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Japan Regions
 Japan Regions |
Japan is commonly divided into regions . Honshu , by far the largest and most populated island, is typically divided into five (or more) regions. The other islands constitute one region each. From north to south, these are
- Hokkaido - major cities are Sapporo and Hakodate .
- Honshu:
- Tohoku - northeastern Honshu in which Sendai and Fukushima are large cities.
- Kanto - includes Tokyo , Kawasaki , Yokohama , Yokosuka and surrounding coastal plain. Also includes Gunma , Saitama , Chiba , Tochigi and Ibaraki Prefectures.
- Chubu - mountainous middle region dominated by the Japanese Alps . The Sea of Japan side is the Hokuriku region , and the Pacific side is the Tokai region . The main cities of Hokuriku are Niigata and Kanazawa , and the main cities of Tokai are Nagoya (the nation's fourth largest) and Shizuoka .
- Kinki or Kansai region - ancient center of culture and commerce, including Osaka , Kyoto , Kobe , Nara , and Wakayama and Shiga Prefectures.
- Chugoku - includes the cities Hiroshima and Okayama .
- Shikoku - the smallest of the main four islands, known as a destination for Buddhist pilgrims. The main cities are Matsuyama and Takamatsu .
- Kyushu - southernmost of the four main islands. The main towns include Fukuoka , Kitakyushu and Nagasaki .
- Okinawa - semitropical southern island chain reaching out to Taiwan . The only major city is Naha.
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| Language |
Before the 5th century , the Japanese had no writing system of their own. They began to adapt the Chinese writing script along with many other aspects of Chinese culture .
At first, the Japanese wrote in Classical Chinese or in a mixture of Chinese used both ideographically, phonetically, and otherwise to create Japanese meanings. An example of this mixed style is the Kojiki , which was written in 712 AD. They then started to use Chinese characters to write Japanese in a style known as man'yogana , a ten thousand syllabic script which used characters depicting their own values.
Over time, a writing system was constructed. Chinese characters ( kanji ) were used to write either words borrowed from Chinese, or Japanese words with the same or similar meanings. Chinese characters were also used to write grammatical elements and were simplified and eventually became two syllabic scripts: hiragana and katakana .
Japanese literature reached a high point during the 11th century with the Genji Monogatari ("Tale of Genji") by Lady Murasaki Shikibu . Many other Japanese literary works were also written by women.
Modern Japanese is written in a mixture of hiragana, katakana, and kanji. Modern Japanese texts may also include romaji (the way of writing Japanese with the Latin alphabet ), eimoji (non-Japanese words written in their own script), and various special symbols. |
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| Culture |
Japanese culture has evolved greatly over the years, from the country's original Jomon culture to its contemporary hybrid culture, which combines a number of influences from Asia, Europe, and America.
Historically, China and Korea have been the most influential starting with the development of the Yayoi culture from around 300 BC. This culminated with the introduction of rice farming, ceremonial burial, pottery, painting, writing, poetry, etiquette, and Mahayana Buddhism by the 7th century AD. In the pre-modern era, Japan developed a distinct culture, in its arts ( ikebana , origami , ukiyo-e ), crafts ( dolls , lacquerware , pottery ), performances ( bunraku , dance , kabuki , noh , rakugo ), traditions ( games , onsen , sento , tea ceremony , architecture , gardens , swords ), and cuisine .
From the mid- 19th century onward, European influence prevailed, with American influences becoming predominant following the end of World War II . This influence is apparent in Japan's contemporary popular culture, which combines Asian, European, and, 1950 onward, American influences in its fashion , films , literature , television , video games , and music . Today, Japan is a major exporter of such culture, which has gained popularity around the world, particularly in the other countries of East Asia. Especially notable contributions of modern Japan to the rest of the world include animation (anime) and graphic novels (manga) . Traditional and modern Japanese culture have attracted many devotees in Europe and the Americas as well.
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| Religion |
The Japanese people's concern with religion is usually related to mythology , traditions , and neighborhood activities rather than just the source of morality or the guidance for one's life. For one, Confucianism , or even Taoism tends to serve as the basis for the moral code and shakai-tunen (social common idea). When asked to identify their religion, most would profess to believe in either Shintoism (54%) or Buddhism (40%), for simple reasons like their family has belonged to some sect of Buddhism or to avoid contention with religious foreigners. Nonetheless, most of the people are by no means atheists , and the tendency is often identified with syncretism . This results a variety of practices such as parents and children celebrating Shinto rituals, students praying before exams, couples holding a wedding at a Christian church and funerals being held at Buddhist temples. A minority profess to Christianity (0.7%) and other religions (4.7%) like shamanism . Also since the middle of the 19th century many religious sects called Shinkosyukyo and later shinshukyo emerged. |
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