Teach Yourself Japanese Language, Life, and Culture

by Gilhooly, Helen

• ISBN13: 9780071407175
• ISBN10: 0071407170
• Edition: Bilingual
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-10-01
• Publisher: MCG

Summary

Teach Yourself Language, Life, and Culture titles delve into the customs and ways of their featured countries, taking a respectful yet lively point of view. Topics include government, arts, language, work, leisure, education, festivals, and food. Each title explains the role of language in shaping culture and provides practical information for travelers. Find out about traditional Chinese medicine, English fish and chips, the Welsh red dragon, and even Christmas in Japan.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. ix
Author's note	p. xi
The making of Japan	p. 1
Beginnings	p. 1
The land	p. 3
Climate	p. 4
Origins of the Japanese people	p. 5
Unification of Japan	p. 6
The rule of the shogun 1185-1868	p. 10
The Meiji restoration and the Meiji era 1868-1912	p. 18
Events leading to World Wars I and II	p. 22
The Japanese language	p. 30
Is Japanese difficult?	p. 30
Who speaks Japanese?	p. 31
What are the origins of Japanese?	p. 32
Are there other languages in Japan?	p. 32
Main features of the Japanese language	p. 33
They speak too quickly!	p. 39
Written Japanese	p. 39
Literature, art and architecture	p. 49
Japanese literature (bungaku)	p. 49
Japanese art (bijutsu)	p. 56
Japanese architecture (kenchiku)	p. 64
Music and the performing arts	p. 69
Features of Japanese dance and music	p. 69
Origins of performing arts	p. 70
Noh and kyogen	p. 73
Kabuki and bunraku	p. 77
Other performing arts	p. 82
Modern music	p. 83
Modern dance	p. 85
Modern theatre	p. 85
Religion, customs and festivals	p. 89
The coexistence of Shinto and Buddhism	p. 89
Shinto	p. 89
Buddhism (bukkyo)	p. 93
Shinto and Buddhism in Japan today	p. 99
Confucianism (jukyo)	p. 100
Christianity (kirisutokyo)	p. 101
New religions (shinko shukyo)	p. 101
Annual events, festivals and public holidays	p. 102
And finally ...	p. 105
Food and fashion	p. 107
Japanese food (washoku) and cookery (ryori)	p. 107
Five classic dishes	p. 109
Eating out in Japan	p. 112
Menrui (noodles)	p. 114
Home cooking	p. 114
Drinking in Japan	p. 115
Fashion and clothing	p. 116
Fashion in modern Japan	p. 119
Four Japanese designers at the forefront of international fashion	p. 120
Creativity and achievements in modern Japan	p. 123
Science and technology	p. 123
Masukomi (mass media)	p. 126
Telecommunications and the internet	p. 134
Political structures and institutions	p. 137
The Meiji restoration (1868) and political reform	p. 137
Democratic government in post-war Japan	p. 139
Present system of government	p. 139
Political and financial scandals	p. 144
Process for political reform begins	p. 147
Local government	p. 150
Justice and the courts	p. 150
The emperor (tenno)	p. 151
Kokki (national flag)	p. 152
Kokka (national anthem)	p. 152
The basics for living	p. 155
Education (kyoiku)	p. 155
Health (kenko)	p. 162
Housing (jutaku)	p. 166
Cost of living	p. 169
Transport	p. 170
Japan at work and play	p. 175
Keizai (the economy)	p. 175
The employment and pay structure	p. 181
A day in the life of a Japanese worker	p. 183
Unemployment	p. 184
Japan at play	p. 184
The Japanese people	p. 195
Stereotypes	p. 195
The 'uniqueness' of the Japanese	p. 198
Social trends	p. 198
Social issues	p. 202
Social customs and obligations	p. 207
Doing business with the Japanese	p. 208
Visiting a Japanese home	p. 210
Japan in the wider world	p. 214
Japanisation	p. 214
Internationalisation	p. 215
The exoticism of the West	p. 215
The exoticism of the East	p. 216
Trading with other countries	p. 217
The Japanese abroad	p. 219
International issues	p. 219
... And the future?	p. 225
A timeline of Japan's history	p. 227
Three Japanese recipes	p. 230
Index	p. 234
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