In the rural areas, homes are generally small compared to that of Western standards.  However, when you compare the rural homes to the cramped apartments and tiny houses that are typical in Japanese cities, the rural home seems very spacious. In the rural homes, the walls are made of clay and straw plaster. The kitchens traditionally have earth floors and the in the other rooms of the house are covered with wood or reed mats. The stoves that are used for cooking are made of clay or brick. The stoves are heated with straw or compressed natural gas which has come into widespread use. The toilet facilities are not connected to the house and the water is usually obtained from wells.

The villagers' households usually include the grandparents and grown sons with their families, as well as the farmer, his wife, and their younger children. When the farmer grows too old or dies, his land is traditionally passed on to the eldest son. If the farmer has other sons, they may inherit money and choose to stay on the farm. However, most enter occupations in the village or the city.

When it comes to work, the chief family responsibilities involve work in the fields. The men as well as the women spend long days planting, tilling, and harvesting their crops. During a specific time each growing season, the rice fields become flooded and the farmers have to work in water that is knee deep. Most of the farmers tend and harvest their crops using modern specialized farm equipment; nevertheless, intense hand labor practices are still being used. The women often work in the fields after they have completed their usual housework which consists of cooking, cleaning, and gardening.

The children go to school, and that is their main responsibility. The children also help in taking care of their younger brothers and sisters. The grandparents are that are no longer able to work in the fields spend their time looking after their grandchildren.

After a hard day's work, it is time to clean up and the family members enjoy an evening bath. A large earthenware or cedar bathtub is located in a bathhouse or in the kitchen near the stove. A fire is kindled under the tub to keep the water hot. Then each family member, one at a time starting with the father washes and rinses himself thoroughly before getting into the tub. They do this because everyone uses the same water that is in the tub. The water in the tub is not for washing, it is more for relaxing and getting warm.  On winter days, the hot bath gives the family members their first chance to get really warm.

The farming villages are very neighborly. The villages sometimes partake in a wedding or a funeral as a whole. All the women prepare the food for a village celebration, and every family brings its fair share.

Most of the village business is handled through agricultural cooperatives which help the farmers produce

 
Life in the Cities      

Japanese cities have modern housing, plumbing, and transportation systems. Many of the people live in high-rise apartment buildings and have to take commuter trains or busses to their jobs. The daily lives of the people that live in the city have been changed by the modern conveniences like the automobile, electronic household appliances, and central heating. Even though there are many modern advances, the traditional practices of the people still seem to survive. Many of the city people still use public bath houses and many of the apartment buildings have bathhouses like that of the villages.

In the cities, there are few marriages that are still arranged by parents and few young couples live with their parents like they do in the rural villages. Many young women and men are able to choose their own husbands and wives because they attend universities or work away from home which gives them a chance to meet and socialize with other young adults.

Unlike the villages, entertainment in the cities is not dependent upon the activity of the families. The women enjoy shopping at the markets and department stores. The men like to play a game called pachinko, similar to pinball. Men are also attracted to drinking places, including beer halls. The wealthy men meet with their friends and business associates in exclusive geisha restaurants. While they are dining, they are entertained by geisha girls. Geishaís are highly trained women who dance, sing, recite poetry, play a banjo-like instrument called the samisen, and engage in lively conversation with the guests. The geisha are dressed in silk garments, and their hair is elaborately styled. All city people can also attend a wide variety of theatrical performances and sports events.

Growing Up In Japan

When a child is about three days old, a small ceremony is held and the child is named. When the child is about one month old, the parents take the child to the nearest Shinto shrine. Once at the shrine, a priest may record the name and birthday of the child, and the child becomes a member of the community. A Japanese baby is often carried on the back of the mother, grandmother, or sister. The baby is safely fastened on there backs with a board and sashes. The baby is given a great deal of love and attention, but when he/she enters nursery school, the child is trained in obedience. Spankings are rarely given, but when the child misbehaves he may be ridiculed and shamed.

After World War II, the Japanese men and women started leaning toward equality. Before this time, boys and girls were treated very differently. The Japanese parent thought it was important to have the sons carry on the family name, so they were preferred and pampered. The boys were able to dominate their sisters and even their mothers. On the other hand, the girls had to give in not only to their elders but to their younger brothers as well.

Both boys and girls are brought up to never bring shame to the family reputation. However, parents expect their sons to achieve more then their daughters. Even though the boys are still favored above their sisters, and more is still expected of them, the difference in the way boys and girls are treated is not as great as it once was. Still, the sons have traditionally been regarded as economic assets for the work they were expected to do. The sons, not the daughters, are expected to care for the elderly parents. Daughters leave the parents home on marriage to go start a family of their own.

When a man is 25 or even older and has still not married, his family or even a work supervisor may take steps in trying to set him up with a woman to marry. When the friends or family have found a suitable match, with a similar family and background, the two are introduced. Then if neither strongly object to the proposal, a go-between is chosen to make arrangements for the exchange of presents.

The most common wedding ceremony in Japan is a Shinto ceremony. In the ceremony the bride and groom take three sips of sake, a rice wine, from three cups. The bride wears elaborate clothing and has a complicated hair style that is traditional to the ceremony. Always after the wedding ceremony there is feasting and dancing. Now, couples change to Western-style clothing for the reception following the wedding.

There is also a special ceremony for a man when he enters old age. This occurs between his 59th and 60th birthdays. At the time of the ceremony, the man wears a red kimono, a color not usually worn by adult males. He wears it to signify that he has shed the responsibilities of maturity.

Most Japanese funerals are marked by Buddhist rites. Almost all Japanese people are cremated. The Japanese cemeteries have family memorial stones at which the ashes are deposited. When a family member dies, the deceased is remembered each week for seven weeks and then again at increasingly lengthened periods of time.

Inside a Traditional Japanese Home

The Japanese home has three to four rooms and a kitchen. The walls of the home are lined with bamboo strips. The floors are covered with tatami, which are woven straw mats 6 feet by three feet like in the rural homes. The way the rooms size is determined is by the number of tatmi it takes to cover the room. The most common sizes are the 4 and 6 tatami rooms. To keep the tatami clean, the Japanese remove their shoes when entering a house. Most of the homes are on posts that are 2 feet high and set on rock foundations. There is a porch on the sunny side of the house that serves as a hall onto which the rooms open. Permanent partitions are rare in a Japanese home. Instead, Fusumas are used, or sliding screens made of paper covered frames which may be closed to create separate rooms or opened to convert the entire house into one big room. Shoji, or sliding outer doors, are pushed back on summer days to let in air and are shut for protection at night. The light open construction of the Japanese house is well suited for the warm climate and to a region where earthquakes destroy heavier structures. However, these houses cannot keep out the damp chill of the winter. For the winter, hibachis(charcoal brazier) serve mainly as hand warmers. Sometimes a kotatsu (burner) is set into the floor and a table draped with quilts is placed over it.  The family gathers around the table to warm their feet and legs under the table.

The furniture in the home of the Japanese generally consists of storage chests and low tables. In most of the homes, the family members sit on zabutons which are low cushions and sleep on futons which are cotton filled mattresses. Some of the city families have replaced the futons with beds. When the futons and zabutons are not being used they are stored in wall closets but they need to be aired frequently to prevent mildew during the hot, humid summers.

The most important spot in the house is a place called the tokonoma. It is an alcove containing a low platform which holds flower arrangements. Above the platform hangs a painted scroll. When people come over to the house, the most honored guest is seated near the tokonoma. Except for the embellished parchment doors between the rooms, scrolls and flowers are usually the only decoration found in the Japanese homes.

The carefully tended gardens show how much the Japanese love nature. The rooms of the home often open onto a garden through a sliding door. Many Japanese gardens are actually miniature landscapes with small trees, flowering bushes, pools, streams, and bridges.

Food
Most Japanese eat three meals a day. Boiled white rice has been a mainstay of the Japanese diet for centuries. Rice is eaten at almost every meal, though rice consumption per capita has declined in favor of Western staples like potatoes or bread. At breakfast, rice is sometimes exchanged for misoshiru, a bean-paste soup, and tsukemono, pickled vegetables. In the cities, many people have replaced their dishes with bread, butter, and eggs. Lunch is a light meal and may consist of tsukemono, salted fish, and tsukidani, seafood or vegetables cooked and preserved in soy sauce, in addition to rice and noodles. The most important meal of the day is dinner. In most homes dinner includes vegetables and rice with fish, beef, pork, or chicken. The meat is usually cut up into strips and fried. Meat eating has increased in the 20th century but it is not as important as it is in the western nations. Until the late 19th century, Buddhist practice discouraged the eating of flesh of four legged animals. Fish is often served raw and is called sushi or sashimi.

Green tea and sake are the two most popular drinks in Japan. Coffee is also very popular. Japanese people drink tea during and after meals. The tea is served to guests with snacks like soba, buckwheat noodles, and udon, wheat noodles. Sake, rice wine, is served with meals , at dinner parties, and especially at celebrations such as weddings or holiday feasts.

The traditional eating utensils are the chopsticks. Chopsticks are used whether the meal is formal or informal. The food is served in china or lacquer bowls and on dishes. When it is time to eat, the Japanese family sits around a low table and eats together. A Western- style breakfast is the most dominant in Japan today. The Western fast-food chains are also very popular

Clothing

The modern cloths worn by the Japanese incorporate both the eastern and western styles of clothing. Western clothes are worn both by men and by women and are virtually universal. The traditional Kimono, a loose fitting garment with wide sleeves, is now worn particularly at home or at special occasions. The men's kimonos are different from that of women's in color and in fabric. The women wear their kimonos at ankle length, bound with a sash called an obi. Men's kimonos are shorter and on very special occasions are worn with a wide, divided skirt called a hakama. There is also a kimono-shaped cloak called a haori and this may be worn by both men and women.

The Japanese children wear clothes that are much like the clothes that are worn by the children in the United States. The boys wear shorts or long pants and shirts or sweaters. The girls wear skirts with blouses or sweaters. The Japanese also wear shoes like those worn in the United States. The shoes that are worn with kimonos are called geta, or wooden clogs, and zori, or rubber or straw sandals. The socks that are worn with the geta and zori are called tabi. The Tabi is a sock that has a separate part for the big toe and the strap of the sandal fits between the big toe and the other toes. The

Japanese are now using western hair styles. The elaborate hair styles worn by the women are now worn for special occasions only. They are also worn by theater hostesses at the geisha houses.

Housing

Since the late 1960's Japan's focus has shifted from the need to eliminate the housing shortages and put their focus on quality improvements to the homes. Japananese housing remained in the 200,000-400,000 range during the post war period till the early 1960's, then the number of houses built in Japan per annum rose consistently, surpassing the 1 million mark for the first time in 1967. Since then, more than a million housing units have been built every year. >According to statistics compiled by the United Nations and Japan's Ministry of Construction, Japan has achieved the highest level of housing construction among the industrial nations in terms of construction per 1,000 population.

Tokyo is where Japan's main economic and political functions are concentrated and because of this, the land prices there are much higher than anywhere else in Japan and in other major cities around the world. Because of the high prices and shortage of land, the houses in Tokyo and satellite cities tend to be smaller in size than other provinces. The average-sized house on the Tokyo-Yokohama urban belt has 3.90 rooms and a floor area of 66.82 square meters. The national averages are 4.73 rooms and 85.92 square meters. To better this situation, the government has set targets for the standard of housing that should be attainable by half of all households by the year 2000. For urban housing for a four person household, the target is a total area of 91 square meters consisting of three rooms; a living room, a dining-kitchen area. The government is working hard to achieve their goal through the implementation of various measures including tax concessions and low-interest public finance. It is also placing top priority on achieving restraint and stability in land prices.

Japan has the world's most advanced building industries. Most of the industry has been computerized, robotized, and automated. The computers draft designs and print out blueprints, keep track of all inventory, order parts as they are needed, and handle marketing. The builders produce 85 percent of their housing units in factories where cutting, welding, nailing, and gluing are done on an assembly line. A typical house is ready to be assembled in forty minutes and the entire house can be put together by a small crew in four hours.

Western-style homes in Japan for foreign businessmen and their families are at a premium. Even renting a house in Japan is expensive, there may involve several fees and payments on top of the monthly rent. Most landlords require the payment of shikikin, or so-called key money, which may be equivalent to several months rent. Eighty percent of the key money is returned when the renter leaves the unit. The key money is negotiable but the lower the key money the more expensive the rent will be. The apartment and condos in Japan also require a fee called kyoeki which is a managers fee.

With the cost of land being so high, the houses in Tokyo have been built wall to wall on the lot lines. Because of this, there is no room for the beautiful Japanese gardens in the city. They only exist in memory or on the estates of the rich. This also leaves little room for parkland. Tokyo has half the parkland of Washington D.C. and one-tenth that of London. There is also a lack of public services to the Japanese people that live within the Tokyo metropolitan area (the old city of twenty-three wards and the immediate surrounding suburbs with a population of 11.5 million). As of the 1990's, only 85 percent of the population had flush toilets. Even though Japan is a great economic power, it has not provided the basic standards of housing that is equal to the wealth as a nation. Because of the high rent prices in the city, many people have to commute great distances from their workplace to their cheaper homes in satellite towns on the outskirts of Tokyo.