Japanese Culture

Japanese Culture
Japanese culture has evolved greatly from its origins. Contemporary culture combines influences from Asia, Europe and North America. Traditional Japanese arts include crafts suchas ceramics, textiles, lacquerware, swords and dolls; performances of bunraku, kabuki, noh, dance, and rakugo; and other practices, the tea ceremony, ikebana, martialarts, calligraphy, origami, onsen, Geisha and games. Japan has a developed system for the protection and promotion of both tangible and intangible Cultural Properties and National Treasures. Sixteen sites have been inscribed on theUNESCO World Heritage List, twelve of which are of cultural significance.

Art
The Shrines of Ise have been celebrated as the prototype of Japanese architecture. Largely of wood, traditionalhousing and many temple buildings see the use of tatami mats and sliding doors that break down the distinction between rooms and indoor and outdoor space.[194] Japanese sculpture, largely of wood,and Japanese painting are among the oldest of the Japanese arts, with early figurative paintings dating back to at least 300 BC. The history of Japanese painting exhibits synthesis and competition betweennative Japanese aesthetics and adaptation of imported ideas.
The interaction between Japanese and European art has been significant: for example ukiyo-e prints, which began to be exported in the 19thcentury in the movement known as Japonism, had a significant influence on the development of modern art in the West, most notably on post-Impressionism. Famous ukiyo-e artistsinclude Hokusai and Hiroshige. The fusion of traditional woodblock printing and Western art led to the creation of manga, a comic book format that is now popular within and outside Japan. Manga-influenced animation fortelevision and film is called anime. Japanese-made video game consoles have been popular since the 1980s.

Music
Japanese music is eclectic and diverse. Many instruments, such as the koto, were...