Japanese popular culture has a unique aesthetic, and is completely modern as befits a wealthy industrial society. Comics, known as manga, and cartoons, known as anime are two of the more immediately recognizable elements of Japanese popular culture. Both are long-established entertainment forms in Japan and cover all genres of fiction, not just the children's genre. Indeed, some anime and manga are exceptionally graphic and brutally violent. Whereas manga and anime

Japan: Modern? The word "modernize" is defined in the American Heritage Dictionary as: to make modern in appearance, style or character; to accept or adopt modern ways, ideas or style. If we utilize this definition to explain modernization, we can assume that the term refers to the application of such an action in a particular instance. At any given point in time, "modern" pertains to the latest developments in the area

Surprisingly, BDD, which is often a precursor to or comorbid symptom of eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia nervosa, is nearly as common among young men as women. This indicates that the onslaught and idolization of media images of "gorgeous" men in America is also having a negative effect on boys' sexual self-images. (da Costa, Nelson, Rudes, & Guterman, 2007) Narrowing the focus down to American women and their

The identity of a Geisha, and the origins of the profession has a great deal more to do with performance and skills in such than in any other aspect of the trade. (1) Okada, Mariko. "Prolegomenon to Geisha as a Cultural Performer: Miyako Odori, The Gion School and Representation of a Traditional" Japan." 2003. http://dspace.wul.waseda.ac.jp/dspace/bitstream/2065/26765/1/034.pdf (accessed July 10, 2010) p. 223. (2) Ibid. p. 224. (3) Ibid. p. 223. (4) Ibid. (5) Graham-Diaz, Naomi. Immortal Geisha History

Exoticism in 19th & 20th Century Opera Exoticism in 19th and 20th Century Opera Exoticism was a cultural invention of the 17th Century, enjoying resurgence in the 19th and 20th Centuries due to increased travel and trade by Europeans in foreign, intriguing continents. The "West," eventually including the United States, adapted and recreated elements of those alluring cultures according to Western bias, creating escapist art forms that blended fantasy with reality. Two

...these designers placed great significance on clothing inherited from the past, including Japanese farmers' clothes designed through necessity and adapted dyed textile and quilting from ancient Japan, which Japanese would not consider fashionable. These designers presented them to the fashion world, gave the opportunity for 'the neglected' to make their existence known, and transformed them into 'fashion'."(Kawamura, 2004, 125) Kawakubo, Miyake and Yamamoto are considered as the designers who made these