THE CULTURE OF JAPAN

	Akritee. 1313270. 4PSEng. The culture and philosophy of Japan has been a mystery for the Western world since times immemorial. Its magnificence and splendour have been commercialized through Western culture and now enjoys a status as one of the world's top economic powers. A very interesting aspect of Japan is towards its attitude to work and superb business ethic. Karoshi is the Japanese word for "death from overwork." The widespread image of Japanese businessman as tireless machine for corporate welfare is moderately correct. However, there it would be wrong to imply that an average Japanese employee works harder in comparison to an American worker. The culture in Japan is a multi-layered and complex structure that has been emerging within itself and creating new layers since for a long time now. A stereotypical Westerner has a rather incomplete interpretation of Japanese culture. One of the first images that springs to one’s mind is that of an ancient Samurai warrior exercising his heavy sword, or the picture a young Geisha, pouring tea and serving sushi. While these components do play a role in the entire concept of Japan as a whole, the entire meaning and history of the nation is much larger than that.   Japanese folks view themselves as attuned to nature. Majority of urban Japan is an industrialized, built-up mess. This is the consequence of ad hoc redevelopment after the second world war. In Japan, there is a word, omote, which refers to the civic, formal, and conventional aspects of behaviour. This refers to deep-seated patterns of behaviour, for instance how close to one another individuals stand, or who shakes whose hand first at a meeting. It also can make reference to behaviour in business undertakings and events in a professional setting. Ura, which is more valued, refers to the private, informal, and unconventional aspects of culture Japanese people see this manner of behaviour as more respected and expressive, however, one merely acts this way in proximity with close friends or family members. The Japanese give a lot of importance to the outside appearances. This however does not stand for the fact that they do not value what is private and hidden, but it aims to imply the fact that copious prominence is placed on an individual's presentation and appearance. Social ranking and status play a part in many major institutions that one goes through in a lifetime. In Japan, everyone is aware of everyone else's age. In some companies, newsletters that display the ages of employees are produced for internal distribution. Vertical ranking, based mainly on age, determines everything from the location of desks in a classroom to the order in which cups of tea are distributed. These rankings are even pervasive in the language, which has diverse ways of speaking others in regard to their age, whether older or younger. Conventionally, the Japanese lay great importance on the concept of wa, or group harmony. The importance of the common greater good is of way more importance than laying emphasis on one's own needs. This norm is applied in schools, as well as social groups and, later in life, the workplace. The inferior partner in a relationship, whether personal or business, must alleviate their own wants, thoughts, and opinions to that of the superior, so as not to cause the superior to lose face or be humiliated. The appearance, or tatemae, is more important than the reality, or honne. Although this may appear as hypocritical or negative to the eyes of westerners, to the Japanese this may be completely normal.