1. Japan: The Land of the Rising Sun

2. The Japanese call their country the “land of the rising sun.” Traditional beliefs: Japan is favoured/protected by the gods Japan is where the sun rises Japan is at the highest point of the Earth Rulers were descendants of Amaterasu (sun goddess)

3. Population Density Japan is 60% the size of Alberta and has many more people. Alberta = 3 306 400 people Japan = 127 433 490 people Most people live along the coast because much of Japan is covered in forested mountains and steep valleys. Living on the coast allows easy communication and trade via the sea. The coast has a very high population density (Tokyo has 13 000 people/km 2 -- Calgary’s density is 1360.2 people/km 2 )

6. Geography and Culture Japan is an ARCHIPELAGO (chain of many islands). –It is geographically isolated from its neighbours –Rough ocean between Asia and Japan makes travel difficult. The Japanese choose parts of other cultures that they want to include in their own (e.x. Chinese character writing system – Kanji or Kana). –Japanese leaders try not to let their culture be influenced too much by other cultures.

7. Japan’s naturally beautiful landscape is a source of pride for the Japanese: Ainu, Japan’s indigenous people, believe that natural things (animals, plants, 4 elements) are gods called kamuy. Many 1 st nations people have similar beliefs to the Ainu Shinto, Japan’s ancient religion, believes that kami (sacred spirits) take the form of natural objects like mountains, trees, stones, and the sun.

8. Geography and Ethical Wisdom Religious laws are borrowed from Buddhism and Confucianism (Chinese religions). Japan experiences earthquakes and tsunamis on a regular basis Most are minor, but a major one hits Japan every few decades. Because of natural disasters, the Japanese have become stoic and have learned to adapt to the disasters.

10. If you believed that mountains were sacred places (like in the Shinto religion), how would you interpret a volcanic eruption or a tsunami?

11. The Ainu – Japan’s 1 st Nation For 1000s of years, the Ainu lived in northern Japan on their own territory, with their own society. –The Japanese took over the Ainu territory and renamed the island Hokkaido

13. The Japanese tried to assimilate the Ainu, made them live on reserved land, and forbade their customs and language The Ainu were asked to farm even though they were hunters and fishers 1997 – Japanese government declared the Ainu an official minority group

14. A Self-Sufficient Country Self-sufficient = not depending on receiving things from other countries Before 1853, Japan didn’t trade much with other countries because nature provided for them. –Fish, seaweed, soy, silk worms and cotton plants (fabric), metals, and forests (wood) provided resources for people –Rice was Japan’s main food crop and the Japanese money system for centuries

16. Japan is a homogeneous society (common values/beliefs), even though people are separated by mountains, rivers, and climates.