Exploring Northern Japanese Culture

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.”

This paper provided an opportunity to take a deeper look into the country of Japan by conducting a Global Cultural Analysis. Throughout this paper the following four research areas were explored: 1.What is the major elements and dimensions of culture in Japan? 2. How are these elements and dimensions integrated by locals conducting business in Japan? 3. How does U.S. culture and business compare with the elements and dimensions of culture integrated by the locals conducting business in Japan? 4. What are the implications for U.S. businesses that wish to conduct business with Japan?

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

For our culture unit project, my family and I visited the Midori art museum and Samurai, a local Japanese restaurant. Both of these locations have provided plenty of information about the manifestation of the cultures they originated from. For example, the insides of Samurai and Midori had an unmissable Asian style and flair throughout the entire establishment. On the outside, Samurai takes on the appearance of a Japanese temple. Samurai and Midori have provided pleasant experiences, memories and people to chat with.

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

First, however, understanding the socio-political climate of Heian Japan is important, particularly in how it pertains to the women of the noble class. The Japanese first began to develop a personalized identity, separate from China soon after the Capital was moved from Nara to Heian-kyo, what is now modern day Kyoto, in 794. Prior to this period, the Japanese observed Chinese customs and cultural nuances in all aspects of their life. They traveled back and forth from the island to the continent, wore Chinese styled clothing, Buddhism was followed, Tendai and Shingon being primary and both out of China, and much of custom and protocol was both the written and spoken word were Chinese. (See Appendix A for Periods of Japanese History)

The fact that Japan is a mountainous country has had made a significant impact on the Japanese culture throughout history. The landscape of Japan has influenced the development of its society and has contributed to the culture in many ways. Although the topography of Japan is mostly covered with volcanic mountains and has constrained the farming land, it has suitable land with extremely fertile soil and high productivity. The land has contributed to the development of agriculture and has aided the farmers in cultivating the food. Under favorable environment condition and the beautiful landscape Japanese farmer was able to provide food by hunting, fishing, or though agriculture. The landscape has also influenced the culture in innovating something

The above quote was my first step into the research of the Heian era. Introduced to it by a friend who had gone to school for a year in Japan, Makura no Soshi (“The Pillow Book”), written by, Sei Shōnagon and Murasaki Shikibu’s Tale of Genji brought to me a wealth of knowledge and even more fascinating questions. Given such rich cultural information, as a researcher and anthropologist it fed my desire to know more, and allowed me to really get into the nuances of court life as well as glimpses into the everyday life of the people of Heian Japan. Sometimes, one of the hardest things to learn of an ancient or medieval culture is the details of daily life. Here, however, we are gifted with primary resources, from the noble, upper class women of

On an ordinary Saturday afternoon, my sister and I made our way to 1st St. and Central Ave. from a failed attempt at another left-to-be-unnamed cultural epicenter, which was a very disappointing trip. Little Tokyo proved to be quite the opposite, as I was able to ascertain a much deeper understanding of the Japanese culture because of it, and at the same time was able to reflect on the differences and similarities of my Filipino heritage. From what I was able to gather, the Japanese and Filipino cultures have quite a few significant differences, but have more similarities than I originally anticipated.

Japan’s ancient religion, Shinto, has been an influence in the way that Japanese view nature. “Starting about 500 BCE (or earlier) it was originally "an amorphous mix of nature worship, fertility cults, divination techniques, hero worship, and shamanism”” (Robinson). Japanese have learned from religion to respect, nurture and be gentle to nature. They believe that “all human life and human nature is sacred” (Robinson). Nature to them is an art; a way of living. “Kami are the spirits or phenomena that are worshiped in the religion of Shinto. They are elements in nature, animals…” (“Kami”). Japan has grown from Shinto to honor nature.

Before doing this assignment, I did not know much about Japanese-American art. From the media, I had a vague image of what traditional Japanese art looked like. I saw very old, traditional pieces that usually showed nature or religious deities. Some Japanese-American Artists include Mariko Mori, Takako Nagai, Yasumasa Moirmura Katsushika Hokusai, and Masaomi Teraoka. They are all of Japanese descent, but were raised in America. Because of this, many of them struggled between their Japanese and American identities. This struggle is often expressed in their artwork, such as Takako Nagai’s Self-Portrait. In the piece, she show a kimono (traditional japanese garment that;s usually worn by women) being destroyed by fire. All of their art mixes

Once upon a time in ancient Japan, there was a poor old man walking down a river. Has he was walking down the river; he noticed a giant peach going down the stream. When he brought the peach home to his wife, he tried to eat it. Inside the peach, there was a baby boy inside. The gods has blessed the family because they saw how good they were and they weren’t able to have a child. The family raised the baby has their own child.

The early postwar period was a time in which Japan was occupied by Americans who had no interest in learning about Japan and treated Japan as a pupil of America. The Japanese market system was broken down and rebuilt. In the this process the zaibatsu was abolished and their market shares were made available on the open market. one of the largest changes to occur due to the occupation was that farmers became the owners of the land in which they tended to. the cold war encouraged America to speed up the recovery of Japans economy in preparation for war. The Korean war gave the Japanese economy the much need boost that it need with markets that ranged from textile to coal and paper going into full production and continued even after the war was

The word culture normally refers to the shared beliefs, norms, interactions, effective understanding and shared patterns of behaviors among a particular group of individuals. For a particular norm or belief to be termed as a culture, it must possess some special features. One of the features is that the culture must be a learned behavior that is passed from one generation to another, especially as a person grows in a given environment. Another feature of cultures is that they are interrelated. Cultures emerge from family, educational institutions and social institutions which offer a ground for learning the basics of the cultures. Other characteristics of the cultures include; cultures are adaptive, it is shared, it is a symbol, and it is dynamic in nature.

Emiko’s “The Ambivalent Self of the Contemporary Japanese” is an interpretation of Itami Juzo’s Tanpopo that was dominated with observation to the highest detail of every subject, object and symbol portrayed in the movie. The interpretation have deliberately projected how Japanese culture has changed under the effects of foreign cultures through the way their food, one of the most important element that defined national culture for its high quality and aesthetic sense, have come to developed.