Culture of Japan
The culture of Japan has evolved greatly over millenia, from the country's prehistoric Jomon culture to its contemporary hybrid culture, which combines influences from Asia, Europe and North America. After several waves of immigration from the continent and nearby Pacific islands (see History of Japan), followed by a heavy importation of Culture of China from China, the inhabitants of Japan experienced a long period of relative isolation from the outside world under the Tokugawa shogunate until the arrival of "The Black Ships" and the Meiji era.
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Japanese language
The Japanese language has always played a significant role in Japanese culture. The language is spoken mainly in Japan but also in some Japanese emigrant communities around the world, it is an agglutinative language and the sound inventory of Japanese is relatively small but has a lexically distinct pitch-accent system. Early Japanese is known largely on the basis of its state in the 8th century, when the three major works of old Japanese were compiled. The earliest attestation of the Japanese language is in a Chinese document from 252 A.D. It is regarded as an extremely hard language for westerners to learn as adults.
Japanese is written with a combination of three scripts: hiragana which were derived from the Chinese cursive script, katakana, which were derived as a shorthand from Chinese characters, and kanji, imported from China. The Latin alphabet, rōmaji, is also often used in modern Japanese, especially for company names and logos, advertising, and when inputting Japanese into a computer. The Hindu-Arabic numerals are generally used for numbers, but traditional Sino-Japanese numerals are also commonplace.
Visual arts
Painting
Painting has been an art in Japan for a very long time: the brush is a traditional writing tool, and the extension of that to its use as an artist's tool was probably natural. Native Japanese painting techniques are still in use today, as well as techniques adopted from continental Asia and from the West.
Calligraphy
The flowing, brush-drawn Japanese language lends itself to complicated calligraphy. Calligraphic art is often too esoteric for Western audiences and therefore general exposure is very limited. However in East Asian countries, the rendering of text itself is seen as a traditional artform as well as a means of conveying written information. The written work can consist of phrases, poems, stories, or even single characters. The style and format of the writing can mimic the subject matter, even to the point of texture and stroke speed. In some cases it can take over one hundred attempts to produce the desired effect of a single character but the process of creating the work is considered as much an art as the end product itself.
This art form is known as ‘Shodo’ (書道) which literally means ‘the way of writing or calligraphy’ or more commonly known as ‘Shuji’ (習字) ‘learning how to write characters’.
Commonly confused with Calligraphy is the art form known as ‘Sumi-e’ (墨絵) literally means ‘ink painting’ which is the art of painting a scene or object.
Sculpture
Traditional Japanese sculptures mainly settled on the subject of Buddhist images, such as Tathagata, Bodhisattva and Myō-ō. The oldest sculpture in Japan is a wooden statue of Amitabha at the Zenkō-ji temple. In the Nara period, Buddhist statues were made by the national government to boost its prestige. These examples are seen in present-day Nara and Kyoto, most notably a colossal bronze statue of the Buddha Vairocana in the Tōdai-ji temple.
Wood has traditionally been used as the chief material in Japan, along with the traditional Japanese architectures. Statues are often lacquered, gilded, or brightly painted, although there are little traces on the surfaces. Bronze and other metals are also used. Other materials, such as stone and pottery, have had extremely important roles in the plebeian beliefs.
Ukiyo-e
Printed by Hokusai
Ukiyo-e, literally "pictures of the floating world", is a genre of woodblock prints that exemplifies the characteristics of pre-Meiji Japanese art. Because these prints could be mass-produced, they were available to a wide cross-section of the Japanese populace — those not wealthy enough to afford original paintings — during their heyday, from the 17th to 20th century.
Ikebana
Ikebana (生け花?) is the Japanese art of flower arrangement. It has gained widespread international fame for its focus on harmony, color use, rhythm, and elegantly simple design. It is an art centered greatly on expressing the seasons, and is meant to act as a symbol to something greater than the flower itself. Traditionally when third party marriages were more prominent and practiced in Japan many Japanese women entering into a marriage did learn to take up the art of Ikebana to be a more appealing and well-rounded lady. Today Ikebana is widely practiced in Japan, as well as around the world.
Performing arts
The four traditional theatres from Japan are noh, kyogen, kabuki and bunraku. Noh had its origins in the union of the sarugaku with music and dance made by Kanami and Zeami Motokiyo.[1] Among the characteristic aspects of it are the masks, costumes and the stylized gestures, sometimes accompanied by a fan that can represent other objects. The noh programs are presented in alternation with the ones of kyogen, traditionally in number of five, but currently in groups of three. The kyogen, of humorous character, had older origin, in 8th century entertainment brought from China, developing itself in sarugaku. In kyogen masks are rarely used and even if the plays can be associated with the ones of noh, currently many are not.[1] Kabuki appears in the beginning of the Edo period from the representations and dances of Izumo no Okuni in Kyoto.[2] Due to prostitution of actresses of kabuki the participation of women in the plays was forbidden by the government in 1629 and the feminine characters had passed to be represented only by men (onnagata). Recent attempts to reintroduce actresses in kabuki had not been well accepted.[2] Another characteristic of kabuki is the use of makeup for the actors in historical plays (kumadori). Japanese puppet theater bunraku developed in the same period that kabuki in a competition and contribution relation involving actors and authors. The origin of bunraku however is older, lies back in the Heian period.[3] In 1914 appeared the Takarazuka Revue a company solely composed by women who introduced the revue in Japan.[4]
Architecture
Japanese architecture has as long a history as any other aspect of Japanese culture. Originally heavily influenced by Chinese architecture, it also develops many differences and aspects which are indigenous to India. Examples of traditional architecture are seen at Temples, Shinto shrines and castles in Kyoto and Nara. Some of these buildings are constructed with traditional gardens, which are influenced from Zen ideas.
Some modern architects, such as Yoshio Taniguchi and Tadao Ando are known for their amalgamation of Japanese traditional and Western architectural influences.
Clothing
The Japanese word kimono means "something one wears" and they are the traditional garments of Japan. Originally, the word kimono was used for all types of clothing, but eventually, it came to refer specifically to the full-length garment also known as the naga-gi, meaning "long-wear", that is still worn today on special occasions by women, men, and children. It is often known as wafuku which means "Japanese clothes". Kimono comes in a variety of colors, styles, and sizes. Men mainly wear darker or more muted colours, while women tend to wear brighter colors and pastels, and often with complicated abstract or floral patterns. The summer kimono which are lighter are called yukata. Formal kimono are typically worn in several layers, with number of layers, visibility of layers, sleeve length, and choice of pattern dictated by social status and the occasion for which the kimono is worn.
Cuisine
Through a long culinary past, the Japanese have developed a sophisticated and refined cuisine. In recent years, Japanese food has become fashionable in the U.S., Europe and Australia. Dishes such as sushi, tempura, and teriyaki chicken are some of the foods that are commonly known. The Japanese diet is believed to be related to the longevity of Japanese people.
Sports
In the long feudal period governed by the samurai class, some methods that were used to train warriors were developed into well-ordered martial arts, referred to collectively as Koryū. Examples include Kenjutsu, Kyūdō, Sōjutsu, Jujutsu and Sumo, all of which were established in the Edo period. After the rapid social change in the Meiji Restoration, some martial arts changed to modern sports, Gendai Budō. Judo was developed by Kano Jigoro, who studied some sects of Jujutsu. These sports are still widely practiced in present day Japan and other countries.
Baseball, football (soccer) and other popular western sports were imported to Japan in the Meiji period. These sports are commonly practiced in schools along with traditional martial arts.
The most popular professional sports in today's Japan are Sumo, baseball and football (soccer). In addition, many semi-professional organizations, such as volleyball, basketball and rugby union, are sponsored by private companies.
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, Manga, 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, much 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.
Many anime and manga is becoming very popular around the world, as well as Japanese video games, music, and game shows[5], this has made Japan an "entertainment superpower" along with the United States and European Union.
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 leisure, 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 or go in specialized parlors.
Together, the publishing, film/video, music/audio, and game industries in Japan make up the growing Japanese content industry, which, in 2006, was estimated to be worth close to 14 trillion Yen (USD$ 120 billion.)[6][7].
Nihonjinron
The term Nihonjinron literally means "theories/discussions about the Japanese" and refers to a large number of texts, ranging over such varied fields as sociology, psychology, history, linguistics, philosophy, and even science, published predominantly in Japan by Japanese, though noted examples of the genre have also been penned by foreign scholars, journalists and residents.
See also
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References
- Cwiertka, Katarzyna J. (2007). Modern Japanese Cuisine: Food, Power and National Identity. Reaktion Books. ISBN 1-86189-298-5. Review
- Japan This article contains material from the Library of Congress Country Studies, which are United States government publications in the public domain.
- Diamond, Jared (June 1998). "Japanese Roots". Discover Magazine 19 (6).
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Web, Japan. "Japan Fact Sheet" (PDF). Noh and Kyogen: The world’s oldest living theater. Retrieved on 2008-03-01.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Web, Japan. "Japan Fact Sheet" (PDF). Kabuki: A vibrant and exciting traditional theater. Retrieved on 2008-03-01.
- ↑ Web, Japan. "Japan Fact Sheet" (PDF). Bunraku: Puppet theater brings old Japan to life. Retrieved on 2008-03-01.
- ↑ "Takarazuka History". Takarazuka Revue. Retrieved on 2008-03-01.
- ↑ "Cool Japan: Why Japanese remakes are so popular on American TV, and where we’re getting it wrong". AsianWeek. Retrieved on 2008-09-16.
- ↑ Digital Content Association Of Japan
- ↑ Japanese Content
External links
- Agency for Cultural Affairs
- JAPANESE CULTURE, Mi Marketing Pty Ltd.
- Japanese culture and info
- "Working with the Japanese," BBC
- "A Fan in Japan," a BBC online game regarding Japanese culture
- Rare Materials Exhibition -- Kyoto University Digital Library(貴重資料画像--京都大学電子図書館) Image files of rare materials related to culture of Japan
- Japanese Architecture and Art Net Users System
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