Comparison of Ancient and Modern Japanese Culture

Defined cultures started to appear when Homo sapiens shed their role as hunter-gatherers and decided to settle in larger groups. The first signs of Homo sapiens on the landmass now referred to as Japan was thirty thousand years ago (Ancient Japan). These nomads were a blank slate for a culture to take root, because the land bridges closed and the natives were able to develop their own culture free from out-side influence. “Being isolated from the mainland for over ten thousand years allowed the inhabitants to hold onto stone-age life long after many countries had westernized” (Ancient Japan). The people progressed from an agricultural and metal-working society till 1869, when Japan rapidly became a revolutionized powerhouse in the world (N. Taylor). The Japanese culture has gone through many impressive changes.

The geography plays its own role in the development of a culture. Japan is comprised of four large islands, as well as the Ryukyu Islands and more than 1000 lesser adjacent islands (Japan). It is surrounded by the Sea of Okhotck, the Pacific Ocean, and the Korean Strait (Japan). Seafood from these surrounding waters is Japan’s largest natural resource. The Sakhalin Mountains run through Japan forming the Japanese Alps which create a lot of natural borders (Japan). It is estimated that only 11% of the land is arable (Japan). A low percentage of arable land is a set-back to large crops and agriculture. Japan is often subjected to natural disasters; such as tsunamis and earthquakes (Ancient Japan). Mt. Fujiyama may have once been an active volcano, but today it is dormant. Disasters demonstrate to humans the power of nature and often lead to the formation of gods. Understanding that land plays a role in the formation of a culture one can then better examine the peoples that grow from it.

The Jomon arose from the original inhabitants of the Japanese islands around 10000 years ago. The distinguishing feature of the Jomon was their pottery (Jomon & Yayoi). Pottery is a sign of Neolithic people yet the Jomon were Mesolithic, which means they were hunter-gathers (Jomon & Yayoi). Their pottery was special because of the corded design that was shown through dating techniques to have been developed before it appeared elsewhere in the world (Jomon & Yayoi). When the Earth reached a warm-point between 5000 and 2500 B.C., the Jomon people, totally isolated from other cultures at that time, began to settle and live in large villages (Jomon & Yayoi). Between 2500-1500 B.C. the Jomon developed proto-agriculture and their villages were growing even larger (Jomon & Yayoi). The Jomon started to produce a remarkable amount of female shaped figurines around this time (Jomon & Yayoi). This indicated that the Jomon had an idolized goddess based religion (Jomon & Yayoi). The Jomon thrived for around eight centuries but in 300 B.C. new cultural influence arrived in Japan.