How Did Japanese Influence On Western Culture

In Japan, most of the Chinese influence was brought to Japan through Korea. Japan consists of four mountainous islands off the coast of Korea, and its early development reflected that of the mainland. There were several waves of immigrants that came to Japan. In about 10,000 B.C.E., the Jōmon people practiced hunting and fishing and made clay pots. People who immigrated from northeast Asia brought agriculture and Yayoi culture with them. Yayoi communities were distinguished by complex social organization containing rulers, soldier, artisans, and priests. Objects made in China and Korea could be found in Japan, which shows that people were traveling back and forth from Japan. More waves of immigrants came from Korea during the fourth through

China and Japan had similar but different experiences with the Western civilization. China and Japan reacted differently to the Western nations and it was China’s reactions to the West that would break the Chinese’s isolation leaving their traditions behind. The Industrial trade in Europe and the United States had created a gap between Asia and the West, This left china and Japan far behind technologically and they were not able to stand up against the western nations and although at different times China and Japan both ended up having to sign unequal treaties, and to open their ports for merchants.

China and Japan are two unique civilizations that went through similar, yet vastly different changes throughout their histories. Their growth and response to other nations differed in many ways in government, lifestyle, and general well-being. One of the main causes for such difference between the countries is the way the West influenced each region, and the way China and Japan responded to this influence. China focused more on the idea of being a "status oriented" society, while Japan was more "goal oriented" based. In China, anyone had the ability to better themselves and change their status through civil examinations given by the government. Western impact however slowly changed this old age system. Japan's caste system viewed

In the 1450 and 1750 period, Europe was focused on overseas exploring that caused economic and society growth (p. 554). Shocking to see this growth happen because this is shortly after the plague epidemic. During the exploring, they conquered a new world across the Atlantic. Hence, more business with traders that influenced capitalism. Europe was responsible for the network of communication, migration, disease, trade, and the transfer of animals and plants (p. 562).

French artists began gaining influences from Japanese art, and Japonisme infiltrated their works. The term Japonisme was initially conceived by French art critic Philippe Burty in 1872 to describe the newly found interest of Japanese culture and to “designate a new field of study-artistic, historic, and ethnographic.” It freed Western artists from the restrictions within their own art culture and stylistic tradition by opening up a new array of ideas and outlet for inspiration (ibid). It gave artists a whole new array of subject matter, techniques, and devices such as “the representation of depth and surfaces, the treatment of light and shade, and format and division of the picture plane… the symbolic role of real objects…[and], new poses captured through new means of representation…” (Wichmann 1999, 10).

It is deplorable how easily the American government faltered in its responsibility in upholding the rights of all American citizens, as well as how easily it was signed away. The United States influenced by the effects of racial prejudice and mass hysteria, which had been developing since the end of the First World War, lead to what were seen as reprimandable decisions in overruling the rights of Japanese-Americans. With the major influences of fear-mongering caused from a risen tensions of events in the East, beginning the Second World War in the Pacific, such as the Japanese invasion of Manchuria, and later, direct attacks in the United States at military base, Pearl Harbor in 1941, were all proponents into the development of an era of exceptions,

During the Yayoi period (300 BC – 250 AD) bronze goods and bronze-making techniques from the Asian mainland reached what is now Japan as early as the 3rd century BC. It is believed that horses were introduced to Japan near the end of this time, as were bronze and later iron implements and weapons. Archaeological findings suggest that bronze and iron weapons were not used for war until later, near the beginning of the Yamato era.

The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art covers the various aspects of Japonisme and how it connects with Tissot’s painting Japanese Vase. According to the Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum, the term Japonisme was devised by Philippe Burty who was an influential art critic from France. Burty describes Japonisme as the “study of the art and genius of Japan” (120). Europe was introduced of this new type of art was during the 1850’s, but France welcomed and immersed themselves in the art of Japonisme more than any of the other European countries. Tissot was one of the many French artists who embraced the new art and infused the techniques within his traditional European realism style.

Paul Cezanne was an astounding a artist from France during the 1800s. Cézanne's is known for his brushstrokes which are highly characteristic and clearly recognizable. He used planes of colour and small brushstrokes that build up to form complex fields. The paintings show his dedication and intensity to his work.

While the painters after the Impressionism period were collectively called the “Post-Impressionists,” the label is quite reductive. Each artist had their own unique style, from Seurat’s pointillism to Signac’s mosaic-like divisionism, Cezanne, Émile Bernard, and others. These artists were all connected in that they were reacting to the aesthetics of Impressionism. Two of the more influential painters from this movement were Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin, who aimed to connect with viewers on a deeper level by access Nature’s mystery and meaning beyond its superficial, observable level. However, each artist’s approach to achieving this goal was different. In close examination of Vincent van Gogh’s Self-Portrait (Dedicated to Paul Gauguin) and Paul Gauguin’s Self-Portrait with Portrait of Émile Bernard (Les misérables), one may clearly see the two artists’ contrasting styles on display.

The views of the Japanese on the western lifestyle during the 1800s were more or less based on different events that occurred during that time. The first occasion in which a reflection on the West occurred was from 853-1854. An American commodore named Matthew Perry wanted to open up Japan to regular commercial relations with the US (Strayer, p966). His ships that he used to get to Japan were these big steamships, which blew out large clouds of black smoke. The ships also had cannons and carried over one thousand men.

One of the most influential painters of the twentieth century was Paul Cezanne. He was willing to break the traditionally accepted artistic practices in order to better portray his artistic creativity. Cezanne became part of the movement following the Impressionists called the Post-Impressionism movement. The artists who were the driving forces behind this movement were Gauguin, Van Gogh, Seurat, and Cezanne. These artists were grouped together because they were the avant-garde artists of the time period, who wanted to be able to express their emotions rather than simply representing what they saw. Cezanne’s Mont Sainte-Victoire seen from The Bibemus Quarry was painted in 1985. Mont Sainte-Victoire is a mountain that is in the South of France and overlooks the Aix-en-Provence, which happens to be the hometown of Paul Cezanne. This work exemplifies the Post-Impressionistic techniques because Cezanne utilized the avant-garde techniques, while at the same time demonstrating the relationship between the artist and the work.

Chinese and Japanese emergence dates back to around 200 A.D., as indicated by the Chinese histories. Whether it is a gander at dialect, society, political organizations, or religion, Chinese influence is promptly obvious. In the first hundreds of years A.D., the populace of Japan imported an extensive variety of ideas from the Chinese terrain. In the wake of adjusting these imports to make them perfect with the truly complex society they had already established, the Japanese utilized what they had obtained from China to construct their very own development.

Shinto, an ethnic, ritualistic religion of Japan, has proved somewhat adaptable to social change and significantly more adaptable to political change within the nation since its initial emergence, with origins which trace back to 300BC . While experts argue that Shinto has been extremely influential in shaping Japanese culture and identity, its popularity has been diminishing since the religion was imposed by the State in Japan’s pre-World War II, evoking a surge of nationalism. In today’s society, the religion has made conscious efforts to regain popularity, however has not been able to wholly adapt to Japan’s modern social context, despite it being syncretic in nature (and popularly combined with Japanese Buddhist or Confucian practices).

Westernization, which primarily spread in the mid to late 19th century, brought forth a profound change of ideas and cultures across the world. Both Japan and India were affected greatly as Western practices and ideologies seeped into the minds of individuals throughout various societies. Influential individuals, such as Thomas Babington Macaulay and Fukuzawa Yukichi wished to reform India and Japan by introducing Western ideas into these countries. Artists such as Honda Kinkachiro and Werner Forman showed the effects of Westernization on Japan. Through the writings and artwork of Macaulay, Yukichi, Kinkachiro, and Forman, we are able to understand that Europe’s colonizing mentality, as well as Asia’s acceptance of new ideas, were both supported by the belief that the West is superior.