4 ways to dive into Japanese culture

The globalized world allows us to travel without leaving home: we can learn many details about countries and cultures from other corners of the world just with technology and the other resources we have at our disposal.

The Japanese culture is one of the most appreciated by Brazilians not only because of the large number of descendants of immigrants living in our country, as immigration recently completed 113 years in Brazil, but also because of its richness and diversity. From cuisine to cinema and from literature to language, there are many aspects we can fall in love with.

If you want to immerse yourself in Japanese culture without leaving home, check out some tips that allow you to explore different aspects of the land of the rising sun:

1. Enjoy the culinary richness

In Brazil and around the world, Japanese cuisine is extremely popular. Rich in hot and cold dishes, with or without meat, savory and sweet, it has several characteristics capable of pleasing all types of palates.

The appreciation for Japanese cuisine is one of the most common ways to dive into the culture of the Eastern country. If you enjoy cooking, one option is to learn how to prepare some of the wonderful meals available.

Even beginners can enjoy Japanese gastronomy without leaving home, as there are some recipes that are quite easy to follow!

2. Discover the fantastic Japanese cinema

Japanese cinema is one of the most acclaimed and awarded in the world. Its success dates back to the early days of the seventh art, with impressive filmmakers like Yasujiro Ozu and Kenji Mizoguchi, and continues to this day, as great titles are released every year.

It is easy to follow successful Japanese films, as they are available on streaming platforms like Netflix, MUBI, and Telecine Play. Recent hits often appear at film festivals, which increasingly have online versions.

According to a portal aimed at collectors of DVDs and BluRays, there are also special editions of classic Japanese films that should not be missing from the shelves of fans of cinema from the land of the rising sun, especially the “boxes” featuring Ozu’s works released by Versátil.

3. Japanese literature deserves attention

With literature, we can imagine landscapes, get to know places, customs, habits, and traditions, deeply understand how a society works, and discover details that we would hardly know in other ways.

Japan also has its renowned authors: Haruki Murakami is one of the leading names in world literature today, and his books, published in Brazil by Companhia das Letras, are easy to find. We also highlight Yasunari Kawabata and Kenzaburo Oe.

4. Learning the language brings you closer to Japan

Japanese is not one of the easiest languages to learn, but there are increasingly efficient methods to understand it in a short period of time.

Online language course apps, such as Duolingo and Memrise, allow you to learn at least the basics of the language with a few hours of practice per day and without needing to leave home.

To learn the language more deeply, there are specific options like Kanji Study and Tae Kim.