Japan

Land of the Rising

Sun
 Japan ( 日本 Nihon or Nippon?, officially 日本国 Nippon-koku
or Nihon-koku) is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the
Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan,
People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and
Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the
East China Sea and Taiwan in the south. The characters
which make up Japan's name mean "sun-origin", which is why
Japan is sometimes identified as the "Land of the Rising Sun".
 Japan comprises 6,852 islands making it an archipelago. The
four largest islands are Honshū, Hokkaidō, Kyūshū and
Shikoku, together accounting for 97% of Japan's land area.
Most of the islands are mountainous, many volcanic; for
example, Japan’s highest peak, Mount Fuji, is a volcano.
Japan has the world's tenth largest population, with about
128 million people. The Greater Tokyo Area, which includes
the de facto capital city of Tokyo and several surrounding
prefectures, is the largest metropolitan area in the world,
with over 30 million residents.
 Government and politics
 Japan is a constitutional monarchy where 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 of Japan and other elected
members of the Diet, while sovereignty is vested
in the Japanese people The Emperor effectively
acts as the head of state on diplomatic occasions.
Akihito is the current Emperor of Japan. Naruhito
, Crown Prince of Japan, stands as next in line to
the throne.
 Geography
 About 70% to 80% of the
country is forested,
mountainous, and unsuitable
for agricultural, industrial, or
residential use. This is
because of the generally
steep elevations, climate
and risk of landslides caused
by earthquakes, soft ground
and heavy rain. This has
resulted in an extremely
high population density in
the habitable zones that are
mainly located in coastal
areas. Japan is one of the
most densely populated countries temperate coniferous forests
in the world.
 The climate of Japan is
predominantly temperate, but
varies greatly from north to
south.
 Japan is home to nine forest
ecoregions which reflect the
climate and geography of the
islands. They range from
subtropical moist broadleaf forests
in the Ryūkyū and Bonin
islands, to
temperate broadleaf and mixed for
in the mild climate regions of
the main islands, to
in the cold, winter portions of
the northern islands
 Japan's geographical
features divide it into six
principal climatic zones:
 Hokkaidō: The northernmost zone has a temperate climate with long, cold
winters and cool summers. Precipitation is not heavy, but the islands usually
develop deep snow banks in the winter.
 Sea of Japan: On Honshū's west coast, the northwest wind in the wintertime
brings heavy snowfall. In the summer, the region is cooler than the Pacific area,
though it sometimes experiences extremely hot temperatures, because of the
foehn wind phenomenon.
 Central Highland: A typical inland climate, with large temperature differences
between summer and winter, and between day and night. Precipitation is light.
 Seto Inland Sea: The mountains of the Chūgoku and Shikoku regions shelter the
region from the seasonal winds, bringing mild weather throughout the year.
 Pacific Ocean: The east coast experiences cold winters with little snowfall and
hot, humid summers because of the southeast seasonal wind.
 Ryukyu Islands: The Ryukyu Islands have a subtropical climate, with warm
winters and hot summers. Precipitation is very heavy, especially during the
rainy season. Typhoons are common.
 Trivia
 The highest temperature ever
measured in Japan — 40.9 °C
(105.6 °F) — was recorded on August
16, 2007
Mt. Fuji
 Economy
 Japan is the second largest economy in the
world, after the United States, at around US$5
trillion in terms of nominal GDPand third after
the United States and China in terms of
purchasing power parity. Banking, insurance,
real estate, retailing, transportation,
telecommunications and construction are all
major industries.Japan has a large industrial
capacity and is home to some of the largest,
leading and most technologically advanced
producers of motor vehicles,
electronic equipment, machine tools, steel and
nonferrous metals, ships, chemicals, textiles
and processed foods. The service sector
accounts for three quarters of the gross
domestic product.
 Trivia
 The Tokyo Stock Exchange is the world's second
largest stock exchange.
 From 1868, the Meiji period launched economic
expansion. Meiji rulers embraced the concept of
a free market economy and adopted British and
North American forms of free enterprise
capitalism. Japanese went to study overseas and
Western scholars were hired to teach in Japan.
Many of today's enterprises were founded at the
time. Japan emerged as the most developed
nation in Asia.
The Yasuda Auditorium of
University of Tokyo
Japan’s prestigious
University
 Education
 Primary, secondary schools and universities were introduced
into Japan in 1872 as a result of the Meiji Restoration.Since
1947, compulsory education in Japan consists of
elementary school and middle school, which lasts for nine years
(from age 6 to age 15). Almost all children continue their
education at a three-year senior high school, and, according to
the MEXT, about 75.9% of high school graduates attend a
university, junior college, trade school, or other post-secondary
institution in 2005.Japan's education is very competitive,
especially for entrance to institutions of higher education. The
two top-ranking universities in Japan are the University of Tokyo
and Keio University.The
Programme for International Student Assessment coordinated
by the OECD, currently ranks Japanese knowledge and skills of
15-year-olds as the 6th best in the world.
 Culture and recreation
 Japanese culture has evolved greatly over the years, from
the country's original Jōmon culture to its contemporary
culture, which combines influences from Asia, Europe and
North America. Traditional Japanese arts include crafts (
ikebana, origami, ukiyo-e, dolls, lacquerware, pottery),
performances (bunraku, dance, kabuki, noh, rakugo),
traditions (games, tea ceremony, Budō, architecture,
gardens, swords) and cuisine. The fusion of traditional
woodblock printing and Western art led to the creation of
manga, a typically Japanese comic book format that is now
popular within and outside Japan. Manga-influenced
animation for television and film is called anime. Japanese-
made video game consoles have prospered since the
1980s.
 Japan’s Music

 This is the second album

of music by Michio
Miyagi (1894-1956),
presented by the Yamato
Ensemble. The
instruments are
shakuhachi, koto and
jushichigen (‘bass koto’)
with occasional vocals.
Intricate and evocative
Japanese music.
 Sports in Japan
 Traditionally, sumo is  The world's strongest
considered Japan's sumo-man - Emanuel
national sport and it is a Yarbrough
popular spectator sport in 
Japan. Martial arts such as
judo, karate and modern
kendō are also widely
practiced and enjoyed by
spectators in the country.
After the Meiji Restoration,
many Western sports were
introduced in Japan and
began to spread through
the education system.
Japanese Language
Hiragana
 Japanese Art
 Ikebana ( 生け花 ?) is the
Japanese art of flower
arrangement. It has
gained widespread
international fame for its
focus on harmony, color
use, rhythm, and
elegantly simple design.
It is an art centered
greatly on expressing the
seasons, and is meant to
act as a symbol to
something greater than
the flower itself.
Japanese Clothing
 The Japanese word kimono means
"something one wears" and they are
the traditional garments of Japan.
Originally, the word kimono was
used for all types of clothing, but
eventually, it came to refer
specifically to the full-length
garment also known as the naga-gi,
meaning "long-wear", that is still
worn today on special occasions by
women, men, and children. Kimono
in this meaning plus all other items
of traditional Japanese clothing are
known collectively as wafuku which
means "Japanese clothes" as
opposed to yofuku (Western-style
clothing). Kimono come in a variety
of colors, styles, and sizes.
 Japanese Cuisine
 Through a long culinary
past, the Japanese have
developed sophisticated
and refined cuisine. In
recent years, Japanese
food has become
fashionable and popular in
the U.S., Europe and many
other areas. Dishes such as
sushi, tempura, and
teriyaki chicken are some
of the foods that are
commonly known. The
healthy Japanese diet is
often believed to be related
to the longevity of
Japanese people.
 Anime and Manga
 Many anime and manga
are becoming very
popular around the
world, as well as
Japanese video games,
music, and game
shows; this has made
Japan an
"entertainment
superpower" along with
the United States and
European Union.
L-O-V-E Rukawa
Geisha
Samurai
 Samurai ( 侍 or sometimes
士 ) is a common term for a
warrior in pre-industrial
Japan. A more appropriate
term is bushi ( 武士 ) (lit.
"war-man") which came into
use during the Edo period.
However, the term samurai
now usually refers to warrior
nobility, not, for example,
ashigaru or foot soldiers. The
samurai with no attachment
to a clan or daimyo was
called a ronin
 Japanese Marriage
The main guideline in the choice of a suitable partner in Japan is
the social status of a person, which comes from his/her
professional activities, education level, financial position. It
matters, first of all, because marriage and the ceremonies
concerned are exceptionally expensive. For reasons of prestige,
the Japanese sacrifice lots of money to conduct the wedding
ceremony up to standard.
Marriage is preceded by an engagement agreement, which is
accompanied with mutual exchange of presents in the presence
of parents and witnesses. The bride and the groom exchange
lists of their relatives with a detailed comment on the relation
degree. There is national Japanese etiquette, which sets the
value of the present and even the way it should be packed.
 As well as the bride and the groom,
some of the main characters of a
wedding ceremony are the sinoit
priest (kannusi) and his assistants
(miko). In the beginning of the
ceremony the priest conducts the
ritual of purification, reading the
ancient prayers. The bride and the
groom accept from each other little
cups of Japanese vodka sake, drinking
three sips from each. After that, they
exchange wedding rings. The ritual
ends with the pledge of the bride to be
faithful to the husband and the family.

A characteristic feature of Japanese

wedding feasts is the strict regulation
of the way the guests are placed at
the table, the rules of their interaction
with each other and the sequence of
toasting. The order of the wedding is
very much respected.
Health
 Japanese tea usually
indicates Green Tea.
Fresh green tea
leaves are steamed,
dried, rolled, and
blended. There are
many kinds of green
tea: gyokuro, sencha,
macha, genmaicha,
bancha, and more.
 JAPANESE TRADITIONAL HEALING
PRACTICES
 Traditional Japanese believe that an individual's
health is dependent on maintaining a harmonious
relationship with the universe.
 Hari (acupuncture) and kyu (moxibustion) were
used to restore the balance in the body. Small
needles are used in acupuncture and applied to
specific points on the skin surface. Moxibustion
was used to help ailments of the muscles, joints,
bones and back. Another common treatment
methodology used is massage. Massage is thought
to restore proper balances and stimulate the
body's natural ability to fight off illness.
 Traditional Japanese
Childbirth Customs
 Customarily, a month before birth, a woman would leave
her husband return to her parents home and give birth.
Her family would care for her one month then she'd
return to her husband with child. After the fifth month of
pregnancy, a woman wears a cotton abdomen band called
a Iwata-obi. It is given by her family for protection, good
luck and an easy birth.
 After birth, a practice widely held is "seventh night", or
the celebration of naming. On this day the child is named
and introduced to the world, although the baby does not
leave the house for one month.
 On the baby's first birthday, various tools are placed in
the path of the crawling child.. Items like a sickle, an
abacus or a writing brush can tell the future profession of
the infant by which one it chooses to play with.
 Shiatsu
 Shiatsu is an ancient art of health that originally came from China.
In Japan, the word "shiatsu" means finger pressure: shi (finger)
atsu (pressure). Shiatsu improves the bosy's own natural powers
of recuperation and prevents illness. It relies on the mental
attitude of the person undergoing treatment. Shiatsu is used to
relax the body, guard against colds, relieve fatigue and relax
aching sholders & backs. The most common reason people get
shiatsu is to treat backaches.
 The shiatsu practioners that I interviewed entered this field
because of previous exposure to the positive health benefits
experienced by family members who were treated with shiatsu.
 In practicing shiatsu, a pressure is applied to the surface of the
body in a gradual manner that penetrates and limbers the muscles
beneath. The bulb of the thumbs and fingers are used to apply
sufficient pressure.
 The Role of Traditional Herbal
Medicine in Modern Japan
 Japanese kampo is an important feature of modern medical
practice in Japan. Almost all Japanese pharmacies carry the
traditional herbal formulas and have a pharmacist on staff
trained in the traditional methods of prescription.
 The word kampo in Japanese is a generic term for Chinese
medicine. The literal meaning of kampo is "Han method,"
the treatment system of the "Hans," as the Chinese were
referred to. Until 1875, when Western medicine became the
official medicine, the dominant form of medical practice in
Japan was kampo and acupuncture. After legislation was
passed in 1875 sanctifying Western medicine as the sole
orthodox system of practice, kampo was relegated to an
insignificant role.
 International
Energy Medicine Practitioners
and Students in Training
Japan
 Catrien Ross
 Professional Practitioner
Fujikawaguchiko Town, Yamanashi,
Japan
 At the foot of Mount Fuji, overlooking
Lake Kawaguchi, Energy Medicine
Japan integrates therapy within a
stunning setting of ancient, sacred
sites. Catrien's nature- based practice
incorporates Eden Energy Medicine,
Oriental Energy Medicine, and her
training in ecopsychology and
practical metaphysics. She also uses
healing art   and dance to reconnect
mind, body and spirit with the web of
life's natural wisdom.  Catrien
facilitates an Energy Medicine study
group and classes, as well as
international workshops.
  Thank you
Madz,Nachez,Donz,Badz,
 Ericz, Franz,Orpz,Jiz,Cez