啥是日本文化？关于日本文化问题？

　　日本独特的地理条件和悠久的历史，孕育了别具一格的日本文化。樱花、和服、俳句与武士、清酒、神道教构成了传统日本的两个方面——菊与剑。在日本有著名的 “三道”，即日本民间的茶道、花道、书道。
　　茶道也叫作茶汤（品茗会），自古以来就作为一种美感仪式受到上流阶层的无比喜爱。茶道是一种独特的饮茶仪式和社会礼仪。现在，茶道被用作训练集中精神，或者用于培养礼仪举止，为一般民众所广泛地接受。日本国内有许多传授茶道各流派技法的学校，不少宾馆也设有茶室，可以轻松地欣赏到茶道的表演。但日本的茶道最终是由中国唐朝贞观年间传到日本的。在古代，日本与中国造有往来。盛唐时期，日本曾派大量使臣来中国，受中国影响较深。日本人民称“中国是日本茶道的故乡”。
　　花道作为一种在茶室内再现野外盛开的鲜花的技法而诞生。因展示的规则和方法的有所不同，花道可分成20多种流派，日本国内也有许多传授花道各流派技法的学校。另外，在宾馆、百货商店、公共设施的大厅等各种场所，可以欣赏到装饰优美的插花艺术。忌讳荷花，认为荷花是丧花。忌用山茶花，菊花是皇室家族的标志。
　　相扑来源于日本神道的宗教仪式。人们在神殿为丰收之神举行比赛，盼望能带来好的收成。在奈良和平安时期，相扑是一种宫廷观赏运动，而到了镰仓战国时期，相扑成为武士训练的一部分。18世纪兴起了职业相扑运动，它与现在的相扑比赛极为相似。神道仪式强调相扑运动，比赛前的跺脚仪式（四顾）的目的是将场地中的恶鬼趋走，同时还起到放松肌肉的作用。场地上还要撒盐以达到净化的目的，因为神道教义认为盐能驱赶鬼魅。相扑比赛在台子上进行。整个台子为正方形，中部为圆圈，其直径为4.55米。比赛时，两位力士束发梳髻，下身系一条兜带，近乎赤身裸体上台比赛。比赛中，力士除脚掌外任何部分不得触及台子表面，同时也不得超出圆圈。比赛在一二分钟甚至几秒钟内便能决出胜负。相扑的裁判共由6人组成。主裁判由手持折扇“行司”登台担任，其余5人分别在正面、东面、西面及裁判席上。大力士的最高等级是“横纲”。下面是大关、关胁、小结、前颈，这四个等级被称为“幕内”，属于力士中的上层。再次是十两、幕下，除此之外还有更低级的三段目、序三段。处于序之口、序二段的学员只能做一些打水扫地之类的打杂工作，只有到了三段目的时候，师傅才会传授一些技术，而到了十两的学员就是职业相扑选手了，被称为“力士”，不仅有工资，而且还可以参加各种比赛赢取奖金。能到达关协和大关的选手已是寥寥无几了。相扑手一旦达到了横纲，几乎就可以说是站在了日本相扑界的顶点，将拥有终身至高无上的荣耀。现在日本相扑史上的横纲一共只有68位；相扑与许多运动不同的，它的等级是不定的，会应不参加比赛或失败而导致等级下滑。
　　和服是日本传统民族服装的称呼。它在日本也称“着物”。和服是仿照中国隋唐服式和吴服改制的，所以在日本被称为”吴美丽的和服服”和”唐衣”，和服是西方人对吴服的称谓，现在日本人已经接受的这个称谓，但是很多卖和服的商店，还是写着”吴服”。公元八至九世纪，日本一度盛行过“唐风”服装。以后虽有改变形成日本独特的风格，但仍含有中国古代服装的某些特色。妇女和服的款式和花色的差别是区别年龄和结婚与否的标志。例如，未婚的姑娘穿紧袖外服，已婚妇女穿宽袖外服；梳“岛田”式发型（日本式发型之一，呈钵状），穿红领衬衣的是姑娘，梳圆发髻，穿素色衬衣的是主妇。和服不用纽扣，只用一条打结的腰带。腰带的种类很多，其打结的方法也各有不同。比较广泛使用的一种打结方法叫“太鼓结”，在后腰打结处的腰带内垫有一个纸或布做的芯子，看去像个方盒。这就是我们常看到的和服背后的装饰品。由于打结很费事，战后又出现了备有现成结的“改良带”和“文化带”。虽然今天日本人的日常服装早已为西服所替代，但在婚礼、庆典、传统花道、茶道以及其他隆重的社交场合，和服仍是公认的必穿礼服。
　　柔道在全世界有广泛声誉。柔道的基本原理不是攻击、而是一种利用对方的力量的护身之术，柔道家的级别用腰带的颜色（初级∶白/高级∶黑）来表示。柔道是中国拳术的发展，源出少林之门。明末，中国的一位武林高手陈元赞将中国的传统武术传到扶桑（今日本），成为现代风行世界的柔道之先河。
　　剑道是指从武士的重要武艺剑术中派生而出的日本击剑运动。比赛者按照严格的规则，身着专用防护具，用一把竹刀互刺对方的头、躯体以及手指尖。
　　空手道是经琉球王国（现在的冲绳）从中国传入日本的格斗运动。空手道不使用任何武器、仅使用拳和脚，与其它格斗运动相比，是一种相当具有实战意义的运动形式。
　　合气道原来只是一种用于练习“形式”的运动，其基本理念是对于力量不采用力量进行对抗。与柔道和空手道等运动相比，没有粗野感的合气道作为一种精神锻炼和健身运动，很受老年人和女性的欢迎。
　　书道，提起书法，相信不少人会认为它是中国独有的一门艺术。其实，书法在日本不仅盛行，更是人们修行养性的方式之一。古代日本人称书法叫“入木道”或“笔道”，直到江户时代（十七世纪），才出现“书道”这个名词。在日本，用毛笔写汉字而盛行书法，应当是在佛教传入之后。僧侣和佛教徒模仿中国，用毛笔抄录经书。
　　能剧是日本的传统戏剧，也是世界上现存的最古老的戏剧之一。能剧源于古代舞蹈戏剧形式和12世纪或13世纪在日本的神社和寺院举行的各种节庆戏剧。“能”具有才能或技能的意义。演员通过面部表情和形体动作暗示故事的本质，而不是把它表现出来。现在这一剧种在日本仍具有顽强的生命力。
　　歌舞伎和能剧一样是日本最有代表性的传统戏曲之一。和中国的京剧一样，也是以音乐和舞蹈为中心，由台词、歌曲、武打场面等构成的综合舞台艺术。歌舞伎起源于17世纪初的一位叫做“出云の阿国（出云之阿国）”的女性，她非常善于表演当时的社会习俗，受到人们的极大欢迎。然而，此后随着时代的变迁，歌舞伎改成了全部角色都由男性扮演，即使是女性角色也一样，这个传统一直延续到了现在。
　　寿司是以生鱼片【刺身（さしみ）】、生虾、生鱼粉等为原料，配以精白米饭、醋、海鲜、辣根等，捏成饭团后食用的一种食物。寿司的种类很多，不下数百种，各地区的寿司也有不同的特点。大多数是先用米饭加醋调制，再包卷鱼、肉、蛋类，加以紫菜或豆皮。吃生鱼寿司时，饮日本绿茶或清酒，别有一番风味。

日本上是世界上的发达国家之一，它的国民经济是非常强大的。而且他们的科技行业是处于世界领先的位置。

我认为主要是因为日本的地理位置和疆域，那么小一个小日本当然会有你说的那种性格，这也是他们现在之所以为日本的根本原因。希望对你有帮助

【History】
The first signs of occupation on the Japanese Archipelago appeared with a Paleolithic culture around 30,000 BC, followed from around 14,000 BC by the Jōmon period, a Mesolithic to Neolithic semi-sedentary hunter-gatherer culture of pit dwelling and a rudimentary form of agriculture. Decorated clay vessels from this period, often with plaited patterns, are some of the oldest surviving examples of pottery in the world.[3][4][5]

The Yayoi period, starting around the third century BC, introduced new practices, such as wet-rice farming, iron and bronze-making and a new style of pottery, brought by migrants from China or Korea. With the development of Yayoi culture, a predominantly agricultural society emerged in Japan.[6][7][8][9]

The Japanese first appear in written history in China’s Book of Han. According to the Chinese Records of Three Kingdoms, the most powerful kingdom on the archipelago during the third century was called Yamataikoku.
A middle Jōmon period vessel (3000 to 2000 BC).
A middle Jōmon period vessel (3000 to 2000 BC).
The Great Buddha in Kamakura (1252).
The Great Buddha in Kamakura (1252).

Japan was first introduced to Buddhism from Baekje of the Korean Peninsula, but the subsequent development of Japanese Buddhism and Buddhist sculptures were primarily influenced by China.[10] Despite early resistance, Buddhism was promoted by the ruling class and eventually gained growing acceptance since the Asuka period.[11]

The Nara period of the eighth century marked the first emergence of a strong central Japanese state, centered around an imperial court in the city of Heijō-kyō, or modern day Nara. In addition to the continuing adoption of Chinese administrative practices, the Nara period is characterized by the appearance of a nascent written literature with the completion of the massive chronicles Kojiki (712) and Nihon Shoki (720).[12] (Nara was not the first capital city in Japan, though. Before Nara, Fujiwara-kyō and Asuka served as capitals of the Yamato state.)

In 784, Emperor Kammu moved the capital from Nara to Nagaoka-kyō for a brief ten-year period, before relocating it to Heian-kyō (modern day Kyoto) in 794, where it remained for more than a millennium.[13] This marked the beginning of the Heian period, during which time a distinctly indigenous Japanese culture emerged, noted for its art, poetry and literature. Lady Murasaki’s The Tale of Genji and the lyrics of modern Japan’s national anthem, Kimi ga Yo were written during this time.[14]

Japan’s feudal era was characterized by the emergence of a ruling class of warriors, the samurai. In 1185, following the defeat of the rival Taira clan, Minamoto no Yoritomo was appointed Shogun and established a base of power in Kamakura. After Yoritomo’s death, the Hōjō clan came to rule as regents for the shoguns. Zen Buddhism was introduced from China in the Kamakura period (1185–1333) and became popular among the samurai class. The Kamakura shogunate managed to repel Mongol invasions in 1274 and 1281, aided by a storm that the Japanese interpreted as a kamikaze, or Divine Wind. The Kamakura shogunate was eventually overthrown by Emperor Go-Daigo, who was soon himself defeated by Ashikaga Takauji in 1336.[15] The succeeding Ashikaga shogunate failed to control the feudal warlords (daimyo), and a civil war erupted (the ōnin War) in 1467 which opened a century-long Sengoku period.[16]

During the sixteenth century, traders and Jesuit missionaries from Portugal reached Japan for the first time, initiating active commercial and cultural exchange between Japan and the West (Nanban trade).

Oda Nobunaga conquered numerous other daimyo by using European technology and firearms and had almost unified the nation when he was assassinated in 1582. Toyotomi Hideyoshi succeeded Nobunaga and united the nation in 1590. Hideyoshi invaded Korea twice, but following several defeats by Korean and Ming China forces and Hideyoshi’s death, Japanese troops were withdrawn in 1598.[17]

After Hideyoshi’s death, Tokugawa Ieyasu utilized his position as regent for Hideyoshi’s son Toyotomi Hideyori to gain political and military support. When open war broke out, he defeated rival clans in the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600. Ieyasu was appointed shōgun in 1603 and established the Tokugawa shogunate at Edo (modern Tokyo). The Tokugawa shogunate enacted a variety of measures such as Buke shohatto to control the autonomous daimyo. In 1639, the shogunate began the isolationist sakoku (“closed country”) policy that spanned the two and a half centuries of tenuous political unity known as the Edo period. The study of Western sciences, known as rangaku, continued during this period through contacts with the Dutch enclave at Dejima in Nagasaki. The Edo period also gave rise to kokugaku, or literally “national studies”, the study of Japan by the Japanese themselves.[18]

On March 31, 1854, Commodore Matthew Perry and the “Black Ships” of the United States Navy forced the opening of Japan to the outside world with the Convention of Kanagawa. Subsequent similar treaties with the Western countries in the Bakumatsu period brought Japan into economic and political crises. The abundance of the prerogative and the resignation of the shogunate led to the Boshin War and the establishment of a centralized state unified under the name of the Emperor (Meiji Restoration). Adopting Western political, judicial and military institutions, the Cabinet organized the Privy Council, introduced the Meiji Constitution, and assembled the Imperial Diet. The Meiji Restoration transformed the Empire of Japan into an industrialized world power that embarked on a number of military conflicts to expand the nation’s sphere of influence. After victories in the First Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895) and the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905), Japan gained control of Taiwan, Korea, and the southern half of Sakhalin.[19]

The early twentieth century saw a brief period of “Taisho democracy” overshadowed by the rise of expansionism and militarization. World War I enabled Japan, which joined the side of the victorious Allies, to expand its influence and territorial holdings. Japan continued its expansionist policy by occupying Manchuria in 1931. As a result of international condemnation for this occupation, Japan resigned from the League of Nations two years later. In 1936, Japan signed the Anti-Comintern Pact with Nazi Germany, joining the Axis powers in 1941.[20]

In 1937, Japan invaded other parts of China, precipitating the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945), after which the United States placed an oil embargo on Japan.[21] On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked the United States naval base in Pearl Harbor and declared war on the United States, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. This act brought the United States into World War II. After the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, along with the Soviet Union joining the war against it, Japan agreed to an unconditional surrender on August 15 (Victory over Japan Day).[22] The war cost Japan millions of lives and left much of the country’s industry and infrastructure destroyed. The International Military Tribunal for the Far East, was convened by the Allies (on May 3, 1946) to prosecute Japanese leaders for war crimes such as the Nanking Massacre.[23]

In 1947, Japan adopted a new pacifist constitution emphasizing liberal democratic practices. The Allied occupation ended by the Treaty of San Francisco in 1952[24] and Japan was granted membership in the United Nations in 1956. Japan later achieved spectacular growth to become the second largest economy in the world, with an annual growth rate averaging 10% for four decades. This ended in the mid-1990s when Japan suffered a major recession. Positive growth in the early twenty-first century has signaled a gradual recovery.[25]

【Government and politics】
Japan is a constitutional monarchy where the power of the Emperor is very limited. As a ceremonial figurehead, he is defined by the constitution as “the symbol of the state and of the unity of the people”. Power is held chiefly by the Prime Minister of Japan and other elected members of the Diet, while sovereignty is vested in the Japanese people.[26] The Emperor effectively acts as the head of state on diplomatic occasions. Akihito is the current Emperor of Japan. Naruhito, Crown Prince of Japan, stands as next in line to the throne.

Japan’s legislative organ is the National Diet, a bicameral parliament. The Diet consists of a House of Representatives, containing 480 seats, elected by popular vote every four years or when dissolved and a House of Councillors of 242 seats, whose popularly-elected members serve six-year terms. There is universal suffrage for adults over 20 years of age,[2] with a secret ballot for all elective offices.[26] The liberal conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has been in power since 1955, except for a short-lived coalition government formed from opposition parties in 1993.[27] The largest opposition party is the social liberal Democratic Party of Japan.

The Prime Minister of Japan is the head of government. The position is appointed by the Emperor of Japan after being designated by the Diet from among its members and must enjoy the confidence of the House of Representatives to remain in office. The Prime Minister is the head of the Cabinet (the literal translation of his Japanese title is “Prime Minister of the Cabinet”) and appoints and dismisses the Ministers of State, a majority of whom must be Diet members. Yasuo Fukuda currently serves as the Prime Minister of Japan.[28]

Historically influenced by Chinese law, the Japanese legal system developed independently during the Edo period through texts such as Kujikata Osadamegaki. However, since the late nineteenth century, the judicial system has been largely based on the civil law of Europe, notably France and Germany. For example, in 1896, the Japanese government established a civil code based on the German model. With post-World War II modifications, the code remains in effect in present-day Japan.[29] Statutory law originates in Japan’s legislature, the National Diet of Japan, with the rubber-stamp approval of the Emperor. The current constitution requires that the Emperor promulgates legislation passed by the Diet, without specifically giving him the power to oppose the passing of the legislation.[26] Japan’s court system is divided into four basic tiers: the Supreme Court and three levels of lower courts.[30] The main body of Japanese statutory law is a collection called the Six Codes.[29]

【Economy】
Close government-industry cooperation, a strong work ethic, mastery of high technology, and a comparatively small defense allocation among others have helped Japan become the second largest economy in the world,[51] after the United States, at around US$4.5 trillion in terms of nominal GDP[51] and third after the United States and China in terms of purchasing power parity.[52]

Banking, insurance, real estate, retailing, transportation and telecommunications are all major industries. Japan has a large industrial capacity and is home to some of the largest, leading and most technologically advanced producers of motor vehicles, electronic equipment, machine tools, steel and nonferrous metals, ships, chemicals, textiles and processed foods.[53] Construction has long been one of Japan’s largest industries, with the help of multi-billion dollar government contracts in the civil sector. Distinguishing characteristics of the Japanese economy have included the cooperation of manufacturers, suppliers, distributors and banks in closely-knit groups called keiretsu and the guarantee of lifetime employment in big corporations.[54] Recently, Japanese companies have begun to abandon some of these norms in an attempt to increase profitability.[55]
With a market capitalization of more than US$4 trillion, the Tokyo Stock Exchange is the second largest in the world.
With a market capitalization of more than US$4 trillion, the Tokyo Stock Exchange is the second largest in the world.

Japan is also home to some of the largest financial services companies, business groups and bank such as Sony, Sumitomo, Mitsubishi and Toyota. It is also home to the world’s largest bank by asset, Japan Post Bank (US$3.2 trillion)[56] and others such as Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (US$1.2 trillion[57]), Mizuho Financial Group (US$1.4 trillion[58]) and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (US$1.3 trillion[59]). The Tokyo Stock Exchange with a market capitalization of over 549.7 trillion Yen as of December 2006 stands as the second largest in the world.[60]

From the 1960s to the 1980s, overall real economic growth has been called a “miracle”: a 10% average in the 1960s, a 5% average in the 1970s and a 4% average in the 1980s.[61] Growth slowed markedly in the 1990s, largely because of the after-effects of over-investment during the late 1980s and domestic policies intended to wring speculative excesses from the stock and real estate markets. Government efforts to revive economic growth met with little success and were further hampered in 2000 to 2001 by the deceleration of the global economy.[53] However, the economy showed strong signs of recovery after 2005. GDP growth for that year was 2.8%, with an annualized fourth quarter expansion of 5.5%, surpassing the growth rates of the US and European Union during the same period.[62]

Because only about 15% of Japan’s land is suitable for cultivation,[63] a system of terrace farming is used to build in small areas. This results in one of the world’s highest levels of crop yields per unit area. However, Japan’s small agricultural sector is also highly subsidized and protected. Japan must import about 50%[64] of its requirements of grain and fodder crops other than rice, and it relies on imports for most of its supply of meat. In fishing, Japan is ranked second in the world behind China in tonnage of fish caught. Japan maintains one of the world’s largest fishing fleets and accounts for nearly 15% of the global catch.[53] Japan relies on foreign countries for almost all oil and food.

Transportation in Japan is highly developed. As of 2004, there are 1,177,278 km (731,683 miles) of paved roadways, 173 airports, and 23,577 km (14,653 miles) of railways.[53] Air transport is mostly operated by All Nippon Airways (ANA) and Japan Airlines (JAL). Railways are operated by Japan Railways Group among others. There are extensive international flights from many cities and countries to and from Japan.

Japan’s main export partners are the United States 22.8%, China 14.3%, South Korea 7.8%, Taiwan 6.8% and Hong Kong 5.6% (for 2006). Japan’s main exports are transport equipment, motor vehicles, electronics, electrical machinery and chemicals.[53] With very limited natural resources to sustain economic development, Japan depends on other nations for most of its raw materials; thus it imports a wide variety of goods. Its main import partners are China 20.5%, U.S. 12.0%, Saudi Arabia 6.4%, UAE 5.5%, Australia 4.8%, South Korea 4.7% and Indonesia 4.2% (for 2006). Japan’s main imports are machinery and equipment, fossil fuels, foodstuffs (in particular beef), chemicals, textiles and raw materials for its industries. Overall, Japan’s largest trading partners are China and the United States.[65]

【Culture and recreation】
Japanese culture has evolved greatly over the years, from the country’s original Jōmon culture to its contemporary culture, which combines influences from Asia, Europe and North America. Traditional Japanese arts include crafts (ikebana, origami, ukiyo-e, dolls, lacquerware, pottery), performances (bunraku, dance, kabuki, noh, rakugo), traditions (games, tea ceremony, Budō, architecture, gardens, swords) and cuisine. The fusion of traditional woodblock printing and Western art led to the creation of manga, a typically Japanese comic book format that is now popular within and outside Japan.[89] Manga-influenced animation for television and film is called anime. Japanese-made video game consoles have prospered since the 1980s.[90]
A traditional Japanese teahouse.
A traditional Japanese teahouse.

Japanese music is eclectic, having borrowed instruments, scales and styles from neighboring cultures. Many instruments, such as the koto, were introduced in the ninth and tenth centuries. The accompanied recitative of the Noh drama dates from the fourteenth century and the popular folk music, with the guitar-like shamisen, from the sixteenth.[91] Western music, introduced in the late nineteenth century, now forms an integral part of the culture. Post-war Japan has been heavily influenced by American and European modern music, which has led to the evolution of popular band music called J-pop.[92] Karaoke is the most widely practiced cultural activity. A November 1993 survey by the Cultural Affairs Agency found that more Japanese had sung karaoke that year than had participated in traditional cultural pursuits such as flower arranging or tea ceremony.[93]

The earliest works of Japanese literature include two history books the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki and the eighth century poetry book Man’yōshū, all written in Chinese characters.[94] In the early days of the Heian period, the system of transcription known as kana (Hiragana and Katakana) was created as phonograms. The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter is considered the oldest Japanese narrative.[95] An account of Heian court life is given by The Pillow Book written by Sei Shōnagon, while The Tale of Genji by Lady Murasaki is often described as the world’s first novel. During the Edo period, literature became not so much the field of the samurai aristocracy as that of the chōnin, the ordinary people. Yomihon, for example, became popular and reveals this profound change in the readership and authorship.[95] The Meiji era saw the decline of traditional literary forms, during which Japanese literature integrated Western influences. Natsume Sōseki and Mori ōgai were the first “modern” novelists of Japan, followed by Akutagawa Ryūnosuke, Tanizaki Jun’ichirō, Yasunari Kawabata, Yukio Mishima and, more recently, Haruki Murakami. Japan has two Nobel Prize-winning authors — Yasunari Kawabata (1968) and Kenzaburo Oe (1994).[95]

　　无论日本和中国在历史上文化交流是多么频繁，相互影响是多么深远，从古至今，日本文化的发展还是有它的许多特点，有许多既不同于中国，又不同于西方的发展规律。在日本文化（包括性文化）形成与发展的过程中，有许多看起来是很矛盾对立的现象，可是又和谐地结合在一起，从而形成了自具一格的东亚文化，这种情况可以说是举世罕见的。所以美国哲学家穆尔认为，日本文化是“所有伟大的传统中最神秘的，最离奇的”。　　这种矛盾与统一首先表现在文化的吸收性和独立性方面。　　从历史上看，在1000多年的时间里，日本大量吸收了中国的大唐文化。1868年德川政权崩溃、明治维新开始后，日本进入了“文明开化”时期。在这个时期，日本按照11个世纪前全盘接受中国文化的方法引进西方的文明，并取得了巨大的效果，为建设一个现代化的国家奠定了基础。任何一种文化的形成与发展都要受许多因素的影响，本国的和外国的历史，以及佛教、儒教甚至基督教都曾对日本文化起过作用，日本在变化，但是却从未真正脱离其最古老的本土文化根源。　　以上这种情况可以从日本社会的许多现象看出来。现在电视、空调、汽车、电脑、出国度假等已深深地渗入了日本的普通家庭，日本人的生活表面变得无可辨认了。尽管如此，在现代化的帷幕背后仍旧保留了许多属于日本本土文化的东西，从深层分析看，日本仍是一个传统的国家。例如，他们爱吃生冷的食物，比较崇尚原味；喜好素淡的颜色和天然情趣；家族势力、家族意识和集团意识很强；民间信仰和巫术特盛；　　女子对男子的温顺和依赖；想发财，能发财，但发了财以后又不知所措；等等。　　这种矛盾与统一又表现在文化的输入与输出方面。　　日本是个十分重视也十分善于吸收和输入他国文化的民族，从7世纪的“大化革新”大规模地输入大唐文化，到19世纪的“明治维新”大规模地吸收与输入西方文化，都对日本的发展进步起到了巨大的推动作用。相比较而言，中国在历史上就不太善于吸收其他国家、其他民族的文化，历史悠久、地大物博固然是一种优势，但是如果只注意输出而不重视输入，不重视从其他国家、其他民族的文化中吸取营养、不断地发展自己，那么这种优势也会走向反面。　　随着日本经济的高度增长，日本向外推销自己文化的意识越来越强烈，而且提出了战略性的口号，那就是曾任日本首相的中曾根康弘所说的“国际化”。在这方面，日本政府投入了大量的资金。据90年代的一份统计资料说，由日本官方机构主持的海外文化交流项目，诸如邀请或派遣学者、留学生，开展大型文化活动等等，每年的经费预算为10亿日元。日本外务省所属的国际交流基金，鼓励、资助的主要是和日本有关的项目，例如国外的日语教育，日本文化和文学著作的研究、翻译和出版，或与此相关的文化活动。政府的这种大投入推销本国文化的举措收效显著。日本的茶道、花道之所以享誉世界，日本的文学作品之所以有众多语种质量较好的译本，和这些举措是有密切关系的。　　还有一个矛盾统一的方面是日本旧时的官方文化和民间文化。　　在日本古代，不论政府如何强调外来文化，可是民间文化在很大程度上还是有所保留。例如，在平安时代（公元794-1185年）大力提倡大唐文化的时代，日本所有的文人男子都用汉语写作，但是妇女不这样，结果她们成为日本本土文学的先驱。　　在一个很长的历史时期内，人们可以在政府准许、控制的许多地区的界线内随心所欲。在那里，男扮女装的演员、男性卖淫者、妓女、木版画家都能取悦于神。江户时代的城市民间文化，尤其在比较繁荣的17世纪，和这个狭小的享乐世界有千丝万缕的联系。许多作家、音乐家、演员、画家都出入于或活跃于这个受官方蔑视、可是却深为平民所喜爱的“淫荡世界”。暴烈的娱乐和荒诞的色情在官方的严格控制下仍旧成为人们发泄情感的重要手段。不论时代如何变迁，这类文化的根本性变化很小，对这个现象的重要性是不可低估的。　　最后，这种矛盾统一又表现在对性的文雅和粗俗方面。　　应该认为，总的说来，日本民族是一个文雅的民族。在日常生活中，日本人“轻柔、温顺、礼貌而且温和”，他们是以“温和的人的感情”而不是以“干巴巴的、生硬的理论思想”来表达他们自己的。和大多数其他民族相比，日本人更受感情的约束。例如，当两个人争论时，西方人往往生气地说：“你难道不明白我说的意思吗?”而如果是日本人，他会将怒火和不悦隐藏在礼貌的面具之下，说道：“你难道不明白我的感情吗?”从总的看来，日本人比较宽容，常常用不同的方式维持表面的和谐，冲突总是被一层温和的、礼貌的面纱所掩盖。　　这种文化现象当然表现在社会生活的方方面面，也表现在男女的性问题上。在日本男女的性交往过程中，即使是嫖妓，人们也讲究规矩，讲究礼貌，把最粗鄙的性动作用一层文雅的外衣遮盖起来，否则怕被别人看不起，而绝大多数日本人是很要面子的。在这方面，似乎和中国古人所提倡的“温、良、恭、俭、让”有很多相似之处，但是不同的地方是，日本人更重视把这种态度形成一种外在的礼节，而且还存在形成鲜明对比的粗犷、暴烈的一面。