Japanese culture in the early 20th. Based on the novel Kokoro - Essay Example

Reaction paper The ic novel, Kokoro, written in the year 1914 by Natsume Soseki helps us to follow the culture of Japan in the early twentiethcentury. The novel unfolds the traditions and the customs of the society of Japan during the era and a transparent picture can be captured from the study of the novel. The earlier twentieth century of Japan showcased a lot of improvement in the society. Pertaining education was common among the household both in the urban and the rural areas. The protagonist of the story used to stay away from his parents on account of completing his graduation, while his parents used to stay in a less popular province of the country.

The protagonist of the story was not only the mere children of the family to receive education; his brother also has been portrayed as an educated person who used to work in some different part of the country. The twentieth century Japan, had witnessed the respect for the senior most member of the family. In the story of Kokoro we find the protagonist to be deeply concerned by the heath status of his father and does is best to stay with him during his precarious condition. The people were concerned of their social reputation and any event of success was marked by a social gathering.

As evident from the study of the novel was the loyalty the inhabitants had towards their monarch. The death of the majesty was mourned by the people and respect was shown to him by wearing black crepes.1 Transition of Japan from the end of the Meji era to the beginning of the industrial revolution had been properly highlighted in the novel. The evidence of the facts relating to the culture as portrayed is not based on hypothesis but it was rather relevant. The true story of Ah-Q on the other hand starts with the onset of the moon festival, which has been one of the popular Chinese festivals, throughout decades.

The story is based on the revolutionary background where execution and capital punishment was common in practice. The society was not enlightened with education and slavery was hugely popular. People were highly conscious about minute details of everyday life. In the story it was portrayed that the central character of the story, Ah-Q returned back to his home place as he was unfamiliar with an atmosphere where playing mah- jong was even excelled by the street people and the women made different movements during their walk.

The depiction of these events forecast the fact that there was a wide difference in the culture of the people across varied parts of China. The dressing sense of the Chinese at that point of time was also very rich. They fascinated in wearing blue silk skirt while some favored foreign calico. The society reflected less growth in terms of economy as depicted through the novel were almost nine tenth of the population was considered to be poor, which was true in every sense considering the history of the nineteenth century China.

Exchange of materials were also evident in the society. The society held immense respect for the person who used to earn staying in a foreign territory.2 The dominance of the upper class of the society was very much into use as in the story we find that that the Chien and the Chao family of the Weinchuang literally demanded their portion of goods from Ah- Q. The contrast between the two cultures of Japan and China is evident to a large extent as depicted in the books over here. The culture and the socioeconomic condition of Japan were taking a step towards development and establishment of a civil society was graduated.

People tend to have high regards for the culture and their seniors and the adherence to culture was done in high esteem. The change all respect was clearly evident if a close study of Meji period is considered, 3 whereas the case with China was little different. Unlike China, the growth occurred at a slower pace towards the end of nineteenth century and an era of dominance by a certain group prevailed. The difference in culture can be attributed to the dressing style and the social norms prevailing over the cultures as exhibited in the novels in concern.

It was after 1920 that China started modernizing.4 References 1. Sosoki, Natsume, Kokoro, 1914, October 12, 2011 from: http://www.ibiblio.org/eldritch/ns/k2.html 2. Lu, Hsun, True Story of Ah-Q, 1921, October 12, 2011 from: http://www.marxists.org/archive/lu-xun/1921/12/ah-q/ch06.htm 3. 1868-1912, “The Meiji Period”, 7 October 2011, http://www.taisho.com/ 4. Republic of China, “China culture”, 7 October 2011, http://www.chinaculture.org/library/2008-01/28/content_69981.htm