Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Customs of the Jews
Customs of the Jews
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Customs of the Jews
Present Day Japanese Tea Ceremony
In Japanese culture, there are many traditions that are passed down from generation to generation and done in the same way as their ancestors. One of these traditions is the Japanese Tea Ceremony. The Japanese culture takes pride in traditions like this because it shows their culture and how customs were done in the past. But are these traditions necessary in today’s fast paced culture? In present day society, culture and tradition seem non-existent to the public, but to some people these traditions are very well alive. I do not think that old customs or traditions such as the Japanese Tea Ceremonies are necessary in today’s society but I do think that they are very present to the ones who practice them.
The Japanese Tea Ceremony originated when the Japanese adopted both the Chinese tradition of drinking powdered green tea as well as practicing Zhen Buddhist customs. In the 1500’s, Sen No Rikyu, former koji to the Japense emperor, incorporated ideas of simplicity, uniqueness, and that tea ceremonies should be a special custom. From then on, the Japanese Tea Ceremony became more than just tea drinking, but also a spiritual experience that embodies the ideas of respect, harmony, tranquility, and purity. These tea ceremonies are very intricate and nuclide many steps to be completed. They are usually held in homes, special rooms, or even outdoors. The surroundings during the ceremonies are simple and rustic and have multiple Japanese scrolls hanging from the walls if held inside. The ceremonies have tedious step by step instructions that each participant must follow. Some of these instructions are that before they enter the room, participants must wash their arms and bow before entering. Japanese ...
... middle of paper ...
...bby that they like to do to keep the old Japanese ways alive.
The tradition of the Japanese Tea Ceremony is a sacred part of many lives through the United States and the world. But regardless, it is no longer necessary in the world today. The culture of present day society has changed into a fast paced lifestyle. People are consistently on the go and when they do have downtime; most people take that as an advantage to relax. The tradition of a concise custom that has been passed down for generations is no longer truly alive in present day society. Though it may be alive in the lives of ones who actually practice it, overall the necessity of the Japanese Tea Ceremony is no longer existent.
Work Cited
The Japanese Tea Ceremony Video
The Japanese Tea Ceremony Powerpoint
"The Japanese Tea Ceremony." History and Steps Explained. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2014.
I did not know that much about this culture until this paper. The Japanese people are very polite and respectful. The Japanese take education very serious and nature. Their langue is a lot different they have different styles of speaking even for different social status there is a certain way of thinking. In Japan there is a mixture of the Buddha religion and the Shinto. Both beliefs have the same influence on the Japan culture. Buddhism was brought o Japan in the early 6th century from China. There are five precepts that they go by which are no killing, no stealing, no lying, no sexual misconduct, and no use of intoxication.
-Nara’s Buddhist temples were another result of cultural diffusion, Buddhist began in India in 500s B.C.E. about 1,000 years later, it came to Japan from China by way of Korea.
After importing tea into Britain, the East India Company was required to auction it off to other merchants, some of whom then exported the tea to the American colonies. By law, this was virtually the only tea permitted in the colonies.
In every Culture around the theres rituals, traditions, and customs that the people practice and continue to show to the younger generations. For example, in the hispanic Culture
customs and traditions hidden in the roots of the Japanese empire. The Tang Dynasty displayed a
Buddhism is a beautifully complex religion that since its widespread introduction to Japanese culture by the end of the seventh century has made enormous impacts and direct influences on the government and cultural practices of society (Hoffmann 36). The Japanese death poetry composed by Zen monks and haiku poets, compiled by Albert Hoffmann, is an excellent literary explication of the Japanese attitude towards death. This attitude is most notably derived from Buddhism, the main religion of the Japanese people. Even Japanese citizens who are not literal Buddhists still embrace the philosophies that have now become instilled in the cultural history of Japan due to such a heavy Buddhist influence on government and education throughout the centuries.
Fourteenth century Japan was a time of peace for many people. Buddhism had just become a major part of Japanese culture due to the Shogun Yoshimitsu. He became ruler in 1367 at the sapling age of ten (Waley 21). Yoshimitsu needed to distinguish himself from his ancestors and he did this by being devoted to Buddhism, specifically the Zen Sect (21). “Zen Buddhism and the life and teaching of Shinran are popularly identified as typical Japanese Buddhism.” (Takeda 27) However Buddhism, in Japan, is different and unique from Buddhism in other countries because it is considered the “funeral religion” (27). This is mainly influenced by ancient Japanese beliefs of the onryo.
...ate the tea culture in Korea. Buddhist ceremonial tea was first brought to Korea by the monks who had come back from China to bring Buddhist culture to Korea. Although it was already used in ancestral ceremonies, it then became widely used in Buddhist ceremonies. It remained this way until Confucianism took over in the 14th century and tea became prohibited (Overview).
Many of us, if not everyone, has heard of the country of Japan through various means. Possibly through popular films such as Godzilla or the renowned horror films which the country produces. Perhaps through the various anime TV shows that have been dubbed in English creating a massive fan base here in the United States, or the massive franchise Nintendo that has filled our child memories with countless hours spent in front of a screen playing Mario or Pokémon. One way or another the Japanese have shared their culture with a huge audience but thats only scratching the surface of the Japanese culture. The country of Japan wasn’t always the islands that we see there today, the formation of the islands occurred during 50,000 BC and ended in 10,000 BC following the end of the last ice age. This is when we find the first signs of civilization in Japan but they are nowhere near the modern day Japanese culture today. The early beginnings of today’s Japanese culture dates back to the year 538 AC with multiple time periods slowly building up to today. The Japanese culture of today shares a few aspects with our American culture we are familiar with, both cultures love baseball, we both have representative democracies as a form of government, and both cultures do not label outsiders differently and accept them just as equally. Even though we may share aspects of our culture with the Japanese our cultures couldn’t be anymore different from each other.
My group and I were fantasied by the Buddhist culture because of its architecture and that is known to be culture that means of changing oneself in order to develop qualities such as wisdom, kindness, peace, as these qualities would led a better life. We can to observe if this is displayed in a Buddhist ceremony and the best way to observe Buddhist culture was by going to one of their ceremonies. We visited a temple called Fo Guang Shah to witness their every Sunday prayer. In this essay, I analyze the power displayed in the ceremony because ideology and ruling class by looking at Athusser’s interpellation and theory of hegemony by Antonia Gramsci. The power demonstrated by Buddhist ceremony shows how people and the environment is controlled.
Zimmermann, K. A. (2013, April 22). American Culture: Traditions and Customs of the United States | LiveScience. Retrieved February 9, 2014, from
Japan is a large island off to the east of China it is a great country that has a rich culture. The Japanese religion is based off of two main beliefs, the belief in Shinto and Buddhism many Japanese people believe consider themselves both. The Japanese people were known to be around as early as 4,500 B.C. They have constructed their government style to a constitutional monarchy where they do in fact have an emperor, but he has limited power within the country. The main power of the country is held by the Prime Minister of Japan. Japan is made up of many islands that extend along the Pacific coast of Asia. The land area is made up of a lot of forest and mountainous area that cannot be used for agricultural, industrial or residential use. Japan also has one of the largest and growing economies in the world. They are growing every day and it is all because the people of Japan work very hard in order for their economy to flourish as it has.
The Shinto faith has many ceremonies including some that might seem strange to Westerners. As mentioned earlier, cleanliness is particularly important to Shinto worshippers and great washing ceremonies take place before any holiday. Pollution or uncleanliness is offensive to the kami. Western civilization finds it hard to understand some Japanese festivals because the Japanese have an intense appreciation of nature which the majority of Westerners care very little about.
Starting out, they have deep respect for their elders and they care for them dearly. Elderly people are valued as important members of society as they pass down traditions from generation to generation. These traditions, which are also deeply valued, are deep-rooted that go back for millenniums. These traditions of working harmoniously and respectfully also spawn from their cultural roots in their three main religions, Shintoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism. Their hardships throughout history are also considered a principle factor the the basis for their values. Other things that the japanese value are family, government, nature, and