Pop Century: Japan's Cultural Hotspot in the 1980s and US Interest

This report examines Japan's emergence as a cultural hotspot in the 1980s, exploring its significant impact on the United States. The paper delves into the manifestations of Japanese pop culture, including its influence on fashion, music, cinema, television, anime, and manga. It analyzes how Japan's unique cultural identity, shaped by both traditional roots and post-war influences, captivated the US audience. The report highlights key aspects such as street fashion, the rise of anime and manga, and the impact of Japanese cinema and music, providing a comprehensive overview of the cultural exchange and fascination between Japan and the United States during this era. The study emphasizes how Japan's cultural innovations, particularly in entertainment and fashion, became a source of inspiration and fascination, shaping trends and influencing the cultural landscape in the US. The report also touches upon the historical context, including the influence of American media and the localization of cultural trends in Japan.

Running head: POP CENTURY
Pop Century
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Japanese pop culture is one of the most critical parts of the history of the country. It is
also regarded as the cultural hotspot that appeared in the 1980s. This culture had progressed
through the different mediums like television, movies, cinema and many other forms (Kinsella,
2015). The growth of the pop culture in this country was an inspiring factor for the United States
in many ways. The manifestation of the pop culture of Japan could be seen through its fashion as
well.
The popular cultural scenario had developed in Japan centering round the cinemas,
television shows, Japanese cuisine, manga, video games, anime, music and other things. This is
why the cultural development in Japan is something to cherish about (Craig, 2015). This cultural
growth is definitely the influence of its great artists who thrived during that period. All these
forms of culture had been developed by retaining all the classical older tradition of the country.
The rich traditions of the country are being reflected in this context. The literary traditions of the
country are also very rich as well (Kinsella, 2015). This is why the country has thrived as one of
the cultural capitals in the Asian continent. The popular cultures of Japan might be termed as the
source of entertainment for the Japanese people. On the other hand, all these popular cultures are
the unique identifiers of the Japanese uniqueness. These cultural forms have differentiated Japan
from the other countries of the country (Iwabuchi, 2015). The themes and forms of different
types of Japanese culture can definitely be found in the traditional forms of art as well. This is
why critics believe that the traditional materials of the Japanese culture are quite influenced by
their older art forms (Poitras, 2014). The Japanese industry of cinema and music is a huge one
and it has definite connections with the outside world as well (Buntrock, 2014). Still it can be
said that the comic book industry of Japan is one of its richest During the 1980s, some of the
very popular cultural destinations are bowling alleys, game centers, karaoke parlors and many

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other places. Thus it is quite sure that the Japanese culture is truly a mixture of all sorts of things.
These places are regarded as places for hanging out for the teenage children in the country.
The United States had occupied Japan till 1952. They destroyed two of the most
significant cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki by their atomic bombing during the Second World
War. Since then, the popular culture and traditions of Japan had been very deeply influenced by
United States of America (Poitras, 2014). The role of the American media is thus very clear in
this scenario. After United States officials had left Japan, they were not dominated by the
products made in America. On the contrary, they went on to localize all these influences so they
could gain the advantages (Buruma, 2015). All these influences had been put into use to develop
their media. Thus, Japan showed the world to grow their own products in culture as well. This
was quite unique during those times.
Thus, the cultural traditions in Japan during the 1908s have made it as one of the most
influential cultures in the world. The first of the influences could be felt in the fashion industry.
This was due to the fact that the Japanese fashion industry had surpassed the Western fashion
during the middle of the 19th century (Buruma, 2015). This fact proved to be more effective in
the 1980s. The introduction of the street fashion has been very much evident in Japan during
those days. This is still a very popular thing in the country as well. Young people of urban
fashion districts like Harajuku, Shinjuku and Shibuya still wear the subculture attires even now.
The influence of films can still be seen in these times as well. Some of the very popular film
genres in the global culture originating from Japan are Jidaigeki, Ninja fiction, Kaiju, Samurai
cinemas, Anime films and others have developed in the 1980s. The Pokemon franchise has been
very much popular in the recent times (Buntrock, 2014). The God of Comics was Osamu Tezuka

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who lived till 1989 in Japan. The anime stories began to flourish and influence the Western
world from 1908s.
On a concluding note, it can be stated that the growth of the popular Japanese culture is a
reflection of the American media in a large part. The rise of the comic book industry was surely
one of a kind in the global culture. Music industry and cinemas also contributed to this as well in
a huge manner.

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References List
Buntrock, D. (2014). Japanese architecture as a collaborative process: opportunities in a
flexible construction culture. Taylor & Francis.
Buruma, I. (2015). A Japanese mirror: Heroes and villains of Japanese culture. Atlantic Books
Ltd.
Craig, T. J. (2015). Japan Pop: Inside the World of Japanese Popular Culture: Inside the World
of Japanese Popular Culture. Routledge.
Iwabuchi, K. (2015). Pop-culture diplomacy in Japan: soft power, nation branding and the
question of ‘international cultural exchange’. International Journal of Cultural
Policy, 21(4), 419-432.
Kinsella, S. (2015). Adult manga: Culture and power in contemporary Japanese society.
Routledge.
Poitras, G. (2014). Contemporary anime in Japanese pop culture. In Japanese Visual Culture (pp.
60-79). Routledge.