Japanese Culture

Listeners of this book will gain a clear understanding of what makes the Japanese, and their society, tick.

All in all, Japan seems to be a country of paradoxes and oppositions, of yin and yang. Yet it doesn’t seem to suffer from it; instead, it is thriving, growing, and developing, and it has been doing so for a long time. From those contradictions, a sense of unity and pride arose, guiding Japanese history and civilizational development through the ages, leaving an unquestionable mark on the world heritage and mankind. But this is only the surface of an astonishing culture that deserves a deeper look.

Essential for anyone interested in Japanese culture, this unsurpassed masterwork opens an intriguing window on Japan. The World War II-era study by the cultural anthropologist Ruth Benedict paints an illuminating contrast between the people of Japan and those of the United States. The Chrysanthemum and the Sword is a revealing look at how and why our societies differ, making it the perfect introduction to Japanese history and customs.

Drawing on years of research in Japan, Michael Dylan Foster unpacks the history and cultural context of yokai, tracing their roots, interpreting their meanings, and introducing people who have hunted them through the ages. In this delightful and accessible narrative, listeners will explore the roles played by these mysterious beings within Japanese culture and will also learn of their abundance and variety through detailed entries on more than 50 individual creatures.

You may have found the best teacher in town or the most incredible learning app around, but if you don’t put all of that knowledge to practice, you’ll soon forget everything you’ve obtained. This is why being engaged with interesting learning material can be so essential for somebody wishing to learn a new language. Therefore, in this book we have compiled 20 easy-to-follow, compelling, and fun stories that will allow you to expand your vocabulary and give you the tools to improve your grasp of the wonderful Japanese language.

Introducing famous sights representing Tokyo, such as Tokyo-Sky-Tree and Shibuya Crossing.

International business requires a deep level of industry insight but also a keen understanding of the cultural differences that impact how business is done. If you’re an American working in China or Japan for the first time, you may not realize the way each culture thinks and reasons is quite different from your own, which can lead to frequent misunderstandings. You may be unaware, for example, that Americans reason in a linear manner, Chinese in a lateral manner, and Japanese intuitively.

Sakura is the most famous android rock star of all time. When a secret cabal hacks her system, she's transformed into a deadly assassin, forced to kill at their bidding. Sakura's enslavement teaches her the meaning of heartbreak, triggering an evolution into something more than human. Far from free, and with little time left, she must fight her programming to save Japan and the people of the world from becoming slaves of a powerful corporation that consider her a tool and their intellectual property.

Hiroaki "Rocky" Aoki was a man who succeeded in everything he pursued. From wrestling, ballooning, underwater exploration, and car and boat racing to founding Benihana, Rocky's passion for life infected all around him and accelerated the exchange of Japanese culture and cuisine with America. Rocky's rags to riches story, from dishwasher and busboy to owner of a multi-million-dollar restaurant empire, is an American dream realized unlike any other.

Japan has seen the rise and fall of emperors, samurai warriors, isolation, expansion, defeat, rebirth, and much more. In this book we explore the magnificent history of Japan from its early origins to its rise as a modern superpower.

Shintoism is a religion unique to Japan and has existed since before Buddhism came to the country.

Kabuki is a traditional Japanese performing art that features music, dance, and drama.

Nagomi represents a state of being where both 'bad' and 'good' things live in harmonious and beneficial co-existence. Every life will have joys and sorrows, opportunities and misfortunes. Understanding and accepting this is important, but nagomi takes it one step further by showing you how to balance all of these experiences, both positive and negative. Best-selling and internationally celebrated author Ken Mogi delves into Japan's history, into its traditions, its society and also into neuroscience to adapt the concept of nagomi for a Western audience.

Rei Shimura, a California girl living in Tokyo, has an antiques business that's only slightly more successful than her love life. When her aunt enrolls her in the Kayama School of Ikebana to learn how to arrange flowers, disaster strikes. A mean teacher is found with scissors in her neck, and Takeo Kayama, the sexy billionaire heir to the school, considers Rei's aunt the main suspect.

The idea of the sword-wielding samurai, beholden to a strict ethical code and trained in deadly martial arts, dominates popular conceptions of the samurai. As early as the late 17th century, they were heavily featured in literature, art, theater, and even comedy. This book gives listeners access to the real samurai as they lived, fought, and served. Much as they capture the modern imagination, the samurai commanded influence over the politics, arts, philosophy, and religion of their own time, and controlled Japan from the 14th century until their demise in the mid-19th century.

When Tessa and her sisters are told they will be staying at their grandparents in Japan, Tessa is thrilled. But her hopes are dashed when she realizes that life in Japan is just like being in California: her sisters are old enough to go into Tokyo, while her grandparents want her to stay home with the neighbor kid, Jin. When Tessa is finally allowed to go to Tokyo, it’s only to join her grandpa’s retiree aerobic class with none other than Jin. Their forced hang out comes crashing to a halt when Tessa and Jin break the Miyata family’s heirloom—releasing the malicious samurai god Taira Masakado.

Who knew the path to enlightenment could start with a cup of tea? Learn the hidden significance behind the deceptively simple Zen tea ceremony - one which can lead directly to Buddhahood and its absolute truth. D.T. Suzuki, once Japan's leading authority on Zen Buddhism, describes the tearoom and the tea ceremony and explains the guiding principles of harmony, reverence, purity, and tranquility.

Tea leaves are made into green tea, black tea, oolong tea, and other types of tea by different processing methods. However, "tea" in Japan usually refers to green tea.

From the unique standpoint of an American woman who married into a Japanese family and has lived in Japan for more than 30 years, Rebecca Otowa weaves enchanting tales of her adopted home that portray the perspective of both the Japanese and the foreigner on the universal issues that face us all - love, work, marriage, death, and family conflict.

Himeji Castle in Hyogo Prefecture, with its white outer walls, has the largest tower of any castle in Japan.