The Importance Of Japanese Culture And Society

Yasumasa Morimura was born in Osaka, Japan 1951; before the end of the American Occupation and during the Korean War. It was at this time in Japan that society had become increasingly modernized and influenced by western culture. Subsequently, the foreign influence of Japan’s culture affected their culture, politics and education. With a westernized curriculum, much of the education focused on occident values, ideas, and art. Despite Japan’s rich history, much of the art history that was taught had originated from western culture.

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?

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.

Within the Japanese culture, one can find several cultural values that are instilled into society by the Japanese creation myth. The Japanese creation myth begins with a man, Izanagi, and a woman, Izanami, on a bridge with the task of creating the land of Japan. After this task was completed, the two walked in opposite directions on the newly formed land until they met in the middle. Once they met, the woman spoke first and then they procreated. The offspring was a failure and they asked the gods why their attempts were not successful. The gods told them that it was because the woman spoke first. The two walked around the land they created and met in the middle once again. This time the man spoke first and the procreation was successful. After several births, the woman gave birth to a fire-child and she was burnt so severely she passed on to the underworld. The man chased after her and when he found her decomposing body, he ran in terror. As he washed away his horrifying experience, several more children were born. One of these was the ancestor of the ruling family of Japan. Japan’s first ruler met a beautiful woman and asked for her hand in marriage. Her family granted the ruler the woman and her sister. The ruler refused the sister, even though she could grant their children immortality, because of her ugliness (Philippi). From this myth, the reader can gather that Japan values men over women, beauty, and obedience to authority.

On December 7, 1941 the Japanese Navy bombed and ultimately destroyed the United States Naval base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. This sneak attack by the Japanese bombers drug the United States into WWII. The attack caused panic and hysteria throughout the United States, because this was the first attack against Americans, and on their own soil. Following the attack, about 1,500 Japanese suspects were gathered by American security to be arrested. Pressure from anti-Japanese media propaganda, local patriotic groups, and politicians requested for removal of all Japanese Americans. On February 19, 1942, then President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, giving authorization to the military to designate “military areas” where “any or all persons may be excluded”. Any being from Japanese heritage was put in an internment camp in western inland United States. When being evacuated, humans of Japanese heritage lost all property and possessions to

The things that were done to the Japanese Americans were unfair and misunderstood as far as making it look like these innocent citizens were a issue in American society. I will be discussing this issue in my opinion and what i think the issue really is, I will support this with information and evidence that i collected from various websites, to follow up with textual evidence that will support my claim and example showing different perspectives of the issue.

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

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.

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.

Collectivism also affects how the Japanese make decisions within their companies. “Unlike their counterparts in Western business organizations, Japanese executives and managers are not real independent decision makers” (Samovar 268). While Western businesses usually adopt a top-to-bottom approach to decision making, Japanese businesses operate under a more democratic approach. Japanese CEOs rarely make decisions on their own for fear of backlash from the overall group. Rather, they adopt what is called a “ringi style of decision making” that promotes “harmony, cooperation, and consensus” within the organization (Samovar 267). Before any major decisions are made, the CEO confirms that all members of the group have reached an agreement.

Lecture 10 focuses on the influence of foreign nations on the culture of Japan, and in turn, how these influences affected the political/cultural structure of Go. Because of my globalized perception of the world, I found this lecture to be fascinating on how the Japanese (and East Asian cultures) were impacted by western nations. The first notable attribute of this influence from the lecture was discussing how Japan realized they were far behind many Western powers, such as the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, and the United States. This realization lead Japan to end its total isolation policy towards the end of the 19th century and lead to political turmoil for years, Bakumatsu. I find it ironic that previously Japan was trying to

Cultural exchanges between India and Japan began early in the 6th century with the introduction of Buddhism to Japan from India. The Indian monk Bodhisena arrived in Japan in 736 to spread Buddhism and performed eye-opening of the Great Buddha built in Tōdai-ji, and would remain in Japan until his death in 760. Buddhism and the intrinsically linked Indian culture had a great impact on Japanese culture, still felt today, and resulted in a natural sense of amiability between the two nations. As a result of the link of Buddhism between India and Japan, monks and scholars often embarked on voyages between the two nations. Buddhist monks from India had been visiting Japan from the 8th century.

Buddhism has a far-reaching impact on Japanese culture. Back to the 6th century in 552, dated in Nihon Shoki (Chronicles of Japan), Buddhism was introduced by Emperor Kinmei and some buddhist monks and nuns together with an image of Buddha and a number of sutras. Ever since, the arrival and expansion of this religion to Japan started to have massive influence on everything, including a unique Japanese architecture, the Shinto Shrine, the centre of beliefs of Shinto and the spiritual totem for Japanese people. Based on extensive archival research, many studies investigate in great depth the effect of Buddhism on Shinto Shrine architecture, or, in another word, the relationship between the visible appearance of Shinto Shrines and the historical

The country of Japan is a country that has a very steep and rich sense of culture. There are many topics they play a factor in their culture and are key factors to understand to be able to obtain cultural awareness. The first thing to understand is what culture means and the national history and how that contributes into their society today. You will also need to understand the geography as well as military conflict. You will also need to be able to understand the national weather. The last thing you need to be able to know is the civil considerations, as well as people that make of the nation of Japan

The world is full of different cultures. It is so interesting to study the different ways people live their lives. Cultures are so diverse that normal habits done on a regular basis in one culture may be considered taboo in another culture. This essay will discuss how the Japanese culture differs from my culture, and it will also examine the importance of studying another culture.