JAPAN FLAG

The national flag of Japan is a white rectangular flag with a large red disc (representing the sun) in the center. This flag is officially called Nisshōki (日章旗?, "sun-mark flag") in Japanese, but is more commonly known as Hinomaru (日の丸?, "circle of the sun").

The Nisshōki flag is designated as the national flag in the Law Regarding the National Flag and National Anthem, which was promulgated and became effective on August 13, 1999. Although no earlier legislation had specified a national flag, the sun-disc flag had already become the de facto national flag of Japan. Two proclamations issued in 1870 by the Daijō-kan, the governmental body of the early Meiji Era, each had a provision for a design of the national flag. A sun-disc flag was adopted as the national flag for merchant ships under Proclamation No. 57 of Meiji 3 (issued on February 27, 1870), and as the national flag used by the Navy under Proclamation No. 651 of Meiji 3 (issued on October 27, 1870). Use of the Hinomaru was severely restricted during the early years of the American occupation after World War II; these restrictions were later relaxed.

In early Japanese history, the Hinomaru motif was used on flags of daimyos and samurai. The ancient history Shoku Nihongi says that Emperor Mommu used a flag representing the sun in his court in 701, and this is the first recorded use of a sun-motif flag in Japan. The oldest existing flag is preserved in Unpō-ji temple, Kōshū, Yamanashi, which is older than the 16th century, and an ancient legend says that the flag was given to the temple by Emperor Go-Reizei in the 11th century. During the Meiji Restoration, both the sun disc and the Rising Sun Ensign of the Imperial Japanese Navy became major symbols in the emerging Japanese empire. Propaganda posters, textbooks, and films depicted the flag as a source of pride and patriotism. In Japanese homes, citizens were required to display the flag during national holidays, celebrations and other occasions as decreed by the government. Different tokens of devotion to Japan and its emperor featuring the Hinomaru motif became popular during the Second Sino-Japanese War and other conflicts. These tokens ranged from slogans written on the flag to clothing items and dishes that resembled the flag.

Public perception of the national flag varies. To some Japanese, the flag represents Japan, and no other flag could take its place. However, the flag is not frequently displayed in Japan due to its association with ultranationalism. The use of the flag and the national anthem Kimigayo have been a contentious issue for Japan's public schools since the end of World War II (the Pacific War). Disputes about their use have led to protests and lawsuits. To Okinawans, the flag represents the events of World War II and the subsequent U.S. military presence there. For some nations that had been occupied by Japan, the flag is a symbol of aggression and imperialism. The Hinomaru was used as a tool against occupied nations for purposes of intimidation, asserting Japan's dominance, or subjugation. Despite the negative connotations, Western and Japanese sources claim the flag is a powerful and enduring symbol to the Japanese. Several military banners of Japan are based on the Hinomaru, including the sunrayed Naval Ensign. The Hinomaru also serves as a template for other Japanese flags in public and private use.

By: Cinthya

Por: Cinthya

Traditional Japanese Dance (:

By: Kevin S.

Sumo training Japan

By: Kevin S.

GEOGRAPHY OF JAPAN

Japan is situated in the Pacific Ocean in an area known as the 'Ring of Fire', where there are several volcanoes . Moreover the place is also the meeting place of several tectonic plates. As a result, when these plates move, it creates earthquakes in Japan. Sometime, these earthquakes in the ocean results in huge and fatal tsunamis that severely damages various areas and population in Japan. Japan has many volcanoes also. Its highest mountain peak, known as Mount Fuji, is nothing but a volcano, the last eruption of which took place in the year 170 7. 

Japan has a wide geographical variety . It is located on the Pacific ocean and in the eastern side of China, Korea and Russia. Japan is an island country that is comprised of more than three thousand islands. Among these several islands there are four main islands that comprises at least 97% of the total land area in Japan. These four mail islands are, Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu and Shikoku. Among these four islands , Hokkaido is situated at the extreme northern part of Japan and Kyushu, in the southern most part of the country. In the geography of Japan moreover we see that the country is surrounded by many oceans and seas. In the northern part there is the Sea of Okhotsk. In the south west part there is the East China Sea . The east and south part of Japan is bordered by Pacific Ocean and Sea of Japan and the Korea Strait border the west part of the Country.

Posted  by Juan Pablo Dircio A.

Housing, Food and Clothing

(A Japanese-style room with a tatami floor.)

Housing.

Traditional Japanese homes are made of wood and supported by wooden pillars, but today's homes usually have Western-style rooms with wooden flooring and are often constructed with steel pillars. More and more families in urban areas, moreover, live in large, ferroconcrete apartment buildings.

Two big differences from Western homes are that shoes are not worn inside the house and that at least one room tends to be designed in the Japanese style with a tatami floor. Shoes are taken off when entering a house to keep the floor clean. The genkan, or entrance, serves as a place for removing, storing, and putting on shoes. People tend to put on slippers for indoor use as soon as they have taken off their shoes.

Food.

The word for "meal" in Japanese isgohan. This word actually refers to steamed rice, but rice is such an important food to the Japanese thatgohan has come to mean all sorts of meals. A traditional Japanese meal consists of a serving of plain, white rice, along with a main dish (fish or meat), some kind of side dish (often cooked vegetables), soup (often miso soup), and pickled vegetables. Japanese rice is sticky when cooked, making it ideal for eating with chopsticks.

Japanese today eat many dishes from around the world, notably from Europe, North America, and Asia. In addition to rice, Japanese people eat bread, noodles, and pasta and enjoy a wide array of meats, fishes, vegetables, and fruits. Sushi, tempura, sukiyaki, and other Japanese foods famous abroad are, of course, also popular in Japan.

Clothes

The traditional dress of Japan is the kimono. Kimonos, which are generally made of silk, have large sleeves and reach from the shoulders all the way down to the heels. They are tied with a wide belt called an obi. Kimonos are now usually worn only on special occasions, such as the Shichi-Go-San festival, weddings, and graduation ceremonies.

Compared to Western dress, the kimono tends to limit one's movement, and it takes more time to put on properly. In the summer, however, a more easily worn, lightweight informal kimono known as a yukata is worn by children and young adults at festivals, fireworks displays, and other special occasions. In everyday life, though, young people tend to prefer clothing that is easier to move around in, like T-shirts, jeans, polo shirts, and sweat suits.

                                                                       By: Alexi

Bored???... distract yourself with this 20 interesting facts of Japan

20. Raw horse meat is a popular entree in Japan. Sliced thinly and eaten raw it is called basashi – it is pictured above.

19. Over 70% of Japan consists of mountains. The country also has over 200 volcanoes.

18. A musk melon (similar to a cantaloupe) can sell for over 31,473 yen ($300.00).

17. The literacy rate in Japan is almost 100%.

16. There are vending machines in Japan that dispense beer!

15. Japanese people have an average life-expectancy that is 4 years longer than Americans. Maybe American’s should eat more basashi!

14. Some men in Japan shave their heads as a form of apology

13. Japan has the second lowest homicide rate in the world, but is also home to the extremely spooky suicide forest, aokigahara. One occupant of the forest is pictured above.

12. Japan has produced 15 Nobel laureates (in chemistry, medicine and physics), 3 Fields medalists and one Gauss Prize laureate.

11. Younger sumo-wrestlers are traditionally required to clean and bathe the veteran sumo-wrestlers at their wrestling “stables”…including all the hard-to-reach places.

10. Japan’s unemployment rate is less than 4%.

9. Japan consists of over 6,800 islands.

8. “Tetsuo: Iron Man” (no relation to the comic book, or Robert Downey, Jr. film), a relatively popular, extreme, “Cyberpunk” film (a “cyberpunk” film is a science fiction film that involves technology – and the abuse thereof – and social unrest), was based on a play the director Shinya Tsukamoto wrote and directed in college.

7. A Paleolithic culture from about 30,000 BC is the first known inhabitants of Japan.

6. Prolific Japanese film-maker Takahi Miike made up to 50 films in a decade during the peak of his career.

5. Animated Japanese films and television shows (.i.e.: Anime) account for 60% of the world’s animation-based entertainment. So successful is animation in Japan, that there are almost 130 voice-acting schools in the country.

4. 21% of the Japanese population is elderly, the highest proportion in the world.

3. In the past, the Japanese court system has had a conviction rate as high as 99%!

2. Japanese prisons (as of 2003) operated at an average of 117% capacity.

1. Raised floors help indicate when to take off slippers or shoes. At the entrance to a home in Japan, the floor will usually be raised about 6 inches (15.24 cm.) indicating you should take off your shoes and put on slippers. If the house has a tatami mat room, its floor may be raised 1-2 inches (2.54-5.08 cm.) indicating you should take off your slippers.
                                                                                                                             

    By: Alexi

Politics of Japan..

The politics of Japan is conducted in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic monarchy where the Prime Minister of Japan is the head of government and the head of the Cabinet that directs the executive branch. Legislative power is vested in the Diet, which consists of the House of Representatives and the House of Councilors. Japanese politics encompasses the multi-party system. The judicial power is vested in the Supreme Court and lower courts. In academic studies, Japan is generally considered a constitutional monarchy with a system of civil law.

The politics of Japan is conducted in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic monarchy where the Prime Minister of Japan is the head of government and the head of the Cabinet that directs the executive branch. Legislative power is vested in the Diet, which consists of the House of Representatives and the House of Councilors. Japanese politics encompasses the multi-party system. The judicial power is vested in the Supreme Court and lower courts. In academic studies, Japan is generally considered a constitutional monarchy with a system of civil law.

EMPEROR

The Emperor of Japan is the ceremonial monarch in the Japanese constitutional monarchy and is the head of the Japanese Imperial Family. According to the Japan's 1947 constitution, which dissolved the Empire of Japan, he is "the symbol of the state and of the unity of the people." The current emperor is Emperor Akihito.

LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

In the Japanese Political System, the House of Councillors is the upper house of the Japanese Diet, which is composed of 242 members. The term of office for the elected member of the upper house is for six years. The House of Representatives is the lower house, and it is the powerful house in the Diet with 480 members. The term of office for this house is limited to four years. Citizens of Japan, who have attained the age of twenty years, may take part in the election process on the basis of universal adult franchise. The minimum age to the member of the House of Representatives is confined to twenty five years old and thirty years for the House of Councillors.

By: Kevin S.

Learn how to ask and answer 7 different questions in 3 different languages

Traditional Japanese Modern Music

A perfect  combination of  traditional  Japanese  instruments and modern ones, and  at  the  same  time  this  group  shows  a  new  style  of  traditional chlothes.

By Isaac