HOW JAPANESE CULTURE OF ART AND CLOTHES ARE AFFECTED BY U.S. DOMINANT CULTURES

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HOW JAPANESE CULTURE OF ART AND CLOTHES ARE AFFECTED BY U.S. DOMINANT CULTURES
Introduction
Among the most inherent cultural links, that Japan has established with the United States of America is the one that has seen a great influence on the Japanese culture of art and clothes. According to Martinez (2007), these cultural ties are massive even at the foundational level, and they find their way into a myriad of categories cultures of both nations. As such, this work will look at how the Japanese culture of art and clothes has been affected by the United States’ dominant cultures. It will scrutinize the impact that these U.S cultures have brought to the Japanese cultures.
The effects of the U.S dominant cultures on the Japanese culture of art and clothes
Most of the influence took place throughout the “era of Americanization”. Before that time, the traditional garments worn in Japan were the kimonos. There were different kinds of kimonos depending on the material used, season, gender and age of those who wore them (Benedict, 1946). For instance, kimonos that were worn during the winter were heavier than those worn during the summer were. In terms of age, there were different kimonos that married women wore were different from the kimonos worn by unmarried women as well as children. The Americans introduced high scale manufacture of official clothing to the Japanese. The use of riveting machines, as well as sewing machines, brought new perspectives to the clothing styles in Japan.
Since the 1980s, fashion exhibitions have proven that the western countries, especially the United States, have greatly affected the design of clothes in Japan. Clothes such as the Jeans are seen in the Japanese markets as an initiative of the American merchants. Within the past few years, the Japanese have been accustomed to dressing up in American clothing.
The Japanese art includes various styles and media such as a traditional pottery, ink painting, calligraphy on paper and fabric as well as sculpture. Movies, music, martial arts are also classified as part of the Japanese arts culture. Modern art in Japan now takes many styles to express various ideas of worldwide modern art in general. Martinez (2007), states that