How Chinese & Japanese Cultures Influenced Each Other Through History
Why do Chinese and Japanese cultures look so similar? This is the history of how the two cultures influenced each other.
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May 17, 2025
"Harmony in Every Heartbeat
Why do Chinese and Japanese cultures look so similar? This is the history of how the two cultures influenced each other.
source
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日本が中国から膨大な文化と技術を得たことを否定する日本人はいない。
むしろ日本人ほど中国文化に魅了され、それを受け入れた民族がいるだろうか？これは中華文明に対してだけでなく、日本は優れた文明からの文化吸収は簡単に為す傾向がある。それは近現代では西洋文明のことであり、今私がiPhoneで漢字を使いながらYoutubeにコメントしている理由である。
ORHHHH WE WUZ CHINESE ‘N SHEEEEEEEEEEEIIII
China to Japan is like British to USA
满清不是中国，中国是汉人主导的国家，满清使先进的中国退化为原始人
No similarities japs borrowed Chinese script
中国:文明発祥の地で大帝国
日本:文化と技術が優れてる
これに順位をつける人は語った頭の持ち主だ。
これを尊重できないのあればイタリアとギリシも尊重できないはずだ。
Just FACTS for record, Japanese and Korean only start influencing Chinese in recent west colonial age, because modern Chinese view them as a successful case of westernize modernization and they have a thing or two worthy to learn from, and China influence Japanese and Korean thought out the last 2000 years long, no offence, just plain facts! And by the way, Korean and Japanese count as civilized way way later than Qin Dynasty, that because there is migration from mainland China to those places.
China and Japan didn't Influence each other, only one way, China influenced Japan.
韩国就不一样了，在我们成长的经历中，只有在2000年左右受到了韩国娱乐文化非常强烈的影响，男男女女都以韩式风格为潮流。当然韩国在娱乐方面的确做的很出色，现在全球也是很重要的一个符号。其他方面韩国在我们的感受中存在感很弱。在网上时不时能看到大家熟知的韩式拿来主义，通过朝鲜半岛历史变迁似乎可以窥探到韩国人形成现在的国家性格的原因。作为相同文化圈的中国人，认同但不太亲近韩国人，似乎是一种共识。
作为一个出生于80年代的中国人，从小深受日本动漫文化文化的影响，尤其是在各种动漫中能深刻感受到日本融合中华文化的各种影响，比如《一休哥》《机器猫》《龙珠》等等（向我最喜欢的鸟山明老师致敬），感觉中日只是一种文化下的不同地域生活的人群。 s也伴随着日本侵华战争的各种残暴行径的课本教育，但那个年代中日之间非常友好，对于我们这个年龄的人来说能分得清政治、国家、文化和人民之间不同层面的站位和认知。 所以喜欢日本文化，非常向往去日本旅行。
Should also have korean in this aswell
紀元前500年ごろ、呉国の避難民が亡命して作ったのが日本。
In my country we call chinese to anyone who looks asian. they have to demostrate that they are something else, but by defect all is China. they are the most important, old, and beautiful nation in that part of the globe.
Thank you for an interesting video. As a Japanese, it is difficult to recognize Chinese names without seeing Chinese Characters. For example, we say Shu Onrai instead of Zhou Enlai to mean 周恩来. Zhang Fei (張飛) is called Cho Hi in Japan.
Chinese myself, when I travel to Japan,I never had the feeling of strangeness while I travel to Western country that occurred.
Japan is basically China's tang dynasty culture, while China lost its Tang dynasty traditional, and become more Qing dynasty towards.
Japan is an island and they have a strong influence on the World China and Korea is connected to the continent more so what do you expect
2025?
Even Asian couldn’t tell the other Asian whether Chinese or Japanese or Korean. The truth is many of these Korean Japanese Thai Vietnamese or even Indonesia has a trace of Han Chinese DNA
is this a J O K E, im CCP to understand.
Tbf we all turned to weebs, so no exceptions there.😂
中国在古代影响日本多，日本在近代影响中国多，这句话中国人 日本人都承认吧
East Asia and South East Asia are both Sinosphere and Indosphere
我希望中日韩能够摆脱曾经的恩怨团结起来，像欧盟一样共同强大！
中国、日本、韓国が過去の不満を捨て、団結して欧州連合と同じくらい強くなることを願っています。
중국, 일본, 한국이 과거의 원한을 버리고 단결하여 유럽연합만큼 강해지길 바랍니다!
I hope that China, Japan and South Korea can put aside their past grievances and unite to become stronger together like the European Union!
Shun Oguri in " Crow Zero "
Asia is united in someway
ONE IS HUMBLE AND THE OTHER IS COCKY AS CRAP.
I think when most people ask this question, it's not to be rude or hateful. It's the same way we Americans ask each other what of the south, north, or west we are from. Whenever I meet a person of Asian descent, I just ask what region of Asia they are from so that way so it's not rude or hateful.
China and Japan are distancing from each other culturally mentally, Japan is teaching new generation the war never happened and China are teaching them to hate Japanese
“Why do father and his son look so much alike?”🤣
As a Native Mexican American, I’ve always wondered if asians saw eachother the way I see puertoricans and equadorians and the rest of the sister american races. Its so different to me but I feel like it’s a similarity we have. We’re all Native American with a bit of something else.
Japanese and Chinese cultures may appear similar at first glance, but this is due to the genetic and geographic proximity of the two countries. The cultural distance between Japan and China is comparable to that between Italy and Russia in Europe, or perhaps even greater. Japan sent envoys to Tang China from 634 to around 830 CE to learn from the world's most advanced civilization at the time. However, there were no significant cultural exchanges after this period, and Japan independently developed its culture. This is why Japan was able to reduce China's influence in East Asia and cultivate a unique cultural identity.
In contrast, Vietnam and Korea are more Chinese-influenced and have less cultural independence compared to Japan.
Major Cultural Differences Between Japan and China
Tatami Culture
Tatami mats are a unique cultural element originating in Japan. While China, Korea, and Vietnam have chair-based seating cultures, Japan is the only East Asian country with a floor-seating tatami culture. The shoji (sliding paper doors), also originating in Japan, further emphasize Japan’s distinct identity.
Samurai Armor
The armors of China, Korea, and Mongolia are similar, but Japan's samurai armor is clearly unique. The prototype of samurai armor was completed even before Japan began sending envoys to Tang China, demonstrating Japan's cultural independence.
Rejection of the Imperial Examination System
While the imperial examination system (科挙) was implemented in all other East Asian countries to select officials, Japan did not adopt this system. Instead, Japan implemented a feudal system, which was only seen in Japan and Europe globally, highlighting Japan’s distinctiveness.
Curved Sword Culture
Japan is the only East Asian country with a curved sword tradition. The katana, with its unique curvature and production techniques, was exclusively developed in Japan and not found in China, Korea, or Vietnam.
Fans (Sensu)
Folding fans (sensu) originated in Japan but are often mistakenly believed to be of Chinese origin.
Kimono
The kimono is a uniquely Japanese garment. While the term “gofuku” (呉服) refers to fabrics from Wu (ancient China), it does not mean that the kimono itself originated in China. The kimono, as we know it today, emerged over 1,000 years after the fall of Wu. Those claiming that the kimono is Chinese in origin should examine the clothing of Japanese nobles during the Heian period, which is distinctly Japanese and not Chinese at all. This is because the predecessor of the kimono was the costume of aristocrats from the Heian period.
Japan’s Emperor Tradition
Japan is the only East Asian country other than China that calls its monarch the "emperor." In 607 AD, Japan sent a letter to the Emperor of China, calling Japan the "Land of the Rising Sun" and China the "Land of the Setting Sun," which infuriated the Chinese court.
The Sengoku Period
Japan's Sengoku period involved conflicts with manpower and scale comparable to continental wars, with battles often involving tens or hundreds of thousands of soldiers.
Population and National Strength
Japan has consistently been one of the most populous nations in history, often ranking in the world’s top 5. During the 16th century, Japan sent 160,000 troops across the sea to invade Korea twice and produced more firearms than the entirety of Europe.
Religious Uniqueness
Japan debated whether to accept Buddhism, a foreign religion, over its indigenous Shinto beliefs.
Ultimately, Buddhism was accepted, and it merged with Shinto to create a unique tradition known as “Shinbutsu-shūgō” (神仏習合).
This fusion became so pervasive that during the Meiji era, the government issued the Shinbutsu Separation Decree (神仏分離令) to distinguish Shinto from Buddhism, as part of its nationalist agenda to elevate Shinto.
Shrines and Temples
Japan uniquely has two types of religious structures: Shinto shrines (神社) and Buddhist temples (寺).
Shinto shrines, with their iconic torii gates and shimenawa ropes, are emblematic of Japanese culture.
From tatami mats and shoji to samurai armor, the rejection of the imperial examination, and the development of unique religious traditions, Japan has undeniably developed a culture that is distinct from China and other East Asian countries. The evidence presented here highlights Japan's evolution as an independent and culturally rich nation. 🗾⛩🎌
During the Jomon era, the Japanese were people who did not have a very ancient cultural identity. On the other hand, China already had civilization, currency, writing, legal systems and so on. Then the Yayoi people, mostly from North China and Korea, came to Japan bringing technology and culture from China. That's why Japanese and Chinese culture have many similarities. Now in Japan, they are a mixture of Jomon and Yayoi. Everything is mixed together.