Mini Guide To Japan

Japan lies along the coast of Asia and and consists of many islands, known as an archipelago. The mainland, is the island of Honshu. And around 3,000 other islands that make up Japan. Japan is just a little bit smaller than California. The islands are mountainous, the tallest point is Mt. Fuji at 12,385 feet. There are many volcanoes in Japan and they also experience many earthquakes.

Japan is a modern country with most of its people living in the bigger cities. Tokyo and Shibuya are the most populated cities in Japan. Tokyo is known for producing many of the electronics we use today, such as cell phones, and Shibuya is the fashion capital of Japan.

The two major religions in Japan are Shintoism and Buddhism. Their belief systems get along together and many times share their temples with one another. Shintoism is the belief in spirits, and how they are always with us, and protecting us. Hindusim is very similar to Shintoism, Hinduism believes that there are many gods, and they are among u, and will guide us.

As told in Japanese legend, its founding emperor, Jimmu, ruled Japan at 600 B.C. It is also believed that the current Japanese emperor is a direct descendent of Jimmu. Even though Japan has an emperor it is still a democracy, and the emperor is mostly a figurehead, however he is still worshiped, and respected like a god.

Japan first related with the West was in 1542 when a Portuguese ship that was lost came to Japan. In the next 100 years more people came but Japan did not trust them. Then Japan shoguns banned all foreigners from coming to Japan and they isolated themselves for over 200 years. In 1854 Japan went to the Convention of Kanagawa with the United States.

Japan became an ally with Germany in 1937. Once this relationship developed it led to the attack in Pearl Harbor. After 4 long years of war and after a loss of around 3 million lost lives they surrendered to the US. on Sept. 2, 1945.

After World War II, Japan reformed to a democratic system. Even though Japan is very small in area, they have the second biggest economy in the world today.