Japanese people

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Not to be confused with Japanese citizens.

Japanese people
Total population
c. 126 million
better source needed] (2018)
Languages
Japanese
Religion
Primarily, in a traditional/cultural context, a mix of Shinto and Buddhism; minorities ascribe to Christianity and other religions[12][13][14]
Related ethnic groups
Ainu · Ryukyuan
^ Note: For this country, only the number of residents with Japanese nationality is shown, since the number of naturalized Japanese people and their descendants is unknown.

Japanese people (

ethnic group native to the Japanese archipelago.[15][16] Japanese people constitute 97.6% of the population of the country of Japan.[1] Worldwide, approximately 126 million people are of Japanese descent, making them one of the largest ethnic groups. Approximately 122.0 million Japanese people are residents of Japan,[1] and there are approximately 4 million members of the Japanese diaspora, known as Nikkeijin (日系人).[17]

In some contexts, the term "Japanese people" may be used to refer specifically to the Yamato people (Yamato-minzoku) from mainland Japan; in other contexts the term may include other groups native to the Japanese archipelago, including Ryukyuan people (Ryūkyū-minzoku), who share connections with the Yamato but are often regarded as distinct, and Ainu people (Ainu-minzoku).[18] In recent decades, there has also been an increase in the number of people with both Japanese and non-Japanese roots, including half Japanese people.

History

Main article: History of Japan

Theories of origins

Main article: Genetic and anthropometric studies on Japanese people
Shakōki-dogū (遮光器土偶) (1000–400 BC), "goggle-eyed type" figurine. Tokyo National Museum

Flint tools and bony implements of this era have been excavated in Japan.[21][22]

In the 18th century,

Taishō period, Torii Ryūzō claimed that Yamato people used Yayoi pottery and Ainu used Jōmon pottery.[23]

After

Hokkaidō, and the Ryukyuan and Ainu people show mixed characteristics. Mark J. Hudson claims that the main ethnic image of Japanese people was biologically and linguistically formed from 400 BCE to 1,200 CE.[25] Currently, the most well-regarded theory is that present-day Japanese people formed from both the Yayoi rice-agriculturalists and the various Jōmon period ethnicities.[27] However, some recent studies have argued that the Jōmon people had more ethnic diversity than originally suggested[28] or that the people of Japan bear significant genetic signatures from three ancient populations, rather than just two.[29][30]

Jōmon and Yayoi periods

Main articles: Jōmon period and Yayoi period

Some of the world's oldest known

Tibetan plateau, ancient Taiwan, and Siberia.[27][31][32]

Beginning around 300 BC, the Yayoi people originating from Northeast Asia entered the Japanese islands and displaced or intermingled with the Jōmon. The Yayoi brought wet-rice farming and advanced bronze and iron technology to Japan. The more productive paddy field systems allowed the communities to support larger populations and spread over time, in turn becoming the basis for more advanced institutions and heralding the new civilization of the succeeding Kofun period.

The estimated population of Japan in the late Jōmon period was about eight hundred thousand, compared to about three million by the Nara period. Taking the growth rates of hunting and agricultural societies into account, it is calculated that about one-and-a-half million immigrants moved to Japan in the period. According to several studies, the Yayoi created the "Japanese-hierarchical society".[33][34]

Consolidation and feudal periods

Main articles: History of Japan § Classical Japan, and History of Japan § Feudal Japan

Colonial period

See also: Japanese colonial empire and Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere
Location of Imperial Japan

During the Japanese colonial period of 1895 to 1945, the phrase "Japanese people" was used to refer not only to residents of the Japanese archipelago, but also to people from colonies who held Japanese citizenship, such as Taiwanese people and Korean people. The official term used to refer to ethnic Japanese during this period was "inland people" (内地人, naichijin). Such linguistic distinctions facilitated forced assimilation of colonized ethnic identities into a single Imperial Japanese identity.[35]

After the end of World War II, the

Hokkaidō. On the other hand, many Sakhalin Koreans who had held Japanese citizenship until the end of the war were left stateless by the Soviet occupation.[36]

Language

Main article: Japanese language

The Japanese language is a

vowel phonemes, frequent gemination and a distinctive pitch accent system. The modern Japanese language has a tripartite writing system using hiragana, katakana and kanji. The language includes native Japanese words and a large number of words derived from the Chinese language. In Japan the adult literacy rate in the Japanese language exceeds 99%.[37] Dozens of Japanese dialects are spoken in regions of Japan. For now, Japanese is classified as a member of the Japonic languages or as a language isolate with no known living relatives if Ryukyuan is counted as dialects.[38]

Religion

Main article: Religion in Japan
A Shinto festival in Miki, Hyogo

Japanese religion has traditionally been

polytheistic religion with no book of religious canon, is Japan's native religion. Shinto was one of the traditional grounds for the right to the throne of the Japanese imperial family and was codified as the state religion in 1868 (State Shinto), but was abolished by the American occupation in 1945. Mahayana Buddhism came to Japan in the sixth century and evolved into many different sects. Today, the largest form of Buddhism among Japanese people is the Jōdo Shinshū sect founded by Shinran.[40]

A large majority of Japanese people profess to believe in both Shinto and Buddhism.

mythology, traditions and neighborhood activities, rather than as the single source of moral guidelines for one's life.[citation needed
]

A significant proportion of members of the Japanese diaspora practice Christianity; about 60% of Japanese Brazilians and 90% of Japanese Mexicans are Roman Catholics,[44][45] while about 37% of Japanese Americans are Christians (33% Protestant and 4% Catholic).[46]

Literature

Main article: Japanese literature
Bisque doll of Momotarō,
a character from Japanese literature and folklore

Certain genres of writing originated in and are often associated with Japanese society. These include the

I Novel, although modern writers generally avoid these writing styles. Historically, many works have sought to capture or codify traditional Japanese cultural values and aesthetics. Some of the most famous of these include Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji (1021), about Heian court culture; Miyamoto Musashi's The Book of Five Rings (1645), concerning military strategy; Matsuo Bashō's Oku no Hosomichi (1691), a travelogue; and Jun'ichirō Tanizaki's essay "In Praise of Shadows
" (1933), which contrasts Eastern and Western cultures.

Following the opening of Japan to the West in 1854, some works of this style were written in English by natives of Japan; they include Bushido: The Soul of Japan by Nitobe Inazō (1900), concerning samurai ethics, and The Book of Tea by Okakura Kakuzō (1906), which deals with the philosophical implications of the Japanese tea ceremony. Western observers have often attempted to evaluate Japanese society as well, to varying degrees of success; one of the most well-known and controversial works resulting from this is Ruth Benedict's The Chrysanthemum and the Sword (1946).

Twentieth-century Japanese writers recorded changes in Japanese society through their works. Some of the most notable authors included

Akiko Yosano, Yukio Mishima, and Ryōtarō Shiba. Popular contemporary authors such as Ryū Murakami, Haruki Murakami, and Banana Yoshimoto have been translated into many languages and enjoy international followings, and Yasunari Kawabata and Kenzaburō Ōe were awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature
.

Arts

Main articles: Japanese art and Japanese architecture
The print Red Fuji from Katsushika Hokusai's series, Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji

Decorative arts in Japan date back to prehistoric times. Jōmon pottery includes examples with elaborate ornamentation. In the Yayoi period, artisans produced mirrors, spears, and ceremonial bells known as dōtaku. Later burial mounds, or kofun, preserve characteristic clay figures known as haniwa, as well as wall paintings.

Beginning in the Nara period, painting, calligraphy, and sculpture flourished under strong Confucian and Buddhist influences from China. Among the architectural achievements of this period are the Hōryū-ji and the Yakushi-ji, two Buddhist temples in Nara Prefecture. After the cessation of official relations with the Tang dynasty in the ninth century, Japanese art and architecture gradually became less influenced by China. Extravagant art and clothing were commissioned by nobles to decorate their court, and although the aristocracy was quite limited in size and power, many of these pieces are still extant. After the Tōdai-ji was attacked and burned during the Genpei War, a special office of restoration was founded, and the Tōdai-ji became an important artistic center. The leading masters of the time were Unkei and Kaikei.[citation needed]

Painting advanced in the

tea ceremony during the Sengoku period. During the Edo period, the polychrome painting screens of the Kanō school were influential thanks to their powerful patrons (including the Tokugawa clan). Popular artists created ukiyo-e, woodblock prints for sale to commoners in the flourishing cities. Pottery such as Imari ware
was highly valued as far away as Europe.

In theater, Noh is a traditional, spare dramatic form that developed in tandem with kyōgen farce. In stark contrast to the restrained refinement of noh, kabuki, an "explosion of color", uses every possible stage trick for dramatic effect. Plays include sensational events such as suicides, and many such works were performed both in kabuki and in bunraku puppet theater.[citation needed]

Since the Meiji Restoration, Japanese art has been influenced by many elements of Western culture. Contemporary decorative, practical, and performing arts works range from traditional forms to purely modern modes. Products of popular culture, including J-pop, J-rock, manga, and anime have found audiences around the world.

Citizenship

Article 10 of the Constitution of Japan defines the term "Japanese" based upon Japanese nationality (citizenship) alone, without regard for ethnicity.[47] The Government of Japan considers all naturalized and native-born Japanese nationals with a multi-ethnic background "Japanese", and in the national census the Japanese Statistics Bureau asks only about nationality, so there is no official census data on the variety of ethnic groups in Japan. While this has contributed to or reinforced the widespread belief that Japan is ethnically homogeneous, as shown in the claim of former Japanese Prime Minister Tarō Asō that Japan is a nation of "one race, one civilization, one language and one culture",[48] some scholars have argued that it is more accurate to describe the country of Japan as a multiethnic society.[49][50]

Children born to international couples receive Japanese nationality when one parent is a Japanese national. However, Japanese law states that children who are

interracial couples, and these children are sometimes referred to as hāfu (half Japanese).[53]

Diaspora

Main article: Japanese diaspora
The Japantown Peace Plaza during the Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival

The term Nikkeijin (日系人) is used to refer to Japanese people who emigrated from Japan and their descendants.

Emigration from Japan was recorded as early as the 15th century to the

repatriated to Japan after the end of World War II in Asia.[59]

According to the Association of Nikkei and Japanese Abroad, there are about 4.0 million Nikkeijin living in their adopted countries.[17] The largest of these foreign communities are in the Brazilian states of São Paulo and Paraná.[60] There are also significant cohesive Japanese communities in the Philippines,[61] East Malaysia, Peru, the U.S. states of Hawaii, California, and Washington, and the Canadian cities of Vancouver and Toronto. Separately, the number of Japanese citizens living abroad is over one million according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

See also

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External links

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