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Culture of Japan, as it stands today, is a conglomeration of many original existing cultures intrinsic to the Japanese modes of living and modern influences. With time the original Jomon culture lost its purity and the intermixing of the other cultures - Asian, European et al, created a resultant hybrid culture which is still distinctly Japanese in essence. Art, music, architecture, garments and cuisine together constitute culture and that is true even for Japan. Culture of Japan indeed gives an identity to the land and its people.
Language is an important ingredient of culture. The Japanese script combines Chinese Kanji characters and two syllabic scripts that of Hiragana and Katakana. Japan also contributed to the mathematical origins and it was the Japanese abacus that was one of the rudimentary forms that gave birth to the modern day computer. Art in Japan also plays a major role in determining the culture of the land.
Painting has always been of the determinants of culture and the Japanese pictorial scrolls of Tale of Genji were the first examples of the existence of the presence of this mode of visual art. Later the west and the east adopted the style. The wonderful art of calligraphy also has its roots in Japan. For many this is an esoteric art and yet it is exquisite and an exemplum of the different facets of the Culture of Japan. Stone water and other such natural raw materials were used for the purpose with modernization newer sophisticated methods of the art of calligraphy have been invented.
The wood carvings, the etching on the stones and such allied craftsmanship are definitely vital elements that reflect the culture of Japan. Specific art forms like ‘Ukiyo-e’ or the “pictures of the floating world”, which is characteristic woodwork of the Meji period, are instances of the cultural heritage of the Japanese realm. Aestheticism could find no better expression than in the Ikebana or the Japanese art of flower arrangement. Colors and shapes of flowers are used to evoke a sense of harmony and bliss.
The world owes a lot to the Japanese performing arts too. From the early days of Kabuki and Banraku to films by Akira Kurosawa the Japanese culture has made a definite impact on the people globally. Be it the kimono that garbs a traditional Japanese individual or the delicious tsukemono and miso that are important Japanese cuisines – all echo the culture of Japan.
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