Despite the fact that the Japanese islands began to be settled many millennia ago, statehood in Japan began to take shape only in the 4th-6th centuries AD. The history of the emergence of Japan and its development until the 6th century is debatable, since before the introduction of the Chinese language, the Japanese did not have a written language and, accordingly, no reliable evidence was preserved.

The progenitors of the Japanese people are considered to be the Yamato tribe, which lived on the territory of the Japanese islands from the second century BC, there is also a version that in the III century AD, the Yamato clan subjugated most of the tribes of Japan, from which the report of the birth of the Japanese people went.

Until the 6th century, the bulk of the population of Japan was made up of the peasantry, slaves and inferior citizens, which included foreigners. In the 6th century, Japan began to acquire signs of civilization and began to develop at a rapid pace, narrowing the great gap that existed between Japan and China.

The dynamic development of Japan is associated with an incredible ability to use the experience of other civilizations and countries without losing its uniqueness. This is to absorb the most advanced and at the same time remain oneself, bringing into its history and culture only the features inherent in the Japanese, is visible throughout the path of Japan's development.

Starting from the 7th century, the Japanese rulers skillfully combined the experience of China and Korea, by attracting scientists, artisans, monks to their country, and in parallel, young Japanese were sent to Korea and China to gain knowledge.

The official written language of Japan was Chinese. In the future, writing gradually transformed. In the 7th-8th centuries, an original syllabary was invented in Japan. Kana consists of katakana and hiragana. Today, up to 40% of words in Japanese are Chinese borrowings.

The head of state of Japan was tenno - "Heavenly master". In Russian, "tenno" is usually translated as emperor. There is a legend that the emperors of Japan are direct descendants of the sun goddess Amaterasu. The official mention of the title of emperor of Japan occurred in 608 in the process of state relations between Japan and China, although the title of emperor was used earlier in the history of the emergence of Japan.

The power of the emperor in different time periods of the country's development was different character. Until the 11th century, the emperor was the sovereign sovereign of his country. In 1185, the head of the Yoritomo clan founded an alternative samurai government - the shogunate. Under the shogunate, real supreme power passed to the shoguns - the supreme military rulers. And the Emperor of Japan performed ceremonial actions and wielded power symbolically.

Since the 16th century, Japan has become one of the most closed countries. Under fear death penalty Residents of Japan were forbidden to leave the country. Foreigners were evicted from the country, except for the Dutch, who were allowed to live on the small island of Dejima, not far from Nagosaki, and with whom trade relations continued. Christianity, which began to spread in Japan thanks to Jesuit missionaries, was banned.

The power of the shogunate continued until 1867-1868, when the Civil War and popular discontent led to the Meiji revolution "enlightened rule" and the restoration of imperial rule. Since that time, the country has again become open and began to develop rapidly in all areas.

PRC: 127,282
Philippines: 120 000
Canada: 98 900
Peru: 90,000
Australia: 71 013
United Kingdom: 63 017
Thailand: 45 805
Germany: 36 960
Argentina: 34 000
France: 30 947
The Republic of Korea: 28 320
Singapore: 23 000
Republic of China: 20 373
micronesia: 20 000
Mexico: 20 000
Bolivia: 14 000
New Zealand: 13 447
Italy: 12 156
Indonesia: 11 263
Paraguay: 10 321
Chile: 10,000
Vietnam: 9468
Malaysia: 9142
Switzerland: 8499
New Caledonia: 8000
Spain: 7046
Netherlands: 6616
Belgium: 6519
Marshall Islands: 6000
Palau: 5000
Russia: 2137 Language Religion Racial type

Number and settlement

The number is 130 million people, in Japan itself - 127 million. The Japanese also live in the USA (1.2 million people), mainly in the state of California and the Hawaiian Islands, in Brazil (1.5 million people), in Canada (99 thousand people) and other countries of America, in Europe, Asia and Australia.

Language

The mentality of the nation

If we consider the Japanese mentality as a whole, then, despite the huge influence of modern Western culture, he managed, having adopted a lot of "outside", to preserve his essence.

Elusive, compromising, sensitive and reflective. Individually unselfish and extremely socially dependent. Absorbing and receiving, but with a rigid system of "friend / foe". Deep, rich internally, but strictly limited and structured in forms of expression.

In this system of values, which is based on a sense of duty and hierarchical social relationships, it is the individual who exists within and for the group, and not the group for the sake of the individual. At the same time, the inner "I" of the individual is carefully stored and protected inside, and its imposition on the outside world is not encouraged. The maximum smoothing of corners and the search for compromises are encouraged (even if due to uncertainty), while protrusion, categoricalness and the imposition of something are not approved and are extremely difficult within the framework of this system.

Thus, the Japanese mentality, being a compromise and group in nature, is the complete opposite of the Western mentality in the system of values ​​and priorities. And even the fact that many typically Western external forms social interactions were in a strange way borrowed in the shortest possible time and so effectively transferred, adapted to a soil that is completely alien at first glance, due to the natural development of the same harmonious Japanese system of values ​​​​and priorities, prone to finding ways, interaction and compromises, with complete unity and integrity, the absence of serious variability between the interests of the group and the individual. In fact, a different (Japanese) content was embedded in the same external forms borrowed from the West.

The modern Japanese mentality, although it has undergone a significant influence of Western values ​​(which somewhat changed the relationship between personal freedom and a sense of duty), nevertheless remained compromise and group in nature, retaining all its features in full.

Origin

For a long time it was believed that supposedly the ancestors of the Japanese, the so-called proto-Japanese ("Puyo") tribes, in the 1st millennium BC. e. (and according to some reports even earlier) by individual tribes moved to the Japanese archipelago from the Korean Peninsula. At the same time, ancient indigenous people In Japan, the Ainu and Austronesian tribes were gradually forced out and assimilated by the proto-Japanese tribes, whose language (belonging to the Altaic language family) prevailed, adopting elements of the Austronesian substrate. Presumably in the 4th century (it is not known exactly), the first all-Japanese state appears - Yamato.

However, the available data do not confirm such massive migrations from the continent to specified period. Although the very fact of the resettlement of individual Puyo tribes to the islands is undoubted, as well as their cultural role, but scattered over the islands and very limited in number at the first stage, they were simply lost among the autochthonous tribes (Austronesian and ancient Ainu). So there can be no talk of any assimilation at that time. Despite the decisive role of these tribes in the formation of the ancient Japanese state of Yamato (Wa).

As for the ancient Japanese state, there is ample evidence that its formation dates back to more ancient periods. According to Japanese chronicles - by the 7th century BC.

You should also not confuse the modern Japanese Ainu with the ancient indigenous population of the Japanese islands. In the light of many studies, it has been established that the modern Ainu formed quite late, at about the same time as the Japanese themselves. Although there is no doubt that culturally (especially in terms of language), and in many respects genetically, they are closer to the Ainoid proto-tribes of the Jomon era than modern Japanese (who are closer in this regard to the Buyeo tribes who migrated from the continent). But just like the Japanese themselves, they are a later derivative, having passed the path of an equally long evolution through a number of cultures, eras, ethnic and genetic changes and borrowings.

Apparently, the already ancient tribes that inhabited the Japanese islands in the Jomon era, and consisted mainly of Ainoid and in lesser degree Austronesians, were a mixture of genotype and cultures. At the same time, separate tribes of newcomers from the continent scattered over the islands (“Puyeo” proto-Japanese-Korean tribes belonging to the East Asian branch of the Mongoloid race) were long time in an obvious minority, lost among the indigenous tribes. It seems quite clear that the newcomers had a significant cultural impact, contributing to the spread of irrigated agriculture and the emergence of a new type of culture (which spread during the Yayoi Period). Even at the stage of the formation of the Yamato state, it was more cultural and organizing than actually assimilation. It was simply not possible for them to displace or immediately assimilate the indigenous population (due to their small number). This process was very gradual and lengthy and was finally completed throughout the Japanese islands only in the 19th century AD. Only as the ancient Japanese state developed, as the number, unification and spread of the Puyo tribes on the islands increased, as the mixing of the Mongoloid (Puyo tribes), Ainoid and Austronesian racial types became more active, this new element could not only have a significant cultural but also racial influence on the indigenous population of the Japanese islands, which gradually formed the modern mixed genotype and ethnic group of the Japanese.

The rulers of Japan in all historical times were emperors (mikado), continuously leading their family for 124 generations, starting from the 7th century BC (the time of the first legendary emperor and the founding of the Japanese state according to Japanese chronicles). They were deified, considered the descendants of the sun goddess Amaterasu. In 1192, the feudal lords seized power, this period is called the shogunate and lasted until 1868. During this period, the imperial power was purely nominal, while military rulers, the shoguns, had real power. As a result of the Meiji Revolution in the 19th century, imperial power was fully restored, until 1945, when, after the surrender of Japan, it again became purely nominal - constitutional. Dynasty Japanese emperors is the oldest of the royal dynasties that have survived to date on Earth. Since 1989, the emperor and "symbol of the state and the unity of the people" - Akihito. Monarchy - constitutional, legislative exercised by Parliament. According to tradition, the emperor of Japan cannot be a woman, this rule has never been violated.

Despite the high integrity of the modern Japanese ethnos, separate ethnic groups are still distinguished within its framework, with their own customs and dialects that are mandatory for each locality. The Ryukyuans especially stood out, in the Middle Ages they even had their own statehood.

A specific phenomenon is "eta", officially called "tokushu burakumin" ("inhabitants of special villages"). These are the descendants of people of "mean" professions, tanners, scavengers, buffoons. Anthropologically, they are no different from the rest of the Japanese, officially they have everything civil rights, but in everyday life their discrimination persists.

Completely ethnically independent Ainu people, not related to the Japanese, who had their own racial and cultural characteristics, their own language, ousted from Honshu, but in the 19th century inhabited Hokkaido and northern islands, was finally assimilated by the Japanese in the first half of the 20th century. Anthropologically, the Ainu go back to the Ainoid proto-tribes of the Jomon era, and later to the Emishi tribes, assimilated by the Japanese in the Middle Ages to Honshu, but left their mark on their genotype and culture.

economy

The traditional branches of the economy are arable and irrigated rice cultivation. Tea, vegetables, citrus fruits are also grown, sericulture and fishing are developed. Japan is currently a highly developed industrial country. Without their own resources, only on imported raw materials, the Japanese managed to develop complex and delicate industries: mechanical engineering, electronics, etc., and very quickly reached the world level, creating one of the world's leading manufacturing, technological economies.

Life, customs, culture

The villages have a linear layout. traditional house- frame-pillar, usually 1-2 floors. Sliding walls made of frames pasted over with waxed paper or cardboard are characteristic. The floor is raised on small piles. It is almost completely covered with mats. Tables, chairs, armchairs are placed only in the living rooms. The tables are low, the Japanese usually sit on their knees, on pillows. There are no beds, they sleep on a mat, they put not a pillow under their heads, but a plank. The house is necessarily decorated with original paintings, on which there may be an image, a drawing, or an inscription (aphorism, quote). They are called kakemono.

From crafts, the manufacture of dolls from wood or paper, weaving of baskets, vases, fans are popular. Peculiar types of art are characteristic: making figures from paper (origami), arranging flower bouquets (ikebana).

AT fine arts the Japanese achieved great skill in engraving (classical Japanese engraving).

The national dress of the Japanese is called kimono （着物） general form outerwear, male and female. The main nagagi kimono (長着) is put on the bottom shirt - juban （襦袢）, adjusted to fit and secured with a narrow belt, over which a wide decorative belt　obi is tied. White socks are put on the feet - tabis separately thumb. An unlined summer casual kimono is called a yukata. There are two types of shoes: zori (草履) (sandals made of straw, leather, rubber, etc.) and geta - wooden shoes on two stands. At present, the Japanese in everyday life wear European clothes. Kimono can be seen on New Year, coming-of-age day and at Japanese weddings.

The women's kimono differs from the men's in the cut of the sleeves. In women, the sleeves serve as a kind of pockets.

It is known that from ancient times, the Japanese practiced a two-stage funeral ritual, and the first stage was the “Air Burial Rite”. This ritualism was supplanted by the rites of Buddhism.

Japanese kitchen

Table etiquette in Japan is different from European. It is usually eaten from china cups with hashi chopsticks. Liquid food is drunk from bowls, but sometimes spoons are used. Knife and fork are used exclusively for European dishes. Slurping at food is considered quite decent, but sticking chopsticks into food, especially rice, is unacceptable. You can’t also put sticks with sharp ends to the left or across the cup, point them at something or wave them in the air, hold them in your fist, etc. It’s considered good form to pour drinks into the glasses of your neighbors, but not yourself.

Rice is called "gohan" in Japanese. boiled rice", but this word can also be used in the general sense of" food "; moreover, the respectful prefix "go" to the word "khan" (rice) eventually became mandatory; all this speaks of the great importance of this dish for the Japanese). Rice is always present at the meal. Until the 19th century, only the rich ate rice, it was expensive. The rest took care of it for the holiday, replacing it with simple days barley. Only in the 20th century did rice become available to the public. Dishes with noodles made from wheat (udon) or buckwheat (soba) are popular. Noodles go both in soups and as an independent dish, with additives and seasonings. Soy plays an important role in Japanese cuisine. Soups, sauces, soy cheese tofu, natto are prepared from it.

One of the most popular Japanese dishes outside the country is sushi. There are several varieties, for example, the most popular view sushi is nigirizushi (握り寿司: sushi made with hands). It consists of an oblong ball of rice pressed with the palms of your hands, a small amount of wasabi, and a thin piece of stuffing (raw fish, shrimp, or caviar) that covers the rice (neta). Nigiri can also be tied with a thin strip of nori. Norimaki (海苔巻) is a cylindrical sushi consisting of a piece of raw fish wrapped in rice and wrapped in nori (pressed sheets of seaweed). One of the favorite dishes is sashimi (刺身) - pieces of raw fish. It is consumed with soy sauce, to which wasabi is added. Often sashimi is served together with chopped daikon radish and shiso leaves (lat. Perilla)

The Japanese have many different soups, but the most traditional is misoshiru (味噌汁). This is a miso paste soup (which is made from boiled, mashed and fermented soybeans with the addition of salt and malt). Such soups in each region are prepared in their own way. In addition, the Japanese widely consume vegetables and herbs (potatoes, carrots, cabbage, horseradish, dill, celery, parsley, tomatoes, onions, apples, daikon), fish, shark meat, sea ​​kale, chicken meat, squid, crab and other seafood.

The traditional and popular drink of the Japanese is green tea, and the alcoholic drink is rice wine sake and shochu.

Japanese mythology

According to the Shinto myth of the creation of the earth, the first beings were Izanagi and Izanami, who created the objects of nature and the rest of the gods.

The main principle of Shinto is to live in harmony with nature and people. The world of kami is not an otherworldly abode, but a common natural environment with the world of people. Therefore, people do not need to seek salvation in another world, but they should try to achieve harmony with the kami in this life.

Shinto is a deeply national Japanese religion and in some sense personifies the Japanese nation, its customs, character and culture.

There is a close connection between deities and people even by origin: the link is mikado, a descendant of Amaterasu and its representative on earth, as well as the ancestor of all Japanese. The most important legends regarding the deities that make up the Shinto pantheon are set out at the beginning of the history chapter. From them it can be seen that these deities have a close relationship with the forces of nature and often even represent their personification.

The main role between them is played by the sun goddess Amaterasu; then there are deities of the moon, earth, underworld, wind, thunder, fire, water, hearth, food, infectious diseases, etc. The cult of ancestors is mixed in with the deification of nature in Shintoism: divine honors are paid here both to the former and the reigning mikado, the souls of heroes and ancestors in general.

Buddhism comes later. In Japan, it breaks up into several sects and is intertwined with local Shintoism so much that it is not always possible to understand which sect is more imbued with Buddhism and which Shintoism. Each sect reveres its own gods. "Amidaist" sects of medieval origin rely on the savior Buddha-Amida (Amitaba). In the shingon sect, the supreme buddha is Dainichi-nyorai, “Great solar Buddha" In other sects, a group of five gods Myo, "Great Buddhas of Wisdom", one of them - Fudo-myo, is depicted as a stern warrior with a sword and an evil face. This means that it destroys greed, anger and ignorance. The main deities are the same as in other countries, their correspondences: Butsu - Buddha, Bosatsu - Bodhisattva, Syaka-Nyorai - Shakyamuni, Daruma, or Bodaidaruma - Bodhidharma.

The most massive sect - Soka-gakkai, actively interferes in political life countries. Finally, the Zen sect became the most widespread. Her fans can be found far beyond Japan. Its essence is mystical self-deepening and comprehension of the truth outside the mind.

However, the ancient religion in Japan was not Shintoism, but the cult of tribal spirits (kami). He is unknown. The priests of this cult were called ura-be (fortunetellers) and im-be (casters). In addition, the group of gods "city fukujin", that is, the seven gods of happiness, is very popular among the people. These are: Jurojin (寿老人 - longevity), Daikoku (大黒 - wealth and agriculture), Ebisu (恵比寿 - happiness and luck), Hotei (布袋 - love, joy), Benzaiten or Benten (弁財天 - love, art, beauty), Fukurokuju (福禄寿 - wisdom), Bishamonten (毘沙門天 - patron of wealth and warriors).

(jap. 日本人 - Nihonjin, nipponjin) - representatives of the main population of Japan.

Word " Japanese" can be used as a neutral term to refer to all the inhabitants of the Japanese archipelago or as an ethnonym that refers to the cultural community - "Japanese ethnic group" (without the Ryukyus and Ainu) or the political - "Japanese nation" (together with the Ryukyus and Ainu).

Origin of the Japanese

The problem of the origin of the Japanese can be considered from three positions: racegenesis, ethnogenesis and nationogenesis.

Most Western scholars point out the inappropriateness of defining the Japanese as a race or group. However, Japanese scientists note the existence of the "Japanese race" as a separate biological taxon. They also associate the formation of the Japanese ethnos and nation with him. Today, the concept of K. Khanihara, officially published by him in 1990, is generally recognized. According to it, modern Japanese are descendants of the proto-Mongoloid community of the Jomon period, close to which there are peoples South-East Asia. Beginning in the 3rd century BC and ending in the 7th century, these proto-Mongoloids mixed with new-Mongoloid migrants from Manchuria, Korea, and China. As a result of mixing, Japanese racial type, which became the basis for the formation of the Japanese ethnic group. In spite of a large number of flaws in the theory of K. Hanihara, her position can be found as in scientific papers as well as school textbooks.

If specialists are ready to give a certain set of concepts-answers to the question of racial genesis, then the problem of the ethnogenesis of the Japanese looks much more complicated for them. Most scientists believe that the Japanese as an ethnic group emerged on the basis of the Yamato ethno-social group in the 6th-7th centuries, the basis of which was the state of Yamato in the Kinki region. However, a number of scholars argue that it is impossible to call the Yamatois Japanese, since they were only part of the ethnic map of Japan. For these scholars, "Japanese" is a political term that united the various ethnic groups of the Japanese archipelago at the end of the Edo period in the 19th century.

From the point of view of nation genesis, the Japanese emerged as a nation with the advent of the nation state - in response to aggressive actions nation states Western Europe and USA. The vested cultural communities of the Japanese islands, including the Ainu and the Ryukyuans, were united into a single political and social organism.

The difficulties that arise when searching for the origin of the Japanese are associated with the lack of an agreed and clear terminology for "race", "ethnos" or "nation". There is also no consensus among scholars as to which of these terms to designate the Japanese. However, today the word "Japanese" is used mainly in a neutral sense, to refer to the inhabitants of Japan, or as a synonym for the phrase "residents of Japan".

Language

It is native to the vast majority of the world's Japanese and the official language in Japan. The graphic system of the language contains two alphabets (hiragana and katakana), as well as about 4 thousand borrowed Chinese. According to statistics from the Japanese Ministry of Education, 99% of the country's population is able to read and write Japanese.

The origin and classification of the language is still unclear. By the middle of the 20th century, it was believed that the Japanese language belongs to the group of Tungus-Altaic languages ​​​​and is related, in particular, to Korean. However, modern researchers point to the similarity of the main Japanese vocabulary with the vocabulary of the languages ​​of Southeast Asia. The commonality of grammar with the languages ​​of the north and the proximity of the basic vocabulary Japanese language from the south of the Asian continent complicates the classification procedure. Therefore, it is customary to single out the Japanese language as an isolated one.

In addition to the Japanese language itself, there are Ainu and Ryukyu languages ​​in Japan. These languages ​​are considered by Japanese researchers as special ancient Japanese dialects, but a number of Western researchers define them as separate languages.

Culture and religion

It is believed that the basis of modern Japanese culture is the culture of the natives of the Japanese archipelago of the Jomon period. An integral and organic part of Japanese culture is the versatility of traditions that are now becoming widespread throughout the world - classical poetry, japanese painting, tea ceremony, martial arts, architecture, samurai, the art of building decorative gardens, flower arranging (), assembling figures (origami), traditional noo opera, puppet show bunraku, city kabuki theater, japanese cuisine.

Oddly enough, it may seem that the formation of Japanese culture is a constant borrowing and "digestion" of foreign ideas. Traditionally, the main importers of world achievements were Korea, China, Spain, Portugal, Holland. Since the middle of the 19th century, the countries of Western Europe and the United States have acted as an "intellectual donor". Know-how adapted to the Japanese soil became the basis for the development of Japanese unique products and creations. Today, Japanese electronics, manga and anime are known among them.

Religion plays an important role in the life of the Japanese. However, its functioning is different from that in the West. Combination is characteristic, that is, simultaneous belonging to two or more religious movements. The main religions in Japan are Shinto and Buddhism. About 1% of the population is Christian.

ethnic groups

Japanese (Yamatoytsy, Ryukyuytsy,) - ​​about 99%. The rest (Chinese, Koreans, Brazilians, Filipinos, others) - about 1%.

During the existence of the Japanese Empire (1867 - 1945), Koreans and Taiwanese were ranked among the "political" Japanese. Some of the Nivkhs who lived on Sakhalin also had Japanese citizenship. After the occupation of Sakhalin by the USSR, they were deported to Hokkaido as "Japanese".

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the number of Japanese living abroad is about 1 million. Most of them live in the USA. They are followed by Japanese communities in China, Brazil and the UK.

Nikkei

The term Nikkei (日系 - "Japanese") is used to refer to people who have japanese roots whose ancestors immigrated from Japan and live abroad.

The etymology of the name is close to the Russian word "Russian". The latter is the one who belongs to "Rus", but is not "Russian". A similar thing is observed in the name Nikei - a person has a close connection with Japan, but he is not actually a "Japanese". In general, the entire Japanese diaspora is called the Nikei period. The Japanese diaspora has a 140-year history. The first Japanese emigrants began to move to Hawaii in 1868. About 750,000 people migrated abroad before World War II. Another 250,000 moved abroad in the second half of the 20th century.

Japanese emigrants and their descendants retain a sense of community and do not break ties with the country of their ancestors. They play an important role in the societies that have adopted them. An example is the reign of Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori (1990-2000), who came from a family of Japanese immigrants.

Japan - "Country rising sun", the birthplace of samurai, geishas, ​​martial arts and cherry blossoms; an island nation that, having no natural resources and regularly suffering from earthquakes, occupies a leading position in the rankings of economically developed countries. Products made in Japan can be seen anywhere in the world , and the technologies and developments invented or improved by Japanese scientists are happily adopted by both scientists and production workers in all countries of the world.What is the secret of the Japanese? smart nation?

National character traits of the Japanese

Of course, there are no two absolutely identical nations, and mentalities different peoples differ from each other. However, the psychology of the Japanese differs from the psychology of other nations much more than that of Russians, Chinese and any other people. Among the most significant indicators that distinguish the Japanese nation from other peoples are the high life expectancy of the Japanese, the very low number of violent crimes committed in this country, and the fact that more than 98% of Japanese citizens are ethnic Japanese. On the this moment Japan is the only country in the world that formally has the title of Empire, and one of the few countries whose nations have managed to preserve many centuries-old traditions, while achieving unprecedented heights in technological and economic development.

All the reasons and a high standard of living, and scientific achievements citizens of the Land of the Rising Sun become clear if you get to know the national characteristics of the character of the Japanese. The most striking nationwide features of the Japanese are:

Values ​​and psychology of the Japanese

The main difference between the Japanese mentality and the European one lies in the attitude towards European culture individualism is inherent, and Japanese - collectivism . The Japanese are strongly attached to different social groups - the family, the work team, the party, etc., and each member of the group knows his place in the hierarchy and is ready to obey his superiors. Obedience and humility towards elders are largely inherent in every Japanese, therefore, for the representatives of this nation, the authority of a father, boss, and any other "powerful person" (policeman, teacher, politician, etc.) is unshakable by default.

It was the collectivism of the Japanese and the resulting need to make life in the team as comfortable as possible for all its members that served as the reasons for the formation strict Japanese etiquette and Japanese courtesy . In Japanese, there are 3 "politeness styles": colloquial, neutral-polite and very polite (keigo): conversational style is used when talking with younger family members, neutral-polite - with equal positions in society and with strangers, keigo - with senior in position in society and the elderly. Politeness and following etiquette for the Japanese means much more than for Europeans - for example, it is unacceptable for residents of the Land of the Rising Sun to communicate with the boss even outside of work, to emotionally sort things out with someone in front of other people, and also to say "no" by directly refusing someone's request.

On becoming national characteristics the Japanese had a great influence. The values ​​and prescriptions of these religious teachings are so closely woven into culture and life that they have become integral part worldview of the Japanese. Therefore, every Japanese strives to develop in himself such traits of character, as restraint, patience and self-control the virtues of Buddhism. Also, the influence of Buddhist philosophy can be traced in life rules, which all Japanese adhere to:

• One should always strive to comply with the laws of the country and the rules prescribed in a particular society.
• You must always come to terms with the situation and put up with unpleasant circumstances, and not rebel
• It is necessary to limit oneself in entertainment and strive to work more for the good of the nation
• You have only yourself to blame for all your personal troubles.

The Japanese follow the rules of etiquette and traditions not only in society, but also at home, in the circle of their closest ones. Cleanliness and order always reign in the houses of the Japanese, and the furnishings in the housing of the majority of the inhabitants of this country are made in the style of minimalism - the Japanese love beauty and aesthetics, but do not like frills and ostentatious pretentiousness. In communication, even with the closest relatives, citizens of the Land of the Rising Sun observe courtesy, and only small children are forgiven for deviation from the rules of etiquette.

In most Japanese families, the husband is the main earner of finances, but at the same time, women manage the family budget. married couples in Japan, evenings are rarely spent together, as men prefer to relax after work with friends in entertainment venues, while women at this time take care of the house and. Only in recent decades have family walks on weekends become the norm, and earlier, even on weekends, men sought to spend time separately from their wives, since in Japanese patriarchal society it was believed that communication with a spouse was burdensome and uninteresting for a man.

Modern Japan is a one-national country. About 99% of its population is Japanese. Among them, there are several ethnographic groups that once had their own cultural characteristics. To a large extent, they were preserved by one of these groups in the Ryukyu Islands. Koreans - 0.5%, Chinese and Ainu - 0.5%. The ethnographic group of the Japanese are Ryukyuans(over 1 million people), who previously differed in language and culture, but now they mainly adopted the common Japanese culture, way of life and literary language. Descendants of the oldest inhabitants of Japan - Ainu settled Hokkaido, Kurile Islands and the southern tip of Sakhalin and Kamchatka. After the Kuril Islands and South Sakhalin temporarily passed (respectively, in 1875 and 1905) into the possession of Japan, the Ainu were forcibly Japaneseized and then evicted to Hokkaido, where they currently live in the Hidaka district. As a result of the assimilation of the Ainu into to a large extent lost their original culture and language, but are distinguished by their anthropological type. The Koreans of Japan live predominantly in major cities- Osaka, Tokyo, Yamaguchi.

Despite the fact that only a quarter of all Korean children living in Japan study in Korean schools (the rest - in Japanese), Koreans are difficult to assimilate and steadfastly maintain their self-consciousness.

Language writing

The language situation in Japan is very complex: there are three large groups dialects and many dialects. The writing of the Japanese language itself is based on Chinese characters. Reading Japanese texts is a very difficult task. Created in the X century. syllabic alphabet (of 50 characters) is used mainly for writing case endings, postpositions and other grammatical indicators.