I am reading the classic (albeit now outdated) textbook the Chrysanthemum and the sword, written by Ruth Benedict in 1944 to explain to Americans that their Japanese enemies didn't see things or think the same as Americans, and that they needed to understand the culture. Book can be downloaded from internet archive.
But yesterday, Kuya mentioned some of the Japanese looked more Caucasian than Asian, and I pointed out that it isn't caucasian but Ainu and similar indigenous peoples who in the distant past may have intermarried...
Japan is seen as a monolithic culture by the west, but actually their ancestry is a bit complicated.
.. I was familiar with the Ainu, who still live in the extreme north of Japan and in nearby Russian claimed islands:
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but I was not familiar with the Emishi. Wikipedia article goes into the group and the history, with the controversies about the group.
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If you haven't seen Princess Mononoke, you might want to rent it.
this explains the historical background of the fictional film, along with references to Japanese folklore.
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