JAPANESEculture

CUSTOMS AND BELIEFS Bathing Bowing Making payment Eating and drinking Bento and chopsticks Visiting someone’s

house Use of titles Funerals Working ethics Special birthdays

Geisha Japanese festival Hanami

BELIEFS AND SUPERSTITIONS

If you play with fire, you will wet your bed.

If you rest just after eating, you will become a cow/pig/elephant.

If you whistle or play a flute at night, snakes will come to you.

The first dream of a new year will come true

Breaking a comb or the cloth strap of a geta wooden sandal is an omen of misfortune.

Stepping on the cloth border of a tatami mat brings bad luck.

If a funeral hearse drives past, you must hide your thumb in a fist.

4 and 9 are unlucky If you go to a Japanese

funeral, you should throw salt over yourself before entering your home

Cutting your fingernails or toenails at night is bad luck

You should never write a person's name in red ink

If you catch a crow's eyes, something bad will happen.

MUSIC National Anthem –

Kimigayo/His majesty’s reign

MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS Shamisen

 a three-string lute

Kotoa 6 foot long shallow resonating box with

 thirteen strings

Shakuhachi  bamboo flute with five finger holes, four in

front and one at the back

Biwa  short-necked lute with four strings

Taikodrum made from an open-ended wooden

barrel with animal skin stretched over both ends

FOODS AND DRINKS

Sushi

Sake

FLOWER Cherry blossoms or Sakura

TREE Sugi or Japanese cedar

BIRD Green Pheasant or Japanese pheasant

FISH Koi or nishikigoi

ANIMAL Tanuki or Japanese raccoon dog

MANNER OF DRESSING kimono

SPORT Sumo or Sumo wrestling

TOURIST SPOTS

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Hiroshima, Japan

Jigokudani Monkey ParkNagano, Japan

Kiyomizu-dera Buddhist templeHigashiyama Ward, Kyoto

Himeji Castle  Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan

Great Buddha of KamakuraKamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan

Todaiji Temple  Nara, Japan

Tokyo Tower  Shiba-koen district of Minato, Tokyo

Tokyo Imperial PalaceChiyoda, Tokyo

Mount FujiChūbu region, Honshu island

Kinkaku-ji or the Temple of the Golden Pavilion  Kita Ward, Kyoto

COMMON WORDS AND GREETINGS Hello, Good afternoon. こんにちは。　 (Kon nichi wa)

Good morning.おはようございます。 (Ohayō gozaimasu.) 

Good evening.こんばんは。 (kohm-bahn-wah) 

How are you?お元気ですか。 (O-genki desu ka?) 

Fine, thank you.元気です。ありがとう。 (Genki desu. Arigatō.) 

What is your name?お名前は何ですか。 (O-namae wa nan desu ka? ) 

My name is ____ .私の名前は ____ です。 (Watashi no namae wa ____ desu. ) 

Nice to meet you.始めまして。 (Hajime mashite. )

Pleaseどうぞ。 (Dōzo.)

Thank youありがとう。 (Arigatō gozaimasu.) 

You're welcomeどういたしまして。 (Dō itashi mashite.) 

Yesはい。 Hai. (high)

Noいいえ。 Iie. (ee-eh)

Excuse meすみません。 (Sumima sen.)

Goodbye. (long-term)さようなら。 (Sayōnara. )