Japanese Culture's Impact upon its Soft Power in Asia - Literature review Example

Japanese Culture’s Impact upon its Soft Power in Asia [Name of the Student] [Name of the University] Japanese Culture’s Impact upon its Soft Power in Asia Introduction Japanese culture has considerable antiquity, and has been traced back to the year 10,000 BC, when Japan had been settled by the Jomon people. This culture is famous in many countries, because of its contemporary pop culture and its traditional arts. Even in present day Japan, one can encounter females attired in kimonos with umbrellas over their well coiffured and elegant visages. It is also possible to see gigantic sumo wrestlers engaged in wrestling. In addition, one can witness the exotic cuisine, typical social customs, and sophisticated performing and visual arts. These are the chief characteristics that have endeared the Japanese way of life to foreigners (Japanese Culture, 2013). In addition, Manga and anime are extremely popular with the Nipponese. In the year 1917, animation was released in this nation. It was a cartoon that depicted a samurai who was testing a sword and being subjected to defeat. Some of the pioneers of animation in Japan were Seitarō Kitayama, Jun'ichi Kouchi, and Shimokawa Oten. (Facts about Japan, 2013). It was in the 1960s that the modern style of anime was developed, and Osamu Tezuka exerted the greatest influence upon this style. Tezuka was influenced by the animated films produced by Walt Disney. However, he simplified the intricate procedures of Walt Disney, in order to save time and money. In the contemporary world, anime is created by hand as well as computers (Facts about Japan, 2013). Every genre is represented by anime. However, it is science fiction that holds sway over this form, due to its immense popularity. Anime principally depicts robots, post – apocalyptic metropolises, and motorcycles. The content displayed by manga is similar, and in the 1970s, it became extremely popular. Several of the books were portrayed in the form of anime. Tezuka’s influence continued over the anime and manga industries was substantial over the years. The common characteristics, such as giant robots, are derived from Tezuka’s influence (Facts about Japan, 2013). Subsequently, animators like Go Nagai developed giant robots to a much greater extent, and created the novel genre of Super Robot. Yoshiyuki Tomino further developed this genre and created the Real Robot. With the 1980s, several classic anime were included in this genre, such as the Super Dimension Fortress Macross and Gundam movies. In the 1980s, anime was accepted by the Japanese mainstream (Facts about Japan, 2013). Moreover, in the aftermath of the Second World War, Japanese industries achieved unprecedented growth and prosperity. During this period, internationally significant electronic companies, such as Hitachi, Sony and Toshiba were formed. However, in the 1990s, this economic growth slowed down and took a turn for the worse (Yasumoto, 2011). The unflagging and innovative efforts of the Japanese firms to resist this economic disaster proved to be futile. A recent development in Japan has been the marketing of popular culture. In this context, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has claimed that there has been a substantial increase in the export of manga to Asia, America and Europe (Yasumoto, 2011). However, Re – versioning is an important feature of such cultural exports. An instance of one of the most successful endeavours in re – versioning is that of the manga series Hana yori Dango. This was created by Kamio Yoko between the years 1992 to 2004. The remakes of this series were principally the television dramas, in Taiwan in the year 2001. This was with the production of Meteor Garden. Thereafter, a Japanese version of Hana yori Dango was made in the year 2005. This resulted in the version Boys over Flowers, a Korean version made in 2009, which proved to be extremely popular. In the year 2010, Hunan Satellite TV produced and broadcast Meteor Shower in China. This was followed by the broadcast of Brat Boys Beyond on ABS – CBN, which was produced in the Philippines (Yasumoto, 2011). Analysis As described by Yamazaki, soft power can be viewed from an internal or external perspective. From the internal perspective, people tend to be attracted by iconic places. Thus, soft power is created via amusement parks, coffee shops, cinema complexes, convention centres, fashion, leisure land, restaurants, and shops (Yasumoto, 2011). When these facilities come together, there is a generation of economic prosperity. Furthermore, the concentration of media into centres generates a media community that is interactive and focused. An instance of this is provided by the fact that there is just a single corporation producing audio – visual content in Osaka, whereas the corresponding number for Tokyo is 238. One of the centres for internet business in Tokyo is the Shibuya area, while the Roppongi is dominated by pop culture. The internationalisation of the Japanese media industry has been facilitated to a major extent by the internet businesses located around Shibuya, which is also known as the Shibuya bit valley, and the Roppongi area (Yasumoto, 2011). As such, a tremendous amount of exciting and magnificent content has been made available to the rest of the world by the Japanese, during this process. With regard to popular culture, Japan now enjoys a wide – ranging collection of media content. However, the media producers of Japan are adopting a practical attitude towards this phenomenal growth. It has been understood by them that production costs have to be restricted, in addition to sustaining and expanding the quality of the content, if true and long lasting success is to be achieved. Accordingly, Japan has resorted to regional media flows to create a better coordinated media landscape. This activity has been markedly evident in East Asia (Yasumoto, 2011). The mainstays of Japanese pop culture have been manga and anime, and this was much before these art forms were introduced in the West. Manga were comics of 18th century Japan, which became popular in the US during the 1960s. This happened with the import of the Astro Boy anime series, into the US from Japan. As of the year 2007, the value of the anime market in the US was of the order of $4.35 billion (Wood, 2007). Although, many people believe that manga are Japanese comics and that anime is its animation, this is not true always. The term anime is employed in Japan to denote an animated film, and the term manga denotes a printed cartoon. However, the misconception among people who are not Japanese is that these terms signify animated films of comics from Japan (Izawa, 2005). Some of the non – Japanese people are likely to believe that the notion of comics was copied from the West by the Japanese. This is far from the truth, as the Japanese have been producing cartoons from centuries. In fact, a number of ink drawings of animals and caricatures of people have been unearthed, which are hundreds of years old. These works of art resemble modern manga to a significant extent (Izawa, 2005). Certain features of manga have been borrowed from Western sources, such as Walt Disney and Max Fleisher. Nevertheless, its principal aspects, such as stylised features and simple lines are undeniably Japanese. Moreover, it was Chinese art that had some influence on manga, and not Western art. In the US, it is generally believed that comics pertain to the realm of children (Izawa, 2005). However, manga does not restrict itself, and comes in four varieties that cater to the proclivities of all. The manga comes in different forms, such as children, and perverted males. Another major feature of the manga is the level of logic and intelligence to be found in it. This is at variance with the general comics of the US (Izawa, 2005). Death is on occasion portrayed in children’s manga and television anime programmes. Comparable material in the US avoids such realities of life. Moreover, the majority of manga and anime includes depictions of students engaging in constructive tasks, such as attending classes or completing homework. These forms have frequently shown people working diligently in office. Thus, there is active and sustained promotion of the work ethic, which is to be found everywhere. In addition, technology is depicted in a positive manner, whereas, US comics, frequently tend to avoid, disparage or simplify technology to the extent possible (Izawa, 2005). After the Second World War, several gigantic culture industries sprouted in Japan. One of these was the manga industry. By the 1960s, the manga industry had left the film industry of Japan, far behind. It emerged as a major income generator, by the 1990s, with revenue that was three times that of the domestic publishing industry. In addition, manga comprised 38% of the total published material and its share of the total publishing revenue was 22% (KInsella, 1999, p. 567). Moreover, with the publication of voluminous manga magazines every week, the manga industry gained in strength. These publications were targeted at the working class males, youth and students. The stories published dealt with left wing interests, such as the detested US naval bases in Japanese territory and the Cultural Revolution in China. These topics were taboo for the other forms of media, at that point of time, due to the relentless censorship of the US overlords (KInsella, 1999, p. 567). It is now well recognised that the popular culture of Japan has obtained tremendous following, as it has proved to be attractive to audiences. This conclusion is based upon the mass commercialisation of anime and manga, and the increase in otaku fan culture. In fact, the growth of the otaku subsidiary culture has been attributed to the appeal for anime among its fans (Student Pulse, 2013). Furthermore, the otaku fans tend to be highly proactive and they create and maintain internet forums, and organise conventions that are dedicated to their favourite shows. These groups have burgeoned in an unprecedented manner. In the words of Roland Kelts, costumed fans attending weekly conventions are in their thousands. Cosplay is an activity that is incorporated in the subsidiary culture of otaku. In this activity, fans don the costume of their favourite character (Student Pulse, 2013). The fashion industry of Japan is one of the leaders in the world. Japanese fashion encompasses several genres of youth oriented street styles, in addition to its distinctive, cerebral and path breaking designs that were generated in the 1980s. The fashion of Japan has made a mark on the fashion world, due to its propensity to mix avant – garde elements with features borrowed from the street and subcultural styles (Fashion Institute of Technology, 2010). When it comes to the traditional utilitarian garments, such as jeans, leather jackets, and sneakers, the desire to achieve perfection is an obsession that is firmly entrenched in the Japanese. In fact, the better quality fashion products of Japan are characterised by their fanatical attention to detail (Fashion Institute of Technology, 2010). With regard to the use of Japanese soft power as a diplomatic resource, the term Japonism assumes considerable significance. This term denotes the influence of Japanese arts on those of Europe and America, during the 19th century. Some of the areas where this effect is marked are; architecture, clothing, painting, photography, sculpture, woodblock printing, rough sketching, and handicrafts. This culture can be classified into high culture and pop culture. The high culture comprises of architecture, literature that caters to the intelligentsia, pop art, modern dance, and movies (Japanese Soft Power and Influential Foreign Policy – From Japonism to Neo-Japonism, n.d.).. Pop culture, on the other hand, is deemed the mass culture. Consequently, even the traditional features of culture, which address the elderly, such as the traditional cuisine, budo or martial arts, Japanese drama, robots and other high technology products, ikebana, origami, and sumo can be classified as pop culture (Japanese Soft Power and Influential Foreign Policy – From Japonism to Neo-Japonism, n.d.). An assessment of the influence of soft power can be made by realising that the movie Superman Returns was displaced from its pristine position at the box office by the Gedo Senki, a Japanese anime production. Japan has a massive otaku or fan culture, which enthusiastically promotes anime and manga (Hiscock, 2006). The otaku is more or less obsessed with fantasy, dolls, robots, video games, costumes, role – playing and swap cards. This is not limited to Japan, and across the globe, anime and manga are very popular. This activity is supported by a number of international websites, for instance the www.otakuworld.com. In addition to the world of otaku, Japan has several other projections, which range from food to films. In all these areas, Japan has emerged as an important global entity (Hiscock, 2006). Moreover, Japanese cultural products have regularly captivated the emotions and reason of the world. In the past, Godzilla, Ultraman, and Astro Boy had enthralled many people. This has been continued with the advent of Pokémon, Hello Kitty and Doraemon. The success of these creations can be attributed to the independent thinking and creativity of the Japanese artists and market forces. It is an established fact that the Japanese state did not play the role of a catalyst in this process (Lam, 2007, p. 351). A sizeable number of the Asians regard these products as frivolous and infantile. The world is more or less globalised and the Asian consumers are exposed to products from India, China, South Korea and the West. Consequently, it would be naïve to presume that these consumers would be solely attracted to Japanese products. The best course is to develop what could be termed as East Asian cultural products, which incorporate the best from the region (Lam, 2007, p. 360). This would certainly have a much greater influence upon the West and the rest of the world. Conclusion The influence of Japonism has also been noticed in diverse fields, such as the culinary arts, music, literature, and theatre. As such, Japan has a culture that is extraordinarily diverse, and this is a major feature of this culture. In Japan, anime and manga, despite being employed interchangeably, are two different art forms. The graphic novel and comic book counterpart of anime is manga. The latter was the bedrock upon which anime had been developed. The revitalisation of the Japanese content industry and the rise of soft power are the result of regional and international demand for Japanese cultural outputs and not due to planning. Japanese creativity in translating manga to an international commodity from what had been an indigenous art form has been instrumental in the expansion of the Gross National Cool of Japan. Soft power and its significance have been evaluated by the Government of Japan, which has also acknowledged its status as cool Japan. The influence of the Japanese Cultural Industry Strategy is significant. As such, it depicts the cultural and diplomatic importance of popular culture. It can be surmised that Japan is continuously engaged in a balancing act with the world. This has been assisted to a major extent by soft power or the art of influencing people to become favourably inclined towards the entity adopting this strategy. List of References Chambers, S. N. (2012). Anime: From Cult Following to Pop Culture Phenomenon. The Elon Journal of Undergraduate Research in Communications, 3(2), 94 – 101. Facts about Japan. (2013). Japanese Manga and Anime. Retrieved June 3, 2013, from http://www.facts-about-japan.com/manga-anime.html Fashion Institute of Technology. (2010). Japan Fashion Now. Retrieved June 2, 2013, from http://fitnyc.edu/8726.asp Hiscock, G. (2006, September 21). 'Soft power' part of balancing act. Retrieved June 3, 2013, from CNN International: http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/09/01/japan.softpower/index.html?_s=PM:WORLD Izawa, E. (2005). What are Manga and Anime? Retrieved June 1, 2013, from http://www.mit.edu/~rei/Expl.html Japanese Culture. (2013). Retrieved June 3, 2013, from http://www.facts-about-japan.com/japanese-culture.html Japanese Soft Power and Influential Foreign Policy – From Japonism to Neo-Japonism. (n.d.). Retrieved June 2, 2013, from http://www.polestra.com/public/files/papers/Paper%20Watanabe.pdf KInsella, S. (1999). Pro – establishment manga: pop – culture and the balance of power in Japan. Media, Culture & Society, 21(4), 567 – 572. Lam, P. E. (2007). Japan's Quest for "Soft Power": Attraction and Limitation. East Asia, 24, 349 – 363. Student Pulse. (2013). Power and Popular Culture. Retrieved June 1, 2013, from http://www.studentpulse.com/articles/253/exploring-japanese-popular-culture-as-a-soft-power-resource Wood, J. (2007). Manga and Anime: The Japanese Invasion. Retrieved May 30, 2013, from http://www.infoplease.com/entertainment/books/manga-anime.html Yasumoto, S. (2011). Japanese GNC and Soft Power – are they two sides of the same coin? Retrieved June 3, 2013, from Asian Creative Transformations: http://www.creativetransformations.asia/2013/01/japanese-gnc-and-soft-power-are-they-two-sides-of-the-same-coin/ Read More

Moreover, in the aftermath of the Second World War, Japanese industries achieved unprecedented growth and prosperity. During this period, internationally significant electronic companies, such as Hitachi, Sony and Toshiba were formed. However, in the 1990s, this economic growth slowed down and took a turn for the worse (Yasumoto, 2011). The unflagging and innovative efforts of the Japanese firms to resist this economic disaster proved to be futile. A recent development in Japan has been the marketing of popular culture.

In this context, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has claimed that there has been a substantial increase in the export of manga to Asia, America and Europe (Yasumoto, 2011). However, Re – versioning is an important feature of such cultural exports. An instance of one of the most successful endeavours in re – versioning is that of the manga series Hana yori Dango. This was created by Kamio Yoko between the years 1992 to 2004. The remakes of this series were principally the television dramas, in Taiwan in the year 2001.

This was with the production of Meteor Garden. Thereafter, a Japanese version of Hana yori Dango was made in the year 2005. This resulted in the version Boys over Flowers, a Korean version made in 2009, which proved to be extremely popular. In the year 2010, Hunan Satellite TV produced and broadcast Meteor Shower in China. This was followed by the broadcast of Brat Boys Beyond on ABS – CBN, which was produced in the Philippines (Yasumoto, 2011). Analysis As described by Yamazaki, soft power can be viewed from an internal or external perspective.

From the internal perspective, people tend to be attracted by iconic places. Thus, soft power is created via amusement parks, coffee shops, cinema complexes, convention centres, fashion, leisure land, restaurants, and shops (Yasumoto, 2011). When these facilities come together, there is a generation of economic prosperity. Furthermore, the concentration of media into centres generates a media community that is interactive and focused. An instance of this is provided by the fact that there is just a single corporation producing audio – visual content in Osaka, whereas the corresponding number for Tokyo is 238.

One of the centres for internet business in Tokyo is the Shibuya area, while the Roppongi is dominated by pop culture. The internationalisation of the Japanese media industry has been facilitated to a major extent by the internet businesses located around Shibuya, which is also known as the Shibuya bit valley, and the Roppongi area (Yasumoto, 2011). As such, a tremendous amount of exciting and magnificent content has been made available to the rest of the world by the Japanese, during this process.

With regard to popular culture, Japan now enjoys a wide – ranging collection of media content. However, the media producers of Japan are adopting a practical attitude towards this phenomenal growth. It has been understood by them that production costs have to be restricted, in addition to sustaining and expanding the quality of the content, if true and long lasting success is to be achieved. Accordingly, Japan has resorted to regional media flows to create a better coordinated media landscape.

This activity has been markedly evident in East Asia (Yasumoto, 2011). The mainstays of Japanese pop culture have been manga and anime, and this was much before these art forms were introduced in the West. Manga were comics of 18th century Japan, which became popular in the US during the 1960s. This happened with the import of the Astro Boy anime series, into the US from Japan. As of the year 2007, the value of the anime market in the US was of the order of $4.35 billion (Wood, 2007). Although, many people believe that manga are Japanese comics and that anime is its animation, this is not true always.

The term anime is employed in Japan to denote an animated film, and the term manga denotes a printed cartoon. However, the misconception among people who are not Japanese is that these terms signify animated films of comics from Japan (Izawa, 2005).

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