Culture

Japan

Culture

Fine Arts

Japanese culture derives from early contacts with China and Korea: the influence of ancient China is identifiable in Japanese literature, art, and music. Religion, especially Buddhism, has played an important role in the cultural life of Japan. Aspects of western culture, which began to be introduced during the 19th century, exist side by side and often intermingle with Japanese traditions.

Historically, Japan has experienced sudden incursions of new and alien ideas followed by long periods of minimal contact with the outside world. Over time the Japanese developed the ability to absorb, imitate, and finally assimilate those elements of foreign culture that suited their aesthetic tastes. The earliest complex art in Japan was produced in the 7th and 8th centuries AD in response to the introduction of Buddhism. In the 9th century, as the Japanese began to turn away from China and develop distinct forms of expression, the secular arts became increasingly important.

Painting is the preferred mode of artistic expression in Japan, practised by both amateurs and professionals. Until modern times, the Japanese wrote with a brush rather than a pen, and their familiarity with brush techniques gave rise to a particular sensitivity to painterly qualities. They found sculpture a much less sympathetic medium for artistic expression; generally Japanese sculpture is associated with religion, and declined as Buddhism became less important.

Japanese ceramics are among the finest in the world and include the earliest known artefacts of the culture. Japanese architecture and landscaping, with an emphasis on natural materials and the interaction of interior and exterior space, achieve extraordinary beauty and clarity.

Japanese art is characterized by polarities. In the ceramics of the prehistoric periods, for example, exuberance was followed by discipline and refinement. Two 16th-century structures provide a similar contrast: Katsura Detached Palace is an exercise in simplicity, rough and untrimmed, with an emphasis on natural materials, and a beauty achieved as if by accident, whereas Toshogu Mausoleum is a rigidly symmetrical structure, with brightly coloured relief carvings covering every visible surface.

Music

Japanese music is a mosaic of styles, traditional and contemporary, Japanese and western, existing both in relative isolation and in fertile new mixtures. Gagaku, the ritual court music, and shōmyō Buddhist chant, were introduced to Japan from China and Korea. State sponsorship of gagaku has resulted in an extremely conservative tradition that has been remarkably resilient to change. Buddhist chant in Japan dates back to the 8th century. The music is closely associated with ritual performances, which feature hand gestures, iconographical representations (mandalas), and meditation. The link between music and other art forms also characterizes musical theatre genres such as Noh, kabuki, and bunraku. A strong system of music guilds, along with hereditary lines of teaching, has contributed to the preservation of these genres which are still performed in major Japanese cities.

Instruments such as the shakuhachi, a bamboo end-blown flute; koto, a long zither with 13 silk strings; biwa, a pear-shaped lute; and shamisen, a three-string lute, have classical repertoires that have been maintained by guilds. A number of regional folk-music styles can be heard throughout Japan. Folk songs, known as min-yō, are sung at religious and social festivals, at parties, and as popular entertainment. The island of Okinawa, in particular, has a distinctive regional style of music with scales and rhythms different from elsewhere in Japan. Many of the contemporary Okinawan groups have fused their music with diverse forms such as jazz, rock, and reggae, creating a new sound that has been steadily growing in popularity outside Japan.

Libraries and Museums

Tokyo has more major libraries than any other Japanese city. Among the most important is the National Diet Library, an international book exchange and the information centre of Japan. It has seven departments, and its combined collection exceeds 5.1 million volumes.

Among the important university collections in Tokyo are those at the University of Tokyo Library, with more than 6.3 million volumes and increasing by about 200,000 volumes each year, Meiji University Library, and Nihon University Library. Major collections are also housed in provincial libraries. Important university libraries are located throughout the country.

The museums of Japan, with the exception of several modern galleries in the large cities, are treasure halls, usually located in temples and shrines. Among the most famous of these is the Myohoin Temple in Kyoto. Tokyo has several important museums and art galleries. The largest art museum in Japan is the Tokyo National Museum. Major specialized collections in Tokyo are housed in the Calligraphy Museum, the National Museum of Western Art, the Meiji Shrine Treasure Museum, and the Japanese Folk Art Museum. Important museum collections are found in virtually every major city.

The Art of Japanese Gardens

In contrast to the large, geometrical gardens of Europe, those of Japan are smaller and tend to shun symmetry, straight lines and circles; anything that attests to the touch of the human hand. Rocks that retain their natural shape, small streams made to resemble large rivers, mounds that symbolize large mountains, and a strong sense of season in the placement of trees and bushes are all a part of the effort of blending nature with the human touch.

Traditional and Modern Architecture

Modern architecture in Japan was born out of the country's release from its strict closed border policy in 1868. Strongly influenced by Western architecture, it developed rapidly along with industrial technology. Today, leading Japanese architects and designs are known throughout the world.

Traditional architecture used the abundant wood of Japan's forests, and though this has meant that many famous buildings have been lost to fires, natural disasters and wars, areas that escaped damage during World War II still have many artistic examples of the architecture of the past.

Living Japanese Culture: Geisha and Their Art

"Memoirs of a Geisha" became one of the great sensations of the literary world in 1998. In addition to its superior story telling, this landmark work managed to not only be one of the first books to realistically depict the life of a geisha entertainer, it was also successful in conveying Japanese culture and the lifestyles of its people.