Culture of Japan

[1] Since the Jomon period, ancestral groups like the Yayoi and Kofun, who arrived to Japan from Korea and China, respectively, have shaped Japanese culture.

After 220 years of isolation, the Meiji era opened Japan to Western influences, enriching and diversifying Japanese culture.

[3] This hypothesis proposes that contemporary Japanese people are from three distinct ancestral groups: Jōmon, Yayoi and Kofun, with 13%, 16% and 71% of genetic ancestry, respectively.

[3] During the Kofun period, it is said that migrant groups from China came to Japan and settled on the island, bringing with them various cultural advances and centralized leadership.

The inhabitants of Japan experienced a long period of relative isolation from the outside world for over 220 years during the Tokugawa shogunate until the arrival of the "Black Ships" and the Meiji era.

The religion developed in Japan prior to the 6th century CE, after which point followers built shrines to worship kami.

In Buddhism, a person's status in society is considered unimportant, instead their good or bad deeds are valued, as every person eventually becomes ill, ages, dies, and is eventually reincarnated into a new life, a cycle known as saṃsāra; the suffering people experience during life is considered to be one way for people to ensure a better future, with the ultimate goal of Buddhism being to escape the cycle of death and rebirth by attaining true insight.

Cultural differences and a predominantly non-Muslim society present unique challenges for Japan's Muslim community, mostly immigrants from Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Iran.

Japanese calligraphy, rendered using flowing, brush-drawn strokes, is considered to be a traditional art form, as well as a means of conveying written information.

Typical calligraphic works can consist of phrases, poems, stories, or even characters represented by themselves; the style and format of the calligraphy can mimic the subject matter through aspects such as the texture of the writing and the speed of the brush strokes.

Several different styles of Japanese calligraphy exist, with considerable effort put into the outcome; in some cases, it can take over one hundred attempts to produce the desired result of a single character.

[38] Ukiyo-e, literally means 'pictures of the floating world', is a genre of woodblock prints that exemplifies the characteristics of pre-Meiji Japanese art.

Because these prints could be mass-produced, they were available to a wide cross-section of the Japanese populace – those not wealthy enough to afford original paintings – during their heyday, from the 17th to 20th century.

The kimono is the national garment of Japan, having developed from Chinese court clothing in the Nara period following the exchange of diplomatic envoys between the two countries at that time.

The earliest versions of the kimono were heavily influenced by traditional Chinese clothing, known today as hanfu (kanfuku (漢服) in Japanese).

This influence was spread through Japanese envoy missions to China, resulting in extensive Chinese cultural adoption by Japan as early as the 5th century CE.

Some modern architects, such as Yoshio Taniguchi and Tadao Ando are known for their amalgamation of Japanese traditional and Western architectural influences.

These examples are seen in present-day Nara and Kyoto, most notably a colossal bronze statue of the Buddha Vairocana in the Tōdai-ji temple.

[53] The indigenous folk ritual music of flute and drums here encountered the aristocratic aesthetic of poetry and literary tales.

[55] One of the imported end-blown bamboo flutes from China developed into the shakuhachi,[56] which became the ritual instrument of the Fuke sect of Zen monks.

[57] By the middle of the eighteenth century, in secular performances, the shamisen lute and koto, invented in China and brought to Japan during the Nara Period,[58] 13-string zither as used for genteel entertainment and professionally controlled by blind musicians who had the rights to heike narrative.

[62] Famous enka singers include Hibari Misora, Saburo Kitajima, Ikuzo Yoshi, and Haruo Minami.

Popular artists of the 20th-21st centuries include Yoko Ono, Suzuka Nakamoto, Koji Tamaki, Hideto Takarai, Takahiro Moriuchi,[64] Kenshi Yonezu, and Haruomi Hosono.

[65] Popular groups of the same eras include The Oral Cigarettes, Yoasobi, Bump of Chicken, King Gnu, Mrs. Green Apple,[66] Fishmans, and Perfume.

[68] Due to concerns over the number of actresses engaged in selling sex, the participation of women in the plays was forbidden by the government in 1629, and the feminine characters had passed to be represented only by men (onnagata).

[70] In the long feudal period governed by the samurai class, some methods that were used to train warriors were developed into well-ordered martial arts, in modern times referred to collectively as koryū.

[72] In addition, there are many semi-professional organizations, which are sponsored by private companies: for example, volleyball, basketball, rugby union, table tennis, and so on.

It is common to see Japanese commuters riding the train to work, enjoying their favorite manga, or listening through earphones to the latest in popular music.

There is a large selection of music, films, and the products of a huge manga and anime industry, among other forms of entertainment, from which to choose.

Game centers, bowling alleys, and karaoke are popular hangout places for teens while older people may play shogi or go in specialized parlors.