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Japanese Cuisine

Japanese cuisine is an intricate delicacy revolving around sharing food with family rather than just eating with the family. Most Japanese meals, if not all, are usually accompanied by a bowl of rice. The obviously implications around rice as an accompaniment to most meals are based on extending food supplies where scarcity can otherwise be a problem in some areas of Japan. Since rice is a starch, it both feeds and fuels the human body better than most other available foods. For breakfast it is usually mixed with egg, raw or cooked, and soy sauce. Rice is also a staple in sushi. “Legend has it that sushi was invented about a thousand years ago when an old woman who lived in the woods of Japan had just sat down to eat a big pot of rice. She heard some bandits coming —and fearing they would take her rice —she climbed a tree and hid it in the nest of a sea bird. By the time the bandits departed and she finally got back up the tree, the rice had partially fermented and it was completely littered with bits and pieces of fish left by the sea bird. She tasted it. It was great. And thus, sushi was born.”[1] A bowl of plain rice with which some other food group, namely protein, is garnished is called Donburi. Cooked rice, usually wrapped in nori (seaweed), is called Onigiri, or rice balls, and usually has a type of fish as its center. Kare Baisu (curry rice) is cooked rice with a Japanese curry sauce and can be served with additional toppings including fried rice, Chahan. Chazuke, or Ochazuke, consists of hot water, tea, or light fish stock poured over rice, and Kayu, or Okayu, is Japanese rice porridge. The Japanese also make meaty dishes such as Yakitori, skewered grilled chicken pieces seasoned with salt or sauce. Tonkatsu is another meat dish consisting of deep-fried pork cutlets usually accompanied by shredded cabbage or on top of cooked rice. Yakiniku, which literally means “grilled meat”, is a mostly pork or beef dish and its name refers to the grilling of the bite-size pieces of meat. Nikujaga, sweet stewed meat and potatoes, and Teppanyaki, meat, seafood, and vegetables, are prepared on a large iron griddle. Historically, the Japanese shunned meat, however, with the modernization of Japan in the 1860s, meat-based dishes became commonplace appearances. Apart from starches like rice, staples such as soba or udon noodles also make their stand as hardy Japanese delicacies. Foreign foods, such as ramen, fried dumplings, gyoza, and western dishes such as curry or hamburger steaks have become common on the tables of Japanese homes. A new tread in America is something called the “Okinawa diet” which is based on the foods of the Japanese island of Okinawa, and taking part in the diet promises to reduce weight and extend the lives of the participants. The bases of the diet consist of eating relatively high amounts of high-energy foods, and the principle focus of the diet consists of knowing the food energy density of each item.

[1]http://www2.moundsviewschools.org/moundsview/userfiles/coopetj/good_eats_sushi_overhead.pdf

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Okinawa_diet

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_cuisine

#food #japan #sushi #good eats #okinawa #rice

Tourist Attractions

Visitors can be immersed in Japanese history and culture one day and get a glimpse of the future through technological developments the next. Almost all of the historical sites are still used for their original purposes while remaining open to the public. The natural beauty of Japan can be seen all year. In addition, Japan has one of the world's lowest crime rates which makes it ideal for travelers. One of the top ten tourist attractions of Japan is the Hiroshima Peace Memorial which is a haunting tribute to the lives lost when the atomic bomb was dropped on the city during the final moments of World War II. Another interesting attraction is the Jigokudani Monkey Park where, during the winter, dozens of Snow Monkeys descend to wade in the warm hot springs. Kiyomizu-dera is a Buddhist Temple that can be traced as far back as seven hundred eighty-nine and Himeji Castle, which served as a defense against enemies during feudal Japan, has been a popular attraction since its many rebuilds over the centuries reflect the styles of different periods. One of nature's wonders, Mount Fuji is the highest mountain in Japan at three thousand seven hundred and seventy-six meters. The volcano's exceptionally symmetrical cone is a well-known symbol of Japan and it is frequently depicted in art and photographs, and serves as a beautiful spot for sightseers and climbers. An estimated two hundred thousand people climb Mount Fuji every year, thirty percent of whom are foreigners. The Emperor of Japan makes his home at the Tokyo Imperial Palace, which also functions as an administration center and a museum to showcase Japanese art and history. The palace sets atop the ruins of a much older castle that was destroyed in the distant past by war. Architects honor those ruins and the past by incorporating design elements of different eras into the modern palace. The new palace is surrounded by traditional Japanese gardens and houses multiple rooms for guests. Also in Japan's capitol, Tokyo Tower functions as a communications and observation tower inspired by the Eiffel Tower of Paris, France. The Great Buddha of Kamakura is a colossal, outdoor presentation of one of Japan's most celebrated Buddhist figures and Todaiji Temple, surrounded by beautiful gardens and wildlife, houses the world's largest bronze Buddha statue inside the largest wooden building. Kinkaku-ji, or the “Temple of the Golden Pavilion, is the most popular tourist attraction in Japan and Kyoto. The pavilion was originally built as a retirement villa for Shōgun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu in the late fourteenth century, unfortunately, the pavilion was burnt down in 1950 by a young monk who had become obsessed with it. Five years later, the temple was rebuilt as an exact duplicate of the original with emphasis on the building’s and surrounding gardens' harmony with one another. The pavilion was rebuilt with gold leaf covering it which highlighted the reflection of the pond and the pavilion's reflection within the pond. Most of Japan's less-traditional tourist attractions include a multitude of festivals and “cons” dedicated to video games and illustration.

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Natural Disasters

When a large wall of unstoppable water collides with shores of the Eastern hemisphere, is called a tsunami. Like a normal sea wave on steroids, a tsunami is a large tidal wave with a long wavelength with multiple waves following. A tsunami is created when a large volume of a body of water, generally an ocean or a large lake, is displaced. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, underwater explosion (including detonations of underwater nuclear devices), landslides and other mass movements, glacier decay, bolide (meteorite) impacts, and other disturbances above or below water all have the potential to generate a tsunami. Tsunamis generally consist of a series of waves with periods ranging from minutes to hours, arriving in a so-called “wave train”. Sometimes a tsunami will initially resemble a rapidly rising tide, and for this reason they are often referred to as tidal waves in other parts of the world. Despite how they are classified, wave heights up to tens of miles can be generated by large events. Although the impact of a tsunami is generally associated and limited to coastal regions, their power to destroy can be reprehensible and enormous, and they can affect entire ocean basins. On June 15th, 1896, tidal waves as high as one hundred feet (thirty meters), spawned by an earthquake, swept the east coast of Japan. Some twenty-seven thousand people died. The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami was among one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded human history with at least two hundred and ninety thousand people killed, not including those missing in fourteen different countries bordering the Indian Ocean. This included around two hundred and thirty thousand people in Japan. During the month of March in 2011 there was an eight point nine magnitude earthquake took place about two hundred and thirty-one miles northeast of Tokyo. The result of the earthquake generated a tsunami with thirty foot waves and when they reached Japan they damaged several of their nuclear reactors. Twenty-five trillion yen of damage was caused between the tsunami and the earthquake itself. The tsunami swept away vehicles, collapsed buildings, and severed roads and highways. Sixty to seventy thousand people were ordered to evacuate near the city of Sendai for fear that the nuclear power plant might experience a meltdown. Overnight, an aftershock of the earthquake hit two more cities and around five o'clock in the morning the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station was in a state of disrepair and a nuclear emergency was declared. The backup generators had been knocked out by the tsunami, the nuclear power plant's electrical power had gotten shut off, and the cooling systems for three of the four units failed altogether. Japan was in a state of emergency with about ten percent of Japan's population, over six million homes, without electricity along with about a million without water. Tsunamis are a frequent occurrence in Japan and Japan has one of the longest recorded history of tsunami activity; approximately one hundred and ninety-five events that have cause tsunamis have been recorded.

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The Samurai & Ninja

Long before the modern standard of soldiers, Japan had its own set of protectors over the centuries; these were known as ninja and samurai. Ninja were a class of fighters specialized in spying and assassination while the samurai were similar to the knights of Europe. Both ninja and samurai were trained in self-defense by utilizing weapons such as swords or their own body. Samurai, closely synonymous with the middle and upper echelons of the warrior class (bushi), were the military nobility of pre-modern Japan. During the twelfth century Edo period of Japan, the samurai were the highest ranking social caste and were the rulers through to the seventeenth century while politics remained unstable. The samurai followed a set of rules that came to be known as bushidō. While the samurai numbered less than 10% of Japan's population, their teachings can still be found today in both everyday life and in modern Japanese martial arts. Samurai warriors described themselves as followers of the “way of the warrior”, or Bushidō, which was a unique philosophy that spread through the warrior class from the Muromachi period. Bushidō was a term that began to appear in intellectual and nationalist discourse after the Japanese defeat of China in 1895 and of the Russia in 1905. From the earliest history of the samurai, they felt that the path of the warrior was one of honor, emphasizing duty to one's master, and loyalty unto death. Weapons that the samurai were familiar with during medieval Japan include, but are not limited to: bow and arrows, swords, and spears. During the Heian period, samurai warriors were hired out by landowners, whose wealth had allowed them to outgrow their central governments, because they wanted to protect their wealth and to amass armies. The Minamoto and Taira families, who each amassed their samurai warriors, not only battles each other but their government as well before eventually becoming involved in the establishment of the shōgun. Ninja, or shinobi, were covert agents/mercenaries in feudal Japan. The duties of a ninja included: espionage, sabotage, infiltration, assassination, and open combat in certain situations. Their covert methods of waging war contrasted the ninja with the samurai, who observed strict rules about honor and combat. The shinobi proper, a specially trained group of spies and mercenaries, appeared in the Sengoku or “warring states” period, in the fifteenth century. Espionage was the chief role of the ninja, aided with disguises, by gathering information on enemy terrain, building specifications, passwords, and communiques. Arson was the primary form of sabotage and the ninja never worked alone. There are accounts where a coordinated team of ninja used passwords to communicate. The account also gives a case of deception, where the team of ninja dressed in the same clothes as the defenders, causing much confusion. Superhuman or supernatural powers are also often associated with ninja. Some of the unique abilities of the ninja provenance include: invisibility, walking on water, flight, shape-shifting, the ability to “split” into multiple copies, the summoning of animals, and control over the natural elements such as fire, water, earth, and air.

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Japan in WWII

Not all things history and legends begin or end happily, but should be remembered so that they do not repeat. The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941 (December 8 in Japan). The attack led to the United States' entry into World War II. The attack was intended as a preventive action in order to keep the U.S. Pacific Fleet from interfering with military actions the Empire of Japan was planning in Southeast Asia against overseas territories of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and the United States. There were simultaneous Japanese attacks on the U.S.-held Philippines and on the British Empire in Malaya, Singapore, and Hong Kong. From the standpoint of the defenders, the attack commenced at 7:48AM Hawaiian Time. The base was attacked by three hundred and fifty-three Japanese fighters, bombers and torpedo planes in two waves, launched from six aircraft carriers. All eight U.S. Navy battleships were damaged, with four being sunk. All but one were later raised, and six of the eight battleships returned to service and fought in the war. The Japanese also sank or damaged three cruisers, three destroyers, an anti-aircraft training ship, and one mine-layer. One hundred and eighty-eight U.S. aircraft were destroyed; two thousand four hundred and three Americans were killedand one thousand one hundred and seventy-eight others were wounded. Important base installations such as the power station, shipyard, maintenance, and fuel and torpedo storage facilities, as well as the submarine piers and headquarters building were not attacked. Japanese losses were light: twenty-nine aircraft and five midget submarines lost, and sixty-five servicemen killed or wounded, and only one Japanese sailor was captured. The Kamikaze were suicide attacks by military aviators from the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, designed to destroy warships more effectively than was possible with conventional attacks. Vice Admiral Onishi Takijiro had the concept when the Japanese air forces were no longer competitive with other vessels during World War II. Takijiro suggested the idea of making human missiles out of plans because the pilots would need little training and would cause massive damage. University students often became Kamikaze pilots because they were motivated by obligation and gratitude to their families and country. Receiving a “thousand stitch belt”, writing farewell poems, and holding ceremonies were ways to prepare them to leave for war. Surrounded by fifty pounds of bombs, they would fly off to die on their airborne suicide missions. Over the course of World War II, the Kamikaze had sunk or damaged over three hundred United States ships with over fifteen thousand causalities. The sacrificial philosophy of Japan's Kamikaze pilots was the reason that President Truman decided to drop the atomic bombs. Onishi Takijiro left a note apologizing to the dead Kamikaze soldiers, telling them that their sacrifice was in vain, before committing suicide on the eve of the Japanese surrender. During World War II, about three thousand six hundred and eighty Kamikaze pilots were killed, and about eighteen point six percent of Kamikaze attacks managed to hit a ship.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_on_Pearl_Harbor

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamikaze

Japanese Myths/Legends

Like every culture, Japan has its share of myths and legends. Most Japanese legends embrace Shinto and Buddhist traditions as well as agriculturally-based folk religion. One such item of myth/legend is the Kokkuri, or Kokkuri-san, which was a Japanese game popular during the Meiji period. A Japanese version of an Ouija board, the Kokkuri game was used as a form of divination, based partially on Western table-turning. There are several ways to set up the Kokkuri. The first example: Japanese Hiragana symbolism is drawn on a piece of paper and two people hold a pen, or coin, in the center, ballpoint touching the paper. The people close their eyes and they ask “Kokkuri-san” a question. The other means of using Kokkuri makes use of a mechanism composed of three bamboo rods arranged to make a tripod, upon which a small pot is placed, which is covered by a cloth. Three or more people will place their hands upon the Kokkuri and ask the spirits a question, which that spirit will in theory answer by moving the pot or remaining still. Yotsuya Kaidan, the story of Oiwa and Tamiya Iemon, is a tale of betrayal, murder and ghostly revenge. Arguably the most famous Japanese ghost story of all time, it has been adapted for film over thirty times, and continues to be an influence on Japanese horror today. There are various adaptations of the story, but they all have similar elements. The myth of Oiwa tells of a woman who married her childhood sweetheart and expects a baby. Her husband wants to wed another so he poisons Oiwa. Oiwa was horribly disfigured by the poison and lost her baby. Her husband pushes her off of a cliff and goes to wed the other woman. On his wedding day, he sees Oiwa’s face and tries to behead her but when the head stops rolling, he sees it is not Oiwa, but his new wife to be. The young man runs home as his bride’s grandfather comes after him. He returns to the cliff which Oiwa plummeted and stops at the edge. A passerby witnesses a young woman laughing as she pushed the man over the cliff and follows him down. Miyamoto Musashi, also known as Shinmen Takezō, Miyamoto Bennosuke, or by his Buddhist name, Niten Dōraku, was a Japanese swordsman and rōnin. Musashi, as he was often simply known, became renowned through stories of his excellent swordsmanship in numerous duels, even from a very young age. He was the founder of the Hyōhō Niten Ichi-ryū or Niten-ryū style of swordsmanship and the author of The Book of Five Rings, a book on strategy, tactics, and philosophy that is still studied today. Another Japanese urban legend is of Aka Manto (Red Cape), is about a malicious spirit who haunts public and school toilets, who will ask you if you want red paper or blue paper. In some versions, he will ask you if you want a red or blue cape. Often described as a beautiful man in life and hounded constantly by admirers, he now wears a mask to hide his face.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kokkuri_(game)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yotsuya_Kaidan

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aka_Manto

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This film is to release in 2014, Godzilla's 60th anniversary.

History of Japan

The first known origin of the Japanese was around twelve thousand B.C. when a rich ecosystem of the Japanese archipelago fostered human development. The first known written reference to Japan was in some brief information given in the Twenty-Four Histories (Chinese official historical books covering a period from 300 BC to the Ming dynasty in the 17th century) in the first century A.D. During the Jomon period of three hundred B.C., the natives of Japan were hunters, gatherers, and fishermen. Also in three hundred B.C., during the Yayoi period, rice agriculture began development in Japan, and several small countries unified into larger countries and a social hierarchy was established. It was until the Kofun period that Japan was more or less united as a single country for the first time. It was also during the Kofun period that large tombs were built for their deceased leaders. From five hundred and thirty-eight to five hundred and fifty-two began the introduction of Buddhism to the Japanese culture. In six hundred and forty-five, the Fujiwara era began and the Taika reform was introduced. The current imperial family emerged in the year seven hundred, and the first permanent capitol was founded in seven hundred and ten at Nara, which became the center of Buddhist art, religion, and culture while the main cultural and religious influences came from China. In twelve hundred and seventy-four to twelve hundred and eighty-one the Mongols tried to invade Japan twice but failed mainly because of bad weather conditions. In thirteen thirty-four the Emperor restored power over Japan. By fifteen fifty or so, political power was subdivided into several hundred local units, so called “domains”, controlled by local daimyō (lords), each with his own force of samurai warriors. In fifteen ninety-two to fifteen nighty-eight there was an unsuccessful invasion of Korea by Japan. Tokugawa Ieyasu came to power in sixteen hundred, gave land to his supporters, and set up a feudal government at Edo, modern-day Tokyo. The Tokugawa period was prosperous and peaceful and Japan terminated the Christian missions and cut off almost all contact with the outside world. In the eighteen sixties, the Meiji period began, and the new national leadership systematically ended feudalism and transformed an isolated, underdeveloped island country, into a world power that closely followed Western models. In nineteen fourteen to nineteen eighteen, Japan joined the allied forces during the First World War. The Japanese military moved into China starting in nineteen thirty-one and declared all-out war on China in nineteen thirty-seven. Japan controlled the coast and major cities and set up puppet regimes, but was unable to defeat China. The attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 led to war with the United States and its allies. After a series of naval victories, Japan's military forces were overextended and its industrial base was unable to provide the needed ships, armaments, and oil. Even with his navy sunk and his main cities destroyed by U.S. air attacks, Emperor Shōwa held out until August nineteen forty-five when two atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and a Soviet invasion forced a surrender. The U.S. occupied Japan until nineteen fifty-two. After ninety fifty-five, Japan enjoyed very high economic growth rates, and became a world economic powerhouse even to today.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Japan

Japanese yen (¥)

As the third most traded currency in the modern world, after the United States dollar and the euro, the Japanese yen (¥) is the currency of choice in Asia. The Asian continent uses yen as the most heavily traded currency, between the Chinese yuán (¥) and the Japanese yen (¥). The Wado Kaichin began minting in seven hundred and eight, which were silver and copper coins. Chinese currency was imported after the Japanese were no longer able to manufacture their own coins, which were already similar to the Chinese coin. When the demand for Chinese coins in Japan became higher than the supply between the fourteenth and sixteenth century, Japan began privately minting coins again known as the Toraisen and Shichusen. After encouragement for the Koshu Kin around the fifteenth century, Japan soon began minting coinage for the new currency standard: gold coins. Later established by the Japanese government, a unified monetary system of copper, silver, and gold coins was established to simplify and centralize the different coins being used up until the time the yen was created. Starting in the 1800s, the Japanese decided to adopt a silver dollar currency under the name “yen”, meaning “a round object”. Yen was officially adopted by the Meiji government in an Act signed on May 10, 1871. Beginning the July of that year, the new currency was gradually introduced throughout Japan. Like all currency units descending from the Spanish dollar, real de a ocho (“Pieces of Eight”), the Japanese yen was equal to the dollar unit that was the current worldwide standard. All dollars in the world had more or less the same value, and the yen followed that phenomenon up until the year 1873. Following the silver devaluation of 1873, the yen devalued against the US dollar and the Canadian dollar units since they adhered to a gold standard, and by the year 1897 the yen was worth only about US$0.50. In the same year, Japan adopted the gold exchange standard and hence froze the value of the Japanese yen at fifty cents. This exchange rate remained in place until Japan left the gold standard in December 1931. After leaving the gold standard, yen fell to thirty cents by July 1932 and then to twenty cents by 1933. It remained steady at around thirty cents until the start of World War Two on the of December, 1941, at which time it fell to twenty-three cents. The relative value of the yen is determined in foreign exchange markets by the economic forces of supply and demand. The supply of the yen in the market is governed by the desire of yen holders to exchange their yen for other currencies to purchase goods, services, or assets. The demand for the yen is governed by the desire of foreigners to buy goods and services in Japan and by their interest in investing in Japan. The Japanese Yen is currently used as a reserve currency and is used in carry trades since currency with a low interest rate is often sold to buy a currency with a higher interest rate, such as the Australian and US dollar.

http://www.xe.com/currency/jpy-japanese-yem?full=1

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/¥

Geisha are traditional Japanese female entertainers who act as hostesses and whose skills include performing various Japanese arts: classical music, dancing, and games.

A war put in motion by Japan’s encroachment on China, lasting eight years (1935-1945), producing casualties estimated to be in the millions.

Sakurajima is one of the few most active, in a constant activity range from strong strombolian to large ash explosions every four to twenty-four hours. Its eruptive history has been recorded since 800 A.D.

Politics

The politics of Japan are conducted within the framework of a parliamentary representative democratic monarchy. The chief of the executive branch, the Prime Minister, is appointed by the Emperor as directed by the Kokkai. The Constitution of Japan defines the Emperor to be “the symbol of the state and of the unity people.” The Kokkai (National Diet) is Japan's bicameral legislature. It is composed of a lower house, the House of Representatives, and an upper house, called the House of Councilors. The Prime Minister must be a member of either house of the Kokkai and a civilian of Japan. The Prime Minister is the head of the government and the head of the Cabinet that directs the executive branch. The Emperor performs ceremonial duties and appoints the head of government and the shōguns, but holds no real power, not even emergency reserve power. Originally, the top military commander was granted the title “shōgun” by the Emperor. During the Heian (“peace and tranquility”) period, between seven hundred and ninety-four and eleven hundred and ninety-two A.D., the members of the military gradually began to obtain greater power, more-so than the court officials. The entire Japanese government was eventually taken over by the military, so the Emperor at the time appointed Minamoto Yoritomo as the first shōgun. Minamoto set up the city of Kamakura as the capitol and Japan was ruled by shōguns in succession for nearly seven hundred years afterward, passing from father to son. When power was seized from the current family with the title shōgun, the leading rebel would be granted the title in their stead. Between sixteen hundred and three until eighteen hundred and sixty-eight the final shōguns, who were of the Tokugawa clan, ruled Japan. A new capitol was built in Edo, present-day Tokyo, by Tokugawa Ieyasu, whose grandson, Iemitsu, was also responsible for creating the Sakoku (national isolation policy). When Portuguese explorers first came in contact with the Japanese during the Nanban trade, they described the Japanese government with an analogy, likening the Emperor, with great symbolic authority but little power, to the Pope, and the shōgun to secular European rulers. Unlike previous shōgun families, the Tokugawa shōgunate remained in control of the government for centuries until the fifteenth Tokugawa shōgun, Yoshinobu, gave up his title to the Emperor's court by force. The Emperor then moved to present-day Tokyo where his government soon swept away most of what remained of the shōgunate systems. Present-day Japan is generally considered a constitutional monarchy with a system of civil law. Legislative power is vested in the Kokkai, and judicial power is vested in the Supreme Court and lower courts. Japan's Liberal Democratic Party is a major conservative political party and one of the most successful political parties in the world. It has been in power since 1955, except for a brief eleven month period between 1993 and 1994, and from 2009 to 2012. In the 2012 election it regained control of the government and currently holds two hundred and ninety-five seats in the lower house and one hundred and fifteen seats in the upper house of the Kokkai.

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Dragons

Dragons are legendary creatures, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, and are featured in the myths and legends of many cultures. The English word “dragon” derives from Greek δράκων (drákōn), "dragon, serpent of huge size, water-snake". There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern mythologies, and the Chinese dragon, with counterparts in Japan, Korea, and other East Asian countries. The myths around Japanese dragons, known as Nihon no ryū, are amalgamations of native legends with imported stories from China, Korea, and India. Since the Japanese are less vulnerable to drought-related disasters, they associate their dragons with with the sea, though most dragons of Asia are coincided water deities associated with rainfall and bodies of water. Unlike Chinese dragons, Ryū have three claws instead of four, though it is believed the further they fly the more toes they gain, and they are usually benevolent and may grant wishes. The ca. 680 CE Kojiki and the ca. 720 CE Nihongi mytho-histories have the first Japanese textual references to dragons. One Japanese dragon of notable fame, known as Ryūjin, was the ruler of the seas and ruled an undersea palace of crystal and coral, known as Ryūgū-jō, where he kept the magical “tide jewel” (magical gems that Ryūjin used to control the tides). He was known as a dragon of nobility and knowledge, and he was described as being able to change into human form at will. The daughter of Ryūjin, Toyotama-hime, was purportedly an ancestress of Emperor Jimmu, Japan's legendary first Emperor. The myths about Emperor Jimmu descending from Toyotama-hime perpetuate the folklore that Japanese Emperors are descendants of dragons. Amatsumagatsuchi, Wani, Han Riu, and Mizuchi are other legendary dragons from Japanese culture, while dragons such as Kiyohime, Nure-onna, Ryūō, and Inari are later Japanese folklore influenced by Chinese and Indian myths. Many Japanese dragon names are in fact loanwords from the Chinese and during World War II the Japanese military named many armaments after Chinese dragons. Dragons are typically depicted as having a lizard/snake-like body with four legs and usually wings. Creatures similar to dragons, but are considered separate entities, include: Mušḫuššu, Basilisks, Hydras, and Wyverns. In modern Japanese art, dragons are a familiar motif in the architecture, literature, and popular “pop” culture. As a part of pop culture, the theme of dragons has made its way into the Japanese video game industry. Reflecting the legend of Ryūjin, the characters of Ryu and Fou-Lu in the 2000 Capcom video game Breathe of Fire IV possess the ability to transform into ancient dragons. In the 2010 Capcom video game Monster Hunter Portable 3rd, Amatsumagatsuchi the elder dragon of Sacred Mountain is loosely based on the Japanese dragon and possesses the ability to manipulate storms and wind. Japanese dragons are also associated with Shinto shrines, as well as Buddhist temples. The Itsukushima Shrine, located in Japan's Inland Sea, was believed to be the abode of the sea-god Ryūjin's daughter.

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Japan's Population

The four largest islands of Japan, Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, and Shitoku, carry the majority of the country's population, ninety-seven percent. Statistics on Japan estimates an astounding nighty-eight and a half percent of Japan's population are ethnic Japanese, meaning they are of a homogenous nature. The largest ethnic group in Japan is the Yamato people, although large minority groups include the indigenous Ryukyuan and Ainu peoples. A former Japanese Prime Minister was quoted as describing his country as, “a country of one race, one civilization, one language, and one culture”, however, all theatrics aside, Japan's population is currently at a steady decline. It currently holds the record for having one of the lowest fertility rates of any country throughout the world. Even with its decline, Japan remains the tenth most populated and the thirty-sixth most densely populated, three hundred and thirty-six people per square kilometer. The final statistics of the 2014 census shows a population of one hundred twenty-six million, seven hundred fifty-seven thousand, five hundred ninety-one people which reaffirms Japan's status as tenth largest country, but does not erase the fact that a combination of high longevity, almost zero net immigration, and low fertility rates has created a population with a rapid decline. Current models project that Japan is on staggering decline of one million people a year. To explain the decreasing numbers in the Japanese population, one should simply look to the disparity in the birth and death rates, however, no one can rule out natural disasters that plague the islands such as tsunamis, earthquakes, and the ever-elusive over-sized lizard attacks. Japan's population peeked seven years ago at one hundred and twenty-eight million, however, as a result of population reductions, the nation has become increasingly dependent on the elder population. With a life expectancy of eighty-five point fifty-nine years, Japan is the “oldest” country in the world and is set to get older. To combat the depravity in population, Japan must address the need for a demographic with an average of one worker to one retiree ratio in the next fifty years, for in the next fifty years forty percent of Japan's population will be over sixty-five. According to a government survey, more than a quarter of unmarried men and women between the ages of thirty and thirty-four are virgins, another factor to a decreased population. In terms of emigration, six hundred sixty-three thousand, one hundred Japanese people are living abroad, approximately seventy-five thousand of whom have permanent foreign residency. The Japanese government and its private corporations stress internationalization, thus a large number of individuals have been affected, decreasing Japan's historical insularity. According to the Japanese immigration center, the number of foreign residents in Japan has steadily increased, with Chinese, Filipinos, Koreans, and Brazilians accounting for about sixty-nine point five percent of the foreign residents in Japan. Japanese citizens are recorded in koseki (family registry) and jūminhyō (resident registry) systems, while foreign residents are recorded in a separate alien registration system, and all foreigners entering Japan must be bio-metrically registered. http://bit.ly/1mUmEGV

Importing

Japan has an influential importing and exporting business in the world economy. A large portion of those imports revolve around nonrenewable resources such as fossil fuels or crude oils. The imports of natural fuels varies, but it usually is dependent on the total energy needs of the nation. Japan's main liquefied natural gas suppliers in 1987 were Indonesia at fifty-one point three percent, Malaysia at twenty point four percent, Brunei at seventeen point eight percent, United Arab Emirates at seven point three percent, and the United States of America at three point two percent. As of 2011, mineral fuels make up about thirty-four percent of their energy imports, petroleum makes up fifteen and a half percent, liquid natural gases make up seven percent, and coal contributes three and a half percent. Japan's main import partners in 2013 were China, totaling at twenty-two percent, the United States of America, totaling at eight percent, Saudi Arabia, equaling six percent, the United Arab Emirates at five percent, Australia at six percent, four percent in South Korea, and Western Europe totaling at ten percent. Japan's other imports include raw materials such as iron, aluminum, copper, lead, and nickel, and machinery/equipment made from raw materials such as those (seven percent of imports). Three and a half percent of their imported materials were semiconductors and two point seven percent were audio and video apparatuses. As all countries are in need of food products, Japan imports what they can't grow or raise themselves to remain a part of the global market, at a rate of eight percent and growing. Japan imports about sixty percent of its food each year and the United States of America is the leading agricultural supplier. Meats, especially beef, grains, particularly wheat, soybeans, and corn make up the greater portion of Japan's agricultural imports. Other materials on Japan's import list include manufacture goods, chemicals, textiles, and three point nine percent of imports are clothing. The long-term growth of imports was facilitated by a couple major factors: the general growth of Japan's economy, income levels, the shift in the economy towards a greater reliance on imported raw materials, and the general inadequacy of Japan's natural resources. A 2012 review estimates that the value of imported goods in Japan is eight hundred and fifty-six point nine billion dollars. Japan has very little mining deposits, however, massive deposits of rare earths have been found off the coast of Japan and the rapid growth and success of Japanese automakers reflects Japan's strength and global dominance in the automobile industry and overall growth in their exports; Japan is the third biggest producer of automobiles in the world. Only twelve percent of Japan's land is suitable for cultivation, with rice accounting for almost all of Japan's cereal production. The value of exported goods in Japan exceeds seven hundred and ninety-two point nine billion dollars, and Japan ranks twenty-seventh out of one hundred and eighty-nine countries in the 2014 ease of doing business index and Japan has one of the smallest tax revenues of the developed world. http://1.usa.gov/KY7jEY

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