinterested in what I say, I am here ready to disembowel myself with you." The Taikun flew into a great rage, saying that he would listen to no such nonsense, and left the room. His faithful retainer, to prove his honesty, retired to another part of the castle, and solemnly performed the harakiri.

In his book Tales of Old Japan, Mitford describes witnessing a hara-kiri:^[5]

"As a corollary to the above elaborate statement of the ceremonies proper to be observed at the harakiri, I may here describe an instance of such an execution which I was sent officially to witness. The condemned man was Taki Zenzaburo, an officer of the Prince of Bizen, who gave the order to fire upon the foreign settlement at Hyōgo in the month of February 1868,—an attack to which I have alluded in the preamble to the story of the Eta Maiden and the Hatamoto. Up to that time no foreigner had witnessed such an execution, which was rather looked upon as a traveller's fable. The ceremony, which was ordered by the Mikado himself, took place at 10:30 at night in the temple of Seifukuji, the headquarters of the Satsuma troops at Hiogo. A witness was sent from each of the foreign legations. We were seven foreigners in all. After another profound obeisance, Taki Zenzaburo, in a voice which betrayed just so much emotion and hesitation as might be expected from a man who is making a painful confession, but with no sign of either in his face or manner, spoke as follows:

I, and I alone, unwarrantably gave the order to fire on the foreigners at Kobe, and again as they tried to escape. For this crime I disembowel myself, and I beg you who are present to do me the honour of witnessing the act.

Bowing once more, the speaker allowed his upper garments to slip down to his girdle, and remained naked to the waist. Carefully, according to custom, he tucked his sleeves under his knees to prevent himself from falling backwards; for a noble Japanese gentleman should die falling forwards. Deliberately, with a steady hand, he took the dirk that lay before him; he looked at it wistfully, almost affectionately; for a moment he seemed to collect his thoughts for the last time, and then stabbing himself deeply below the waist on the left-hand side, he drew the dirk slowly across to the right side, and, turning it in the wound, gave a slight cut upwards. During this sickeningly painful operation he never moved a muscle of his face. When he drew out the dirk, he leaned forward and stretched out his neck; an expression of pain for the first time crossed his face, but he uttered no sound. At that moment the kaishaku, who, still crouching by his side, had been keenly watching his every movement, sprang to his feet, poised his sword for a second in the air; there was a flash, a heavy, ugly thud, a crashing fall; with one blow the head had been severed from the body.

A dead silence followed, broken only by the hideous noise of the blood throbbing out of the inert heap before us, which but a moment before had been a brave and chivalrous man. It was horrible.
The kaishaku made a low bow, wiped his sword with a piece of rice paper which he had ready for the purpose, and retired from the raised floor; and the stained dirk was solemnly borne away, a bloody proof of the execution. The two representatives of the Mikado then left their places, and, crossing over to where the foreign witnesses sat, called us to witness that the sentence of death upon Taki Zenzaburo had been faithfully carried out. The ceremony being at an end, we left the temple. The ceremony, to which the place and the hour gave an additional solemnity, was characterized throughout by that extreme dignity and punctiliousness which are the distinctive marks of the proceedings of Japanese gentlemen of rank; and it is important to note this fact, because it carries with it the conviction that the dead man was indeed the officer who had committed the crime, and no substitute. While profoundly impressed by the terrible scene it was impossible at the same time not to be filled with admiration of the firm and manly bearing of the sufferer, and of the nerve with which the kaishaku performed his last duty to his master.

The practice of committing seppuku at the death of one's master, known as oibara (追腹 or 追い腹, the kun'yomi or Japanese reading) or tsuifuku (追腹, the on'yomi or Chinese reading), follows a similar ritual.

Seppuku as judicial punishment was abolished in 1873, shortly after the Meiji Restoration, but voluntary seppuku did not completely die out. Dozens of people are known to have committed seppuku since then, including some military men who committed suicide in 1895 as a protest against the return of a conquered territory to China;^{[citation needed]} by General Nogi and his wife on the death of Emperor Meiji in 1912; and by numerous soldiers and civilians who chose to die rather than surrender at the end of World War II. This behavior had been widely praised by propaganda, which made much of a soldier captured in the Shanghai Incident (1932), who returned to the site of his capture to commit seppuku.^[6]

In 1970, famed author Yukio Mishima and one of his followers committed public seppuku at the Japan Self-Defense Forces headquarters after an unsuccessful attempt to incite the armed forces to stage a coup d'état. Mishima committed seppuku in the office of General Kanetoshi Mashita. His second, a 25-year-old named Masakatsu Morita, tried three times to ritually behead Mishima but failed; his head was finally severed by Hiroyasu Koga. Morita then attempted to commit seppuku himself. Although his own cuts were too shallow to be fatal, he gave the signal and he too was beheaded by Kog

Harajuku

2012-01-26T22:12:00.002+07:00

Harajuku (原宿 "meadow lodging") listen (help·info) is the common name for the area around Harajuku Station on the Yamanote Line in the Shibuya ward of Tokyo, Japan.

Every Sunday, young people dressed in a variety of styles including gothic lolita, visual kei, and decora, as well as cosplayers spend the day in Harajuku socializing. The fashion styles of these youths rarely conform to one particular style and are usually a mesh of many. Most young people gather on Jingu Bridge, which is a pedestrian bridge that connects Harajuku to the neighboring Meiji Shrine area.

Harajuku is also a fashion capital of the world, renowned for its unique street fashion. Harajuku street style is promoted in Japanese and international publications such as Kera, Tune, Gothic & Lolita Bible and Fruits. Many prominent designers and fashion ideas have sprung from Harajuku and incorporated themselves into other fashions throughout the world.

Harajuku is also a large shopping district that includes international brands, its own brands, and shops selling clothes young people can afford.

Harajuku as it is now traces its roots to the end of World War II during the Allied occupation of Japan. U.S. soldiers and government civilians and their families lived in a nearby housing area called Washington Heights. It became an area where curious young people flocked to experience a different culture and stores in the area stocked goods marketed towards middle and upper class Japanese and Americans.

In 1958, Central Apartments were built in the area and were quickly occupied by fashion designers, models, and photographers. In 1964, when the Summer Olympics came to Tokyo the Harajuku area was further developed, and the idea of “Harajuku” slowly began to take a more concrete shape.

After the Olympics the young people who hung out in the area, frequently referred to as the Harajuku-zoku, or the Harajuku tribe, began to develop a distinct culture and style unique to different groups and the area. From this distinct style grew the culture of Harajuku as a gathering ground for youths
he term "Harajuku Girls" has been used by English-language media to describe teenagers dressed in any fashion style who are in the area of Harajuku. This fashion infuses multiple looks and styles to create a unique form of dress. The cyber-punk look takes its influence from gothic fashion and incorporates neon and metallic colors.

Punk style in Harajuku is more of a fashion than a statement. Its fashion mainly consists of dark colors, plaid, chains, and zippers. Punk style is also one of the more gender-neutral fashions in Harajuku.

Ganguro is a style that symbolizes the average American teenager. The term translates to ‘black-faced’. The basic look is what Westerners would call a ‘California girl’, with bleached hair, dark skin, fake eyelashes and nails. It is not clear how Ganguro came to be. Many assume^[who?] it originated in the early 1990s, and was meant as a way of rebelling against the traditional Japanese ideas of beauty (pale skin, dark hair, etc.)

Cosplay is more of a costume-based style. A cosplay enthusiast will usually dress as a fictional or iconic character from a band, game, movie, anime, or manga.

Ura-Hara is another section of Harajuku, which caters to a mostly male population interested in a hip-hop, graffiti, and skater fashion and culture. Ura-Hara is seen as the opposite of Harajuku in that it’s more hidden and reserved.

In addition to Harajuku is its counterpart, known as Visual Kei. this refers to the style of bands and their fanbase. The term Visual Kei literally means a ‘visual style of music’. The melodies of the music these bands perform often resemble eighties rock, heavy metal, or techno; in some cases, the sound is a good mix of the three. The fashion began in the 1980s, when American metal bands were popular. Japanese fans loved how their idols would dress frantically and paint makeup wildly on their faces, so they began to emulate their style. This mimicking is also known is costume play, or cosplay.

Some countries have embraced this culture and arrange meetings under the same fashion as their Japanese counterpart. For example, in Colombia they are frequently held at the surrounding area of the Virgilio Barco Library in Bogotá In Paris, the area around Opéra Bastille is a well-known meeting place for manga-inspired youngsters who follow emo subcultures.

Budidaya Kacang Tanah

2011-12-13T18:26:00.002+07:00

I. PENDAHULUAN
Produksi komoditi kacang tanah per hektarnya belum mencapai hasil yang maksimum. Hal ini tidak terlepas dari pengaruh faktor tanah yang makin keras (rusak) dan miskin unsur hara terutama unsur hara mikro serta hormon pertumbuhan. Disamping itu juga karena faktor hama dan penyakit tanaman, faktor iklim, serta faktor pemeliharaan lainnya.
PT. NASA berusaha berperan meningkatkan produksi secara Kuantitas dan Kualitas dengan tetap memelihara Kelestarian lingkungan ( Aspek K - 3 ).
II. SYARAT PERTUMBUHAN
2.1. Iklim
a. Curah hujan antara 800-1.300 mm/tahun. Hujan yang terlalu keras akan mengakibatkan bunga sulit terserbuki oleh serangga dan akan meningkatkan kelembaban di sekitar pertanaman kacang tanah.
b. Suhu udara sekitar 28-320C. Bila suhunya di bawah 100C, pertumbuhan tanaman akan terhambat, bahkan kerdil.
c. Kelembaban udara berkisar 65-75 %.
d.Penyinaran matahari penuh dibutuhkan, terutama kesuburan daun dan perkembangan besarnya kacang.

2.2. Media Tanam
a. Jenis tanah yang sesuai adalah tanah gembur / bertekstur ringan dan subur.
b. pH antara 6,0-6,5.
c. Kekurangan air akan menyebabkan tanaman kurus, kerdil, layu dan akhirnya mati.
d. Drainase dan aerasi baik, lahan tidak terlalu becek dan kering baik bagi pertumbuhan kacang tanah.

2.3. Ketinggian Tempat
Ketinggian penanaman optimum 50 - 500 m dpl, tetapi masih dapat tumbuh di bawah ketinggian 1.500 m dpl.

III. PEDOMAN TEKNIS BUDIDAYA
3.1. Pembibitan
3.1.1. Persyaratan Benih
Syarat-syarat benih/bibit kacang tanah yang baik adalah:
a. Berasal dari tanaman yang baru dan varietas unggul.
b. Daya tumbuh yang tinggi (lebih dari 90 %) dan sehat.
c. Kulit benih mengkilap, tidak keriput dan cacat.
d. Murni atau tidak tercampur dengan varietas lain.
e. Kadar air benih berkisar 9-12 %.

3.1.2. Penyiapan Benih
Benih sebaiknya disimpan di tempat kering yang konstan dan tertutup rapat. Untuk menjamin kualitas benih, lebih baik membeli dari Balai Benih atau Penangkar Benih yang telah ditunjuk oleh Balai Sertifikasi Benih.

3.2. Pengolahan Media Tanam
3.2.1. Persiapan dan Pembukaan lahan
Pembukaan lahan dengan pembajakan dan pencangkulan untuk pembersihan lahan dari segala macam gulma (tumbuhan pengganggu) dan akar-akar pertanaman sebelumnya, serta untuk memudahkan perakaran tanaman berkembang dan menghilangkan tumbuhan inang bagi hama dan penyakit.

3.2.2. Pembentukan Bedengan
Buat bedengan ukuran lebar 80 cm, panjang menyesuaikan, ketebalan bedengan 20-30 cm. Diantara bedengan dibuatkan parit.

3.2.3. Pengapuran
Untuk menaikkan pH tanah, terutama pada lahan yang bersifat sangat masam dilakukan pengapuran dengan dosis + 1 - 2,5 ton/ha selambat-lambatnya 1 bulan sebelum tanam.

3.2.4. Pemberian Natural GLIO
Untuk mencegah terjadinya serangan jamur berikan Natural GLIO. Pengembangbiakan Natural GLIO dengan cara: 1-2 sachet Natural GLIO dicampur dengan 50-100 kg pupuk kandang untuk lahan 1000 m2. Selanjutnya didiamkan di tempat yang terlindung dari sinar matahari + 1 minggu dengan selalu menjaga kelembabannya dan sesekali diaduk (dibalik) . Pemberian Natural GLIO pada sore hari.

3.2.5. Pemberian Pupuk Makro dan SUPER NASA
Jenis dan dosis pupuk setiap hektar adalah:
a. Pupuk kandang 2 - 4 ton/ha, diberikan pada permukaan bedengan kurang lebih seminggu sebelum tanam, dicampur pada tanah bedengan atau diberikan pada lubang tanam.
b. Pupuk anorganik : SP-36 (100 kg/ha), ZA (100 kg/ha) dan KCl (50 kg/ha) atau sesuai rekomendasi setempat.
c. Siramkan pupuk POC NASA yang telah dicampur air secara merata di atas bedengan dengan dosis ± 1-2 botol (500-1000 cc) diencerkan dengan air secukupnya untuk setiap 1000 m2 (10-20 botol/ha). Hasil akan lebih bagus jika menggunakan SUPER NASA.

Adapun cara penggunaan SUPER NASA sbb :
alternatif 1 : 1 botol SUPER NASA diencerkan dalam 3 liter air dijadikan larutan induk. Setiap 50 lt air diberi 200 cc larutan induk tadi untuk menyiram bedengan.
alternatif 2 : setiap 1 gembor vol 10 lt diberi 1 peres sendok makan Super Nasa untuk menyiram + 10 meter bedengan.

Semua dosis pupuk makro diberikan saat tanam. Pupuk diberikan di kanan dan kiri lubang tugal sedalam 3 cm.

3.3. Teknik Penanaman
3.3.1. Penentuan Pola Tanam
Pola tanam memperhatikan musim dan curah hujan. Pada tanah yang subur, benih kacang tanah ditanam dalam larikan dengan jarak tanam 40 x 15 cm, 30 x 20 cm, atau 20 x 20 cm.

3.3.2. Pembuatan Lubang Tanam
Lubang tanam dibuat sedalam 3 cm menggunakan tugal dengan jarak seperti yang telah ditentukan di atas.

3.3.3. Perendaman Benih dengan POC NASA
Pilih benih yang baik dan agar benih dapat berkecambah dengan cepat dan serempak, benih direndam dalam larutan POC NASA (1-2 cc/liter air) selama + 0,5 1 jam.

3.3.4. Cara Penanaman
Masukan benih 1 atau 2 butir ke dalam lubang tanam dengan tanah tipis. Waktu tanam yang paling baik dilahan kering pada awal musim hujan, di lahan sawah dapat dilakukan pada bulan April-Juni (palawija I) atau bulan Juli-September (palawija II).

3.4. Pemeliharaan Tanaman
3.4.1. Penyulaman
Sulam benih yang tidak tumbuh atau mati, untuk penyulaman lebih cepat lebih baik (setelah yang lain kelihatan tumbuh ± 3-7 hari setelah tanam).

3.4.2. Penyiangan dan Pembumbunan
Penyiangan dilakukan 2 kali umur 1 dan 6 minggu dengan hati-hati agar tidak merusak bunga dan polong.
Pembumbunan dilakukan bersamaan saat penyiangan, bertujuan untuk menutup bagian perakaran.

3.4.3. Pemberian POC NASA dan HORMONIK
Penyemprotan POC NASA dilakukan 2 minggu sekali semenjak berumur 1-2 minggu (4-5 tutup POC NASA/tangki). Kebutuhan total POC NASA untuk pemeliharaan 1-2 botol per 1000 m2 (10-20 botol/ha). Akan lebih bagus jika penggunaan POC NASA ditambahkan HORMONIK (3-4 tutup POC NASA + 1 tutup HORMONIK/tangki). Pada saat tanaman berbunga tidak dilakukan penyemprotan, karena dapat mengganggu penyerbukan.

3.4.5. Pengairan dan Penyiraman
Pengairan dilakukan agar tanah tetap lembab. Untuk menjaga kelembaban pada musim kemarau dapat diberikan mulsa (jerami dan lain-lain). Saat berbunga tidak dilakukan penyiraman, karena dapat mengganggu penyerbukan.

3.4.6. Pemeliharaan Lain
Hal-hal lain yang sangat menunjang faktor pemeliharaan bisa dilakukan, misalnya pemangkasan, perambatan, pemeliharaan tunas dan bunga serta sanitasi lingkungan lahan (dijaga agar menunjang kesehatan tanaman).

3.5. Hama dan Penyakit
3.5.1. Hama
a. Uret
Gejala: memakan akar, batang bagian bawah dan polong. Akhirnya tanaman layu dan mati. Pengendalian: olah tanah dengan baik, penggunaan pupuk kandang yang sudah matang, menanam serempak, penyiangan intensif, Penggunaan Pestona dengan cara disiramkan ke tanah, jika tanaman terlanjur mati segera dicabut dan uret dimusnahkan.
b. Ulat Penggulung Daun
Gejala: daun terlipat menguning, akhirnya mengering. Pengendalian: penyemprotan menggunakan Pestona.
c. Ulat Grayak (Spodoptera litura)
Gejala: ulat memakan epidermis daun dan tulang secara berkelompok. Pengendalian: (1) bersihkan gulma, menanam serentak, pergiliran tanaman; (2) penyemprotan menggunakan Natural Vitura.
d. Ulat Jengkal (Plusia sp)
Gejala: menyerang daun kacang tanah. Pengendalian: penyemprotan menggunakan Pestona.
e. Kumbang Daun
Gejala: daun tampak berlubang, daun tinggal tulang, juga makan pucuk bunga. Pengendalian: (1) penanaman serentak; (2) penyemprotan menggunakan Pestona.

3.5.2. Penyakit
a. Penyakit layu atau “Omo Wedang”
Penyebab: bakteri Xanthomonas solanacearum (E.F.S.). Gejala: daun terkulai seperti disiram air panas, akhirnya mati. Bila dipotong tampak noda coklat pada bagian pembuluh kayu dan bila dipijit keluar lendir kekuningan. Akar tanaman membusuk. Pengendalian: Pergiliran tanaman, gunakan varietas yang tahan. Penting melakukan pencegahan menggunakan Natural GLIO.
b. Penyakit sapu setan
Penyebab: Mycoplasma (sejenis virus). Diduga ditularkan serangga sejenis Aphis. Gejala: bunga berwarna hijau tua seperti daun-daun kecil, ruas-ruas batang dan cabang menjadi pendek, daun-daun kecil rimbun. Pengendalian: tanaman dicabut, dibuang dan dimusnahkan, semua tanaman inang dibersihkan (sanitasi lingkungan), menanam tanaman yang tahan, menanggulangi vektornya menggunakan Pestona atau Natural BVR.
c. Penyakit Bercak Daun
Penyebab : Jamur Cercospora personata dan Cercospora arachidicola. Gejala: timbul bercak-bercak berukuran 1-5 mm, berwarna coklat dan hitam pada daun dan batang. Pengendalian: dengan menggunakan Natural GLIO di awal tanam sebagai tindakan pencegahan.
d. Penyakit Gapong
Penyebab: diduga Nematoda. Gejala: Polong kosong, juga bisa busuk. Pengendalian: tanahnya didangir dan dicari nematodanya.
e. Penyakit Sclerotium
Penyebab: cendawan Sclerotium rolfsii. Gejala: tanaman layu. Pengendalian: gunakan varietas yang resisten, air jangan sampai menggenang, membakar tanaman yang terserang cendawan. Pencegahan: gunakan Natural GLIO pada awal tanam
f. Penyakit Karat
Penyebab: cendawan Puccinia arachidis Speg. Gejala: pada daun terdapat bercak-bercak coklat muda sampai coklat (warna karat). Daun gugur sebelum waktunya. Pengendalian: gunakan varietas yang resisten, tanaman yang terserang dicabut dan dibakar. Pencegahan: gunakan Natural GLIO pada awal tanam.

Catatan : Jika pengendalian hama penyakit dengan menggunakan pestisida alami belum mengatasi dapat dipergunakan pestisida kimia yang dianjurkan. Agar penyemprotan pestisida kimia lebih merata dan tidak mudah hilang oleh air hujan tambahkan Perekat Perata AERO 810, dosis + 5 ml (1/2 tutup)/tangki.

3.6. Panen
Umur panen tanaman kacang tanah tergantung dari jenisnya yaitu umur pendek ± 3-4 bulan dan umur panjang ± 5-6 bulan. Adapun ciri-ciri kacang tanah sudah siap dipanen antara lain:
a) Batang mulai mengeras.
b) Daun menguning dan sebagian mulai berguguran, Polong sudah berisi penuh dan keras.
c) Warna polong coklat kehitam-hitaman.

Cinta itu suka?

2011-12-09T19:19:00.004+07:00

Secara ilmiah, Cinta adalah sebuah emosi dari kasih sayang yang kuat dan ketertarikan pribadi. Dalam konteks filosofi cinta merupakan sifat baik yang mewarisi semua kebaikan, perasaan belas kasih dan kasih sayang. Pendapat lainnya, cinta adalah sebuah aksi/kegiatan aktif yang dilakukan manusia terhadap objek lain, berupa pengorbanan diri, empati, perhatian, memberikan kasih sayang, membantu, menuruti perkataan, mengikuti, patuh, dan mau melakukan apapun yang diinginkan objek tersebut.
Cinta tidak pernah meminta, ia sentiasa memberi, cinta membawa penderitaan, tetapi tidak pernah berdendam, tak pernah membalas dendam. Di mana ada cinta di situ ada kehidupan; manakala kebencian membawa kepada kemusnahan.~ Mahatma Ghandi
Tuhan memberi kita dua kaki untuk berjalan, dua tangan untuk memegang, dua telinga untuk mendengar dan dua mata untuk melihat. Tetapi mengapa Tuhan hanya menganugerahkan sekeping hati pada kita? Karena Tuhan telah memberikan sekeping lagi hati pada seseorang untuk kita mencarinya. Itulah namanya Cinta.
Ada 2 titis air mata mengalir di sebuah sungai. Satu titis air mata tu menyapa air mata yg satu lagi,” Saya air mata seorang gadis yang mencintai seorang lelaki tetapi telah kehilangannya. Siapa kamu pula?”. Jawab titis air mata kedua tu,” Saya air mata seorang lelaki yang menyesal membiarkan seorang gadis yang mencintai saya berlalu begitu sahaja.”
Cinta sejati adalah ketika dia mencintai orang lain, dan kamu masih mampu tersenyum, sambil berkata: aku turut bahagia untukmu.
Jika kita mencintai seseorang, kita akan sentiasa mendoakannya walaupun dia tidak berada disisi kita.
Jangan sesekali mengucapkan selamat tinggal jika kamu masih mau mencoba. Jangan sesekali menyerah jika kamu masih merasa sanggup. Jangan sesekali mengatakan kamu tidak mencintainya lagi jika kamu masih tidak dapat melupakannya.
Perasaan cinta itu dimulai dari mata, sedangkan rasa suka dimulai dari telinga. Jadi jika kamu mahu berhenti menyukai seseorang, cukup dengan menutup telinga. Tapi apabila kamu Coba menutup matamu dari orang yang kamu cintai, cinta itu berubah menjadi titisan air mata dan terus tinggal dihatimu dalam jarak waktu yang cukup lama.
Cinta datang kepada orang yang masih mempunyai harapan walaupun mereka telah dikecewakan. Kepada mereka yang masih percaya, walaupun mereka telah dikhianati. Kepada mereka yang masih ingin mencintai, walaupun mereka telah disakiti sebelumnya dan kepada mereka yang mempunyai keberanian dan keyakinan untuk membangunkan kembali kepercayaan.
Jangan simpan kata-kata cinta pada orang yang tersayang sehingga dia meninggal dunia , lantaran akhirnya kamu terpaksa catatkan kata-kata cinta itu pada pusaranya . Sebaliknya ucapkan kata-kata cinta yang tersimpan dibenakmu itu sekarang selagi ada hayatnya.

Mungkin Tuhan menginginkan kita bertemu dan bercinta dengan orang yang salah sebelum bertemu dengan orang yang tepat, kita harus mengerti bagaimana berterima kasih atas kurniaan itu.
Cinta bukan mengajar kita lemah, tetapi membangkitkan kekuatan. Cinta bukan mengajar kita menghinakan diri, tetapi menghembuskan kegagahan. Cinta bukan melemahkan semangat, tetapi membangkitkan semangat -Hamka
Cinta dapat mengubah pahit menjadi manis, debu beralih emas, keruh menjadi bening, sakit menjadi sembuh, penjara menjadi telaga, derita menjadi nikmat, dan kemarahan menjadi rahmat.
Sungguh menyakitkan mencintai seseorang yang tidak mencintaimu, tetapi lebih menyakitkan adalah mencintai seseorang dan kamu tidak pernah memiliki keberanian untuk menyatakan cintamu kepadanya.
Hal yang menyedihkan dalam hidup adalah ketika kamu bertemu seseorang yang sangat berarti bagimu. Hanya untuk menemukan bahawa pada akhirnya menjadi tidak bererti dan kamu harus membiarkannya pergi.
Kamu tahu bahwa kamu sangat merindukan seseorang, ketika kamu memikirkannya hatimu hancur berkeping.
Dan hanya dengan mendengar kata “Hai” darinya, dapat menyatukan kembali kepingan hati tersebut.
Tuhan ciptakan 100 bahagian kasih sayang. 99 disimpan disisinya dan hanya 1 bahagian diturunkan ke dunia. Dengan kasih sayang yang satu bahagian itulah, makhluk saling berkasih sayang sehingga kuda mengangkat kakinya kerana takut anaknya terpijak.
Kadangkala kamu tidak menghargai orang yang mencintai kamu sepenuh hati, sehinggalah kamu kehilangannya. Pada saat itu, tiada guna sesalan karena perginya tanpa berpatah lagi.
Jangan mencintai seseorang seperti bunga, kerana bunga mati kala musim berganti. Cintailah mereka seperti sungai, kerana sungai mengalir selamanya.
Cinta mampu melunakkan besi, menghancurkan batu, membangkitkan yang mati dan meniupkan kehidupan padanya serta membuat budak menjadi pemimpin. Inilah dasyatnya cinta !
Permulaan cinta adalah membiarkan orang yang kamu cintai menjadi dirinya sendiri, dan tidak merubahnya menjadi gambaran yang kamu inginkan. Jika tidak, kamu hanya mencintai pantulan diri sendiri yang kamu temukan di dalam dirinya.
Cinta itu adalah perasaan yang mesti ada pada tiap-tiap diri manusia, ia laksana setitis embun yang turun dari langit,bersih dan suci. Cuma tanahnyalah yang berlain-lainan menerimanya. Jika ia jatuh ke tanah yang tandus,tumbuhlah oleh kerana embun itu kedurjanaan, kedustaan, penipu, langkah serong dan lain-lain perkara yang tercela. Tetapi jika ia jatuh kepada tanah yang subur,di sana akan tumbuh kesuciaan hati, keikhlasan, setia budi pekerti yang tinggi dan lain-lain perangai yang terpuji.~ Hamka
Kata-kata cinta yang lahir hanya sekadar di bibir dan bukannya di hati mampu melumatkan seluruh jiwa raga, manakala kata-kata cinta yang lahir dari hati yang ikhlas mampu untuk mengubati segala luka di hati orang yang mendengarnya.
Kamu tidak pernah tahu bila kamu akan jatuh cinta. namun apabila sampai saatnya itu, raihlah dengan kedua tanganmu,dan jangan biarkan dia pergi dengan sejuta rasa tanda tanya dihatinya
Cinta bukanlah kata murah dan lumrah dituturkan dari mulut ke mulut tetapi cinta adalah anugerah Tuhan yang indah dan suci jika manusia dapat menilai kesuciannya.
Bukan laut namanya jika airnya tidak berombak. Bukan cinta namanya jika perasaan tidak pernah terluka. Bukan kekasih namanya jika hatinya tidak pernah merindu dan cemburu.
Bercinta memang mudah. Untuk dicintai juga memang mudah. Tapi untuk dicintai oleh orang yang kita cintai itulah yang sukar diperoleh.
Satu-satunya cara agar kita memperolehi kasih sayang, ialah jangan menuntut agar kita dicintai, tetapi mulailah memberi kasih sayang kepada orang lain tanpa mengharapkan balasan. (Dale Carnagie)

Seperti banyak jenis kekasih, ada banyak jenis cinta. Cinta berada di seluruh semua kebudayaan manusia. Oleh karena perbedaan kebudayaan ini, maka pendefinisian dari cinta pun sulit ditetapkan. Lihat hipotesis Sapir-Whorf.

Ekspresi cinta dapat termasuk cinta kepada 'jiwa' atau pikiran, cinta hukum dan organisasi, cinta badan, cinta alam, cinta makanan, cinta uang, cinta belajar, cinta kuasa, cinta keterkenalan, dll. Cinta lebih berarah ke konsep abstrak, lebih mudah dialami daripada dijelaskan.

Cinta kasih yang sudah ada perlu selalu dijaga agar dapat dipertahankan keindahannya

Cinta antar pribadi

Cinta antar pribadi menunjuk kepada cinta antara manusia. Bentuk ini lebih dari sekedar rasa kesukaan terhadap orang lain. Cinta antar pribadi bisa mencakup hubungan kekasih, hubungan orangtua dengan anak, dan juga persahabatan yang sangat erat.

Beberapa unsur yang sering ada dalam cinta antar pribadi:

Kasih sayang: menghargai orang lain.
Altruisme: perhatian non-egois kepada orang lain (yang tentunya sangat jarang kita temui sekarang ini).
Reciprocation: cinta yang saling menguntungkan (bukan saling memanfaatkan).
Komitmen: keinginan untuk mengabadikan cinta, tekad yang kuat dalam suatu hubungan.
Keintiman emosional: berbagi emosi dan rasa.
Kekerabatan: ikatan keluarga.
Passion: Hasrat dan atau nafsu seksual yang cenderung menggebu-gebu.
Physical intimacy: berbagi kehidupan erat satu sama lain secara fisik, termasuk di dalamnya hubungan seksual.
Kepentingan pribadi: cinta yang mengharapkan imbalan pribadi, cenderung egois dan ada keinginan untuk memanfaatkan pasangan.
Pelayanan: keinginan untuk membantu dan atau melayani.

Energi seksual dapat menjadi unsur paling penting dalam menentukan bentuk hubungan. Namun atraksi seksual sering menimbulkan sebuah ikatan baru, keinginan seksual dianggap tidak baik atau tidak sepantasnya dalam beberapa ikatan cinta. Dalam banyak agama dan sistem etik hal ini dianggap salah bila memiliki keinginan seksual kepada keluarga dekat, anak, atau diluar hubungan berkomitmen. Tetapi banyak cara untuk mengungkapkan rasa kasih sayang tanpa seks. Afeksi, keintiman emosi dan hobi yang sama sangat biasa dalam berteman dan saudara di seluruh manusia.

cuplikan Menerangi Kegelapan Hati

2011-12-09T19:08:00.002+07:00

Seorang profesor, yang sedang naik daun namanya, tiba-tiba dilanda kekalutan batin dan keresahan jiwa. Ia merasa ada yang kurang dalam dirinya, sekalipun berlebihan dalam aspek karir dan income.

Tak urung, ia memutuskan untuk meninggalkan karirnya yang cemerlang di Universitas Nidzamiyah dan memburu kebutuhan lain yang

dirindukannya – jawaban yang tuntas atas keresahan dan keguncangan batinnya -. Ia jatuh sakit, mulutnya membisu, tetapi pikirannya terus bergejolak dan bergolak. Ia menyedekahkan seluruh hartanya, kecuali sedikit saja untuk keperluannya dan keluarganya. Baghdad, kota yang memberikan keharuman namanya, ia tinggalkan. Ia mengasingkan diri untuk menjawab pertanyaan besar yang sedang merisaukan hatinya – cara apakah yang dapat ditempuh hingga sampai kepada pengetahuan yang benar (al-Haqiqah al-Muthlaqah)?.

Ia berkesimpulan. Pertama, ia meamandang bahwa pengetahuan yang benar hanya dapat diperoleh lewat pencerapan panca indera (al-khawasul khams). Yang benar adalah yang dapat dilihat, didengar, dicium, dicicipi, atau diraba. Yang benar adalah yang terukur (al-Haqiqah At-Tajribiyyah). Dengan bergulirnya waktu, segera ia menemukan bahwa persepsi inderawi juga tidak dapat sepenuhnya dipercaya. Ia bertanya kepada dirinya – atas dasar apa harus mempercayai keterangan persepsi inderawi. Dari kejauhan matanya melihat air lewat jendela kendaraan yang dinaikinya, setelah didatanginya ternyata hanya fatamorgana. Matanya melihat bayangan tongkat itu tidak bergerak, padahal orang tahu bahwa bayangan itu bergerak perlahan sekali mengikuti bayangan matahari. Dan matahari kelihatan kecil, padahal lewat perhitungan geometris, matahari lebih besar dari bumi.

Kedua, kekeliruan indera dibetulkan oleh akal yang sehat (al-‘Aqlus Salim). Sekarang ia mencurahkan harapannya kepada akal. Tapi, ia segera membayangkan bahwa persepsi indera yang ditinggalkannya menghujatnya dengan keras: Apakah Anda tidak mengira bahwa kepercayaan Anda pada akal akan mengalami hal yang sama seperti kepercayaan Anda pada persepsi inderawi sebelumnya ?. Anda lalu mempercayai saya. Lalu, datanglah akal, dan saya terbukti salah. Kalau tidak ada akal, Anda akan selalu menganggap saya benar. Akal mendefinisikan bahwa bahagia itu berbentuk benda (materi) yang bisa dicari di tempat tertentu dan pada waktu khusus. Setelah semuanya diperoleh dan berlebih, terbukti kebahagiaan yang diburunya semakin menjauh. Akal lemah dalam menjawab pertanyaan kembarannya, untuk apa semua itu di cari?.

Ketiga, barangkali dibalik pemahaman akal, ada lagi hakim lain yang bila menampakkan dirinya, dapat menunjukkan kesalahan akal dalam menetapkan keputusan, seperti ketika akal muncul, akal memperlihatkan kekeliruan indera. Kenyataan bahwa pemahaman - supra-intelektual, supra-rasional - (indera keenam, red) itu belum muncul, tidaklah dapat dijadikan bukti bahwa hal itu tidak ada.

Akhirnya, Selama berbulan-bulan, profesor ini merenungkan masalah ini. Ia hampir-hampir putus asa. Pemecahan masalah ternyata tidak lewat berpikir dan merenung. Ia bercerita, Penyelesaian masalahku tidaklah datang karena pembuktian yang sistematis dan argumentasi yang dikemukakan, tetapi karena belum ada cahaya yang dimasukkan Allah Swt ke dalam dadaku.

Cahaya itu merupakan kunci menuju bagian pengetahuan yang lebih besar. Cahaya itu sendiri bukanlah ungkapan kebenaran. Kebenaran itu harus dicari, tetapi kini ia telah menemukan keterbatasan akal. Dia telah menguras kekuatan intelektualnya, namun berakhir dalam keputusasaan, ketika sentuhan ghaib Tuhan menyelematkannya dari kesesatan. Dorongan mendadak keimanan ini nampak olehnya berasal dari pencerahan Ilahi sebagai suatu cahaya pembawa harapan. Baginya, hal itu berarti bahwa pengetahuan manusia tentang kebenaran bergantung sekali pada sesuatu yang berada di luar logika dan aturan-aturan penalaran. Sebagai sesuatu yang lebih tinggi daripada nalar sebagai alat penghubung dengan kenyataan metafisik, mesti ada pada manusia, dan meskipun aktifitasnya bergantung pada bunga api Ilahi toh ia sendiri memampukan pencari yang gigih mencapai pengetahuan tentang kenyataan dan tentang Tuhan.

Profesor tersebut adalah sang Hujjatul Islam, Muhammad bin Muhammad bin Muhammad bin Ahmad Al-Ghazali. Yang meresahkannya adalah masalah epistemologi (fahmul ‘ilmi), yang mengobatinya adalah sentuhan hidayah (Nur) Ilahi. Al-Ghazali boleh disebut sebagai salah seorang pemikir Islam yang merintis kajian epistemologi dalam perspektif Islam. (dalamHilyatul Auliya, juz 11)

oleh : Sholih Hasyim

Awan itu ?

2011-12-09T18:41:00.003+07:00

Awan adalah massa terlihat dari tetesan air atau kristal beku tergantung di atmosfer di atas permukaan bumi atau tubuh planet lain. Awan juga massa terlihat yang tertarik oleh gravitasi, seperti massa materi dalam ruang yang disebut awan antar bintang dan nebula. Awan dipelajari dalam ilmu awan atau fisika awan, suatu cabang meteorologi.

Di Bumi substansi biasanya kondensasi uap air. Dengan bantuan partikel higroskopis udara seperti debu dan garam dari laut, tetesan air kecil terbentuk pada ketinggian rendah dan kristal es pada ketinggian tinggi bila udara didinginkan untuk jenuh oleh konvektif lokal atau lebih besar mengangkatnon-konvektif skala. Pada beberapa kasus, awan tinggi mungkin sebagian terdiri dari tetesan air superdingin. Tetesan dan kristal biasanya sekitar 0,01 mm (0,00039 in) diameter. Para agen yang paling umum dari lift termasuk pemanasan matahari di siang hari dari udara pada tingkat permukaan, angkat frontal yang memaksa massa udara lebih hangat akan naik lebih dari atas sebuah airmass pendingin, dan mengangkat orografik udara di atas gunung. Ketika naik udara, mengembang sebagai tekanan berkurang. Proses ini mengeluarkan energi yang menyebabkan udara dingin. Ketika dikelilingi oleh milyaran tetesan lain atau kristal mereka menjadi terlihat sebagai awan. Dengan tidak adanya inti kondensasi, udara menjadi jenuh dan pembentukan awan terhambat. dalam awan padat memperlihatkan pantulan tinggi (70% sampai 95%) di seluruh terlihat berbagai panjang gelombang. Mereka sehingga tampak putih, setidaknya dari atas. tetesan Cloud cenderung menyebarkan cahaya efisien, sehingga intensitas radiasi matahari berkurang dengan kedalaman ke gas, maka abu-abu atau bahkan gelap kadang-kadang penampilan mereka di dasar awan . awan tipis mungkin tampak telah memperoleh warna dari lingkungan mereka atau latar belakang dan awan diterangi oleh cahaya non-putih, seperti saat matahari terbit atau terbenam, mungkin tampak berwarna sesuai. Awan terlihat lebih gelap di dekat-inframerah karena air menyerap radiasi matahari pada saat- panjang gelombang .

Pembentukan awan

Udara selalu mengandung uap air. Apabila uap air ini meluap menjadi titik-titik air, maka terbentuklah awan. Peluapan ini bisa terjadi dengan dua cara:

Apabila udara panas, lebih banyak uap terkandung di dalam udara karena air lebih cepat menyejat. Udara panas yang sarat dengan air ini akan naik tinggi, hingga tiba di satu lapisan dengan suhu yang lebih rendah, uap itu akan mencair dan terbentuklah awan, molekul-molekul titik air yang tak terhingga banyaknya.
Suhu udara tidak berubah, tetapi keadaan atmosfir lembap. Udara makin lama akan menjadi semakin tepu dengan uap air.

Apabila awan telah terbentuk, titik-titik air dalam awan akan menjadi semakin besar dan awan itu akan menjadi semakin berat, dan perlahan-lahan daya tarik bumi menariknya ke bawah. Hingga sampai satu titik dimana titik-titik air itu akan terus jatuh ke bawah dan turunlah hujan.

Jika titik-titik air tersebut bertemu udara panas, titik-titik itu akan menguap dan awan menghilang. Inilah yang menyebabkan itu awan selalu berubah-ubah bentuknya. Air yang terkandung di dalam awan silih berganti menguap dan mencair. Inilah juga yang menyebabkan kadang-kadang ada awan yang tidak membawa hujan.

Jenis-jenis awan

awan menurut bentuknya terbagi menjadi beberapa jenis :

Awan Commulus, yaitu awan yang bergumpal dan bentuk dasarnya horizontal
Awan Stratus, yaitu awan tipis yang tersebar luas dan menutupi langit secara merata
Awan Cirrus, yaitu awan yang berdiri sendiri, halus dan berserat, sering terdapat kristal es tetapi tak menimbulkan hujan

Awan Tinggi (Keluarga A)

Bentuk awan tinggi antara 10.000 dan 25.000 kaki (3.000 dan 8.000 m) di daerah kutub , 16.500 dan 40.000 kaki (5.000 dan 12.000 m) di daerah beriklim sedang dan 20.000 dan 60.000 kaki (6.000 dan 18.000 m) di daerah tropis .

Awan di Keluarga A meliputi:

Genus Cirrus (Ci): gumpalan awan putihberserat kristal es halus yang terlihat jelas di langit biru. Secara umum non-konvektif kecuali castellanus dan spesies floccus.
- Spesies fibratus Cirrus (Ci fi): cirrus berserat tanpa jumbai atau kait.
- Spesies uncinus Cirrus (Ci UNC): Hooked cirrus filamen.
- Spesies spissatus Cirrus (Ci spi): cirrus Patchy padat.
- Spesies castellanus Cirrus (Ci cas): Sebagian cirrus menara.
- Spesies floccus Cirrus (Ci flo): Sebagian cirrus berumbai.
Genus Cirrocumulus (Cc): lapisan awan yang tampak seperti ombak di pasir pantai, berbentuk bulat kecil atau serpih dan bewarna putih yang berkelompok atau berbaris.^[1]
- Spesies Cirrocumulus stratiformis (Cc str): Sheets atau patch yang relatif datar cirrocumulus.
- Spesies Cirrocumulus lenticularis (Cc len): Lens cirrocumulus berbentuk.
- Spesies Cirrocumulus castellanus (Cc cas): cirrocumulus menara.
- Spesies Cirrocumulus floccus (Cc flo): cirrocumulus berumbai.
Genus Cirrostratus (Cs): A non-konvektif cadar tipis yang biasanya menimbulkan halos. Matahari dan bulan terlihat di garis yang jelas. Biasanya mengental menjadi menjelang altostratus depan hangat atau daerah tekanan rendah.
- Spesies Cirrostratus fibratus (Cs fib): cirrostratus berserat kurang terlepas dari cirrus.
- Spesies Cirrostratus nebulosus (Cs neb): rata selubung cirrostratus.

Awan Tengah (Keluarga B)

Awan Tengah cenderung terbentuk pada 6.500 kaki (2.000 m), tetapi dapat terbentuk pada ketinggian sampai 13.000 kaki (4.000 m), 23.000 kaki (7.000 m) atau 25.000 kaki (8.000 m), tergantung pada daerah. Umumnya lebih hangat iklim, semakin tinggi dasar awan. Nimbostratus merupakan awan pada ketinggian menengah yang dapat bergerak turun hingga ketinggian rendah pada saat hujan. [2] The World Meterological Organisasi mengklasifikasikan Nimbostratus sebagai awan menengah yang dapat mengentalkan ke dalam rentang ketinggian rendah selama hujan.

Awan Rendah (Keluarga C1)

Ini ditemukan dari dekat permukaan hingga 6.500 kaki (2.000 m) dan termasuk Stratus genus. Ketika awan Stratus kontak dengan tanah, mereka disebut kabut , meskipun tidak semua bentuk kabut dari Stratus.

Awan di Keluarga C1 meliputi:

Genus stratocumulus (Sc): awan konveksi yang sedikit biasanya dalam bentuk pola-pola tidak teratur atau bulat, mirip dengan altocumulus tetapi ukurannya lebih besar dan bewarna lebih gelap.
- Spesies stratocumulus stratiformis (Sc str): Sheets atau patch yang relatif datar stratocumulus.
- Spesies stratocumulus lenticularis (Sc len): Lens stratocumulus berbentuk.
- Spesies stratocumulus castellanus (Sc cas): stratocumulus menara.
Genus Stratus (St): awan berlapisan seragam yang menyerupai kabut tetapi tidak menyentuh ke permukaan tanah (relatif tinggi).

- Spesies nebulosus Stratus (St cotok): rata selubung Stratus.
- Spesies Stratus fractus (St fra): kasar putus selembar Stratus.

Awan Rendah Tengah (Keluarga C2)

Awan ini dapat didasarkan manapun dari permukaan dekat sekitar 10.000 kaki (3.000 m). Cumulus biasanya bentuk pada rentang ketinggian rendah tapi dasar akan naik ke bagian bawah kisaran menengah saat kondisi kelembaban relatif sangat rendah. Nimbostratus biasanya bentuk dari altostratus di tengah rentang ketinggian tapi dasar mungkin mereda ke kisaran rendah selama precipitaion. Kedua jenis awan dapat mencapai ketebalan yang signifikan dan kadang-kadang diklasifikasikan sebagai awan vertikal (Keluarga D), terutama di Eropa. Namun, cumulus biasa, menurut definisi, tidak sesuai dengan tingkat vertikal yang menjulang cumulus (kumulus congestus) atau paling cumulonimbus . Nimbostratus Sangat tebal dapat perkiraan cumulus menjulang, tetapi jatuh juga pendek tingkat vertikal awan cumulonimbus berkembang dengan baik.

Awan Vertikal (Keluarga D)

Genus cumulonimbus (Cb): awan dengan massa besar dan menjulang dari ketinggian rendah hingga sangat tinggi, rawan badai dan petir. Mereka membentuk dalam massa udara yang sangat stabil, khususnya sepanjang front yang bergerak cepat dingin.
- Spesies calvus cumulonimbus (Cb cal): awan cumulonimbus dengan sangat tinggi memotong puncak kubah-jelas mirip dengan gumpalan awan yang menjulang tinggi.
- Spesies capillatus cumulonimbus (Cb cap): awan cumulonimbus dengan puncak yang sangat tinggi yang telah menjadi berserat karena adanya kristal es.

Fitur Supplimentary inkus capillatus cumulonimbus (Cb ink cap): Sebuah cumulonimbus inkus atas awan adalah salah satu yang telah menyebar ke bentuk landasan yang jelas sebagai akibat dari memukul lapisan inversi di bagian atas troposfer. Fitur Supplimentary dengan mammatus cumulonimbus (Cb Mam): Sebuah dasar awan mammatus ditandai oleh gelembung-tonjolan ke bawah seperti menghadap disebabkan oleh downdrafts lokal dalam awan. WMO Resmi jangka cumulonimbus Mama.

Genus Cumulus (Cu)
- Spesies Cumulus congestus (WMO: Cu Con / ICAO: TCU): awan dengan ukuran vertikal (lebar) yang besar dan bewarna gelap keabu-abuan.
- Pyrocumulus (tidak ada singkatan resmi): awan Cumulus yang terkait dengan letusan gunung berapi dan kebakaran skala besar. Tidak diakui oleh WMO sebagai genus yang berbeda atau spesies.

Mistake itu apa ?

2011-11-24T20:01:00.002+07:00

Kesalahan adalah pelajaran yang seharusnya membuat manusia menjadi lebih bijaksana.

Ketika kita melakukan kesalahan, jangan pernah terlalu hanyut memandang kebelakang memikirkan kesalahan itu. Ambil pelajaran darinya lalu majulah kedepan.

Kita tahu bahwa masa lalu tidak dapat kita ubah, tetapi bagaimana kita akan membentuk masa depan kita, kesempatan itu masih ada pada genggaman kita.

Think twice, act wise…

mistake is an erroneous belief, at contracting, that certain facts are true. It can be argued as a defence, and if raised successfully can lead to the agreement in question being found void ab initio or voidable, or alternatively an equitable remedy may be provided by the courts. Common law has identified three different types of mistake in contract: the 'unilateral mistake', the 'mutual mistake' and the 'common mistake'. It is important to note the distinction between the 'common mistake' and the 'mutual mistake'.

A unilateral mistake is where only one party to a contract is mistaken as to the terms or subject-matter contained in a contract. This kind of mistake is more common than other types of mistake. One must first distinguish between mechanical calculations and business error when looking at unilateral mistake. For mechanical calculations, a party may be able to set aside the contract on these grounds provided that the other party does not try to take advantage of the mistake, or 'snatch up' the offer (involving a bargain that one did not intend to make, betrayed by an error in arithmetic etc.). This will be seen by an objective standard, or if a reasonable person would be able to know that the mistake would not make sense to one of the parties. Unless one of the parties 'snatched up' the one-sided offer, courts will otherwise uphold the contract.

Conversely, when a party is guilty of an error in business judgment, there is no relief.

Leading British cases on unilateral mistake are Smith v Hughes^{[Case 1]} and Hartog v Colin & Shields.^{[Case 2]} There are situations, such as in the contracting and subcontracting contexts, where a subcontractor provides a bid that would not seem reasonable in the context of industry norms. Similar to Donovan v. RRL Corp.,^{[Case 3]} if a person sees an advertisement and there is a mistake that a person reading the newspaper would believe to be a valid offer and there is sufficient reliance on the offer, then it is unlikely that a court will rescind the contract. In the case of Donovan, the error in the newspaper was not the fault of the car dealer. The mistake was made on the part of the newspaper company that printed the error. This would be more of an example of a mutual mistake. Both the buyer (Donovan) and seller (RRL Corp.) mistakenly believed that the advertisement was correct. As is discussed in the mutual mistake section on this page, most likely a court will excuse each of a duty to perform the contract. Mutual mistake theory will also discuss the factors that will determine the allocation of risk in the event of a mutual mistake. The test to determine the allocation of risk is as follows: A defendant should bear the risk of the mistake if: (i) the agreement allocated the risk to the defendant; (ii) the defendant was aware of having limited knowledge with respect to the facts to which the mistake related but treats his limited knowledge as sufficient; or (iii) the court finds that it is reasonable under the circumstances to allocate the risk to the defendant. Given the facts in Donovan, who is in the better position to bear the risk? The car dealer who provides the advertisement? Or the consumer? Many jurisdictions would claim that the car dealer has more knowledge in this regard than a consumer. A consumer, generally, will not be aware of errors in an advertisement nearly as often as a commercial seller of goods who is in the business of advertising their own products to the public at large.

As any area of law, any doctrine has its exceptions. In Speckel v. Perkins,^{[Case 4]} there was a unilateral mistake by one of the parties. However, the mistake should have been apparent to a reasonable person in the position of the party who did not make the mistake. The court determined that the offer of US$50000 was, on its face, clearly a mistake. The correct amount, as both parties were aware, was for US$15000. The question raises, at what point will the unilateral mistake become so apparent that it leaves unilateral mistake theory and enters into mutual mistake doctrine?

It is also possible for a contract to be void if there was a mistake in the identity of the contracting party. In the leading English case of Lewis v Avery^{[Case 5]} Lord Denning held that the contract can be avoided only if the plaintiff can show, that at the time of agreement, the plaintiff believed the other party's identity was of vital importance. A mere mistaken belief as to the credibility of the other party is not sufficient.

Shogun Finance Ltd v Hudson^{[Case 6]} is now the leading UK case on mistake as to identity [2003] UKHL 62. In this case, the House of Lords stated there was a strong presumption the owner intends to contract with the person physically present before him and only in extreme cases would the presumption be rebutted.

A mutual mistake occurs when the parties to a contract are both mistaken about the same material fact within their contract. They are at cross-purposes. There is a meeting of the minds, but the parties are mistaken. Hence the contract is voidable. Collateral mistakes will not afford the right of rescission. A collateral mistake is one that 'does not go to the heart' of the contract. For a mutual mistake to be void, then the item the parties are mistaken about must be material (emphasis added). When there is a material mistake about a material aspect of the contract, the essential purpose of the contract, there is the question of the assumption of the risk. Who has the risk contractually? Who bears the risk by custom? Restatement (Second) Contracts Sec. 154 deals with this scenario.

This is easily confused with mutual assent cases such as Raffles v Wichelhaus.^{[Case 7]}

In Raffles, there was an agreement to ship goods on a vessel named Peerless, but each party was referring to a different vessel. Therefore, each party had a different understanding that they did not communicate about when the goods would be shipped.

In this case, both parties believed there was a "meeting of the minds," but discovered that they were each mistaken about the other party's different meaning. This represents not a mutual mistake but a failure of mutual assent. In this situation, no contract has been formed, since mutual assent is required in the formation stage of contract.

A common mistake is where both parties hold the same mistaken belief of the facts.

The House of Lords case of Bell v Lever Brothers Ltd.^{[Case 8]} established that common mistake can void a contract only if the mistake of the subject-matter was sufficiently fundamental to render its identity different from what was contracted, making the performance of the contract impossible.

Later in Solle v Butcher,^{[Case 9]} Lord Denning added requirements for common mistake in equity, which loosened the requirements to show common mistake. However, since that time, the case has been heavily criticized in cases such as Great Peace Shipping Ltd v Tsavliris Salvage (International) Ltd.^{[Case 10]}

Those categories of mistake in the United States exist as well, but it is often necessary to identify whether the error was a "decisional mistake," which is a mistake as a matter of law (faced with two known choices, making the wrong one), or an "ignorant mistake," unaware of the true state of affairs.

The difference is in the extent to which an innocent in the information chain, passing along or using or processing incorrect information, becomes liable. There is a principle that an entity or person cannot be made more liable merely by being in the information chain and passing along information taken in good faith in the belief that it was true, or at least without knowledge of the likelihood of falsity or inaccuracy.

Shirohige Kaizokudan

2011-11-19T15:13:00.004+07:00

Kelompok Bajak Laut Janggut Putih (Shirohige Kaizokudan) atau dikenal dalam Kelompok Bajak Laut Shirohige adalah kelompok bajak laut fiktif yang dipimpin oleh Edward Newgate (sang Shirohige) dalam manga dan anime One Piece. Kelompok ini merupakan kelompok yang terkuat di cerita ini.

Nama asli Shirohige, Edward Newgate, diambil dari nama depan bajak laut terkenal, Edward Teach di kehidupan nyata.
Lambang Bajak Laut Era Baru dapat dilihat di infus Shirohige, tetapi dalam bentuk tanpa tanda coret.
Beberapa karakter di One Piece punya tawa yang unik, untuk Shirohige adalah "gurara" ("Gurarararara !

Whitebeard pirates dari Kelompok Bajak Laut ini adalah tengkorak dengan pisau melintang di mulutnya (layaknya kapten mereka). Melainkan tulang, di belakang tengkorak adalah lambang mirip swastika, namun dengan arah lengkung yang berlawanan (Maji).Kapal yang saat ini baru diketahui adalah kapal induk dimana Shirohige Berada, dan diketahui kalau namanya adalah Mobby Dick. Beberapa pemimpin divisi atas Shirohige juga ada disitu, juga prajurit-prajurit baru dari kelompok ini. Anjungan kapal ini berupa paus. Kapal lain dari Shirohige ini adalah kapal pribadi dari Komandan Divisi 2, Ace, yang digerakkan oleh kekuatan buah iblisnya. Kapal ini bernama Striker. Sebagai salah satu Kelompok Bajak Laut pimpinan seorang Yonkou, Kelompok ini termasuk Kelompok Kuat. Kelompok besar ini terbagi atas kelompok divisi, dengan total 16 Divisi.

Bajak laut ini adalah kelompok yang disebut-sebut terdekat dengan One Piece, sejak awal Shirohige memang meresahkan Pemerintah, terutama ketika mengadakan pertemuan dengan Shanks. Sejauh ini belum diceritakan "dampak" yang diperbuat kelompok ini bagi dunia, mengingat kelompok ini adalah salah satu Yonkou, keberadaannya mengancam Pemerintah Dunia.

Kapten

Edward Newgate atau dijuluki Sang Kumis Putih (Shirohige) merupakan pimpinan dari Kelompok Bajak Laut Shirohige, yang diambil dari namanya. Pria besar ini juga dijuluki sebagai Manusia Terkuat di Seluruh Dunia yang juga anggota dari 4 Kaisar Grand Line Yonkou, danPria yang paling dekat dengan One Piece karena kekuatannya yang luar biasa. Edward digambarkan sebagai pria besar (bukan raksasa), yang memiliki banyak infus di tubuh tetapi masih selalu minum sake. Dia adalah orang yang keras kepala, tetapi prinsip keadilan terhadap anak buahnya sangat kuat. Seperti yang ia tunjukkan pada Shanks, kalau ia harus memburu Kurohige (Marshall D. Teach) karena telah membunuh Satch, sehingga tanggung jawabnya sebagai pimpinan untuk membalas dendam. Ia menganggap semua anggotanya sebagai putranya sendiri.

Edward Newgate pertama muncul pada cerita 245, dimana Gorosei membicarakan tentang pertemuan berbahaya antar Shanks dan Shirohige. dia menolak surat pertemuan dengan Shanks dan menyuruh Shanks yang datang ke tempatnya. Kemudian diketahui pada cerita 434, setelah Luffy dan kawan-kawan menaklukan Enies Lobby, Shanks dan Shirohige mengadakan pertemuan di New World.

Riwayat

Edward Newgate adalah orang satu-satunya yang pernah menandingi sang raja bajak laut Gold Roger, dan pada saat pertarungannya, Shanks dan Buggy juga ikut bertarung dengannya. Pertarungan Roger dan Edward berakhir seri. Edward sekarang menjadi salah satu Yonkou yang berkuasa di New World, bersama musuh lamanya, ,Shanks. Edward juga dikejutkan oleh pelarian salah satu anggotanya, Marshall D. Teach, atau yang dikenal dengan Kurohige yang lari dengan membawa buah iblis dan membunuh anak buahnya, Sachi. Edward kemudian mengutus komandan divisi 2nya, Ace agar memburu Teach. Tetapi usaha itu ditentang oleh Shanks, karena merasa itu hanya menyia-nyiakan nyawa Ace karena Kurohige sangat kuat (garis luka di mata Shanks adalah bekas luka saat bertarung melawan Kurohige). Dalam pertemuan Shanks dan Shirohige di New World, akhirnya mereka berdua bertarung karena perbedaan pendapat tentang Ace. Benturan antara senjata mereka mengabikibatkan langit di sekitar mereka terbelah. Saat Ace dikalahkan oleh Kurohige dan akhirnya ditangkap angkatan laut, Shirohige marah besar. Apalagi dengan pengumuman hukuman mati Ace di Marine Ford, membuat Shirohige dan armadanya berencana menyerang Marine Ford dan menyelamatkan Ace.

Kekuatan dan Keahlian

Sebagai seorang "Yonkou" ataupun pria dengan julukan pria terkuat, Shirohige kuat sebagai kapten bajak laut ataupun dalam segi pertarungan. Meskipun ditikam, dipukul, dan ditembak sekalipun dia masih dapat bertarung sekuat tenaga. Senjatanya adalah semacam pedang tombak bernama Bisento yang selalu dibawanya saat bertempur.

Seluruh badan Shirohige dipenuhi infus, dan ia selalu dalam perawatan kesehatan, tetapi terlihat selalu minum sake. Ada bekas luka sepanjang dadanya, yang belum diketahui siapa yang melakukannya, yang menunjukkan betapa kuatnya dia.

Shirohige adalah pemakan buah iblis Gura Gura yang dapat menciptakan getaran seperti gempa. Ditambah tombak Bisento, dia membelah Marine Ford dan menciptakan dua gelombang tsunami, serta membelah langit seperti yang dilakukannya saat adu pedang dengan Shanks.

Kepribadian

Selalu menganggap semua krunya adalah putranya sendiri yang membuatnya menyuruh kepala divisi 2 Ace untuk membunuh Marshall D. Teach/Kurohige karena membunuh kepala divisi 4 Sachi. gaya tertawanya adalah "Gurarararara!!"

Marco

Komandan Divisi 1

Marco pertama muncul di cerita 245, bersama Joz, menjawab pertanyaan Rockstar dengan "tidak". Dia dikenalkan pada cerita 434. Marco bertubuh kecil dibandingkan Joz atau anggota lainnya, juga tidak memegang senjata apapun. Memiliki kekuatan buah iblis tipe Zoan. Biasa dipanggil "Marco si burung Phoenix". Marco sangat kalem bahkan ketika Shanks datang ke kapal.

Shanks kelihatannya mengenal Marco, dilihat dari tawarannya untuk merekrut Marco ke kelompoknya dan katanya " tutup mulutmu".

Pada cerita 554 diketahui bahwa Marco mempunyai kekuatan yang unik yaitu "mythical beast" zoan type, yang mana tubuhnya dapat berubah menjadi hewan legenda "phoenix" yang berbalut api biru. Kekuatan ini merupakan gabungan tipe zoan (mengubah bentuk menjadi hewan) dan logia (mengubah bentuk menjadi api). Selain itu,Marco juga bisa beregenerasi karena kekuatan DF nya.Oleh karena kekuatannya itu ia diberi julukan Marco the Phoenix. Nama buah iblis yang dimakannya belum diketahui karena tidak ada disebut di dalam cerita.

Pertarungan vs Admiral Kizaru vs Squardo(Setelah Squardo menikam Whitebeard) vs Admiral Aokiji vs Admiral Monkey D Garp vs Admiral Kizaru & Vice Admiral Onigumo vs Admiral Akainu

Portgas D. Ace

Komandan Divisi 2

Artikel utama: Portgas D. Ace

Joz

Komandan Divisi 3

Komandan divisi 3, yang berbadan besar, dan berotot. Pertama muncul di cerita 245, dimana dia menjawab pertanyaan anak buah Shanks, Rockstar, apakah dia mengenalnya, dia hanya menjawab "tidak".

Joz memiliki tubuh besar bahkan dibandingkan dengan Ace dan Marco, kekuatanya Berdasarkan cerita 553 yaitu ia dapat mengubah tubuhnya menjadi berlian, yang mana tubuhnya akan berubah menjadi keras seprti berlian yang sukar dibelah. Pada cerita 554 ia menahan tebasan penghancur kapal milik mihawk dengan jurus "diamond jose" nya. Nama buah iblisnya belum diketahui karena belum ada disebut pada cerita ini.

Satch

Komandan Divisi 4

Komandan divisi 4 yang dahulu mendapatkan Buah Iblis Yami Yami dari sebuah misi, tetapi ketika Kurohige melihat buah yang diincarnya itu, Kurohige langsung membunuhnya. Karena kematian Satch-lah, Ace memburu Kurohige.

Komandan Divisi 5-16

Vista

Merupakan komandan divisi 5 kelompok bajak laut shirohige. Pertama kali muncul saat pertempuran besar di Marineford. Bersenjatakan dua pedang (cutlass), kemampuan berpedangnya bisa jadi sangat hebat, karena mampu mengimbangi Mihawk dalam pertarungan pedang. Karena Vista-lah, Luffy terus melaju untuk menyelamatkan Ace, ketika Mihawk menghadang.

Curiel

Merupakan komandan divisi 10 kelompok bajak laut Shirohige. Pertama kali muncul saat pertempuran besar di Marineford. Bersenjatakan pistol ditangan dan semacam bazoka di punggungnya. Dengan kemampuan menembaknya, Curiel yang bertugas meladeni Gecko Moria, si shicibukai 320 juta beri tersebut.Ia dikalahkan oleh Akainu

Atomos

Atomos adalah komandan divisi 13 dan orang bertubuh besar yang mencela Doflamingo saat membunuh Oars jr. Dia dipermainkan oleh Doflamingo dengan kekuatan buah iblisnya. Dia dijuluki "kerbau air".

2011-11-11T11:26:00.001+07:00

kelompok organisme yang tidak memiliki membran inti sel. Organisme ini termasuk ke dalam domain prokariota dan berukuran sangat kecil (mikroskopik), serta memiliki peran besar dalam kehidupan di bumi. Beberapa kelompok bakteri dikenal sebagai agen penyebab infeksi dan penyakit, sedangkan kelompok lainnya dapat memberikan manfaat dibidang pangan, pengobatan, dan industri. Struktur sel bakteri relatif sederhana: tanpa nukleus/inti sel, kerangka sel, dan organel-organel lain seperti mitokondria dan kloroplas. Hal inilah yang menjadi dasar perbedaan antara sel prokariot dengan sel eukariot yang lebih kompleks. Bakteri dapat ditemukan di hampir semua tempat: di tanah, air, udara, dalam simbiosis dengan organisme lain maupun sebagai agen parasit (patogen), bahkan dalam tubuh manusia.^] Pada umumnya, bakteri berukuran 0,5-5 μm, tetapi ada bakteri tertentu yang dapat berdiameter hingga 700 μm. Mereka umumnya memiliki dinding sel, seperti sel tumbuhan dan jamur, tetapi dengan bahan pembentuk sangat berbeda (peptidoglikan). Beberapa jenis bakteri bersifat motil (mampu bergerak) dan mobilitasnya ini disebabkan oleh flagel.

Full Moon o Sagashite

2011-11-06T21:25:00.002+07:00

Full Moon o Sagashite (満月をさがして Furu Mūn o Sagashite^?

, literally "Searching for the Full Moon") is a Japanese shōjo manga by Arina Tanemura. According to the furigana, the kanji 満月 in the title are read furu mūn ("full moon") and not mangetsu or mitsuki, the Japanese words for the full moon. In North America, the series is published as Full Moon. although the full title is given on the front cover.

The manga was published by Shueisha in the

magazine Ribon from January 2002 to June 2004 and collected in seven tankōbon volumes. The manga is published in North America in English by Viz Media. The series was adapted as an anime television series produced by Nihon Ad Systems, which ended before the manga was completed, plus an OVA distributed with an issue of Ribon. The series was broadcast on TV Tokyo, where it enjoyed high ratings,^{[citation needed]} and is also licensed in North America by Viz Media.12-year-old orphan Mitsuki Koyama is a talented singer who dreams of becoming a pop idol, but she is afflicted with sarcoma, which is curable only through a surgery that could ruin her vocal cords, and destroy her ability to sing. The tumor in her throat already affects her ability to breathe well and sing loudly. On top of that, her grandmother hates music, and is completely opposed to Mitsuki's wish to audition. Mitsuki’s dreams seem impossible to achieve, until one day she is visited by two shinigami, whom only she could see. The shinigami, Takuto and Meroko, inadvertently tip Mitsuki off that she has only one year left to live.

Mitsuki then realizes she cannot wait any longer to fulfill her dream, so she runs away from home and the shinigami, to try to audition for a singing competition. However, the shinigami stop her before she is able to audition. She moves Takuto, the male shinigami, to agree to a compromise: If Mitsuki promises to go quietly when her year is up, he would help her become a singer, so she could leave the world with no regrets. Takuto gives her the ability to transform into a completely healthy 16-year-old, so that she could meet the age requirements of the audition, and sing without hindrance.

Despite heavy competition, Mitsuki wins over the judges with her excellent voice and her enthusiasm for singing, sealing a contract with Seed Records. To conceal her true identity, she chooses the stage name "Fullmoon" ("Fullmoon," a single word, which is a name, in contrast to "Full Moon" such as in the series title, which refers to the actual moon).

Mitsuki had decided to become a singer two years before, when she was 10 years old. She had made a promise with Eichi Sakurai, a 16-year-old boy she met at her orphanage, that the next time they met, they would both be closer to their dreams. Eichi wanted to become an astronomer and Mitsuki wanted to become a singer. Shortly after, Eichi was adopted and emigrated to America before Mitsuki could express her feelings for him. Mitsuki hopes that by becoming a famous idol, Eichi would be able to hear her sing and realize her feelings for him.

Because the manga continued to be written after the anime series completed, the plots of the manga and anime take different paths after the point of Mitsuki's first singing audition. The two stories share common themes, but events develop differently as the series advances, and some of the characters in the anime have different histories and personalities from their manga counterparts.

For example, in the manga, Mitsuki is never allowed to go to school, while in the anime, Mitsuki attends middle school regularly, and many episodes involve her interactions with classmate friends.

Also, in the anime, Mitsuki tries to convince Oshige and Wakaoji that Fullmoon is her "older sister." However, by episode 19, Mitsuki decides to end the charade, admitting to Oshige and Wakaoji that Mitsuki and Fullmoon are one and the same, and that she changes via Takuto's and Meroko's magic. She proves this by performing a transformation in front of them (much to their astonishment), and Wakaoji and Oshige become friends with Takuto and Meroko for the rest of the series. By contrast, in the manga, no human other than Mitsuki knows about the shinigami in detail. Oshige and Wakaoji eventually deduce Mitsuki is also Fullmoon, but they never know specifically how that was accomplished. In only one frame do they mention a time when Mitsuki told them of shinigami, and Wakaoji says simply, "I believe her."

Mitsuki's love for Eichi plays a lead role in her quest to be a singer. She wishes to be a singer because she thinks her songs will reach America, where Eichi lives, and will recognize her. However, in the manga, Takuto finds out that Eichi died in a plane crash the day of his departure and Mitsuki knew all along and pretended that he was still alive. In the anime, she goes to America to meet a doctor who might treat her illness and uses the chance to track down Eichi's adoptive family, who tell her that Eichi died in a car accident two months after moving. In both versions, she becomes emotionless and blames herself for his death. In the anime, she is so depressed that she gives up singing, refuses to eat and sleep, stares at a photo of her and him, and considers suicide. In the manga, she continues with singing but does so so that she can exhaust herself to death and "go to the world Eichi is at". At the end of both versions, with the help of her friends, she realizes that Eichi would have wanted her to live and fulfill her dreams, so she continues singing and fulfills her promise to him.

In the manga, Takuto is more blunt about his feelings for Mitsuki, even forcibly kissing her and trying to force himself on her. Mitsuki becomes more aware of her feelings for him earlier and even goes on a date with him. At the end, he awakens from a coma (he wasn't really dead) and reunites with Mitsuki three years later. While in the anime, he holds back his feelings for her and doesn't confess until her final concert. At the end, he is granted a second chance to live and has no memories until Mitsuki calls for him and seems to realize who she is.

In the manga, Meroko still has feelings for Izumi, who is more open about his love for her. Izumi is also more amusing and teasing than is cold and cynical self in the anime. Meroko accepts that she loves Izumi and they become partners again in the manga, while their relationship is left uncertain in the anime.

In the manga, Mitsuki is cured of her illness by her frequent transformations, which lessened her cancer, after she agrees to take the surgery. In the anime, Mitsuki takes the surgery after her final concert and it successfully allows her to keep her voice.

Humans

Mitsuki Koyama (神山満月 Kōyama Mitsuki^?) Voiced by: myco (Japanese), Katie Rowan (English): A 12-year-old girl who dreams of becoming a pop singer, but who has a tumor in her vocal cords which restricts her ability to sing. She grew up in an orphanage, and then later went to live with her strict grandmother, Fuzuki, who forbade her from singing. When Mitsuki learns that she'll die if her vocal cords aren't removed, she refuses the surgery, saying she is more afraid of never singing again than she is of dying. With Takuto's help, she transforms into Fullmoon (フルムーン Furumūn^?), a 16-year-old pop idol, completely free of cancer and able to sing. As Fullmoon, she is discovered by Seed Records during an audition, and in both the manga and anime she is depicted as releasing several hit singles. The anime ending theme songs are all supposedly sung by Fullmoon. Mitsuki chooses the stage name Fullmoon because mitsuki means "full moon" in Japanese, and because her childhood friend, Eichi Sakurai, wants to become an astronomer, and the name reminds her of him. Mitsuki decided to become a singer when she was ten years old, because she made a promise with Eichi that they would fulfill their dreams the next time they met.; Mitsuki desires to become a singer because she wants to tell Eichi that she loves him. However, the shinigami eventually discover Eichi is dead. In the manga, they realize Mitsuki knew this all along; in the anime, Mitsuki learns of his death during a trip to America. Both the manga and anime revolve around Mitsuki dealing with Eichi's death, as well as her eventual feelings for Takuto.; Mitsuki is portrayed as an assertive young girl whose personality has matured far beyond her chronological age, and who, in spite of terrible circumstances, stays optimistic and determined. She smiles, even when she harbors pain inside herself. Eichi observes this, comparing Mitsuki to the moon: "The other side of the moon has craters made by meteors...the moon shines while hiding all its wounds" (chapter 3). This trait is also noted by Takuto. Although she always smiles, deep down she is suffering largely due to her desire to see Eichi (as well as her grief over his death). She blames herself for his death because he would not have gotten on the plane if she had confessed to him. Her grief causes her to withdraw from everyone and even considers suicide just so that "she can go to the world Eichi is at".; Halfway through the series, Mitsuki realizes that she loves Takuto but feels guilty for it because she is afraid of forgetting Eichi. With the help of Meroko, she decides that she loves them both and is able to confess to Takuto, as well as accept that Eichi would have wanted to her to be happy. By the end of the series, she is cured of her illness and is able to pursue a singing career and relationship with Takuto, but keeps Eichi in a special place in her heart. Mitsuki's corkscrew hairstyle was inspired by Ai Kago of the group Morning Musume.^[2] Mitsuki herself is modeled on one of Arina Tanemura's assistants, Airi Teito.^[3]

Eichi Sakurai (桜井英知 Sakurai Eichi^?) Voiced by: Ryohei Kimura (Japanese), Graden Gant (English): Mitsuki's childhood friend and first love. In the anime, he is six years older than her; in the manga, he is four years older. After his parents died, Eichi lived with his grandfather. When he died as well, Eichi moved to the orphanage where he met Mitsuki. They became fast friends, and he eventually fell in love with her, confessing his feelings just before moving to America. Mitsuki was heartbroken when he left, as she could not yet confess her true feelings to him. Part of the reason she wanted to become a singer was to find him. In the manga, Eichi dies when his flight to America crashes (which Mitsuki learns immediately); in the anime, Eichi dies in a car accident a few months after moving (which Mitsuki doesn't find out until her trip to America, two years later). In the manga, Takuto's first assignment was taking Eichi's soul, but Eichi refused to depart the world and instead stays near Mitsuki as a spirit, which gives her the power to see shinigami. He stays with her until the end of the manga, when he leaves after seeing that she is now happy and wants to live on, and no longer needs his presence. As he disappears, he smiles lovingly at her while crying.

Fuzuki Koyama (神山文月 Kōyama Fuzuki^?) Voiced by: Kazuko Sugiyama (Japanese), Maureen Jones (English): Mitsuki's grandmother. She initially hates music because she believes that it has stolen everyone she has loved. She becomes angry when Mitsuki sings in her house. After Mitsuki runs away from home to become Fullmoon, disappearing from her life, Grandma Fuzuki constantly worries about her, gradually accepts the fact that she cannot keep Mitsuki from music, and the two reconcile. In the manga, as a young woman Fuzuki was best friends with Moe Rikyou (the human who became Meroko), and they both fell in love with a violinist, Seijuro Koga. He chose Fuzuki as his fiancée, but Fuzuki refused the engagement out of loyalty to Moe. When Fuzuki announced this to Seijuro, she gave him a final kiss, but Moe, already hearing of their engagement, misread the scene, ran off, and committed suicide in despair. Fuzuki later married another man and had Hazuki, who became Mitsuki's mother. Seijuro married another woman, who gave birth to Aoi Koga--Mitsuki's father. At the end of the manga, Fuzuki reunites with Seijuro (both are by then widowed), and they attend Mitsuki's concert together--strongly implying they are finally a pair. In the anime, Fuzuki was engaged to a man who wanted to become a famous pianist. He became obsessed with practicing the piano, and when she suggested he should relax a bit, he said she did not understand and left Japan, breaking Fuzuki's heart.

Yoneya "Yone" Tanaka (田中よね Tanaka Yone^?) Voiced by: Mayumi Akado (Japanese), Suzette Mattar (English): Fuzuki's maid. She acts silly at times, but cares deeply for both Fuzuki and Mitsuki. Tanaka is skilled at cooking, cleaning, shopping, and appears to take pride in her abilities as a maid. She is also something of a snoop and often eavesdrops on conversations. In the anime, Tanaka is shown as loving music and she has a radio with headphones so that she can listen without Fuzuki knowing; Mitsuki sometimes uses this to blackmail Tanaka. Tanaka also has a crush on Wakaoji and is jealous of Oshige, mistaking her to be Wakaoji's fiancée. In one episode, she challenges Oshige to a contest to see which of the two would make a better bride. Although Tanaka wins all events, she concedes the contest when she sees Wakaoji and Oshige laughing together, believing the two are in love (which is actually true in the manga, but not in the anime).

Keiichi Wakaoji (若王子圭一 Wakaōji Keiichi^?) Voiced by: Teruaki Ogawa (Japanese), Gerrick Winston (English): Mitsuki's doctor. He played keyboard in the band ROUTE:L along with Mitsuki's father, Aoi Koga, and Takuto Kira, but he quit after Aoi's death. Fans called him the "Prince of ROUTE:L" becausewakaōji means "young prince" in Japanese. In the manga, Wakaoji performed the surgery on Takuto to remove the tumor in his vocal cords and witnessed Takuto's suicide. Mitsuki learns that Wakaoji loved her mother because of a letter he thought she had written him, but Wakaoji falls in love with Oshige when he discovers the letter was from her. In a side story, he asks Oshige to marry him and she accepts. In an episode of the anime, Mitsuki asks him to go out with her and he says yes. He cares for Mitsuki because she looks like her mother.

Masami Oshige (大重正実 Ōshige Masami^?) Voiced by: Tomomi Seo (Japanese), Kris Rundle (English): Fullmoon's 28-year-old manager, and a former avid fangirl of ROUTE:L, especially Wakaoji. She started out as an unsuccessful idol singer, under the stage name Yuina Hanakazari (花飾結菜Hanakazari Yuina^?), before moving into management. In the manga, she has an affair with her boss out of loneliness despite his being married. She truly loves Wakaoji, having been smitten with him since his days in Route:L, but she feels she is too old and unworthy of true love with a man. To cope with this despair, as well as with the pressures of her job, she often loses herself in a bottle ofsake. (In reality, Arina Tanemura says Masami is a heavy drinker because Tanemura's editors like to drink, and Oshige's name is a hybrid of the editors' names.) At the end of the manga, Wakaoji discovers Masami is the one who composed the mysterious love letter, making her the one he really loved all that time, and so asks her to marry him.

Madoka Wakamatsu (若松円 Wakamatsu Madoka^?) Voiced by: Kana (Japanese), Carol-Anne Day (English): Madoka Wakamatsu is the stage name of Chisato Kurebayashi (暮林千暁 Kurebayashi Chisato^?). Madoka is Fullmoon's rival in the music industry, who at the same time befriends 12-year-old Mitsuki. While talented, she is constantly upstaged by Fullmoon because she initially lacks the heart Mitsuki gives her songs. In addition, she is insecure because she had plastic surgery to make herself beautiful as a celebrity and was disowned by her family as a result. Madoka has a small pig called Gu-chan (ぐっちゃん^?), who worships her. Although she sometimes takes out her anger on Gu-chan, she is genuinely fond of him. In the manga, Madoka is shown as having pride as well as ambition: she refuses to cheat to win over Fullmoon, even once resigning a commercial offer to Fullmoon when she realizes that Fullmoon would have won if Madoka hadn't inadvertently stolen her lyrics. In the anime, Madoka is not above using underhanded tactics to best Fullmoon and does so several times, although she eventually changes her ways--particularly after learning some humility the hard way. In both versions, Madoka cares very much about Mitsuki/Fullmoon by the end of the story. At the end of the anime (episode 52), Madoka brings Mitsuki flowers following her surgery, and at the end of the manga, Madoka cries when thinking about Fullmoon having cancer: "Why? Why does it have to be her?" (chapter 29).

Aoi Koga (古雅葵 Koga Aoi^?) Voiced by: Hiroki Takahashi: Mitsuki's dead father, and former guitarist and songwriter for the band ROUTE:L. He acted as a father figure for the orphaned Takuto. In the manga, he died in an accident while driving Hazuki to the hospital to give birth to Mitsuki; in the anime, he died when Mitsuki was one year old.; In the manga, Aoi is shown as a laid-back, cool-tempered man. Arina Tanemura states that "He loves wearing Buddhist priest work clothes!" Aoi was very close to his bandmates and friends, Keiichi Wakaoji and Takuto Kira. He asked Takuto to name his daughter, and Takuto decided on Mitsuki (vol. 4, bonus manga, Totsugeki Dokodoko). He is only briefly seen in the anime, including a scene where he gives a music box to Hazuki when she named their daughter Mitsuki.

Nachi (那智 Nachi^?): The lead singer of the duo OZ, who befriends Mitsuki (as Fullmoon) because she was the first person in the music industry to genuinely smile as she spoke to him. He cherishes her friendship and takes it upon himself to find a stalker hurting people close to her. Nachi and Madoka fall in love, though Gu-chan is jealous of him. When Madoka finds he has an old photo of her with her unattractive childhood fiancé, Soichiro Shido (紫堂総一郎 Shidō Sōichirō^?), she assumes Nachi is Soichiro's friend, pretending to love her to get revenge for her rejection of Soichiro. Madoka apologizes to Soichiro's mother and asks to break off the engagement because she loves Nachi, only to discover Soichiro is Nachi, after having plastic surgery to become an idol in hopes of making her love him. In the end, they remain engaged and a happy couple. Nachi does not appear in the anime.

Hikari Hayashi (林光理 Hayashi Hikari^?)

Hikari was Takuto's girlfriend while he was alive. Takuto discovered that she was cheating on him and the two were on the verge of breaking up when Takuto attempted suicide and went into a coma, after which Hikari realized that she still loved him. She later sees Takuto (visible to humans while he was about to go on a date with Mitsuki) and attempts to revive their relationship, which causes problems between Takuto and Mitsuki. Hikari only appears in the manga.

Shinigami

The shinigami are the spirits of humans that committed suicide, who are then punished with the task of collecting souls. If a shinigami fully remembers his or her past life before becoming a fullshinigami, he or she disappears and becomes a ghost. In the manga, Mitsuki is the only human who knows about the shinigami (other than Grandma Fuzuki, who befriends Meroko in her "plushie doll" form, but does not know she's a shinigami, nor realizes Meroko is a friend from many years ago). However, in the anime, when Mitsuki admits to Oshige and Wakaoji her double-identity, she also admits the existence of Takuto and Meroko, as well as their supernatural powers. Oshige and Wakaoji befriend Takuto and Meroko, and frequently interact with them when they're in doll form.

Takuto Kira (タクト·キラ Takuto Kira^?) Voiced by: Yakkun Sakurazuka (Japanese), Jeffrey Watson (English): Takuto is Meroko's partner and trainee, and they are assigned to take Mitsuki's soul. His shinigami costume is a cat outfit plus a backpack with wings, without which, as a trainee shinigami, he cannot fly. Takuto is capable of transforming into a anthropomorphic cat plushie. Moved by Mitsuki's plight, he transforms her into the 16-year-old Fullmoon. Takuto falls in love with Mitsuki as the story goes on. As the series progresses, he remembers his past as Takuto Kira (吉良托人 Kira Takuto^?), the lead singer of ROUTE:L, the band that both Mitsuki's father and her doctor were in. After a malignant tumor in his throat took his voice, he attempted suicide by jumping from the top floor of the hospital, witnessed by Dr. Wakaoji. He remained in a coma for the next two years. In the manga, a twelve year-old Takuto named Mitsuki before she was born, and later met her at the orphanage when she was four years old. At the end of the series, Takuto saves Mitsuki's life, violating fate and his duty as a shinigami. At the end of the manga, he is seen as a human again in the hospital, having lost three months of memories. Three years later, he reunites with Mitsuki during her concert. Mitsuki jumps off stage mid-song and confesses her feelings to him. They kiss amid cheers from the concert crowd. In the anime, the circumstances of Takuto's death are changed: he is in a motorbike accident and dies rather than remaining in a coma. After being given a second chance at life, Takuto has no memory of his former lives as human or shinigami, but still carries the cat charm Mitsuki gave him. In the final scene, Meroko (now an angel) leads Mitsuki to Takuto. Mitsuki calls out to him, and he recognizes her.

Meroko Yui (めろこ·ユイ Meroko Yui^?) Voiced by: Chieko Honda (Japanese), Leda Davies (English): Meroko is a rabbit shinigami with long ears, capable of transforming into an anthropomorphic bunny stuffed toy. Her shinigami costume in the manga is black; whereas, in the anime it is red. Meroko is particularly insecure in relationships. At one point she laments, "I've finally run away from love... but when I fell in love and lost it, I realized that there's no place to run anywhere, anymore. Do I have to repeat this forever? Is this my punishment?" (bonus story in manga volume 3, A Kiss for Meroko). This insecurity gives her jealousy towards Mitsuki. Meroko is Takuto's partner and has an unrequited infatuation with him. Her jealousy in the manga causes her to act out almost violently against Mitsuki. In the anime, she is more passive; however, the anime depicts her love for Takuto as being much deeper and more permanent than the manga. Meroko is Izumi's former partner; in the manga, it is Izumi who selects her unique costume. Both the manga and the anime reveal a previous relationship between Izumi and Meroko and allude to it as being unhealthy but mutual. Eventually Izumi ends the relationship and partnership; Meroko is forced to train Takuto as a replacement. The anime does not address Meroko's past, while the manga does: As a human, Meroko was named Moe Rikyo (里匡萌 Rikyō Moe^?), and was the best friend of Mitsuki's grandmother, Fuzuki. Fuzuki was in an arranged engagement to another man, but both she and Moe fell in love with Seijuro Koga, a handsome violinist. However, Seijuro returned only Fuzuki's affections and arranged things so the two could be engaged. Fuzuki's loutish ex-fiancé was passed on to Moe, who, shocked by the new arrangements, sought out Fuzuki to verify the truth. At the same time, Fuzuki broke off her relationship with Seijuro and was giving him a final kiss when Moe arrived. The upset Moe ran away; soon afterwards, her new fiancé attempted to rape her. Feeling betrayed by her friend, Moe committed suicide. In the manga, Meroko learns Seijuro is Mitsuki's grandfather and assumes Mitsuki is the descendant of Fuzuki's betrayal. In a rage, Meroko tries to take Mitsuki's soul with a whip, but Takuto intervenes. It is later revealed that Fuzuki did not marry Seijuro but later married another man, with whom she raised Hazuki Kouyama, Mitsuki's mother; Seijuro married another woman, and their child was Aoi Kago, Mitsuki's father.; Meroko eventually makes amends in the manga both by befriending Fuzuki in her rabbit form and by appearing silently as Moe, allowing Fuzuki a chance to explain and apologize although shinigami law prevents her from replying.; The manga ends with Meroko and Izumi reconciling their relationship as well as becoming shinigami partners once more. In the anime, Meroko is exiled from the shinigami and resolves to become a ghost in order to save Takuto; in reward for this kindness, she is made into an angel and given Takuto's soul to deliver a second chance.

Izumi Rio (いずみ·リオ Izumi Rio^?) Voiced by: Megumi Ogata: Izumi is a cold and distant shinigami assigned to the Pediatrics Ward. He can transform into an anthropomorphic dog plushie, but rarely does so because it takes a lot of energy and he says it is embarrassing. He likes to call other characters by nicknames.; In the anime, Izumi's background is not mentioned and he is portrayed as a cold-hearted antagonist. He makes several attempts to steal Mitsuki's soul, and although he claims to love Meroko, he frequently does things to hurt her. He also implies that he was responsible for Takuto and Meroko being assigned to Mitsuki in the hopes it would cause Takuto to remember his past life as a human and turn him into a ghost. The anime portrays Izumi's sole motivation as the need to regain Meroko and cause Takuto pain in the process.; The manga illustrates Izumi as mischievous but not sadistic, and over the course of the series, he also befriends Mitsuki and the others. Izumi's background in the manga is elaborate: In his human life, he was a boy named Lio Izumi (泉利緒 Izumi Rio^?) whose mother was abusive; it is implied that the young Izumi looked much like his late father, thus invoking his mother's rage. In a desperate attempt to see his mother smile again, six-year old Izumi ran onto the train tracks - but though he saw his mother smile as he was hit, Izumi woke up again as a shinigami, dissatisfied. In the manga, it is stated that Izumi retained all of his memories after death, a very unusual feat for a new shinigami. Eventually, Mitsuki helps him realize that he had wanted his mother to call him back from the tracks. At the end of the manga, Izumi and Meroko team up once again and become sweethearts.

Jonathan (ジョナサン Jonasan^?) Voiced by: Norihisa Mori: Jonathan is the shinigami who becomes Izumi's partner after Meroko leaves. He wears a top hat and often speaks rather odd phrases in English. Throughout the series, he appears subservient to Izumi, while conducting covert operations including revealing to Mitsuki that the shinigami already knew that Eichi was dead and becoming a fanatic who tries to harm Fullmoon and her friends. In the manga, it is eventually revealed that he is really Sheldan (シェルダン部長 Sherudan-buchō^?), the head of the pediatrics ward. He attempts to take Mitsuki's life, but is stopped by Takuto, Meroko, and Izumi. He was the second shinigami to be born, and shows great affection towards Mystere. In the final chapter, he uses up all his powers to heal Takuto's throat and give him his voice back, and disappears along with Mystere. In the anime adaptation, Jonathan's role is minor, acting only as Izumi's sidekick and a source of annoyance.

In an author's freetalk in the manga, Tanemura mentions that one day at work, she drew a picture of what she thought Peeves from Harry Potter looked like. She showed it to her assistants, who laughed and said it did not look anything like Peeves. Tanemura decided not to waste it, and used the sketch as the design of Jonathan in ghost form.^[4]

Death Master (死神主人 Desu Masutā^?): Also called Mystere (ミスティア Misutia^?), the Death Master was the first human soul to descend to the Underworld and is the crowned queen of the Underworld. After discovering she could take the souls of humans, she encountered a dying young girl who asked her if she was a shinigami, which convinced her that she was one. Fragile and sentimental, she is believed to be the most powerfulshinigami. When Meroko enters her room to erase Mitsuki's name from the rolls of the dead, Mystere gives her the keys to free Takuto, and later she listens with a smile to Mitsuki's final performance as Fullmoon. At the end of the manga, when Mystere and Sheldan disappear after using up their power healing Takuto's throat, they seem to show great affection for each other, and Mystere says that unlike the last time she died, she has no regrets about it. In the anime, there is no backstory to her, and she appears briefly near the end, forgiving Takuto and Meroko, forbearing Mitsuki's and Takuto's deaths, and granting Meroko the status of an angel.

Shikamaru Nara ''Naruto''

2011-11-01T16:49:00.003+07:00

Shikamaru Nara (奈良シカマル) adalah salah satu tokoh protagonis dalam serial manga dan anime Naruto. "Shika" berarti rusa dan "maru" bisa berarti "lingkaran" atau "berkembang dengan baik" tetapi biasa digunakan sebagai nama anak lelaki. Nara juga adalah salah satu nama prefektur dan kota di Jepang yang memiliki taman dengan banyak rusa. hikamaru adalah seorang anak dari klan Nara yang seangkatan dengan Naruto. Dia sangat pemalas, tetapi baik hati. Dia bersama Naruto, Kiba, dan Chouji sering ditegur oleh guru Iruka Umino. Sesungguhnya Shikamaru adalah anak yang pintar. Tingkat kecerdasannya (IQ) mampu mencapai 200. Kekurangannya adalah gemar tidur siang sambil memandangi awan daripada berlatih ninjutsu. Chouji bahkan berkata bahwa Shikamaru bisa saja melebihi Sasuke.

Setelah lulus dari akademi, dia satu kelompok bersama Chouji dan Ino di bawah bimbingan Asuma. Dia menyebut dirinya sendiri sebagai "penakut nomor satu" dan "paling jago melarikan diri," padahal dia hanya tidak ingin menggunakan kekuatannya dan malas berurusan dengan orang, apalagi mempertaruhkan nyawa. Shikamaru tidak mempunyai cita-cita yang tinggi, dia hanya ingin menjadi ninja biasa. Ia berharap agar menikah dengan perempuan yang tidak cantik tetapi juga tidak jelek, lalu punya dua orang anak. Ia juga berharap agar anak pertamanya berjenis kelamin perempuan, sedangkan anak keduanya laki-laki. Dan ia berencana setelah anak pertamanya menikah, dia akan pensiun dari dunia ninja untuk terjun ke bidang pertanian.

Di Ujian Chuunin, dia bertemu dengan Temari. Walaupun begitu, sepertinya terjalin hubungan aneh di antara keduanya. Ia pernah mengatakan bahwa Temari adalah gadis yang manis saat misi pengejaran Sasuke. Sebagai pemimpin tim, dia sangatlah cocok karena dapat berpikir cepat dan logis. Kelebihannya satu ini seringkali menyelamatkan dirinya dan teman-temannya dari kematian. Dia juga sangat menggemari shogi, dan acap kali menang bermain melawan Asuma. Dia adalah satu-satunya shinobi yang naik menjadi chuunin di ujian kali ini. Shikamaru berambut lurus dan diikat keatas, seperti samurai. Rambutnya hitam dan bagian dahinya dibiarkan terbuka.memakai anting dikedua telinganya. Pelindung kepala yang dipasang di lengan bagian kirinya. Wajahnya sangat mencirikan dirinya, pemalas dan cuek. Setelah ujian chuunin, dia mengenakan jaket pelindung dari desa sebagai pengganti jaketnya yang lama. Dia mengenakan celana 3/4 berwarna hijau. Setelah naruto II, dia mengenakan baju lengan panjang dan celana panjang berwarna hitam. Dia tidak begitu tinggi, hampir seperti Naruto. Shikamaru memiliki kelebihan di bidang strategi dan taktik. Hal ini tak lain karena dia memiliki IQ diatas 200 (genius). Kecerdasannya hanya bisa dilampaui oleh Kakashi. Bahkan Kakashi pun dibuat heran dengan kecepatannya dalam menyusun strategi. Kegeniusannya Shikamaru dibuktikan ketika dia berhasil menjebak Temari, Tayuya, bahkan anggota Akatsuki yang terkenal hebat dan sadis,Hidan dan Kakuzu. Meski kekuatan /chakra yang dimilikinya tidak sekuat teman-temannya, namun dengan kecerdasannya dia bisa membalikkan keadaan genting seperti apapun menjadi kemenangan gemilang. Ini juga didukung kemampuan klannya yaitu mengendalikan bayangan. Dengan kemampuannya ini dia bisa menjebak musuh masuk ke perangkapnya dengan kecerdasannya. Hanya saja dia kurang berlatih, lebih tepatnya malas, sehingga kemampuannya sebagai shinobi tidak sehebat naruto atau neji, hanya saja, ia selalu melatih kemampuan menyusun strateginya melalui Shogi, atau catur Jepang bersama Asuma yang mengaku selalu kalah, walaupun saat ini Shikamaru bermain dengan Shikaku, ayahnya. Shikamaru dan rekan setimnya melaksanakan ujian ini dengan tenang, sampai akhirnya masuk ke babak selanjutnya. Di dalam hutan, mereka hanya menghidar dan menghindar dari tim-tim lainnya. Tetapi mereka kurang beruntung, mereka bertemu dengan tim Baki dariSunagakure. Untungnya, mereka berhasil lolos karena Kankuro mencegah gaara membunuh mereka. Setelah berhasil sampai ke menara, mereka dihadapkan pada pertarungan acak satu lawan satu. Shikamaru kebagian melawan Kin Tsuchi dari desa Oto dan mengalahkannya dengan cerdik dan menunjukkan kemampuan otaknya.

Memasuki babak utama, dia bertarung melawan Temari. Dia sempat kesulitan menghadapi serbuan angin dari kipasnya. Shikamaru lalu bersembunyi dibalik pepohonan dan mula menyusun strategi. mula-mula dia akan menunggu matahari terbenam dan memanjangkan bayangannya. Temari yang mengetahui hal ini mundur, tetapi dikejutkan dengan parasut buatan shikamaru yang bisa memanjangkan lagi bayangannya. Temari lalu mundur kembali, tetapi dibelakangnya ada lubang yang dimanfaatkan shikamaru untuk menjebaknya dengankagemane no jutsu. tetapi secara mengejutkan dia mundur dari pertarungan karena menurutnya dia sudah memikirkan 200 langkah ke depan dan masih tidak menemukan celah untuk mengalahkan temari bahkan dia mengalah karena dia bilang sepertinya dia kehabisan waktu. Meski kalah dia mendapat aplaus meriah dari penonton.

Ketika shinobi suna memulai penyerbuaan, shikamaru ditugasi mengejar gaara dan sasuke ditemani pakkun, naruto, dan sakura. Dia lalu menjadi umpan untuk menghambat ninjaoto yang mengejar mereka. Dia mengikat semuanya kecuali satu orang yang bersembunyi di pohon. Ketika shikamaru akan dibunuh, Asuma datang menyelamatkan nyawanya dan membunuh semua musuh dalam sekejap. Setelah keributan selesai, sebagai chuunin yang baru dia diangkat menjadi ketua tim untuk memburu rombongan sasuke yang menuju persembunyian orochimaru. Dia lalu mencari anggota tim lainnya yang kesemuanya genin. Dia lalu mendapatkan Choji, Kiba, Naruto, dan Neji. Setelah itu mereka berkumpul dan mendapat pembekalan singkat dari Shikamaru. lagi-lagi shikamaru menunjukkan kecerdasannya dengan mengatur strategi dari anggota tim yang didapat secara acak. Tim Shikamaru lalu berangkat mengejar rombongan desa Oto.

Setelah melalui berbagai hal, Shikamaru lalu melawan salah satu ninja Oto tersebut, yaitu Tayuya. Gadis ini berkemampuan memberi ilusi genjutsu pada siapa saja yang mendengar suara sulingnya. Shikamaru memulai serangannya ke Tayuya, tetapi Tayuya mengeluarkan 3 kuchiyose yang memakan arwah. Shikamaru berhasil mengatasinya dengan menggunakan flashbang dan memanjangkan bayangannya hingga mencapai ketiga kuchiyose tersebut. Tetapi tayuya lalu memanggil kembali ketiga kuchiyose tersebut. shikamaru belum kehabisan akal, dia lalu memancing Tayuya mendekat dan menjebaknya dengan kagemane, kageshibari no jutsu. Mereka berdua berusaha keras, tetapi akhirnya shikamaru kehabisan chakra dan ketika akan dibunuh, Temari datang menolong. Tayuya lalu melarikan diri, tetapi Temari membunuhnya dengan kuchiyose miliknya.

Setelah misi selesai, dia lalu menyesali dirinya sendiri karena teman-temannya terluka. Walaupun kemampuannya sebagai ketua tim tidak lagi diragukan, dia tetap bersikeras dirinya tidak pantas menjadi chuunin. Tetapi tsunade mengatakan padanya biarpun misi gagal, dia sudah membawa kembali rekan-rekannya dengan selamat, dan itu yang terpenting. Shikamaru menangis dan berjanji akan menjadi ketua yang lebih baik lain waktu. Setelah Hidan dan Kakuzu menyusup ke Konoha dan membunuh salah satu petinggi kuil disana, Tsunade lalu membentuk Niju Shoutai (二十小隊)atau duabelas pasukan untuk melindungi desa. Shikamaru, Izumo, Kotetsu dan Asuma ditugasi mencari dan menangkap atau bila perlu membunuh dua Akatsuki yang sudah mengacau di Konoha. Mereka berhasil menemukan kedua orang itu dan mulai menyerangnya. Shikamaru berhasil menjebak hidan dalam kagemane no jutsunya dan memaksanya keluar dari lingkaran gaib. Kepala hidan lalu dipotong, tetapi secara mengejutkan dia masih bertahan hidup bahkan Hidan masih dapat berteriak-teriak pada Kakuzu. Ketika anggota tim Asuma sedang terkaget-kaget, Hidan memulai "ritual" kembali. Ia menusuk dirinya sendiri dan mengakibatkan Asuma luka parah. Choji, Ino dan lainnya datang dan menolong tim Asuma. Kedua anggota Akatsuki itu pun mundur. Sayangnya, nyawa Asuma sudah tidak tertolong. Lalu Shikamaru menyalakan rokok terakhir untuk Asuma dan dirinya. Setelah konfrontasi Akatsuki, Shikamaru, Choji, dan Ino membalaskan kematiaan Asuma. Tsunade melarang mereka dengan alasan Tim Shikamaru tidak memiliki pemimpin. Namun kemudian Kakashi muncul dan menawarkan diri sebagai pemimpin. Mereka berempat berangkat untuk mengejar Kakuzu dan Hidan. Kakuzu dan Hidan berhasil ditemukan dengan bantuan Ninpou Shintensin no Jutsu milik Ino. Pertarungan antara mereka pun tidak terelakkan. Di tengah pertarungan Shikamaru menyadari bahwa kedua lawan mereka memiliki kemampuan unik. Kakuzu memiliki 5 Jantung yang membuatnya mampu bertahan hidup sampai 106 tahun. Team Shikamaru yang sempat kewalahan menghadapi lawan-lawan yang tidak bisa mati. Tiba-tiba Yamato, Sai dan Naruto yang baru saja menyelesaikan jurus barunya datang memberi bantuan. Akhirnya Kakuzu dan Hidan bisa ditaklukkan. Shikamaru memotong kepala Hidan dengan jurus pengikat bayangannya dan menguburnya hidup - hidup. Sedangkan Kakuzu berhasil ditaklukkan oleh Team Kakashi. Naruto mencederainya dengan Futon Rasen Shuriken (Elemen Angin : Rasen Shuriken) dan Kakashi mengakhirinya dengan Raikiri.

Animasi

2011-10-14T17:37:00.005+07:00

Animasi di Indonesia

Perkembangan animasi sebenarnya telah meluas di Indonesia, bahkan ada beberapa studio yang telah membuat animasi lisensi luar dikerjakan oleh tenaga ahli lokal atau dengan kalimat lain, Indonesia sudah lama terkenal hanya sebagai tempat produksi industri film animasi Jepang dan Amerika Serikat. Data Ainaki (Asosiasi Industri Animasi dan Konten Indonesia) mencatat nama-nama studio animasiIndonesia, diantaranya adalah: Frozzty Entertainment,Dreamlight Animation, Tunas Pakar Integraha, Castle Production,CAM Solution,DreamTOoN, Mirage, Pustaka Lebah, Jogjakartun, Mrico, Animad Studio, Jelly Fish, Bulakartun, Griya Studio, Bening Studio,Studio Kasatmata, ADBstudio Asiana Wang Animation, Bintang Jenaka Cartoon Film, Red Rocket, Infinite Frameworks Studios Batam,Animotion Academy , Sianima Animation dan lain-lain.

Animasi, atau lebih akrab disebut dengan film animasi, adalah film yang merupakan hasil dari pengolahan gambar tangan sehingga menjadi gambar yang bergerak. Pada awal penemuannya, film animasi dibuat dari berlembar-lembar kertas gambar yang kemudian di-"putar" sehingga muncul efek gambar bergerak. Dengan bantuan komputer dan grafika komputer, pembuatan film animasi menjadi sangat mudah dan cepat. Bahkan akhir-akhir ini lebih banyak bermunculan film animasi 3 dimensi daripada film animasi 2 dimensi.

Wayang kulit merupakan salah satu bentuk animasi tertua di dunia. Bahkan ketika teknologi elektronik dan komputer belum diketemukan, pertunjukan wayang kulit telah memenuhi semua elemen animasi seperti layar, gambar bergerak, dialog dan ilustrasi musik.

Ada dua proses pembuatan film animasi, diantaranya adalah secara konvensional dan digital. Proses secara konvensional sangat membutuhkan dana yang cukup mahal, sedangkan proses pembuatan digital cukup ringan. Sedangkan untuk hal perbaikan, proses digital lebih cepat dibandingkan dengan proses konvensional. Tom Cardon seorang animator yang pernah menangani animasi Hercules mengakui komputer cukup berperan. "Perbaikan secara konvensional untuk 1 kali revisi memakan waktu 2 hari sedangkan secara digital hanya memakan waktu berkisar antara 30-45 menit."Dalam pengisian suara sebuah film dapat dilakukan sebelum atau sesudah filmnya selesai. Kebanyakan dubbing dilakukan saat film masih dalam proses, tetapi kadang-kadang seperti dalam animasi Jepang, sulih suara justru dilakukan setelah filmnya selesai dibuat.

Teknik Celluloid (kadang-kadang disebut menjadi cell) ini merupakan teknik mendasar dalam pembuatan film animasi klasik. Setelah gambar mejadi sebuah rangkaian gerakan maka gambar tersebut akan ditransfer keatas lembaran transparan (plastik) yang tembus pandang/ sel (cell) dan diwarnai oleh Ink and Paint Departement. Setelah selesai film tersebut akan direkam dengan kamera khusus, yaitu multiplane camera di dalam ruangan yang serba hitam.

Objek utama yang mengeksploitir gerak dibuat terpisah dengan latar belakang dan depan yang statis. Dengan demikian, latar belakang (background) dan latar depan (foreground) dibuat hanya sekali saja. Cara ini dapat menyiasati pembuatan gambar yang terlalu banyak.

Pra-produksi:
- Konsep,
- Skenario,
- Pembentukan karakter,
- Storyboard,
- Dubbing awal,
- Musik dan sound FX
Produksi:
- Lay out (Tata letak),
- Key motion (Gerakan kunci/ inti),
- In Between (Gambar yang menghubungkan antara gambar inti ke gambar inti yang lain)
- Clean Up (Membersihkan gambar dengan menjiplak)
- Background (Gambar latar belakang),
- Celluloid (Ditransfer keatas plastik transparan)
- Coloring (Mewarnai dengan tinta dan cat).
Post-produksi:

Composite,
Camera Shooting (Gambar akan diambil dengan kamera, dengan mengambil frame demi frame),
Editing,
Rendering,
Pemindahan film kedalam roll film.

Komputer

Setelah perkembangan teknologi komputer di era 80-an, proses pembuatan animasi 2 dimensi menjadi lebih mudah. Yang sangat nyata dirasakan adalah kemudahan dalam proses pembuatan animasi. Untuk penggarapan animasi sederhana, mulai dari perancangan model hingga pengisian suara/dubbing dapat dilakukan dengan mempergunakan satu personal komputer. Setiap kesalahan dapat dikoreksi dengan cepat dan dapat dengan cepat pula diadakan perubahan. Sementara dengan teknik konvensional, setiap detail kesalahan kadang-kadang harus diulang kembali dari awal. Proses pembuatan animasi 2Dimensi digital terdiri dari:

Pra-produksi:
- Konsep,
- Skenario,
- Pembentukan karakter,
- Storyboard,
- Dubbing awal,
- Musik dan sound FX
Produksi:
- Lay out (Tata letak),
- Key motion (Gerakan kunci/ inti),
- In Between (Gambar yang menghubungkan antara gambar inti ke gambar inti yang lain)
- Background (Gambar latar belakang),
- Scanning
- Coloring.
Post-produksi:

Composite,
Editing,
Rendering,
Pemindahan film kedalam berbagai media berupa VCD, DVD, VHS dan lainnya.