The country in which I want to live

When asked whence they derive their pride in their country, the Japanese

people always commend its natural beauty, its law and order, and its

long history and traditions. Their lifestyle is close to my ideal. The

Japanese identity is rooted in Japanese culture.

When we use the word culture, we are usually referring to art,

entertainment, scholarship, and cultural artifacts such as the tea

ceremony, Noh theater, Kabuki, museums, art galleries, concerts,

lectures, festivals, and similar activities. Of course, all these fall

under the rubric of culture. If we take plants as an analogy, however,

this is equivalent to looking only at the flowers and ignoring the

leaves, stems, roots, soil, and other elements that support them.

Japanese culture is not simply a matter of the activities associated

with the "flowers" in our...