Japan is a country full of respect, family importance, and extremely valued education. The official language in Japan is Japanese. This language is almost spoken exclusively within Japan. The standard version of Japanese is called hyōjungo and has very few sounds, compared to other languages such as English. Many experts believe Japanese is an Altaic, an Austronesian, or a Southeast Asian language. There are other theories, but none can be completely proven true. Almost all linguists believe it is an Altaic language, relating to Korean, Mongolian, and Turkish. This makes some sense seeing the fact that the Yayoi people seem to have migrated from Korea to Japan.
Japanese scripts include hiragana, katakana, and kanji. Hiragana is similar to the Chinese cursive script. Katakana is derived from Chinese characters. Kanji is also imported from China. Both Japanese and Western style methods of writing are used in Japanese writing. Japanese elders adhere to the formally known cultural norms while the younger generations are more “westernized”. Some things Japanese generally do as a cultural norm would be to traditionally greet someone, you bow. You may come across as impolite to introduce yourself, so you must wait to be introduced. If you add the suffix “san” to someone’s name, you would be considered respectful and especially respectful for “sama”. You must remove your shoes before entering a Japanese home and put on slippers that are left at the door. Body language is very important and complex to the Japanese. The eldest in a group is honored in Japan. They are served first and their drinks are poured for them. You may not tip under any circumstance; you would have insulted the person. Also, to avoid spreading infection, sterilized masks may be worn in public.
A young girl preparing for womanhood in Japan traditionally learns one of three major arts including ikebana
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.
Throughout History, there have been many different groups or events that are still widely known today. Groups of people such as the Indians or Vikings are popular groups which are referenced constantly in today’s society. However, none of these groups is more known or referenced than the Japanese Samurai. Originating in 646 AD, these Japanese warriors developed from a loose organization of farmers to the dominant social class in Feudal Japan. Along with their dominant military and political standing, the samurai brought with them a unique code or moral belief that became the core of Samurai culture. Because of this, the Samurai and their principles still affect modern day Japanese society with social customs today deriving directly and indirectly from the beliefs of the Samurai.
Japan has a history that dates back thousands of years. Researchers believe the Japanese people descended from many groups that migrated to the islands from other parts of Asia, including China and Korea. As early as 4500 B.C., the Japanese islands
Another difference is that teachers in Japan write down important things on a blackboard, but teachers in the U.S. seldom write everything; they just explain orally. Japanese students are very quiet during classes, and all they do is listen to teachers and copy what teachers write on blackboards. They seldom ask questions during classes but ask friends or teac...
Japan is part of our world that not many people know, for the few that do, they know that Japan is filled with an extraordinary history. Some of the history starts with little traditions like, the tradition of kimono’s, to big ones such as their well known Japanese festivals. Ancient Japan was a series of islands and many cultural expansions which included religion, armies, art, classic traditions, and their type of clothing. Ancient Japanese is still alive today, from basic works of art, to then a following of certain religions such as Shinto and Buddhism. Many Americans don’t the cultural aspects that were attributed by many across the world, they don’t know that many of those aspects made what Japan is today in society.
This shows how language plays a role in Japan by the maintenance of the hierarchical structure of the society.
Japan has four main islands: Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, and Shikoku. Seventy percent of Japan consists of mountains and volcanoes. (“Facts about Japan”) The climate in Japan is very tropical in the southern parts and much cooler in the northern parts. (“Facts about Japan”)
Rowland, Amy. Complete Book of Etiquette; a Practical Guide to Success with the Japanese. New York, NY: Warner, 1985. Print.
The establishment of the caste system during their feudal development insured unity and lack of diversity would be a theme through the rest of their history. During the Nara period the Japanese society was separated into classes which were based on the position of each family. Whether the position was of a court official, samurai, or peasant farmer, each class carefully blended together. The appearance of unity was paramount. Individual rights were non-existent. It became common place to respect and even worship the ancestral heritage. Wisdom was thought to be a combination of knowledge and a practical application of that knowledge. Therefor, the older family members were thought to have to most wisdom from the lives they spent applying their knowledge. They were revered and respected by the younger generations in the family. Another way in which the traditional family structure in Japan supports the conformity of its’ member is through the Bushido influence. This "way of warrior" has permanently established in the Japanese culture during to Tokogawa Era. The warrior code dictated that loyalty, respect, and honor were the most important personal ideals one could have. These ideals filtered out of the samurai class and eventually rooted deeply into the national character of Japan. Conformity is required through this ideal because an individual mentality would not consider loyalty to be as important as society viewed it. In addition, by behaving out of the norm, shame would be brought to a family. The individualistic mentality runs contradictory to the traditional fam...
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.
Mente, Boye Lafayette De. (2008). Etiquette Guide to Japan: Know the rules that make the difference. Vermont, USA: Tuttle Publishing.
In America, differences of age and status do not affect the relationship between people as they do in Japan. Students can talk to professors in very casual ways. A freshman and a senior in college can be good friends. In Japan, however, when Japanese people get together, their behaviors are influenced by an awareness of the order and rank of each person within the group according to age and social status. Respect to seniors is a social obligation that cannot be neglected. Nothing more clearly describes this hierarchal nature of Japanese society that the Japanese word "senpai," meaning a senior or superior in any academic or corporate organization in our society. The attitude toward one's 'senpai' is characterized by formality, obedience, and trust.
There are many historical aspects of the Japanese, but the most interesting is the history of the Samurai. In Japans history war played a large role in the country. Controlling clans fought for parts of the land and overall control of the country. These clans were powerful families that resided in the country and who all wanted power and control of Japan for themselves. The families that would be in control were known as Shoguns. These shoguns would have warriors that fought for them if any of the other clan families would try to attack him in order to overthrow him and take his power from him. The Samurai followed a code that developed from Chinese beliefs when in battle. The Samurais code was known as the Bushido. This code was also known as “The Way of The Warrior” which was the main belief s...
Japan is the third-largest economy in the world, an island of nations within East Asia. Japan is the world’s tenth largest country by population, with 127.3 million people. A major economic power that continues to experience growth resulting from industrial and technological breakthroughs. In the last decade, Japan has experienced growth through globalization that affected its citizens by employment and wages. As a vital key to conducting business in Japan, it is essential for a corporation to understand etiquette and protocols as well as the religious beliefs that may or may not impact business.
“The social norm view of politeness assumes that each society has a particular set of social norms consisting of more or less explicit rules that prescribe a certain behavior, a state of affairs, or a way of thinking in a context” (Fraser, 1990: 220). Ide (1989) was one of the first to express this view in her study of politeness phenomena in the Japanese society.