Geishas, Anime, Manga, J-Pop, what do they all have in common? Japanese culture. Japanese culture combines influences from Asia, Europe, and North America. In my opinion, Japanese culture is more unique than the others. They have similar interest as the United States. Geisha’s, sports, Anime, and music are the defining elements when one thinks about Japanese culture.
A geisha is a traditional Japanese entertainer. The appearance of a geisha is a white base with red lipstick and red and black accents around the eyes and eyebrows. The white base cover face, neck, and chest. It forms a ‘W’ for a traditional shape or a ‘V’ on the nape of the neck. Geisha’s always wear a very colorful kimono with extravagant obi. More importantly, there are…
The first popular sport that comes to mind is Sumo Wrestling. Sumo wrestling has a history of over 1,500 years. The legend says that the people in Japan can only way of survival is balanced on the outcome of Sumo wrestlers versus the gods. Sumo wrestling originated as form of Shinto rituals. Sumo wrestling tournaments, formally known as basho, takes place every two months. The next sport is Kendo. Kendo can be described as ‘ Japanese Fencing’. The swords are crafted by four bamboo stats, and is held together by leather straps. The people fighting have to wear a traditional uwagi, which is a jacket, hakama, a long skirt, a do, chest protector, and a men, which is a face mask. The points are rewarded by hitting the person on top of the left or right side of the head, wrist, or the left or right side of the trunk. In able to get the scores, it has to be verified by the judge. The winner scores two points. The third sport is ‘Aikido’. Alcido means the way of the harmonious spirit. It was found in the 1920’s by Ueshiba Morehei.It’s more of the less aggressive martial art that focuses on defence by redirecting the power and energy of the attacker. The last, but certainly not least is karate. Karate is the world’s most famous martial art’s sport. The term karate orginally meant ‘ taking hand’ or ‘ Chinese hand’, but after World War 2, they changed the meaning to ‘empty hand’. The earliest descendents have said karate originally came from the Indian Subcontinent. Karate was not formally introduced into the mainland of Japan until the twentieth century. Now, Karate is played all over the…
