Japanese Cultures, Customs and Traditions

By Braeden Harbison

   Japanese Cultures, Customs, and Traditions is an article that discusses the Japan’s culture in eight key concepts. In this article you will learn about the people and society, foods and drinks, arts and literature, music and dance, sports and leisure, religion, clothing, and pop culture within the Japanese culture. Japan’s society is vastly secular where it focuses on having good relationships with each other and giving back to the society is more important than a person’s individuality. The people of Japan practice self-control when working with others and like to avoid competition and confrontation. According to the article order, harmony, and self-development are the three vital values for Japanese social relations. The Japanese also bow as a form of greeting someone, where they show respect and kindness to others. Japanese cuisines are some of the most ancient traditions that has more than a 400-year history. The article says that most traditional dish is the Washoku, which is combination of one soup dish, one main dish, and two side dishes. Traditional Japanese cuisines focus on balance, the preparation is also important. Rice, sushi, and tofu are common dishes that are served at restaurants in Japan. The painting styles that the Japanese had were very unique. The paintings were abstract and naturalistic which displayed religion, scenes of daily life, plant studies, and animals. Early Japanese literature was influenced with China but after World War II happened, Japan’s literature began to expand and writers expressed their literature with the frustrations of Japan’s defeat in the War according to the article. Most of the dances that come from Japanese culture tends to be a slow type of dance with music accompaniment. One traditional dance the Japanese have is the Bon Odori which is performed in the summer at festivals in every city. This dance is to commemorate ancestors people wear kimonos while they dance. Some other traditional dances involve people to wear masks and costumes. The dances tell stories about Japanese society, lifestyle, and history. Japan is famous for sumo as one of their main sports. Sumo resembles wrestling and has a history that dates back to over 1,500 years in Japan. The Japanese also have a sport called Kendo. The Article states the Kendo is a fencing type of sport where the competitors wear protective gear and use swords. In Japan mixed martials arts is another popular sport whit Judo and Karate being the most popular for learning self-defense techniques. The Japanese practice Shinto as their religion. Worship rituals were performed to restore harmony with nature. The article says that performers will religious rituals at some of the festivals. The most traditional Japanese clothing is called Wafuku. In Japan there are clothes to wear for every season and a person’s age and event determines what type of clothing is worn. A full-length robe is a normal traditional style of clothing for the people of Japan to wear. The pop culture in Japan includes activities like bowling, karaoke, and cinema. Japan is also known for its production of video games which makes video gaming popular in Japan too. I think this article does a good job of explain the Japanese culture and illustrates that the culture of Japan is ancient, diverse, divine, and influences many facets of modern Japan. I think this article relevant to intercultural communications where in the book we learned about high uncertainty avoidance. It says in the book that high uncertainty avoidance cultures attempt to reduce unpredictable and ambiguity through intolerance of deviant ideas and behaviors, emphasizing consensus, resisting change, and sticking to traditional social protocols. (pg.225) In the article it stated that Japan has many traditional foods and dances that they do regular and do not change their traditions. Tight and loose cultures were anther concept we read about in the textbook. In the article it says how the Japanese bow and show respect to others when greeting someone and this can be described as a tight culture. I also think this article can be relevant to the concept of high face. (pg.239) The textbook describes high face concerns of having conflict and disagreements as threating and concern for other-face which be related to when the article stated that the Japanese avoid confrontation and that giving back is important.  My analysis of this research article is it gave eight major  topics regarding the Japanese culture.  The article clearly explained the customs and traditions that Japan has from their past to what is like in present time.  In my opinion every major topic discussed in the article gave good examples and was very informative and descriptive.  After reading this research article I learned a lot about Japanese culture and believe that its a good read and can be useful when wanting to learn more about Japan's  historical traditions and customs.  In conclusion after reading this article you will learn that Japanese culture is very ancient and important to the people of Japan.  The people and society itself are hardworking and kind and like to live a peaceful life.  There are also many diverse foods and drinks that are a tradition in Japan such as different types of cuisines and soups.  Painting and creative literature are also key  customs in Japan showing unique styles of work.  The article also provided information on the traditional dances in Japan where they wear costumes and mask that go along with the dances and music.  Its popular to see performances in the streets of these dances.  The clothing and and religion where also mentioned in the article, where the clothing is based on the age of a person and the season with a full length rob being the most popular.  For religion Japan worships rituals where Shinto was the first religion practiced but Japan has now moved to other religions.  Other topics like sports and the basic hobbies were mentioned in the article . All in all this article explained how important these traditions are to their culture and learn about some of the history of Japan and interests the Japanese have.  

A Lifetime in Japan

By Zachary Somma

   The piece of mass media that I chose is a documentary filmed in 2013 that interviews nineteen foreigners who moved to Japan and their experiences living there. Some of the interviewees had moved there for life, while others were only there for a few months. The many interviewees come from various walks of life and places around the world, such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and other European Countries. There are many topics of discussion brought up during its eighty minute run time, including relationships and love in Japan, its treatment of people of different races, gender stereotypes and beliefs, and the overall treatment of foreigners by both the government and the public at large. This documentary is very insightful, especially for us as foreigners as it provides a look into how we might react to Japanese culture and norms if we were to travel there. Because it is told by outsiders, it provides a different perspective of the quirks and differences between our cultures and theirs quite substantially. This documentary has relevance to topics we learned about in class in many ways. The textbook mentions in Chapter Two how the Japanese are taught very different morals than those in the United States for example. These morals revolve around the importance of duty and loyalty. Throughout the documentary, these differences in moral beliefs come up often when some of the interviewees are surprised or shocked at how the locals are reacting to an event compared to themselves. This also comes up as the interviewees mention how dedicated to work many of the Japanese seem to be, because of this moral standard they are held to regarding hard work and loyalty. In Chapter Five, the textbook brings up Japanese history, and in it, it explicitly talks about how the Japanese struggle to deal with foreigners due to the fact that they were isolated for such a long time from them, until the end of WW2. “Demographic separation and geographic isolation “produced in the Japanese a strong sense of self-identity and also an almost painful self- consciousness in the presence of others.” This statement becomes very apparent watching the documentary, as many of the stories told by the interviewees tell about awkward experiences with locals, and sometimes even disrespected (in their minds). On page 83 of the textbook, it mentions that “In Japan, a highly industrialized nation where many women attend universities and are in the workforce, there are still major gender differences within the family that go back thousands of years.” Of the women that are interviewed for the documentary, a few brought up certain experiences that they have had in the country, both negatively and positively. Some of them bring up their struggles with stereotyping that can happen in the country, such as being “stalked” or ogled on a train or bus. Some of the women also bring up their struggles with either being over complimented by local men, or ignored by them because of how they look and speak. Another major topic of the documentary is about how the police work in Japan and specifically how they treat foreigners. Their stories align with this article from the Irish Times (https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/asia-pacific/japan-s-crime-problem-too-many-police-not-enough-criminals-1.3451997), which talks about how the high numbers of the police force actually lead to there being so little crime that police may try and invent or investigate “crime” that really is not there. In the documentary, a woman, who is black, was stopped on the street and asked for her alien identity card by police aggressively, which both annoyed and angered her because she was doing nothing wrong. Another consistent point of the documentary is how the Japanese people tend to be civil and shy, to the point where it can be a real problem. This article in the Japan Times (https://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2019/10/25/reader-mail/much-civility-bad-japan/) mentions that “Instead of punishing the wrong, the Japanese palliate the situation while avoiding confrontation.”. This coincides greatly with the stories told by the foreigners. A few people mention how hard it can be to discuss events with some Japanese people due to their inclination to avoid conflict, especially with world events. One woman also brings up that the Japanese are taught in schools what, where, and why, but not to discuss or question something, which becomes evident in public life. Finally, the documentary touches briefly on the Japanese outlook on politics and the economy, which, especially with younger people, tends to be quite pessimistic. This article from the Financial Times (https://www.ft.com/content/e5b9e75a-a8b8-4899-a0e4-4aea19d97ff6), says that the “Japanese in their 20s “don’t get the idea of growth; their world view is that the economy doesn’t move at all”, she said. This has intensified the need of young middle-class people to cling to what they have because, although they are pessimistic about the future, the present does not feel terrible.” I thought the whole documentary was a really interesting watch, and I definitely learned a lot about Japanese culture because of it. There is a very wide variety of information gleaned from the people interviewed for the documentary, and both touches upon the good and the positive and interesting aspects of life and culture in Japan, as well as some of the negatives and major problems as well. As mentioned before, as foreigners ourselves, this documentary does a good job at comparing our beliefs about Japan from an outside perspective to the realities of what the culture is truly like on the inside. Despite many of the negative aspects of life in Japan brought up in the documentary, and many of the stories of bad experiences with people, police or other things told by the interviewees, at the end of the documentary each person was asked if they enjoyed their time in the country, and, if applicable, did they regret moving there. Not a single person said that they had regretted their time in the country, and many praised their time there as the best of their lives, and that moving to the country was the best decision they had ever made.

The Tale of Genji

by George Ashmore

   This is a courtly poem about a son of an emperor of early Heian Japan. It discusses the aristocracy of the Japanese culture at the time in the 11th century. They talk about entertainment, daily life, how they dress and their moral codes of the Japanese people of that time. It is not only considered to be the first literary work in Japan, but maybe the first novel in the entire world. It dwells deeply into their moral code as it is full of controversial events involving the high royals of Japan in the poem. It is written by Murasaki Shikibu known to be novelist and poet of her time, also was a lady-in-waiting in the Imperial Court of Japan at the time. Not only was this written in the Japanese script of time, many English variations were published in the 20th century (1925-33 and 1976), however it was also depicted in many scrolls filled with pictures and calligraphy. These paintings help show us the art style of the people of the time and how they used these form of storytelling to show the tale of Genji.

   This poem/novel will tells the story of Genji, the some of the emperor of the time, whose title of prince was stripped to the death of his mother, and his father finding a new concubine. Due to his amorous intrigues with those outside his arranged marriage, it causes the successor of his father, the new emperor to banish him from capital and move to Suma. It is at this place, an attack occurred here and he survives this dangerous encounter. Later on in the tale, Genji's status is restored back at the capital, and  now starts to grow his family through many women. The last part of the story follows the children of Genji as they explore there life in the shadow of their ancestor in near the Uji River in Japan. This includes their many adventures in love and lust, as Genji also had many experiences in and made himself famous for.  The Tale of Genji overall helps show world in which the people of the time were leaving in. 

   This piece of literature helps connect to the formation of the current culture of Japan. His story has one of the biggest roles in the creation of every culture in every country. As Samovar says in Communication Between Cultures, Japan was a very isolated society when they first started to developing due to be a cluster of four islands, not easily connected to any of the other cultures near them (177) Their feudal style of government and their corrupted aristocratic society, as shown in The Tale of Genji, show how their morals (mostly the good ones) have translated into their current day culture. This story also shows how Tokugawa Legacy shaped the early government of Japan. The Imperial Court was the highest, and thus made the final decisions, and when it comes to who is considered in the bloodline of the emperor, it falls under the jurisdiction of said Imperial Court. This is the main reason why Genji was not given his royal blood-right to the throne; since his father and the court did not see him fit, he was pushed away and called a commoner. Japan at the time was very big on the different levels of status, and the one hundred percent agreement with the highest authority, no matter the request they make, and this form of control of the country lasted all the way up until after WWII (Samovar 178). Genji helps show the development of this government style through the hardships and unfairness that Genji had to go through in life due to him being given the short end of the stick of everything. They believe that this was the best way to create stability within their country. The final thing that his wonderful novel shows about the culture of Japan is the art style/non-spoken communication between the people. Their are many different abridged version of this story on scrolls that are picture versions. Some of these examples can be see in the reference page. This is art style being shown in these scrolls are the main art style throughout the early history of Japan, and if a shared style among many of the Asian cultures near Japan. This shows how, even though Japan is a high isolated society, culture still has a way of leaking into other cultures because of just a few people who travel and share their cultures with another person. Another popular form of art work in Japan is calligraphy. The Tale of Genji was also written in the calligraphy of the Japanese characters in their language. Sometime this written versions would go along beside a scroll of artwork in order to provide a more detailed depiction of the what is trying to be shown in the piece of art. Calligraphy is a big part of the culture of Japan because it helps them show the characters of the language in a more lavish and unique style than just writing them the normal way.   

   Overall The Tale of Genji helps show the start of the Japanese culture that we know from being taught about it in high school. It shows the development of the complex feudal, aristocratically government of early Japan that stressed the differentiation of the levels of society and the absolute control that the high Imperial Court of the time had over the land that had control of. Finally there is the art work and calligraphy that helped shape the art style of Japan for years to come, and show how similar the art styles of the surrounding area are; and how calligraphy helped form their modern day characters of the Japanese written language. If the Tale of Genji did not happen, we would have not had one of our first novels in the world and a strong insight into the wonderful culture that is formed from the long, rich history of Japan. 

Resources 

Samovar, L. A., Porter, R. E., McDaniel, E. R., & Roy, C. S. (2017). The Deep Structure of Culture: Lessons from the Family. In Communication between cultures (pp. 68-102). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2020). The Tale of Genji (1121801726 846767243 M. Ray, Ed.). Retrieved December 11, 2020, from https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Tale-of-Genji

Anonymous. (n.d.). Summary of The Tale of Genji. Retrieved December 11, 2020, from http://www.taleofgenji.org/summary.html

Honnouji Hotel

By Christian Walters

   The piece of mass media I chose is the 2017 Movie titled Honnouji Hotel. This movie is a dramatic fantasy comedy that also gives the audience an insight to how much change Japan has gone through during its multi-century history. The movie follows Mayuko Kuramoto as she stays in a hotel in Kyoto’s historic area. When she decides to take the elevator to get to her room, she consumes a piece of sugary candy called Konpeito. This seems normal until she is magically transported to the middle of 16 century Japan during Nobunaga Oda’s attempts to unify Japan. The movie follows Mayuko as she attempts to navigate this completely different time period while providing a lot of light-hearted humor and some slapstick comedy. Mayuko travels back and forth between past and present in this interesting, yet easy to watch movie that is able to provide some light fun while showing the evolution of Japan. This time shift shows viewers the stark contrast between the shifting cultures in Japan, as well as a forefront viewing experience of one of Japan’s most important historical events. It also is able to give insight to the way of life in both modern and 16th century Japan.

   This movie is tied to what we studied in Intercultural Communications class in a few different ways. The most obvious, however, is the movie’s ties to cultural history. While this movie is no at all intended to be regarded as historically accurate, it does offer some insight into the customs and culture of Japan at a different time in its history. This movie is able to tie in themes of respect, something Japan is very well know for and is a vital part of their culture, along with many other cultural parallels. As mentioned above, the movie switches back and forth between both 16th century Japan and 21st century Japan. This is extremely relevant because in the 16th century, Japan was at the height of its isolationist period which took place in the Tokugawa, or Edo, era (1603-1867). This is a time period that has proved to shape Japan in many crucial manners such as foreign affairs and the formation of modern Japanese customs. When reading about this period of time in Japan it is stated in the textbook, “Historical isolation, low immigration rates, and a feudal-based system of governance produced a society characterized by its relative cultural homogeneity. This sense of ethnic similarity has become a defining characteristic among the Japanese” (177). I believe that one of the most reflective points in this comedic movie that can be thought about it how even though it is a whacky movie, when broken down it is reflective of how Japan has reacted to foreigners through out history. Also stated in the textbook is “One expression of cultural homogeneity is the Japanese approach to foreigners. As a result of the country being closed to outsiders until the mid-nineteenth century, when it was forcibly opened by Western powers, the Japanese developed an ambivalence towards all foreigners…This self-consciousness persists today and can sometimes be encountered by foreigners when traveling beyond Japan’s major urban areas” (177). This can be broken down in order to really apply to this movie. To the citizens that Mayuko encounters when she travels back in time to the 16th century, she comes off as a bizarre foreigner that no one knows how to act around. Because she is Japanese, this often causes confusion for the ancient people as they do not understand how she is so different. When viewed through an approach that is stripped down, this mindset can be applied to most of Japanese history when encountering new peoples. There is a long history of confusion and separation between Japanese people and other cultures simply due to the fact that there are a lot of cultural guidelines that are followed in Japan between other Japanese people, but there is no established “correct” way of interacting and dealing with foreigners. This is once again due to the isolationism that Japan conducted for much of its history. This also piggy backs on the concept that is brought up in the text about one major contemporary issue that is still a major concern for Japan, which is immigration issues. Again, this is taken at a very basic, broken down level, but the principles are still to be applied. This area of immigration is still widely debated within Japan as many people are afraid that an increase of immigrants will change their lasting culture. However, at this point in history immigration is almost unavoidable and an article posted by Noah Smith of the JapanTimes titled Japan Begins Immigration Experiment shows this to the reader by stating “In 2018, 1 out of 8 young people turning 20 in Tokyo wasn’t born in Japan. That doesn’t even count the people who were born in Japan but aren’t ethnically Japanese. Although Tokyo isn’t close to becoming a multiracial metropolis like New York City or London, the word “homogeneous” no longer fits the city”(2019). Continuing on with the relevancy that this movie carries and what we have studied in class and in the textbook is the political systems that were historically put in place. The textbook mentions the use of this new political system in Japan in chapter five. Within this chapter is the line “In the early 1600s, following a period of debilitating civil wars, Japan was politically unified under a leadership of a military-style governor (shogun). The Japanese population, much of which resided in or around castle towns, was divided into four specific, hierarchal groups – samurai, farmer, artisan, and merchant- each with its own set of subgroups and hierarchies” (178). This is especially relevant to the movie as the movie is set in 16th century Japan and follows Oda Nobunaga as he tried to unify Japan in the late 1560s. This direct quote from the textbook is referencing a time that is both during and slightly after this movie takes place. The historical accuracy of this movie has been called into question, but it does account for the battle of wanting a more unified Japan, which was the beginning of putting this Feudal system in place. The feudal system that was put in place in Japan is not far unlike those that were put in place all across Medieval Europe. This was a system where a very limited few had more power over the masses, however there were a few key differences between Europe and Japan. This is best described by Kallie Szczepanski in her article titled The Four-Tiered System of Feudal Japan in which she states “Unlike European feudal society, in which the peasants (or serfs) were at the bottom, the Japanese feudal class structure placed merchants on the lowest rung. Confucian ideals emphasized the importance of productivity, so farmers and fishermen had higher status than shopkeepers in Japan, and the samurai class had the most prestige of all” (2019). This is important to note simply because once again it showcases the isolationist mindset that Japan has always held onto, as discussed in the textbook.

   My personal take from this movie is that it was very entertaining. I believe that this movie really gave me insight on some historical Japanese culture in that, while a subplot and background story, there were a lot of trials and hardships when it came to trying to unify a land that has been riddled with civil wars. I also believe that it found a humorous way to show the contrast between a nation 400 years ago and where it lies today. This concept has been done many times before in American Cinema, but I believe it was a nice change of pace to see it done once again in a nation that truly has a long and diverse history. I think that it definitely promoted some historical fallacies, as seen in Mark Schilling’s critique of the film in the Japan Times where he says “…and some of the “facts” she learns, such as Nobunaga’s vision of a peaceful, happy country, are dubious” (2017). However, that is only to be expected when creating an entertaining movie about a time traveling elevator. I believe that this movie showcased multiple good examples of character growth and development, and offered a good look into just how different, but also similar, a nation is from its historic figures.

   In summary, Honnouji Hotel offers a light-hearted look into two distinct time periods of Japan. This movie draws a lot of parallels to subjects that are discussed in our class textbook Communication Between Cultures by Larry Samovar, Richard Porter, Edwin McDaniel, and Carolyn Roy. The main connection between these two is the application of Cultural History which is beyond abundant in Japan. The movie and book alike are able to make this section of our class very entertaining in a manner that isn’t completely different: both use humor as a way to teach a lesson. I think that while there are some historical fallacies in the movie, these should be overlooked as the movie is not a documentary but rather a fantasy comedy that serves to entertain the people.

Resources:

Samovar, L. A., Porter, R. E., McDaniel, E. R., & Roy, C. S. (2015). Communication Between Cultures (9thth ed., pp. 161-198). N.p.: Cengage Learning.

Schilling, M. (2017, January 25). 'Honnouji Hotel': Drama on the wrong side of history. In The Japan Times. Retrieved from https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2017/01/25/films/film-reviews/honnouji-hotel-drama-wrong-side-history/

Smith, N. (2019, May 27). Japan begins immigration experiment. In The Japan Times. Retrieved from https://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2019/05/27/commentary/japan-commentary/japan-begins-immigration-experiment/

Szczepanski, K. (2019, July 8). The four-tiered class system of feudal Japan. In ThoughtCo. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/four-tiered-class-system-feudal-japan-195582

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