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We have not yet developed much information on the clothes worn by Japanese boys involved in various activities. In most insrances Japanese boys wear the same garments and styles associated with these activities as are common in the West. There are some activities in which traditional dress is worn. Sports outfits are virtually identical, primarily because the sports themsekves have been imported from the West. . We note boys wearing Wesrern garments with a destinctive Jaoanese look for some fine arts avtivities, especially music. We do have pages on music in Japan, both information on choirs and bands. The music children seem involved in appears to be mostly Western music. We have noted a Japananese popular music group, but do not know much about them.. We also have some information on sports.
We know nothing about Japanese dance at this time. It seems to be performed by girls and women, but we may be mistaken by this.
An especially interesting activity in Japan is a wide range of traditional festivals. We note many festivals in Japan. Every city and town as well as small villages appear to have festivals, often more than one. Some are seasonal in nature. Others are more religious in nature. Many festivals have religious origins. Many festivals have Shinto elements, but Budhism seemsly blended into Japanese society so both religions are important. Often there are both seasonal and religious themes combined. There are some activities in which traditional dress is worn. This seems to have been particularly the case before World War II. We note both boys and men as well as the girls and women wearing traditional clothes. The boys commonly wore their school caps with traditional clothes. We do not, however, have much information on Japanese festivals at this time.
We have very little information on the gmes played by Japanese children. We see them playing many of the same games played by Western children. We assume that there were also a range of traditional Japanese games, but we know nothing about them at this time. Hopefully our Japanese readers will provide more information.
There are many traditional Japanese holidays. We have mentioned some of them in the Japanese section, but have not yet created pages on them. Several include honoring relatives. Children's day is a holiday of special interest to HBC. Interestingly several holidays likr Chikdren's day relate to age. Almost all are uniquely Japanese. We hope to create separate pages as HBC develops. One is the same as Western holidays, such as New Years. Other Western holidays such as Christmas are not really celebrated, but are used by merchants in advertising. One Japanese holiday, Labor Day is essentially the same as the Western holiday, but observed on different days. Other holidays (Constitution Day and Green Day) are of recent origins, created since Japan's defeat in World war II. The Emperor's birthday is still celebrated, but not as important as it once was. Unlike the holidays in many countries, religion is not a major factor in holiday celebrations.
We have very limited information on music in Japan. We note boys wearing Western garments with a destinctive Japanese look for some fine arts avtivities, especially music. We do have pages on music in Japan, both information on choirs and bands. The music children seem involved in appears to be mostly Western music. We have noted a Japananese popular music group, but do not know much about them. One traditional Japanese music form we note are the Japanese ritual drums, but we do not yet know anything about them.
Japan has some lovely urban parks. We fo not yet have much information as to when these parks were created or conventions about their use. We note families using them for recreation. Some photographs show families wearing suits and other formal clothes rather than casual clothes when visitging these parks. We also notice a number of intersting traditional activities. One such tradition is a children's theater somewhat similar to Punch and Judy in the West. This is called "kamishibai", kind of theater in a box. There are also many revered temples and shrines scattered around the country. Some times the families or some of the members wear tradition clothes when visiting the shrines.
Religion is not as important in Japan as it is in many other countries. Most Japanese people are not deeply committed to religion. Normally religious observation occurs only for occassional ceremonies such as (birth, weddings, and funerals). Japanese families may visit a shrine or temple on New Year and participates at local festivals (matsuri), most of which have religious origins.
Shinto and Buddhism are the two major religions. These two religions have co-existing in Japan for centuries. Unlike religions in other countries, these two religions seem to have complemented each other. Most Japanese people will identify themselves as Buddhist or Shintoist. Some will say they are both.
Japan's over its history has been influenced by several religions.
Shinto is the one religion that has been a part of Japanese culture since recorded history. Buddhism came later and arrived in the 6th century AD. Buddhism seems to have had an impact on Shinto practices as Shinto has influenced
Buddhist beliefs. This interaction can be seen, for example, in honji suijaku, in which shinto kami came to be seen as the incarnations of Buddhist deities.
Japan has also been influenced by Confucianism and Taosim. Although not conquered by The Chinese, Japan was significantly influenced by Chinese culture. Confucianism in particular affected ethical and political philosophy.
The influence of Taoism can be seen in the use of the Chinese calendar and fortune-tellers. Christianity spread with the arrival of European traders in the 16th century. It was supressed, but appeared again with the 19th century opening to the west. Assessing the impact of religion is very complicated. One easily obserable imapct is aesthetics, especially the graceful Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples.
We have not yet developed much information on the clothes worn by Japanese boys involved in various activities. In most instances Japanese boys wear the same garments and styles associated with these activities as are common in the West. Sports outfits are virtually identical, primarily because the sports themsekves have been imported from the West. We also have some information on sports. Many of the Western sports are played in Japan. Baseball is especially popular. Japan has played a key roll in the development of the martial arts.
Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[Introduction]
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Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Japanese pages:
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[Monarchy]
[Music recitals]
[Scouts]
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