Japanese culture


Japanese culture is unique. Some antropoligsts consider "Japanese culture" as a totally different entity from "Asian Culture". After living five years in Japan, I think it is true. I've travelled all around Asia, and Japan is just different, with its good things, and also its bad things. In this category I gather my thinkings about Japanese culture peculiarities that caught my attention.

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How to make an origami Yoda

Por kirai el 02 de February de 2010 en JapaneseCulture

Origami in Japanese literally means “to fold paper”, and it is a true art in Japan. There are many techniques and even some branches of mathematics which study ways of making shapes using paper.

Through Emasoft I found instructions on how to make an origami Yoda.
In YouTube there’s a series of videos that show how to [...]

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Origami 折り紙

Por kirai el 23 de January de 2010 en JapaneseCulture

Origami (折り紙) literally means “to fold paper” (折り: fold, 紙: paper) in Japanese language. It is a form of art in Japan and in the world; actually it’s considered a science by many, a branch of mathematics. Besides, lately some people are searching different applications for it within the engineering world and everyday product design. [...]

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Humanity declaration – 人間宣言 Ningen sengen

Por kirai el 05 de January de 2010 en JapaneseCulture

When the Second World War ended, one of the conditions imposed to Japan by the United States was that emperor Hirohito had to lose his divine status. The emperor of Japan was considered a god, direct descendant of Amaterasu, the Goddess that created Japan.
Arahitogami (現人神 - now, person, God) means “God that at this moment [...]

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The Emperor’s Birthday

Por kirai el 24 de December de 2009 en JapaneseCulture

Yesterday happened to be the birthday of the Emperor of Japan (天皇誕生日: てんのうたんじょうび, birthday of the Emperor) and that’s why we didn’t have to work around here. However today and tomorrow we have to go to work, there’s no Xmas holidays in Japan.
One of the Emperor’s birthday traditions is that the “common people” is allowed [...]

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Bushido - 武士道 - The Way of the Warrior

Por kirai el 07 de December de 2009 en JapaneseCulture

Samurai have been the most powerful social class in Japan for centuries. From the 12th century and on, the warrior class known in Japanese as ‘bushi’ or ’samurai’, started having power within the social structure and even within the political sphere. Samurai followed a lifestyle, an ethos, certain rules, a code, which spread to all [...]

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Structure of Japanese companies - Part 2

Por kirai el 30 de November de 2009 en JapaneseCulture

I will now continue writing about the innards of traditional Japanese enterprises. If you want to properly understand this text, you should have read the previous post.
In Japanese culture there is a huge difference between people who is inside the group (those inside - 内), and people who is outside the group (those outside - [...]

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Structure of Japanese companies - Part 1

Por kirai el 26 de November de 2009 en JapaneseCulture

The structure of the Japanese enterprises is very rigid. There is a standard system that applies to all levels in most Japanese enterprises.
Some analysts say this system is too rigid and it causes changes to develop very slowly. For example, in order to decide about issue A, forms B, C and D must be filled [...]

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Zen Meditation

Por kirai el 24 de November de 2009 en JapaneseCulture

My first year in Japan (2004) my Vulcanus programme mates and I went to a temple and a monk taught us some Zen meditation techniques. First, he gave us a brief theoretical introduction to the Buddhist origins of Zen meditation. And then we moved on to a 35 minute practical session where we tried to [...]

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Shodo

Por kirai el 23 de November de 2009 en JapaneseCulture

Shodo literally means “The way (second kanji character in the image above) of the writing (first kanji in the image above)”. It is the art of writing with a brush and ink on a special paper. It is taught in Japanese schools as a part of the Japanese language curriculum. Either way, it is not [...]

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Japanese tea ceremony

Por kirai el 22 de November de 2009 en JapaneseCulture

When I first arrived to Japan I attended a typical Japanese tea ceremony. Known in Japan as chanoyu (茶の湯) or chado (茶道), it is a ritual that has its origins in Zen Buddhism. The preparation is very laborious and some very strict steps must be followed. Even the angle in which things are placed is [...]

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