JAPANESE RESEARCH PAPER
U.S. Marriages and Japan Japan and United States have many similarities on the concept of marriage. But Japan and the U.S. do have numerous cultural distinction as well. There are many traditions and customs for weddings. Most weddings in America are based on religion, culture and social norms. Usually the brides in America wear white bridal dresses with a veil. Wedding cakes in America are seen as a symbol of fertility. After the wedding, newlyweds go off and leave for a honeymoon for a couple of days/weeks. It is a time for relaxation and the start of a marriage.
A Japanese wedding ceremony may be Shinto, Christian, Buddhist, or non-religious. Couples decide the style of their wedding ceremony, which might be different from the style that’s typical of their own religion. Today, the traditional Japanese ceremony is Shinto-style, performed by a Shinto priest and held at a shrine. The ceremony itself is very formal and usually very private, with only close family and a few guests present. The bride traditionally wears two outfits; The shiro, which is a white
…show more content…
Japanese attitudes in religion is not an importance in the wedding ceremony. Usually most Japanese people are identified as Shintoist or Buddhist. While most people in the United States are identified as Christians and they take religion seriously. Another difference between the two is that Japanese people are likely to be more formal. In Japan, people stand more apart when speaking. In America, customer service is rather warm and friendly. In Japan, it’s formal. Physical touching is also more sparse in Japan than in America. In Japan, people mostly bow. Bowing has different meanings behind it. It can be used to greet someone, apologizing, or thanking them. In the United States, people tend to shake hands when greeting someone. They rarely bow in the United States. Bowing is mostly used in Asian
One obvious difference is the personality. The Japanese viewed from foreigners, most Japanese have modest shy personality, and they are more polite than other countries people because Japanese think about opponent more than oneself, so they try not to bother to other people. Therefore, Japanese people potentially have them, and it seems like more solid or severe. It is called "Omotenashi" culture. In contrast, although the Hawaiian are more friendly and have softer personality than Japanese people because Hawaii is a resort place, so people come to Hawaii to relax. Their environment is not rushed and upset. For instance, when people have an appointment to meet, but the appointed time has passed, Hawaiian do not rush. However, Japanese have to be impatient, and they will contact opponent.
Compare And Analysis The Japanese Buddhism And Indo Buddhism Buddhism is a religion and philosophy founded by Siddhartha Gautama in northeast India during the period from the late 6th century to the early 4th century BC. Spreading from India to Central and Southeast Asia, China, Korea, and Japan, Buddhism has played an influential role in the spiritual, cultural, and social life of much of the Eastern world. It is the prevailing religious force in most of Asia (India, China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and Tibet). ‘Buddhism’ is reformulated and re-expressed in different cultures and at different times, adopting and redefining aspects of the cultures in which it has taken root. Today, there are about 300 million followers. (Yamplosky) The Indian religion Buddhism, founded in the sixth century BC, is one of the common features of Asian civilization, and Buddhist institutions and believers are found all over East, South, and Southeast Asia. While Buddhism is now just a minority belief in the country of it’s founding, it remains a significant religious and cultural force in Japan today. Buddhism started in India and made its way to China and Korea. From there, it ended up in Japan. Buddhism went through several different periods before it became Japan's national religion. In indo Buddhism, the temple is the main sanctuary, in which services, both public and private, are performed but Japanese Buddhism is mainly hub of individual activities and services. Similarly to Japanese Buddhism, in Indo Buddhism the monastery is a complex of buildings, located usually in a spot chosen for its beauty and seclusion. Its function is to house the activities of the monks. Images are important features of temples, monasteries, and shrines in both Indo a...
both of the bride and groom officially marry. In the American ceremony both groom and
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...
Despite people celebrating marriage in different ways it all comes back to one thing; marriage is a social ritual that by which two people affirms one abiding contracts between. The ceremonies are composed of rituals which symbolize facets of married life and the obligations being undertaken. In Hinduism the marriage celebration can start weeks before the actual ceremony depending on the preferences of the family. Once the day of the ceremony comes around the day starts with the brides’ family welcoming the groom into their home and both families are formally introduced. Both the bride and groom sit at the Mandap- tent where the ceremony is held under,-and are offered a drink. Gifts between the two families are generally exchanged at this point. The groom's mother gives an auspicious necklace to the bride, which is essentially an emblem of the married status in the Hindu religion. Then scared fire is lit and a pundit recites t...
In tradition Chinese culture the bride must be covered by a veil and the groom
Any type of Christian (Western) food is acceptable. However the Wedding Cake is by far the most important and anticipated food.
I chose to compare and contrast the United States culture with the culture of Japan. There are a few similarities between the two, such as a love of the arts, fashion and baseball. However, they are culturally different than similar in very major aspects. Japan is a very homogenous society made up of about 98% ethnic Japanese. They tend to put a lot of emphasis on family and communities, and value the group more than the individual (Aliasis, 2013).
This provides information on the customs and traditions throughout the American culture and their marriage and wedding practices.
A Hindu Wedding In Hinduism marriage is not just the joining of two people, whose souls are brought together mentally and physically, but of two families. There are sixteen sacraments that must be performed whilst a Hindu is alive to make the life of the individual prosperous and noble, one of these is marriage. Many Hindu wedding ceremonies follow the same sequence of events, whether it is an arranged marriage or not. I went to the wedding ceremony of Anika Shah and Arun Patel. Many events happen before the main wedding ceremony.
The purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast between various wedding customs that are prevalent in different continents of the world. The essay sheds light on culturally diverse traditions that originate in different parts of the world. It is the wide variety or cultural conventions that give each nation or tribe a unique identity. Every culture has ...
The Japanese culture is quite harmonious, respectful, and hardworking. Their culture is made up highly of being respectful of others, family, and nature. They value their elders, history, tradition, religion, family, government, nature, education, and work.
People in all countries of the world celebrate their important events like birthdays, graduations, weddings, and funerals, etc. However, the ways we have celebrations are different from cultures to cultures and countries to countries. Thus, Vietnamese and Americans have different celebrations for their events, and people in those countries celebrate their weddings differently in preparations, costumes, and ceremonies.
He usually arrives dressed in his wedding attire on the back of a horse, or sometimes on the back of an elephant. “The wedding altar (mandapa) is built the day of and the groom is welcomed by his future mother in law where his feet are then washed and he is offered milk and honey. His sister in law will attempt to steal his shoes and if she succeeds, the groom must pay her to get them back” (beau-coup.com). At the wedding venue the bride waits for the groom in a room covered in garland, when the groom arrives they exchange garland. After this, the brides family will welcome the grooms family to the wedding. Like Christian weddings, the father of the bride gives the bride away at the wedding, this is called a Kanyadaan. A priest will facilitate the marriage by reciting mantras or holy hymns, but the bride and groom marry each other. The bride and groom are considered married when the groom ties a thread that symbolizes his vow to care for the bride. He ties it in three knots that symbolizes the gods, Brahma, Vishnu and Masheshwara. The ceremony takes place around a fire and the god, Agni is considered the witness to the union. “The bride and the groom then circle the fire seven times, in a clockwise direction, called Saat Phere which signifies seven goals of married life which include religious and moral duties, prosperity, spiritual salvation and liberation, and sensual gratification” (Gullapalli
indicates the respect to people in every levels (“Thailand”, n.d.). For example, Thai people normally do wai and say “sawasdee” (hello). The approach of wai is by putting both hands together as palms and bows your head (“Thailand”, n.d.). Thai wai has several meanings, and people use for thank you, sorry, and goodbye (“wai”, n.d.). Moreover, the wai use to represent the respect for the king, monks, and statues (“wai”, n.d.). On the other hand, Japanese people respect others by bowing. They bend their waists to express the politeness. To illustrate, there are 3 types of Japanese bowing, which are 15, 30, and 45-degree angle (“Greetings”, n.d.). Based on Japan National Tourism Organization, (n.d.) Japanese people use this gesture with the...