10 customs of modern Japan, surprising foreigners

The culture and customs of Japan are very different from the West. The reason for this is the long development of Japan without the influence of Europe, and its strong position with respect to its neighbors, and the difficult, harsh climate of the country, raising a stoic spirit in a person. Endless natural disasters force the Japanese to be united and strictly adhere to the hierarchy, as well as involuntarily endow the surrounding landscapes with the features of gods.

By historical standards, Europe came to Japan not so long ago, and for a long time foreigners were treated with contempt. Apparently, therefore, Western traditions did not have a turning point in Japan; they remained faithful to their ancient traditions and rituals. So, what surprises visitors in Japan?

Japanese eat horsemeat

Raw horse meat in Japan is not a semi-finished product for sausages, but an independent, gourmet food, known since time immemorial. The dish is called basashi. It is believed that it strengthens health, prolongs life and it is difficult to catch any infection from it.

In Japan, there are about 1,500 earthquakes per year

Japan is at the junction of tectonic plates, which for unknown scientific reasons often move, causing earthquakes, eruptions and tsunamis. Fortunately for the Japanese, most jolts do not reach a single point. But when the elements nevertheless begin to rage, the victims are enormous.

In Japan, machines are used to sell everything

In addition to well-known snack vending machines, in Japan they learned to sell eggs and live fish, flowers and toilet paper, umbrellas, bags of rice, books and much more.

Fancy Etiquette Rules

During the absorption of food, the Japanese can not be more than you can! Etiquette forbids: moving dishes, putting bitten pieces of food, sticking food with chopsticks, using a spoon, pouring it on yourself and much more. But what can be done? It is allowed, for example, to squish, smack and slurp while eating noodles. This demonstration of impatience shows how tasty the food turned out to be, and is considered very decent.

The favorite sport of the Japanese is not sumo at all, but such an unpatriotic American baseball

Perhaps this happened because baseball was the first foreign game to appear in Japan. They even gave it a Japanese name - yakyu. Unlike football, which appeared around the same time, which was mainly practiced by the military, baseball came to the student community, to people a priori open to new experiences and youthful gambling.

Japan has a high suicide rate

It is so high that it comes first in the causes of death in a group of 15 to 34 years old. The reason for this lies in the cultural roots of Japan. For a long time, suicide was considered a courageous act, redeeming any guilt. Writers and poets described hara-kiri, seppuku and shinju, kamikaze pilots, and banzai attacks. It is probably easier to look for a way out in death when society morally supports such acts. The causes of suicide are different, but the most basic is job loss.

The whole family usually bathes in one bath

A tradition that came from past centuries, when water was heated on a fire and poured into a barrel, in which the whole family then washed. In modern Japan, in most apartments only showers are installed. There are baths in country houses and taking them is a great luxury, because water is very expensive. On the other hand, the Japanese take a bath to relax and pre-wash in the shower, so the water in the bath remains clean.

In Japan, the streets are numbered, not called

In Japan, when designating a place, a description goes from larger to smaller: prefecture, city, district, quarter, house, apartment. The first three are called, the last three are numbered. House numbers are assigned in the order of their development, so finding the right house is problematic, because the rooms are randomly scattered around the quarter.

In Japan, you can adopt an adult

But why? - any western person will be surprised. An adult does not need custody and protection. To this, historians will answer that in all countries there was a custom of adopting adult men if there were no boys in the family. In Japan, they are still trying to transfer their surname further into the centuries, to draw a line of the family into the future. Therefore, the option of adopting a daughter’s husband is quite appropriate. Or vice versa, the daughter’s husband can adopt the parents, thus, the inheritance is divided into a larger number of applicants, and taxes to the state are reduced. Everything is done for the good of the family.

Workaholism of the Japanese

It so happened that an ordinary Japanese never gets hired. No. He is accepted into the family. In Japan, a frequent change of work is not encouraged, the employee enters the company very young and, ideally, has been working in it all his life. Now the interests of the company are his interests, even if he is just a cleaner. Colleagues now become those with whom they will have to communicate for many years for 12-15 hours daily. Therefore, it is better not to lean out and maintain good relations with everyone. And that means they have to have a high level of conformism. It comes to the fact that the worker is embarrassed to get up and leave, although his working day is over. After all, everyone else is still here!