Japanese Culture

I can’t decide… Please let me know which one you think sounds more interesting.

Giving valid reasons could gain you 10 points.

I agree with the person above.
Shinsengumi is far more meaningful and interesting subject to discuss.
Although you need to do an extensive research on the last years of the Edo period,
you can be familiar with extremely (yes) complicated conflicts and struggles among the Japanese immediately before the Meiji Restoration.

I am a Japanese and when I was in college, I wrote a paper on the Civil War in the US. At first, I thought it would be an easy topic to write, because I did not have any more knowledge than the war was fought between anti-slavery people in the North and pro-slavery people in the South. But, the more I read books on it, the more I learnt about the political complexity between North and South in the US.

A similar thing could be said when you talk about the bloody power struggles between the pro-Emperor factions and Tokugawa Bakufu factions back then. However, the fact was not that simple. If you make a research on Shinsengumi, you would be amazed by the complex political background behind it. Good luck!

Japanese etiquette? That is totally meaningless. That varies from region to region, and generation to generation. We cannot generalize what ‘Japanese etiquette’ is all about. If you could write a 30-page paper on such a boring subject about Japanese etiquette, I would be impressed! Please send it to me. I will give you A++++ for your worthless efforts! Write a paper on Shinsengumi! I want to read it. Good luck!

I’m thinking of buying some Japanese CDs and stuff but I want to know if there are any free websites that teach you the language and some of the culture… Any suggestions?

give this site a try? good and free.

http://www.sayjack.com/

Im trying to learn japanese and i have a pretty good dictionary so i would like to read manga such as naruto in Japanese to learn the language. Thank you.
Btw, please answer question… No need to hear moral lessons.

Why don’t you buy them? Please honor the maker of the manga by buying their books instead of watching them on a forbidden web site in the internet.

I need the right translation of " Japan Tour 2011"
Thank you!!

???????2011

Hope this helped!

To film Japanese women having sex with African tribesmen lol

I’m not posting a link, for obvious reasons

Because Japan itself has stricter censorship laws regarding that.

While Japanese sub-culture (anime/manga/otaku etc) is broadly well-recognized today, do many people outside of Japan have the basic knowledge of traditional Japanese culture?

If your answer is NO, do you think "Traditional Japan" should be more promoted by the Japanese government?

Yes, it is something that should be promoted more because a lot of traditional Japanese culture is dying out. A good example is the traditional handmade kimono. It is an endangered species because most craftsmen are over 80 years old with few of the younger generation interested in the art, it is likely their skills will die with them. The industry is struggling to find ways of passing on its craftsmanship to a new generation. The art involves more than 1000 different processes for each kimono and can take 40 years to master a single technique.

Read more about it here http://japan-australia.blogspot.com/2010/11/japans-traditional-kimono-now.html

I need to compare Japan during the time of the World War 2 to present day. I have googled so much and only find things about the war. Any idea what the culture was like back then? What they wore, what they ate, what music they listened to. Please any help is appreciated. Thanks.

I know that this was the time (maybe it was in the 40’s?) when the U.S. occupied Japan, and prostitutes named themselves "Geisha Girls," which made demand of actual Geishas almost nonexistant. So the number of Geishas plummeted.
I believe this was also the time when most of Japan was getting into the western world. So they probably began learning English and wearing western clothes and listening to more western music.
I’m sorry it’s not a lot of info…but I hope it helps.

Any suggestions for learning the Japanese language. I bought the book Japanese for dummies but want more resources. If so cool.

The best way to learn Japanese is through a variety of methods. You need to work on your grammar, listening, speaking, reading and writing. Its best to think of these as separate categories and focus on each specific category as these require different methods and techniques.

Start by learning the basics through grammar. These books really helped me:

• Shin Nihongo no Kiso I & II

• Shin Nihongo no Kiso Japanese Kanji Workbook

• A Course in Modern Japanese by The University of Nagoya Press

• An Introduction to Modern Japanese by Osamu Mizutani & Nobuko Mizutani

How to Learn Japanese http://japan-australia.blogspot.com/2010/11/how-to-learn-japanese.html

I need to compare Japan during the time of the World War 2 to present day. I have googled so much and only find things about the war. Any idea what the culture was like back then? What they wore, what they ate, what music they listened to. Please any help is appreciated. Thanks.

Yeah, I actually do have an idea but I won’t tell you unless you give me best answer. I promise I will give it to you then. Sorry, but I am very urgent for some points.

Thank you very much for your cooperation in this manner.