Transcript The Geography of Japan - Alena Pettit / FrontPage

Question # 1
Describe what you think the geography of
Japan is like? (i.e. is it desert-like,
mountainous, flat, cold, etc.)
Nippon -- “Land of the Rising
Sun”
Japan and the United States
Japan’s Regions
Japan’s Prefectures
Japan’s Topography
Bodie
s
of
Water
Ishikari R.
Sea of
Japan
Shinano R.
Tone R.
Pacific
Ocean
Inland Sea
Mountai
ns
And
Peaks
Kitani Mts.
Kitakami Mts.
Mt. Fuji
Plains
Ishikari
Plain
Kanto Plain
Nobi Plain
Osaka Plain
Hokkaido
Island
s
Honshu
Shikuku
Kyushu
Okinawa
Countrie
s
China
N.
Korea
S. Korea
Russia
Cities
Sapporo
Kyoto
Kobe
Hiroshima
Nagasaki
Tokyo
Yokohama
Nagoya
Osaka
Final
Map
China
Russia
N.
Korea
S. Korea
Kitani Mts.
Ishikari R.
Hokkaido
Sapporo
Sea of
Japan
Honshu
Shinano R.
Ishikari
Plain
Kitakami Mts.
Kanto Plain
Tone R.
Kyoto
Tokyo
Kobe
Yokohama
Hiroshima
Nagoya
Mt. Fuji
Osaka
Nobi Plain Pacific
Shikuku
Ocean
Osaka Plain
Nagasaki
Inland Sea
Kyushu
Okinawa
Fast Travel Throughout
Japan
Shinkansen:
Bullet Train
Bullet Train National
Lines
Very Mountainous:
Little Arable Land
Hells Lake Pool in Beppu
Mt. Fuji
Swift-Moving Rivers:
Hydroelectric Power
Japan’s Land Area and
Utilization
Japan by Satellite
Mt. Aso -- Active Volcano
Shiranesan Caldera
Global Tectonic Plates
Japan -- On the “Fire Rim
of the Pacific”
Japan’s Sub-Oceanic
Trenches
Japanese Earthquakes: 19611994
Ginza Ruins After The Great Kanto
Earthquake -- Tokyo, 1923
Over 100,000 dead!
Kobe Earthquake -- January 17,
1995
► 7.2 Richter scale
► 5,500 deaths
Kobe Earthquake -- January 17,
1995
Tsunamis – Tidal
Waves
Japan and the United States
Japan’s Oceanic Currents
Average Monthly
Precipitation
in Three Cities
Precipitation
Average January
Temperature
Average July Temperature
Different Climates and Seasons in
Japan
Spring
Summer
Fall
Winter
Igawa Town on the Izumo
Plain
Rice Farmer’s Farmhouse:
Okutsu Town, Okayama
Prefecture
Terrace Farming of Rice
The Japanese Farm the
Sea
Tokyo
Fish Market
Natural Resources
Raw Materials
World Contributions to Global
Warming
Japan’s Population Density
Japan’s Population Trends
Population
Comparisons
1,400
1,250
1,200
1,000
Thailand
Japan
China
Hong Kong
Singapore
800
600
400
200
61
126
7
0
Population in Millions
4
Japan’s Population Over 65
versus the United States
Japan’s Growing Older
Japan’s Age Breakdown
Under 15 years
15.8%
15 – 59 years
63.3%
60 and over
years
20.9%
THE FIRST SETTLERS OF JAPAN
The First Settlers of Japan
The Yayoi
300 B.C. The Yayoi appeared.
Organized into clans or group of families
related by blood and marriage.
Introduced farming and metalworking.
The Yamato
500 A.D. a clan called the Yamato became
strong enough to rule most of Japan.
Claimed to be descendents of the sun goddess
and therefore had the right to rule.
The Yamato leader Jimmu took the title
“emperor of heaven” and founded a line of
rulers in Japan that has never been broken.
Yamato Period: 300-710
Began promoting the adoption
of Chinese culture:





Confucianism.
Language (kanji characters).
Buddhist sects.
Chinese art & architecture.
Government structure.
“Great Kings” era
Prince Shotoku: 573-621
 Adopted Chinese
culture and
Confucianism.
 Buddhist sects
allowed to develop.
 Created a new
government
structure:
 17 Article
Constitution
in 604. 
Prince Shotuku’s Reforms
 600 A.D. a Yamato prince name Shotoku took charge
of Japan on behalf of his aunt, the empress Suiko.
 Wanted a strong government like China.
 Created a constitution that gave all the power to the
emperor.
 Sent officials to China to learn from their brilliant
civilization.
 Brought back art, medicine, and philosophy-much of
which had been brought through Korea.
 Brought Buddhism to Japan.
Yamato began the Taika or Great Change.
He divided Japan into provinces.
Shotoku’s reforms created Japan’s first
strong central government.
Horyuji Japan’s Oldest temple and the world’s oldest surviving wooden
building
.
SAYONARA