History of Japan

source１：https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Japan
source２：ウィキペディア日本の歴史
It contains many of my own views.

Japan is an island nation consisting of about 7,000 islands, with the majority of the land area occupied by four large islands: Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu.

With a length of approximately 3,000 kilometers in both the east, west, north, and south directions, the country is divided into 47 prefectures, each with a different climate, history, and cultural attractions.
Japan is famous for its highly developed public transportation network, which is punctual and safe.

Japan is an island nation consisting of a stratovolcanic archipelago of more than 3,000 km (1,900 miles) along the Pacific coast of East Asia. 6,852 islands make up the archipelago.
The five main islands are Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu, Shikoku, and Okinawa. There are 6,847 isolated islands. The Ryukyu Islands and Nanbou Island are located to the south and east of the main island.

The area of the region is 377,975.24 km2 (145,937.06 sq mi). It is the fourth largest island nation in the world and the largest island nation in East Asia. The country has the sixth longest coastline at 29,751 km (18,486 miles) and the eighth largest exclusive economic zone in the world at 4,470,000 km2 (1,730,000 square miles).

The terrain is mainly rugged and mountainous, and 67% is forested.
The population is concentrated in urban areas on the coasts, plains and valleys.

Japan is located on multiple tectonic plates in the northwestern Ring of Fire.
Three trenches lie to the east of the Japanese archipelago.
The Japan Trench is created by the subduction of the Pacific Ocean Pacific Plate beneath the continental Okhotsk Plate.
The continuous subduction process causes frequent earthquakes, tsunamis, and stratovolcanoes.
The islands are also affected by typhoons. The subduction plate pulled the Japanese archipelago eastward, creating the Sea of Japan and separating it from the Asian continent by back arc expansion 15 million years ago.

The climate of Japan differs greatly between the areas facing the Pacific Ocean and those facing the Sea of Japan, bordered by the mountainous region that runs through the center of the archipelago.
The highlands of Hokkaido and Honshu are in the subarctic zone, parts of the Nansei Islands are in the tropics, and the rest of the country is in the temperate zone, but there is a large temperature difference between north and south.

In winter, the cold northwest monsoon is strong and there is a lot of snow on the Sea of Japan side.
The Pacific side, on the other hand, is blessed with clear skies and dry air.
The temperature change gradually moves northward, from winter to spring and from spring to summer.
The long rainy season is followed by a hot and humid summer with many sunny days, and the lingering heat of late August is replaced by the autumn rains and typhoons.

source１：https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Japan
source２：ウィキペディア日本の地理
Image Source.：気象庁
Movie Source.：JNTO

Japanese soul

Japan has a rich climate that consists of four seasons. There are many traditional cultures and customs that have been taken root and still remain in each local area.

On the other hand, Japan is a country with lots of characteristics such as great innovation and high technology.

Japan has the public transportation infrastructure supported by its advanced technology base. Furthermore, Japan also has various kinds of accommodations such as inns that preserve traditions, inns that value high-tech, and inns that belong somewhere between the two.

In addition, Japan is one of the safest countries where you feel safe and secure while walking around at night. Tokyo was ranked number one in the world for its safety in 2019.

♦The view of religions and the view of nature in Japan

The true “Japanese culture” becomes more visible when you think about the difference between Japan and the rest of the world.

Humans and nature are clearly separated in the western cultures or in the world of monotheism. However, it is more common to consider those two as one and not separable in Japan.

This Japanese way of thinking is difficult to put in words or express in figures, standing in a weak position in the modern economic world where people say “Evidence is what all matters.”

Fortunately, this ambiguity of the boundaries between the two eventually has become a characteristic of the Japanese culture, which has been resonating with people across the world as the “Japanese way” or the “Japanese style” through respective cultural aspects such as Washoku (traditional Japanese food) and Anime.

Some say they really don’t believe in any kind of religion but that’s not necessarily right.

They actually have a dedicated religious sentiment passed down among the people (or further in the community), and share the sense of feelings based on that.

Most Japanese people show respect to shrines, temples, and cemeteries. There’s even a term they use in Japanese “Bachiatari” meaning “cursed” in English.

Still, Japanese people are not strongly aware of their concern on religion.

That is because they think God and Buddha are essentially the same.

Most of them believe that humans become Buddha (God) after death. This expression “believe” doesn’t mean actual fact-finding, but it’s a common understanding that the dead should be honored as God or Buddha.

Speaking ill of the dead right after the death is considered a disgrace to the dead.

There clearly lies respect and awe to death, although not many are aware of that.

Japanese people tend to keep distance from people who are inclined to a certain religion or strongly favor to be a member of a certain religious sect, but also at the same time they are quite generous about other religions and religious sects and sometimes even seem apathy.

No matter a person is religious or not, Japanese people really do not care as long as it doesn’t affect their own life. They never ask your religion even when you first meet them, which may be quite rude in some cases.

This seems to be one of the unbelievable Japanese customs foreigners experience here.

Most Japanese people practice Buddhism or Shinto religion. Albeit their belief is broad enough to embrace both religions.

People in Japan visit shrines as well as temples for the First New Year Prayer without any concerns about the difference between them.

Any choice is palatable, whereas those who are inclined to a certain religion rather tend to be deemed as unorthodox.
Japanese people greet each other saying “Merry Christmas” in winter, enjoy bean throwing at Setsubun spring festival and have fun on Halloween.

Incidentally, Shinto also means a way of living of Japanese people.

Faith is a part of the everyday life of Japanese people.
Japan is a Buddhist country as well as a Shinto country, where it is believed that even some unknown weeds growing at the roadside have a divine spirit and Buddha spirit.
Japanese people feel awe to the nature and consequently they believe that things like tree logging for the humankind's convenience could get you cursed (“Bachiatari” in Japanese).

You may remember it as a main topic of “The Princess Mononoke” by Hayao Miyazaki.

Japanese people consider human beings not as special and chosen entities but only as a part of Mother Nature.

People receive the blessings of the universe, lands and waters, to support their lives. Japanese people believe that we borrow all from the Mother Nature and eventually return it back at the moment of death. This explains why Japanese people express their gratitude to the life-beings when they put the palms together and say “Itadakimasu” (“Thank you for allowing me to take this”) before meals.

This Japanese spirit has been playing the story undertone in the STUDIO GHIBLI films and such “portrayal of Japan” may be designated as one of the reasons of the worldwide popularity of it.

Japanese people live with a faith and respect to the souls existing not only in animals but in plants and, sometimes, inanimate things.
Many legends and fairy tales comprise the stories in which an animal transforms into a human and then returns favor for a help. Japanese people feel comfortable considering animals capable to feel and remember the favor in a way similar to human beings.
The practice to express a gratitude to worn-out needles in a “Hari-kuyo” ceremony (Requiem services for broken needles) also means that nobody doubts about a divine spirit existing in inanimate things.
Japanese people also have a widespread concept of Tsukumogami that means gods or soul dwelling in old long-working instruments.
There are a lot of stories on the topic of “divine spirit dwelling in things”.

This is not an animism intrinsic to the primitive religions. This is a mindset working even nowadays and this concept may be frequently found in popular manga, novels and other entertaining products.
On the other hand, Japanese people do not believe in perfect gods. They use such words as Death Deity, Plague Deity, Poverty Deity and there is a proverb saying that don't disturb a sleeping deities (the proverb meaning is equivalent to “Let sleeping dogs lie”).

Japanese people feel awe to nature and humbly posture themselves as nothing more than a part of it.
Therefore, they tend to be modest to other people too.
The idea is that it is to your benefit to lend an ear to others often, to reflect within yourself, and to hold yourself back for the good of the whole.

If the whole is better off, you will benefit from it. If you are selfish, everyone else will follow, confusing you and causing everyone to lose.
This is why, even after a disaster, people stand in line for stores and rations in an orderly fashion.
This is often a surprise to people from overseas, but it is because they have always been taught that respect for the group is for the benefit of the individual.

It is said that individuality is weak, but the caring and helping spirit nurtured in this value system is considered precious.

This means falling short of global standards, and in fact, Japanese companies have fallen behind in the field of smart phones. In fact, Japanese companies have fallen behind in the field of smartphones, which are often called "Galapagos phones," a name born of Japanese self-mockery.

For better or worse, the Japanese are aware that they are not the global standard.

In addition, Japan is not very good at creating global standards, and no company has yet emerged from Japan to match GAFA. Furthermore, in Japan's education system, which is based on a horizontal line, the stakes are always high. The society is built on the foundation of sympathy, empathy, and patience, and many people may feel constrained.

However, this is also a characteristic of Japan

Of course, Japan should adopt the good things that exist outside of Japan. At the same time, we should not forget that Japan's uniqueness has encouraged Japan's development.

①Sushi and Japanese food

②Tokyo

③Fuji.mt

④Hot springs

⑤Sumo

⑥Kimono experience

⑦Park & Garden (Japanese style)

things to do JAPAN