JAPANESE

CULTURE

GInopatrickArasga
5/5/15

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DEARREADERPG3

JAPANESEHAIKUPG4

JAPANESECUISINEPG5

JAPANESERELIGION/MYTHOSPG6

MODERNDAYJAPANESEPG7

NOTESPAGEPG8

BIBLIOGRAPHYPG9

DearReader,

WhatcanIsayaboutJapan?NotingIcouldsayreallyputmyinterestit's
justification.ThecultureofJapanisjustplainastounding.SofascinatingthatI
couldntreallyplacetheaweIhaveintomerewords.Overtimetheculturethat
Japanhasevolvedoverthemillennia.Yet,despitethathugechange,itstill
retainedsomuchofit.Asitcouldbeseenfromtheirarchitecture,gardens,and
theirentertainment.

Japanovertimehasabsorbedmanyideasandfromothercountriesover
courseofhistory,whichincludestechnology,customs,andformsofcultural
expression.ThemodernJapantodayismoreofarichblendofAsianinfluenced
traditionalcultureandWesterninfluencedmodernculture.Itsfullofdiversity.

Yet,thereisacommonmisconception.ManyoftodayWesternersthinkof
JapaneseculturewithjustSamuraiwarriorswiththeirheavyblades,theyoungand
beautifulgeishawomanthatwouldpourtearandservefood,orjustplainninjaflat
out.WhiletheseareelementsoftheconceptofJapan,itdoesntdefinethem.
Theyhavemuchmoretoofferandoldtalesofthepast.Theentiremeaningand
historyofthenationismuchlargerthanthat.

SoIchosethistopicbecauseJapanscultureisjustthatkindofamazing.
Thiscouldbesaidforalotofdifferentcultureshowever.Yet,Japanisjusttheone
whocaughtmyeye.Also,thesceneryisprettytolookat.SothatswhyImso
willingtowriteaboutit.

Sincerely,

Ginopatrick Arasga

GinopatrickArasga

JAPANESE HAIKU

JapanesepoetryiscalledHaiku.Itsshortandsimple.Traditionalhaiku
consistsofseventeen
on(syllables)
whichinthreephrasesoffive,seven,five
on.

ModernJapanesehaikuareunlikelytofollowsaidtraditionortheuseof
natureasthebasisthesedays.Itsmorecommontoday.Belowaresome
examples.Pleasenotetherearetranslatedsoitsobviouslydoesn'tfollowsyllable
count.

Many solemn nights

Blond moon, we stand and
marvel...
Sleeping our noons away
-Teitoku,
Japanese Haiku

On the Death of his Child

Dew Evaporates
And all our world is dew...so
dear,
So fresh, so fleeting
-
Kobayashi Issa,
Japanese
Haiku

JAPANESE CUISINE

Letsthingsstraight,thestaplefoodinJapanisrice.AlotoffoodinJapanis
basedonricewithmanysidesandentrees.Sidedishesoftenconsistoffish,
pickledvegetablesandregularvegetablesinbroth.Yet,apartfromriceasastaple
foodarenoodles,suchassobaandudon.

JapaneseCuisineisbasedoncombiningthestaplefoodwhichissteamed
withwhitericewithamaindishandasidedish.Riceoftenservedinasmallbowl
andeachcourseitemisplacedonplateorbowlforitsownindividualportion.This
iscompletelydifferentinWesternhomes.

Japanesestyletraditionallyabhorsdifferentflavoreddishesoffood,so
differentdishesaregiventheirownindividualplatesasmentioned.

Thereisanemphasisisplacedonseasonalityoffood.Usuallyfoodin
Japanis/aredesignedtoheraldthearrivalofeachseasonorwhateverholidaythat
iscelebrated.

TraditionalJapanesefoodisthesparinguseofredmeats,oilsandfats,and
dairyproducts.SinceJapanisanIslandnationsurroundedbyocean,itsnormal
forJapantotakefishasacommodity.StudiessaythattheJapanesedietrelied
mainlyongrainswithvegetablesasthemain,poultryasasecondary,andred
meatsinsmallamounts.AlsoJapanesefoodistypicallyseasonedwitha
combinationofginger,soysauce,sake(
alcohol
),vinegarandsalt.Thesewere
usedwhengrillingorbraising.Itsusedtoaddflavor,astheJapaneseliketobring
outanaturaltastewithsomethingtocomplimentwithit.

JAPANESE RELIGION/MYTHOS

Japanhasnoscripturalcanon.Thereisnocodifiedbodyofsacredliterature
suchliketheBibleorKoran.However,theShintoreligiondoesnotmeanthatits
completelydevoidofreasonorsacredtext.Thereisplentyofbothmythological
andritualsignificance.

OnlytwocentraltextsarereveredbyeveryShintosubgroup:theKojikiand
theNihonShoki.Becausethesetwotextsnearlycontaintheentiremythological
backgroundoftheShintoreligionwhiledetailingtheearlyhistoryoftheJapanese
Isles.

ShintoistheancientnativereligionofJapanstillpracticedinaformmodified
bytheinfluenceofBuddhismandConfucianism.Shintoischaracterizedbythe
observanceofpopularfestivalsandtraditionalceremoniesandcustoms,many
involvingpilgrimagestoshrines.

CREATIONMYTH

*http://japanesemyth.firespiritdesigns.com/html/creation.html

MODERN DAY JAPAN

TodayJapanisproducingmoreandmorefigures,humanandotherwise,
Japantodayhasgottentheworldsattentionanditglobalaudience.Japanis
knownforitsslapstickkindofhumor.Japanesepopmusichaslongbeenpopular
acrossAsia.Itisonlyincreasing.Yet,whatcontinuestosurprisemeisJapanese
StreetFashion.Thoughthestyleshavechangedovertheyears,streetfashionis
stillprominentinJapantoday.Youngadultscanoftenbefoundwearingsubculture
attireinlargeurbanfashiondistrictssuchasHarajuku,Ginza,Odaiba,Shinjuku
andShibuya.

Atpresent,therearemanystylesofdressinJapan,createdfromamixofboth
localandforeignlabels.Someofthesestylesareextremeandjustbig.

NOTES PAGE

Whatisthereligion?

Shintowascreatedbeforebuddhism.

JapanhassomanysubgroupsinFashion.

WhataresomefoodinJapan?

WhatisModernDaylikeinJapanlike?

Haikususenature.

http://webjapan.org/kidsweb/explore/culture/

http://www.gojapango.com/culture/culture.html

http://media.berlinschools.org/~dbosso/japan/customs.htm

http://japanesemyth.firespiritdesigns.com/html/creation.html

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Fukuda,Wakaba,andMomokoNozawa."Japanesetraditions."
Skipping
Stones
Oct.Dec.2014:21.
GeneralOneFile
.Web.27Apr.2015.

"Shinto,BuddhismandtheJapaneseBeliefSystem."Religion.N.p.,n.d.
Web.27Apr.2015.

Weston,Reiko,RobertL.Wolfe,DianeWolfe,andJeanetteSwofford.
CookingtheJapaneseWay.Minneapolis:LernerPublications,1983.
Print.

Aston,W.G.
Shinto,(theWayoftheGods)
.London:Longmans,Green,
1905.Print.