Native Non-Western Cultural Practices and Globalization in India and Japan
Today’s world and the world in the last fifteen years are very different. Development occurs overnight all over the country. Looking into India, a country well known for its rooted traditions and religion, we see a very old state but civilized and modern state (Kobayashi, 2012). Even with the deeply rooted culture, traditions, and religion in India, western values have managed to find its way to this country.
The first native nonwestern culture in India affected by globalization is religion. The largest religion among the many religions in India is Hinduism with a following of almost 80 percent of Indian population. Indians only believed in dharma, which described the rules the guided the behavior of people (Kobayashi, 2012). The religion taught a reborn and a higher caste for those who obeyed the prescribed rules by dharma, and those who failed to do so believed to go through reborn and rise to a worse caste. Classes formed according to caste with the highest class being Brahmin, priest and teachers, the second being, Kshatriya which was warriors and landholders (Kobayashi, 2012). The third Varna was Vaishya, which were executives. The fourth were Shudra which from the group of workers. The group that existed below the four was the people believed to be tribal and outcasts. All these beliefs started to diminish when Christianity found its way into India. Christianity seen to be very fashionable and people started to embrace it. With transnational movement mass media, television airing various programs, brought a change of mind in the cultural believes in India. Films by local Hindus faced stiff competition from Hollywood films, all these teaching a very different way of life from those of Indians (Kobayashi, 2012). Indians found a variety of possible set of lives that never existed before globalization, which was a positive thing to the non-Western society (Kobayashi, 2012). The native responded with suspicion, but a good number of Indians were supportive towards the new way of life.
Traditional dietary in India has been rice and cereal among them is pulses (Kobayashi, 2012). India people especially the middle class people have resorted to readily made food. There has been a remarkable increase in consumption of sugar, fats, and oil, which was not like the traditional way of diet (Kobayashi, 2012). The colder countries have increased the supply of apple and potatoes prompting to the rise in vegetable and fruit consumption. Some of the transformational dietary in India is irreversible. This globalization came through the introduction of Bollywood and football media broadcasters. They advertise these fast moving food and drinks such as, coca cola and alcoholic beverages that advertised during the games like football (Kobayashi, 2012). Most people especially those in urban areas have embraced the new diet, but the peasant farmers have been on loss as their products do not sell. According to Kobayashi (2012), several policy makers have done research on the effect of globalization on India diet and economy at large, and the result found a negative impact. The native government is looking into preventing advertisement on fast moving food sitting various health implications.
Various non-Western cultures have gone through globalization as also witnessed in Japan. Looking at the Religion in Japan, there was no mythology but a scanty explanation of any other world (David, 2010). However, the tale of Izanagi-no-Mikoto who visited Yomi (Hades) gives beat of promises prosperity. The mythology of Shinto argued that, things begin when immature and not perfect; later on, they grow better with time provided the gods’ protection continued to exist. They performed Shinto rituals and rites throughout Japan in solidarity (David, 2010). Even with globalization the traditions still exist but with some difference. The nation would perform rites to the gods in the ancient days. Japanese used to do this in a central place in Japan from the prehistoric times. Effect of globalization on religion in Japan began when the catholic priest came to Japan. The arrival of catholic fathers in Japan in 16th century advanced the Confucianism by Sorai (David, 2010). They came as missionaries and facilitated education. As per David (2010), the missionaries got interested in the study of Buddhism, and the study done by Nakamoto Tominga between 1715 and 1746 received scholarship appreciations. Japan continued to receive stimulations from western countries via Nagasaki and Hirado. Scholarly work did so well this period of Edo that made it easy to translate much western term into Japan in the Meiji period (Bachika, 2008). The main reason that might have led to this was the rapid modernizing process in Japan. After World War II resulted to decline in agriculture and visiting people (Bachika, 2008). By the end of 1955, school attendance rose to a constant 99.9 percent (Bachika, 2008). So many western people saw this and got interest to join Japan, and as people were walking in religion came along; having succeeded in bringing formal education in Japan it was also easy for them to influence their religion.
The influence on Japans’ religion by globalization was to modernize the then underdeveloped Japan. According to David (2010), large followers of the new religion rose during the modernization time of Japan. Since they knew they would be alienated and would to their suffering from the economic hardship of the post-world war II, the SokaGakkai grew up from a handful followers in 1951 to eight million around 1980 (Bachika, 2008). People decided to embrace a new way of worship. Globalised and civilized way of worship began in Japan, and most native members supported the new way religion.
Consumption of rice has taken a center stage in the Japanese food culture for the past 2000 years and more. People would serve rice with vegetable and marine products in the ancient days before the idea of globalization (David, 2010). Serving of rice had existed for quite a long period before Japan opened for the West. Japan has since developed a variety of food culture with some foreign food adapted to taste as Japanese food while others came from western countries. Buddhist religion did away with flesh food leaving vegetarian style known as shojinryori, popularized by the Zen. According to David (2010), the currently known sushi was residential in Edo, currently as Tokyo. The change in Japan food culture started in the mid-16th century when the European missionaries arrived (David, 2010). The arrival of western culture in Japan brought the idea of meat eating, which is currently part of Japanese food, sukiyaki. The other popular native food developed during this time is tonkatsu, deeply fried breaded pork. According to David (176), globalization has led a variety of food stocked in various supermarkets except in the rural areas. The number of food variety and the customers who eat the food increased that led to food importation by Japan for a number of years. Cooking in Japan is currently on TV programs.
Effect of globalization on the native non-Western culture of Japan on food was because of direct contact. It started when Europeans went to Japan to exploit the new and potential market in Japan in the ancient days. Most of them carried their food with them, which later on became part of the Japan food. Native society was very happy about the newly adopted types of food.
References
Bachika, R. (2008). New Era in Traditional Religious Culture. Transaction Publishers.
David, L. (2010). A Buddhist History of the West: Studies in Lack. New York, University Press.
Kobayashi, M. (2012). Outsourcing to India: The Offshore Advantage. Berlin, Springer Press
