The Discipline Of Japanese Culture

Japans society is a culture that is highly resistant to change; a society that places a high value on each member’s conformity within highly structured layers of Japanese society. Japan is an island nation, consisting of the four large islands of Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu. Together they are approximately the size of Germany or the State of California, and it has a population of approximately 126 million people Japan has a large population in relation to its land mass and as a consequence most Japanese people live crowded together in an urban corridor squeezed along the eastern edge of the Japanese islands. A result of this crowding is that Japanese place a high value on public harmony and the avoidance of any conflict, especially in public. Japanese norms require people to be willing to apologize and humble themselves, so much so that even after a minor auto accident each driver will jump out of their vehicle and bow to each other and apologize, instead of risking a very public confrontation. Frequently, Japanese will also employ the use of a go-between to negotiate a possible marriage. In this way, an individual can turn down a bride or groom without rejecting them to their face, thereby avoiding open disagreement or embarrassment of an individual. The Japanese culture is one that is rich within an historical and traditional context. Many of the traditional practices established hundreds of years ago can be seen today in modern Japan and are a direct reflection

People no longer use the term “Japanese American” in today's society. Instead, they are no longer thought as a separate group and are incorrectly categorized as “Asian American”, along with Vietnamese American, Chinese American, etc. Japanese Americans have an extremely unique background in terms of their origins, history, and struggle with racialization. Like many ethnic groups, Japanese Americans have been subjected to many different portrayals throughout American history. Even though cultural separation and suspicion are deemed as immoral, such practices toward them were thought to be necessary by the American Government. For a good amount of time, they suffered from racial hostility and violence. Now, in an age where cultural diversity

The social structure of Japan was composed with 7 parts, which includes the shogun, samurai, farmers, artisans, merchants, outcasts and non-humans. Next to the shogun, the samurai is looked at with the most prestigious position in their society. As a samurai, they are taught to act and behave in a certain way. This is called the code of Bushido, which states that “the true warrior must hold loyalty, courage, veracity, compassion, and honor as important, above all else. An appreciation and respect of life was also imperative, as it added balance to the warrior character of the Samurai.”

As a result of Daniel-san and Mr. Miyagi, American children believe they can learn the ancient techniques of karate through waxing cars, sanding decks, and painting fences. In 1984, The Karate Kid told the story of a young bullied teenager named Daniel LaRusso, who learns to defend himself through the unorthodox training of Mr. Miyagi; this apartment maintenance man takes Daniel under his wing and teaches him both the discipline of karate, and the traditional values of Japanese culture. However, years of training to become a martial arts master does not make for a compelling American teen film, therefore Hollywood localized Japanese traditions in order to create a story of an underdog kid winning the All-Valley Karate Tournament and the girl of his dreams (Avildsen). Localization is the changing of a product’s function or characteristics to accommodate a particular country or area (localized). This simplifies the original meaning of martial arts, and fails to accurately represent the values of honor, etiquette, and respect that martial arts previously epitomized in ancient Japanese society. The localization of martial arts in The Karate Kid and American dojos has led to misconceptions of Japanese traditions in America.

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.

In today’s modern, fast-paced, technology driven world it is all too easy to misinterpret and misunderstand situations, both personal and professional, that could easily be solved by taking a look into the cultural concepts and norms of a group or society. In cultures with a long history of social customs, it would be beneficial for those involved to examine the special features and norms that make up this culture in an effort to better the communication and understanding of personal and professional relationships. This area can be especially favorable in working with those of the Japanese decent as this culture is deeply intricate with many traditions and standards that have been passed on from generation to generation. Some of theses cultural

The first important custom to understand when conducting business with Japan is bowing. In Japan bowing represents respect and can be very instrumental in making a positive initial impression (Nevison, 2009). There are many incidents when bowing should be conducted and they are, introducing oneself, as a welcome, as a form of gratitude, and to express remorse (Custom of Bowing, n.d.). Japan’s business culture is very inclusive. According to Japanese Business Customs (2011, para.3) “group decision-making is important in Japan and has been generally described as a “bottom up” exercise rather than “top down.” The fact that Japan conducts business with this approach can make the process time consuming. It is important to be aware that developing connections with Japan will/do not happen overnight. Another custom of Japan is gift giving. According to Japanese Business Customs (2011, para.4) “gift giving is expected on many business occasions in Japan.” It is imperative to note that the value of the gift is not as important as the essence of the gift. Exchanging business cards are another very important aspect of conducting business with Japan. According to Nevison (2009, para.5), “business cards should be printed on both sides, with your first language on one side and the other party’s language on the other." Physical contact like hand shaking, hugging and even

Each nation has an interesting society. There's no sense in saying that one nation is more novel than another. With regards to Japan, Japan has numerous things in the same manner as Asia. Nonetheless, in some ways, it additionally looks like Europe or even the US. In numerous different ways, Japan is genuinely one of a kind. Japan has had a tremulous history loaded with wars, seismic tremors, fires, tidal wave, storms, edit disappointments and scourges. Nearby this foundation of continuous tragedies emerged a one of a kind and advanced culture(Cowley, Parker, 1996). Japanese human progress can be followed back to its first ceramics that is around 16,000 years of age. The significant occasions of Japanese history number in the thousands. In this unique circumstance, the accompanying chronicled truths are for the most part irregular, however, may be intriguing in any case Japanese culture is exceptionally fascinating, particularly to Western eyewitnesses, a number of whom quickly consider sushi, sumo wrestling, and samurai when they consider Japan(Cowley, Parker, 1996). While these three things are particularly some portion of Japanese culture and history, they just begin to

Our group has selected Northern Japanese (Hokkaido) society as our target culture. Japan is a country that known for having a highly homogeneous society, but different region has their own significance in social and cultural patterns. Indigenous Ainu people and their cultural has been home in this region for a long time. They keep their own ways of life and did not assimilate into other regional culture pattern in Japan. Ainu defined as human. They used to pray and perform ceremonies for their gods include nature god, animal god, and more. The Fishing is one of the activity they do for their living and most of the villages were located near the sea or river.

Culture is defined in different ways throughout the region of the world, with different characteristics that define culture. In this paper I will define the meaning of Japan’s culture and describe Japan’s common culture characteristics throughout their nation’s physical geography, military conflict history, and weather analysis. Culture is by the beliefs, customs, arts, a particular society, group, place or time such as music, theater, painting, their habits, and traditions. Like ways of life for their way of thinking, behaving, or working.

Japan is a high context culture. Mainly considered a homogenous society, there are still significant variations in the regional social and cultural patterns. Personality traits are attributed to certain regions. Local culture such as cuisine and dialects express the regional identities of the Japanese who take pride in their place of birth.

Many religions are popular within the Japanese culture. Two of the most influential religions, Shinto and Buddhism that help shaped a lot of Japanese values are Shinto and Buddhism, played a large role in shaping Japanese values. Numerous similarities and differences run between these two religions; nonetheless, the Japanese often believe in more than one religion at the same time. This is possible due to the polytheistic nature of most popular religions in Japan. It is not hard to say that religion is a big part of Japanese culture because a lot of religious beliefs can still be seen in their everyday lives.

Q 1: B) Those that belong to the Japanese culture are demonstrated by the interdependent view, compared to Western cultures which are embody an independent view. Individuals that affiliate themselves as interdependent, their actions and emotions is influenced by their social situation and surroundings. ‘We suggest that for many cultures of the world, the Western notion of the self as an entity containing significant dispositional attributes, and as detached from context, is simply not an adequate description of selfhood. Rather, in many construals, the self is viewed as interdependent with the surrounding context, and it is the “other” or the “self-in-relation-to-other” that is focal in individual experience.” (Markus & Kitayama, 1991, pg. 225). They are more likely to express and display their actions and emotions based on the reactions of others, or how others around them are behaving. In sum, they are connected with social context, as their statuses, roles, and relationships are external. The Japanese are known to be the most humane, when in the context of other people. (Lebra, 1976, as cited in Markus & Kitayama, 1991). They promote other people’s goals and belong and fit in with their social groups, instead of being “unique.” They’re relationships with over individuals, in particular situations, define themselves. Independent individuals are more unique and direct, whereas interdependent individuals are not. (Markus & Kitayama, 1991).

Japanese people are just normal people, they can love and laugh, they can hate and cry, they can be moral and can be immoral, they have their own culture though, but it doesn’t make them any more or less “human” than people like “us” (whoever you are).

In Japan a greeting is a very big deal, if not greeted in the correct manner there will be some issues. It is Japanese tradition that you bow to whom you are meeting. It shows respect and in some cases if you want to apologize it is an apologetic gesture. When greeting someone