Comparative study of Indo-Japanese cultural traits with special reference to Golu and Hinamatsuri doll displays

We students of Velammal NewGen Schools, Chennai, hereby present the Comparative study of the cultural traits of India and Japan with specific reference to the Golu and Hinamatsuri doll displays. Our schools had the displays of Golu and Hinamatsuri ,one beside the other, during the second week of October 2018,which made us draw parallels and do this comparative study. On behalf of the management, staff and students of Velammal, we would like to thank the Culture and Information section of the Consulate of Japan and ABK AOTS Dosakai for the support.

We students did a mini research and these are the findings.

Worship and greeting style-

Many traits of worship in Japan and India are similar. The cultural traits like folding hands together in front of god, kneeling before god, bending to certain degrees in front of God, going inside Otera (temple) in white and saffron garments and without slippers, burning incense sticks in front of temple and god, washing water before going to temple are similar in both India and Japan.When it comes to writing wishes and tying them in one place in the temple premises , ringing bell in front of shrine, gathering of large number of people on special occasions like festivals,it is the same in both the nations. Even the situation of most of the shrines on high places especially on mountains or hills in Japan is similar to Indian Hindu temples, as most of the ancient Hindu temples are also situated on hills and mountains.

The Japanese style of greeting is very similar to Indian way of greeting. Indians greet to each other with ‘Namastey’ and other greeting words with bending some angle of their body. Japanese also greet with words like ‘Konnichiwa’ with body bending at some angle.

Doll's festival-

The cultural traits of the doll festival in India and Japan are very similar

In both the nations it is displayed in a step wise sequence on a traditional wooden doll's stand with a white or red cloth spread on the tiers. In both the countries it is meant for the girls and women folk. The dolls are a family heirloom and it is passed over to the next generation. There is a particular order for arranging the dolls in both the traditions for example Golu has goddesses Durga,Lakshmi and Saraswathi on the top tier whereas HinaMatsuri has the emperor and empress in the top tier. Both the traditions have songs and dances, may it be the Hinamatsuri song or the various songs about the goddesses sung during Golu. Special food dishes are prepared during the occasion in both the nations and bonding with family and friends do happen during both of these celebrations. Both look colorful and both bring a happy feeling to the households.

The term global village views the world as a community in which distance is shrunk by electronic media like the TV and the Internet.The world has shrunk and let cultural exchange programs like this promote a harmonious relationship between India and Japan for the benefit of the student community of both the nations.