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Japanese Popular Culture
Japanese popular culture includes Cinema of Japan, Japanese cinema, Japanese cuisine, cuisine, Television in Japan, television programs, anime, manga, Video gaming in Japan, video games, Music of Japan, music, and doujinshi, all of which retain older artistic and literary traditions; many of their themes and styles of presentation can be traced to traditional art forms. Contemporary forms of popular culture, much like the traditional forms, are not only forms of entertainment but also factors that distinguish contemporary Japan from the rest of the modern world. There is a large industry of music, films, and the products of a huge comic book industry, among other forms of entertainment. Game centers, bowling alleys, and karaoke parlors are well-known hangout places for teens while older people may play ''shogi'' or ''Go (board game), go'' in specialized parlors. Since the end of the Occupation of Japan, US occupation of Japan in 1952, Japanese popular culture has been influenced by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cinema Of Japan
The , also known domestically as , has a history that spans more than 100 years. Japan has one of the oldest and largest film industries in the world; as of 2022, it was the Film industry#Statistics, fourth largest by number of feature films produced, producing 634 films, and third largest in terms of box office revenue, standing at $1.5 billion. Films have been produced in Japan since 1897. During the 1950s, a period dubbed the "Golden Age of Japanese cinema", the ''jidaigeki'' films of Akira Kurosawa as well as the science fiction films of Ishirō Honda and Eiji Tsuburaya gained Japanese cinema international praise and made these directors universally renown and highly influential. Some of the Japanese films of this period are now rated some of the List of films considered the best, greatest of all time: ''Tokyo Story'' (1953) ranked number three in ''Sight & Sound'' critics' list of the 100 greatest films of all time and also topped the 2012 ''Sight & Sound'' directors' poll ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Spectator
''The Spectator'' is a weekly British political and cultural news magazine. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving magazine in the world. ''The Spectator'' is politically conservative, and its principal subject areas are politics and culture. Alongside columns and features on current affairs, the magazine also contains arts pages on books, music, opera, film, and TV reviews. It had an average circulation of 107,812 as of December 2023, excluding Australia. Editorship of the magazine has often been a step on the ladder to high office in the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom. Past editors include Boris Johnson (1999–2005) and other former cabinet members Ian Gilmour (1954–1959), Iain Macleod (1963–1965), and Nigel Lawson (1966–1970). The former Conservative MP Michael Gove took over from Fraser Nelson as editor on 4 October 2024. Today, the magazine is a print-digital hybrid. In 2020, ''The Spectator'' became the longest-live ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
San-X
is a Japanese stationery company known for creating and marketing cute characters such as Tarepanda, Rilakkuma, and Sumikko Gurashi. The characters are usually anthropomorphic representations of animals or inanimate objects. Each character has its own quirky traits; for example, Momobuta is a pig with a head shaped like a peach, who enjoys karaoke and painting her nails. San-X head designer and creator of Tarepanda, Hikaru Suemasa said in 1999: "It's not just being cute. There is something different - a relaxed look, powerless". San-X characters can be found on stationery sets and pencils, as collectibles, keychains and stuffed toys. They are sold as blind boxes, gashapon and in UFO catchers and other prize machines in Japan's arcades. There are also anime series, video games and books featuring the characters. History San-X was founded in April 1932 as a privately owned business under the name ''Chida Handler''. In October 1942, Chida Handler became a limited company. Chi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sanrio
is a Japanese entertainment company. It designs, licenses, and manufactures products focusing on the ''kawaii'' ("cute") segment of Japanese popular culture. Their products include stationery, school supplies, gifts, and Fashion accessory, accessories, which are sold worldwide, including at specialty brand retail stores in Japan. Sanrio's best-known character is Hello Kitty, a cartoon cat and one of the most successful marketing brands in the world. Besides selling character goods, Sanrio takes part in film production and publishing. They own the rights to the ''Mr. Men'' characters and Japanese licensing rights to the ''Peanuts'' characters. Their animatronics branch, Kokoro Company, Ltd. (''kokoro'' being Japanese for "heart"), is best known for the Actroid Android (robot), android. The company also runs several KFC franchises across Tokyo and Saitama Prefecture. History Shintaro Tsuji founded Sanrio on August 10, 1960, then known as the Yamanashi Silk Company using in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kawaii Goods
''Kawaii'' is a Japanese cultural phenomenon which emphasizes cuteness, childlike innocence, charm, and simplicity. ''Kawaii'' culture began to flourish in the 1970s, driven by youth culture and the rise of cute characters in manga and anime (comics and animation) and Merchandising, merchandise, exemplified by the creation of Hello Kitty by Sanrio in 1974. The ''kawaii'' Aesthetics, aesthetic is characterized by soft or pastel (usually pink, blue and white) colors, rounded shapes, and features which evoke vulnerability, such as big eyes and small mouths, and has become a prominent aspect of Japanese popular culture, influencing entertainment (including toys and Japanese idol, idols), fashion (such as Lolita fashion), advertising, and product design. Etymology The word ''kawaii'' originally derives from the phrase ''kao hayushi'', which literally means "(one's) face (is) aglow," commonly used to refer to flushing or blushing of the face. The second morpheme is cognate with ''- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Computers
A computer is a machine that can be programmed to automatically carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations ('' computation''). Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as ''programs'', which enable computers to perform a wide range of tasks. The term computer system may refer to a nominally complete computer that includes the hardware, operating system, software, and peripheral equipment needed and used for full operation; or to a group of computers that are linked and function together, such as a computer network or computer cluster. A broad range of industrial and consumer products use computers as control systems, including simple special-purpose devices like microwave ovens and remote controls, and factory devices like industrial robots. Computers are at the core of general-purpose devices such as personal computers and mobile devices such as smartphones. Computers power the Internet, which links billions o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Government Of Japan
The Government of Japan is the central government of Japan. It consists of legislative, executive (government), executive and judiciary branches and functions under the framework established by the Constitution of Japan. Japan is a unitary state, containing forty-seven Administrative divisions of Japan, administrative divisions, with the Emperor of Japan, emperor as its head of state. His role is ceremonial and he has no powers related to the Government. Instead, it is the Cabinet of Japan, Cabinet, comprising the Prime Minister of Japan, prime minister and the Minister (government), ministers of state, that directs and controls the government and the Civil service of Japan, civil service. The Cabinet has the executive power and is formed by the prime minister, who is the head of government. The Prime Minister is nominated by the National Diet and Imperial Investiture, appointed to office by the Emperor. The current cabinet is the Second Ishiba Cabinet, which was formed on 11 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the world's countries participated, with many nations mobilising all resources in pursuit of total war. Tanks in World War II, Tanks and Air warfare of World War II, aircraft played major roles, enabling the strategic bombing of cities and delivery of the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, first and only nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II is the List of wars by death toll, deadliest conflict in history, causing World War II casualties, the death of 70 to 85 million people, more than half of whom were civilians. Millions died in genocides, including the Holocaust, and by massacres, starvation, and disease. After the Allied victory, Allied-occupied Germany, Germany, Allied-occupied Austria, Austria, Occupation of Japan, Japan, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thorsten Botz-Bornstein
Thorsten Botz-Bornstein (born 1964) is a German philosopher and writer specializing in aesthetics and intercultural philosophy. He is professor of philosophy at the Gulf University for Science and Technology in Kuwait and director of the Global Studies Center. Biography Botz-Bornstein was born in Duisburg in 1964. He studied philosophy at the Sorbonne in Paris (Paris I) from 1985 to 1990, where his teachers were Sarah Kofman, Francoise Dastur, and Etienne Balibar. He received a Ph.D. (D.Phil.) from Oxford University in 1993 with a thesis on "play and style." As a postdoctoral researcher based in Finland he undertook extensive research on Russian formalism and semiotics in Russia and the Baltic countries. In 2000 he received his habilitation from the EHESS in Paris. He has also been researching for several years in Japan, in particular on the Kyoto School, and worked for the Center of Cognition of Zhejiang University (Hangzhou, China) as a consultant and researcher for two year ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lost Decades
The Lost Decades are a lengthy period of economic stagnation in Japan precipitated by the asset price bubble's collapse beginning in 1990. The singular term originally referred to the 1990s, but the 2000s (Lost 20 Years, ) and the 2010s (Lost 30 Years, ) have been included by commentators as the phenomenon continued. From 1991 to 2003, the Japanese economy, as measured by GDP, grew only 1.14% annually, while the average real growth rate between 2000 and 2010 was about 1%, both well below other industrialized nations. Debt levels continued to rise due to the 2008 financial crisis and the Great Recession, the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, the Fukushima nuclear disaster, and the COVID-19 pandemic and COVID-19 recession. Broadly impacting the entire Japanese economy, over the period of 1995 to 2023, the country's nominal GDP fell from $5.33 trillion to $4.21 trillion, real wages fell around 11%, while the country experienced a stagnant or decreasing price l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Media Culture
In cultural studies, media culture refers to the current Western capitalist society that emerged and developed during the 20th century under the influence of mass media.Thomas (2012p.30quotation: The term highlights the extensive impact and intellectual influence of the media, primarily television, but also the press, radio, and cinema, on public opinion, taste, and values. The alternative term mass culture suggests that such culture arises spontaneously from the masses, similar to the development of popular art before the 20th century. However, the term media culture implies that this culture is largely a product of mass media. Another related term is image culture, which further emphasizes the visual and symbolic aspects of media influence.Jansson (2002)Thoman (1992) Media culture in cultural studies The news media draws from the work of scientists and scholars, presenting it to the general public with an emphasis on elements that are inherently appealing or astonishing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
