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Capital: Tokyo
Currency: Yen
Language: Nippongo
Nat’l Anthem: Kimigayo “The Reign of our Emperor”
Geography
The Japanese call their nation Nippon meaning “Land of the Rising Sun”.
Nippon came from the word Jihpen which means “Sun origin”. There are four
main islands: Honshu (the largest), Hokkaido, Shikoku, and Kyushu. These
islands form a curving line between 30 degree and 45 degree north latitude.
Climate is humid subtropical in south and humid continental in north. There are
60 active volcanoes, Japan’s most famous volcano and highest mountain is Mt.
Fuji. Japan lies within the seismic belt of the Pacific. About 2,000 earthquakes
shake the country each year. The chief ports are Osaka, Yokohama, and
Kobe.
The Japanese
The Ainus (human), originally inhabited Japan, later the Mongolians from
the north and Malays from the south pushed Ainus to Hokkaido. Out of this
blending of Ainus, Mongolians and Malays came the Japanese race. They are
polite, dignified, clean, industrious, disciplined and highly nationalistic.
Economy
Rice is the most important food product. Potatoes, barley, beans, peas,
tea, vegetables & fruits also produce. Japan is rich with coal, crude oil, gold,
copper, iron ore and sulphur. The energy supply is Tokaimura, the first nuclear
power station. Cars, appliances, cameras, televisions and electronic goods
flooded the market all over the world.
Religion
History
During Heian era, the Golden Era of Japan, the capital was moved to
Kyoto.
Lady Murasaki Shikibu, the greatest Japanese woman novelist wrote the first
world novel entitled “The Tale of Genji, the Shining Prince and His Many
Romances”.
Japan was nearly dominated by the warrior class: samurai, shogun, and
military cliques. Imperial rule was ended, eventually the Shogunate rose to
power. The three great shogunate of Japan was Kamakura Shogunate,
Ashikaga Shogunate, and Tokugawa Shoguante. This started the feudal
system in Japan until the time of the Kamakura shogunate.
During Meiji Era under Emperor Mutsuhito, imperial rule was restored.
He chose Meiji(Enlightened) as his imperial name on 1868. The reorganization
of the government based on the 1889 Constitution written by Hirobumi
Ito is one of the achievements of this era.
World War I: Japan entered World War I and declared war on the Central Powers.
The Japanese government received an official request from the British
government for assistance in destroying the German raiders of the Kaiserliche
Marine in and around Chinese waters.