Day Five: Japan's Cultural Landscape

 "The cultural landscape is a strong description/picture of how the people living here (both present and past) have changed the landscape to fit their culture, resulting in a patchwork of visual evidence that helps to describe that culture.  This can include roads and infrastructure, buildings, churches, housing types, farming/field cultivation methods, fence types, paint color for houses/buildings, road signs, billboards....almost anything you can visualize that is an indicator of a culture."

Thus with this statement in mind I will know take on the incredible task of defining Japan's cultural landscape.  Japan's cultural landscape is very diverse and that why I named this blog "Japan: Culture Explosion". Japan's cultural landscape is one in which the past is honored and the future is constantly changing. Japan , or specificaly Tokyo, has become a center of today's popular culture.


In Tokyo one can encounter all forms of popular entertainment and even new forms of entertainment and culture that have an almost cult following in Japan. An example of such a culture is the anime culture. Anime is a form of animation that is very popular in Japan and is making quite a breakthrough here in America. Many of the businesses that center around the animation industry can be found in Tokyo and thus great influence the city's cultural landscape.

Example of Pop Culture: Anime Cosplay

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.filigallery.com/d/30884-2/Asian%2BPop%2BCulture%2B-%2BJapanese%2BCosplay%2B-%2BNCKU%2BTainan%2BTaiwan-396.JPG&imgrefurl=http://www.edhardy-au.com/tag/cosplay-long-w/&usg=__KPO15BuUJg7bf-UZSS7c5RdMFw0=&h=640&w=480&sz=58&hl=en&start=125&zoom=1&tbnid=q5Nt3DePScS5BM:&tbnh=163&tbnw=122&ei=Q_60TdqVDcK4twfMpMzpDg&prev=/search%3Fq%3Djapanese%2Bpop%2Bculture%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D1276%26bih%3D494%26gbv%3D2%26tbm%3Disch0%2C3392&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=800&vpy=124&dur=4867&hovh=259&hovw=194&tx=110&ty=131&page=10&ndsp=14&ved=1t:429,r:11,s:125&biw=1276&bih=494

While Tokyo may be the business center of Japan where the majority of its major businesses hold office, the business industry is not the only foothold in Japan. Japan also has a beautiful architechtual history which is evident in its many classic style homes and temples found scattered through the countryside. The old capitol of Kyoto is home to many such classic buildings, and is often referred to as a cultural center of Japan.

Temple in Kyoto

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.marmot.net/chris/travel/japan/kyoto_temple.JPG&imgrefurl=http://www.marmot.net/chris/travel/japan/&usg=__yWSfWZ7YFnTVsQ1KZD1OIz8x2lo=&h=461&w=656&sz=50&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=MAj9v-3C3Zn87M:&tbnh=153&tbnw=214&ei=Jv-0TdLJO8WDtgewnLnpDg&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dkyoto%2Btemple%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D1276%26bih%3D494%26gbv%3D2%26tbm%3Disch0%2C163&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=613&vpy=135&dur=1326&hovh=188&hovw=268&tx=167&ty=138&page=1&ndsp=10&ved=1t:429,r:7,s:0&biw=1276&bih=494



When it comes to architecture Japan has been influenced by both the peoples of China and Korea. These influences have also seeped into other cultural areas beyond architecture which is why Japan is part of such a rich shared 'asian culture'.

                                             Himeji Castle, Himeji Japan

                                             http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Himeji_castle



"Himeji Castle (姫路城, Himeji-jō^?) is a hilltop Japanese castle complex located in Himeji in Hyōgo Prefecture. The castle is regarded as the finest surviving example of prototypical Japanese castle architecture, comprising a network of 83 buildings with advanced defensive systems from the feudal period."



Day 3: Urban/Economic Geography

According to Wikipedia Japan has a very stable and growing economy, in fact "the economic history of Japan is one of the most studied for its spectacular growth after the Meiji Restoration when it became the first non-European Power and after the Second World War when the island nation rose to become the world's second largest economy". Japan's economy is actually very stable and it is believed that the Japanese yen might soon displace the euro or dollar as the most widely accepted form of currency because of Japan's stability and growth. Even now with the recent natural disasters that have torn through the Japanese mainlands the economy is still fairly stable and has not suffered in the way that was forecasted.

When it comes to urbanization Japan is a fairly urbanized society. It has major cities like Tokyo and yet it is still able to maintain some not so urbanized cities. This is because Japan highly values its cultural heritage and attempts to keep this historical heritage alive in cities like its former capitol of Kyoto. Japan, like many modern countries, has some very urbanized portions. In Japan its highly urbanized area is known as the Taiheiyo Belt. Wikipedia describes this location as:

•  "The Taiheiyō Belt (太平洋ベルト, Taiheiyō beruto^?, lit. "Pacific Belt") also known as   Tokaido  corridor is the name for the megalopolis in Japan extending from Ibaraki Prefecture in the north all the way to Fukuoka Prefecture in the south, running for almost 1,200 km (745.6 miles). The urbanization zone runs mainly along the Pacific coast (hence the name) of Japan from Kantō region to Osaka, and the Inland Sea (on both sides) to Fukuoka, and is concentrated along the Tōkaidō-Sanyō rail corridor. A view of Japan at night clearly shows a rather dense and continuous strip of light (that demarcates urban zones) that delineates the region."

 The Taiheiyo Belt would be similar to such highly industrialized areas like the U.S's eastern seaboard, or megaopolis.