CULTURE

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Japanese language

The Japanese language has always played a significant role in Japanese culture. The language is spoken mainly in Japan but also in some Japanese emigrant communities around the world. It is an agglutinative language and the sound inventory of Japanese is relatively small but has a lexically distinct pitch-accent system.
Japanese is written with a combination of three scripts: hiragana, derived from the Chinese cursive script, katakana, derived as a shorthand from Chinese characters, and kanji, imported from China.
Painting
Painting has been an art in Japan for a very long time: the brush is a traditional writing tool, and the extension of that to its use as an artist's tool was probably natural.

Sculpture

Traditional Japanese sculptures mainly consisted of Buddhist images, such as Tathagata, Bodhisattva and Myō-ō. The oldest sculpture in Japan is a wooden statue of Amitābha at the Zenkō-ji temple. Wood has traditionally been used as the chief material in Japan, along with the traditional Japanese architectures. Statues are often lacquered, gilded, or brightly painted, although there are little traces on the surfaces. Bronze and other metals are also used. Other materials, such as stone and pottery, have had extremely important roles in the plebeian beliefs.

Theatre of Japan

The four traditional theatres from Japan are noh, kyogen, kabuki and bunraku. Noh had its origins in the union of the sarugaku with music and dance made by Kanami and Zeami Motokiyo.Among the characteristic aspects of it are the masks, costumes and the stylized gestures, sometimes accompanied by a fan that can represent other objects. The noh programs are presented in alternation with the ones of kyogen, traditionally in number of five, but currently in groups of three.

Architecture


Japanese architecture has as long a history as any other aspect of Japanese culture. Originally heavily influenced by Chinese architecture, it also develops many differences and aspects which are indigenous to India.
Some modern architects, such as Yoshio Taniguchi and Tadao Ando are known for their amalgamation of Japanese traditional and Western architectural influences.

Sports

Baseball, football (soccer) and other popular western sports were imported to Japan in the Meiji period. These sports are commonly practiced in schools along with traditional martial arts.
The most popular professional sports in today's Japan are Sumo, baseball and football (soccer). In addition, many semi-professional organizations, such as volleyball, basketball and rugby union, are sponsored by private companies.

Music

The modern Japanese music scene includes a wide array of performers in distinct styles both traditional and modern. The word for music in Japanese is ongaku, combining the kanji ("on" sound) with the kanji ("gaku" fun, comfort). Local music often appears at karaoke venues, which is on lease from the record labels.

Traditional music

Two of the oldest forms of traditional Japanese music are shōmyō,Buddhist chanting, and gagaku,orchestral court music, both of which date to the Nara and Heian periods.

Traditional pop music

After the Meiji Restoration introduced Western musical instruction, a bureaucrat named Izawa Shuji compiled songs like "Auld Lang Syne" and commissioned songs using a pentatonic melody.[citation needed] . Western music, especially military marches, soon became popular in Japan. Two major forms of music that developed during this period were shoka, which was composed to bring western music to schools, and gunka, which are military marches with some Japanese elements.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Country name
Japan (Nihon or Nippon in Japanese pronunciation)

National flag
It show the image of the sun rising.This first appeared in 8th century andofficially became the national flag in 1990.
Land area
377,923k

Population
About 127,720,000 (2009)

Capital city
Tokyo

System of government
Constitutional Monarchy

Ethnic composition
Japanese race (Yamato race) 98.5%
and small groups for example, Ainu, Wiruta, Nibuhu etc.

Religion
Shinto and Buddhism are the majority,but not many Japanese people are conscious about religion.
Sum of Christians, Muslims and other religions is less than 1%.

Language
Japanese (not many people speak English)

Currency
Japanese Yen

National holidays
January 1: New Year's Day

Second Monday of January : Coming-of-Age Day

February 11: National Foundation Day

March 20 or 21: Vernal Equinox Day

WEATHER

Japanese are proud of their four seasons (and a surprising number believe the phenomenon is unique to Japan), but the discerning tourist should try to aim for two of them.

Spring: The temperatures are warm but not hot, there's not too much rain, and March-April brings the justly famous cherry blossoms and is a time of revelry and festivals.


Summer: starts with a dreary rainy season and turns into a steam with extreme humidity and the temperature heading as high as 40°C.

Autumn – Fall: is a close second to spring. Temperatures become more tolerable, fair days are common and fall colors can be just as impressive as cherry blossoms.

Winter: is a good time to go skiing or hot-spring hopping.

LANDSCAPE

BEACHES

Ago-no-Matsubara Beach

The shallow beach stretches for 3 km along the shore and is always popular with holidaymakers. You can enjoy surfing not only in summer, but throughout the year.

Jiro-Rokuro Beach

White sandy beach with shoal and quiet waves facing the Agowan Bay. Making use of the two sides of the peninsula, the beach is interestingly located.

Watakano Pearl Beach

This beach, with its serene water, takes pride in its Spanish style rest house. Here you can enjoy the tropics-like resort throughout the year; this is a must.

Hamajima Beach Park

A pretty beach with gentle waves that you can enjoy, just around the corner. Events such as “Ise Ebi Lobster Festival” and “Catching Fish” take place here, too.

Nanbari Beach Park

A beautiful beach with a tropical atmosphere. Fine gentle sand, clean water and a quiet beach give you a sensation of pleasant coolness.

MOUNTAINS

One of the most famous Japan Mountains is undoubtedly the majestic Mount Fuji, annually visited

Some of the sacred forests in Japan are:

• The Forest of the Yahiko
• The Forest of Atsuta
• The Forest of Kashima Jingu
• The Forest of Shimogamo Jinja
• The Forest of the Kirishima Jingu.

Shirakami Mountains

HISTORY

Japan is located on islands on the outermost edge of Asia has had a profound influence on Japan's history. Just close enough to mainstream Asia, yet far enough to keep itself separate, much of Japanese history has been the alternation of periods of closure and openness. Until recently, Japan has been able to turn on or off its connection to the rest of the world, internalizing foreign cultural influences in fits and starts. It is comparable with the relationship between Britain and the rest of Europe, but with a much wider channel.

LOCATION

Situated off the eastern edge of the Asian continent, Japan is bounded on the North by the Sea of Okhotsk, on the East and South by the Pacific Ocean, on the Southwest by the East China Sea, and on the West by the Sea of Japan.

Japan's capital city, Tokyo, is located on the east coast of the island of Honshu.

POPULATION

The population of Japan is of 127.7 million. Japan the 10th most populous country of the world, contributes 2% of the total global population. Japan is now a day is facing a sharp decline in its populations as the # of deaths is outnumbering the number of births in the country. This has impacted the growth prospects of the country negatively. Longer life expectancy and low birth rates means that reducing Japanese population is graying at a higher rate. This is an alarming situation for Japan especially during this universal global recession time.