People, Culture, and Society

Until the last century, the main influences on Japanese art came from China and Korea, but a distinct Japanese aesthetic was present from early on. There is a fascination with the ephemeral (such as in ikebana, the art of flower arrangement), with the unadorned, and with forms that echo the randomness of nature. A gift for caricature is also present, from early Zen ink paintings right up to the manga (comics) of contemporary Japan.
The Japanese aesthetic is writ large in its architecture, from graceful Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples, to elaborate castles and practical gossamer-thin houses (built to keep cool in summer and to crumple lightly in earthquakes). Precise physical composition is also evident in Japanese gardens, meticulously planned no matter how haphazard they may look. The two most famous Japanese performance traditions are kabuki (melodramatic, spectacular theatre) and no (formal, masked theatre), both of which can be seen in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka. Ancient Japanese gagaku uses drums and Japanese instruments resembling the lute, plucked zither, oboe and flute. Pop music is massive in Japan; it is the second largest market in the world, after the United States.

Almost every adult, male or female, and a good number of teenagers practice drinking. Beer is the favorite drink of the Japanese, and it is dispensed everywhere from vending machines to temple lodgings. Sake (rice wine) is served warm or cold.

Manners and custom are an important part of many facets of Japanese life. The language, although basically quite simple to pronounce and speak, is made very difficult to master because of the codified layers of respect or humility that are used depending on who you are talking to. There are different words for many verbs depending on whether you are talking to an older, younger or similarly aged person. Status in Japan is based on specific relationships between individuals, often relationships of social dependency between those of unequal status. Giri (duty), the sense of obligation to those to whom one is indebted, requires deferential behavior and eventually repayment of the favor, which in turn calls forth future favors. Relations of social dependence thus continue indefinitely, with their very inequality binding individuals to each other. Rules of hierarchy are tempered by the relationship itself. This tempering is known as ninjo (human emotion or compassion). The potential conflict between giri and ninjo has been a frequent theme in Japanese drama and literature. Although young Japanese are less likely to phrase a personal dilemma in those terms, claiming that the concept of giri was old-fashioned, many continue to feel stress in doing what they should when it was not what they want. Social order exists in part because all members of the society are linked in relationships of social dependency, each involved in giving and receiving.

One striking thing about Japan is that amongst the young there is a whiff of rebellion in the air. Their parents were brought up with the promise of a job for life and worked day and night as the post-war bubble grew seemingly inexorably bigger. However, for the younger generation the bubble burst in the 80s crash and the old certainties no longer hold true. Add to this concoction, kids who have until now been denied nothing, who see no need to work the inflexible and long hours their parents did and the specter of rising unemployment and it is clear why dissatisfaction is growing. Change is a slow process in Japan, a cultural reality not helped by the fact that politics are stagnant and the ruling LDP coalition has been in power for nearly all the post-war years. Economic problems and general dissatisfaction with the Japanese work miracle has meant an increase in crime. Having said all this, Japan is still a very wealthy and relatively extremely safe country.