Sixty traditional folk events halted in rural Japan due to depopulation, aging

The Japan Times

January 13, 2017 | Unit 4: Culture

Synopsis

In Japan, 60 traditional folk events, that celebrate the folk culture of the country, have been put on halt. This is due to the population of the country growing older. The younger population of Japanese have migrated from the rural countryside to the big cities. Because of this, not many young people populate Japan's rural areas. This has resulted in these folk culture events being halted because the older population is not capable of  organizing the events on their own. Different communities are attempting to ensure that Japanese folk culture stays alive by trying to teach children about it in school.

Analysis

This news story ties in two of the units we learned this year, and briefly refers to another one we did. This news story shows how the aging of a population actually does have an effect on the country. In this case, Japan's folk culture events have been halted because there are not enough people to help support these events. The article discusses how the younger population has migrated from the rural areas of Japan into the large cities, for what can be inferred to be an increase in job opportunities. It was also interesting to see that the Japanese are still trying to ensure that their folk culture is not completely destroyed, by having the children be taught in school about their culture. This article relates to human geography because it discusses how a graying population is affecting Japan's celebration of its folk culture.

Hungarian Australians gather in Sydney to celebrate cultural festival

ABC

January 6, 2017 | Unit 4: Culture

Synopsis

In Australia, 500 members of the Hungarian community are gathering for the Hungarian Cultural Festival. This event takes place every four years. Included in the event is the folk culture, and in particular the folk dance. The dances are very complex and reflect what the Hungarian's ancestors had been doing for a long time. In addition, there are many other customs that are practiced at the event. However, the older generation is worried, as the younger generation are not as interested in their heritage of being Hungarian. 

Analysis

Throughout the world, places will have many gatherings of different backgrounds of people. Even Stamford has many gatherings for the certain backgrounds of its citizens. This article was interesting because I was not aware that there were about 80,000 Hungarians who lived in Australia. In addition, it was interesting to learn about the customs that were practiced at this gathering, in particular the folk culture involved, such as dance. It reminded me of the Irish dancing that I do and that I take part in as my background being Irish. This article relates to human geography because it describes how a certain ethnic group is gathering to celebrate its culture.