Non-Western Cultures: Japan - Essay Example

Task Non-Western Cultures Japan is a country that has retained its cultural beliefs over the years and has recorded tremendous economic and cultural stability. The country can boost of its economic and cultural stability since it is unique and has not been completely influenced by the western culture. Japan has maintained its cultural beliefs over the years but has incorporated western technologies into their systems for their advantage. This has enabled the Japan to be one of the most developed countries in the world since it thrives on maintaining its traditions and embracing modernity so that it can achieve its endeavor of attaining economic stability. Today, it comes second to the United States in terms of technology and innovation, and this shows that is known worldwide for accepting modernity and still having ties to its traditional culture. The fact that it has accepted and started new technologies shows that it has incorporated the western influences into its systems despite the fact that their traditions are deeply rooted into their daily activities. Despite the fact that Japan has incorporated modernization into its systems, it still values its traditions as discussed in this paper. Japanese main culture is the Jomon culture, which today has become a mixture of different cultures due to the influence of Western countries, and this is an aftermath of the Second World War, where countries such as Europe and northern America altered the Japanese heritage. However, the Japanese people pride themselves with a unique culture since they have not been utterly changed by the western ways of life. Their heritage is identified by the clothing, art, music and sports and what they have done is copy some aspects of the west into their original ones hence alter them a bit to create a unique culture (Asiarooms.com, 2011). They have not completely copied the western ways of life, and this marks their uniqueness. They identify themselves with their traditional culture although they borrow from the west and this is how they have been able to keep their tradition. The Japanese people live together as one huge family and they do not associate with other people as they do among themselves. Commonality has been in existence in the Japanese political and cultural practices since the ancient days and they have upheld it till now. Their first contact with the modernization was in the year 1868 and prior to this it was underdeveloped but has since developed to become one of the most economically stable in countries in the world (Rodriguez, 1998). Japanese do not value the presence of outsiders and they think of them as trespassers and they do not trust them. This has been the case since time immemorial, but they have not rejected the good things that the outsiders bring into their country. The Japanese people take the technological innovations that the foreigners bring into their country and this has enabled the country to grow economically. They emphasize on taking up the developments that will help them grow without altering their heritage. In the ancient days, Japan was geographically alienated from other countries and this made them get used to living as a sole community (Naofusa, 1999). This has lived up to the present day despite the fact that they are no longer separated though its people interact with the outsiders and they are open to new ideas and innovations. The people of Japan are loyal to their country, and this has made them have the notion that their personal needs are second after those of the country. This has been the case since the ancient days and the people have endeavored to ensure that they personal achievement should not be valued as the success of the whole country. This belief has enabled the Japanese to work together, withhold heir traditions and improve the economy of their country. The Japanese have dwelled on borrowing ideas from other cultures without losing touch with values from their culture. They have upheld the unique aspects of their culture, applied ideas from their own culture to create new ones, which are rooted in their traditions. The Chinese culture has had the most significant impact on the japans since they borrowed most of their ideas from them. The Japanese culture has shown immense power in borrowing material from other people and changing it in ways that uphold their traditions. The people of Japan have borrowed the medical services, technology and culture from westernized countries and changed them in ways that will not go against their culture. This has made them unique since they have maintained their culture although they have borrowed ideas from the west. Through borrowing and changing developments and innovations from the westernized cultures to fit into their traditions, Japan has been able to grow economically and still maintain its traditional culture. References Asiarooms.com. (2011). Japanese Culture. Retrieved on October 26, 2011 from: Naofusa, H. (1999). Traditional Cultures and Modernization: Several Problems In The Case Of Japan. Retrieved on October 26, 2011 from: Rodriguez, G. (1998). Modernization in Japan and the Ukiyo-E. Retrieved on August 31, 2011 from: Read More