Japan (Lonely Planet, 11th Edition) - Chris Rowthorn [32]
The four noble truths of Buddhism are as follows: 1) life is suffering; 2) the cause of suffering is desire; 3) the cure for suffering is the elimination of desire; and 4) the way to eliminate desire is to follow the Eightfold Path of the Buddha. Thus, Buddhism can be thought of as an operating manual for the human mind when faced with the problem of existence in an impermanent world.
All of the main sects of Japanese Buddhism belong to the Mahayana (Greater Vehicle) strain of Buddhism, which is distinguished from Theravada (Lesser Vehicle) Buddhism by its faith in bodhisattvas. The major sects of Japanese Buddhism include Zen, Tendai, Esoteric, Pure Land and True Pure Land Buddhism. The religious structure in Buddhism is known as a tera, dera, ji or in (temple; see the boxed text, above).
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There are three sacred regalia in Shintō: the sacred mirror (stored in Mie-ken’s Ise-jingū; Click here), the sacred sword (stored near Nagoya in Atsuta-jingū; Click here) and the sacred beads (stored in the Imperial Palace in Tokyo;). Some speculate that the sacred treasures were brought over by the continental forerunners of the Yamato clan.
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WOMEN IN JAPAN
Traditional Japanese society restricted the woman’s role to the home, where as housekeeper she wielded considerable power, overseeing all financial matters, monitoring the children’s education and, in some ways, acting as the head of the household. Even in the early Meiji period, however, the ideal was rarely matched by reality: labour shortfalls often resulted in women taking on factory work, and even before that, women often worked side by side with men in the fields.
As might be expected, the contemporary situation is complex. There are, of course, those who stick to established roles. They tend to opt for shorter college courses, often at women’s colleges, and see education as an asset in the marriage market. Once married, they leave the role of breadwinner to their husbands.
Increasingly, however, Japanese women are choosing to forgo or delay marriage in favour of pursuing their own career ambitions. Of course, changing aspirations do not necessarily translate into changing realities, and Japanese women are still significantly underrepresented in upper management and political positions, and there is a disproportionately high number of females employed as OLs (office ladies). Part of the reason for this is the prevalence of gender discrimination in Japanese companies. Societal expectations, however, also play a role: Japanese women are often forced to choose between having a career and having a family. Not only do most companies refuse to hire women for career-track positions, many Japanese men are simply not interested in having a career-woman as a spouse. This makes it very intimidating for a Japanese woman to step out of her traditional gender role and follow a career path.
Those women who do choose full-time work suffer from one of the worst gender wage gaps in the developed world: Japanese women earn only 66% of what Japanese men earn, compared to 76% in the USA, 83% in the UK and 85% in Australia (according to figures released by the respective governments). In politics, the situation is even worse: Japanese women hold only 10% of seats in the Diet, the nation’s governing body.
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In 2008 the number of maiko (apprentice geisha) in Kyoto topped 100 for the first time in four decades.
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ARTS
Contemporary Visual Art
In the years that followed WWII, Japanese artists struggled with issues of identity. This was the generation who grappled with duelling philosophies: ‘Japanese spirit, Japanese knowledge’ versus ‘Japanese spirit, Western knowledge’. This group was known for exploring whether Western