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Japanese culture has evolved greatly over the years, from the country's original Jomon culture to its contemporary hybrid culture, which combines influences from Asia, Europe, and North America. Historically, China have been the most influential, starting with the development of the Yayoi culture from around 300 BC and culminating with the introduction of rice farming, ceremonial burial, pottery, painting, writing, poetry, etiquette, the Chinese writing system, and Mahayana Buddhism by the 7th century AD. From the mid-19th century onward, Western influence prevailed, with American influence becoming especially predominant following the end of World War II. Japanese civilization flourished during this time and a refined sensibility and interest in the arts began to set in. Traditional Japanese arts include crafts (ikebana, origami, ukiyo-e, dolls, lacquer ware, pottery), performances (bunraku, dance, kabuki, noh, rakugo), traditions (games, onsen, geisha, sento, tea ceremony, budo, architecture, gardens, swords), and cuisine (donburi, mochi, ramen, sushi, tempura, udon).
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In the early days of the Heian period, the system of transcription known as kana (Hiragana and Katakana) was invented. The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter is considered the oldest Japanese narrative. Sei Shōnagon writes The Pillow Book, a daily of Heian court life. The Tale of Genji, written by Lady Murasaki, sometimes anachronically called the world's first novel, is arguably deemed to be the most canonical work of Japanese literature. Another central piece of the canon, The Tale of the Heike, a samurai epic anonymously written and compiled from oral stories, shows the sway of Buddhist thought on the culture of Medieval Japan and has been a major influence on subsequent literary (particularly, dramatic) works. During the Tokugawa/Edo era, literature, as entertainment and as practice, became not so much the field of the samurai aristocracy as that of the chonin (commoners). Yomihon, for example, became popular and reveals this profound change in the readership and authorship. An even more significant rupture with traditional literary forms occurred with the Meiji Restoration, during which Japanese literature integrated Western influences, notably French naturalism, English and Russian novels of the time. Natsume Soseki (who contributed to the massive import of foreign literature, particularly English), Akutagawa Ryunosuke were the first "modern" novelists, followed by Tanizaki Junichiro, Kawabata Yasunari, Mishima Yukio, and more recently, Murakami Haruki. These writers are representative novelists of Japanese literature in the West. Kawabata Yasunari, in 1968 and Oe Kenzaburo, in 1994 won the Nobel Prize for Literature.
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Outside of Japan, the country's music has an image closely tied to its pop music, which is generally bubblegum songs with Japanese lyrics and with English refrains. Pop stars (aidoru kashu) of this scene are generally attractive singers, boy bands and girl groups. However, music author John Clewley has described Japan's musical output as a "wide range... from ancient Buddhist chanting and court music to folk and old urban styles, from localised popular styles like kayokyoku and enka to Western classical, jazz and every form of pop.. found in the West". Japanese music has long been tied to Japanese rituals, literature and dance. Theatrical music is the most historically important field of Japanese music, which East Asian musical scholar Isabel Wong attributes to the "Japanese love of storytelling and preoccupation with ritual". She also notes the Japanese preoccupation with the "words and literature" of music, as opposed to the instrumentation, and that all Japanese instruments were "developed to emulate the human voice". She describes Japanese instrumental music as inherently chamber music "in its conception"  ( The taiko is regarded as a simple but spiritual instrument ) |
Sumo is considered Japan's national sport and is one of its most popular. In the 8th century, Emperor Shomu (724-749) held lavish tournaments where the best wrestlers in the country competed before hundreds. Professional sumo can trace its roots back to the Edo period as a form of sporting entertainment. Today, six major tournaments are held every year in Japan, each one lasting 15 days. Three are held in Tokyo (January, May, and September) and one each in Osaka (March), Nagoya (July), and Fukuoka (November). The highest rank for a wrestler in sumo is yokozuna. Beginning in the 12th century, Japan developed traditional martial arts known as budo, which were popular among the warrior class. These include judo, karate, kendo, and others. Judo has been recognized as an official event in the Olympic Games since the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. It is also one of the four main forms of amateur competitive wrestling practiced internationally today. After the Meiji Restoration, various kinds of Western sports were introduced into Japan. Baseball arrived in 1872 and during the 1870s, track and field events, soccer, rugby, and ice skating were introduced. In 1911, an Austrian gave skiing instruction to the Japanese army. In those days, Western sports were played by few people, but through the educational system they spread throughout the country. Western sports were initially stressed as a form of mental discipline, but Japanese have now come to enjoy them as recreational activities. Today, baseball is the most popular spectator sport in Japan, followed by (in no particular order) soccer, rugby, golf, badminton, table tennis, car racing, MMA, and fishing. Automobile racing is also popular in Japan with Super GT sports car series and Formula Nippon formula racing. Japanese board games include a form of chess, known as shogi. Go is also widely popular in the country. Each year, Japan observes the second Monday in October as a national holiday called Health and Sports Day. The date, originally October 10, commemorates the opening day of the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Other major sporting events that Japan has hosted include the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo and the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano. It also co-hosted the 2002 FIFA World Cup with South Korea.
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