WAkasen (赤線) was the Japanese slang term for districts historically engaged in the sex work industry in Japan, specifically within the time period of January 1946 through to March 1958.
WAma are Japanese divers, famous for collecting pearls. They are also known as uminchu or kaito. The vast majority of ama are women.
WComing of Age Day is a Japanese holiday held annually on the second Monday of January. It is held in order to congratulate and encourage all those who have reached or will reach the age of maturity between April 2 of the previous year and April 1 of the current year, and to help them realise that they have become adults. Festivities include coming of age ceremonies held at local and prefectural offices, as well as after-parties among family and friends.
WConfucius Lives Next Door: What Living in the East Teaches Us About Living in the West is a 1999 book by Washington Post writer T.R. Reid.
WFreeter is a Japanese expression for people who lack full-time employment or are unemployed, excluding housewives and students. The average age of Freeters is within the range of 15 to 34 years old.
WGeisha (芸者), also known as geiko (芸子) or geigi (芸妓) are a class of female Japanese performance artists and entertainers trained in traditional Japanese performing arts styles, such as dance, music and singing, as well as being proficient conversationalists and hosts. Their distinct appearance is characterised by long, trailing kimono, traditional hairstyles and oshiroi make-up. Geisha entertain at parties known as ozashiki, often for the entertainment of wealthy clientele, as well as performing on stage and at festivals.
WGenpuku (元服), a Japanese coming-of-age ceremony originally modeled after an early Tang Dynasty Chinese custom, dates back to Japan's classical Nara Period (710–794 AD).[1] This ceremony marked the transition from child to adult status and the assumption of adult responsibilities. The age of participation varied throughout history and depended on factors such as sex, political climate, and social status. Most participants were aristocratic children between the ages of 10 and 20, and most descriptions of genpuku focus on the male ceremony rather that the female ceremony due to the exclusion of women from politically important court positions and warrior status. Important changes in clothing and hairstyle typically denoted this transition, for both men and women. Youth and children were often synonymous, and a period of adolescence was not often present throughout the periods in which traditional genpuku flourished. The etymology of the word, which is atypical, reflects the major points of genpuku ceremonial format; in this case gen (元) means "head" and fuku (服) means "wearing". The ceremony is also known as kakan (加冠), uikōburi (初冠), kanrei (冠礼), shufuku (首服), and hatsu-motoyui (初元結).
WHikikomori , also known as acute social withdrawal, is total withdrawal from society and seeking extreme degrees of social isolation and confinement. Hikikomori refers to both the phenomenon in general and the recluses themselves. Hikikomori have been described as loners or "modern-day hermits". Estimates suggest that half a million Japanese youths have become social recluses, as well as more than half a million middle-aged individuals.
WThe family is called kazoku (家族) in Japanese. It's basically composed of a couple as is the family in other societies. The Japanese family is based on the line of descent and adoption. Ancestors and offspring are linked together by an idea of family genealogy, or keizu, which does not mean relationships based on mere blood inheritance and succession, but rather a bond of relationship inherent in the maintenance and continuance of the family as an institution.
WJouhatsu or johatsu refers to the people in Japan who purposely vanish from their established lives without a trace. This phenomenon can be seen all over the world, such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany. However, it is likely more prevalent in Japan given certain cultural factors.
WKabedon or kabe-don refers to the action of slapping a wall fiercely, which produces the sound "don". One meaning is the action of slapping the wall as a protest which occurs in collective housing like condominiums when the next room makes noise. Another meaning often appears in shōjo manga or anime when one character forces another against the wall with one hand or leans against the wall and makes the sound of "don", and this has become popular as a "clever move of confession".
WKaroshi , which can be translated literally as "overwork death", is a Japanese term relating to occupational sudden mortality. The most common medical causes of karoshi deaths are heart attacks or strokes due to stress and a starvation diet. Mental stress from the workplace can also cause karoshi through workers taking their own lives. People who commit suicide due to overwork are called karōjisatsu (過労自殺). The phenomenon of death by overwork is also widespread in other parts of Asia. 745,194 deaths worldwide were attributable to long working hours in 2016, based on WHO/ILO data.
WKogal is a Japanese fashion culture that involves schoolgirls wearing an outfit based on Japanese school uniforms but with very short skirts. The short skirts are worn irrespective of the season. The girls may also wear loose socks and scarves, and have dyed hair. The word "kogal" is anglicized from kogyaru, a contraction of kōkōsei gyaru. The girls refer to themselves as gyaru (gals), although this word is applied to several other fashion looks as well.
WMarriage in Japan is a legal and social institution at the center of the household. Couples are legally married once they have made the change in status on their family registration sheets, without the need for a ceremony. Most weddings are held either according to Shinto traditions or in chapels according to Christian marriage traditions.
WThe Matagi are traditional winter hunters of the Tōhoku region of northern Japan, most famously today in the Ani area in Akita Prefecture, which is known for the Akita dogs. Afterwards, it spread to the Shirakami-Sanchi forest between Akita and Aomori, and other areas of Japan. Documented as a specialised group from the medieval period onwards, the Matagi continue to hunt deer and bear in the present day, and their culture has much in common with the bear worship of the Ainu people.
WThe Miyamoto Musashi Budokan built in the province of Mimasaka in Ōhara-Cho cradle of Miyamoto Musashi was inaugurated on May 20, 2000 the days after his anniversary date. This budokan is dedicated to the official martial arts of Japan. It brings together all the saber and kendo traditional schools. All Japanese martial arts are called to this precinct, the heart of traditional Japan. This budokan achieves the unification of martial disciplines not only in practice but also historically and culturally. The inauguration took place in the presence of many Japanese officials including Sensei Tadashi Chihara guarantor and tenth of the line of Miyamoto Musashi, the mayor of Ōhara-Cho Fukuda Yoshiaki, Élisabeth Lamure mayor of Gleizé, and several saber and kendo schools representative of traditional and contemporary Japan.
WNet café refugees , also known as cyber-homeless , are a class of homeless people in Japan who do not own or rent a residence and sleep in 24-hour Internet cafés or manga cafés. Although such cafés originally provided only Internet services, some have expanded their services to include food, drink, and showers. The term was coined in 2007 by a Nippon News Network documentary show NNN Document. The net café refugee trend has seen large numbers of people using them as their homes. The shifting definition of the industry partly reflects the dark side of Japanese economy, whose precarity has been noted since the downfall of the national economy that has lasted for decades.
WAn office lady, often abbreviated OL, is a female office worker in Japan who performs generally pink-collar tasks such as secretarial or clerical work. Office ladies are usually full-time permanent staff, although the jobs they perform usually have relatively little opportunity for promotion, and there is usually the tacit expectation that they leave their jobs once they get married.
WPornography in Japan has unique characteristics that readily distinguish it from western pornography. Pornographic films are known as "adult videos" (AV) in Japan, so Japanese adult videos are "JAV", referring to the Japanese pornographic film industry. Animated films are referred to as hentai in English, but in Japan the terms "adult anime" and "erotic animation" are used. In addition to pornographic videos and magazines featuring live actors, there are now categories of pornographic manga and anime, and pornographic computer games.
WProstitution in Japan has existed throughout the country's history. While the Prostitution Prevention Law of 1956 states that "No person may either do prostitution or become the customer of it", loopholes, liberal interpretations and a loose enforcement of the law have allowed the Japanese sex industry to prosper and earn an estimated 2.3 trillion yen per year.
WThe national census shows the majority of Japan's citizens identify as Japanese, approximately 97.8% as of 2018, according to the Japanese Statistics Bureau. Japanese people make up 98.1%, Chinese 0.5%, Korean 0.4%, and other 1% of people living in Japan, according to the CIA World Handbook.
WThe term salaryman refers to any salaried worker. In Japanese popular culture, this is embodied by a white-collar worker who shows overriding loyalty and commitment to the corporation within which he is employed.
WJapan had an official slave system from the Yamato period until Toyotomi Hideyoshi abolished it in 1590. Afterwards, the Japanese government facilitated the use of "comfort women" as sex slaves from 1932 – 1945. Prisoners of war captured by the Japanese were also used as slaves during the Second World War.
WSmile mask syndrome , abbreviated SMS, is a psychological disorder proposed by professor Makoto Natsume of Osaka Shoin Women's University, in which subjects develop depression and physical illness as a result of prolonged, unnatural smiling. Natsume proposed the disorder after counselling students from the university in his practice and noticing that a number of students had spent so much time faking their smiles that they were unaware that they were smiling even while relating stressful or upsetting experiences to him. Natsume attributes this to the great importance placed on smiling in the Japanese service industry, particularly for young women.
WSports in Japan are a significant part of Japanese culture. Both traditional sports such as sumo and martial arts, and Western imports like basketball and association football, are popular with both participants and spectators.
WWotagei (ヲタ芸), also known as otagei (オタ芸), refers to a type of dancing and cheering gestures performed by wota, fans of Japanese idol singers, involving jumping, clapping, arm-waving and chanting slogans. Wotagei is performed at concerts, or at events such as anime and manga conventions and meetings of idol fan groups, and it is thought to have developed from the ōendan, organised cheering squads common at sporting events in Japan. Wotagei is particularly associated with fans of Hello! Project and AKB48 idols, as well as fans of anime and game voice actresses (seiyuu), who often perform theme songs for the series in which they appear.
WYūkaku (遊廓) were legal red-light districts in Japanese history, where both brothels and prostitutes - known collectively as yūjo , the higher ranks of which were known as oiran - recognised by the Japanese government operated. Though prostitution was, officially, legal to engage in and pay for only in these areas, there were a number of places where prostitutes and brothels operated illegally, known as 'Okabasho' , the generic name for all unlicensed red-light districts other than Yoshiwara (later including both Shimabara and Shinmachi.