Japanese
Culture
Japanese
culture has progressed significantly over the years from their Jomon period to
its modern culture, which takes influences form countries all over the world. Chinese
culture has a strong impact in traditional Japanese culture as China had
historically been a regional power house.
Language
Japanese is
the official and primary language in Japan. It is written with a combination of
three parts. Hiragana derived from the Chinese cursive script. Katakana derived
as a shorthand from Chinese characters. Kanji imported from China. The Latin
alphabet is called romaji and is also often used in modern Japanese.
Music
The music
from japan has a wide variety of both modern and traditional music. The word
for music in Japanese is ongaku combining the kanji word “on” (sound) and the
kanji word “gaku” (enjoyment). Some of their traditional instruments are Biwa,
Gottan, Ichigenkin, shamisen and junanagen.
Theatre
and Arts
There are
four traditional theatres. They are Noh, kyogen, kabuki and bunraku. Noh had
its music and dance made by famous Noh actors Kanami and Zeami motokiyo. This
theatre is famous for its masks, costumes and the stylised gestures. Kyogen
originated in the 8th century and was entertainment brought from China.
It is played during the intermission between Noh acts. In Kyogen masks are
rarely used. Kabuki came at the beginning of the Edo period (1603) from the
representations and dances of Izumo no Okuni in Kyoto (type of dance). There
were no female actresses in plays because the government forbid it in 1629. It
is now only men actors. A characteristic of kabuki is the use of make up for
the actors. Puppets and Bunraku (type of puppet show) was used in Japanese
theatre as early as Noh plays. The puppets were 3 to 4 feet tall dolls operated
by puppeteers in full view of the audience. The puppeteers moving the arms and
legs were dressed in black, while the puppeteer controlling the head is dressed
in bright colours. Music and chanting is a popular during the show and the
person that plays the shamisen is usually the leader of the production. They
also have the shortest hair.
Noh Theatre
Food
When it
comes to food Japan is highly rated around the world as one of the best. Rice,
once traded as currency, rice has been a simple food for japan for over 2000
years and still accompanies or forms the base of many meals. It is used in
sushi, onigiri, kayu and mochi just to name a few. Fish takes a big part in Japanese cuisine. They
eat it almost alive (odorigui-still dancing) raw (nama or sashimi) grilled (yaki)
or deep fried(tempura). It looks like japan has tried nearly every possible way
to eat fish. They also have the world's largest fish and seafood market. Some
other famous foods from Japan are Ramen (noodles in a broth), Teriyaki and
Sukiyaki (thin slices of beef, bean curd and vegetables cooked in soy sauce and
dipped in egg. The list keeps on going.
Ramen
Japan has some
of the most interesting culture and everyone who goes there will love it.
By Ciaran Puzon
Sources:
http://www.everyculture.com/Ja-Ma/Japan.html
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