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Japan
Culture & History
Personality, Culture, & Identity
Today, Japan is a leader in the world. 200 years ago they
were only a leader within the Far East and nearly
500 years ago they couldn't even control themselves as they were more strongly
influenced from the outside Mongols,
Chinese, and Koreans than they were by internal means. Japan has changed
quite rapidly over time and is a state that resulted from relatively modern changes,
while for most of their history they fell under China's political and cultural
influence.
The Japanese gained order, independence, strength, and
a unique culture beginning in the 1600s with feudalism under the Shogun
and his Samurai rulers. This rule isolated the people as they focused on
domestic issues while trying to ignore the world. That isolation helped develop
the country's culture, but it also created a strong reaction when the country
finally opened up to the world in the 1800s. At that point the country moved outward
and obtained increasing political and economic influence throughout the Far East
and later the world, but mostly by force.
Today, there's a revival of pride in being "Japanese,"
although this wasn't the case for the past few decades. Prior to World War II
(WWII) this pride was in the connection to the Japanese ethnicity, but after their
loss in WWII, the nation as a whole felt shamed and lost their identity in many
ways. Today, this same term is being used as the primary means to identify, but
today it isn't as closely related to the ethnicity as it is to the political
and, more significantly, the economic state of Japan. While historic Japanese culture
does contribute to this identity, today to be "Japanese" one typically
points to the country's technological and economic successes.
History
Although Japanese history goes back millennia, the first
steps towards modern Japan began in about 300 BC as people emigrated from
China into modern day Japan. These people also brought rice with them, a
staple in Japanese cuisine ever since. From this point on, the islands of Japan
were occasionally visited as some of these people stayed and contributed to the
modern day Japanese ethnicity.
In the 500s Buddhism entered Japan from the Korean peninsula
and spread quickly. Prior to this time Shintoism was the primary guiding philosophy,
and today the two have merged in many ways as the Japanese commonly identify as
both, while rarely separating the two. It was also during this time period that
the Japanese integrated a number of influential aspects of Chinese
culture including many parts of their governing system.
Through the 600s and 700s Japan made a number of huge improvements
as communication expanded and technology advanced farming and agriculture. In 794
the capital was moved to the city of Kyoto and this city became Japan's cultural,
academic, and political center for the next couple centuries.
In the late 1100s Japan's government was faltering
and there was a series of uprisings. These uprisings eventually led to a new structure
within Japan's political and social ranks. The Emperor maintained nominal power,
but a new leader, known as a "Shogun" truly led the country in most spheres
and directly worked with, and arose from, the samurai class, which was growing in
power as the regional, family, or tribal leaders. This created a system in which
the samurai worked for the Emperor and Shogun, but most control was held locally
so each was given much freedom to rule over his territory.
The 1200s and 1300s were devastating for the Japanese as
the Mongols under Kublai Khan invaded, then there were
debates among the royal family and between the royal family and the shoguns. After
a series of battles and wars, the shoguns proved their superiority over the emperors
with the help of the Samurai. As things settled back down in the late 1300s, relations
with China improved and Japan opened up as a more significant
trading hub.
Unfortunately, the decentralize rule in Japan led to more
internal strife in the 1400s and with the Europeans'
introduction of guns to Japan in the 1500s, the country was again unstable. As stability
returned, Europeans settled Japan, then were forced to leave as the government struggled
to find a balance between domestic and international agendas, which eventually resulted
in focusing almost entirely on internal affairs.
Fortunately, from the early 1600s to the late 1800s stability existed as the shoguns
firmly led the country. They improved the standard of living, allowed economic and
religious freedoms, and improved communication. However, this system was rigid and
class-based that neglected international affairs and intentionally isolated itself
from the world.
By the mid- to late-1800s Asian trading routes were prized
by many European and North American
nations so Japan was forced to open up. After the
United States threatened Japan and other countries followed suite, the shogun
was removed from power as the people viewed him as a weak failure. This directly
led to the establishment of the Empire of Japan (1868), which was again directly
ruled by the Emperor.
Once freed of the shogun's rule and more open to the world,
Japan quickly became a player on the international stage. They improved
economically and technologically, gaining enough power to take many islands in the
Far East, including Taiwan.
They challenged and warred with both China and
Russia, taking Manchuria in China and the Korean peninsula.
For decades the Japanese pushed their borders with no consequences,
but by the 1930s many countries viewed their advances into China
with condemnation. In 1940, one year after the outbreak of World War II (WWII),
Japan joined forces with Germany and
Italy, sparking tensions with much of the world, particularly the
United States, who supported China at the time and was vocal about Japan's
advances into that country.
In 1941 Japan attacked the United States,
the American-held Philippines, and
British-held Hong Kong among other places.
After these surprise attacks and a quick sweep over much of the
Far East, the Japanese fell back as their production, supplies, and army
could not keep pace with the expanding American and British military spending and
high output levels. The war for Japan ended with tragedy as the United States dropped
two atomic bombs on the country; first on Hiroshima and days later on Nagasaki.
Since WWII, Japan has focused on opening up diplomatic
relations and economic advancements as they were demilitarized. Ironically, the
United States has become one of Japan's closest trading
partners and today Japan is an economic and political world leader.
Dress & Behavior
There are few dress restrictions in Japan. As a tourist,
you can wear nearly anything, but in business, dress is formal and punctuality is
demanded. The only issue to be aware of is that, unlike many beaches in
Europe, nakedness and women going topless is restricted and offenders will
be arrested for public indecency, even if you're only sunbathing face down.
Behaviorally, the Japanese people are very proud people
and insulting them or putting a person down in anyway can be very offensive as the
person will feel "shamed." Additionally, turning down an invitation or
offer may be received as an insult to the inviter. Due to this, the Japanese will
rarely give you critical advice, insult you, or put you in a situation in which
an answer is immediately needed in fear of "shaming" you. This is especially
true in business. Turning down a business offer or even an invitation to a meal
or event may unknowingly be an insult and could force your contact to feel so shamed
that he will actually leave his job; if all hope is lost on a business deal, allow
your Japanese counterpart to gracefully exit the situation so he can save "face."
When greeting people in business, follow the local's lead. Although bowing is
common among locals, many Japanese take great pride in understanding foreign customs
and may insist on following European etiquette. Allow them to take the lead and
follow suite. One thing that must be followed however is acknowledgement of the
person speaking to you, which is symbolized by a regular head nod when a point is
made. It is considered rude to make strong eye contact with a person older or more
respected than you. Finally, there are numerous meanings behind body language so
avoid touching your face or head, as simply scratching your head may send an unintentional
message to the present company.
Dinning etiquette in Japan has a number of customs; to
learn about dining etiquette in Japan, visit the Japanese
Food page.
This page was last updated: November, 2011