Japanese Lifestyle
Living place of Japanese people
Old town in Takayama city
Japan is not so large and is mountainous.
Over 120 million people live in the country.
Therefore, the house in Japan is expensive.
The tendency is particularly evident in large cities.
In the result, the houses of most people are small.
I hear that the Westerners visiting Japan are surprised at the narrowness of the Japanese house.
That is reasonable, but Japanese people has accepted that since the ancient times.
Japanese traditional house has been constructed according to the natural features and climate.
Japanese traditional house is generally built of wood.
Paper is used as one of the materials of interior, and "tatami" mats made of the woven rush (a kind of plants growing in wetlands) are laid on the floors.
Japanese room in an old residence
These fit the climate in Japan.
It is humid in summer.
Wood, paper and tatami control the moisture inside the house.
Japan has often experienced natural disasters such as earthquakes.
When a great earthquake destroyed a house, the residents in wooden house are safer than stone house.
So, Japanese people have built such wooden house.
Even magnificent Japanese castles, the great Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines are made of wood.
The five-storied Pagoda in Horyuji temple in Nara is the oldest wooden building and is over 1,300 years old.
The basic essence of Japanese house in the following page.
And, I also write the way to stay in Japanese room.
Japanese traditional clothes - Kimono
Ladies wearing Kimono at tea ceremony
Japanese people usually wear worldwide common clothes.
Men wear trousers and women wear skirts.
Men wear suits and women wear dresses.
Not only young people but also elderly people like jeans.
In Japanese, these clothes are called as "Yofuku".
It means "Western clothes" in contrast with traditional Japanese clothes.
Kimono is well-known to foreigners as the traditional and beautiful Japanese clothes.
But, I think you are surprised that few Japanese people wear the kimono in the city.
Now, kimono is generally worn for only the occasions in own special ceremonies and parties.
Until the early 20th century, all Japanese had worn the kimono.
It is a little difficult for a person wearing kimono to move or run quickly.
Many people had fallen victim to the Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923.
It was thought that the disaster reduced the custom of wearing kimono.
After that, common Japanese people have become to wear the "Yofuku" and they have decreased the chance that they wear the kimono.
But, young people have worn kimono as own best dress on the important days of the life.
When you visit Japan, you can experience wearing kimono in Kyoto, Asakusa in Tokyo and some local old towns.
But, it is good to know some knowledges about kimono.
I introduce them in the following page.
Religions in Japan
Meiji-jingu shrine in Tokyo (Shinto shrine)
Most foreign people think that Japanese people don't believe in any religion.
But, it's all a big misunderstanding.
There are only about two million Christians and at most thousands of Muslims in Japan.
But, they are in the minority.
There are two main religions in Japan.
They are Shinto and Buddhism.
Most Japanese people believe in both religions practically.
Many of them are not reverent believers.
Rather, the manner of the religions is a part of their daily life.
Many foreign tourist are often surprised at the disciplined and friendly behaviors of Japanese people, but those are probably based on the spirit of Japanese religions.
By the way, many Japanese people also celebrate Christmas and Valentine's Day.
In short, Japanese perspective on religion is that believing and praying lead to happiness.
Therefore, Japanese people except for Christian don't receive baptism and can believe in multiple religions.
In addition, Japanese are generally tolerant of the other religions, so outbreaks of religious conflict are rare in Japan.
The details about Shinto and Buddhism in Japan are written in the following page.
Annual Events in Japan
Sanja Festival in Asakuasa in Tokyo
Every month, there are some nationwide events in Japan.
They are national holidays and traditional events.
In some of the periods, many Japanese people travel across Japan.
When you visit Japan at that time, your travel may be affected by the situation.
On the other hand, you may know the traditional Japanese culture and customs in the period.
I introduce the main events in the following page.
Name of Japanese people
The order of Japanese name is (Family name) - (First name) contrary to the name in many countries.
The order is the same as the name of Korean, Chinese and Vietnamese peoples.
Of course, Japanese name is based on Japanese language.
Therefore, about half of the spelling are vowels (a, i, u, e, o).
Both family name and first name have generally 2 to 4 syllables.
So, most foreign people say that Japanese name is hard to pronounce.
It is said that there are more than 300,000 kinds of family names in Japan.
Check the following page.