Groups
It is important to be a part of a group in Japan, such as family, school, company, club, or friends. Westerners think of individuality as important and helpful. To the Japanese, it is selfish and lonely. They believe that a good person could work in group very well and work as if they are one. Belonging to a group is important in Japan.
Roles for men and women
In Japan, men are expected to support their family and work hard in their jobs. They are called the "salaryman". They work for a very, very long time, entertain guests, and come home at night. Its pretty tiring for men in Japan. Women who are single also work as well, but they retire after they get married. It is a tradition for married women to stay home and look after the family, give their husband an allowance, and handle the finances for the household.
School
School is very hard in Japan. Going to the next level includes passing challenging exams. The hardest ones are for entering colleges. If you fail, you will have to study more and give it another try the following year. Some kids study for years for these tests. There are 240 days in a school year from April to March. You get the regular Monday through Friday and half days on Saturday. Twelve-year-old students in the whole country study the exact same page on the exact and same textbook. There are eight core subjects: math, social studies, science, Japanese, music, physical education, calligraphy, morals, and art. Lots of kids go to "cram schools" which are during evenings and on weekends. These schools help make sure they survive "examination hell" by letting them do extra work. Examination hell are entrance exams. They bring in lots of homework all day long.
religion
Shinto means "way of the gods." This is a pretty old religion. A long time ago, the early Japanese thought that gods or spirits are always around them in nature. They attempt to live in harmony with nature to worship the spirits. They even honor national heroes and spirits as if they are a part of the religion. There are Shinto shrines in almost every place in Japan. It is important to be clean in the Shinto religion so people always wash their mouth and hands before getting near the shrine.
Buddhism is another religion in Japan. It was introduced way back in A.D. 552. In the thirteenth century, it became popular and it was practiced with Shintoism.
Buddhism is another religion in Japan. It was introduced way back in A.D. 552. In the thirteenth century, it became popular and it was practiced with Shintoism.