Summer is the time for renewal and a chance to start over. Summer is the time when Japanese go all out in their festivals. You’ll see fireworks and beautifully colored paper mache floats. When you think of summer in Japan, you might imagine all the young girls wearing a yukata, or a summer kimono. You will see masses of people eating shaved ice-cream in the hot, humid weather. Not only are there winter and spring festivals, but there are summer festivals as well. Some festivals that occur during this season are: Sendai Tanabata Matsuri, O-bon, Hakata Gion Yamakasa Festival, Nebuta Festival and the Dai-Chochin Matsuri.
To begin with, the Hakata Gion Yamakasa Festival is held in Fukuoka from July 1st to the 15th. This festival is known for the large floats carried by men. These floats are called yamakasa, and they can weigh up to one ton. This festival is viewed by over one million people. “The men carrying the yamakasa with all their might captures the heart of the people.”(Hakata Gion Yamakasa, Japan: The Official Guide) There are two types of floats, the kazariyama and kakiyama. The Kazariyama are floats that only serve the purpose as decorations. They are displayed all throughout the streets. These floats are around ten feet tall and are elaborately decorated with samurai and anime characters. Before, men would carry these floats, but it would be troublesome today due to the cables. In order to get electricity to light up the kazariyama floats, the people had to connect cables to them. The kakiyama are the floats that are being carried during the festival. Various groups of men compete against one another in a five kilometer race, in the time period of thirty minutes. The men that participate in this event must ...
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With the gradual decline of the Tokugawa Shogunate and the restoration of the Imperial title, Japan began its second phase of foreign borrowing by entering ‘secondary civilization,’ or industrial society (Suzuki, 1995 p.773). Beginning in the late Tokugawa period, the power of the shogun and the damiyos progressively began diminishing under political pressure and the deteriorating financial condition of the nation. Dissatisfied with the conditions, the people began leaning towards the restoration of the nation as an Empire, which occurred in 1867-68 with the resignation of Tokugawa Yoshinobu (15th Tokugawa Shogun), marking the beginning of the Meiji Restoration. The transfer of power to the Emperor proceeded smoothly, indicating the beginning of Japan’s radical influence and changes from the west. At the beginning of the Meiji period, Japan was primarily an agricultural nation with a weak military and scarce technological development still largely traditional in nature. Power was transferred into the hands of noble samurai that had opposed Tokugawa rule, acting in the name of the Em...
The climate in Japan differs from the U.S. in the fact that has moist, warm, tropical weather during the summer months(June- mid-September), but; in contrast, it can also get heavy clouds, extreme dry-air, snow, rain, and high winds throughout the winter, fall, and spring months (mid-September - May). Most of Japan has had consistent weather conditions throughout the last 18 years. The weather throughout each year since 2000 held mostly rain for about 40 % of the time, snowy weather had an approximate 25% duration, 15% of each year was cloudy, and the remaining approximate 10% was clear weather. Japan has also had a consistent duration of sunshine hours throughout the years as well counting in at about 20% of pure sunshine per year. Japan, as a total, is mostly humid and warm during the summer and freezing during the winter, something that the U.S. can relate to without the humidity.
Summer should take because One reason is kids need a break to recover from the academic and social pressure. Another reason is It is a tradition a time to create lasting memories. A third reason is Teachers need time to plan the upcoming
Japanese celebrate festivals, ceremonies, and cherry blossoms. Such as ‘’Americans celebrate independence day the day America celebrate Independence Day, Cinco de Maya and many more. Independence from Great Britain on the 4 of July.’’(Brian Palmer) Japanese culture is multi layered and a complex
Summer is a great time to correct the bad behavior their child has learned from being in school around their peers. For example; parents can work to fix the bad behavior the child has picked up to change into good behavior before influenced by others. The parents can teach them from right to wrong. This can help the child make good decisions and think before during when peer pressured at school. Also, children can be discipline through their own mistakes. For example; if one child wants to watch television right this moment and the parent tells the child not right now. The parents need to teach their child how to respond correctly and how one can be discipline if acting up. Summer is a great time to perfect the child to be better for the next school
The good sides to summer school are of course expanding and sharpening your knowledge. You also have the chance to make new friends and meet new people.
Different seasons appeal to people for a variety of reasons. While some people enjoy the winter and its holiday cheer, others prefer the spring when the hills are green and the world is seemingly reborn. Each season has its benefits, but I, myself, prefer the summer because I don’t have to go to school, and I truly enjoy the weather.
Japan is known for its contemporary culture and advancement in electronics and engineering. We could also learn from the traditions Japan can offer. From advancement in cars and electronic devices, Japan holds on to ancient arts and traditions that play a role in their daily life. Japan has various climates from tropical in the south to cooler temperatures in the north, and the famous tourist site of the active volcano Mount Fuji. Mount Fiji is the highest mountain in Japan, with a tundra climate the temperature is low and covered with snow causing. The average temperature is always below freezing, excluding the summer.
According to Daniel Luzer, kids used to get the summer off in the early days because it was the primary growing season. Summer break didn’t exist until the 20th century(Luzer). Many students think that it is a good idea to continue the tradition because it has been like this for a long time. Even though kids don’t work with crops now it still gets really hot outside. Even though we have air conditioning classrooms still get hot at times. Another article by Lucas Reily states, during the summer class rooms were half empty and school wasn’t mandatory years ago. Lucas Reily states, “To top it off, air conditioning was decades away, and city schools during summertime were miserable, half-empty ovens.” Eventually 60 days got cut from the school year (Reily). This is why summer break has been an American tradition for about twenty years and it’s a good idea to continue
Scissors, Paper, Rock! For my first cultural event, I attended the University Performing Dancers rendition of “Scissors, Paper, Rock!”. This dance performance took place in University Hall here on campus. This performance is considered a cultural event because the game Rock, Paper, Scissors is an ancient game that many different cultures have claimed to invented.
In modern times, Spring Festival is another name for the Chinese New Year. It is an important traditional holiday celebrated at the start of the Chinese lunar calendar for the Chinese all over the world. The festival last for 15 days and is longest festival for the Chinese.
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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 believe 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
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Japan is a fascinating multifaceted culture, on one hand it is filled with many traditions dating back thousands of years and yet is a society with continually changing fads,