(1)What is Japan's climate like? There are four distinct seasons in Japan; spring, summer, fall and winter. There is also a rainy season between spring and summer. Japan's climate is influenced by summer and winter monsoons, ocean currents and topographical features.
(2)How big is Japan? Japan's land area is about 378,000 km2, which is slightly smaller than the state of California in the United States or slightly larger than the entire size of Germany. Japan's archipelago stretches some 3,500 km (2,170 miles)between the northernmost and southernmost points.
(2)日本の大きさはどれくらいか。 日本の陸域面積は約378,000 km2で、米国のカリフォルニア州よりも少し小さく、ドイツの全面積よりも少し大きい。日本列島は北端から南端まで約3,500 km (2,170マイル)伸びている。
(3)Please tell me about the topographical features of Japan. Japan is a very mountainous island nation. Although its total land area is a little smaller than California, 67% is covered by mountains. Plains account for only 13%. Japan also has 80 of the world's 800 active volcanoes.
(4)Why are there many volcanoes in Japan? It is because Japan is located on the circum-Pacific earthquake belt. There are about 110 active volcanoes in Japan.
(5)Why are there so many hot springs in Japan? The number of hot springs has a lot to do with the number of volcanoes. Because Japan has lots of volcanoes, it abounds in natural hot springs.
(6)Why are there many earthquakes in Japan? The Japanese archipelago is situated along the North American Plate and the Eurasian Plate. Squeezed in under these plates are the Pacific Plate and the Philippines Sea Plate, which makes the landforms unstable, causing a lot of earthquakes in and around Japan.
(7)What is typhoon? Typhoons, or Taifu, are violent tropical storms which often strike Japan from early summer through autumn.
(7)台風とは何か。 台風は、初夏から秋に日本をしばしば襲う激しい熱帯性暴風雨である。
(8)What is tsuyu? Tsuyu is the early summer rainy season which begins about the middle of June and lasts about a month. This rain is needed by the farmers at rice-planting time.
(9)What is the charm of spring in Japan? In early May, trees are covered in fresh green. Above all, spring is the season when cherry blossoms bloom so beautifully, and people enjoy “hanami,” or Cherry-Blossom-Viewing picnics, under the trees. Also, since it is neither too hot nor too cold, spring is one of the best seasons to travel.
(10)What is the charm of summer in Japan? If you are interested in outdoor activities, you can enjoy swimming in the sea or climbing mountains. You can also enjoy viewing fireworks displays and Bon dances, throughout Japan in summer.
(11)What is the charm of autumn in Japan? Because it is neither too hot nor too cold, it is one of the best seasons to travel. Besides, a lot of delicious food including seafood and vegetables in season is available in autumn. Also, you can enjoy viewing the beautifully changing colors of autumnal leaves in the mountain.
(12)What is the charm of winter in Japan? You can enjoy skiing and snowboarding in ski resorts such as Niseko in Hokkaido. Its powdery snow is regarded as the best in Japan. Also, I can recommend that you go to Zaozan, on the border of Miyagi and Yamagata Prefectures. This place is famous for its winter landscape of ice-covered trees.
(13)Who do you think is the most important person in Japanese history? I think it's Tokugawa Ieyasu, who lived from 1543 to 1616. He was the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa Shogunate, which was to maintain effective rule over Japan from 1600 through 1867. With his sweeping victory in the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, Ieyasu became the most powerful warrior leader in Japan, and in 1603 he assumed the title of the shogun, thus succeeding in the reunification of Japan. Ieyasu established the “bakuhan” (literally, shogunate-domain)system, which was the political, economic, and social foundation of the entire Edo period.
(14)What do you think is the most important historical event in Japan? It was the Meiji Restoration. It is narrowly defined to refer to the 1867 coup d'etat that overthrew the Tokugawa shogunate, but it more broadly marked the beginning of Japan's modernization. Following the opening of the country to the West in the mid-19th century, Japan had an influx of various foreign things from Western technology to the military draft system to democracy. Japan abolished its feudalistic shogunate system and developed into a constitutional monarchy.
(15)Who do you think is the most influential foreigner in Japanese history? I think it is Commodore Matthew C. Perry, who used “gunboat diplomacy” to make Japan accept and sign “the Treaty of Peace and Amity” (or “Treaty of Kanagawa”)in 1854. This led to the opening of two ports (Shimoda and Hakodate)to American whaling ships. This also meant the end of Japan's 220-year “sakoku” (seclusion)policy and later Japan's signing of “The Treaty of Amity and Commerce” under conditions favorable to the U.S. in 1858. These historical events marked the burgeoning Western influence on Japan.
(16)Please explain the Meiji Restoration. Why was it so important in Japanese history? Japan realized the need to establish a modern state to cope with powerful Western countries, once it opened its doors to the world in 1854 after 220 years of national isolation. As a result of strong demands from imperial loyalists of the lower samurai class, the last shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu stepped down in 1867, and Emperor Meiji came to the throne. Thus, the Meiji Restoration took place in 1868, which included a series of drastic political, economic and cultural changes. Seeking to “enrich the nation and strengthen the military,” the new government promoted industrialization and modernization, through abolishing the feudal system and introducing Western culture and political systems.
(17)When did Japan end its policy of national isolation? How did it happen and what changes it brought to Japan? In 1853, Commodore Perry and his squadron of American ships appeared in Uraga Bay in Kanagawa to press for the opening the country. At first, powerful Satsuma (now Kagoshima Prefecture)and Choshu (now Yamaguchi Prefecture)domains were opposed to the idea of giving up the national isolation policy. With their growing knowledge of the Western power, however, they decided to switch their allegiance toward the drive to open up the country. On the other hand, the masses were suffering under inflation, and riots and attacks on shops of wealthy merchants occurred in various regions, weakening the foundations of the bakuhan system. This led in 1867 to the relinquishing of power by the 15th Tokugawa shogun, Yoshinobu, to the imperial court. A decree was made which established a government centered around the emperor, bringing to an end the long-lasting feudal system, and the Meiji period came into being.
(18)What was the Edo period like? The Edo Period is the 260-year span following Tokugawa Ieyasu's defeat of his principal rivals in the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 and the establishment of a shogunate government in Edo (now Tokyo)in 1603. This period saw the reinforcement of a status system known as “shi-no-ko-sho” (warrior-peasant-artisan-merchant), which placed the warrior in the top social class, and externally, the establishment of a policy of national isolation and the prohibition of Christianity.
(19)What was the Meiji period like? This period saw the transfer of power from the Tokugawa shogunate to the imperial court, and the transition from a system of government based on the shogunate and “han” domains to a unified state. This was also the period that witnessed the transition to a capitalist economy and the establishment of a modern Japanese state system.
(20)What is the difference between emperor and shogun? Shogun was at the top of samurai warriors. The title, shogun, was given by the emperor. The term shogun came to be commonly used with the establishment of the government called bakufu, which controlled the land and people of the nation for about 700 years until the middle of the 19th century. The emperor of Japan is believed to have direct lineage from the Sun Goddess of Japanese mythology. Japanese people refer to the current emperor as Ten-no, and almost never use his actual name. Ten-no doesn't have any political power whatsoever.