Customs Collide! A Very Brief Japanese Culture Quiz

Western customs, no matter how varied, are usually connected to each other in some way. Where ever there are local superstitions, customs, practices, or beliefs, there’s often a common, larger history tying them together. There’s no better example of Western beliefs commingling from various nationalities than right here in the US. We take our holidays, superstitions and beliefs from all over Europe and have morphed them into our own versions.

In the East, many countries follow the same formula of borrowing and customizing everything from religion to clothing; Japan, though no exception, is slightly different. They’ve gotten almost their entire culture from China and Korea. After they had made contact with these cultures, they took what they learned from them and turned them into something uniquely Japanese.

Today, Japanese culture is making waves not only in the field of electronics and anime, but in fashion, science, and art as well.

How familiar are you with traditional and modern Japanese culture quirks? Are you only knowledgeable in anime and manga, or do you pride yourself on being something of a history buff? Does your grasp of Japanese culture go beyond anime? Find out in this very brief quiz below!

(Answers and actual cultural and historical facts given are below the quiz. The quiz is off site but come back to rate your score and see how you did!!! No peeking until you’re done!)

Rate your score!

• 100-90%= Sugoi!! The kami of Japan are honored you know so much!
• 89-80%= Yatta! You know way more about Japan than just Rei Ayanami’s bloodtype, ne?
• 79-60%= Genki. You’re on you’re way to deeper understanding, gambatte!
• 59-40%= Ma-ma. You can do better, but at least you’re getting some culture…
• Below 40%= Baka! Put down the remote and the manga and head to the library fanboy/fangirl!

*Update: On Questions 19 and 29 the answers are False (19) and True (29); however the quiz is experiencing technical difficulties and has reversed the answers. For each corrected answer, add or subtract 3.33% to your score. We apologize for any inconvenience

answers and trivia

1.) False. The original inhabitants of Japan are the Ainu; a group of indigenous people who are believed to have come to the island of Japan from Siberia some 2,000 years ago. They were driven to the northern part of the Japanese islands by the newly arrived people we now call the Japanese. During the Meiji Restoration, the Ainu were forced to forsake their native tongue. There are very few, if any, pure-blooded Ainu left in Japan.

2.) False. The Japanese creation myth features the brother and sister act of Izanami and Izanagi getting busy in order to create the world.

3.) True. Nara was one capital, so was Kyoto, and now, Tokyo.

4.) True. And they didn’t need a man to hold their hand while they were ruling!

5.) False. Ramen originated in the land of the noodle, China.

6.) False. Teeth blackening, aka, ohaguro, was common among high-born women in the Heian Period. They would use iron and vinegar to achieve that simply stunning look. One reason given why women may have blackened their teeth, was that the heavy white make-up favored at that time was so bright, it would make teeth appear yellow in contrast. So women side-stepped that by making their teeth black.

7.) True. Check out Mochi’s article on Kabuki for more details.

8.) False. Curious as to what those two letters actually meant, David called the S&B people and asked. Their response: S&B means Sun and Bird. After the war, the S&B company was looking to Westernize its image. They got rid of their old logo, the one that sported a sun with a bird superimposed over it, and replaced it with the S and B we’re all familiar with today.

9.) False. Miso can also be made from rice and barley. What makes miso, miso, is the fermentation process involving a mold known as kōji-kin.

10.) False. Hellloooo, samurai swords anyone? The Japanese, even early in their history, were superb metalsmiths. In fact, it’s believed that metal work in Japan never went through a primitive stage, unlike most Western civilizations. Japanese swordsmiths are considered some of the best on the planet. I would imagine so with over 2,000 years of practice!

11.) True. Interestingly enough, the term kamikaze was used in reference to actual wind. In the 1200’s, Mongolian hordes attempted to invade Japan. Both times they were unable to land on the islands because of a freakish wind that blew up and capsized the Mongolian fleets. Thus, why such a wind would be considered divine, i.e. kami= god, kaze= wind.

12.) False. Torii are those really nifty red gates to Shinto shrines. They represent a portal between the mundane, the world we all live in, and the sacred, the world of divine beings; not a gateway into the world of shades.

13.) True. New Year’s Eve is such a big deal in Japan, no one works for three days. Honest. Cooking is done before the big day so that everyone can sit back and relax for three, stress-free days.

14.) False. Samurai could be ninja and vice versa. Hattori Hanzō famous samurai retainer to Emperor Tokugawa Ieyasu, was a ninja as well (he was head of clan Iga). It was the height of ninja stealth to be a samurai; many samurai never told their masters they were ninja.

15.) False. The wedded rocks, or Meoto Iwa, represent the marriage of Izanami to Izanagi. The Meoto Iwa are located off the coast of Japan, near the town of Futami. In the water, off shore, are two rocks roped together. The large rock is Izanagi and the smaller one is a Izanami. Being roped together as they are represents their sacred marriage.

16.) True. Kami are, or at least, were, believed to inhabit everything: inanimate objects, practices, places, practically everything has a kami. I don’t know how prevalent that belief is in modern times, but it once was common place to try to appease the spirits with gifts of food and incense.

17.) True. If you read the recipes I feature on the site, you already knew that; however, if you don’t read the recipes: beans are used as dessert filling in Japan. Adzuki beans are especially prized as a sweet additive, but white and black beans are also used. The term for the sweet jam made from adzuki beans and sugar is anko.

18.) True. I know, sounds weird, right? But apparently if a ghost story is scary enough, it’ll send a cooling chill down the spine. It gets really hot in Japan, so whatever helps. As an interesting coincidence, the Japanese festival of Obon, which honors the dead, is held in the summer month of July.

19.) False. Geisha are trained performers who do. not. sleep. with their clients for cash. According to Dr. Liza Dalby, the only American to ever be let into the geisha’s secret world; during the American occupation of Japan, prostitutes would call themselves geisha in order to demand more money for their services. American GI’s would then bring home tales of the phenomenal “abilities” of geisha, perpetuating the myth in the West that geisha are high class hookers.

20.) True. Mochi cakes are a lot of hard work to make. To make mochi, mochi gome, glutinous rice, must first be steamed, then pounded in a large mortar with a pestle until the rice is a gooey mass. Then the mass is divided and shaped into small cakes which are then dried. People gather in large groups to make the mochi and take turns pounding the rice. It’s all worth it in the end! Mochi should not to be confused with daifuku mochi, which has somehow become synonymous with mochi. Mochi are the plain, hard dried rice cakes that must be heated up in order to be edible; although, they can be eaten fresh when available. Daifuku mochi are mochi cakes that have anko, strawberries, walnuts, etc., in the middle.

21.) True. Black is a symbol of royalty and age in Japan and cats are considered to be lucky. In the symbolism of maneki neko, black cats actually deter evil.

22.) False. Even though modern ninja no longer serve feudal lords or carry out dangerous missions, the practice of ninjutsu is still alive and well today in the way of Bujinkan. The ninja of today still strive to master many of the older arts and they continue to train with traditional weapons along with new techniques and weapons. The heart and spirit of ninjutsu, however, still hasn’t changed after hundreds of years.

23.) False. In most of Asia, including Japan, white is a color of mourning and is worn at funerals.

24.) True. The prefix wa- is included in wagashi (Japanese sweets), wa-loli (Japanese-style lolita), washoku (Japanese cooking), etc.

25.) False. This wonder of the soybean was created in China around the second century B.C. It was later introduced to Japan in the late 800’s.

26.) False. Even though the Japanese have absolutely perfected the art of cosplay, they still don’t have as good a grasp on this costumed holiday as we do; the Halloween scenes in the Cowboy Bebop movie are ample proof of that. The only other country that can even compete with our Halloween festivities is the land it originated, Britain.

27.) True. Fuji-san, as it’s also known, last erupted in 1708. This majestic mountain has become a national symbol of Japan and has been immortalized in ukiyo-e by the artist, Katsushika Hokusai.

28.) False. Far from being delicate creatures that toss around pixie dust, oni are, in appearance; large, ugly man-like creatures with red or blue skin, clawed hands and two horns sprouting from their head. In function, oni serve as a cross between ogre, demon, and gargoyle in that they; terrorize countrysides, punish sinners in hell and protect shrines.

29.) True. Bum deal for women but you can read more in my article about Valentine’s Day and White Day in Japan.

30.) True. Samurai were very well rounded in their education and appreciation of the arts and of nature. Many samurai were also poets and writers who would, in their writings, often compare their lives to the brief lives of the ephemeral cherry blossoms. These writings still exist and are fine examples of how samurai were more than fierce warriors.