Japanese+Culture

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=**Index**=
 * In what ways were European and Japanese culture influenced by its geographical factor?
 * What were women's role in Japan?
 * In what ways was Japanese culture influenced by its historical factor?



Japans Culture was influenced by geographical factors in many ways. For example, Japan is an island country, which allows them to fish, then comes the traditional food of sushi. Sushi is a traditional dish that is basically rice and seaweed wrapped around raw fish, since the species are very diverse, it allows for different types of foods such as Fugu, which is Japanese blowfish. Only a small part of the fish can be eaten because the rest of it is toxic. Another example as how Japanese culture was influenced by geographical factors include the fact that Japan sits right next to tectonic plates. This means that Japan is prone to typhoons, earthquakes, and oceanic tsunamis. This was shaped unique religious altitudes and cultures such as helping each other so that they can recover faster/quicker and acceptance to other religions and gods. All in all, Japans culture was influenced in many ways by geographical/historical factors. The country of Japan was first found and established in 660BC, by Emperor Jimmu. Japan had started out from an island near the countries of western Asia, to a well developed country that it is now today. But what changes have they made and what were the factors that had influenced and affected Japan? Some of the reasons that may have helped developed Japan into its modern form are related to its geographical and historical factors. First of all, the geographical features of Japan gave many advantages to the country to improve and promote itself. Giving that Japan is a large island, it is surrounded by water bodies and oceans although it is very near the shore lands of countries such as China and Korea. Being close to oceans enabled the Japanese to locate food such as fish, squid, shrimp, etc. This advantage not only provided themselves with food, but had also gave them business by selling these goods from the ocean. This helped them to also communicate with many neighboring countries, and learn knowledge from them. For example, Japanese writing is based on Chinese handwriting and some characters can still be found in Japanese writing today. From China, Japan had gained much information that had helped develop itself. This area of land had not only improved by the resources from the ocean, but had also used the waters for a faster route to travel to other countries to gain knowledge, as well as trade. With these sources, Japan had developed itself and made its way into the 21st century, new and improved.

There were many countless factors which influenced Japan and Europe geographically which affected their culture. From earthquakes and monsoons to guns germs and steel, these factors have changed Japan for the better. Japanese and European culture have similarities and difference which make them unique from one another and these differences have changed the lives of many not only in Japan or Europe but in the entire world. To begin, Japan was blessed in many ways geographically such being located in the Fertile Crescent. Being blessed in the Fertile Crescent lead to the advantage of Guns, Germs, and Steal; this privileged set Japan and Europe ahead of many other undeveloped countries during the medieval times. Because Japan and Europe were located in the Fertile Crescent there was an abundance of food which led to the availability of specialists. These specialists could set aside their farm work to discover new ways of doing things and inventions such as swords, guns, and the use of germs as a weapon to influence the culture of Europe and Japan immensely. Another similarity would be that both civilizations had both cold and warm temperatures so it led to the diversity of many people within the country. Because there was a diversity of temperature people had different viewpoints of the world changing the culture because people think and acts differently. A difference geographically which set both of the civilizations culture apart was that Japan was above and still is located to colliding tectonic plates which frequently caused earthquakes. Japanese people had to design houses to withstand these disasters because they would have to be constantly renewed in order for people to survive. Another difference which set the cultures apart was that Japan was located in the middle of the sea and so they had to be self sufficient unlike Europe which had neighboring countries within the continent and others as well outside such as Asia and Africa. They did this by taking advantage of their surroundings by developing nets and traps to catch fish and other marine life in the ocean. What set Europe apart from Japan was that Europe could trade with many other countries due to it being “in the middle of the world” so the circulation of money was influencing the culture immensely because it gave power to the low and middle class people instead of the power being held only with the king. Europe was very large compared to Japan which lead to it having many countries within the continent with different rulers which lead to different ways of thinking. Furthermore, Europe was very big and was located beside other countries, it stretched miles and miles making it hard to defend and vulnerable due to having too much land and so little people to defend.



Traditional gender roles in Japan have a strong sense of patriarchy, which means a family system governed by men. In the family, this means the man is the primary breadwinner of the family, while the woman is the primary caregiver. Gender roles in the family bear a close relationship to the situation in the workforce, where male dominates in hierarchy. As a result, males possess increased career opportunities, unlike the marginalized (excluded) females that are considered temporary labour that are expected to resign upon marriage or childbirth. The traditional gender patterns in Japanese society have however not been without problems. Traditional patterns in the family require women to be put their husbands before their jobs, which has resulted in a tension between the status and economic security of marriage and the freedom of remaining single. Many women find themselves trapped in marriages that deny their personal freedom. In addition, many women do not enjoy equal rights and status as their husbands, instead, they are being expected to serve the families as workers without getting rewarded, which pulls out the fact that women in the families do not get the inheritance. Overall, women’s role in Japan is a housewife, worker, or even a maid or servant, that has little rights and opportunity, but much more responsibility.