Japanese Culture Research Paper

Other than religion, there are many other aspects of their society that the Japanese care about, many very different from those of the US. Family always comes first in Japanese culture; however, in the US it is very rare to see that family is put first. For example, in Japan if a father or mother wanted to move, they would consult the rest of the family, both young and old. In America however, families will move because of the father or mother without even consulting their spouse at times. In the US people often put personal growth over family almost every time. In

During the Kamakura period of Japan, the decline of the Buddhist law had become a problem for the Buddhist priests. The people of Japan called this the “Age of Mappo,” which literally translates as the “Age of the Decline,” or the “Age of the Decline in Law.” Buddhism had become increasingly popular during the 6th century of Japan, after being introduced from the Chinese. One of the greatest supporters of Buddhism at the time was Prince Shotoku, who created the seventeen article constitution, as well as his Three Sutra Commentary. Many changes happened during this period of Japanese history.

Western Influence on Japan Japan, as a nation, is a continually changing society. Ever since western nations became involved with Japan, its changes over recent times have increased at a substantial rate. Japan now faces cultural, economical and social differences as a result of the western involvement. The involvement was initiated by the Japanese themselves, beginning during the Meiji Period1 through current times.

This book, Japanamerica focuses on how the Japanese popular culture influencing the American culture. The author, Roland Kelts take a neutral prospective in order to create this book, which is done by interviewing many significant individual who took part in establishing the popular culture in both Japan and America. Kelts investigates why the phenomenon of Japanophilia, or the “outsider’s infatuation with Japan’s cultural character” (pg.5), is occurring especially in the United States. Even though Japanophilia phenomenon arose before the twentieth century, it is increasing in number because of the anime, manga, videogames, and other medium of popular culture.

Culture is described as the symbols that individuals, groups and societies use to make decision of daily life and to assure their values. Culture is a model of basic assumptions invented, discovered or developed by a given organization as it learns to cope with its problems of external adaption and internal combination, which has worked well enough to think correctly and, so to instruct to new comers as the valid way to observe, consider and feel in relation to these problems. Culture consists of manner, mind-set, values, rituals, religious belief, law (written and unwritten), arts, ideas, custom, belief, ceremonies, social institutions, myths and legends, individual identity and behavior. Cultural pattern classifies are used to describe the dominant beliefs and values. Culture has been called the way of life for an entire society. It is a group or community living together and sharing a set of norms. Culture and society are coexistent. One does not or cannot exist without the other. Culture and society may have some common elements but the two are not the same; they are not identical.

The Buddha is said to have been born in India around 500 BCE. During his life time, he preached the benefits of the Middle Path, the road between the two extremes of a decadent life style and severe austerities. Soon after the death of the founder, Buddhist missionaries began to travel through out Asia, finding their way along the Silk Roads to China, first arriving around 100 CE. The climate there was hospitable to the teaching of the Buddha, and soon Buddhism was counted along with Taoism and Confucianism as one of the major religions of the period. The Chinese interpreted the Buddhist texts in a new light, and Chinese Buddhism began to take on its own distinctive character. Around 600 CE,

Japanese culture is very unique. It is a culture that has stirred many outsiders curiosity throughout history because of a level of mystery that surrounds it. It is a culture that many admire. The reasons behind the mystery and uniqueness of Japanese culture to outsiders is due in part to the unique history that have made it what it is today.

Comparative politicians often describe Japanese culture as a Confucian collectivist culture that emphasizes family and work group goals above individualistic needs (Haddad). Embedded in their language, Japanese culture adheres to a hierarchal structure set in place by Confucian ideals. Different from western ideologies such as the ideals of The United States and The United Kingdom, these cultural beliefs are, consequently, seen by western countries as the root to key differences within a state. Indeed, when attempting to interpret differences seen in foreign states with ideologies distinct from western ideologies, comparative politicians will often resort to cultural arguments as a default explanation. Yet, for many phenomena, cultural arguments alone are prone to several errors that will often result in the generalization of a population’s actions (Reed). While a cultural argument seems to be a plausible explanation for events occurring in states with different cultures, a cultural argument alone is not sufficient, instead creating a broad explanation for complex economic and political events.

The author of Naomi, Tanizaki Junichirō, was indeed captivated with western culture. The purpose of the novel, however, was not to glorify western culture but too instead warn Japan about blindly becoming obsessed with western culture and views. It is a warning to Japan to not abandon its tradition in favor of a culture that it does not even fully comprehend.

When most people think about Japan they come up with two opposing images. One image reflects the busy day life of this island; filled with salary man and companies. While the second image features an explosion of colorful LED lights and clubs that are common within the nightlife. Today in present day, Japan has evolved and flourished to become one of the top growing economies and industries in the world. Making Japan a prime and excellent area for jobs to prosper. One of these modern jobs that have flourished is the Hostess lifestyle. Known in modern society as the elegant young women who entertain men, this lifestyle can be traced to many other types of jobs residing in Japan. While a subtler job career opposing the hostess lifestyle are

Culture is a significant theme in this film. One important factor to point out is throughout Stevenson’s trip in Japan, he is hit with culture shock and the same can be said for the Japanese executives. Stevenson mocks how the Japanese exchange business cards during the presentation, how they eat with chopsticks and how rigid and structured Japanese culture is. This culture clash not only affected the characters’ personal lives, but also impacted the business. “Research has clearly established that culture affects the application of management theories and practices. Work values, in particular, are an important part of cross-cultural understanding in that they are themselves measures of cultural dimensions, and also have strong implications for many areas of management, from employee motivation to organizational communication” (Matić, 2008). Almost immediately after opening up the doors to the plant, there were problems. The Japanese people had a very strict and rigid way of running their businesses and doing their work as compared to the lackadaisical American work ethic. The plant workers are expected to perform calisthenics in the morning, are denied basic privileges like sick leave, paid overtime and a union. The town and these workers are in such a desperate situation that they decide to withstand the abuse and impossible demands set by the Japanese plant owners. It is difficult enough to manage a business with workers and executives that have a common culture and

In societies across the world, religion has always had the ability to unite the people into communities through its rituals and celebrations. Japanese society is a major example of how people can join together as a community to celebrate their unique beliefs. However, this would then often raise the question of which came first; the close-knit community who started the religion, or the religion that jumpstarted everything and brought people together. The truth of the matter is, if one were to look at Japanese culture and society, it is rather apparent that ancient religions such as Buddhism and Shinto form rituals and traditions which would then later shape the ceremonies that the community partake in. These ceremonies are essentially festivals that villages put together to show respect and acknowledgement for a certain religion or an important event. Festivals are done with the most dedication among everybody in a village or town, and it is this dedication that proves how important festivals are to the community. Essentially, the religion is the driving force behind a culture's communal bond, and it is the festivals such as the Kenka Matsuri, Namahage Matsuri, and the Gion Matsuri that are physical representation of this union. However, these religious festivals have proven to lose its religious background and tradition and start to converge into a celebration of the community itself. A very well known festival that Japan usually takes pride in is the Kenka Matsuri, or also

The Japanese culture has developed many traditions dating back thousands of years and are still commonly used in modern times. Their historical monuments, cultural entertainment and unforgettable Japanese cuisine draws attention from all over the world. According to the Japan National Tourism Organization, 24.03 million travelers visited Japan in 2016 and is expected to achieve 29 million tourists in 2017. Although this country is a popular destination to visit,

In my multicultural paper, I will be discussing about the Japanese culture how it has influenced my own values and traditions today, allowing me to experience a world which I was not aware of before. Specifically, their type of food dishes is something I partake on a weekly basis with friends and family, ranging from their usual rice balls to delicious sushi. Another trait about this culture is being able to read their unique literature, after spending two semesters in a Japanese course at Fullerton College, I have finally developed the ability to read Japanese in my favorite Manga books, without needing English subtitles. Likewise, another key point that I find interesting about this culture is how they can advance in the field of technology by creating new devices that could help humanity. But, that is not always the case with this culture, seeing they have been known for creating the weirdest inventions in the world, yet still bringing joy and excitement to some. Either way, people from other cultures should take the opportunity to learn about this culture, considering what it could return and teach, making us a diverse community.

Following the UK referendum, in which the country voted to leave the EU, Japan has issued what is regarded as an unprecedented message to both the UK and EU. Although Japan is keen to state that it respects the will of the British people, the Japanese government have collated the concerns of Japanese businesses operating in the EU to ensure that both the UK and EU remain an attractive destination for doing business.