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 Simple Greetings

Pronunciation English
Ohayoo gozaimasu Good Morning.
Konnichi wa. Good afternoon. [Good
day][Hello]
Konban wa. Good evening
Oyasumi nasai. Good night (said just before
going to bed).
Facts:
 The Japanese word for Japan is 日本, which is pronounced
Nippon or Nihon.
 An early record of the word in English is in a 1565 letter, spelled
Giapan.
 from the Meiji Restoration until the end of World War II, th full titl
of Japan was, Dai Nippon Teikoku (大日本帝國), meaning “The
Empire of Great Japan".

location

Found in east asia

located in the pacific ocean, lies east of the
sea of japan, the east china sea, the china,
Korea and russia, stretching from the sea of
okhotsk in the north to the east china sea and
Taiwan in the south
Its islands
japan is a stratovolcanic archipelago of 6,852
islands.
The four largest are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu
and Shikoku, which make up about ninety-
seven percent of Japan's land area.
The country is divided into 47 prefectures in
eight regions.
Tokyo is Japan’s capital
population
 The current population of Japan is 126,263,877 as of Sunday,
September 25, 2016, based on the latest United Nations
estimates.
 Japan population is equivalent to 1.72% of the total world
population
 Japan ranks number 11 in the list of countries by population
 The population density in Japan is 347 per Km2 (897 people per
mi2).
 The total land area is 364,571 Km2 (140,761 sq. miles)
 93.7 % of the population is urban (118,911,665 people in 2016)
 The median age in Japan is 46.9 years.
Government and politics
 Japan is a constitutional monarchy whereby the power of the
Emperor is very limited. As a ceremonial figurehead, he is
defined by the constitution as "the symbol of the State and of
the unity of the people.”
 Power is held chiefly by the Prime Minister and other elected
members of the Diet, while sovereignty is vested in the
Japanese people.
 Akihito is the current Emperor of Japan; Naruhito, Crown Prince
of Japan, stands as next in line to the Chrysanthemum Throne.
 The current Prime Minister of Japan is Shinzo Abe
climate
 Has four distinct seasons
 Winter, from December to February, is quite dry and sunny along the Pacific coast
and the temperatures rarely drop below 0°C. The temperatures drop as you move
north, with the Central and Northern regions experiencing snowfall. Southern Japan
is relatively temperate and experiences a mild winter.
 Spring is from March to May. Temperatures are warm but not too hot, plus there isn’t
too much rain. The famous cherry blossoms are out during this time and there are
plenty of festivals to enjoy.
 Summer begins in June and the country experiences a three to four-week rainy
season during which the farmers plant their rice. It is hot and humid during this time
and temperatures are often in the high 30’s. Summer wraps up in August.
 Autumn is from September to November and is characterised by light breezes and
cooler temperatures of around 8-10oC. It’s during autumn that many exhibitions,
music concerts and sports tournaments are held in Japan.
Culture

The culture of Japan has evolved greatly over

the millennia, from the country's prehistoric
Jōmon period, to its contemporary modern
culture, which absorbs influences from Asia,
Europe, and North America.
Food/cuisine
 Japanese cuisine has developed through centuries of
social and economic changes, and encompasses the
regional and traditional foods of Japan.
 Apart from rice, staples include noodles, such as soba
and udon.
 Foreign food, in particular Chinese food in the form of
noodles in soup called ramen and fried dumplings,
gyoza, and western food such as curry and hamburger
steaks are commonly found in Japan.
 Japan has an indigenous form of sweets called wagashi
include ingredients such as red bean paste as well as
indegenous rice wine or sake.
Language and literature
 Japanese is the official and primary language of Japan. 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. The
 Early works of Japanese literature were heavily influenced by
cultural contact with China and Chinese literature, often written in
Classical Chinese. Indian literature also had an influence through
the diffusion of Buddhism in Japan.
music
 The music of Japan includes a wide array of performers in distinct
styles both traditional and modern.
 The word for music in Japanese is 音楽 (ongaku), combining the
kanji 音 "on" (sound) with the kanji 楽 "gaku" (enjoyment).
 Japan is the second largest music market in the world, behind the
United States, and the largest in Asia,[2] and most of the market is
dominated by Japanese artists.
 Local music often appears at karaoke venues, which is on lease
from the record labels.
 Traditional Japanese music is quite different from Western Music
and is based on the intervals of human breathing rather than
mathematical timing.
arts
 Visual art is composed of painting, calligraphy,
sculpture,, ukiyo-e or woodblock prints, and ikebana or
the flower arrangement
 The performing arts, on the other hand has four
traditional theatres namely noh (or nō), kyogen, kabuki,
and bunraku.
Popular culture
 Japanese Popular Culture not only reflects the attitudes
and concerns of the present day, but also provides a link
to the past.
 Popular films, television programs, manga, music, Anime
and video games all developed from older artistic and
literary traditions, and many of their themes and styles of
presentation can be traced to traditional art forms.
 Many anime and manga are very popular around the
world and continue to become popular, as well as
Japanese video games, fashion, and game shows
Interesting Facts

 Control obesity by measuring waistlines of Japanese people

 Shame is associated with failure, which leads to high suicide rate.
 When Japanese are asked what they do, they usually respond with the
name of the company that they work for, and not the job they perform.
Borrowed Values

China deeply influenced Japan in: philosophy,

science, literature and arts, they even adopted
the Chinese writing system .
Japan’s island was far enough away to escape
invasion but close enough to interact and
benefit from the Chinese.
BASHO (1644-1694)
 MATSUO MANUFESA, Japanese poet is considered a master of the haiku
form.
 The structure of of his haiku reflects the simplicity of his meditative life.
 Haiku- was treated as a literary game.
HAIKU
 Quick-falling dew
Ah, let me chance in you
This wretched life.

On a withered branch
a crow has settled
autumn nightfall

The summer grasses grow

Of mighty warriors’ splendid dreams
the afterglow.
 Sakyo Kumatsu - author of Sinking of Japan
 Hiroshi Kikuchi (Kan Kikuchi) - the madman on the roof
 Yoshitaro - madman
 Lee Yu Hwa - The last rite