Concept

Japanese popular culture

Japanese popular culture includes Japanese cinema, cuisine, television programs, anime, manga, video games, music, and doujinshi, all of which retain older artistic and literary traditions; many of their themes and styles of presentation can be traced to traditional art forms. Contemporary forms of popular culture, much like the traditional forms, are not only forms of entertainment but also factors that distinguish contemporary Japan from the rest of the modern world. There is a large industry of music, films, and the products of a huge comic book industry, among other forms of entertainment. Game centers, bowling alleys, and karaoke parlors are well-known hangout places for teens while older people may play shogi or go in specialized parlors. Since the end of the US occupation of Japan in 1952, Japanese popular culture has been influenced by American media. However, rather than being dominated by American products, Japan localised these influences by appropriating and absorbing foreign influences into local media industries. Today, Japanese popular culture stands as one of the most prominent popular cultures around the world. In as early as 1920, a discussion revolving around the use of culture and media communication was being used as a strategy to enhance the international understanding of Japan's perspective was set in place. The discussion began when Japan aspired to become an imperial and colonial power, one that was equivalent to their Euro-American counterparts. This idea was interrupted once Japan was defeated in World War II. With the economic struggles Japan faced after the war, the question about using culture and media communication was once again brought up. In order for Japan to reinvent themselves and allow others to see their true colors, Japan focused on projecting a selected national image by exporting appealing cultural products including, animation, television programs, popular music, films, and fashion. The public diplomacy wanted to allow other countries to understand their position on various issues by acting directly on the people of foreign countries.

Official source

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_popular_culture

About this result

This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.

Related courses (2)

HUM-357: Contemporary Japan A

Cette introduction à la culture du Japon - pensée et manière de vivre ensemble - vise à faciliter une future activité dans l'archipel. Elle explique des spécificités de l'identité japonaise, imprégnée

HUM-265: Anthropology of east Asia

Cet enseignement aborde les notions et thèmes relatifs aux cultures et sociétés des mondes chinois ainsi que de ses aires voisines (la Corée et le Japon) et discute de leurs enjeux actuels dans une pe

Related concepts (4)

History of Japan

The first human inhabitants of the Japanese archipelago have been traced to the Paleolithic, around 38-40,000 years ago. The Jōmon period, named after its cord-marked pottery, was followed by the Yayoi period in the first millennium BC when new inventions were introduced from Asia. During this period, the first known written reference to Japan was recorded in the Chinese Book of Han in the first century AD. Around the 3rd century BC, the Yayoi people from the continent immigrated to the Japanese archipelago and introduced iron technology and agricultural civilization.

Japanese mobile phone culture

In Japan, mobile phones became ubiquitous years before the phenomenon spread worldwide. In Japanese, mobile phones are called keitai denwa, literally "portable telephones," and are often known simply as keitai (携帯). A majority of the Japanese population own cellular phones, most of which are equipped with enhancements such as video and camera capabilities. As of 2018, 65% of the population owned such devices.

Culture of Japan

The culture of Japan has changed greatly over 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. There are two competing hypotheses that try to explain the lineage of the Japanese people. The first hypothesis proposes 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.

Official source

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_popular_culture

About this result

Related courses (2)

HUM-357: Contemporary Japan A

HUM-265: Anthropology of east Asia

Related publications (2)

The paths of gods and architects: From Japan to the Acropolis-the landscapes of Dimitris Pikionis

Irène Elizabeth Vogel Chevroulet

This essay examines the circulation of Japanese culture through European intellectual networks since the opening of the archipelago to the Western world in 1853. We argue firstly that the archipelago's self-imposed political distance from the Asian contine ...

ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD2020

La création d'une japonité moderne (1870-1940), ou Le regard des architectes européens sur le Japon : J. Conder, R. Mallet-Stevens, B. Taut et C. Perriand

Irène Elizabeth Vogel Chevroulet

This thesis questions the fundamentals and modes characterising the European architects' way of looking at Japanese architecture and garden art between 1870 and 1940. It establishes the corpus of the major writings and of other texts published by their Occ ...

EPFL2009

Related concepts (4)

History of Japan

Japanese mobile phone culture

Culture of Japan