Japan

Brief History In the mid 600s people believed that a strong central government would bring stability. Because of this clans were given less power When the capital was changed to Kyoto a new age began which was dominated by the tastes of the royal court (round 800) in which styles of dresses, music, and litterateur developed When court culture fell they turned to the clans for protection and to help eradicate rebellions The clans were in power once again and the shogun was the supreme ruler of Japan When the shogun began to lose power around 1400s, japan saw an economic development and three leaders united Japan.

Clans The Fujiwara Clan The Minamoto Clan

The three figures who united Japan -Oda Nobunaga-Toyotomi Hideyoshi -Tokugawa Ieyasu

Statistics GDP billion US dollars (2014) Literacy Rate- 99% Population million (2013) Currency- Yen (1 U.S. Doller = about 120 Yen) CBR- 8.4(2013) CDR- 9.5(2013)

Music of Japan The oldest known music incudes Buddhist chants which served for religious purposes Groups of itinerant performers would use traditional Japanese instruments to tell stories Folk songs are classified in to 4 groups Religious songs Work songs Celebration songs Children songs Modern Japanese music includes Japanese Pop Disco Rock

Music of Japan (Instruments) Biwa Hichiriki Koto Taiko

Food Many traditional food is based off rice Side dishes mostly include fish and vegetables Fish was in abundant supply. This worked well for the Japanese because consumption of four legged animals was considered taboo in accords with Buddhism Noodles are also consumed by Japanese

Ethnicity

Religions The three most popular religions include Buddhism, Shintoists, and Confucianism Christianity had and has a very minor movement Shinto was the latest religion to be marked as the official religion

Religions

Environment Japan has a lot of mountains which covers 75% of their land The rest is mostly covered in forests Both north and south Japan experience show fall Temperature ranges from 29F to 48F (they use Celsius their)

Environment

Language Main Language- Japanese Main Immigrant Language- Korean, Chinese Minority Languages- English, Ainu, Bonin

Pop culture (Manga and Anime) Manga make up a large selection of Japans publishing industry After manga have proven to become popular Theme song to a anime is very important Artists from J-pop and K-rock try to get their songs on a new anime

Some Animas Include Dragon BallBleach

The Japanese Flag The Japanese flag is a red dot on a white background The red dot represents the sun People don’t know who designed it or when

“Rising Sun” Flag This flag was Japanese was flag and was used during was times Modern use of this flag is used by the navy as well as on consumer good products

Meiji Shrine Dedicated to Emperor Meiji and his wife’s spirit

Todai-ji A Buddhist Temple that was once one of the seven great temples

Itsukushima An Island full of nature and beautiful shrines

Bibliography web-japan.org web.grinnell.edu