Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea in the south. The Japanese archipelago consists of four major islands and thousands of smaller islands, covering 377,975 square kilometers (145,937 sq mi). Its capital and largest city is Tokyo; the Greater Tokyo Area is the largest metropolitan area in the world. Divided into 47 administrative prefectures and eight traditional regions, about three-quarters of the country's terrain is mountainous and heavily forested, concentrating its agriculture and highly urbanized population along its eastern coastal plains.
The first known habitation of the archipelago dates to the Upper Paleolithic, with the beginning of the Japanese Paleolithic dating to c. 36,000 BC. Between the fourth and sixth centuries, its kingdoms were united under an emperor in Nara, and later Heian-kyō. From the 12th century, actual power was held by military dictators (shōgun) and feudal lords (daimyō), and enforced by warrior nobility (samurai). After rule by the Kamakura and Ashikaga shogunates and a century of warring states, Japan was unified in 1600 by the Tokugawa shogunate, which implemented an isolationist foreign policy. In 1853, a United States fleet forced Japan to open trade to the West, which led to the end of the shogunate and the restoration of imperial power in 1868.
In the Meiji period, Japan pursued rapid industrialization and modernization, as well as militarism and overseas colonization. In 1937, Japan invaded China, and in 1941 attacked the United States and European colonial powers, entering World War II as an Axis power. After suffering defeat in the Pacific War and two atomic bombings, Japan surrendered in 1945 and came under Allied occupation. Afterwards, the country underwent rapid economic growth and became one of the five earliest major non-NATO allies of the United States. Since the collapse of the Japanese asset price bubble in the early 1990s, Japan has experienced a prolonged period of economic stagnation, commonly known as the Lost Decades.
With a population of over 123 million as of 2025, Japan is the eleventh-most populous country. It is a constitutional monarchy with a bicameral legislature, the National Diet. A great power and the only Asian member of the G7, Japan has constitutionally renounced its right to declare war, but maintains one of the world's strongest militaries. A developed country with one of the world's largest economies by nominal GDP, Japan is a global leader in the automotive, robotics, and electronics industries, and has made significant contributions to science and technology. It has one of the world's highest life expectancies, though it is undergoing a population decline. A cultural superpower, Japan's culture is well known around the world, including its art, cuisine, film, music, and popular culture, which includes prominent animation, comics, and video game industries. (Full article...)
Ikata is a small town located in Nishiuwa District, Ehime, Japan. Following a recent merger with the neighboring towns of Misaki and Seto, the town now spans the mountainous Sadamisaki Peninsula, the narrowest peninsula in Japan and the westernmost point on the island of Shikoku. This unique geography has greatly influenced Ikata's growth. On the one hand, it has presented significant challenges to urban development that were not overcome until recently in the town's long history. On the other, the peninsula is what gives the town its beautiful mountain and ocean scenery which, bolstered by significant investments in infrastructure and tourist facilities, has formed the basis for a burgeoning tourism industry. In addition to the beauty of its rugged, natural landscape, Ikata has long been known for fishing and mikan orange farming. In recent years Ikata has also become a hotspot of modern energy production—the Ikata Nuclear Power Plant produces much of Shikoku's electricity, and the town's windy mountains are dotted by dozens of windmills.The Sadamisaki Peninsula area has been inhabited since at least the Jōmon Period (10,000–300 BC), as evidenced by the discovery of stone tools and earthenware pots in the Misaki and Kushi neighborhoods. In 1963 a local man discovered a stone ax dating back to the mid- Yayoi Period (300 BC–250 AD) in his farm plot in the Kawachi neighborhood. Upon further investigation by the Japan Archaeological Society in 1986, the area was recognized as containing the remains of a highland settlement. ( Full article...)
Image 4Banknote design credit: Bank of Japan; photographed by Andrew Shiva This picture shows a ten- sen banknote, in use during the 1914–1922 Japanese occupation of Tsingtao (Qingdao), China, as part of the Asian and Pacific theatre of World War I. Issued by the Bank of Japan, the currency was based on the silver standard. This banknote, dated 1914, is in the National Numismatic Collection of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History. Before the outbreak of World War I, German naval ships were located in the Pacific; Tsingtao developed into a major seaport while the surrounding Kiautschou Bay area was leased to Germany since 1898. During the war, Japanese and British Allied troops besieged the port in 1914 before capturing it from the German and Austro-Hungarian Central Powers, occupying the city and the surrounding region. It served as a base for the exploitation of the natural resources of Shandong province and northern China, and a "New City District" was established to furnish the Japanese colonists with commercial sections and living quarters. Tsingtao eventually reverted to Chinese rule by 1922. Image 6The keep of Nagoya Castle located in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture. Originally built around 1525, the castle was used as the District army headquarters and as a POW camp during World War II. During the bombing of Japan, the castle was burnt down in a USAF air raid on May 14, 1945. It was reconstructed in 1959 and is currently under exhibition. Image 7A registration card for Louis Wijnhamer (1904–1975), an ethnic Dutch humanitarian who was captured soon after the Empire of Japan occupied the Dutch East Indies in March 1942. Prior to the occupation, many ethnic Europeans had refused to leave, expecting the Japanese occupation government to keep a Dutch administration in place. When Japanese troops took control of government infrastructure and services such as ports and postal services, 100,000 European (and some Chinese) civilians were interned in prisoner-of-war camps where the death rates were between 13 and 30 per cent. Wijnhamer was interned in a series of camps throughout Southeast Asia and, after the surrender of Japan, returned to what was now Indonesia, where he lived until his death. Image 8A map of Nagasaki, Japan depicting the city before and after the atomic bombing of August 9, 1945. The radius of total destruction was about 1.6 km (1 mile), followed by fires across the northern portion of the city to 3.2 km (2 miles) south of the bomb. Image 9Photograph credit: Basile Morin Asahi Breweries is a Japanese global beer, spirits, soft drinks and food business group. This photograph, taken during the blue hour with a full moon, shows the headquarters of Asahi Breweries in Sumida, Tokyo, as viewed from the wharf on the Sumida River near Azuma Bridge. The Asahi Beer Hall, topped by the Asahi Flame, designed by Philippe Starck, is visible on the right, with the Tokyo Skytree in the background on the left. Image 10Banknotes: Empire of Japan. Reproduction: National Numismatic Collection, National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institution The Japanese-issued Netherlands Indies gulden was the currency issued by the Japanese Empire when it occupied the Dutch East Indies during World War II. Following the Dutch capitulation in March 1942, the Japanese closed all banks, seized assets and currency, and assumed control of the economy in the territory. They began issuing military banknotes, as had previously been done in other occupied territories. These were printed in Japan, but retained the name of the pre-war currency and replaced the Dutch gulden at par. From 1943 the military banknotes were replaced by identical bank-issued notes printed within the territory, and the currency was renamed the roepiah from 1944. The currency was replaced by the Indonesian rupiah in 1946, one year after the Japanese surrender and the country's independence. This note, denominated one gulden, is part of the 1942 series. See other denominations: One cent · Five cents · Ten cents · Half gulden · One gulden, Five gulden, Ten gulden Image 11The Japanese government-issued dollar was a form of currency issued between 1942 and 1945 for use within the territories of Singapore, Malaya, North Borneo, Sarawak and Brunei, under occupation by Imperial Japan during World War II. The currency, informally referred to as "banana money", was released solely in the form of banknotes, as metals were considered essential to the war effort. The languages used on the notes were reduced to English and Japanese. Each note bears a different obverse and reverse design, but all have a similar layout, and were marked with stamped block letters that begin with "M" for "Malaya". This 1944 ten-dollar Japanese-issued banknote, depicting guava and coconut trees flanked by banana and pineapple plants on the obverse, and a seascape on the reverse, is part of the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution. Other denominations:
'"`UNIQ--templatestyles-00000010-QINU`"'
* 1 cent
* 5 cents
* 10 cents
* 50 cents
* 1 dollar
* 5 dollars
* 10 dollars
* 100 dollars (I)
* 100 dollars (II)
* 1000 dollars
Image 12Image: Shobido & Co.; Restoration: Adam Cuerden Image 14Credit: Cpl. Lynn P. Walker, Jr Image 15The siege of Osaka was a series of battles undertaken by the Japanese Tokugawa shogunate against the Toyotomi clan, and ending in the clan's dissolution. Divided into two stages (the winter campaign and the summer campaign), and lasting from 1614 to 1615, the siege put an end to the last major armed opposition to the shogunate's establishment. This eight-metre-long (26 ft) painting, titled The Summer Battle of Osaka Castle and executed on a Japanese folding screen, illustrates Osaka Castle under siege, and was commissioned by the daimyo Kuroda Nagamasa, who took a team of painters with him to the battlefield to record the event. The painting depicts 5071 people and 21 generals, and is held in the collection of Osaka Castle.
June 20:
Events
- 1703 - The Love Suicides at Sonezaki is first staged.
- 1899 - The first Japanese-made film is screened at the Kabuki-za.
- 1933 - Japan's first dominant marriage agency is established in Tokyo. It is opened in Shirokiya in order to eliminate the tragedy arising from an inadvertent marriage.
- 1958 - A peace march to appeal the ban of atomic and hydrogen bombs, started between Tokyo and Hiroshima from 1,000 km.
- 1991 - Tōhoku Shinkansen is opened between Ueno and Tokyo. With a city center section of 3.6 km, it led from Morioka to contact Tokyo Station to Hakata.
Births
| “ |
We have successfully built up our national strength and prestige, accepting and adding to our civilization the art and science of the West. Now, I believe, the time has come for us to carry our art and culture to other countries. |
” |
| — Kōki Hirota, diplomat, politician and the 32nd Prime Minister |
Utagawa Toyoharu (歌川 豊春, c. 1735 – 1814) was a Japanese artist in the ukiyo-e genre, known as the founder of the Utagawa school and for his uki-e pictures that incorporated Western-style geometrical perspective to create a sense of depth.
Born in Toyooka in Tajima Province, Toyoharu first studied art in Kyoto, then in Edo (modern Tokyo), where from 1768 he began to produce designs for ukiyo-e woodblock prints. He soon became known for his uki-e "floating pictures" of landscapes and famous sites, as well as copies of Western and Chinese perspective prints. Though his were not the first perspective prints in ukiyo-e, they were the first to appear as full-colour nishiki-e, and they demonstrate a much greater mastery of perspective techniques than the works of his predecessors. Toyoharu was the first to make the landscape a subject of ukiyo-e art, rather than just a background to figures and events. By the 1780s he had turned primarily to painting. The Utagawa school of art grew to dominate ukiyo-e in the 19th century with artists such as Utamaro, Hiroshige, and Kuniyoshi. (Full article...)
Hiroshima Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region on Honshū island. The capital is the city of Hiroshima. The area around Hiroshima, formerly divided into Bingo and Aki provinces, has been a center of trade and culture since the beginning of Japan's recorded history. Hiroshima is a traditional center of the Chūgoku region and was the seat of the Mōri clan until the Battle of Sekigahara. Hiroshima is home to two UNESCO World Heritage sites: the Atomic Dome in Hiroshima, one of the few remnants of prewar Hiroshima following the atomic bombing in 1945 and Itsukushima Shrine in Miyajima, famed for filling with water and appearing to "float" during high tide. Located on the island of Okunoshima (city of Takehara), are the remains of a toxic gas factory linked to Unit 731. Different types of chemical weapons were produced there during the first part of the Shōwa era like mustard gas, yperite, lewisite and cyanide. These weapons were used against Chinese soldiers and civilians and during the experiments on humans by Shiro Ishii's units. Hiroshima prefecture lies in the middle of Chūgoku, facing Shikoku across the Seto Inland Sea. Most of the prefecture consists of mountains leading towards Shimane Prefecture, but rivers produce rich plains near the coast, and the prefecture also includes many small islands in the Inland Sea. The sheltered nature of the Inland Sea makes Hiroshima's climate very mild.
- ... that in the Battle of Sio, Papuan Corporal Bengari and his five companions ambushed 29 Japanese soldiers and killed them all before they could fire a shot?
- ... that Japanese anime director Rintaro has worked in animation for 50 years and co-founded the animation studio Madhouse?
- ... that the Heian period Japanese story Torikaebaya Monogatari is the tale of a man who lives as a woman and his sister who lives as a man, who eventually swap places in order to lead happy lives?
The following are images from various Japan-related articles on Wikipedia.
Image 1Territorial extent of Yamato court during the Kofun period (from History of Japan) Image 3Torii entrance gate at Kamigamo Shrine, Kyoto (from Culture of Japan) Image 4Map of the Kantō Plain (from Geography of Japan) Image 6U.S. Secretary of State Dean Acheson signing the Treaty of Peace with Japan, 8 September 1951 (from History of Japan) Image 7The summit of Mount Fuji is the highest point in Japan. (from Geography of Japan) Image 8Atomic cloud over Hiroshima, 1945 (from History of Japan) Image 9A Yayoi period bronze bell ( dōtaku) of the 3rd century AD (from History of Japan) Image 10Miniature model of the ancient capital Heian-kyō (from History of Japan) Image 11Sakurajima eruption on October 3, 2009 (from Geography of Japan) Image 13Tectonic map of Japan (French) (from Geography of Japan) Image 14Amida Buddha, Kōtoku-in (from Culture of Japan) Image 17A social hierarchy chart based on old academic theories. Such hierarchical diagrams were removed from Japanese textbooks after various studies in the 1990s revealed that peasants, craftsmen, and merchants were in fact equal and merely social categories. Successive shoguns held the highest or near-highest court ranks, higher than most court nobles. (from History of Japan) Image 18Mount Aso 4 pyroclastic flow and the spread of Aso 4 tephra (90,000 to 85,000 years ago). The pyroclastic flow reached almost the whole area of Kyushu, and volcanic ash was deposited of 15 cm in a wide area from Kyushu to southern Hokkaido. (from Geography of Japan) Image 19Traditional breakfast at a ryokan (from Culture of Japan) Image 20Vegetation during the Last Glacial Maximum (16,000 BCE) (from Geography of Japan) Image 21A map of Japan's major cities, main towns and selected smaller centers (from Geography of Japan) Image 22Winter with frozen coniferous trees near Mt. Kumano in the Mount Zaō range in Miyagi Prefecture (from Geography of Japan) Image 23 (from History of Japan) Image 24American general Douglas MacArthur and emperor Hirohito, at their first meeting, September 1945 (from History of Japan) Image 25Two students practicing kendo at Hiroshima University (from Culture of Japan) Image 26Shinano River in Niigata City (from Geography of Japan) Image 27The Daibutsu-den, within the complex of Tōdai-ji. This Buddhist temple was sponsored by the Imperial Court during the Nara period. (from History of Japan) Image 29Pair of byōbu with a leopard, tiger and dragon by Kanō Sanraku (from Culture of Japan) Image 30Japanese experts inspect the scene of the alleged railway sabotage on South Manchurian Railway that led to the Mukden Incident and the Japanese occupation of Manchuria. (from History of Japan) Image 31Kokin Wakashū, an early anthology of the waka form of Japanese poetry, National Treasure; early twelfth century; at the Tokyo National Museum (from Culture of Japan) Image 32Sea of Japan (from Geography of Japan) Image 33A handscroll painting dated c. 1130, illustrating a scene from the "Bamboo River" chapter of The Tale of Genji (from History of Japan) Image 35Jesus statue in Yokohama (from Culture of Japan) Image 36Tokyo in 2010 (from History of Japan) Image 38Aerial view of Lake Biwa (from Geography of Japan) Image 39The islands comprising the Japanese Archipelago were separated from the Asian continent by back-arc spreading. (from Geography of Japan) Image 40Emperor Meiji, the 122nd Emperor of Japan (from History of Japan) Image 41The word Nihon written in kanji (horizontal placement of characters). The text means "Japan" in Japanese. (from History of Japan) Image 42Japan in 1582, showing territory conquered by Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi in gray (from History of Japan) Image 43Dogū figurine of the late Jōmon period (1000–400 BC) (from History of Japan) Image 45Guardian in Tōdai-ji, Nara (from Culture of Japan) Image 47Samurai of the Satsuma Domain during the Boshin War (from History of Japan) Image 48Prince Shōtoku was a semi-legendary regent of the Asuka period, and considered to be the first major sponsor of Buddhism in Japan. (from History of Japan) Image 49Relief map of the land and the seabed of Japan. It shows the surface and underwater terrain of the Japanese archipelago. (from Geography of Japan) Image 50Japan's exclusive economic zones: Japan's EEZ Joint regime with Republic of Korea EEZ claimed by Japan, disputed by others (from Geography of Japan) Image 51The Black Ship Portuguese traders that came from Goa and Macau once a year (from History of Japan) Image 52Reconstruction of a Jōmon family from the Sannai-Maruyama Site (from History of Japan) Image 54Hōryū-ji is widely known to be the oldest wooden architecture existing in the world. (from Culture of Japan) Image 55Woman in kimono at Fukuoka City Hall (from Culture of Japan) Image 56Minamoto no Yoritomo was the founder of the Kamakura shogunate in 1192. This was the first military government in which the shogun with the samurai were the de facto rulers of Japan. (from History of Japan) Image 58Map showing the territories of major daimyō families around 1570 (from History of Japan) Image 59A vase from the early Jōmon period (11000–7000 BC) (from History of Japan) Image 60The Empire of Japan at its peak in 1942: Territory (1870–1895)
Acquisitions (1895–1930)
Acquisitions (1930–1942) (from History of Japan) Image 61Portrait of Ashikaga Takauji who was the founder and first shōgun of the Ashikaga shogunate (from History of Japan) Image 62Kinkaku-ji was built in 1397 by Ashikaga Yoshimitsu (from History of Japan) Image 65A topographic map of Japan (from Geography of Japan) Image 66Later Three-Year War in the 11th century (from History of Japan) Image 67The Kuril Islands, with their Russian names. The borders of the Treaty of Shimoda (1855) and the Treaty of St. Petersburg (1875) are shown in red. Currently, all islands northeast of Hokkaido are administered by Russia. (from Geography of Japan) Image 68Wreckage at a railway station destroyed during the 2011 earthquake and tsunami (from History of Japan) Image 69Middle Jōmon vase (2000 BC) (from History of Japan) Image 71Izu Islands south of Tokyo (from Geography of Japan) Image 72Daisenryō Kofun, Osaka (from History of Japan) Image 73Regions and prefectures of Japan (from Geography of Japan) Image 74A map of Japan (from Geography of Japan) Image 75Japan at the Last Glacial Maximum in the Late Pleistocene about 20,000 years ago Regions above sea level Unvegetated Sea (from History of Japan) Image 76Newly-wed Emperor Naruhito, then Crown Prince, wearing a sokutai and Empress Masako, then-Crown Princess, wearing a jūnihitoe. Costumes of these styles have been worn by the Imperial family since the Heian period, when a unique Japanese style developed. (from Culture of Japan) Image 77Planes from the Japanese aircraft carrier Shōkaku preparing the attack on Pearl Harbor (from History of Japan) Image 78Noh play at traditional Noh theatre (from Culture of Japan) Image 79Samurai could kill a commoner for the slightest insult and were widely feared by the Japanese population. Edo period, 1798 (from History of Japan) Image 80Tokugawa Ieyasu was the founder and first shōgun of the Tokugawa shogunate. (from History of Japan) Image 82Mount Fuji and sakura (cherry blossoms) are national symbols of Japan (from Culture of Japan) Image 83Buddhist temple of Hōryū-ji is the oldest wooden structure in the world. It was commissioned by Prince Shotoku and represents the beginning of Buddhism in Japan. However, this was built by ancient Korean architects dispatched from Baekje. (from History of Japan) Image 84Fumie Hihara playing the shamisen, Guimet Museum, Paris (from Culture of Japan) Image 85Japanese archipelago with outlined islands (from Geography of Japan) Image 86Emperor Shōwa was in power during World War II (from History of Japan) Image 89 (from History of Japan) Image 90Japan (Iapam) and Korea, in the 1568 Portuguese map of the cartographer João Vaz Dourado (from History of Japan)
East Asia
Other Countries/Territories
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Japan Buildings and structures in Japan Organizations based in Japan
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