Japan

Located in the pacific ocean off the coast of east China , Japan is a unique island country stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk to the East China Sea . The capital of Japan is Tokyo and is its largest city. Japan literally means “Land of the Rising Sun” as the country is positioned in a eastward position.

After World War 2 , Japan has grown into becoming a world economic power and has the second largest GDP, also the world’s largest international creditor as well as the world’s largest exporter and importer.

Japan is renowned as the original Jomon culture which combines the the influences from Asia , Europe and North America . If you choose to visit Japan , it is well worth your trip to check out Japanese crafts (ikebana, origami, ukiyo-e, dolls, lacquerware, pottery), performances (bunraku, dance, kabuki, noh, rakugo), traditions (games, tea ceremony, budo, architecture, gardens, swords), and cuisine.

Japan ’s culture has been heavily influenced by the American and European culture which can be seen in its computer and music industries.

Cuisine
Traditional Japanese meals are famous of consisting of Japanese white rice along with pickles as appetizers, miso soup combined with seafood, meat, vegetables and egg. Green tea is also favoured by Japanese people as well as Okazu such as grilled fish.

Japanese people usually start their meals with gratitude phrases like itadakimasu and gochisosama. Other recognisable world wide foods include food beverages, sushi, sashimi, ramen, sake, wasabi, sukiyaki and teriyaki.

Music
Japanese music is eclectic, having borrowed instruments, scales and styles from neighboring cultures. Many instruments, such as the koto, were introduced in the ninth and tenth centuries. The accompanied recitative of the Noh drama dates from the fourteenth century and the popular folk music, with the guitarlike shamisen, from the 16th.[30] Western music, introduced in the late nineteenth century, now forms an integral part of the culture, as evident from the profusion of J-Pop artists. Modern Japanese music uses western instruments, scales and style.

Literature
The earliest works include two history books the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki, and a poetry book Man'yoshu in the eighth century, all written in Chinese characters. In the early days of the Heian period, the system of transcription known as kana (Hiragana and Katakana) was created as phonograms. The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter is considered the oldest Japanese narrative.[31] An account of Heian court life is given by The Pillow Book, written by Sei Shonagon while The Tale of Genji by Lady Murasaki is sometimes called the world's first novel.
During the Edo Period, literature became not so much the field of the samurai aristocracy as that of the chonin, the ordinary people. Yomihon, for example, became popular and reveals this profound change in the readership and authorship.
The Meiji era saw the decline of traditional literary forms, during which Japanese literature integrated western influences. Natsume Soseki and Mori Ogai were the first "modern" novelists of Japan, followed by Akutagawa Ryunosuke, Tanizaki Jun'ichiro, Kawabata Yasunari, Mishima Yukio, and more recently, Murakami Haruki. Japan has two Nobel prize winning authors — Kawabata Yasunari (1968) and Oe Kenzaburo (1994).

Sport
Beginning in the twelfth century, Japan developed traditional martial arts known as budo, which were popular among the warrior class. These include judo, karate and kendo. Sumo is sometimes considered Japan's national sport and is one of its most popular.
After the Meiji Restoration, many western sports were introduced and began to spread through the education system. These sports were initially stressed as a form of mental discipline, but Japanese have now come to enjoy them as recreational activities.
Baseball is the most popular ball game in Japan - the professional baseball league in Japan was established in 1937. One of Japan's most famous baseball players in major league baseball is Suzuki Ichiro, who won a Gold Glove. Concerning football, the professional soccer league in Japan was established in 1992. Japan was a venue of the Intercontinental Cup from 1981 to 2004, and Japan co-hosted the 2002 FIFA World Cup with South Korea. Golf is popular in Japan, as is auto racing, the Super GT sports car series and Formula Nippon formula racing.
Each year, Japan observes the second Monday in October as Health and Sports Day. The date, originally October 10, commemorates the opening day of the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Other major sporting events that Japan has hosted include the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo and the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano.

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