Japan has an ancient history and a long and beautiful culture. And they are still able to maintain that good culture. Today I’d like to introduce 30 interesting cultures that represent Japan.

1 Kimono

We are all familiar with the kimono (Kimono), which is the national costume of Japan. A kimono is a long robe with very wide sleeves. A strap called an obi is used to hold the robe to the body. There are beautiful patterns on the fabric that are intricately woven. Nowadays, kimono is not only worn at festivals and important ceremonies, but has become a popular fashion that many foreigners are interested in.

There is one similar set of gulps that foreigners tend to remember confusedly. That’s a yukata, a less formal design than a kimono. It’s unlined and can be worn on your own without assistance.

2 Tea Ceremony (Sadou, Chadou)

The tea ceremony, also known in Japan as Sadou or Chadou, means the way of tea. It is a unique ritual in Japan that reveals the culture and way of life of the Japanese people that are simple, exquisite, and meticulous. The tea used for brewing is ground tea until it becomes a fine powder called matcha (Matcha). The brewing process is to scoop matcha into a cup. Ladle hot water from the boiler and put it in. Use a stick to stir until the tea becomes frothy and you’re done. Then he raised a cup of tea and served it to the guests. Which is usually drunk with a small piece of dessert. To cut the bitterness of the tea

3 Hanami (Hanami)

When entering spring An activity you can’t miss is going to see the cherry blossoms. It is a Japanese flower viewing tradition called Hanami. It is popular with both Japanese people and tourists. Everyone is looking forward to activities at various cherry blossom viewing spots. We will see Japanese people bringing mats or cloths to cover the floor for sitting on. Along with food and drinks to eat and socialize under the cherry trees. At each cherry blossom viewing spot, there will be bustling booths. and crowded with tourists who come to admire the beauty and take photos of the cherry blossoms.

Popular cherry blossom viewing spots for tourists include: Ueno Park or Osaka Castle, etc.

4 Shinto (Shinto)

Shinto has been a principle of belief in the lives of Japanese people since ancient times. The word Shinto can be translated as the way of the gods. This is in line with the concept of worshiping the so-called eight million gods (Yaoyorozu no Kami) because Japanese people believe that there are countless gods residing in nature everywhere, whether it be mountains, rivers, trees, rocks.

One of the main conclusions of Shinto is that the worship of nature is the foundation of Shinto. Be it trees, streams, rocks, they all have gods or kami residing there.

5 Zen (Zen)

Zen is a sect in Mahayana Buddhism. that is very popular in Japan It combines the concepts of Mahayana Buddhism from India and philosophy from Chinese Taoism. Zen is derived from the word Jhana, which means concentration.

Zen does not worship sacred things or miraculous powers. But adhere to Dhamma practices that help in soothing the mind. The focus will be on practical training. Practice using your intelligence. and meditate to achieve enlightenment Enlightenment is one of the goals of Zen. In Japanese, it is called Satori, which has a similar meaning to the word enlightenment.

One of the symbols of Zen that can be touched It is a Japanese rock garden called Kare Sansui, or what foreigners like to call a Zen Garden.

6 Torii

This is a common sight for those who like to visit Shinto shrines. In addition to Mount Fuji and cherry blossoms Another symbol of Japan is the Torii.

A torii is an archway that consists of a pair of large pillars topped by a pair of smaller logs placed across, and is often painted vermillion. It is a Shinto belief that the torii gate is known as the domain of the gods. Torii gates can often be seen at shrines. and places where sacred things are believed to reside such as forests, mountains, lakes

7 Sushi (Sushi)

When talking about Japanese food, many people probably think of sushi. With its appetizing appearance combined with the unique taste of Japan, sushi is now popular all over the world.

Main ingredients of sushi Contains rice mixed with vinegar. It is formed into small, bite-sized balls. Arrange seafood, fish, shellfish, shrimp, squid, fish roe, and more on bite-sized rice balls. This is called nigiri sushi. (Nigirisushi) is the most popular type of sushi. In addition, there are many types of sushi. For example, sushi where ingredients are rolled. Then wrapped in seaweed, it’s called Maki Sushi, etc.

8 Sashimi (Sashimi)

Another food culture in Japan is sashimi, which is just as popular among foreigners as sushi. Sashimi is eating raw, unseasoned meat. This is different from sushi in that it does not contain rice as an ingredient. Sashimi will be fresh meat. Mostly it is the meat of sea fish. Cut or cut into thin pieces. Easy to eat It is often eaten together with seasonings that help mask the fishy taste of raw meat, such as soy sauce, wasabi, pickled ginger, grated radish, etc.

The most common type of sashimi is, of course, fish. But besides fish, other meats such as horse meat are cut into thin pieces. It’s also called sashimi.

9 Wagashi

Wagashi is a collective term. All kinds of traditional Japanese sweets Can be translated according to the name It is a combination of the words wa, which means Japanese, and kashi, which means sweet. Together they form Japanese sweets.

Mostly, wagashi refers to an ancient dessert. or was very popular in the past such as in the Edo period Wagashi ingredients often use things that have been cultivated in Japan since ancient times. Anyone who likes to eat may have noticed that The filling for many traditional Japanese sweets is often made from red beans or white beans, for example.

Popular wagashi include dorayaki, or red bean paste filled with fried dough. which Thai people know well from the Doraemon cartoon (Doraemon)

10 Wabi-Sabi (Wabi-Sabi)

Wabi-Sabi is another concept of Zen Buddhism (Zen) made up of two words: “Wabi” meaning simplicity, austerity and “Sabi” meaning tranquility, mind. Still is a philosophy that makes us see that

1. Everything is imperfect.

2. But in imperfection It has its own hidden beauty.

Wabisabi can be used in everyday life. We will see through various things. such as simple daily life art design Various appliances and architecture, etc.

11 Noh dramas

Noh (Noh) is a traditional Japanese stage play. The highlight is that the actors will wear “Noh drama masks” to role play as various characters It is divided into the masks of men, women, and gods. Each has a different role, such as sages, demons, madmen, and mythological characters. and dressed in beautiful traditional costumes to perform on stage There is a mixture of chanting and storytelling. and there is also alternating music playing in some periods The stories often come from historical novels. or the story of a warrior

12 Kabuki (Kabuki)

Kabuki is a traditional performing art. It is thought to have originated in the 17th century and developed into a popular drama among people during the Edo period. In the past, there were all male actors. Dancing and telling stories with a band playing as accompaniment. The most popular storyline revolves around samurai society. Legends of heroes, magic, life stories of the townspeople. and sad stories etc.

13 Bunraku

Bunraku (Bunraku) is a famous old form of Japanese puppet theater. Bunraku performances are accompanied by music and shamisen. The puppeteers often wear black to blend in with the often black backdrop. Puppetry requires a lot of skill because each puppet is about 1-1.5 meters long, quite large and heavy.

Puppet shows look like real people’s shows. There are puppet ventriloquists who tell stories in epic chants called Joruri. The stories are based on famous epics about warrior heroes.

14 Shamisen

Shamisen is a very famous Japanese musical instrument. Used for various types of folk performances. such as bunraku and kabuki The name shamisen means “three strings” and is a lute-type stringed instrument that, as the name suggests, has three strings. The body is square. And in the past it was popular to cover it with the skin of a dog or cat. But nowadays it is not popular to do it anymore.

The shamisen’s sound is full of energy. Shamisen are generally played to accompany singing or storytelling. As in Kabuki and Bunraku puppet theater. The shamisen is considered to be an extremely important representative of the musical instruments of the Edo period. And those who are interested in Japanese culture will have the opportunity to see it very often.

15 Karate

Karate (Karate) can be translated as the way of bare hands. It is a type of Japanese martial art. It is a combination of Okinawan fighting and influences from Chinese palm fighting skills. The method of fighting is to use concentration to draw power from all over the body and combine it into one before attacking by using hands and feet to punch and kick at various parts. of the opponent’s body And another important thing about karate is training the mind to be empty. able to abstain from desire Having pride and various desires.

16 Sumo

Sumo (Sumo) is the national sport of Japan. and popular sports among foreign tourists in Japan that many people want to go see at least once

Sumo evolved from an ancient martial art and is associated with the gods. Sumo athletes are men who are large and fat. full of muscle and has great strength Hair styled in a bun in the Edo period style. Wearing a loin cloth called Mawashi (Mawashi) and fighting with bare hands using Kimarite (Kimarite), which is a term for sumo’s 82 fighting positions, a combination of catching, swinging, throwing, blocking, twisting, and spinning.

Sumo decides wins and losses. Who will fall first? Or who fell out of the dirt stage called Dohyo first?

17 Kyudo or archery (Kyudo)

Kyudo means the way of the bow. It is archery that was born from the practice of fighting in wars of the Japanese in the past. Until it developed into a sport as it is today

The equipment used is a bow called Yumi and bamboo arrows called Ya. Kyudo is considered one of the most beautiful martial arts of Japan. It has a deeper meaning than simply releasing an arrow from a bow and hitting a target. Because the main principle of Kyudo is training the mind and concentration to be still. And nowadays, archery is still used in important ceremonies and festivals.

18 Kendo (Kendo)

Kendo means the way of the sword. It is a Japanese martial art of self-defense. There are fast, violent, decisive and continuous fighting moves, rooted in the use of swords by samurai in the past. And there is evidence that it has been practiced for more than a thousand years. Equipment used for kendo includes wooden swords, a training uniform called keiko-gi, hakama pants, and uniform armor consisting of a chest plate, mask, and arm guards. and hip protector

19 Judo

Judo (Judo) is a type of Japanese martial art. It can be translated as the way of flexibility. It comes from a martial art called Jujutsu or Jujitsu. It is applied by emphasizing the practice of steadfast meditation combined with the effective use of physical power in order to fight and win.

Judo does not use equipment for fighting, but only bare hands. Using 3 main techniques: throwing (Nage-waza), locking or submission. (Katame-waza) and techniques related to punching, hitting, hitting, kicking various parts of the body (Atemi-waza)

20 Daruma

If we talk about the round red dolls with one eye in Japan. Someone should probably remember that it was a Daruma doll, which is considered a popular amulet among Japanese people. Daruma is a wooden doll. Round shape similar to a doll. No arms or legs, eyebrows, a beard, but no black eyeballs. The appearance is similar to Bodhidharma. Mostly red But there are other colors too. and often has the meaning of various auspicious blessings

The fact that the daruma doesn’t have black eyes is because it is meant for the owner to color when making a wish. By dab it on the right eye when making a wish, and when the wish has been fulfilled, dab it on the left eye and place it on the shelf with the daruma facing south.

21 Sake or Japanese liquor Nihonshu (Sake, Nihonshu)

Sake or Nihonshu is Japanese liquor made from rice. It is very popular both domestically and abroad. You can drink it either cold or warm it up and then drink it. Can be used in cooking. The taste of sake varies greatly from sweet to bitter. Because the heart of making sake lies in the Koji germ that is used to ferment rice. which is the secret formula of each family This one depends on what kind of flavor people like. In addition, sake has different names according to the season. For example, cherry blossom viewing season is called Hanami Zake, snow falling season is called Yukimi Zake, etc.

The word sake actually exists in Japanese. It’s a word for all kinds of alcoholic beverages. If Japanese people say sake, It may also mean wanting to drink alcohol, beer, or other beverages.

As for the Japanese rice fermented drink that foreigners like us call “sake,” Japanese people call it Nihonshu.

22 Calligraphy or Shodou (Shodou)

Calligraphy (Shodou) is the art of beautiful handwritten calligraphy that has been around since ancient times. It shows the beauty of the letters. Both Kanji (Kanji) and Kana (Kana) characters used include Japanese paper and brushes. In the past, brushes were often made from animal fur such as sheep’s wool, horse hair, etc., by dipping brushes made from fur into black ink. Then write the letters down This stroke of the brush requires concentration and delicacy. And put your feelings into it while writing so that it comes out as a meaningful work of art.

23 Japanese Garden (Teien or Nihon-Teien)

Japanese gardens (Teien or Nihon-Teien) were influenced by Chinese gardens that arrived with the spread of Buddhism. Gardening therefore began in the temple. Later, it was adopted as a Zen garden. Come mix and create your own identity. Japanese gardening places importance on the composition of the landscape. In the garden there must be a waterfall, stream, pond or island in the middle of the water and a bridge over it. There are various plants, decorative rocks, and stone lanterns set up in various places. and garden walkway

24 Omamori

Omamori (Omamori) means to protect. They are shrine amulets in Japan. They come in many forms, including the traditional small cloth bag which you may be familiar with. And currently, they are also made into stickers, keychains, and mobile phone straps. and many other styles that are suitable for modern people’s lifestyles People who come to pray at shrines often buy them and carry them with them to enhance their good fortune.

Omamori has many meanings and many colors. Omamori are usually clearly categorized to focus on special areas of luck, such as work, commerce, health, study, love, safe travel, etc.

25 Haiku

Haiku (Haiku) is Japanese poetry. Derived from traditional Japanese poetry called haikai or renku, haiku have been around for more than 400 years and came into prominence in the late 19th century. A poem consists of a total of 17 syllables, written Divided into 3 paragraphs, the first paragraph has 5 syllables, the second paragraph has 7 syllables, and the third paragraph has 5 syllables, respectively. Describe the state of mind Soul and deep feelings The content focuses on simplicity. Don’t follow the pattern. Freedom without limitations It follows the natural flow continuously. and is concise

26 Karuta

Many of you may have seen Japanese dramas or cartoons that feature scenes of playing karuta (karuta). Karuta actually comes from a Portuguese word that means “card” and Japan also has a word for it. Various types of ruta

Probably the most popular karuta is The cards match 100 Japanese poems. The rules are that one person reads the first paragraph of the poem on a reading card called a Yomifuda, and the other players read the first line of the poem. who join to play They have to compete to pick up cards called Torifuda (Torifuda), which is the last line of poetry, and put them together.

27 Origami

If talking about Japanese games Origami is probably one of the first options that people think of.

Origami (Origami) is the Japanese art of paper folding. It comes from the word origami (ori) and the word paper (kami), using square sheets of paper ranging in size from 2.5 centimeters to 25 centimeters in the same color. or different colors Or it can be paper with various patterns that can be folded into various shapes such as birds, fish, frogs, and many more.

28 Shogi or Japanese Chess (Shogi, Japanese Chess)

Shogi is Japanese chess. It is a board game that has been popular since ancient times and until today there are still many people who like to play it. Shogi began to receive a lot of attention in the Heian period, called Heian Shogi, and became widespread in the Edo period. Until the Shogi Club was founded. The equipment used to play Shogi is a 9×9 square board and 40 pieces. Each piece has a kanji written on top of it. The gameplay is similar to a war simulator, with two players fighting a war. Each side has generals, soldiers, generals, and various pieces. Fight to become the winner of the battle.

29 Ikebana

Shogi is Japanese chess. It is a board game that has been popular since ancient times and until today there are still many people who like to play it. Shogi began to receive a lot of attention in the Heian period, called Heian Shogi, and became widespread in the Edo period. Until the Shogi Club was founded. The equipment used to play Shogi is a 9×9 square board and 40 pieces. Each piece has a kanji written on top of it. The gameplay is similar to a war simulator, with two players fighting a war. Each side has generals, soldiers, generals, and various pieces. Fight to become the winner of the battle.

30 Lucky Cat Maneki Neko (Maneki Neko)

The Japanese beckoning cat or Maneki Neko is an auspicious item associated with Japanese people’s belief in good fortune. It is a cat figurine in a sitting position, available in many sizes. It wears a collar with a bell hanging around its neck. Raise the front leg in the manner of beckoning one leg or some beckon both sides. It is believed that if you lift the right leg it will beckon with money and good fortune. Lift your left leg to call customers into the store. And if you raise both legs, you will attract both customers and money, etc.

Reference: allabout-japan