Japanese Culture Essay Example for Free

Japanese Culture Essay social forces which influence the society and its values. Every culture has its own unique qualities not found in other cultures. Japan is no exception. It is culture is centered on the core values and traditions. They lead Japanese people to have different ways of looking at the world largely from differences in language and religion. Japanese culture determines specific way of living and social relations, cultural and religious views. History, Culture and Lifestyle Japanese history rises mistily out of the period known to archeologists as the Tomb or Tumulus period. During this important period Japan was unified under the imperial court of Yamato and became intimately involved with South Korea, pathway for many cultural elements of continental origin into Japan. Writing was one such element. Japan began to have historico-legendary records of its own and gradually moved from its protohistoric to the historic period. The main historical period were â€Å"Asoka period (522-710), Nara Period (710-784), Early Heian (784-897), Middle and Late Heian (897-1185), Kamacura period (1185-1336), Murimachi Period (1336-1393), Memoyama period (1573-1614), Edo Period (1615-1867), Meiji Restoration (1867-1911)† (Martines, 1998). During all historical period, Japanese lifestyle was influenced by political, economic and social changes, new perception of the world and religion. Japanese culture is based on unique traditions and values influenced by religion and life style. The Japanese learned to view the world from the perspective of traditional versus modern values after the Meiji Restoration in 1868 following the opening of Japans doors to the world. This attitudinal structure started to fall apart in 1978, and its disintegration became definite by 1988. For example, the conquering nature was an important value during the era of Japans modernization process, but it has since been replaced by the following nature. In the middle of the XX century, the traditional perspective of catching up with the West and categorizing what is Western and Japanese has become meaningless (Oxtoby 2001). While the industrialization process produced divergent values for Japan and the West, it also is responsible for the development of some homogeneous cultural values. Researchers found three levels of similarities: (1) frequency distribution of single variables, (2) similar impacts of age and gender on attitudes, and (3) similar structures in the way people categorize their experience (Oxtoby 2001). Modern Japanese lifestyle is influenced by industrialization and innovations coming from other countries. Thus, Japanese value their old traditions and rituals adapting them to new social environment. For instance, Japanese take off shoes inside the house, they pay 5% commission tax for purchases, they follow bath and toilette design according to norms and practices of century old traditions (Oxtoby 2001). In short, the Japanese self, characterized by its diffuse nature or collective orientation, represents a self who lost its space to be free of the omnipresence of the giri-ninja social network in Japanese society in return for being taken care of by its group. The strong sense of belonging to ones company and family assures one materially a comfortable life at the individual level and stability and safety at the social level, making Japan relatively free of violent crimes. Such a life is stifling and meaningless to Americans even if they must pay a high price of alienating from the rest of society (Shelley, 1992). Japan managed to keep a sense of alienation to a minimum as it industrialized and urbanized by maintaining its virtually village mentality and social network. However, the value the Japanese gain by observing the traditional code of conducts, the giri-ninjo, is material and psychological welfare, which is provided to members of Japanese society more or less equally and fairly at the individual level, and public safety, which is provided at the collective level in Japan today. Another pair of terms often used in discussing Japanese culture is tatemae and honne. The former refers to the proper role expectation as defined by society and the second to ones real inner feelings, however irrational they may be. Often, to act in accordance with giri is to act in conformity with the norm of a community (tatemae). The role language plays in culture cannot be underestimated, for it offers a way of organizing ones life experience in a particular way that is shared by its speakers but not necessarily by people in other cultures (Davies and Ikeno, 2002). Family is one of the most important social institutions which keep century old traditions and human relations. In response to the traditional call for harmony, the Japanese are expected to conform to group norms. This proclivity yields situational ethics based on flexible standards (Shelley, 1992). There are no absolute criteria by which one passes judgment. The Japanese spend a disproportionately large sum of money for socializing, as embodied in semiannual gift exchanges between friends, relatives, and colleagues and after-work drinking of working men and women among co-workers and friends. Religion In Japan, nearly 100 % of the population are Buddhists and in many cases Scientists. The Japanese are, of course, not religious in the sense that they believe in God. Christians constitute about I % of the total population. Most Japanese are not very concerned with religion. They celebrate the birth of children in accordance with the Shinto rituals and bury their dead with the help of Buddhist priests. Meanwhile, they may get married in civil ceremonies, Christian churches, or other facilities. That is perhaps what makes it possible for the Japanese to accept more than one religion at the same time, an unthinkable option for monotheistic people of the West and West Asia, accustomed as they are to dialecticism. The Japanese approach the world in a diffuse fashion or inclusively. The number of Japanese with a religious faith increases with age (Davies and Ikeno, 2002). Fewer than 10 % of the Japanese in their early twenties and about 50 % of Japanese senior citizens over sixty years of age are religious. The older one becomes, the more religious one becomes. Likewise, Japan never had any revolutions such as experienced by China, France, and the United States. Revolutions are carried out by those who believe in the total destruction of the old regime and the establishment of a radically different doctrine. The Japanese seem to be incapable of totally denying their past. They are always interested in improving (kaizen) their existing systembe it via fax machine, Buddhism, or television sets. The majority of the Japanese do not take religion very seriously from the Western perspective (Oxtoby 2001). Japanese mythology distinguishes two categories of deities, the heavenly gods and the native or territorial gods. Some myths represent the heavenly deities as descending to the land of Japan to conquer or rule its autochthonous deities. The myth of land transfer in Izumo is one instance. Two generals of the heavenly gods were dispatched to Izumo to demand of O-Kuninushi, chief of the native gods and master of the territory of Japan, that he hand over sovereignty to the heavenly gods (Oxtoby 2001).

The Red Shoes :: English Literature Essays

The Red Shoes ‘The Red Shoes’ is an imaginary and unreal story related by Hans Christian Anderson. Anderson makes effective use of fantasy to teach a moral lesson. He builds up the story in such a way that the reader does not care for the validity of the incidents. The moral lesson is that the proud and the disobedient must suffer. Disobedience is a sin, and according to the Christian belief it is what started the demise in the heavens above, so anybody who commits it must suffer. Whatever sins man commits in his lifetime he is punished for them. If only he repents for his sins can he be forgiven and at least he can die in peace. God forgives them only when they repent for their sins. The story also presents another facts of the Christian belief about sin and punishment, which is based on the strict principles of repentance and forgiveness. In the story Karen is a poor but beautiful girl. At the death of her mother, a rich old lady takes her to her home and brings her up. The widow of the cobbler gave Karen a pair of red shoes, which she wore for the first time on her mother’s funeral. The old lady who adopted Karen disliked, the red shoes greatly because of Karen’s obsession for them and so she burnt them. Then once Karen saw the princess wearing beautiful red shoes. Her love for these shoes got re-ignited; she liked them a lot indeed. Karen grew up to be a beautiful damsel. She was to be made the member of the church. Her foster mother, the rich old lady bought her a lovely pair of shoes incidentally those shoes were also red in color. This fact has escaped the old lady’s notice, but Karen found them to be exactly what she yearned for. She went to church in those red shoes. She thought that everyone in the church was looking at her shoes. She wore them at the time of confirmation, which was not the proper occasion to wear them. Karen felt very proud of them. She even forgot to pray in the church when the old lady came to know about it she told Karen not to wear those shoes in future but once again she went to the church wearing those shoes. This accounted for the sin of disobedience she committed.

Swiss style every life Essay

Helvetica was created in 1957. It was named the Swiss style. As you look around at every day life, you will find time after time, that the typeface that is most prevalent is that of Helvetica. After viewing the film named the same, it was evident that although the vast majority of those interviewed were in favor, and some times in awe of Helvetica, there are still issues and controversy surrounding its use. Many interviews, such as Massimo Vignelli, were indeed excited about the typeface. He explained that it had rightness about it; that the spaces between the letters were just as bold and important as the black. Proponents of Helvetica sight that the typeface is expressive, clear and legible. Some explained that it was good for â€Å"everything†. Michael Bierut may have explained it best with his description of the late 50’s or early 60’s when many corporations where changing over their current ads and brochures to Helvetica. He described a scene where a company would feel as if they were drinking a cold, crisp glass of water after seeing what their new logo would look like in Helvetica. Helvetica is the contemporary typeface of corporations, of science and many other industries as well. It has an ability to fit the style you wish to project. It was explained in the video, that when American Outfitters used it, it looks chic; when Crate and Barrel uses it, Helvetica appears clean and efficient. The video goes on to describe Helvetica as having a perfect balance of push and pull. It makes you believe it’s clean, it fits in, it won’t make you stand out. But not everyone is on the Helvetica bandwagon. Others are morally apposed to the typeface. Paula Schuler is one of them. When she first started a career in design, it was shortly after the end of the Vietnam War. She associated Helvetica with the evil corporations that were sponsoring the war. In her way of thinking, if you used Helvetica, you were supporting the war. However, other views were shown in the video that also apposed the frequent use of Helvetica. It was explained that typography should have personality and that we need to get away from the horrible slickness of Helvetica. We need vitality. Helvetica represented modernism which they say equals boring. As you can see, there is a fine line between simple, clean, and powerful and simple, clean, and boring. Whether or not you are for or against the use of Helvetica, it won’t be going away anything soon. We see it so often, that we don’t even realize we see it. It is in our print, on our walls, TV’s, and movies. Our records are labeled with it, our posters scream it. Like it or not, it is hear to stay; it is â€Å"unfixable†.

History Sociology and Caribbean - 1708 Words

Emancipation is defined as various efforts to obtain political rights or equality, often for specifically disfranchised groups. Many countries and states have gone through this revitalizing process during one period of time in their historic accounts. For Caribbean states, this period was also a mark of re-development and re-establishment of economies and societies. Emancipation in the Caribbean was the catalyst for many positive steps in the future but also setback in humanity with respect to human rights. In this paper one will analyze the structural techniques and traits used to facilitate the construction of Caribbean societies, post emancipation. Furthermore, one will also identify the continuities and change that was brought†¦show more content†¦Some pull factors may have been the economic possibilities and simply, the opportunity for a new beginning (Haraksingh, p210). Both ethnicities were brought rapidly and efficiently because ex-colonials saw this as a form of slavery and a step in the right direction to regain power to divide and conquer (Renard, p168.) Caribbean indentureship provokingly had a tale of two sides as mentioned by Renard. Resistance and rebellion came about giving the indentured workers an opportunity to essentially exercise their human rights, more notably to experience freedoms and mobility that were near impossible to entertain in their home countries. Thus, ex-colonial ideas were back firing on them as the migration itself from Asia to the Caribbean began to take on an identity of resistance by some workers (Renard, p.214.) Through it all, indentured workers definitely put on a strain on Caribbean history with resistance and rebellion. However, a couple positive presumptions can be announced. Various methods were employed by indentured workers to maintain sanity and hope for the future to come. Furthermore, resistance movements gave way to religious and cultural traditions. Today, Indo-Caribbean and Asian Car ibbean rituals, festivals and religious holidays haveShow MoreRelatedEssay on The Caribbean Islands1222 Words   |  5 PagesThe Caribbean The Caribbean, a region usually exoticized and depicted as tropical and similar in its environmental ways, cannot be characterized as homogenous. Each individual island has their own diverse historical background when it comes to how and when they became colonized, which European country had the strongest influence on them, and the unique individual cultures that were integrated into one. The three authors Sidney W. Mintz, Antonio Benitez-Rojo, and Michelle Cliff, all and addressRead More The Caribbean’s Cultural History Essay1701 Words   |  7 PagesThe Caribbean’s Cultural History Columbus’ discovery in 1492 set off a chain of events in the emergence of the Caribbean society, as Knight states in his book The Caribbean. The first voyage of Columbus in 1492 fortuitously discovered a whole new world and set in motion a chain of events whose profound consequences gave new directions to the histories of Europe, Africa, the Americas, and Asia. It was the voyages of Columbus and those who followed him that brought the Americas into the consciousnessRead MoreModernization of Sugar Essay examples1236 Words   |  5 Pagesthe push for modernity; however, the sugar industry exhibited major influence throughout the world. Once sugar cane was established in the Caribbean, this new crop pushed the region to shift from a traditional agrarian economy towards a more industrial and capitalistic economy. The new production process made sugar readily available for the first time in history, which allowed this crop to become a commodity to be enjoyed by all classes. Its outdated usage for decoration and medicine vanished as theRead MoreEssay on Views and Definitions of Multiculturalism924 Words   |  4 Pagesdepends on the context in which it is used. In sociology, multiculturalism is the idea that various cultures exist in a society and all these cultures deserve equal treatment (Macionis, 2010). Sociologists believe that members of different cultures can live peacefully alongside each other and assimilation is not necessary. This essay will focus on both the positive aspects and the main tensions that arise in a multicultural society. SAMPLE BACKGROUND – HISTORY OF MULTICULTURALISM IN BRITAIN Britain todayRead Morecauses of social stratification in named caribbean society809 Words   |  4 Pagesin the Caribbean countries. In every known human society there is form of social inequality. This system was derived from events that took place some years ago. Social stratification can be class under the system of Plantation System and Social Mobility. According to Jenniffer Mohammed- Caribbean studies (2011). This rank or position in the social hierarchy is the lowest stratification occupied by the poorest groups who have a low status. The Caribbean stratificationRead MoreEffects Of Multiculticulturalism925 Words   |  4 Pagesused. In sociology, multiculturalism is the idea that various cultures exist in a society and all these cultures deserve equal treatment (Macionis, 2010). Sociologists believe that members of different cultures can live peacefully alongside each other and assimilation is not necessary; but this does not happen in all multicultural societies. This essay will place emphasis on both the positive aspects and the main tensions that arise in a multicultural society. SAMPLE BACKGROUND – HISTORY OF MULTICULTURALISMRead MoreTrouble Of The Thaw Of U. S Cuban Relations1748 Words   |  7 Pagesand exploit its members. Thus I raise the question of: will having the United States of America restore ties with Cuba serve to benefit the Caribbean Island? Although president Obama may condone efforts to rekindle ties amongst the two nations, there are individuals who stand in opposition. Marta Nunez Sarmiento, is a professor in the Department of Sociology and a researcher at the Centre for Studies of International Migrations (CEMI) at the University of Havana. Her research has concentrated onRead MoreEssay about Social Class1016 Words   |  5 Pagesdifferences include language, religion customs and traditions, identification with a country or region as well as identification with the group and its history. Race is divided into many categories, the minority ethnic group that does not make up the majority of the population in a society. In most cases, this group consists of the Afro-Caribbean and Asian people. It is believed that humans are divided into biologically distinct â€Å"races†. Each race, it was believed, had its own unique physical abilitiesRead MoreCultural Erasure5591 Words   |  23 PagesRevista Europea de Estudios Latinoamericanos y del Caribe 79, octubre de 2005 | 125 Identity and Erasure: Finding the Elusive Caribbean Anton Allahar – Caribbean Autobiography: cultural identity and self-representation, by Sandra Pouchet Paquet. Madison, WI: The University of Wisconsin Press, 2002. – Decolonising the Caribbean: Dutch policies in a comparative perspective, by Gert Oostindie and Inge Klinkers. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2003. – Ah Come Back Home: PerspectivesRead MoreEssay about The Slave Trade and Britain Today1098 Words   |  5 Pagesagree with this statement, Britain hold a wide variety of race and for them and their ancestor’s slavery was only yesterday however For the British slavery is seen as being their history. Within this essay I will explain the differences between race and racism, I will also include the history of the slave trade and how it came about. The term race in a sociologist’s point of view refers to the physical characteristics that are inherited and unchanging between others