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 the

The Sengoko and Tokugawa eras introduced a strong governing power, which rested aside from the monarch. During this time shoguns controlled a large majority of the government and military strength in Edo. While the Emperor resided in Kyoto nearly powerless to the on going's of Japans fate and with little money to produce a real influence of threat to the Shoguns growing supremacy. The shrunken power of the Emperor can provide an explanation for the monarch's continued survival, without the fear of attack from the Emperor the shoguns did not concern themselves in the prestige of the monarch. Thus, there was no reason to overturn or uncrown the Emperor, who to the shoguns, was not seen as a danger to their authority. We believe that the reason the Emperor had lost so much power was due to the happenings during the Heian period. Japanese individualism was on the uprise and people were concerned with developing their own identities. Change was inevitable as the Japanese people!

Francis Xavier, the Jesuit Priest came to Japan in 1549 to educate the Japanese on Christianity. This was well received by the rural population, as for the first time they had something to believe in that would accept them. Christianity posed several problems in the attempt to co-exist with Japans other religions, as it limited the beliefs to one God and faith solely to the Christian principles. Christianity as a whole left very little impact on Japanese society as the populations couldn't grasp the full concept of "God" as well as the issuance of the Anti-Christian decree in 1606 limited the influence and acceptance of this religion on the Japanese society. In the case of today's society, the extent of Christianity, for the most part, is limited to weddings, which has grown from an increase in commercial appeal. The Japanese people go to Shinto shrines at birth and for the funerals they practice Buddhist methods.

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.

Within the Kamakura period (1185-1333), Ch'an Buddhism was introduced by China. This form of Buddhism was soon Japanized into the now known form of Zen. Zen Buddhism is a school of meditation, which teaches enlightenment, underlined by simplicity, austerity, discipline and loyalty to one's master. Zen Buddhism was widely accepted by the Japanese people, especially by the samurai class. The ideals of Zen Buddhism projected many similar characteristic of the samurai code such as self-discipline, self-reliance, self-denial, frugality and loyalty (Newman, 1989). These characteristics of Bushido have become a way of life in Japanese society, it can be seen in the work force dedication and also dedication to one's family. In today's corporate world, for example, the employees are loyal to the company and work like soldiers, although this attitude has changed slightly in the recent years (Chapman, 1991). The spirit of Bushido has had profound ramifications on Japanese culture t!

7. Mongomery, H.B. (1908). The Empire of the East. London, The Cresham Press

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 N

Some common words found in the essay are:
Zen Buddhism, Edo Emperor, Emperor Jimmu, Jimmu Tenno, Japanese Christianity, Japanese Diet, God Emperor, Buddhism Buddhist, Kofun's Yamato, Japan Western, japanese people, sun goddess, zen buddhism, sun goddess amaterasu, japanese society, goddess amaterasu, jimmu tenno, japanese monarch, chapman 1991, meyer 1993, york ny, riley 2000 japanese, york ny columbia, japanese monarch survived, ny columbia university,
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Approximate Pages = 15 (250 words per page double spaced)