Fascination Japan
The country of the rising sun
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Japan, a country with many facets: One the one side, a civilization of technology, on the other, a culture linked to nature and tradition. For some years already I’m fascinated by this country in so many ways. It is full of surprises, every day I learn something new about this isle in the pacific ocean and I can’t hold back my interest. This interest goes so far that I’m learning the language. I really want to talk to the people living there, I want to learn from them and their knowledge. What has caused this interest, I don’t know, but it’s here and I’ll make the best out of it.
Like the country, the people are also diverse. People are living a modern life in Tokyo and others live outside in the rural regions of Japan. The ones are more focused on style, money, the modern way to live, the others are watching after traditions, religion, and Japanese principles like “Wabi-Sabi”, the esteem of transcience and defective condition of life.
In Japan, technic and traditions are separated and combined at the same time. To make it easier, I’ll talk about each aspect, separated in modern and traditional Japan. The information for the coming texts I have from a book called “Typisch Japan: Kultur, Tradition und Lebensgefühl”. It’s written in german though but if there are some people out there who can speak German, it’s a good book to become an overview of the Japanese country.
Modern Japan
At first, let’s take a look at the modern side of Japan. Robots, neon lights, buildings, the newest devices: in puncto technology Japan is one of the countries with the biggest knowledge about technic and their economy is clearly based on it. In fact, Japan is one of the biggest producers and developers of robots that shall help people in their life. Many car companies are coming from Japan, I guess everyone of you already heard about Toyota, Nissan, Mazda, or Mitsubishi. The car industry is one of the biggest reasons for Japan's economical boom. In general, a lot of things we use are coming from Asia, also from Japan, for example, our beloved gaming companies and their games and consoles like Nintendo, Playstation (or Sony in general), and their partners and game developer studios, Game Freak, Capcom, Square Enix, and some more.
Leaving now the economic theme we’re coming to the people outside of Japan. Out there is a huge fanbase of this country caused by
- Gaming
- Technology
- Anime and Manga
Anime and Manga have a really big impact on non-Japanese people. Either animated or drawn stories are fascinating to so many people. And it doesn’t end here. More and more people are getting fans of the Japanese-styled comics. Why there are so many persons loving Anime and Manga, I don’t know. What I can say is that suddenly you become a fan without noticing it and you end up addicted to it.
The modern architecture of Japan is also important to mention. I’m really fascinated by Japanese architecture, they just have a way to build wonderful constructs you’ve never seen in our western world. The tower in Tokyo, for example. I can’t say for sure why this tower fascinates me, it’s just a tower. But it has an aura, even in pictures, the buildings from our known western world don’t have. Something new, fresh, innovative.
Traditional Japan
Traditional Japan is a far more reaching thing in history in opposite to modern Japan. Makes sense, modern Japan isn’t really old yet. When I think about traditional Japan, the first things that come to my mind are the wonderful buildings in Kyoto, the mountain Fuji, Religion, Temples, and Shrines. It has a calm atmosphere, please don’t ask me, why. It’s just there.
The popular religion in Japan is Shinto or also called Shintoism. It says, everything in nature, alive or dead, is steered by Gods, the Kami. But besides that, Buddhism, the belief in reincarnation and karma, is also one of the big and important religions in Japan.
Aesthetics and design are important for Japanese culture. The people look at the principles of “Wabi-Sabi”, what I mentioned earlier, but also “Mono no aware”. It describes the love of Japan to the transience of things, like for example cherry blossoms. There are also “Shibui”, the concept of decent, unobtrusive beauty and finesse, and “Iki”, which means “chic and stylish”.
Furthermore, an indicator of Japanese aesthetics is flaw and asymmetry. Things with decent designs are loved by Japanese people.
Architecture is also building on the principles I mentioned. Things aren’t complicated, being decent and simple is all. Traditional houses have simple furniture, a tatami mat on the ground and the doors are just wood frames filled with paper. The gardens are well looked after, the plants are cut in shape, the pebbles are tidy on the ground. Everything is like it is to create a place of peace and calmness.
Everything I wrote is representing only a small part of the Japanese culture. It has such diversity you just can’t catch everything in words without missing something out. There are so many things to explore, even things that aren’t explored yet and they’re getting more and more. I hope you all enjoyed this little trip into Japanese culture!
