Culture - Part I

This part of the site should help you understand why Japan is still rooted in traditional values and customs despite becoming modernised. A small insight into history should help also.

You may wonder why Japan has such customs even in these days where modern technology is everywhere, labour saving devices, and so on, yet they still stick to the days of old.

A brief history

One reason is that only in 1867 did Japan allow full access to its lands by Western powers. The Tokugawa regime controlled the shogunate from 1603 to 1867, known as the Edo period. There were advantages in this era, such as improved farming and increased literacy amongst males. However, the social structure was strictly defined, samurai were at the top followed by the peasants, artisans and merchants. During this period, Japan was completely closed to Western powers, until 1854, when Japan had accepted a treaty led by the United States. Admiral Micheal C Perry delivered it, subsequently opening a limited number of ports for trading. This led to unfair demands of the Japanese eventually as there were only one-way economic benefits for the West.

In 1868 the power of the former emperor was restored after a bloody revolution, abolishing the shogunate. The Meiji period (1868-1912) changed Japan for the better, ports were now open to Western traders, the hierarchical social status was abolished and finally people were allowed to choose how they wished to live their lives. Eventually, they had become a world power after successful economic reforms and rearmament of its military, building more ships for its navy. After two wars, the Sino-Japanese war and then against Russia, it had gained international respect and abolished the treaties forced upon them in the Edo period.

The sense of honour was never lost since those days. Samurai followed a strict code and were mostly honourable to their last moments of life.

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