Japanese Living Lifestyle Essay

Japanese Living Lifestyle and Cultures

Japan is an archipelago, an island nation in the Pacific Ocean. Japan is separated from the east coast of Asia by the Sea of Japan. Japan consists of over 6,800 islands and suffers 1,500 earthquakes every year. Most of Japan’s islands are also mountains, and most mountains are volcanoes. Japan has about 200 volcanoes, 60 of which are still active (Somervill, 2012). Japan covers a total area of 145,882 square miles, making it about the size of the state of Montana. The four main islands are Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu.

Japan has a large population in relation to its land mass. Japan is a cultural society. They live their life with key factors in mind. One factor happens to be religion.

The Japanese love spending time with their family and friends on holidays or just leisurely after work. Music has been a link in many religions and festivals held in Japan. Marriages are generally a happy time shared between two people looking to share the rest of their lives together. Japan’s young adults look at marriage a little different.
Religion
Japanese people have not identified themselves with just one religion, instead they rather extract various components of different religions and beliefs and fuse these together.
Shinto is the one of the oldest Japanese religions. Those who choose to follow the Shinto faith, worshiped gods and goddesses called Kami. Kami gods are thought of to be a divine force in living beings and nature (Heapy, 2013).
Buddhism is much like the Shinto religion. Buddhism is not just a religion, it is a disciplined way of life. People are encouraged to follow certain guidelines to help conquer suffering. Buddhists follow the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama (ca. 563-ca. 483 BCE), who is known as Buddha (Somervill, 2012). Buddha teachings are about being peaceful, righteous, and thoughtful.
Many of the Japanese people follow the Shinto religion, Buddhism or a mixture of both. With regard to the religious practices of Japan as part of the nation’s culture, rather than a matter of individual belief or faith. The Japanese has incorporated shrines into their homes, enabling them to worship on their own time and own terms.
Holidays
Japan has 15 national holidays.

New Year’s Day (Oshogatsu) is the most important traditionally celebrated holiday. It is a time for ritual reaffirmations of social obligations. On December 31, at midnight, millions of people visit Shinto shrines or Buddhist temples to pray for their families. Much like Americans, one special activity includes lots of hearty eating and drinking along with fellowship and cheer.

Bon or Buddhist All Souls’ Festival, is the Japanese time of the year, according to Buddhist belief, the spirits of the dead return home to visit (Sosnoski, 1996). It takes place in either July or August. During the Bon ceremony, family members return to their parental homes to honor the spirts of the dead. Despite the different cultures, ancestor worship is an important mechanism through which the living feel that they are spiritually connected to the deceased family member.

Hanami, the Cherry Blossom viewing, which is also celebrated in the United States. The transition from winter to spring is celebrated annually in rituals ranging from Easter parades in the West to cherry-blossom viewing in parts of the East. For almost 2,000 years, the Japanese rite has been to celebrate the brief appearance of their favorite flower, the sakura (Sosnoski, 1996). The cherry blossom trees that are in the United States were a gift from Tokyo in 1912. They can be found in Washington, D.C. and reach their peak in early

spring.
Leisure
The Japanese tend to work long hours, and they used to work a regular 48-hour week. In 1993, the government changed the law to limit the working week to 40 hours (Heapy, 2013). With the change came an increasing amount of Japanese desire for more leisure.
Sumo wrestling is Japan’s national sport. In sumo matches, two opponents face each other inside of a ring trying to push or force the other player out of the ring using only their bare hands. The wrestlers could weigh up to 400 pounds.
Manga comics are very popular in Japan. Japanese people of all ages read manga comics. Manga style is often quite similar to movies, using close-ups and different angles. Anime, which is the animated style of manga, is a popular cartoon style. It is very popular also here in the United States, for example, the television series such as Power Rangers.
Karaoke is largely popular in Japan. Karaoke began in Japan in 1970. There are many karaoke bars all over the country where people can meet up to sing a wide range of hit songs and have fun. Karaoke is also popular in the United States with the same similarities as Japan.
Marriage
Marriage is an important marker of adulthood. In years past, marriages was planned by families, but now women feel free to choose who and when marriage will occurs. Young women are against the social norms and pressures of getting married as young adults. A study done by the Japanese government figures say, over the past decade, “Japanese women ages 25 to 29 who never married has surged from 40 percent to 54 percent. The percentage for women ages 30-34 has increased from 14 percent to 27 percent”. Women are choosing economic freedom over marriage. Marriage has been a topic in which women have regain individualism and refusal to conform to state sanctioned ideologies of pressuring women to get married and bear children.
Kageyama reports (2004), “Men are also delaying marriage these days, but often they cite economic reasons: trouble finding a job that gives them the stability they need for married life, or reluctance to assume the responsibilities of family” (p.A36). Women fear that with marriage, men will conform to the old ways of living, forcing the woman to quit her job and loose a part of her individualism.
Summary
Japanese culture has some similarities to the United States, but mainly as a society they stand alone. In Japan, religion is based deeply within nature. The Shinto religion believed their gods exist in things such as trees or the sun. Buddhism which can be considered a practice or religion, live a focused life filled with meditation and study. Holidays that are celebrated in Japan, are much like the holidays celebrated around the world. New Year’s Day is the most important day of the year. In Japan, New Year’s Day is a day to wipe the slate clean and start over. People in other parts of the world may look at leisure differently from Japan. In Japan, leisure activities compare to forms of art. They range from sumo wrestling to singing karaoke at a bar. Once a society that planned marriages is now one where women have the choice to choose whom they will marry. Marriage rates have declined as young adults build their economic futures.

Discussion
My decision to choose the Japanese culture have a lot to do with my interest in the lifestyle. A few years ago, a family member visited Japan and shared with me the stories of their visit. I was intrigued by the stories and always wanted to research it more and perhaps one day visit the country.
I have learned through this course about stereotypes. Before, I began to research this culture, I believed that women in the Japanese community were passive and didn’t work. I was inaccurate about my perceptions about the women and their individual characteristics.
I can apply the knowledge that I learned about the religion Buddhism and about meditation. I believe that with more research, Zen meditation, (clearing my mind and controlling my breathing) could be beneficial in my personal development. Clearing my mind can help in my personal growth also by creating a clear state of mind.

References
Heapy, T. (2013). Japanese Culture. Chicago, IL: Capstone Global Library, LLC
Kageyama, Y. (2004, Dec 10). For women in japan, single life has appeal; delaying of marriage smashes stereotype. The Record Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/425871770?accountid=3784
Somervill, B.A. (2012). Japan. New York, NY: Scholastic
Sosnoski, D. (Eds.). (1996). Introduction to Japanese Culture. North Claredon, VT:
Tuttle Publishing