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Influence between Taiwanese and Japanese Culture

When Taiwan fell into the hands of Japan, it underwent a rapid transformation of its culture from what was distinct of its empire into a westernized Japanese culture. The process was complex and different from the experience of other countries such as China and Japan as Taiwan was receiving a secondhand modernity from Japan (Huang 1-6). The meeting of the two cultures led to the assimilation of the Taiwanese due to the dominance of the colonial culture of Japan.

The Taiwanese culture experienced assimilation as result of the Japanese colonial system and adopted Japanese cultural elements including manners, language, religion and education. Kanai Shinsuke’s assimilation is a perfect example of the influence of Japanese culture on Taiwanese culture. He and his family change their language to Japanese and every aspect of their culture becomes Japanese. He emulates up to the smallest things of Japanese culture such as how they drink their tea, wash their face and walk. He teaches these things to the family which is highly impressed and interested in emulating the Japanese culture. Shinsuke also gave up his Japanese name and becomes annoyed when he someone refers to him by the old name. The wife demonstrates the beauty of Japanese arts and they all show assimilation into Japanese religion by singing Japanese songs. Shinsuke is keen on doing everything that pertains Japanese spirit and teaches it to the family. Other families also abandon their Taiwanese culture and become “Japanese only”. The Japanese colonialism therefore works to breed cultural identities and makes Taiwanese to have totally different aspirations. The Japanese culture is heavily marketed among the people by the colonial government and one earns respect just by changing their family into “Japanese only”. This is evident by people who change into “Japanese only” even without understanding the Japanese language. The dominant Japanese culture takes away traditions and priorities of the Taiwanese culture as Taiwanese seek to completely change into Japanese culture (Ping-hui 199-211). The Taiwanese cultural landscape changes as individuals embark on foreign practices such as watching movies as a hobby.

The transformation of the Taiwanese pre-colonial culture was characterized by uncertainty and force. While one could term the pre-colonial culture as unenlightened, the Japanese culture was driven by socio-political power of the imperial colony (Huang 1-6). Japan influences systematic education among Taiwanese, introduces science and modern infrastructure emerging as the only force behind the modernization of Taiwanese. Shinsuke’s eldest son is educated in Japan and as result of that he understands some English. The paperboy wants to become a student-worker and he cannot become this if he leaves for Taiwan. Japanese have modern agricultural practices and impart business skills on the Taiwanese. However, despite the fact that Taiwanese is modernized by Japan, the change is not self-directed but rather to a great extent driven by authoritarianism of the Japanese rule. When people change their families to “Japanese only”, they are given public recognition and this is meant to earn them a good socio-political standing. Controversies surround the modernization as people in Taiwan are driven into uttermost poverty by industrialization. The people in this case are not allowed to gradually change their practices but are forced or manipulated to give in to new practices. The colonial regime is known for the use of force and in Taiwan paperboy’s brother who joins the Japan police force adopts completely undesirable behavior of harassing people. Lies are used to convince people and who later on suffer because of their decisions. The modernization of the Taiwanese culture by Japan was therefore driven by ethnocentrism that resulted to Japanization.

The colonial regime failed to give recognition to the Taiwanese culture making it become inferior. Taiwanese lost pride in being identified by their original names. Japanese culture resulted to introduction of Japanese names whereby Taiwanese totally abandoned their names to take up Japanese names. The doctor is annoyed when he is called by his Taiwanese name and this shows how people no longer liked what was their originality. Shinsuke thinks that “Japanese only” is meant for wealthy people. He is enraged at the fact that the poorest people of the society can also become Japanese. The Japanese culture in this case develops social class divisions whereby those in Taiwanese culture are viewed as the low class in the society. The result is enmity among people who once belonged to the same culture. Those who jealously guarded their Taiwanese culture struggled with internal humiliation and became a marginalized section in the society.

Those who sought for education in Japan became influential but with Japanese cultural practices. They were used to spread a new set of language, Japanese and English. They propagated the use of Japanese arts. This is evidence of the way education came with Japanization. One area of Taiwanese culture that received a major blow was the Taiwanese art. Japanese art was promoted and as result flourished while Taiwanese art diminished. Families that changed to “Japanese only” completely changed the design of everything in their houses to become Japanese culture. They praised the beauty of the Japanese arts and publicized the difficulty of Taiwanese arts. Their dressing changed to Japanese. These clearly explain the problem the Taiwanese artists faced in expressing their Taiwanese art work. Taiwanese artists faced difficulty if bringing out their arts as they were not welcome among the people who had become assimilated. The colonial government did not give room to thriving of the Taiwanese art (Ping-hui 88-99). Technical knowledge was purely plucked from Japanese culture and artists had to do Japanese if they were to prosper. However, this later changed as artists modernized the Taiwanese culture in their own way. This was after those who were tired with Japan moved to Taiwan and looked for a way to move away from the restrictive cultural environment.

Japanese culture though given credit for the modernity led to constraining of the Taiwanese culture. The Japanese were self-centered and did not allow coexistence of the two cultures. The doctor’s mother is not given room to practice Taiwanese culture with the rest of the family but instead she is pushed to the periphery of the family meetings and practices. She has to survive on her own and when dies, her demand to have Taiwanese culture is not met by her son. The Taiwanese culture is painted as being something sinful and backward.

The introduction of Japanese institutions and education in Taiwan saw proliferation of first-generation Taiwan artists with Western-art that had more advanced means of presentation. Japan developed interest in the Taiwanese colors and this is what encouraged most of the Taiwanese artists. They adopted modern methods of doing their art work and this was evident from the salons in Taiwan that became an inspiration to many. Taiwanese cultural images gained a new looked when Taiwanese artists developed Taiwanese art within the Japanese framework using modern and formal education (Leo 4-18).

The Taiwanese culture was occasionally restricted and promoted. This was due to the colonial regime that promoted assimilation and civilization but also was keen to promote exoticism. Taiwanese intellectuals and Taiwanese modern artists were divided on how to present their work because of the Japanese colonialism.

Japanese culture resulted to modernization and therefore development of Taiwan. Despite the controversies surrounding the means through which Taiwanese culture was assimilated, Japanese culture imparted useful practices into the Taiwanese culture. This important assimilation has resulted to the development of Taiwan. Today, Taiwan attributes its modern status to its colonial master. Japanese culture of industrialization and mechanization marked the start of a new era of modern practices in Taiwan. One area which received a totally new phase is agriculture which was modernized. The Taiwanese were used to the use of oxen and other traditional methods of farming that could be less productive. However, Japanese culture helped them realize more effective and efficient ways of practicing agriculture. Through the formal and modern education, Taiwanese became more enlightened and empowered to better on what is their own. This was experienced in their arts where they developed modern ways of presentation and boosted their salon business.

Japanese culture worked to breed democracy among the Taiwanese people. This was done majorly through education that enlightened the Taiwanese. The formal education of those who left Taiwan to get educated in Tokyo awakened them to the oppression of their people back at home (Melissa 40-52). Taiwanese identified their rights and what they were supposed to do when facing humiliation. This was quite important for the Taiwanese who were facing brutality from the colonial regime. When the paperboy lives in Tokyo, he learns of what he needed to do to salvage his people suffering back at home. He is inspired to go back home and help his people. His village back at home with their primitive lives highly feared officials and this made them prone to harassment. They did not understand what they could do to get back their own rights. Japanese culture creates a new Taiwanese culture of democracy where decisions are no longer imposed on people.

The Taiwanese people having been introduced to trends in the western world become business oriented and rigorous in their practices. Initially, Taiwanese culture was not business minded and all that mattered was peace. Paperboy’s mother only wanted peace for the family and had no much concern for money. Japanese culture is characterized by business activities whereby people are busy trying to increase their wealth. They Japanese culture transforms the lives of the Taiwanese who wake up to the need to polish their practices through education and modernization. The interaction of the new cultures brings hybridity where there is emergence of top-notch arts that entail modernity of the Japanese culture but still exhibit the Taiwanese culture. The Taiwanese culture that was initially dwelling in simplicity gained complexity and there was a boost to its practices (Ying-Hsiung 15-21). The Japanese culture generally resulted to a developed Taiwanese culture and consequentially the economic development of the Island. Therefore, the general influence of the interaction between the two cultures was positive.

Works Cited

Ping-hui, Liao. ""Taiwan: Hou Xiandai Huo Hou Zhimin?" ("Taiwan: Postmodern Or Postcolonial?"). Shuxie Taiwan: Wenxue Shi, Hou Zhimin Yu Hou Xiandai (Writing Taiwan: Strategies Of Representation)." (2000): 88-99. Print.

Ying-Hsiung, Chou. ""Shuxie Taiwan De Liangnan Celüe" (Strategic Dilemmas In Writing 'Taiwan'"). Shuxie Taiwan: Wenxue Shi, Hou Zhimin Yu Hou Xiandai (Writing Taiwan: Strategies Of Representation)." (2000): 15-21. Print.

Leo, Ching,. "Becoming "Japanese": Colonial Taiwan And The Politics Of Identity Formation. Berkeley." (2001): 4-18. Print.

Huang, Alexander. "Contested (Post)Coloniality And Taiwan Culture: A Review Article Of New Work By Yip And Ching." 8.3 (2006): 1-6. Print.

Melissa, Brown. "Is Taiwan Chinese? The Impact Of Culture, Power, And Migration On Chinese Identities." (2004): 40-52. Print.

Ping-hui, Liao. "Postcolonial Studies In Taiwan: Issues In Critical Debates.". 1999. Print.