Japanese Culture

Zen gardens, also known as dry gardens, have become popular landscaping accessories all over the world. Originating in Japan and China, these rock gardens help users relax and relieve stress....

Samurai military training took a variety of different forms throughout its long history. Japan's reliance on the Samurai was extensive, and formed the backbone of its military forces for hundreds...

Japanese calligraphy, or "shodo," is the art of writing beautifully. Unlike Roman letters, Chinese characters ("kanji") have specific stroke orders that are mastered in the aesthetic practice of...

Fortune cookie messages can be inspirational, an expression of love, a gift or help celebrating a joyous occasion. Ideas can come from famous quotes or you can use your own.

Ninja villages were once home to deadly Japanese spies and assassins. Today, ninjas are mostly martial artists who train in ninjitsu for fun, exercise and self-defense. Spending time in a ninja...

The Sharingan is a characteristic of the Uchiha family in the popular manga and video game series Naruto. A Sharingan eye is red and contains additional pupils, called tomoe, that give the bearer...

Japan has the highest per capita concentration of vending machines, called Jidohanbaiki (jido: "automatic"; hanbai:"sell"; ki:"machine"), in the world. They dispense a wide variety of beverages,...

Living the Samurai Warrior Way can be done simply by adopting and adhering to a personal code. In translation, "Samurai" means "to serve". Feudal Japanese Samurai lived by...

If you love food and are seeking a healthful lifestyle, convenient public transportation, quality education for your children, beautiful, historic sites and the latest in high-tech gadgetry, Japan...

The traditional process for making an authentic Japanese nihonto or katana, the iconic curved sword of the medieval Samurai warrior, begins with the extraction of iron ore from the magnetite-rich...

A city with a military past, almost destroyed by an atomic bomb, and later a center of peace, Hiroshima has a marked place in history. It continues to be a place of fascination and sorrow for...

Urabon, also known as "Festival of the Dead" or "Feast of Lanterns," is an annual summer event in which the Japanese honor deceased ancestors. The name probably comes from the Sanskrit...

Lolicon is the romanization of a Japanese term that refers to the obsession of young girls, particularly in a sensual sense, and a mental disorder known as a "Lolita complex" that is a common...

A significant cultural icon both nationally and abroad, the "nihonto," or Japanese sword, has inspired sword enthusiasts around the world.

Japan has one of the most recognized flags in the world. The flag--known as the Hinomaru or "sun disc"--features a red circle against a white background. Nippon, Japan's name among the Japanese,...

Samurai warlords emblazoned flowered designs on their kimonos as a family crest. Men and women receive gifts of flowers on their anniversaries and flower language (hana kotoba) is used in all...

Tatami are often used in martial arts training as a tool for practicing swordsmanship. Throughout Japanese history, tatami mats were made from soft rush straw that was stuffed with rice straw....

Kimonos have been part of Japanese culture since the eighth century. Originally, the word kimono referred to any clothing. Now, the term refers to the specific Japanese dress. The style of kimonos...

Samurai swords have been forged by Japanese craftsmen for over centuries and are renowned for both their durability and strength. While the samurai warrior class of Japan is a historical memory,...

Japanese calligraphy is an art that has been practiced since antiquity. Traditional and modern poetry written via calligraphy often sells for very high prices. Skilled, well-known calligraphers...

Japanese is a difficult language - but, then, so is English. The best way to approach learning a new language is to use a variety of different study methods, and to remember one very important...

The topography and climate of Japan is vast for the small land mass found within the borders of the country. The vastness of the climate and topography provides conditions suitable for numerous...

The issue of runaways living in Japan has received increased public scrutiny in recent years, largely due to the employment of underaged girls in the sex industry and the fact that an increase in...

Japanese symbols are beautiful and unique. They have an air of mystery and intrigue because they are not only words but also pictures. Here are some common Japanese symbols and their meanings.

Japanese gift wrapping is famous for its beauty, complexity and symbolism. For the Japanese, wrapping a gift is not about obscuring the gift to make it a surprise for the recipient. Instead,...

Japanese kimonos are long robes that literally translate to mean a "thing to wear." Kimonos first emerged in Japan in the late 700s and were used to separate ranks of formality. Today, kimonos are...

Warriors in medieval Japan were known as samurai. They were bound by oaths of loyalty to their lord, and they practiced a code of honor similar to that of a European knight. Like knights, samurai...

Haiku poetry, with its simple structure and brevity—17 syllables in three lines of 5, 7, 5—invites many to try their hand at it. But composing a really good haiku is not simple. While it is...

Raku pottery's unique look is created by both the fire and the smoke in a raku kiln. Raku pottery is created by first bisque-firing the piece, then glazing and firing the piece in a raku kiln....

Masks have played an integral role during Japan's long history for many religious, ceremonial and performance events. The mask may signify a heroic individual, evil character, spirit, god, devil...

The Haruhi dance is a pop/hip-hop-style dance performed at the end of a popular Japanese anime TV show. It requires a lead dancer and four backup dancers - two female, two male. Fan-made YouTube...

Manga is often described as Japanese comic books. Anime is often used to describe the animated versions of Manga. However, in western circles, Manga and Anime are often used interchangeably....

In 1980, rock-pop act the Vapors released a song entitled "Turning Japanese." While we can't help you do that, there are some fun ways to learn the language. Let's jump into a few. Or as the...

While Japanese is a difficult language for many foreigners to learn, the basic pronunciations are remarkably easy. Unlike many Western languages, the pronunciation of Japanese vowels will not...

In Japan, it is customary to remove ones shoes before entering a home and many businesses and restaurants. Although this custom may seem odd to Westerners, especially Americans, it is considered...

The type of cartoons known as anime have become popular in the Western world in recent years. While outside of Asia cartoons are seen as primarily something for children, anime is more than...

The tonfa is a Japanese martial arts weapon, used for both self-defense and training. It originated on the Okinawan Islands, where for a long time, owning weapons was illegal. Thus, Okinawan...

The umbrella has been around for thousands of years. Its use can be traced back to Ancient China and Egypt where it became a status symbol for the rich. What began as a way to shield the upper...

Although there are a number of different learning styles in any culture, cultures often cluster around certain ways of learning as a result of linguistic requirements and educational traditions....

The Japanese language consists of a combination of three different character, or symbol, sets: Kanji (Chinese characters) are often considered a simplified version of Chinese characters, and...

In Japan, a person's surname, or family name, comes before the given name. Most Japanese surnames is made up of two separate Chinese characters, called kanji. Many of these characters refer to...

A geisha is a Japanese woman trained in the traditional arts, which can include singing, music and dance. Geisha are sometimes erroneously mistaken for prostitutes due to the fact that geisha also...

Few warriors in history are as revered as Japan's storied Samurai, a culture of highly trained fighters who readily accepted death over defeat and whose determination is still admired today....

Ninjas (or shinobis) were Japanese mercenaries who specialized in the nontraditional art of war. They were skilled in espionage but also took on jobs of infiltration, sabotage, and assassination....

Airsoft, the name of the popular "toy" guns that are used in firearms training and play with almost the same regularity, has spawned quite a following. Originally created in Japan, airsoft guns...

The katana, one of the twin swords worn by the Japanese samurai, or warrior class, is a weapon that even today excites fascination. Curved and honed to a razor's edge, the katana evolved out of a...

Harajuku in the West has come to mean a certain fashion style associated with youth culture. It is also most popularly known as a clothing brand created by pop star Gwen Stefani. Though these are...

Japan has a long history of culture but a short modern history of war. Japanese wars have been fought primarily over land in the Asian sector of the world.

Japanese dress remains directly affected by the social and political history of the Japanese people. Many of what began as garments for nobility or the privileged classes have become familiar wear...

A style with great emphasis on minimalism, Oriental floral design is one of the two major branches of floral design today, with a rich developmental history that spans more than 1,500 years.