Japanese Culture in Contemporary Society - Essay Example

Japanese Culture in Contemporary Society Course: Professor: Date Japanese Culture in Contemporary Society Culture is static and is influenced by many factors which range from mass media to other relevant cultures. The traditional culture is composed of religion, philosophy, law, politics, art, history and literature. Japan is a country that has been endowed with a rich culture. Despite this, the county’s culture has been influenced by different cultures through modernization. Change in culture is in most cases gradual and are noted over time. Through westernization, Japanese culture was remodeled and some of its aspects changed. The new changes brought convenience to the population through the introduction of technology. The traditional culture was changed through adoption of new ways of doing things. During modernization, there are efforts to preserve the traditional culture so that it does not diminish. Japan has tried its best in preserving their traditions and culture to avoid the negative impact of modernization but with little results.1 At the moment most of the Japanese population is located in the cities. Japanese traditional culture has been at risk of the high rate of modernization in the country. Most of the cultural aspects of the Japan have faced extinction in the modern Japan. By looking at the Japanese bathing culture (onsen and Sento), this essay will prove that the traditional Japanese culture is no longer relevant to the contemporary Japanese society. The Japanese baths onsen and sento were some of the oldest baths that were practiced in the country. These baths were introduced during the traditional Japan to serve several functions2. The baths utilised water gushing from the ground, which was said to have a lot of value. For example onsen was a hot spring gushing from the underground and has mineral. The two baths were designed to be used communally. The sento was built with a notion that most of the houses did not have an individual bath hence could bath communally. During the pre modern period, the two baths had great popularity and were often fully booked. Over the time the two baths have undergone transition and are very different from the traditional ones. One of the supports for these baths was the fact that Japan is located in an area with a lot of spring activity. The baths in Japan has a lot of cultural values. These values range from therapeutic, religious and entertainment. In particular, onsen has been associated with the healing properties as well as therapeutic benefits. One of the most visible effects of modernization is seen in these baths. Most of their traditional values no longer hold attraction to the community in the towns. The baths have lost some of their sacred regards that they held. One of the issues that have arisen concerning the communal baths is cleanliness and authenticity.3 Modernity has replaced the traditional baths through construction of modern homes. The modern Japanese homes have their own bath inside as opposed to traditional homes4. Current bathing culture in Japan supports bathing in an individual’s home instead of communal baths. The traditional bath tubs have been replaced with modern tubs. Traditionally, the bathing tub was made from sacred wood which was unfurnished. The modern tubs are made from plastic and covered to keep the water hot. The modern tub can also be controlled through the use of computer according to the needs. In most of the Japanese modern home, there are bath tubs which are located inside them.5 The traditional public baths are slowly disappearing from towns as modernization continues to eliminate them. One of the aspects that made the establishment of the public baths was lack of private baths in the traditional Japanese houses. The few existing public baths are located in a single building and acts as a business. These modern public baths are known as super-sento and are a lucrative business. These sento does not get water from the springs as the traditional ones. The modern sentos use water from the municipal taps which is heated through electricity or solar.6 Another aspect that shows lack of relevance of the traditional culture is the way it is perceived at the moment. The contemporary Japanese culture has different perceptions on the baths. This is seen in the ways these baths are advertised at the moment and the way they were advertised historically. The modern baths are advertised for commercial purposes with most of the emphasis being built on the entertainment part of the baths. This is in contrary to the traditional advertisement which relied mostly on the baths healing, therapeutic and religious nature as opposed to entertainment.7 The traditional values have been rendered irrelevant such that the baths have even been involved in scandals. There have been issues where therapeutic baths have been diluted with tap water. This was something that was unheard of in the traditional baths. This was found as some of the bath owners who have diluted their baths to cater for the tourism demand. The cultural values of the bath through the use of underground water have been ignored by the business owners. The water from the onsen baths have been traditionally held in high regards. This was due to the fact that they were not simply for washing the body of the person but also for therapeutic and religious reasons.8 This has not been so in the modern times. The religious and therapeutic connections have been reduced by the business people. The water was traditionally used by the monks to wash away spiritual grime. The concept of purifying oneself through use of the water was highly practiced during the traditional times. The modern times has seen a great shift from the traditional use of the baths to commercialization. The baths has almost lost their traditional use and are viewed as a source of income. Though there are still religious connections of the baths, they are not as strong as they used to be during the pre modern times. The religious connections have been utilised for personal gains by those in power as opposed to what they were meant for.9 The traditional culture has lost relevance through loss of initial values it held. One of the changes in values of bath in modern times is charity baths. The traditional charity bath was started by emperor Shomu who wanted to show her emperor benevolence. In charity baths, the emperor bathed the hands of the beggars in a temple. This type of bath evolved from act of benevolence to reference of the ancestors. As modernity progressed, these types of baths were often utilised for political gains by the wealthy politicians. The modern times have seen the charity baths disappear and forgotten by most of the county occupants. Today, most of the sentos have disappeared despite their initial growth.10 This is a great support for the fact that the traditional culture is no longer relevant in the modern society. Most of the public have avoided public baths in preference to taking baths in private. This has especially been promoted by the fact that modernity has provided more convenient house structures which have their own baths inside. There have been reports that the public baths have been experiencing serious economic strains. The economic strains being experienced in the modern public baths is evident in the manner in which they are being advertised. The traditional baths relied on the public need to frequent the baths but this has since changed. There are few people who frequent these baths and the owners have to advertise them stressing on their affordability and entertainment experience. Today Japanese baths have lost their mystical and spiritual values in which they were invented with. They are today regarded as entertainment places contrary to the traditional values. This is a proof that the traditional values have lost their relevance in the modern society.11 In conclusion, culture is static as seen through the change of Japanese bathing culture over the time. The hygienic and the rise of modern residential houses with private baths have made the public move away from these baths. The baths have been commercialized and lost their traditional relevancy attached to them. This is one of the aspects of traditional Japanese culture that has lost its impact in the modern society. The traditional Japanese culture has been eroded and most of it becomes irrelevant in the modern society. The rapid modernization of Japan has led to a situation where the new generation has do not appreciate traditional culture values such as those in baths.12 The foreign culture such as westernization has led to a situation where most of the Japanese have no place in their culture as they were during the past. The traditional culture involved caring for those in the immediate neighborhood. This is in contrast with the modern culture which looks beyond the scope of neighborhood to the global perspective. The traditional culture has been rendered obsolete in most aspects of the Japanese modern lifestyle. By looking at the bathing culture in Japan, it’s evident that the traditional culture no longer has relevance in the contemporary Japanese culture. References Brue, Alexia. Japan: The Story of Yu. In Cathedrals of the Flesh: My Search for the Perfect Bath, New York: Bloomsbury, 2003. Heapy, Teresa. Japanese culture. Chicago: Heinemann Library, 2013. Hendry, Joy and Massimo, Raveri. Japan at Play: The Ludic and Logic of Power, London: Routledge, 2002. Prasol, Aleksandr Fedorovich. Modern Japan origins of the mind : Japanese traditions and approaches to contemporary life. Singapore: World Scientific, 2010. Sugimoto, Yoshio. An introduction to Japanese society. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2003. Read More