Japan has a very respectful culture. If one is younger than another, the younger one shows great respect to the elder. The Japanese are also very smart. For example, some Japanese teenagers have been known to create their own words, some even get in dictionaries! Read on to find out more about the amazing Japanese culture!
Food
In Japan they must be very precise about their food on the plate, but it also must be tasty. Rice (the main dish) is prepared in many different ways, the Japanese eat rice cakes, rice crackers, sushi and mix rice with lots of different dishes with red beans, fish and vegetables. The Japanese also eat A LOT of fish, they catch more fish than any other country!
Clothes
Usually, Japanese people wear kimonos. Kimonos are short traditional gowns, which come in many different colours. Both men and women wear them. Kimonos are fastened with a long wide sash called an obi. The obi is wrapped around the waist an tied on the back. Although, many Japanese people prefer to wear western clothing. Western clothing is what the Japanese call New Zealand clothing. They like to wear it because it is less expensive and more comfortable.
Celebrations
The two most important holiday celebrations in Japan are New Year's and Bon Obon. Getting ready for New Year's starts in mid-December when everyone cleans and decorates their houses. During the last part of December forget-the-year parties (A.K.A bounenkai) are hosted. However, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day are spent quietly with their family. Obon is the "Festival For The Dead". It is usually celebrated in mid-August. It is a Japanese belief that the spirits of the dead family members come back down to earth to visit their living familes. Houses are cleaned and organized for the visits. Lanterns are hung in front of houses to welcome and guide the spirits. Families also visit the graves, where they pray and place offerings of flowers, food and drink. Public dances called Bon Odori are held. Here people build a wooden structure called a Yagura, which is where the musicians play. The dancers dance in a circle around the Yagura. When Obon ends the families let floating lanterns go to guide the spirits back home.
Famous Landmarks/Places
Mount Fuji or Fujiyama is one of the most popular places in Japan for both Japanese and tourists. The Japanese call Mount Fujiyama "The Holy Mountain". Its name means endless life. Kyoto is a city known for its events that happened in the past. Over fifteen of these events have been put into the UNESCO World Heritage groups. Kamakura, a town close to Tokyo is the home of the famous of the famous Great Buddha statue weighing about 100 tonnes. For some time the statue sat in a wooden temple, however when a massive tsunami destroyed Kamakura in 1945, the temple was carried out yo sea, so now the statue sits out in the open air.
There are many important parts of Japanese culture including food-their main food is rice, clothing-their main thing they wear are kimonos and celebrations-their two main celebrations are New Year's and Bon Obon, famous landmarks/places-their three main famous landmarks/places are Mount Fuji or Fujiyama, Kyoto and Kamakura.
By Ashley Cullen
Term 4, Week 8 Poem
5 years ago
