79-505: In Japanese culture , Kogal ( コギャル , kogyaru ) refers to the members of the Gyaru subculture who are still in high school and who incorporate their school uniforms into their dress style. These high school girls are characterized by the typical bleached hair, make-up, shortened skirts, and wearing of loose socks . The word kogal is anglicized from kogyaru , a contraction of kōkōsei gyaru ("high school gal"). Aside from
158-878: A cellular phone. The 1993 television special Za kogyaru naito ( The Kogal Night ) introduced the kogal to a mass audience and provided a model for aspiring kogals to follow. Platform shoes were popularized by singer Namie Amuro in 1994. Egg , a fashion magazine for kogals, was established in 1995. In the mid-1990s, the Japanese media gave a great deal of attention to the phenomenon of enjo kōsai ("paid dating") supposedly engaged in by bored housewives and high school students, thus linking kogals to prostitutes. The movie Baunsu ko gaurusu ( Bounce Ko Gals ) (1997) by Masato Harada depicts kogals prostituting themselves to buy trendy fashion accessories. Kogal culture peaked in 1998. Kogals were then displaced by another style that gained popularity through Egg : ganguro ,
237-670: A colossal bronze statue of the Buddha Vairocana in the Tōdai-ji temple. Wood has traditionally been used as the chief material in Japan, along with traditional Japanese architecture. Statues are often lacquered , gilded , or brightly painted, although there are commonly few traces of this on the surface. Bronze and other metals are generally not used. Other materials, such as stone and pottery , have had extremely important roles in traditional sculpture. The music of Japan includes
316-704: A combination of three scripts: Chinese characters pronounced as " kanji " ( 漢字 ) in Japanese, hiragana , and katakana . Japan had no writing system prior to adopting kanji from China in 751 CE, and like Chinese, kanji are used extensively in Japanese as logograms . Presently, there is a notable number of kanji in modern Japanese with a different meaning from the corresponding hanzi character used in modern Chinese. Modern Japanese also features far fewer simplified Chinese characters in comparison to modern Chinese as Japanese typically uses fewer kanji, mainly for nouns , adjective stems, and verb stems. Both hiragana and katakana are phonetic syllabaries derived from
395-493: A different time," said one schoolgirl. "Now, with kogal being such an issue in Japan, nobody can see me for me. They only see me as kogal, like the ones they see on TV." Others state the kogal look was used alongside the enjo kōsai panic of the 1990s. A former editor of egg magazine , a gyaru fashion magazine, said "enjo kōsai began as a mischievous but relatively innocent way of playing pranks on middle-aged men." This included exchanged small amounts of money for dates that lasted
474-674: A dual-structure model, in which Japanese populations are descendants of the indigenous Jōmon people and later arrivals of people from the East Eurasian continent, known as the Yayoi people . Japan's indigenous culture originates primarily from the Yayoi people who settled in Japan between 1000 BCE and 300 CE. Yayoi culture spread to the main island of Honshu , mixing with the native Jōmon culture. Modern Japanese have an estimated 80% Yayoi and 20% Jōmon ancestry. The second hypothesis proposes
553-402: A few minutes. It was reported that the media coverage was framed as if all high school girls "were rushing to Shibuya and having sex with men in karaoke boxes just to buy luxury goods." Years later, it was debunked as a stereotype. The kogal phenomenon has never represented a majority of teenage girls. Rather, it largely symbolizes the evolution of the role of women in capitalist Japan. As such,
632-475: A focus of fashion or media attention. Gal fashion later reemerged in the form of the skin-whitening Shiro Gyaru , associated with Popteen . One such example of this is the Onee Gal, who take their fashion cues from Hollywood. Clad in stilettos and jewels, these gals parade the streets of Shibuya. The women opting for this style are often gals of previous generations that are returning for this style, which
711-403: A gal culture that first appeared in the mid-1990s and used dark makeup combined with heavy amounts of tanning. Ganguro evolved into another extreme look (though less extreme than ganguro ) called yamanba ("mountain hag"). As looks grew more extreme, fewer girls were attracted to gal culture. Although there are still female students who sexualize their uniforms, the kogal is no longer
790-541: A humorous character, had an older origin, in 8th century entertainment brought from China, developing itself in sarugaku . In kyōgen , masks are rarely used and even if the plays can be associated with the ones of noh, currently many are not. Kabuki appears in the beginning of the Edo period from the representations and dances of Izumo no Okuni in Kyoto. Due to concerns over the number of actresses engaged in selling sex,
869-424: A number of theories about the origins of Japanese, the strongest arguments for affiliation are with Korean on the basis of similar syntax. More controversially, it has also been paired with Altaic languages due to a similar number of systems and verb forms. While Japanese is the only official language of Japan, other languages such as Ainu and Ryukyuan are spoken on the Japanese islands. Written Japanese uses
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#1732783629954948-523: A separate style in its own right as Japanese writers began writing their own works about Japan. The Tale of Genji , written by Murasaki Shikibu during the Heian period , is known worldwide as a unique Japanese literature. Since Japan reopened its ports to Western trading and diplomacy in the 19th century, Western and Eastern literature have strongly affected each other and continue to do so. Japanese calligraphy , rendered using flowing, brush-drawn strokes,
1027-495: A tripartite model of genomic origin. This hypothesis proposes that contemporary Japanese people are from three distinct ancestral groups: Jōmon, Yayoi and Kofun , with 13%, 16% and 71% of genetic ancestry, respectively. During the Kofun period, it is said that migrant groups from China came to Japan and settled on the island, bringing with them various cultural advances and centralized leadership. The migrants who came to Japan during
1106-403: A variety of colors, styles, and sizes. Men mainly wear darker or more muted colors, while women tend to wear brighter colors and pastels, and, especially for younger women, often with complicated abstract or floral patterns. In previous decades, married women wore short sleeved kimono, whereas unmarried women wore long sleeved kimono to both formal and informal occasions; however, the rise in both
1185-648: A way to celebrate their individuality, gals might say biba jibun ( ビバ自分 , "long live the self", derived from Viva and the Japanese word for "self") . Gals' words are often created by contracting Japanese phrases or by literal translation of an English phrase, i.e. without reordering to follow Japanese syntax. Gal words may also be created by adding the suffix -ingu (from English "-ing") to verbs, for example gettingu ( ゲッティング , "getting") . Roman script abbreviations are popular, for example "MM" stands for maji de mukatsuku ("really frustrating"). "MK5" stands for maji de kireru go byoumae ( マジでキレる５秒前 , "on
1264-490: A web presence in the United States . Both Ayumi Hamasaki and Kumiko Funayama have been featured on the cover 19 times, Hamasaki first appearing in 2000 and Funayama in 2008. Other artists who have appeared on the cover include Kumi Koda and Namie Amuro , as well as foreign artists like Avril Lavigne , Britney Spears , Fergie , and Gwen Stefani . The magazine is famous for including 'doku-moderu' (読者モデル) where
1343-472: A wide array of styles both distinctly traditional and modern . Traditional Japanese music is quite different from Western music and is based on the intervals of human breathing rather than mathematical timing; traditional music also typically slides between notes, a feature also not commonly found in Western music. The word for music in Japanese is ongaku (音楽), combining the kanji on (音, "sound") with
1422-458: Is also distinctive, including, but not restricted to the following: ikemen ( イケ面 , "Cool dude") , chō-kawaii ( 超かわいい , "totally cute") , gyaru-yatte ( ギャルやって , "do the gal thing") , gyaru-fuku ( ギャル服 , "gal clothes") , gyaru-kei shoppu ( ギャル系ショップ , "gal-style shop") , gyaru-do appu no tame ni ( ギャル度アップのために , "increasing her degree of galness") , chō maji de mukatsuku ( 超マジでむかつく , "really super frustrating") . As
1501-479: Is also used in a highly formalized manner to imitate "nature" and the expressive energy and artistic potential of noise are accepted and incorporated. Traditional Japanese music finds its first major historic periods in the Nara (710–794) and Heian (794–1185) periods. The two most common kinds of music during this time were the music of the court ( Gagaku ) and the music of Buddhist rituals ( shōmyō ). The music of
1580-408: Is an ethnic religion focusing on ceremonies and rituals. In Shinto, followers believe that kami – Shinto deities or spirits – are present throughout nature, including rocks, trees, and mountains. Humans can also be considered to possess a kami . One of the goals of Shinto is to maintain or strengthen the connection between humans, nature, and kami . The religion developed in Japan prior to
1659-455: Is considered to be a traditional art form, as well as a means of conveying written information. Typical calligraphic works can consist of phrases, poems, stories, or even characters represented by themselves; the style and format of the calligraphy can mimic the subject matter through aspects such as the texture of the writing and the speed of the brush strokes. Several different styles of Japanese calligraphy exist, with considerable effort put into
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#17327836299541738-406: Is considered to be one way for people to ensure a better future, with the ultimate goal of Buddhism being to escape the cycle of death and rebirth by attaining true insight. Christianity was introduced in the 16th century. When the religion was banned during the 17th century, a group of hidden Christians blended Christian theology with Shinto and Buddhist practices. Hidden Christian Sites in
1817-428: Is considered to hold the same importance as traditional building architecture, and both are influenced by similar historical and religious backgrounds. A primary design principle of a traditional garden is the creation of the landscape based on, or at least greatly influenced by, the style of three-dimensional monochrome ink ( sumi ) landscape painting known as sumi-e or suibokuga ; as such, garden landscaping
1896-525: Is elevated to the status of an artform in Japan. Traditional Japanese sculptures mainly focused on Buddhist images, such as Tathagata , Bodhisattva , and Myō-ō . The oldest sculpture in Japan is a wooden statue of Amitābha at the Zenkō-ji temple. In the Nara period, Buddhist statues were made by the national government to boost its prestige. These examples are seen in present-day Nara and Kyoto, most notably
1975-604: Is not used by the girls it refers to. They call themselves gyaru ( ギャル ) , a Japanese pronunciation of the English word "gal". The term gyaru was first popularized in 1972 by a television ad for a brand of jeans. In the 1980s, a gyaru was a fashionably dressed woman. When written 子 , ko means "young woman," so kogyaru is sometimes understood in the sense of "young gal". Kogals have been accused of conspicuous consumption , living off their parents and enjo-kosai (amateur prostitution/dating service). It
2054-542: Is sexy yet more adult. Unlike their younger counterparts, there is less clubbing and more projecting an image of sky-high social status. Despite this, the Onee Gals are more serious about their lives than other gal groups, with their age placing them in college or the workforce. One of the driving forces behind this is Sifow , a singer and idol that subscribes to the Onee Gal style. The Hime gyaru (literally "lady gal," also translated as "princess gal"), also part of
2133-440: Is the art of painting a scene or object using diluted black ink. Painting has been an art in Japan for a very long time: the brush is a traditional writing and painting tool, and the extension of that to its use as an artist's tool was probably natural. Japanese painters are often categorized by what they painted, as most of them constrained themselves solely to subjects such as animals, landscapes, or figures. Chinese papermaking
2212-468: Is the national and primary language of Japan. The language is a lexically distinct pitch-accent system . Early Japanese is known primarily by its state in the 8th century when the three major works of Old Japanese were compiled. The earliest attestation of the Japanese language was found in a Chinese document from 256 CE. However, the Japanese language has no genetic relationship with Chinese, nor any clear affiliation with any other language. While there are
2291-404: Is unclear how many girls were actually involved in prostitution. Critics decry their materialism as reflecting a larger psychological or spiritual emptiness in modern Japanese life. Some kogals support their lifestyle with allowances from wealthy parents, living a " parasite single " existence that grates against traditional principles of duty and industry. Though brand-name accessories are part of
2370-482: The kosode ( ' short sleeve ' ), with longer-sleeved garments being known as furisode ( ' swinging sleeve ' ). The earliest versions of the kimono were heavily influenced by traditional Chinese clothing, known today as hanfu ( kanfuku ( 漢服 ) in Japanese). This influence was spread through Japanese envoy missions to China, resulting in extensive Chinese cultural adoption by Japan as early as
2449-515: The Shiro Gyaru style, first appeared in 2007. The girls in this subculture seem to want to live as princesses like out of fairy tales, complete with over-glamorous lifestyles and items. They wear princess-like dresses (usually in pink or other pastels), and sport large, curly brown hair, usually in bouffants. Popular brands for this subsection of Gal include Liz Lisa and Jesus Diamante. The waves of changing female Japanese beauty culture such as
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2528-584: The Government of Japan 's Agency for Culture Affairs, 66.7 percent of the population practices Buddhism , 25.6 percent practices Shintoism, 7.7 percent other religions. According to the annual statistical research on religion in 2018 by the Government of Japan 's Agency for Culture Affairs, about two million or around 1.5% of Japan's population are Christians . Other religions include Islam (70,000) and Judaism (2,000), which are largely immigrant communities with some ethnic Japanese practitioners. Shinto
2607-491: The Harajuku and Shibuya districts of Tokyo , in particular Shibuya's 109 Building . Pop singer Namie Amuro promoted the style. Kogals are avid users of photo booths , with most visiting at least once a week, according to non-scientific polls. The word kogal is a contraction of kōkōsei gyaru ( 高校生ギャル , "high school gal") . It originated as a code used by disco bouncers to distinguish adults from minors. The term
2686-571: The Muromachi period and ceramics since the Edo period . Japanese crafts became known in Europe after Nanban trade . Ikebana is the Japanese art of flower arrangement. It has gained widespread international fame for its focus on harmony, color use, rhythm, and elegantly simple design. It is an art centered greatly on expressing the seasons and is meant to act as a symbol to something greater than
2765-555: The Tang dynasty , and to a lesser extent by other Asian countries . For example, one of the scripts for writing in the Japanese language is Chinese characters ( kanji ), but Japanese has no genetic relationship with Chinese . Since the Meiji era , Japan has been primarily influenced by Western countries . The inhabitants of Japan experienced a long period of relative isolation from
2844-410: The Tang dynasty , have influenced Japanese culture throughout history. After 220 years of isolation, the Meiji era opened Japan to Western influences, enriching and diversifying Japanese culture. Popular culture shows how much contemporary Japanese culture influences the world. There are two competing hypotheses that try to explain the lineage of the Japanese people. The first hypothesis proposes
2923-561: The Western world over the past few centuries has led to many of its terms, such as origami , tsunami , karaoke , and pop cultural terms like shonen and shōjo being incorporated into the English language. Words like these have also been added to the Oxford English Dictionary . Shinto and Buddhism are the primary religions of Japan. According to the annual statistical research on religion in 2018 by
3002-399: The miniskirt or microskirt, and the loose socks , kogals favor platform boots, makeup, and Burberry check scarves, and accessories considered kawaii or cute on bags and phones. They may also dye their hair brown and get artificial suntans. They have a distinctive slang peppered with English words . They are often, but not necessarily, enrolled students. Centers of kogal culture include
3081-413: The shamisen and used in kabuki theater), uki-ma implies a slight lengthening of the first of a pair of beats, while tsume-ma implies the reverse. It is this meaning of timing that is seen as a unique aesthetic to explain otherwise inexplicable aspects of Japanese performing arts. Japanese music stresses sound quality and prizes the richness and complexity of each instrument's sound spectrum. Noise
3160-477: The 1970s with the appearance of gyaru magazines aimed at teens. Popteen , the most widely read of these magazines, has been publishing monthly since 1980. While mainstream fashion in the 1980s and early 1990s emphasized girlish and cute ( kawaii ), gyaru publications promoted a sexy aesthetic. Top gyaru magazines, including Popteen , Street Jam and Happie Nuts , were produced by editors previously involved in creating pornography for men. Also in
3239-606: The 1980s, a male-and-female motorcycle-oriented slacker culture emerged in the form of the "Yankiis" (from the American word "Yankee") and Bosozoku Gals. The original kogals were dropouts from private school who, instead of lengthening their skirts like androgynous Yankii girls, created a new form of teen rebellion by shortening them. These middle school dropouts were thus taking their cues from high school students and attempting to justify their independence by looking and acting older. The gals added their own touches like loose socks and
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3318-446: The 20th-21st centuries include Yoko Ono , Suzuka Nakamoto , Koji Tamaki , Hideto Takarai , Takahiro Moriuchi , Kenshi Yonezu , and Haruomi Hosono . Popular groups of the same eras include The Oral Cigarettes , Yoasobi , Bump of Chicken , King Gnu , Mrs. Green Apple , Fishmans , and Perfume . The four traditional theatres from Japan are noh (or nō ), kyōgen , kabuki , and bunraku . Noh had its origins in
3397-529: The 5th century CE. It was during the 8th century, however, that Chinese fashions came fully into style, and following the cancellation of the 20th mission to Tang dynasty China, these fashions developed independently, with the overlapping, V-shaped collar becoming women's fashion and the precursor to the modern kimono. Kimono, alongside all other items of traditional Japanese clothing, are known collectively as wafuku , meaning 'Japanese clothing', as opposed to yōfuku , Western-style clothing. Kimono come in
3476-601: The 6th century CE, after which point followers built shrines to worship kami . Buddhism developed in India around the 6th and 4th centuries BCE and eventually spread through the Sinosphere and South East Asia. It arrived in Japan during the 6th century CE, where it was initially unpopular. Most Japanese people were unable to understand the difficult philosophical messages present in Buddhism; however, an appreciation for
3555-589: The Chinese man'yōgana of the 5th century. Hiragana and katakana were developed from simplified kanji; hiragana emerged somewhere around the 9th century and were mainly used by women for informal language while katakana was mainly used by men in formal language. By the 10th century, both systems were used commonly by everyone. Japanese vocabulary consists of 49% words of Chinese origin , 33% words of Japanese origin , and 18% loanwords from other languages, including European languages , words of mixed origin, and
3634-538: The Kofun period appear to have had ancestry that mainly resembles the ancestry of the Han Chinese population of China. The Jomon people were hunter-gathers ; the Yayoi people introduced rice cultivation; and the Kofun migrants introduced imperial state formation. Japanese culture was influenced from ancient times to the Middle Ages primarily by multiple Chinese dynasties , with substantial derivation from
3713-746: The Nagasaki Region have become World Heritage Sites , and the unique style of Christian art is now recognized. Despite being a minority religion in Japan, Christian chapel marriage ceremonies are a popular wedding style in Japan. A minority of Japanese are Muslims. Cultural differences and a predominantly non-Muslim society present unique challenges for Japan's Muslim community, mostly immigrants from Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Iran. Muslims are scattered in Japan. Mosques and halal food are scarce due to their dispersion. Family-linked long-term residents are assimilating into Japanese society despite language and cultural barriers. Analysts say
3792-560: The Nara period can be classified as belonging to the first international period in Japanese music history. The court music was all of Chinese, Korean, or Indian origin and was played primarily by foreign musicians in its original style. Gagaku classical music has been performed at the Imperial court since the Heian period . At the same time, Buddhist ritual music exerted some influence on the native vocal style. While poetry anthologies indicate that folk music had continued its steady pace,
3871-491: The authors' assumptions or perceptions of Japanese exceptionalism; these are predominantly written in Japan by Japanese people, though examples have also been written by foreign residents, journalists and even scholars. Early works of Japanese literature were heavily influenced by cultural contact with China and Chinese literature , often written in Classical Chinese . Eventually, Japanese literature developed into
3950-423: The average age of marriage and the numbers of women never marrying in Japan has led to the divide between sleeve length becoming one more of age, with most women in their early twenties wearing long sleeved kimono only to formal occasions, and most women past their early twenties wearing short sleeved kimono to formal events, regardless of marriage status. Other developments include the abandoning of layered kimono and
4029-428: The base of the shoe to the floor, and are worn by men and women with kimono or yukata ; zōri are flat-based or sloping sandals made of a number of different materials, and are considered to be more formal than geta. Fashion trends and consumer apathy have hurt the Japanese kimono industry. Kimono sales and traditional tailors suffered after WWII due to Western fashion. Innovative and diverse kimono makers have revived
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#17327836299544108-437: The coats would be constructed from several layers of heavy cotton stitched together, and would be soaked in water to provide protection from fire. Alongside traditional clothing, Japan also has distinct footwear; tabi , ankle-length split-toed socks, are commonly worn with the kimono, and are designed to be worn with traditional shoes such as geta and zōri . Geta are thonged sandals mounted on wooden blocks extending from
4187-849: The declining industry. Internationally, the industry has tried casual styles. Cultural appropriation is hard. The Boston Museum of Fine Arts' "Kimono Wednesdays" led to cultural appropriation debates. Asian-American protesters cited Orientalism, racism, and cultural appropriation. Protests sparked global cultural debate and appropriation. The protests lacked Japanese and Japanese-American representation, say critics. Scholars say Edward Said's "Orientalism" may not always apply (O'Dwyer, 2015). Cultural appropriation could harm kimono exhibitions. War can hinder cultural exchange and Japanese fashion abroad. Japanese mainstream media and cultural commentators rarely mention it. Cultural appropriation may lead to kimono experimentation, say Japanese commentators. Cultural appropriation and Japanese fashion remain hot topics. Globally,
4266-613: The eighteenth century, in secular performances, the shamisen lute and koto , invented in China and brought to Japan during the Nara Period , 13-string zither as used for genteel entertainment and professionally controlled by blind musicians who had the rights to heike narrative. The shamisen , modified from the Chinese sanxian introduced via the Ryukyu Islands in the late sixteenth century, came into its own in
4345-475: The floating world', is a genre of woodblock prints that exemplifies the characteristics of pre-Meiji Japanese art. Because these prints could be mass-produced, they were available to a wide cross-section of the Japanese populace – those not wealthy enough to afford original paintings – during their heyday, from the 17th to 20th century. Japanese lacquerware and ceramics have historically gained international fame, and lacquerware has been actively exported since
4424-416: The flower itself. The kimono is the national garment of Japan, having developed from Chinese court clothing in the Nara period following the exchange of diplomatic envoys between the two countries at that time. The word kimono translates literally as 'thing to wear on the shoulders'; however, this term developed some time around the Edo period, before which most kimono-like garments were referred to as
4503-586: The historical records and relics show us music that was primarily instrumental and often connected with dance. By the time of the Kamakura period, most traces of the international character of Japanese music had disappeared. Court music in general was declining, while there was a steady growth of more theatrical arts. The indigenous folk ritual music of flute and drums here encountered the aristocratic aesthetic of poetry and literary tales. Japan's indigenous musical culture can still be found in much of folk music and
4582-701: The industry must balance cultural integrity and innovation (O'Dwyer, 2015). Japanese architecture was originally heavily influenced by Chinese architecture and later developed many unique aspects indigenous to Japan. Examples of traditional architecture are seen at temples , Shinto shrines , and castles in Kyoto and Nara . Some of these buildings are constructed with traditional gardens , which are influenced by Zen ideas. Some modern architects, such as Yoshio Taniguchi and Tadao Ando are known for their amalgamation of Japanese traditional and Western architectural influences. Traditional Japanese garden architecture
4661-427: The kanji gaku (楽, "enjoyment"). Major aesthetic concepts are jo-ha-kyū and ma . Jo-ha-kyū (序破急) roughly translates to "beginning, break, rapid", it essentially means that all actions or efforts should begin slowly, speed up, and then end swiftly. Ma literally means a space or interval between two points (in space or time). In music, it refers to rhythm. In nagauta (長唄, literally "long song") (played on
4740-477: The kogal look, many kogal may buy these cheaply as knock-off versions of a high-brand item from stalls in back-alley markets like ura Harajuku. Some feminists "saw the young women as cleverly negotiating their own position in a male patriarchal world." Others have charged that the kogal phenomenon is less about the girls and their fashions than a media practice to fetishize school uniforms and blame those required to wear them. "I wish that I were in high school at
4819-482: The kogal represent a growing diversity in female beauty which contrasts with the focus on docility and cuteness perpetuated previously. Kogal and its predecessors visually chronicle the evolution of Japan into a consumer culture, visibly displaying the changing values and norms within Japanese culture as consumerism necessitates the displacement of the identity to surface features. Kogals are identified primarily by looks, but their speech, called kogyarugo ( コギャル語 ) ,
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#17327836299544898-979: The kogal style rejects not only tradition which Japan is known for but the spirit of nationalism, seeking to embody stateless consumerism . This consumerism is communicated through knock-off designer goods, trips to photo booths, singing karaoke, partying, the use of love hotels, and incorporating new loanwords into everyday speech. Kogals also take a transactional approach to sexual activity, employing more risque language or referring openly to sex. Kogal hedonism and impolite language serve to assert self-hood of young Japanese women. Kogals' expertise in criticizing men, particularly older men, demonstrates their revolt against traditional gender norms. Kogal publications like Egg ' s artwork gallery of male anatomy show that kogal culture can also empower young women to express displeasure and value their own pleasure. Overall, kogal language, behavior, and images reflect an urge to usurp an orderly society. Japanese fashion began to divide by age in
4977-404: The made-in-Japan pseudo-English known as wasei-eigo . The Latin alphabet is often used in modern Japanese, especially for company names, logos, advertising, and when inputting Japanese into a computer. The Hindu–Arabic numerals are often used for numbers and can be read in either Japanese or English, but traditional Sino–Japanese numerals are also common. The influence of Japanese culture in
5056-508: The millennia, from the country's prehistoric Jōmon period , to its contemporary modern culture, which absorbs influences from Asia and other regions of the world. Since the Jomon period, ancestral groups like the Yayoi and Kofun, who arrived to Japan from Korea and China, respectively, have shaped Japanese culture. Rice cultivation and centralized leadership were introduced by these groups, shaping Japanese culture. Chinese dynasties, particularly
5135-449: The music of Shinto festivals in local communities. Several traditional instruments were adopted and assimilated into Japanese culture from various sources. They were further experimented with and developed by Japan. One of the imported end-blown bamboo flutes from China developed into the shakuhachi , which became the ritual instrument of the Fuke sect of Zen monks. By the middle of
5214-424: The outcome; in some cases, it can take over one hundred attempts to produce the desired result of a single character. This form of calligraphy is known as shodō ( 書道 ) , literally meaning 'the way of writing or calligraphy', or more commonly, shūji ( 習字 ) , 'learning how to write characters'. Commonly confused with calligraphy is the art form of sumi-e ( 墨絵 ) , literally meaning 'ink painting', which
5293-576: The outside world for over 220 years during the Tokugawa shogunate until the arrival of the " Black Ships " and the Meiji era. Today, the culture of Japan stands as one of the most influential cultures around the world, mainly because of the global reach of its popular culture . In 2023, U.S. News & World Report ranked Japan's cultural influence as the highest in Asia and 4th worldwide. Japanese
5372-456: The participation of women in the plays was forbidden by the government in 1629, and the feminine characters had passed to be represented only by men ( onnagata ). Recent attempts to reintroduce actresses in kabuki had not been well accepted. Another characteristic of kabuki is the use of makeup for the actors in historical plays ( kumadori ) and the performance of nagauta ballads. Japanese puppet theater ( bunraku ) developed in
5451-405: The process become Japanized (domesticated) and different from its model. Hybrid music has resulted, such as enka , J-pop , and ‘contemporary Japanese music’ ( gendai hōgaku ) or ‘new Japanese music’ ( shin-hōgaku ). Famous enka singers include Hibari Misora , Saburo Kitajima , Ikuzo Yoshi , and Haruo Minami. One notable contemporary influence on Japanese musical music came from Ainu music and
5530-439: The religion's art is believed to have led to Buddhism later growing in popularity. Buddhism is concerned with the cycle of rebirth and karma . In Buddhism, a person's status in society is considered unimportant, instead their good or bad deeds are valued, as every person eventually becomes ill, ages, dies, and is eventually reincarnated into a new life, a cycle known as saṃsāra ; the suffering people experience during life
5609-637: The same period as kabuki, in both competition with and collaboration with its actors and authors. The origin of bunraku , however, is older, beginning in the Heian period. In 1914, the Takarazuka Revue was founded, a company solely composed by women who introduced the revue to Japan. Popteen Popteen is a monthly teenage fashion magazine published by the Kadokawa Haruki Corporation in Japan. The first issue
5688-466: The small Muslim community and cultural differences between Islam and Japan reduce future conflicts. Syncretic Sufi Islam may increase Japan's Muslim population. The Japanese "national character" has been written about under the term Nihonjinron , literally meaning 'theories/discussions about the Japanese people' and referring to texts on matters that are normally the concerns of sociology, psychology, history, linguistics, and philosophy, but emphasizing
5767-620: The so-called nationalist composer Ifukube Akiraa (b. 1914 in Hokkaido) who brought the tonkori zither onto the World Music scene. In the late 20th century Japanese music rose in popularity with Aidoru (Japanese Idols) with popular audition shows such as the Suta¯tanjo¯(A Star Is Born). Japanese music further evolved in the jazz, pop, R&B, and Rock music genres and continues into today. Popular artists of
5846-599: The standardisation of the length of short sleeved women's kimono to a range of roughly 49–52 centimetres (19–20 in) in length, both developments driven by fabric shortages in WWII. The happi coat is another form of traditional clothing. A happi (commonly Anglicised as "happy") coat is a straight sleeved coat typically decorated with a family crest and/or kanji along the collar. In previous centuries, happi -style coats known as hikeshi sashiko banten or simply hikeshi banten were commonly worn by firefighters ;
5925-472: The theatrical contexts of bunraku puppet drama and kabuki drama. Japan is the second largest music market in the world behind the United States, and is the largest in Asia, with most of the market dominated by Japanese artists . Local music often appears at karaoke venues on lease from record labels . Western music has been adopted and adapted to the Japanese context and has often in
6004-419: The union of the sarugaku , with music and dance made by Kan'ami and Zeami Motokiyo . Among the characteristic aspects of it are the masks, costumes, and the stylized gestures, sometimes accompanied by a fan that can represent other objects. The Noh programs are presented in alternation with the ones of kyōgen , traditionally in numbers of five, but currently in groups of three. The kyōgen , of
6083-484: The verge of lit. ' five seconds away from ' going ballistic") . Another feature of gal speech is the suffix -ra , meaning "like" or "learned from," as in Amura ( アムラー , "like singer Namie Amuro ") . The English used in kogal speech is often a combination of two or more English words which have taken on new meaning in Japan. Culture of Japan The culture of Japan has changed greatly over
6162-673: Was introduced to Japan around the 7th century. Later, washi was developed from it. Native Japanese painting techniques are still in use today, as well as techniques adopted from continental Asia and from the West. Schools of painting such as the Kano school of the 16th century became known for their bold brush strokes and contrast between light and dark, especially after Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu began to use this style. Famous Japanese painters include Kanō Sanraku , Maruyama Ōkyo , and Tani Bunchō . Ukiyo-e , literally means 'pictures of
6241-497: Was published on 1 October 1980 by Kadokawa Shoten . Later issues were published by Asuka Shinsha who bought the magazine for 200 million yen. In 1994 the magazine was bought by the Kadokawa Haruki Corporation for 600 million yen, and has since become its flagship publication. Popteen is one of Asia's top fashion magazines. The magazine is published in Japan, Taiwan , and Thailand , and has launched
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