Japanese values

thumb|A samurai in Japanese armour|his armor in the 1860s. Hand-colored photograph by [[Felice Beato]]

thumb|upright=1.4|The Akihabara neighborhood of [[Tokyo, a popular gathering site for otaku]]

The term "先生", read ' in Japanese, in Chinese, in Korean, and ' in Vietnamese, is an honorific used in the Sinosphere. In Japanese, the term literally means "person born before another" or "one who comes before". It is generally used after a person's name and means "teacher". The word is also used as a title to refer to or address other professionals or people of authority, such as clergy, accountants, lawyers, physicians and politicians, or to show respect to someone who has achieved a certain level of mastery in an art form or some other skill, e.g., accomplished novelists, musicians, artist

thumb|Staged photo by Suzuki Shin'ichi I depicting burakumin leather workers, 1873 Burakumin (, "people of the hamlet/village") are an outcaste group in Japan, residing at the bottom of the traditional Japanese social hierarchy. The burakumin's ancestors were outcastes of the pre-modern era, primarily from the Edo period, who were associated with occupations considered impure or tainted by death, such as executioners, undertakers, slaughterhouse workers, butchers, or tanners. They traditionally lived in their own hamlets and neighbourhoods. Although legally liberated in 1871 with the abolition

Japanese education system

Japanese term meaning the "personification of an idealized Japanese woman"

In Japan, a is a person aged 18 to 34 who is unemployed, underemployed, or otherwise lacks full-time paid employment. The term excludes stay-at-home spouses and students.

distinction between true feelings and public behavior in Japan

Japanese hierarchical relationship

duty as one of the Japanese values

chocolate

or is a term in the Japanese language for the cultural values and characteristics of the Japanese people. The phrase was coined in the Heian period to describe the indigenous Japanese 'spirit' or cultural values as opposed to cultural values of foreign nations such as those identified through contact with Tang dynasty China. Later, a qualitative contrast between Japanese and Chinese spirit was elicited from the term. Edo period writers and samurai used it to augment and support the Bushido concept of honor and valor. English translations of Yamato-damashii include the "Japanese spirit", "Japan

1971 essay by Takeo Doi

Japanese pejorative term

homeless people in Japan sheltering in 24-hr cafes

are Japanese female history buffs, who may also use the speech and mannerisms of pre-industrial Japan in their social gatherings. Reki-jo are a kind of otaku, people obsessed with a particular interest. Economic activity relating to the fad generated US$725 million per year .

is a central idea in Japanese culture, meaning to acknowledge one's own mistake and to pledge improvement. This is similar to the proverb "self insight is the first step to bettering" ().

Japanese concept of "harmony"

is an idiom commonly used in East Asian cultures, such as in Japan, Korea and China, which denotes a form of interpersonal communication through unspoken mutual understanding.

Amae (甘え, amae) is a Japanese concept referring to a form of emotional dependence or indulgent reliance on others, often characterized by a desire to be loved, cared for, or indulged by someone perceived as an authority figure or caregiver. The term originates from the verb amaeru (甘える), meaning "to depend on another's benevolence" or "to act in a way that presumes indulgence." It was introduced as a psychological and cultural framework by Japanese psychoanalyst Takeo Doi in his 1971 book The Anatomy of Dependence (甘えの構造, Amae no Kōzō), where he explored amae as a key to understanding interper

in Japanese, is human feeling that complements and opposes the value of giri, or social obligation, within the Japanese worldview. Broadly speaking, ninjō is said to be the human feeling that inescapably springs up with social obligation. As ninjō is a culture-specific term, the validity or importance of this concept is subject to a wide range of viewpoints, inextricably tied into one's perspective on nihonjinron, which compares Japan with other cultures to establish what is unique about the country.

thumb|Participants in an uchimizu ceremony in New York City refers to the sprinkling of water in Japanese gardens and streets. It is more than a mere matter of hygiene and has, in temples and gardens, a ritual or contemplative purpose. In streets in summer, it serves to cool the immediate area, keep down dust, and also please neighbors. Japanese people see uchimizu as exemplifying national values as it combines utilitarian, aesthetic, courteous, and dutiful ends .

Cultural assumptions and concepts specific to Japanese culture