Culture of Japan
The culture of Japan has changed greatly over the millennia, from the country's prehistoric Jōmon period, to its contemporary modern culture, which absorbs influences from Asia and other regions of the world.[1]
"Japanese Society" redirects here. For the book, see Japanese Society (book).Since the Jomon period, ancestral groups like the Yayoi and Kofun, who arrived to Japan from Korea and China, respectively, have shaped Japanese culture. Rice cultivation and centralized leadership were introduced by these groups, shaping Japanese culture. Chinese dynasties, particularly the Tang Dynasty, have influenced Japanese culture throughout history. After 220 years of isolation, the Meiji era opened Japan to Western influences, enriching and diversifying Japanese culture. Popular culture shows how much contemporary Japanese culture influences the world.[2]
Overview[edit]
History[edit]
There are two competing hypotheses that try to explain the lineage of the Japanese people.[3][4]
The first hypothesis proposes a dual-structure model, in which Japanese populations are descendants of the indigenous Jōmon people and later arrivals of people from the East Eurasian continent, known as the Yayoi people. Japan's indigenous culture originates primarily from the Yayoi people who settled in Japan between 1000 BCE and 300 CE. Yayoi culture spread to the main island of Honshu, mixing with the native Jōmon culture.[5] Modern Japanese have an estimated 80% Yayoi and 20% Jōmon ancestry.[6]
The second hypothesis proposes a tripartite model of genomic origin.[3] This hypothesis proposes that contemporary Japanese people are from three distinct ancestral groups: Jōmon, Yayoi and Kofun, with 13%, 16% and 71% of genetic ancestry, respectively.[3] During the Kofun period, it is said that migrant groups from China came to Japan and settled on the island, bringing with them various cultural advances and centralized leadership.[3] The migrants who came to Japan during the Kofun period appear to have had ancestry that mainly resembles the ancestry of the Han Chinese population of China.[3][7][8] The Jomon people were hunter-gathers; the Yayoi people introduced rice cultivation; and the Kofun migrants introduced imperial state formation.[3]
Japanese culture was influenced from ancient times to the Middle Ages primarily by multiple Chinese dynasties, with substantial derivation from the Tang dynasty,[9] and to a lesser extent by other Asian countries. For example, one of the scripts for writing in the Japanese language is Chinese characters (kanji), but Japanese has no genetic relationship with Chinese.[10] Since the Meiji era, Japan has been primarily influenced by western countries.
The inhabitants of Japan experienced a long period of relative isolation from the outside world for over 220 years during the Tokugawa shogunate until the arrival of the "Black Ships" and the Meiji era.
Today, the culture of Japan stands as one of the most influential cultures around the world, mainly because of the global reach of its popular culture.[11][12][13][14] In 2023, U.S. News & World Report ranked Japan's cultural influence as the highest in Asia and 4th worldwide.[15]
Japanese architecture was originally heavily influenced by Chinese architecture and later developed many unique aspects indigenous to Japan. Examples of traditional architecture are seen at temples, Shinto shrines, and castles in Kyoto and Nara. Some of these buildings are constructed with traditional gardens, which are influenced by Zen ideas. Some modern architects, such as Yoshio Taniguchi and Tadao Ando are known for their amalgamation of Japanese traditional and Western architectural influences.
Traditional Japanese garden architecture is considered to hold the same importance as traditional building architecture, and both are influenced by similar historical and religious backgrounds. A primary design principle of a traditional garden is the creation of the landscape based on, or at least greatly influenced by, the style of three-dimensional monochrome ink (sumi) landscape painting known as sumi-e or suibokuga; as such, garden landscaping is elevated to the status of an artform in Japan.[43]
Traditional Japanese sculptures mainly focused on Buddhist images, such as Tathagata, Bodhisattva, and Myō-ō. The oldest sculpture in Japan is a wooden statue of Amitābha at the Zenkō-ji temple. In the Nara period, Buddhist statues were made by the national government to boost its prestige. These examples are seen in present-day Nara and Kyoto, most notably a colossal bronze statue of the Buddha Vairocana in the Tōdai-ji temple.
Wood has traditionally been used as the chief material in Japan, along with traditional Japanese architecture. Statues are often lacquered, gilded, or brightly painted, although there are commonly few traces of this on the surface. Bronze and other metals are generally not used. Other materials, such as stone and pottery, have had extremely important roles in traditional sculpture.
There are 51 official cultural landscapes (文化的景観, bunkateki keikan) in Japan. These landscapes evolved with the way of life and geocultural features of a region, and which are indispensable for understanding the lifestyle of the Japanese people.[76][77][78][79][80]
The Three Views of Japan (日本三景, Nihon Sankei) is the canonical list of Japan's three most celebrated scenic sights, attributed to 1643 scholar Hayashi Gahō.[81] These are the pine-clad islands of Matsushima in Miyagi Prefecture, the pine-clad sandbar of Amanohashidate in Kyoto Prefecture, and Itsukushima Shrine in Hiroshima Prefecture. In 1915, the New Three Views of Japan were selected with a national election by the Jitsugyo no Nihon Sha (株式会社実業之日本社, Kabushiki Kaisha Jitsugyō no Nihon Sha). In 2003, the Three Major Night Views of Japan were selected by the New Three Major Night Views of Japan and the 100 Night Views of Japan Club (新日本三大夜景・夜景100選事務局).
Left panel of the Shōrin-zu byōbu, by Hasegawa Tohaku, c. 1595, six-fold screen, ink on paper, National Treasure
Kamidana (home shrine) with kagamimochi and ofuda
Daruma of various sizes
Japanese foldable fan of late Heian period (12th century)
Lolita fashion is a fashion subculture that is highly influenced by Victorian and Edwardian from the Rococo period.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. Country Studies. Federal Research Division.
