1. SevenAngel Hollins Due the week of December 6

2.  Kusunoki Masashige was a samurai from the 14 th century who fought for the emperor against the Kamakura Shogunate.  In the Yayoi period (300 B.C.) Japan took many new technologies from china.  In the 1100s Taira and Minamoto fought for control over Japan.

3.  In Japan rice balls are very popular. The rice come in the shape of a triangle, not a ball.  In Japan meals are traditionally held on a tatami floor around a low table. Sitting on the floor is also customary during the tea cermony and other traditional events.  Today, Japan eats food from around the world notably from Europe, North America and Asia.

4.  Japan has four main islands and more than 6,800 smaller islands and the total land area of Japan is 377,719 square miles.  The rainy season in Japan begins in early June and continues until about the middle of July.  The average winter temperature in Japan is 5.1 °C (41.2 °F) and the average summer temperature is 25.2 °C (77.4 °F)

5.  Hanami (flower viewing) is a Japanese traditional custom of enjoying the beauty of flowers.  In a traditional family in Japan fathers provide the monthly income while mothers raise the children, supervise education, do the housework, and home accounting.  Sitting on the floor is customary during the tea ceremony and other traditional events.

6.  The traditional dress of Japan is a kimono which is worn on special occasions.  In the late 1990s and early 2000s, many girls would tan their skin dark, bleach their hair, wear silver makeup and wear tie-dyed sarongs with a mini-skirt and platform shoes which they would call a "Ganguro" fashion.  Cosplay is "costume play," which is essentially dressing up as a character from a movie, musical group, comic book or cartoon. Most often seen in Tokyo on the weekends and cosplay conventions.

7.  Japanese children enter the 1 st grade of elementary school after they turn six.  In Japanese schools children are divided into small teams for many activities.  In middle school many students go to judo clubs.

8.  Starting Feb.6 th through Feb.12th is the Sapporo Snow Festival in Sapporo, Japan. During the festival people come to Odori Park to admire or create giant ice and snow scupltures.  During the Water-Drawing Festival monks draw water from the well and offers it to the public.  The Nango Summer Festival is a festival held every year where artists from all over Tohoku come to Nango to perform.