9. Geographical Facts about Japan
Japan has over 100
active volcanoesMt Fuji
Nearly 70% of the
land covered in
mountains
Experiences about 1500
earthquakes per year
16. Flag of Japan
(The Land of the Rising Sun)
Officially called Nisshoki
(sun-mark flag)
More commonly known as
Hinomaru (circle of the sun)
Variants
The
Rising
Sun FlagWhite – peace and honesty
Red - hardiness, bravery, strength & valor
17. Population
335 people per square km
making it the 40th most
densely populated country
in the world.
126,323,715
As of April 2016
10th largest population
in the world
Japanese- 98%
Koreans- 0.5%
Chinese- 0.4%
Other- 0.7%
18. Most literate
Japan has one
of the highest
literacy levels
in the world
with 99%
literacy in
children over 15
years old.
High Life
expectancy
The life
expectancy
of the
Japanese is
84 years.
Lots of centenarians
Over 50,000
people in Japan
are more than
100 years old.
Facts about People in Japan
20. • Torii Gate:
The Torii gate religious symbol, mark the entrance to sacred
space. Representing the transition between the finite world
and the infinite world of the gods.
21. Shinto- the Way of the Gods
It does not have a founder nor does it have sacred scriptures.
Kami- Shinto gods. They take the form of things and concepts
important to life, such as wind, rain, mountains, trees, rivers and
fertility.
The Sun Goddess Amaterasu is considered Shinto's most
important kami.
Shintoism
Ise Jingu, most sacred shrine
22. Shinto is an optimistic faith, as humans are thought to be
fundamentally good, and evil is believed to be caused by evil
spirits.
The purpose of most Shinto rituals is to keep away evil spirits by
purification, prayers and offerings to the kami.
Shinto shrines are the places of worship and the homes of
kami.
In the Meiji Period, Shinto was made Japan's state religion.
23. Buddhism
Buddhism came to Japan from
China in the 6th century.
Mahayana (Great Vehicle),
rather than the Theravada
Buddhism of India, Sri Lanka,
and other southern Asian
nations.
Most popular schools of
Buddhism are Pure Land
Buddhism, Nichiren Buddhism
Shingon Buddhism and Zen
The Great Buddha, Kamakura, Japan
24. Buddhism has had an enormous impact on the art and culture of
Japan ever since. Many traditional arts such as garden design,
tea ceremony, and flower arranging, developed into the forms
they have today because of the religion
Most funerals are Buddhist, since much of the focus of the
teaching is on being reborn into a better afterlife.
26. Japanese Government
Constitutional Monarchy
Divided into three branches: Executive, Legislative & Judiciary
A unitary state
Emperor - Head of State; his role is ceremonial and has no powers
related to government
Prime Minister – Head of Government; designated by the National
Diet and appointed by the Emperor
Cabinet – composed of Ministers of State and the Prime Minister;
directs and controls the government; source of power of the
executive branch
National Diet – the legislature; bicameral consisting of two houses:
House of Councillors (upper house) and House of Representatives
(lower house)
Supreme Court – make up the judicial branch; independent from
the executive and legislative branches
Contains 47 administrative divisions
27. Languages
Official Language: Japanese
Regional Language: Ryukyuan
Minority Languages: Ainu, Bonin
English, Nivkh, Orok, Russian
Immigrant Languages: Korean,
Chinese
Foreign Languages: English,
Italian, Romanian, French,
Portuguese, Spanish
28. Modern Japanese is written with a mixture
of hiragana and katakana, plus kanji (Japanese
syllabaries).
Notable features
Type of writing system: mixed (kana syllabaries +
semanto-phonetic kanji)
Direction of writing: tategaki & yokogaki
Used to write: Japanese (日本語)
33. TEMPURA
Tempura is food deep-
fried in vegetable oil
after being coated with a
mixture of egg, water and
wheat flour.
prawns, fish in season
and vegetables.
34. SUSHI
Sushi is a small piece of
raw seafood placed on a
ball of vinegared rice.
Tuna, squid and prawns.
Cucumber, pickled radish
and sweet egg omelet are
also served.
36. SHABU-SHABU
Shabu-shabu is tender,
thin slices of beef held
with chopsticks and
swished around in a
pot of boiling water,
then dipped in sauce
before being eaten.
51. Japan has its own unique form of greeting - the
bow.
The proper form for the bow is to bend from the
waist, keeping a straight back and arms held
stiffly to the side of the body (men), arms
crossed to the front of the body (women).
BOWING
52. The Japanese are among the most avid gift-givers in
the world, and guests invited to a private home
should always bring a gift.
Visitors to Japan come prepared with their own
small gifts, which can range from memorabilia from
their own hometown to crafts and specialty foods.
GIFT-GIVING
53. As soon as guests are seated in a
Japanese restaurant, they are
handed a wet towel .
Diners in Japanese restaurants are
also given chopsticks.
DINING
Never stick chopsticks vertically into a bowl of rice and leave them there
Never pass anything from chopstick to chopstick - both have associations with
death.
One should never fill one’s own glass from a communal bottle of wine or sake
It’s considered perfectly good manners to slurp noodles
54. Shoes are never worn inside private homes or
Japanese inns. Some restaurants, temples, and
shrines also require patrons to remove shoes.
Slippers are often provided.
SHOES
55. The Japanese ceremony of preparing and offering tea to
revered guests is a formal and stylized ritual. The Japanese
tea ceremony is deeply influenced by Zen Buddhism.
TEA
56. The word samurai originally meant “one who serves,” and referred to
men of noble birth assigned to guard members of the Imperial
Court.
During the Age of Wars, the term samurai had come to signify armed
government officials, peacekeeping officers, and professional
soldiers: in short, almost anyone who carried a sword and was ready
and able to exercise deadly force.
SAMURA
I CODE
57. BUSHIDO “Precepts of Knighthood” or
“Way of the Warrior”
Nitobe Idazo
8 Virtues of Bushido
1. Rectitude or Justice.
2. Courage
3. Benevolence or Mercy
4. Politeness
5. Honesty and sincerity
6. Honor
7. Loyalty
8. Character and self-control
58. Geisha’s are entertainers, and they are trained vigorously in art, music
and dancing. If you translate Geisha into English, you get artist.
They attend parties and tea houses, where they are the entertainment
and hostesses. They pour tea, sing, dance, play instruments, and chat
with the guests. In other words they are the life of the party and
companions.
GEISHA
63. Early work was heavily influenced by Chinese
literature, but Japan quickly developed a style and
quality of its own.
When Japan reopened its ports to Western trading
and diplomacy in the 19th century, Western
Literature had a strong effect on Japanese writers,
and this influence is still seen today.
64. Japanese literature traces its beginnings to oral
traditions that were first recorded in
written form in the early eighth century after a
writing system was introduced from China
65. Nara Period
Before the introduction of kanji (漢字, lit. "Chinese
characters") from China, there was no writing
system in Japan.
Chinese characters were used in Japanese
syntactical formats
Literary language was classical Chinese; resulting in
sentences that looked like Chinese but were
phonetically read as Japanese.
66. Modification of the normal usage of Chinese characters to
accommodate Japanese names and expressions is already
evident in the oldest known inscription, on a sword dating
from about 440 C.E.
The use of Chinese characters initiated a centuries-long
association of literary composition with the art of
calligraphy.
Chinese characters were later adapted to write Japanese
speech, creating what is known as the man'yōgana, the
earliest form of kana, or syllabic writing. The earliest
works were created in the Nara Period.
67. Earliest Works in the Nara Period
• Kojiki (a work recording Japanese
mythology and legendary history)
• Nihonshoki (a chronicle with a slightly more
solid foundation in historical records
than Kojiki
• and Man'yōshū (Ten Thousand Leaves) ; an
anthology of poetry.
68. Classical Literature
Classical Japanese literature generally refers to
literature produced during the Heian Period,
considered as the a golden era of art and literature.
Court ladies played the central role in developing
literature.
During this time, the imperial court patronized
poets, many of whom were courtiers or ladies-in-
waiting.
Editing anthologies of poetry was a national
pastime.
69. TheTale of Genji (early eleventh century) by Murasaki Shikibu
- an early example of a work of fiction in the form of a novel.
KokinWakashū (905) by Sei Shonagon
- waka poetry anthology)
The Pillow Book (990s) by Sei Shonagon
- an essay about the life, loves, and pastimes of nobles in the
Emperor's court
Konjaku monogatari (Tales of aTimeThat Is Now Past)
- collection of more than 1,000 Buddhist and secular tales from
India, China, and Japan
71. Medieval Japanese Literature is marked by the strong
influence of Zen Buddhism, and many writers were priests,
travelers, or ascetic poets.
Also during this period, Japan experienced many civil wars
which led to the development of a warrior class, and a
widespread interest in war tales, histories, and related stories.
Work from this period is notable for its insights into life and
death, simple lifestyles, and redemption through killing.
72. Works during the Medieval Period
The Tale of the Heike (1371), an epic account of the
struggle between the Minamoto and Taira clans for
control of Japan at the end of the twelfth century.
Kamo no Chōmei's Hōjōki (1212) and Yoshida
Kenko's Tsurezuregusa (1331).
Other notable genres in this period were renga, or
linked verse, and Noh theater.
73. • The literature of this time was written during the generally peaceful
Tokugawa Period (commonly referred to as the Edo Period).
• Due in large part to the rise of the working and middle classes in the new
capital of Edo (modern Tokyo), forms of popular drama developed which
would later evolve into kabuki.
Many genres of literature made their début during the Edo Period, inspired
by a rising literacy rate among the growing population of townspeople, as
well as the development of lending libraries.
It was the importation of Chinese vernacular fiction that proved the
greatest outside influence on the development of early modern Japanese
fiction.
74. Chikamatsu Monzaemon- who wrote joruri, a form of
storytelling involving chanted lines, and kabuki plays.
Matsuo Bashō- wrote Oku no Hosomichi (奥の細道, 1702), a
travel diary.
Hokusai, perhaps Japan's most famous woodblock print artist,
also illustrated fiction as well as his famous 36 Views of Mount
Fuji.
Gothic stories, travelogue, comedies, fantasy and historical
romance
New genres included horror, crime stories, morality stories, and
comedy, often accompanied by colorful woodcut prints.
Works during the Early- Modern Period
76. The Meiji period was when Japan, under Western
influence, took the first steps toward developing a modern
literature.
It marked the re-opening of Japan to the West, and a
period of rapid industrialization.
In poetry circles the influence of translated foreign poems
led to a "new style" poetry movement and the scope of
literary forms continued to widen.
The introduction of European literature brought free verse
into the poetic repertoire;
77. In the early Meiji era (1868-1880s), Enlightenment
literature.
In the mid-Meiji (late 1880s - early 1890s) Realism
was introduced. Also literatures that empower women
also emerged.
A new colloquial literature developed centering on the
“I” novel, a form of fiction that describes the world
from the author’s point of view and depicts his own
mental states.
Example: Natsume Soseki's humorous and
satirical Wagahai wa neko de aru (“I Am a Cat,”
78. During the 1920s and early 1930s the proletarian literary
movement, where they produced a politically radical
literature depicting the harsh lives of workers, peasants,
women, and other downtrodden members of society, and
their struggles for change.
War-time Japan saw the début of several authors best
known for the beauty of their language and their tales of
love and sensuality, notably Tanizaki Junichiro and
Japan's first winner of the Nobel Prize for
Literature, Kawabata Yasunari, a master of psychological
fiction.
79. Post-War Literature
Japan’s defeat in World War II influenced Japanese literature
during the 1940s and 1950s. Many authors wrote stories about
disaffection, loss of purpose, and the coping with defeat.
80. Popular fiction, non-fiction, and children's literature all flourished
in urban Japan during the 1980s.
Many popular works fell between "pure literature" and pulp
novels, including all sorts of historical serials, information-packed
docudramas, science fiction, mysteries, detective fiction, business
stories, war journals, and animal stories.
Non-fiction covered everything from crime to politics.
Contemporary Literature
81. Manga (comic books) have penetrated almost every sector of the popular
market.
They include virtually every field of human interest, such as a multi volume
high-school history of Japan and, for the adult market, a manga introduction
to economics, and pornography.
At the end of the 1980s, manga represented between twenty and thirty
percent of total annual publications in Japan, representing sales of some
four hundred billion yen annually.
In contemporary Japan, there is a debate over whether the rise in popular
forms of entertainment such as manga and anime has caused a decline in
the quality of literature in Japan.
82.
83. Haiku
• Haiku is one of the most important form of traditional
Japanese poetry.
• Haiku is both a type of poetic pattern and a way of
experiencing the world.
• A well-executed haiku is rooted in the physical world of our
senses, yet suggests something deeper, often evoking the
mysterious, transitory nature of all existence.
• Haiku is, today, a 17-syllable verse form consisting of three
metrical units of 5, 7, and 5 syllables.
84.
85. Basho Matsuo (1644 -1694)
Basho
Matsuo is
known as the
first great
poet in the
history of
haiku.
Notas del editor
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Japan’s capital is Tokyo, which is one of the world’s largest cities
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This is the current issue. The 2000 yen note was first issued on July 19, 2000 to commemorate the 26th G8 summit in Okinawa and the 2000 millennium year as well. Pictured on the front of the note is Shureimon, a famous gate in Naha, Okinawa near the site of the summit. The other side features a scene from the The Tale of Genji and the author Murasaki Shikibu on the lower right corner. The motif of the scene was taken from the 12th century illuminated handscrolls of the novel kept at the Tokugawa Art Museum in Nagoya. The image of Murasaki Shikibu is taken from the Gotoh edition of the Murasaki Shikibu Diary Emaki held at the Gotoh Museum.
These notes are rare in the market, but at banks they are readily available. Many Japanese consider the 2000 yen note a novelty as it is the only Japanese denomination whose first digit is 2. To promote the circulation of the notes, some companies had started paying wages in them. The series D is the first to display the EURion constellation.
Eden. Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku are the four largest islands.
najBecause Japan is located in a region, where several continental plates meet, the country experiences frequent earthquakes.
Japan has over 100 active volcanoes. Mount Fuji is the tallest mountain in Japan. It is an active volcano.
Nearly 70% of the land is covered in mountains. Japan is a mountainous country with relatively few areas of flat land.
Japan experiences earthquakes almost daily. In fact, they went through about 1500 earthquakes per year.
najAs Japan is a long collection of islands stretching out over thousands of kilometres, the climate varies considerably from the northern island of Hokkaido (summer mild and short; winters long with heavy snowfall) to the southern subtropical island of Okinawa.
Even on Japan’s mainland, there are appreciable differences in climate and weather between the western Japan Sea coast, which gets cold fronts from Siberia, and the eastern Pacific coast, which receives warmer sea currents (the Japan Current, or kuroshio).
Because of its location on the Pacific, Japan has higher humidity in summer, and lower humidity in winter, than Europe.
The four seasons of the year are quite distinct in Japan:
The best time to visit Japan, with mild weather and trees blossoming (most famous being the cherry). Warm days, but a sweater is advisable for chilly evenings. Tthe cherry-blossom time which sweeps up the country from south to north is often followed closely by a showery front. Golden Week, the concentration of national holidays at the end of April and the first week of May is the busiest travel season, and best avoided. (In some years, however, the Golden Week period is rather fragmented. Check the dates) What to wear: Summer clothing in the south, sweaters and jacket further north. Showerproof jacket & umbrella advisable.
Hot (up to 40°C in many places), with oppressive humidity. The only places which escape this are the mountains, and the northern island of Hokkaido. June is usually the rainy season (tsuyu) for most of the country, but Hokkaido misses out on this as well, so so it’s a good time to visit. What to wear: light, comfortable clothing which dries easily.
September is the time of year with the greatest risk of typhoons. After that, the weather is unpredictable but generally mild. October is a good time for travelling: the humidity is less than in summer but it is still pleasantly warm. The trees show beautiful autumn colours, beginning in northern areas and higher altitudes, and spreading to all areas in November. What to wear: layered clothing, sweaters or jacket in the north or in the hills.
The northern island of Hokkaido, the Japan Alps and much of the Japan Sea coast get a lot of snow. The rest of the mainland gets some snow, and average temparatures around 1-5°C. But the weather is usually clear, crisp and pleasant, not damp. Tokyo gets very little or no snow. What to wear: warm clothing, winter coat/ski jacket or similar. If travelling in the north, make sure your shoes are suitable for snow.
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edenThe Japanese people enjoy the second highest life longevity in the world. Their healthy diet which contains a lot of fish is often held up as one of the reasons that Japanese people enjoy such long life.
Life expectancy for males is: 81.4 years and for females is: 88.3 years
edenDespite the Japanese language being a difficult one to learn, Japan has one of the highest literacy levels in the world with 99% literacy in children over 15 years old.
The life expectancy of the Japanese is 84 years. This is 4 years more than that of the United States.
Over 50,000 people in Japan are more than 100 years old.
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najSome prominent rocks are worshiped as kami.
Since ancient times, Japanese philosophers have pondered basic, unanswerable questions about their natural environment. The early Japanese believed that the world around them was inhabited by gods and spirits, from streaks of mist obscuring jagged mountain peaks to water cascading over secluded waterfalls. Almost every aspect of Japan's stunning natural beauty evoked a sense of awe and wonder among its people.
The Way of the Gods
Ancient Japanese elevated this fascination with nature into what was later called Shinto, the Way of the Gods. This belief system that imbued every mountain, every stream, and even impressive trees with a spirit. These deities, known as kami, were considered cheerful and friendly to humans. If kept satisfied, they would watch over human affairs and refrain from causing natural disasters.
But the kami also would not hesitate to unleash their wrath if humans violated their cardinal rule of physical and spiritual cleanliness. To appease the kami, worshipers avoided defiling holy places by undergoing thorough ritual purification before passing beneath the torii, the gate leading into the sacred precinct of a Shinto shrine. Clean humans meant happy kami, and happy kami meant a peaceful realm.
Although its origins are obscure, Shinto helped forge national and political unity by emphasizing Japan's divine beginnings through myths and legends. For example, the Shinto creation myth tells of a pair of deities called Izanagi and Izanami who created the islands of Japan when droplets of water dripped down from Izanagi's spear. After the couple descended from the heavens to live on the islands, they had numerous divine offspring, including the sun goddess Amaterasu, the most important deity in Shinto.
Later generations of Japanese emperors claimed their divinity — and therefore their right to rule — by tracing their imperial lineage back to Amaterasu herself. As a direct descendent of the sun goddess, the emperor became a Living God who was to be worshiped along with his all-illuminating divine ancestor.
edenShinto was already well established as the national religion when Buddhism was transmitted from China (via Korea) to Japan in the 6th century C.E. As Buddhism gained popularity, it occasionally clashed with Shinto, but it did not displace the pre-existing religion. Rather, the two overlapped and complemented each other.
With its abundant scripture and rigid ethical code, Buddhism used precise terms to articulate concepts that Shinto had left vague. Whereas Shinto was generally life-affirming and flexible about human conduct (except in matters of purity), Buddhist philosophy provided a moral framework for the universe and addressed questions about death, reincarnation, and punishment for wrongdoing that Shinto failed to answer in detail.
The Buddhist teachings of impermanence (that nothing lasts forever) and emptiness (that nothing really has its own substance) became ingrained in Japanese thought and shaped subsequent philosophy, art, and literature.
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najOnce known in the west either in the form of "sukiyaki" or the more exotic "sushi," Japanese cuisine has in recent years become much more familiar and appreciated around the world. Many visitors to Japan will have already sampled the pleasures of raw fish or batter-fried shrimp. But few first-time visitors to Japan are prepared for the variety and sumptuousness of Japanese food, as it is traditionally prepared. Eating in Japan is an experience to be enjoyed and remembered fondly for the rest of your life.
Japanese Cuisine: Japan is an island nation and seafood plays an important role in Japanese cuisine. Rice and fish along with vegetables are eaten by most Japanese. Tofu or soy bean curd is another popular and healthy dish often consumed by the Japanese people. Japanese food such as Sushi (rice flavored with vinegar and combined with seafood or seaweed and sometimes vegetables) and Sashimi (cut and sliced raw meat, usually seafood) are forms of Japanese cuisine that have become famous worldwide. Teppanyaki or food cooked on an iron griddle is another popular form of Japanese cuisine. Sake or Japanese rice wine is also drunk at traditional meals as a toast to the health and long life of one's dining companions.
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Japanese Literature is generally divided into three main periods: Ancient, Medieval, and Modern.
Japanese literature spans a period of almost two millennia of writing. Early work was heavily influenced by Chinese literature, but Japan quickly developed a style and quality of its own.
When Japan reopened its ports to Western trading and diplomacy in the 19th century, Western Literature had a strong effect on Japanese writers, and this influence is still seen today.
Chinese characters were used, not for their meanings, but because they had a phonetic sound which resembled a Japanese word.
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Others also wrote diaries and stories, and their psychological portrayals remain fresh and vivid to present-day readers.
The appearance of the Konjaku monogatari (Tales of a Time That Is Now Past) around 1120 added a new dimension to literature.
This collection of more than 1,000 Buddhist and secular tales from India, China, and Japan is particularly notable for its rich descriptions of the lives of the nobility and common people in Japan at that time.
