@brianchar-bow3273

4 weeks ago

Even as time goes by and the surface of a town changes, nothing changes in the underlying foundation of the unique Japanese culture. The common root of the creation of originality in Japanese culture is the uniqueness of its geopolitical location and the influence of its natural environment. Even if they import culture and knowledge from abroad, they are not dominated by it, and after a certain period of time, they select the content, integrate it with their own culture, improve it, and eventually create a new style because of the influence of their unique natural environment. Japan's original country name "NIPPON”means "the land under the sun" , but another traditional country name is "YAMATO ,（WA）” , meaning “Peacefull Harmony among People and Nature”.　So Japan's name means “the Land under the Sun” and” the Land of "Great Harmony of People and Nature,” The history of Japan is very old, about 2,000 years since the Emperor's reign, but humans began to live in villages and communities in this island nation about 14,000 years ago, during “the JOMON pottery” culture.　(That's 30,000 years ago, if you count the Neolithic period.) Surrounded on all sides by the sea and geographically isolated from the Eurasian continent in the Pacific Ocean, this island nation has a warm and humid climate, and because it is a volcanic island, mountains occupy about 80% of its land, it is rich in underground clear water resources through its natural filtration system, and is blessed with diverse vegetation and fishery resources. For this reason, people have lived here for tens of thousands of years, enjoying the abundant nature and living in peace with nature. Since ancient times, the people of this land have respected human harmony and have lived in peace by working together as a group. However, while the natural environment of this island nation is rich to live, it is also harsh to live and has both light and dark sides. They have shared and enjoyed the blessings of nature by pooling their wisdom and collectively overcoming numerous severe and harsh natural disasters, such as frequent volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, tsunami, summer typhoons, and heavy snowfall in winter. This is because this island nation has a harsh natural environment that cannot be overcome by a single person. Individuals are too weak to face the fury of nature when natural disasters suddenly strike the wealth they have built up and can destroy their cities overnight. That is why Japanese people believed that they should suppress their egos, avoid conflict among humans, cooperate with each other to create a livable environment and maintain public cleanliness, and join forces to prevent disasters before they occur and to restore the environment immediately after they have occurred. They believed that this is the most wise, efficient, and rational way to maintain peace and freedom in each other's lives, this would bring about better results rather than to create more chaos and conflict by insisting on each other's selfishness. because of the environment in which disasters frequently occur that cannot be resolved by individual power alone. And this thinkings have given rise to Japan's unique teachings, culture, and behavior. For example, it is fundamentally connected to the Japanese mindset of "Behaving in a way that does not bother others in public places," "Helping each other if someone is in trouble," and "Not doing bad things even if no one is watching." And one of the teachings of the ancient Shinto religion, "Purify yourself (kiyome) by getting rid of Defilement (kegare)," has been taken over today as a basic manner to "Not pollute even in public places," to “Always keep the environment and yourself clean”, and to make everyone, regardless of status, gender, or age. feel comfortable equally. The warm and humid island climate is a paradise for humans and animals, and it is also a paradise for bacteria and microorganisms to thrive. If they are not careful in maintaining cleanliness in their daily lives, bacteria can easily multiply and food can spoil. It is obvious why the ancient Japanese Shinto religion taught the importance of "maintaining a clean environment on a daily basis.” They taught cleanliness strictly because they knew, even before the development of science, that laziness and filthiness could lead to invisible bacterial plagues that could kill or destroy a race of people. This is the ancient wisdom to survive in the dangerous natural environment unique to this island nation. Over the years, this wisdom has been formed into a unique Japanese behavior and culture that is different from that of other countries. The ancient name of Japan, "YAMATO" or "WA" (peaceful harmony between people and nature), represents the wishes and reality of the people who have been trying to survive in the rich and at the same time harsh natural environment unique to island countries, which is different from the dry and stable land of the Eurasian continent. And it is in this ancient Japanese country name "WA,YAMATO" that the essence of Japanese culture, the origin and secret of its unique culture, which is very different from the cultures of other Asian countries on the continent, is hidden.

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