japan

Japan

I have decided to choose japan as the country of my choice for this project. My perception of Japan after watching countless television shows showcasing on Japan, is that it is a country rich in culture and every girl there has very good fashion sense. My perception of japan is also that it is a very warm and hospitable country where be it at shops or restaurants, the Japanese would always greet their guests loudly no matter what and are patient in servicing you in the retail shops. My perception of japan is also that it is also a very traditional country so rich in culture like they still have hot springs and traditional taiko drumming.

What would represent the culture of japan would actually differ from the various parts of japan. Like for example in harajuku. Most of the girls would be very fashionably dress and their dressing sense would be those that is considered quite loud as the colours they wear are quite bright and are quite different from normal street wear. These people are also heavily influenced by their own music, J-pop or J-rock, Japanese pop or rock of the outfits that the bands are wearing and Jrock bands usually dress very different from rock bands of the western countries.

Well also in some parts of Japans, they are also still following their culture where people still wear kimonos and also the yukatas as well. And also what most people are familiar with in the Japan culture would be the Geisha girls. Where the girls are dressed in their kimonos and they would put on white make up all over their faces and perform classical music and dance to see. Well also about the culture of japan, their infrastructures are built differently. Yes, they indeed do have the modern day infrastructures of buildings as well but what japan does is that it retains its traditional infrastructure of shrines and temples and does not change it at all. And not to forget, the Japanese too had retained their culture of their food by not only limiting the number of fast food outlets from the streets like what I see in shows, they are widely selling their authentic Japanese food like sushi, takoyaki, ramen, curry rice etc. so this sums up what would represent the culture of japan

An indigenous group of people that I have found out on would be the Ainu people. They can also be called Aynu, Aino, or Ezo. These people would speak the Ainu language and they lived in Hokkaido, the kuril islands, and also quite a bit in Sakhalin as well. The official known population of the Ainu people is around 25000 people. But unofficially counted, the numbers actually reach up to 200000 people in Japan. And a fact to know is that the Ainu people were only recognized by the government as indigenous people only on June 11^th, 2008!

There is not a clear known culture of the Ainu people as no written language system were done to pass down the history and folklore. All these were passes down using the word of mouth and only in the 13^th century, the Ainu culture was established to be known as what we would eventually know as well today. The Ainu people believed in interaction with nature, humans and the gods that’s why if you look at them carefully, their clothing, food and also the housings are or being made full use of nature. Food sources would also be stored to prepare for the winter time. For the traditional costume of the Ainu people, utilizing nature was an important aspect. Bird feathers would be sewn together and inner tree barks from elm, linden and also woven nettle fiber would have become their clothing. They would also use sealskin and bearskin. Whats also unique about the Ainu culture is that there would be unique patterns on the cuffs and hems as a prayer to prevent evil spirits from entering into them.

The Ainu people are also people who take importance in singing and dancing. As the Ainu people lives in harmony with the gods and nature, this is a very important aspect for them. The rhythm of the dance would first be begin by everybody singing and clapping together to form the rhythm and then the women would be taking the lead in dancing. Women in Ainu play a very important and big role in the dancing and singing of the Ainu people. The Ainu people despite creating rhythm with the clapping of the hands while they sing and dance with the use of instruments, do have one instrument that they play. The instrument is called the mukkuri. This instrument is made of bamboo and is held infront of the mouth and to produce a sound, the string attached to it should be pulled thus creating a vibration that will generate the sound out.

There being said, there is even an Ainu museum for people to visit to learn more about the Ainu people.

As a tourist, I would feel that the Ainu culture is still at its most authentic state as through research, I find that the ainu culture did not change as a result of globalization. What would be commendable is that the Ainu people treat nature as a very importance aspect and seeks to have peace with it. this is good as being away from the buzzing town of a modern city, the Ainu people would not be influenced by modern day globalization and seek to change anything. They also do not have to worry about modern day problems like money and everything. But they still strongly stick to their culture and are not easily influenced. One good example would be that the Ainu people did not change their cultural dance to something that the tourists would be able to relate too. As I know form researched, some other tribes might alter their traditional dances to appeal more to tourists but this has thus caused a very bad impact on them as the authenticity of their traditional dances have been forgotten. This thus is very commendable for the Ainu people.

But with a large growing impact on tourism, I’m afraid things might change too. As more and more tourists from all over the world including japan itself, The ainu people might be starting to be influenced by other cultures. One very good example of tourism impact would be in the Ainu music. Where Ainu Japanese Musician, Oki, has gone to many countries around the world promoting Ainu music, But instead of just the Mukkuri instrument itself, he has used electric guitars in his performances as well. This has thus caused the music to be very westernized and some Ainu people find that is has been too westernized while some other Ainu people do find it acceptable still. This has led to many different views between the Ainu people. Thus tourism really can impact on the authenticity of the Ainu people and I worry for them that in the future, there might be a change of their culture and it would not retain at its original authenticity anymore.

The Japanese Calendar of events is filled with culture and tradition and is something you have to take note when visiting japan. There are 15 fixed national holiday dates on the Japanese calendar and visitors must keep an eye out on what days are the holidays on. It is important for visitors to take not as on major national holidays, some shops will be closed and also banks will be closed as well. So visitors who wish to withdraw from the ATM had better have cash with them during the holiday period. And Traveling around japan during the holiday days would be more expensive. But visitors also have to experience the Events and festivals and the Japanese celebrate their events in style and they celebrate their events on a very big scale. And looking through the list of Japanese festivals and events, The Japanese take a very strong stand on their culture where most of the events they celebrate are related to their Japanese culture and also their holidays are also meant more for their families to come together and celebrate and bond more on that day as a family as they have a break from their busy working schedule. The Japanese also celebrate the different seasons of the year as well. Like having the cherry blossom festival in japan where tourists can also visit.

Japan also is not excluded when it comes to globalization where many countries have been “disneyfied” Japan is of no exception as Tokyo has already built a Disney land in it and this thus shows japan has been globalised. Yes this Disneyland has indeed brought in many tourists to the country but majority would be families that are coming in to japan for Disneyland because of their kids. As Disneyland is actually a westernized attraction, the Japanese has been quite smart to actually use this chance to improved themselves and alter Disneyland in a way that is more suited for the Japanese people. What I mean is that the Japanese people has transformed Disneyland from an American attraction to something that looks Americanized. And Tokyo Disneyland can be simply putted, An Americanized attraction made by the Japanese people of Japan for the people of Japan.

After my research on Japan, I have come to realized that Japan has indeed been influenced by Globalisation and also they can be westernized too by now. But, The Japanese have actually been able to retain their culture. Like as I have mentioned before, the fast food outlets. Many people seek convenience in fastfood outlets but for the Japanese, they still would choose their traditional eateries over them. And it isn’t like Singapore where fast food outlets are so common. In Japan, for every fast food outlet you see, there would be at least a few eateries serving their standard culture food like sushi, ramen etc. and what I feel is that Japan indeed still has a very rich culture and it does not really rely much on foreign influences for it to grow as the Japanese people themselves follow their own culture and are proud of it.

References

Makino, C. (n.d.). Japan officially recognises Ainu. Ips news. Retrieved from http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42738

Japan national tourism board (n.d.). experiencing Ainu culture. Ips news. Retrieved from http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/indepth/scenic/hokkaido/hokkaido_05.html