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. [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
