It is difficult to sum up the Japanese cultural script in five to seven pages, but due to a number of special circumstances, it is almost possible. First of all, Japan is a relatively small country with a relatively homogenous population. All government, education, entertainment, and artistic affairs are rather centralized in the capital of Tokyo. This makes for a somewhat common experience among the Japanese people.
The Japanese experience starts at birth when a child is born into a Japanese family. One point worth noting is that a child born in Japan is not necessarily Japanese unless the parents of the child are Japanese. Therefore, every year many parents of Korean descent who have lived in Japan all of their lives give birth to babies in Japan who are still considered Korean. At any rate, a Japanese child is most likely born of parents with Japanese blood, and so the experience of Japanese life begins.
Being the most basic of cultures that a person encounters, the family culture has a great influence. Japanese families almost always consist of two parents despite a recent climb in divorces. However, typically the father plays a less important role in the life of the child. Traditionally the father was the bread-winner of the family and was allowed much leeway in what he did in order to make ends meet. Many fathers become absorbed in their work, perhaps through love for their family, and even socialize after work with clients in order to broaden their career potential. This leaves the young child at home to learn from the mother or a day care worker.
Children learn the basics of manners and rules of society from their family. Many Japanese families are still rather strict about teaching their children to use chopsticks with the right form and the right hand. Other families have become rather open, perhaps through past experience or influences from abroad, and therefore promote a more free feeling among the family members. The difference can be seen in the level of speech. Some children are required to use the politest of speech when talking to the parents. Other households reserve such formal words for successful doctors or for sarcastic jokes. At any rate the young Japanese child learns a lot from the family and retains this unique culture throughout life.
The next general group that a Japanese person enters is school. Japanese primary schools have a unique culture that is rather constant throughout Japan. Children are taught to be quiet, to respect elders, and to do lots of work. By the time a student enters junior high school, he or she is already ahead of students in most developed nations in math as well as science. However, this does not say much for the creative development of the students. Most school work emphasizes rote learning over individual thought. This contributes to the stereotypical Japanese script of quiet, obedient people who can make lots but create little.
It is also in school that children are taught about the national culture. The Japanese education system is very centralized through the Ministry of Education in Tokyo. Students are taught a somewhat slanted history of their country and ancestors. More importantly, perhaps, is the nation that Japanese people learn about from the mass communication in Japan. Television and newspapers are generally centered in Tokyo and serve up their own version of Japanese culture. There are many articles and TV shows which like to discuss what it means to be Japanese. Many popular writers have almost recreated a Japan that never was. Through such reports, sophisticated studies, and personal reflections of the past, Japanese intellectuals are slowly recreating a traditional Japanese culture. It is very important to many Japanese people to maintain a distinctive culture in Japan as many outside influences threaten to homogenize the world. However, when people rediscover fascinating Japanese traits, one has to wonder if they are not creating them anew for the first time.
The same can be said for regional culture. It is evident that there are differences in the style of speech and human interaction depending on the region within Japan. However, to the outsider, it often seems like the media itself is creating such uniqueness. Japanese people seem to be very easily influenced by the topic of the day or last night's TV report. For example, if it is said that Chiba prefecture is famous for delicious ramen noodles, then everyone suddenly believes that Chiba's ramen is great. Many television shows like to feature especially "famous" hot springs or restaurants. Without fail the reporter always proclaims that the food is great and the scenery is beautiful. One has to wonder if this is a very accurate way of deciding whose ramen is good and which hot spring is hot.
At any rate, the Japanese script is highly influenced by the mass communications of the modern age. At some point in the child's life, television and comic books replace the family as the primary source of information and cultural learning. Considering the abundance of programs and printed media, it is difficult to sum up the culture of the press, so at this point children already begin to choose their own scripts.
Another area in which children are rather free to choose a culture, is friendships. The average Japanese person has many close friends from each level of school. Because many students commute to different places for different schools, there are elementary school friends, junior high, and high school friends. Those who go on to college often retain these past groups of friends throughout life and are highly shaped by relations between friends. These groups are comfortable because the people have shared similar backgrounds and are able to give each other advice about life, or just offer an ear when there is trouble.
As a Japanese person enters college, he or she makes the switch from a full time student to a more balanced life of study, socializing, and working. Arguably the most important part of college life is the college club. Many students seldom attend classes in college, but commute to school solely to socialize with their club friends. This socialization varies by club, but almost any club has more than a few drinking parties each semester. This ritual is marked by a pilgrimage to a local pub for a night of drinking and socializing. Japanese people are taught that they cannot socialize freely without the help of alcohol, but after a few drinks people are able to "loosen up" and enjoy a more open conversation. However, these conversations seldom touch on the meaning of life or the problems of the world. Friends prefer to agree with each other about the fine cartoons of their childhood rather than argue about the solution to the social security crisis in Japan.
Another thing that Japanese people learn from these club cultures is the ability to enjoy recreation. Until recently it was important to work as hard as possible for sic days and sleep all day on Sunday. However, due to criticism from outside of Japan, as well as a lazier young generation, the word leisure has become very popular. However, the Japanese word is a little different from its English equivalent. For Japanese people, it seems that one cannot enjoy sports or nature alone. One must first join a club, or form a group of friends with whom to enjoy the activity. Then the proper gear must be purchased before starting. Finally, the group goes, in rather orderly fashion, to enjoy their new recreation. For many foreigners in Japan, this rigid leisure time can prove to be frustrating compared to the solitary evening jog through the forest that many Westerners see as recreation.
Up to this point in life, the Japanese script is not so different from one person to the next. Almost all people continue to some form of higher education where they join some clubs and meet some friends. However, upon finding a job, the scripts for women and men quickly diverge.
Despite laws prohibiting discrimination, men and women still find themselves in very different positions when it comes to work. Traditionally, the Japanese female script included only a few years of work followed by a full time career as a housewife. Women were very influential in raising the children, running the household, and taking care of finances. However, due to financial constraints as well as "Westernization", the female script has changed to include nearly a lifetime of employment. This does not, however, mean the same thing as the male lifetime employment. Women are generally put into a "C" class of workers who are given lower pay, fewer promotions, and less meaningful work. They are not invited to the all important after-work socializing. They are simply seen as a convenient tool for upper management.
For men, however, the start of a career can be very exciting. For successful men, the career can mean the beginning of many opportunities. The company becomes a whole new family with its own culture to be mastered. The company soon takes precedence over most other cultures in the male script and may continue to be the main influence even after marriage.
Before discussing marriage, there is one more interesting point that is common in the Japanese script: Japanese language. Foreigners learning Japanese language must not only remember new words and grammatical rules, but also a particular culture that goes along with the language. There are many levels of formal and informal speech that are used depending on the status of the person with whom one is speaking. There are many set phrases that must be repeated upon meeting someone or for apologizing. Furthermore, there are many differences in the style of speech between men and women. Generally women are expected to speak more politely and use more "feminine sounding" speech. Men on the other hand are encouraged to speak more roughly and are given the choice of many words just to express the word "I."
This language difference leads to many interesting effects in the institution of marriage. Since nearly all Japanese people marry, this is another part of the common Japanese script. However, the culture of marriage has undergone many changes over the past decades. Traditionally marriages were arranged in Japan to fulfill economic or political needs. More recently marriage is based more on the individual will of the two people involved. However, marriage is still seen in an almost utilitarian manner. People get married because people get married. People stay married because they have kids. In many other countries, people marry out of pure love or lust and quickly separate, regardless of children, when this love dies. Like many other things in Japan, people are able to put up with a spouse for whom they no longer care.
One characteristic that runs throughout the Japanese script is the ability to endure difficult situations in school, work, and marriage. This is seen by many outsiders as a very desirable trait. Japanese people are taught from the beginning to work very hard even when they are personally drained. Creativity is put second to productivity which leads to a hardworking people but not a very inventive spirit. This can be very convenient from an economic perspective, but one has to wonder if a "Work hard, but don't ask why" attitude is really a good motto for a country.
Another common characteristic is the importance of groups. Because of the clear distinctions between insiders and outsiders, it is very important that people belong to many groups. One must join a club rather than enjoy leisure alone. At work, one must socialize to create a closeness between coworkers as well as clients. On television one sees many talk shows with groups of interviewers, but seldom a one-man gig. Because it is not popular to voice personal opinions, it is better to form a group consensus. Furthermore, people prize the connections that they make through groups and are able to rely on these established relationships to improve their personal selves.
Aside from these common generalizations there are many traits that one could propose as common throughout the Japanese script. However, I will not venture any further. Even within the above outline, there are many exceptions to the rule in Japan. For instance, one could say that Japanese people do not really work hard, but must look like they are working hard. Furthermore, in addition to the cultures listed above, there are distinct ideas about religion, money, travel, death, etcetera that run throughout the Japanese script. This is only an outline of the basic script that makes up the people known as the Japanese.