Japanese Culture for Children fun facts,

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Japanese Culture interesting Facts
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Food
Unlike most other countries, Japanese food must be beautifully displayed as well as tasty so
Japanese cooks take great care in arranging food on the table. Rice, the primary dish, is prepared in
many different ways. The Japanese eat rice cakes, rice crackers, and mix rice in various dishes with red
beans, fish, and vegetables. Rice is often formed into balls, filled with fish, meat or a vegetable and then
wrapped in dried seaweed. Called onigiri, theyre popular for lunches and snacks. Rice is also made into
wine called sake.
The next most important foods are noodles and pickled dishes. Noodle dishes are eaten for lunches and
snacks. Japanese love pickled foods and they eat pickles at every meal. Also important are soybeans.
Tofu, soybean curd, is used in many different ways including making donuts and ice cream. Miso, a paste
for flavoring soup and marinating fish, is made from soy beans and rice. Soy is also made into a sauce.
A common breakfast in Japan is a bowl of rice, a bowl of miso soup, a pickled vegetable and a side dish
of fish. Dinners are similar to breakfast but have three side dishes. Each side dish needs to be cooked a
different way. Two foods unique to Japanese cuisine are sashimi and sushi. Both are made from raw
seafood. But sashimi is eaten dipped in soy sauce and sushi is combined with rice.
Japans traditional beverage is green tea which may be served hot or cold. It is also canned and sold in
stores like soft drinks are in the west.read more
Clothes
The traditional Japanese garment is the kimono which is worn by both men and women. However, in
modern Japan kimonos are usually reserved for special occasions although one may see elderly women
wearing them. Younger men and women prefer western dress as it is less expensive and more
comfortable.
A kimono is fastened with a long, wide sash called an obi.The obi is wrapped around the waist and tied in
the back. Young girls and single women wear a special type of kimono called a furisode which has long
sleeves, is made from colorful fabric and tied with a brightly colored obi. An informal kimono called a
yukata is worn at the beach, and at hot springs. Young women and girls often wear gaily colored yukatas
to summer festivals.
Plain, black kimonos are worn for funerals by both men and women. Although today black suits are also
acceptable. Brides in traditional weddings wear intricately embroidered white kimonos with ornate
headpieces. The grooms kimono is made of black silk embellished with the family crest.
Kimonos are worn with flat thonged sandals called zoris or wooden plat formed sandals called getas.
Zoris may be made from rice straw or lacquered wood. Getas are always constructed of wood with two
slats of wood fastened to the underneath part of the sole, one near the heel and the other near the arch.
The 4 to 5 centimeters high slats keep the geta soles from touching the ground. Zoris are for formal wear
while getas are worn with yukatas.read more

famous Stories
A famous story is about a god called Okuninushi who had eighty brothers. They all wanted to marry the
same princess and undertook a journey to visit her. The brothers encountered a rabbit without fur and in
pain. They told the rabbit it could get well by bathing in salt water but this only worsened the pain. When
Okuninushi met the rabbit, he told it to bathe in clear water. When this was successful, the rabbit, who
was actually a god, rewarded Okuninushi by letting him marry the princess. Another popular childrens
story is about a parrot that rewards his kind master with a prosperous life but punishes the mean wife
after she cut the sparrows tongue.
Verbal and Nonverbal Communication
The spoken language contains honorific endings that show respect. The type of respect depends upon
ones age, gender and social status. Employees must show respect to a supervisor, younger people must
speak respectfully to their elders and women need to be more polite than men. There is also a neutral
language to use with strangers when you dont know their social status.
Bowing is another way of showing respect. When Japanese people are introduced they bow instead of
shaking hands. At the beginning of classes in school, all students stand and bow to the teacher who bows
in return but the students must bow lower.read more
Values
In Japanese society the group is more important than the individual. Harmony is an important value so
the Japanese do not like confrontations. Japan has a hierarchal culture which means that everyone has a
place and must respect those who are above them. For instance, a student in tenth grade in a Japanese
school would address eleventh and twelfth grade students as senpai. Students in ninth grade and below
would be kohai.
Fun Facts
Japanese teenagers have been creating their own words and the new Japanese dictionaries
contain five pages of these. This mostly involves shortening words or phrases. For instance kimochi ga
warui which means disagreeable has been shortened to kimoi. And using the name of a business can
mean inviting a friend to go there. For example, dotoru would be an invitation to visit a Doutour coffee
shop, deniru takes you to Dennys and makuru to McDonaldsread more

Famous Places
Mt. Fuji or Fujiyama is one of the most popular destinations in Japan for both Japanese and
tourists. Japanese refer to Fujiyama as The Holy Mountain and its name indicates everlasting life.
Kyoto is a city noted for its historical sites. Over fifteen of these have been classified as UNESCO World
Heritage sites.
Kamakura, a town close to Tokyo, is the home of the famous Great Buddha, a 44 foot high bronze statue
weighing 100 tons. At one time it sat in a wooden temple however when a massive tsunami ravaged
Kamakura in 1945 the temple washed out into the ocean so now the statue sits out in the open air.
Important Note: This article was written by a person who is familiar with Japanese culture based on his
or her personal anecdotal observations. Additionally, there are quite a few generalizations to make the
article easier to understand for the children. Dino Lingo does not accept any responsibility for
errors, omissions or subjectivity in the content of this post.
We are wondering what you know about Japanese cultureWhy dont you tell us what you know by
leaving a comment below? (make sure your comment is written in a language that can be understood by
small children)

Japan Facts for Kids
Learn some interesting information about Japan while enjoying a range of fun facts and trivia that's
perfect for kids!
Read about the highest mountain in Japan, Japanese culture, engineering, population, islands,
Samurai, economy, companies and much more.


The Japanese name for Japan is Nihon or Nippon which means sun origin.
Japan belongs to the continent of Asia. Japan is an island nation surrounded by the Sea of Japan to the East and the
Pacific Ocean to the West.
Japan is made up of 6,852 islands.
The highest point in Japan in Mount Fuji, which stands at 3,776m (12,388ft).
As of July 2012, there are over 127 million people living in Japan (127,368,088), which is the tenth largest population in the
world.
Tokyo is the capital city of Japan and also the largest city. Other major cities include Osaka, Nagoya, and Sapporo.
Japanese is the official language of Japan.
Japan sits along the Pacific Ring of Fire, so has many volcanoes and experiences many earthquakes. In 2011, an
earthquake of magnitude 9.0 hit Japan and created a tsunami which resulted in much devastation.
Almost three quarters of Japan's land is either forest or mountains and is difficult to be made into farms, industrial or
residential areas.
Human life in Japan dates back thousands of years.
Ancient warriors of Japan were known as Samurai. They were very skilled fighters and swordsmen. Their main weapon
was the Katana, a sharp sword with a slight curve to it.
Due to gases produced by power plants, Japan sometimes suffers from acid rain.
Japan is an industrialized nation, producing some of the most technologically advanced motor vehicles, electronics, and
machine tools.
Japan is a world leader in robotics. Japanese engineers are known for producing a range of human-like robots such
as ASIMO.
Some of the most well-known companies in the world are Japanese such as Toyota, Honda, Sony, Nintendo, Canon,
Panasonic, Toshiba, and Sharp.
Japanese cuisine has become popular around the world. Some well-known dishes are sushi, sashimi and tempura.
Japan is home to many different forms of martial arts. Karate, Judo, Sumo, Ninjutsu, Kendo, Jujutsu, and Aikido to name a
few.
Sumo is recognized as the national sport of Japan, although the most popular spectator sport is baseball.
Japan hosted the 1940 and 1964 Summer Olympic games, both times in Tokyo. They also hosted the 1940, 1972 and
1998 Winter Olympic Games.
For more information, check out maps of Japan or take a closer look at theJapanese flag.