Japanese Culturevia http://www.facts-about-japan.com/japanese-culture.html
ART
Bonsai
Bonsai (tray cultivation) is an ancient Japanese art of growing miniature
trees by using containers. Bonsai grows smaller trees from normal seeds
and stock. Pruning, potting, root reduction, grafting, and defoliation are
techniques that Bonsai artists use to create trees that have similar
shapes and styles of full-sized mature trees. Many of the styles of trees
are shaped to imitate features of the natural world, like cascades and
waterfalls. Bonsai is meant to be used to encourage contemplation,
instead of being used to produce food, medicine, or yard or park-sized
landscapes, like most other practices of plant cultivation. Bonsai's focus
is on growing and shaping trees in containers over long periods of time. It
is an art that can take a good deal of time and training to master.
Painting
Painting is an ancient and refined art in Japan encompassing a wide
variety of styles and genres. Paintings of crude stick figures and
geometric designs have been found on bronze dotaku bells and pieces of
pottery that date back to between 300 BC and 300 AD. Many of today's
Japanese painters work in styles that are heavily influenced by popular
culture and anime.
Origami
Origami, the art of folding paper to create objects or animals, is a
Japanese tradition that is important in many celebrations. The true origin
of origami is the subject of much speculation. Although the practice was
the most extensive in Japan, there is evidence supporting a tradition of
paper folding as an art form in China, Spain, Germany, and many other
countries. Direct evidence is difficult to find as paper is very quick to
decompose, so references in the published materials of the times have
to be trusted.
MUSIC
Traditional Japanese music usually refers to Japan's historical folk music. One of the defining
characteristics of traditional Japanese music is its sparse rhythm. Regular chords are also absent. It is
impossible for a person to beat time to the music. All of the rhythms are ma-based, and silence is an
important part of the songs. The focus is on creating music that flows in an attempt to mirror the behavior
of nature. It is regular for songs to start off at an extremely slow pace and to pick up speed as they
progress. Then, they get slow again before transitioning into long and drawn out finishes.
Historical Japanese folk music is strongly-influenced by music from China. This is because many
of the musical instruments which are popular in Japanese music first came from China. These
instruments include koto, shakuhachi, and wadaiko drums. A koto is a stringed instrument that shares a
similarity to China's guzheng. It is Japan's national instrument and is made with kiri wood. It uses thirteen
strings over thirteen bridges that are movable over the instrument's width. Picks on three fingers are used
to play it. Wadaiko is the name for the traditional style of Japanese
drumming and the particular drums themselves. The world's most
famous wadaiko drumming group is Kodo (heartbeat). A shakuhachi
is a flute that is used in traditional Japanese music. Shakuhachi are
usually made from bamboo, but can also be made from other
materials.
RELIGION
Today many religions are practiced in Japan, but most Japanese
follow a meld of Shintoism and Buddhism. Although religion does not
play a major role in the everyday life of the average Japanese, they
do have customs and rituals that are observed on special occasions
like birthdays, weddings, funerals, and religious holidays.
Many Japanese festivals, or matsuri, originated from early Shinto
rituals. These festivals often symbolize hope for abundant rice
production or spiritual health of the community. The festivals are
often done inside a Shinto Shrine, or display some form or image of
a Shrine. Many of these festivals can stretch for over several days.
The festivities vary with different locals, but they all have similar
features: energy, noise, food, and exultation. This is an opportunity
members of the local community to celebrate a joyful occasion
together.
One of the more well-known festivals in Japan is the Bon Festival,
also known as O-bon, an event that marks the annual visitation of
departed ancestors to the surviving members of their family. This
festival is characterized by visits to Buddhist temples and the decoration of alters of the departed. Days before
the festival, ancestral graves are cleaned by family members in preparation for the return of the souls of the
deceased. Many people also take this opportunity to return to their native towns to be with their families and
visit local temples to pray and give offerings.
ETIQUETTE
 When entering a house, the guest must replace his shoes with
slippers. The slippers are given to the guest by his host at the
genkan (doorway). These slippers are taken off in rooms that
are floored with tatami. It is rude for anyone to walk on tatami
floors wearing anything other than socks or bare feet. There are
even slippers that are exclusively worn in the washroom. The
person leaves his house slippers outside the washroom door
and wears the special footwear that is exclusively for bathroom
use.
 When greeting someone, it is customary to bow. The longer and
deeper the bow is, the more respect it conveys to the other
person. People who hold higher social statuses expect others to
greet them with long bows. Not doing so can result in social
snafus. By the same logic, a smaller nod of the head is used for
more casual or informal meetings. Fortunately, many Japanese
people cut foreign visitors slack and are okay with only
receiving a head nod greeting from them. Bows are also
commonly used as gestures to show gratitude or apology or to
request favors. Shaking hands is an extremely uncommon
gesture in Japan. However, people will make exceptions for
foreign visitors.
 There are many things the Japanese avoid doing, not because
they are rude, but because they are thought to be bad luck. If
someone cuts his toenails at night, he won't be able to reunite
with his parents after dark. People hide their thumbs, as funeral
cars pass them. It is bad to sleep facing north as that is how
dead bodies are laid. Four is an unlucky number as the
pronunciation is similar to that of death (shi). Room and floor numbers usually skip four, and gifts
are not to be given in groups of four.
LANGUAGE
The Japanese language is spoken by more than one hundred and thirty million people. There are
dozens of different dialects that are spoken within Japan. Many factors contributed to the proliferation
of dialects. These include the time that people have lived on the mountainous archipelago and the
lengthy history of isolation. It is typical for Japanese dialects to have different inflectional
morphologies, pitch accents, particle usages, and vocabularies. Some dialects also differ in
consonant and vowel inventories, but not many. The two main groups of Japanese accents are
Tōkyō-shiki (Tokyo-type and Keihan-shiki (Kyoto-Osaka-type). Kyūshū-type is a third group of
dialects that is much smaller. Several subdivisions exist within each type.
SUMO WRESTLING
In sumo, two people who are wearing nothing but a mawashi (loincloth), face each other in a dohyo
(circular ring) and push, grapple, and try to throw each other. The one who forces his opponent to the
ground or pushes him out of the ring is the winner.Professional sumo is broadcast live on TV. The
bouts are intense, as well-trained wrestlers who weigh an average of 150 kilograms grapple with their
bare hands. The shouts of support from fans
cheering on their favorite wrestler can reach fever
pitch.
Sumo began many centuries ago and developed
into its present form in the Edo period (1603-1868).
Rikishi(wrestlers) wear their hair in a topknot, which
was a normal hairstyle in the Edo period. The
referee, meanwhile, wears the same kind of clothes
as a samurai of 600 years ago. Many aspects of
Japan's traditional culture can be seen in sumo. For
example, the wrestlers throw salt into the ring to
purify it before they begin their match, as the
dohyois considered a sacred place. Sumo has a
long history, and it has been called Japan's national
sport. Although many professional sports are played in Japan, such as baseball and soccer, sumo is
the nation's oldest professional sport.
Sumo bouts are conducted in a ring with a hard dirt surface. On top of a square platform, there is a
circular ring 4.55 meters (about 15 feet) in diameter. The bouts take place inside the ring.After their
shikona(official wrestling names) are called, the wrestlers climb into the ring, ritually stamp their feet
on the ground, and throw purifying salt into the ring. They then match their opponent's movements as
they lower their waist, open their knees to the side, and go into their shikiri(taking their mark and
facing their opponent in a posture that will allow them to move forward at any moment). The wrestlers
match their breaths with their opponent, and once both of them place a fist on the ground, the match
begins. While the bout is underway, the referee shouts "Nokotta!" (Remaining!) while the wrestlers
are grappling with each other and "Hakkiyoi!" (Come on!) when the wrestlers are not moving.
As many aspects of old Japan remain in sumo, such as topknots, traditional dress, and ancient
customs, professional sumo is more than just a sport; it's a living example of traditional Japanese
culture. The wrestlers serve as cultural ambassadors when they take part in events overseas.
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