Japanese Culture

Japanese Culture

Japanese culture has been cultivating for the past millennia, with culture influenced by Chinese settlers. The culture has changed drastically over its life span, having solely Chinese influence during the ancient Jōmon period, to adopting many aspects of Western culture, such as entertainment and games. Today, Japan is one of the most prominent cultures, due to its global pop culture.

Language

The people of Japan speak Japanese, a unique language with a distinct language tone (a distinguishable accent). The language was based off three major works of Old Japanese. The eariest account of the language was from as Chinese document from 250 AD. Japanese is generally written as 3 different scripts, hiragana, deriving from Chinese cursive, katakana, from Chinese characters, and kanji, also from Chinese characters.

Art (music, visual art)

The Japanese music industry is the 2^nd largest in the world only after the U.S, and it’s timing is based off human breathing instead mathematical timing. Japanese music was a big part of their ancient culture and a successful industry today, with massive genera of music including J-Pop among other things. Local Japanese hits appear at Karaoke venues. There are two types of tradition Japanese music shōmyō (Buddhist music), and gagaku (court music).

Art has been a massive part of Japanese culture, with the Japanese using paint brushes even before they used Japanese as a language. Both the painting of pictures and calligraphy are both very traditional aspects of Japan’s culture. Sculpting was also an art form, mainly used to honor their gods.

Religion

Buddhism arrived in Japan at around the 6^th century (AD). The religion, having deep philosophical meaning, was not adopted by the public, in Japan, because many could not understand and get behind such new teachings. What did catch on, was the art created for the religion. These sculptures of Buddha, and art pieces of the supernatural, probably lead to the spread of the religion.

Architecture

Japanese architecture was greatly influenced by Chinese, but has many building types specific to Japan, such as temples, shrines, and castles. Some buildings are surrounded by traditional gardens called Zen Gardens.

Food

Japanese food has been developed for centuries, and is very popular around the world today. Many traditional foods are now iconic foods, such as sushi, noodles and teriyaki. It is said that the Japanese’ healthy diet lead to the prosperou

Azerbaijan Culture

Azerbaijani culture 

Azerbaijan Culture

Nobody really knows about Azerbaijani culture as they have very little impact on the rest of the world but it has one of the most interesting cultures in Europe. 

Sports 

The most popular sport in Azerbaijan is Football as in most other European countries it is home to a Football League called the Azerbaijan Premier League. It has 8 Teams in it with the Current Champions being Qarabag winning the 2017/18 title making it their sixth title that they have won.

Qarabag football kit this season

Trade

Azerbaijan's biggest export is crude petroleum, it makes up 85% of their exports annually. Azerbaijan also export refined petroleum and raw sugar these 2 things make up 12% of the exports annually. Azerbaijan's biggest trade partner is Turkey and their second biggest is the USA.

Religion

 Somewhere between 93% and 99% of the Azerbaijani population are Muslim the rest are either non-religious or adhere to other faiths but these are not represented in studies. 

Languages

The most spoken language in Azerbaijan is Azerbaijani which is derived from Turkish like most languages from the area near Azerbaijan. The second most spoken language is Russian as Azerbaijan was formally under the rule of soviet Russia. the third most spoken language in Azerbaijan is English as it is what is being taught in schools as a second language.

  

Leader

 Azerbaijan has a president as it's leader currently the president of Azerbaijan is Ilham Aliyev he has a wife called Mehriban Aliyeva and he has 3 children 2 girls and 1 boy they're called Leyla Aliyeva, Arzu Aliyeva and Heydar Aliyev. 

Attitudes 

The Azerbaijan people are really kind, considerate and helpful towards all tourist. They will help you with almost anything and even offer to take you places and buy you food.

Statistics 

Azerbaijan has a population of 9.762 million which is bigger than Scotland and wales combined. It has a total land area of 86,600 square km. it is surrounded by the Caspian sea and the Caucasus mountains. The capital of Azerbaijan is Baku, Baku i s mainly known for the Grand Prix that is held their and the medieval style wall that completely surrounds the inner city. Inside the inner city lies the palace of Shirvanshahs a place to relax for the leader, it dates back to the 15th century.
The main influences on Azerbaijan's culture are the Iranians, Turkic's, the "West" and and Russia. 

Japanese Culture

Culture of Japan

Japanese culture may vary from island to island as Japan itself is made up of 6888 islands and 4 main islands but only 430 of the islands are inhabited. Japan is in just off the East coast of Asia and is surrounded by sea.

Food:

Most meals in Japan consist of rice and seafood. This is because Japan is surrounded by the ocean filled with many kinds of unique sea creatures. The food in Japan has very low calories and has many kinds of preserved vegetables in it. The food is left to be plain or bland in flavour in order to for the food’s natural flavours to fully be released.

Clothing:

Clothing in modern-day Japan is much like what people from western cultures wear as most of the people in Japan work similar jobs to us. However traditional Japanese clothing is very unique. Japanese clothing is incredibly soft due to it being made out of soft materials such as silk and traditional Japanese clothing is made up of many bright colours and floral patterns.

Values, Attributes and Beliefs:

The values and beliefs of Japan are very similar to surrounding Asian countries. Those similarities are the respecting elders, honouring the dead and honouring gods and other deities. In Japanese culture respecting your surroundings is one of the most common values as in Japans two most popular religions believe that every and all of the things on earth possesses kame (God). In modern Japan, it is considered rude to make one's self-stand out while in public.

Dancing and Music:

In traditional Japanese culture dancing and music goes hand in hand. The traditional Japanese music uses many wind intruments and drums. However in traditional Japanese dancing varies a lot depeneding on the history of the tradition. For example kagura dancing is a dance preformed to please and praise the Gods where as many other forms of dancing are used as ways of telling stories from the past.

Japanese Culture

Japanese culture

introduction

The culture of Japan has developed significantly finished the centuries, from the nation's ancient time Jōmon period to its contemporary present-day culture, which retains impacts from Asia, Europe, and North America. Japans history is composed throughout the world because of wars and trade, particularly with the United States. Japan is exceptionally secluded and lacking in basic resources, in view of its moderately awful geography, it is one of the greatest importers the world has ever known. Solid Chinese impacts are yet apparent in customary Japanese culture as China had verifiably been a provincial powerhouse, which has brought about Japan engrossing numerous components of Chinese culture first through Korea, at that point later through direct social trades with China. The occupants of Japan encountered a long stretch of relative disconnection from the outside world amid the Tokugawa shogunate after Japanese missions to Imperial China, until the landing of the "Dark Ships" and the Meiji period. Today, the culture of Japan remains as one of the main and most noticeable societies around the globe, mostly because of the worldwide reach of its pop culture.

Food

The cuisine of Japan is very well known around the words with some particularly well-known dishes like sushi, ramen and etc.

The traditional cuisine is based on rice with miso soup and Side dishes often consist of fish, pickled vegetables, and vegetables cooked in broth.

Seafood is also quite common, it is often grilled but is commonly served raw as sashimi in sushi.

Language

.  Japanese is the official national language of Japan.

. The Japanese language is strongly inspired by Chinese like the kanji which uses exact Chinese characters.

. The Japanese language is made up of 3 different parts: hiragana, katakana and kanji

Religion

The two major religions in Japan are Buddhism and Shintoism. Shintoism is as old as Japanese culture, but Buddhism was introduced from the mainlined in the 6^th century. Since then both religions managed to co-exist together somewhat agreeably. Most Japanese people think of themselves as Buddhists or shiniest- maybe even both

Popular Culture

Japanese popular culture has been highly regarded and is highly popular around the worn.

Many popular films, video games, anime manga have all developed from many old traditions.

Their themes and styles are very much like old art forms.

Anime and manga are highly popular in Japan and also very popular around the world with many people reading the Japanese comic and watching the cartoon versions of them known as anime

British Culture

By Benjamin Lam

British Culture

British culture is normally thought to be just another western culture but in actual fact it is one of the most complex cultures of the modern world. So by the time you've finished reading this you will be an expert in Britology (don't look that up I made it up)

Arts, Literature and Entertainment

I think it looks like a massive water rat just settled on his head

The United Kingdom is well known around the world for its literary works and has a long history of writing including Geoffrey Chaucer, William Shakespeare and John Milton. In history British literature has been very formal but in recent years it is more casual including Roald Dahl and J.K. Rowling who are some of the best-selling authors in the world.

The UK has a tradition of theatre which continues to this day and has some of the oldest theatres in the world. Theatre is a large form of entertainment in British Culture and has created some of the most famous theatre works in history including Shakespeare.

Traditional British music includes marching and army bands, nursery rhymes and folk music which has branched of into other types of music including sea shanties, jigs, hornpipes and dance music.

The UK manufacturer of film, TV and radio. Most broadcasting in the UK comes from the British Broadcasting Corporation which is government-funded but independently run. British TV is watched all around the world and the country is a major exporter of films.

The UK is home to the biggest sport in the world, soccer (I'm gonna get bashed for this). Most people support a team from their individual state and the sport is played by a large portion of the British population. Soccer is associated with the United Kingdom’s history and can be a way of life and winning or losing is life and death (if not more). 

Religion                                                                                                    

The UK is a mostly Christian and about 30 percent of the population are with the Official Church of England, the UKs biggest church. The country was created by the Anglican Church which is the most common religion followed by Catholicism. 

Language

The British Language is globally known to be one of the least understandable languages in the world. In all seriousness the language differentiates from American English in many ways like in vocabulary where there are hundreds of words and phrases that are said differently such as “flats” instead of “apartments”. Other differences are spelling (“organise” instead of organise) and grammar (I’m sleeping in at the weekend instead of I’m sleeping in on the weekend). 

Social Etiquette

British people are kind of funny because they have all of these funny habits or traditions, here are some for example:

If you don’t ask your British colleagues if they would like a cup of tea or a coffee when you go to make yours, then you instantly get the stink eye.

When greeting someone you may hear “you alright?” rather than “how are you?” It’s the same thing.

No matter how rich or poor you are- your accent defines you.

It’s taboo not to take a holiday.

British people do not make small talk with strangers, and they would never strike up conversation with someone on public transportation.

Stereotypes

It is commonly known that British people drink a lot of tea, which is true – British people admit to drinking it more than anything else.

Another stereotype is that they are all friends with the queen, which their not – but most of them will know a person who knows another person….

It is believed by other countries that British people live in cottages and castles because of media like Harry Potter. British people instead live in tiny apartments and houses which not much space.

For foreigners there is a misconception that all British people speak posh like the queen but that is just a regional accent.

The Monarchy

The most culturally recognisable part of British society is the Queen of England. Royalty has been British custom for over a thousand years. The UK does have a government or parliament but these days the monarchy mostly exists as a tradition, royal birthdays and weddings are often a widely publicised event, drawing worldwide viewers.

So in conclusion British Culture is one of the most rich European cultures and whenever you meet a British person you should go make them a cup of tea so you can get their respect. So that was an overview on British Culture and the British People. You are now a certified Britologist give your self a pat on the back :)