Orientalism: A Japanese Culture Study

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Japanese Culture Study
Orientalism
The Japanese cultural heritage and identity are often misconceived by the West as being much of a conservative or traditionalist orientation. The nation’s cultural identity poses a challenge to the United States’ or rather the western’s ability to comprehend and make a certain understanding of its underlying principles and ideologies. As one of Asia’s first country to embrace modernization, Japan’s steadfast inclination to its cultural heritage leads to the misleading perception of the West as being a traditionalist CITATION Ros00 \l 2057 (Rosen). It remains to be one of the nations whose cultural orientation remains intact and free of the global cultural integration, with little or no impact from the influences of westernization affecting most of the Eastern cultures. The Japanese orientalism refers to the Misleading Western perception of the country’s cultural orientation and the latter’s lack of understanding evidenced by their use of stereotypes to elaborate or explain some of the Japanese cultural aspects CITATION Ros00 \l 2057 (Rosen). The concept of Orientalism thus seeks to highlight the cultural differences between the West and the East through an articulate comparison of the distinct cultural aspects. Additionally, the principle of orientalism establishes the West’s need for cultural superiority as the primary influence on the misconception of the Japanese cultural orientation CITATION Ros00 \l 2057 (Rosen).
Modern Japan
The concept of modern Japan revolves around the country’s transformation since the early 18th century through modernization across the social, cultural, political, and economic aspects of the society CITATION Bea81 \l 2057 (Beasley). It reflects on the impact of modernization on the cultural orientation of the Japanese people. Its transition from a traditionalist or agricultural state to becoming a global industrial powerhouse in the c...