Japan is a country marked by contrast between old & new. The country values its complex & ancient cultural tradition. Yet life in modern Japan is increasingly focused on cities & modern technology. In the second half of the 20th century, Japan emerged as one of the world's most economically & technologically advanced societies.
Japan is located off the east coast of Asia. The country consists of a string of four large isl&s & more than 3,900 smaller isl&s. From north to south, the main isl&s are Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, & Kyushu. The largest is Honshu, which is regarded as the Japanese mainl&. The Ryukyu Isl&s, including Okinawa, arc to the south & west of Kyushu. Tokyo, on Honshu, is the capital & one of the world's largest cities.
The isl&s of Japan form an arc that stretches about 1,500 miles (2,400 kilometers) from northeast to southwest. Japan has no l& border with any other country. The open waters of the Pacific Ocean border Japan's eastern & southeastern shores. China is to the southwest, across the East China Sea. North & South Korea are to the west, across the Sea of Japan. Russia lies across the Sea of Japan to the northwest & the Sea of Okhotsk to the north.
Japan has a total l& area of 145,883 square miles (377,835 kilometers). Mountains cover more than 80 percent of Japan's l& surface. They divide the isl&s into hundreds of smaller sections. The largest & highest mountain mass lies in central Honshu. Part of the range is known as the Japanese Alps. Many short river valleys & small lowl& plains interrupt the mountain ranges. Most of the plains lie along the seacoast.
Japan experiences hundreds of earthquakes every year. Most of them are minor, but a few are devastating. Undersea earthquakes sometimes stir up tsunamis, or huge sea waves. The country also has many volcanoes, both active & inactive. Mount Fuji, in central Honshu, has been inactive since 1707. With a height of 12,388 feet (3,776 meters), it is Japan's highest mountain.
Much of Japan's original vegetation has been replaced by farming or by plant species brought in from other countries. Forests cover a large part of the l&. Pine, cypress, hemlock, cedar, fir, & spruce are commercially valuable evergreens. The numerous broad-leaved trees include oak, maple, ash, birch, beech, & poplar. Bamboo & palms grow in southern & central Japan.
The cherry tree is planted throughout the country & occurs naturally in parts of the mountains. It is celebrated for its beautiful spring blossoms. The cherry tree has long been one of the symbols of Japan.
Many animals live in the country's remote, forested mountain regions. The mammals include bears, foxes, deer, wild boars, antelope, hares, & wild monkeys. The seas are home to whales, dolphins, porpoises, & a wide variety of commercially valuable fish. The raising of goldfish & colorful carp for decorative purposes is a Japanese specialty.
The great majority of the Japanese people share the same ethnic & cultural background. They are closely related to the other peoples of eastern Asia. There are, however, several minority groups. Koreans form the largest minority group. Many of them were born in Japan. The burakumin (people of the village) are ethnically the same as the majority of Japanese. However, their ancestors were members of the former outcast class. The burakumin are often treated unfairly. In addition, there are small numbers of Ainu, a native people of northern Japan. The relatively tiny foreign community in Japan is composed largely of Chinese.
The country's official language is Japanese. Shinto & Buddhism are the main religions. Shinto is based on the worship of local spirits in nature. It originated in Japan. A small proportion of the population is Christian. On Honshu are most of Japan's largest cities, including Tokyo, Yokohama, Osaka, Kobe, Nagoya, Kyoto, Kawasaki, & Hiroshima. About 80 percent of the country's people live on Honshu.
Japan has a rich & complex culture. Native Japanese traditions have been mixed with cultural styles adapted from China &, later, from the West. Japanese culture & art emphasize understated simplicity, elegance, & grace. For example, the traditional Japanese tea ceremony, flower arranging, & garden design are highly stylized & refined. On the other h&, contemporary Japanese society fully embraces Western-style popular culture—influenced by television, motion pictures, & advertising.
Japan has a long & vibrant literary tradition. The Tale of Genji is considered the world's first important novel. It was written in the early 11th century by Shikibu Murasaki, a lady of the Kyoto court. Renowned modern Japanese writers include Soseki Natsume, Ryunosuke Akutagawa, Osamu Dazai, Jun'ichiro Tanizaki, & Yukio Mishima. Japanese novelist Yasunari Kawabata won the Nobel prize for literature in 1968.
Poetry plays a central role in Japanese culture. Occasions of many kinds are celebrated with poems. The most common forms are haiku & tanka—short, unrhymed poems based on the number of syllables in each line.
In classical Japanese painting, black ink & watercolors were used on tissue-thin silk. The carefully composed paintings used few brush strokes to suggest a scene in nature. Ukiyo-e, or “pictures of the floating world,” depicted the life of common people. Japanese woodcuts of 17th & 18th centuries were among the finest examples of ukiyo-e.
Traditional Japanese theater combines music, dance, & drama. In puppet plays called Bunraku, nearly life-sized dolls are used to act out a chanted story. Japanese No plays are generally short, stylized, & heroic. The actors & chorus chant fine poetry. While No theater was originally restricted to the upper classes, Kabuki was the theater of the townspeople & farmers. Kabuki plays are colorful spectacles of singing, dancing, mime, & melodrama.
The martial arts in Japan originated with medieval warriors, the samurai, who used them in battle. Today the martial arts are more important as competitive sports & as aids to physical & mental fitness. The most popular forms are sumo wrestling, judo, aikido, karate, & kendo.
Japan was defeated in World War II (1939–45), with great loss of life & property. Yet after the war it emerged as one of the most advanced economic powers in the world. The Japanese economy grew remarkably throughout the 1960s, '70s, & '80s. Manufacturing developed especially rapidly. However, the economy slowed greatly in the early 1990s & suffered a major downturn at the end of the decade. Nevertheless, Japan remained an economic superpower.
Japan's economy has revolved primarily around manufacturing & trade. The Japanese are the leading makers of ships, automobiles, & advanced electronics & equipment—especially television sets, video cassette recorders, computers, cameras, microwave ovens, watches, photocopiers, & robots. The country has some of the world's largest & most advanced industrial plants. It is a major producer of crude steel, synthetic rubber, aluminum, chemicals, plastics, cement, & pulp & paper.
Farming & fishing contribute only about 2 percent of the national income. Rice is the most important food & the main crop. Other leading crops include wheat, barley, potatoes, sugar beets, fruits, vegetables, & tea. A small number of cattle & hogs are raised. Japan relies heavily on the sea as a source of food. It has one of the largest fish catches of any nation in the world.
People were living in Japan at least 10,000 years ago. According to legend, the Japanese state was founded in 660 BC by the emperor Jimmu. Historical records, however, show that Japan was not united as one state until the late 4th or early 5th century AD. It was ruled by the Yamato dynasty.
During the Yamato period, Buddhism arrived in Japan from Korea. In addition, for many centuries the Japanese borrowed heavily from Chinese culture. The Japanese adopted Chinese characters to write the Japanese language. Imperial courts based on Chinese models appeared in Japan in the 8th century.
From the 9th to 12th centuries the Fujiwara family dominated Japan. This period was a classic age of art & literature. Japan's culture no longer borrowed from China but became distinctively Japanese.
During the 12th century a class of warriors called samurai rose to power. However, the emperor continued to hold some authority. The samurai had sophisticated military skills. They developed a disciplined way of living, which followed a code of conduct based on loyalty & sacrifice.
In the late 12th century Yoritomo Minamoto established Japan's first military government at Kamakura. Minamoto was named shogun, or chief military comm&er, & his government was called a shogunate. Except for periods of internal warfare, this form of government persisted until 1868.
Meanwhile, Japan was developing trade contacts with the outside world. Official trade missions to China began in 1404. In 1543, Portuguese traders arrived, followed by the Spanish, English, & Dutch. Some of the Japanese converted to Christianity.
The government's division & disorder ended in the late 16th century. By 1590 Toyotomi Hideyoshi had brought the region under his control. After Hideyoshi's death in 1598, his supporter Ieyasu Tokugawa took over. Under Tokugawa, the country was again united under a strong shogunate.
For the next two centuries, Japan enjoyed great peace & stability. A national market developed, & the economy flourished. Advances were made in farming techniques. Osaka & Edo (now named Tokyo) became great commercial & cultural centers.
The period was also marked by isolation. The Tokugawa government feared that Japan was being prepared for foreign conquest. The Tokugawa banned Christianity & expelled almost all foreigners. Japan cut back on foreign trade. In addition, the Japanese were forbidden to leave the country.
By the mid-19th century the Tokugawa shogunate was unable to keep European & United States traders away. The Tokugawa's support among the Japanese people collapsed. In 1868 the Tokugawa shogun was forced to step down.
A new government was established under the young emperor Mutsuhito, who took the name of Meiji, meaning “enlightened government.” This transfer of power from the Tokugawa shogunate to the Meiji emperor is known as the Meiji Restoration. It is regarded as the beginning of Japan's modern era.
Japan soon sought to build an empire. It successfully fought a war with China (1894–95) & with Russia (1904–05). As a result, Japan took over some of the two countries' possessions in East Asia. It made Korea into a Japanese colony in 1910.
During World War I (1914–18), Japan fought on the side of the Allied powers (mainly Britain, France, & Russia). The Allied powers won the war. Japan's involvement was limited, but it seized additional territory in East Asia from Germany.
By 1930 Japan faced a financial crisis. The Japanese government believed that expansion through military conquest would help the economy. In 1931 Japan seized Manchuria from China. Japan moved troops into China in 1937 & into French Indochina in 1940. The Japanese signed the Tripartite Pact, forming an alliance with Germany & Italy. The three countries formed the Axis powers. They fought against the Allied powers, mainly Britain, France, Russia, & China during World War II.
The United States tried to stop Japan's aggression in East Asia by banning shipments of oil to Japan. In December 1941 Japan attacked the United States forces at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, which pulled the United States into war. After experiencing early successes on every front, the Japanese forces were gradually pushed back by the United States & other Allied troops. In August 1945 the United States dropped atom bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima & Nagasaki. The cities were largely destroyed. Shortly thereafter the Japanese surrendered. (See also World War II.)
Under the terms of surrender, Japan had to give up all the territory it had acquired since 1895. In addition, United States forces occupied Japan until 1952. Japan's military was disb&ed. Political, social, & educational reforms encouraged the growth of democracy. A new constitution in 1947 gave great power to the elected legislature & took power away from the emperor.
Japan rebuilt its ruined economy, using new technology in every major industry. Its spectacular growth was called an “economic miracle.” By the 1990s Japan had one of the world's largest economies. After 1990, however, growth slowed considerably. Population (2001 estimate), 127,100,000.
