Japanese American Culture

Geishas, Anime, Manga, J-Pop, what do they all have in common? Japanese culture. Japanese culture combines influences from Asia, Europe, and North America. In my opinion, Japanese culture is more unique than the others. They have similar interest as the United States. Geisha’s, sports, Anime, and music are the defining elements when one thinks about Japanese culture. A geisha is a traditional Japanese entertainer. The appearance of a geisha is a white base with red lipstick and red and black accents around the eyes and eyebrows. The white base cover face, neck, and chest. It forms a ‘W’ for a traditional shape or a ‘V’ on the nape of the neck. Geisha’s always wear a very colorful kimono with extravagant obi. More importantly, there are stages to becoming a geisha. In earlier times, some girls were sold as children to geisha houses known as ‘okiya’. They are located in the Hanamachi, which are known as ‘ flower towns’. The first stage is a Shikomi. When a girl arrives, …show more content…
Anime is a television animation for Japanese adults, but also for children. Anime started in the twentieth century. It was experimented by Japanese filmmakers. Later on, a man named Osamu Tezukas made a popular anime series called “ Astro Boy” in 1963. He was recognized as the ‘Father of Anime’ soon after (GoJapanGo, screens 1-3). The major difference between anime and American cartoons is that anime is popular with Japanese adults and is watched by millions. It’s the same with manga, but manga is Japanese comics. During World War 2, anime and manga began to get popular, but soon the Japanese nation was mobilized. People were forced to obey the government's demands or the people would be punished. The government used remaining cartoonist, who weren’t in the army or people who weren’t banned from working, to influence people through their artwork by creating comic strips filled with propaganda used against the nation’s enemies ( Novaonline, screens