Culture of Japan
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Japanese culture and language
Japan's isolation until the arrival of the "Black Ships" and the Meiji era produced a culture distinctively different from any other, and echoes of this uniqueness persist today. For example, as Ruth Benedict pointed out in her classic study "The Chrysanthemum and the Sword", Japan has a shame culture (external reference standard) rather than the guilt culture (internal reference standard) that is more familiar in the West. Again in Japan, inter-relationships between people are heavily influenced by "obligation" and "duty" in a way that is no longer true in the more individualistic and free-wheeling West. Finally, generalised conceptions of morality and desirable behaviour are relatively under-developed in Japan, where particular obligations to family, school, and friends tend to guide behaviour.
Because of strong correlation between Japanese culture and language, the Japanese language has always played a significant role in Japanese culture. Nemawashi, for example, indicates consensus achieved through careful preparation. It reflects the harmony that is desired and respected within Japanese culture.
While Japanese are better known for their physical comedy outside of Japan, they have intricate and complex humor and jokes. Because this humor relies so heavily on Japanese language, centuries of cultures, Buddhism-Shinto religion, and ethics, however, they are generally considered to be very difficult to translate.
Clothing
Main article: Japanese clothing (kimono, hakama, etc...)
Creative Arts
Art and Architecture
Main article: Japanese Art
Cinema
Main article: Cinema_of_Japan
Dance
Main article: Japanese traditional dance
Etiquette
Main article: Etiquette of Japan
Literature
Main article: Japanese literature
The books, comic books, magazines and newspapers are also a part of the Japanese culture. Even though TV and other entertainment have led to a decline in the time spent reading, book stores are everywhere and public libraries offer a huge store of books. Local municipalities offer reading sessions of writings like 'Genji monogatari' (The Tale of Genji) and poem classes. There are also second hand shops dedicated exclusively to selling used books, magazines, and music software cheaply. The Kanda district in downtown Tokyo has been famous for selling second hand books for over 80 years.
Music
Main article: Music of Japan
For many outsiders, Japanese music is associated entirely with cheap, disposable bubblegum pop, of which there is plenty. However, many distinct styles and innovative artists play folk and classical music, much of it very intense, and others play distinct forms of rock, electronic music, hip hop, punk rock and country music. Examples include famous punk rockers The Boredoms led by Eye Yamitaka, noise pioneers Masonna and Omoide Hatoba, native Japanese Miho Hatori and Yuka Honda's duo Cibo Matto, mainstays like Loudness, Yellow Magic Orchestra and Hound Dog, and fad sensation ukelele duo Petty Booka.
Theatre
Food
Main article: Japanese cuisine
Through virtue of a long culinary past Japanese cuisine has developed a complex and sensually pleasing palate. Modern Japanese enjoy a variety of traditional Japanese food including many seafood dishes (sushi and sashimi for instance), as well as a multitude of foreign cuisine now available. One can easily find Chinese, Korean and Thai dishes as well as non-regional German, French and Italian foods. Japanese cuisine is a product of its environment and people; the ease of acquiring fresh ingredients led to sushi, high temperature and humidity led to varieties of pickled and fermented food like natto and soy sauce, and an adaptation of foreign cuisines led to ramen.
Language
Main article: Japanese language (Hiragana, Katakana, Kana, Romaji)
Japanese have used their own language for millennia. Understanding it is essential to understanding Japanese culture. Both traditional Japanese culture as well as the modern popular culture are based on spoken and written Japanese language.
The Japanese writing systems were developed in Japan from their contact with the Chinese. This process began around 400 AD. However, the languages stayed entirely different, the Japanese maintaining control at all times (unlike English under the Normans). The habit of modifying Chinese symbols to suit themselves, resulting in what they called wasei kanji, continues today as they modify English (or European) words, which they call wasei eigo.
Lifestyle
See Japanese cell phone culture
Media
Main article: Japanese Television and Radio
Japan has about 100 million television sets in use, and television is the main source of home entertainment and information for most of the population. The Japanese have a wide variety of programs to choose from, including the various dramas (police, crime, home, and jidaigeki — "samurai" dramas), anime, news, game, quiz, and sports shows provide by the Japan Broadcasting Corporation (Nippon Hoso Kyokai--NHK) general station, the NHK educational station, and numerous commercial and independent stations. The violence of the samurai and police dramas and the satirical humor of the cartoons draw criticism from mothers and commentators.
Popular culture
Japanese popular culture not only reflects the attitudes and concerns of the present but also provides a link to the past. Popular films, television programs, comics, and music all developed from older artistic and literary traditions, and many of their themes and styles of presentation can be traced to traditional art forms. Contemporary forms of popular culture, like the traditional forms, provide not only entertainment but also an escape for the contemporary Japanese from the problems of an industrial world. When asked how they spent their leisure time, 80 percent of a sample of men and women surveyed by the government in 1986 said they averaged about two and one-half hours per weekday watching television, listening to the radio, and reading newspapers or magazines. Some 16 percent spent an average of two and one-quarter hours a day engaged in hobbies or amusements. Others spent leisure time participating in sports, socializing, and personal study. Teenagers and retired people reported more time spent on all of these activities than did other groups.
In the late 1980s, the family was the focus of leisure activities, such as excursions to parks or shopping districts. Although Japan is often thought of as a hard-working society with little time for pleasure, the Japanese seek entertainment wherever they can. It is common to see Japanese commuters riding the train to work, enjoying their favorite manga or listening through earphones to the latest in popular music on portable music players.
A wide variety of types of popular entertainment are available. There is a large selection of music, films, and the products of a huge comic book industry, among other forms of entertainment, from which to choose. Game centers, bowling alleys, and karaoke are popular hangout places for teens while older people may play shogi and go in a parlor.
Geinōkai
The Geinōkai (芸能界) is the world of Japanese entertainment, encompassing everything from movies and television (including talk shows, music shows, variety shows, etc.) to radio and now the internet. Geinojin (芸能人) is a term, often interchangeable with tarento, to refer to members of the Geinōkai. Tarento is an adaptation of the English word 'Talent' and refers to a rather large group of people who appear on television from night to night. Tarento usually appear on variety shows and talk shows.
Anime
Main article: Anime
Manga
Main article: Manga
Tokusatsu
Main article: Tokusatsu
Pornography
Main article: Pornography in Japan
Video games
Japanese video games are sometimes adaptions of anime.
Shopping
Sport
Main article: Japanese sports.
Baseball started in Japan early in the 1900s. Sadaharu Oh was the first great baseball star in Japan. In the late 1980s Japanese stars started making a very serious impact on MLB (Major League Baseball) in America. Ichiro Suzuki was the first megastar to succeed in America, as an outfielder for the Seattle Mariners. Others include Hideki Matsui of the New York Yankees and Hideo Nomo of the Boston Red Sox. In America Matsui is usually pronounced 'Matt-Suey'.
Soccer or Football is another important sport in Japan. Japan and Korea co-hosted the 2002 World Cup. There are many Japanese footballers playing for European professional teams.
Sumo wrestling is a sport that is popular in Japan and Korea. Sumo wrestlers are fed huge amounts of food and sake in order to attain tremendous bulk. Foreign sumo competitors didn't participate seriously in top tournaments until the 1980s.
Kendo is a sport best described as broadsword fighting with bamboo swords. It is part of high school physical education programs.
Tourism
Main article: Tourism in Japan, Japanese festivals
Work and Jobs
- Ama kudari Government bureaucrats retire by "descending from heaven".
- Go-nin Gumi Japanese quality and creativity circle.
See also
- 100-yen shop
- Bonsai
- Bunraku
- Calendar
- Communications
- Culture of Japanese management
- Hikikomori
- Japanese customs
- Educational System
- Japanese toilet
- Ikebana
- Japanese garden
- Genkan
- Japanese miniaturization culture
- Japanese cell phone culture
- Names
- New Year
- Onsen (Japanese hot spring)
- Origami
- Shodo
- Sento (Japanese public baths)
- Tea Ceremony
- Washi
To be covered
- May sick -- absenteeism indicative of new students or workers who have become tired of their new schoolwork or jobs.
References
- Template:Loc - Japan (http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/jptoc.html)
External links
- Japanese Culture (http://www.japaneselifestyle.com.au/culture/culture.html) at Japanese Lifestylear:ثقافة يابانية
es:Cultura del Japn fr:Culture japonaise ja:日本の文化 pt:Cultura do Japo vi:Văn ho Nhật Bản