The Japanese Culture is one that is distinct and ethnocentric. Any military force (the U.S. occupation was considered too civilized) has never successfully invaded them. They have also never produced any great philosophers. The Japanese also tends to be beneficiaries rather than benefactors. Japanese race is largely homogenous and is clearly absent of any ethnic minorities (Riley, 2000).

The Japanese also have the longest surviving monarchical system in history (Meyer, 1993). This goes back to the mythical Jimmu Tenno, who was directly related to the Sun Goddess Amaterasu Omikami, the most important goddess in t

The very beginning of the Japanese imperial line was said to have been started by the mythical Divine Warrior Jimmu Tenno. Jimmu Tenno was believed to have been in direct blood line to the Sun Goddess, Amaterasu. As history unfolds the early accounts of Japanese history remains quite unclear. There are general notions of events, but because the Japanese did not have a writing system until the Heian Period, the Chinese were the ones who created many of the historical details. At the time in China, the Han Dynasty had written accounts of the once matriarchal society. One such account was the “History of the Wei Kingdom”, or in Japanese it was “Gishiwa Jinden” (247 AD), in which describes Queen Himiko of Yamatai.

he Japanese religion, Shinto (Varley, 1971). All Emperors have been descendants of the same imperial family. The Tenno’s symbols of office were three regalia; a bronze mirror, curved jewel, and an iron sword, which were a gift from the Sun Goddess through her great grandson Ninigi-no-Mikoto (Varley, 1971). With these three regalia the Sun Goddess also delivered the following statement: “Whenever thou lookest upon this mirror, thou shalt regard it as my own image. And, for centuries, shall my descendants rule this land of Toyoashiwara-no-Mizuho-no-Kuni (the old name of Japan). Thou shalt now reign over it, and thy line of sovereignty shall prosper co-eternally with Heaven and Earth” (Unknown author, 1928). Tenno is the Chinese-style designation for sover!

A branch of Neo-Confucianism created by a young Chinese philosopher, Wang Yangming stressed intuition and introspection as means of acquiring knowledge, and the independence of though and actions of man. Along with many other branches of Neo-Confucianism the importance of history emerged reinforcing the idea of National identity and prestige of the Emperor. This created a new beginning for the Emperor, as young samurai came to question the shogunate as a leader. Thus bringing about a peaceful restoration of the Emperor in 1868, which put an end to the feudal era.

peror declared that he had “by virtue of the glories of our ancestors ascended the Throne of a lineal succession unbroken for ages eternal” (Montgomery, 1908). Subsequently, he exercised his legislative power with the consent of the Imperial Diet. Today, the Emperor acts on the advise of the Japanese government (Montgomery, 1908).

Some topics in this essay:
Zen Buddhism, Edo Emperor, Emperor Jimmu, Jimmu Tenno, Japanese Christianity, Japanese Diet, Buddhism Buddhist, God Emperor, Kofun’s Yamato, Japan Western, japanese people, sun goddess, zen buddhism, sun goddess amaterasu, japanese monarch, japanese society, jimmu tenno, goddess amaterasu, meyer 1993, heian period, emperor imperial, widely accepted japanese, impact japanese society, japanese imperial line, simplicity austerity discipline,