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Samurai were a class of highly skilled warriors that arose in Japan after the Taika reforms which included land redistribution and heavy new taxes meant to support a Chinese-style empire. As technology became more advanced samurais became irrelevant.

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From “karate” to “karaoke”, from “adzuki beans” to “Zen Buddhism”, Japanese language has been exporting oriental traditions to the Western culture for decades.More than 130 million people speak Japanese, making it the ninth most widely spoken language in the world.

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Shinto and Buddhism are Japan's two major religions. Shinto is as old as the Japanese culture, while Buddhism was imported from the mainland. Since then, the two religions have been co-existing relatively harmoniously Most Japanese consider themselves Buddhist, Shintoist or both.

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There are countless local festivals (matsuri) in Japan because almost every shrine celebrates one of its own. Most festivals are held annually and celebrate the shrine's deity. An important element of Japanese festivals are processions, in which the local shrine's kami (Shinto deity) is carried through the town in mikoshi (palanquins).

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Japanese cuisine has been influenced by the food customs of other nations, but has adopted and refined them to create its own unique cooking style and eating habits. The first foreign influence on Japan was China around 300 B.C. , when the Japanese learned to cultivate rice. The use of chopsticks and the consumption of soy sauce and soybean curd (tofu) also came from China.