JAPAN. – Japan (from the Chinese Jih pên, locally pronounced Nippon or Nihon) consists of an archipelago of more than 400 islands, situated off the extreme eastern coasts of Asia and stretching from 30° (Togora Strait) to 46° N. (La Pérouse Strait). These islands are arranged in an arc around the four largest: Hondo, or Honshū (223,520 sq. km., about the size of Great Britain), Yezō, or Hokkaidō (77,993 sq. km., slightly less than Ireland), Kyūshū (35,657 sq. km.) and Shikoku (17,756 sq. km.).
1. GEOGRAPHY
The territory is markedly mountainous and volcanic; plains are few and mostly small. More than three-quarters of the country consists of short, moderately high ridges. The highest peaks correspond to recent volcanoes (Fujiyama, 3,776 m.); of 165 such peaks, 60 are active, and their lava flows alone cover one-fifth of Japan’s surface. Seismic activity is intense (on average more than one earthquake per day), with frequent catastrophes (also due to the combined action of tidal waves and eruptions). The coastline is more rugged and indented than that of Greece. The meeting of the two sea currents, the Kura and the Oya shivo (one warm, the other cold), off the eastern coast, makes the coastal regions extremely rich in fish. The climate is quite varied: at the same latitude, winters are colder and summers hotter than in Europe, as a result of the monsoon regime (cold continental winds in winter; warm maritime winds in summer). Overall, the climates are temperate or subtropical warm-humid, and healthy. Rainfall is abundant and distributed throughout the year, but the rivers, given the relief, are short and torrential in character. The land is covered by magnificent forests of conifers and broadleaf trees (in the higher zones) in the north and center, while in the south a lush subtropical vegetation develops, with cedar and bamboo woods and patches of evergreens. The population of the archipelago, ethnically homogeneous (the Japanese are Mongoloid, and thus of short stature, with slanted eyes, straight black hair, sparse beards and a yellowish complexion, though physically and spiritually quite different from the Chinese and even more so from the 17,000 Ainu, who may have Europoid features and live in Yero), has more than doubled in the last 80 years: from 30 million in 1868, when the country opened to European influence, it rose to 60 million in 1925, 72 million in 1940, and 83 million in 1950. The average annual growth rate was 1.7% between 1937 and 1940; the rate has been equally strong since the war. The very high average density (220 inhabitants per sq. km.) indicates strong demographic pressure, for which there is no adequate migratory movement (in 1935, fewer than one million Japanese lived abroad). In 1937, 36% of the Japanese population lived in urban centers, of which 4 had more than 1 million inhabitants, 30 more than 100,000, and 54 more than 50,000.The country’s economy is centered on agriculture. Rice, which alone occupies half of the cultivated land, is the basis of the local diet. Among other crops (cereals, tobacco, sugar cane), soybeans and tea prevail. The limited importance of livestock farming is offset by sericulture, which is highly developed throughout the country, and by fishing, which holds the world record for quantity of catch (3–4 million tons annually) and also supports flourishing industries (canning, fertilizers, fishmeal and fish oils). Great benefit is derived from the abundant forest resources (timber, camphor, celluloid, essential oils).
Despite the inadequate availability of mineral raw materials (except for copper and, to a much lesser extent, some metals, but not iron), Japan had, before 1940, managed to build up an impressive industrial capacity, not only in the variety and efficiency of its sectors (especially textiles, machinery, and chemicals), but also in the competitiveness of its products and the commercial organization designed to market them. On the other hand, modern large-scale industry has not stifled a similarly active craftsmanship, highlighted by the exquisite artistic sense of a production that respects the best traditional forms. The war halved, roughly, the industrial capacity and closed many prospects; an efficient recovery will also depend on the ability to balance the increased trade deficit.
Internal communications are facilitated more by easy maritime transport than by the road network (8,550 km.) and railways (24,400 km.). The Japanese merchant fleet, which before the war was the third largest in the world, is now reduced to a secondary position (1.5 million tons).
As a result of its defeat in the Second World War, Japan has lost its entire colonial empire, which in 1941 made it a state of 690,000 sq. km. with 110 million inhabitants: Korea has become independent, southern Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands have passed to the U.S.S.R., Formosa has reverted to China, the Pacific mandate territories (Caroline, Mariana, Marshall) are under U.S. trusteeship, and the Ryū-Kyū Islands remain of uncertain status.
The data for the major islands are summarized in the following table:
| Major islands (adjacent islands) | Area sq. km. | Population (1940) | Density per sq. km. | Principal urban centers (population in thousands, 1940) |
| :--: | :--: | :--: | :--: | :--: |
| Hokkaidō | 88,775 | 3,063,883 | 34 | Hakodate (207), Sapporo (197) |
| Hondo | 230,533 | 52,713,877 | 221 | |
| Shikoku | 18,772 | 3,357,282 | 179 | |
| Kyūshū | 41,800 | 9,520,005 | 227 | |
| Total | 379,880 | 68,655,047 | 186 | |
| 1950 | | 80,697,000 | 219 | |
Based on the new constitution (1947), the Japanese state is a hereditary constitutional monarchy. Democratic government rests on an elective bicameral representation. Pending a peace treaty with the victorious powers, U.S. military occupation continues.
II. CIVIL HISTORY
I. Origins
The first nucleus of the Japanese people was formed by successive waves of immigration from the Asian continent and the islands of the South Seas. A group of tribes, identifiable from archaeological remains of the so-called *yayoi* type (Neolithic age), settled in the southern part of the island of Kyushu. The oldest literary sources, the *Kojiki* (712) and the *Nihon-shoki* (720), refer to a gradual expansion of these tribes along the coasts of the Inland Sea and assign to the 7th century BCE the foundation of the Yamato Empire by Jimmu Tenno, though historians place this date in the 1st century CE. Literary and archaeological evidence attests that, from the earliest centuries of the Empire, relations with China and Korea were frequent. Chinese chronicles of the 3rd century refer to the Japanese under the name of *Wa*. The merit of having created an initial territorial unity of Japan is generally attributed to Empress Jingô, who is also said to have intensified relations with the continent. Chinese culture penetrated Japan especially in the 4th century, when its ideographic characters were officially adopted. Its assimilation, already long favored by numerous migrations of Chinese intellectuals and artisans, slowly but surely transformed Japanese life, paving the way for the future spread of Buddhism. Society at the time, of a patriarchal type, was made up of family communities (*uji*) sharing the same origin and groups of families practicing the same trade (*be* or *tomo*). Each community was governed by a hereditary chief, and its members inherited the social status of the community itself. During the Yamato period, political history was shaped by the struggles of the great clans (Ōtomo, Mononobe, Soga) for supremacy. These conflicts, which began in the 5th century, led, with the ascendancy of certain families (6th century), to the weakening of imperial authority.
The supremacy of the Soga (536–645) saw the introduction of Buddhism, promoted by Prince Shōtoku.
2. Nara and Heian Periods (710–1191)
The fall of the Soga led to the Taika Reform (648), which aimed to strengthen imperial authority and establish a political and social order modeled on that of the Chinese T’ang. The reform involved the establishment of a capital (Nara), the appointment of governors in the eastern provinces, and the abolition of hereditary offices. Lands, declared state property, were granted in usufruct to peasants who, freed from the authority of clan elders, became state taxpayers. During this period, as the government was engaged in suppressing tribes not under central control (including the Ainu, among the oldest inhabitants of Japan of Proto-Caucasian origin), relations with the continent waned. This allowed the Japanese time to assimilate and, so to speak, Japanize the imported elements of Chinese culture. In 794, the capital was moved to Heian (Kyoto). The Fujiwara, who had contributed to the downfall of the Soga and had intermarried with the imperial family, consolidated their power (9th–10th centuries) by establishing the office of regent during the minority of the emperor, a position they retained until their fall in the 12th century. Meanwhile, the state land economy was overwhelmed by the growing expansion of large estates. The landowners formed militias to defend their properties, thus laying the foundations for a true feudal regime. The struggle against the Ainu continued, while Emperor Shirakawa rebelled against Fujiwara authority, abdicating in 1081 and retiring to a monastery, from which he directed a political organization opposing Kyoto’s authority.
The military leaders of the Minamoto family enhanced the prestige of the samurai class by ousting the Fujiwara. Another warrior clan, the Taira, gained ascendancy, with one of its members even being appointed prime minister in 1167. The clash between rival groups led to the defeat of the Minamoto and the dominance of the Taira, which lasted until 1185, after which the Minamoto re-emerged. Yoritomo Minamoto received the title of shogun (generalissimo) from the emperor and transferred his seat to Kamakura (1192), deeming the influence of the great urban centers harmful.
3. Kamakura Period (1192–1337)
Yoritomo administered public affairs admirably, but after his death, power passed to the Hōjō. Exiled military leaders attempted revolts, but Hōjō supremacy lasted for more than a century.
Meanwhile, Buddhism had spread among the people, and its most ascetic sect, Zen, which appealed to the samurai class, became, with its blend of Buddhist and Confucian moral principles, the foundation of *Bushidō* (the way of the warrior).
Two Mongol invasion attempts (1274 and 1281) were valiantly repelled, fostering a new sense of national solidarity. However, disputes between the court and the Hōjō led to open conflict, ending in 1333 with the defeat of the Hōjō.
4. Muromachi Period (1338–1602)
Shortly afterward, the military leader Ashikaga Takauji rebelled, seized the capital, and established himself in the Muromachi district, giving his name to the era.
The dynastic war, caused by the simultaneous existence of two emperors—Go-Daigo in Yoshino and Kōmyō in Kyoto (the latter backed by Ashikaga)—lasted until 1392 and ended with the abdication of the Yoshino emperor in favor of the other. Peace was short-lived; new internal strife (Ōnin Wars, 1467–77) marked the gradual decline of the shoguns and the rise of feudal lords, who were constantly at odds. Yet, amid this turbulent period (during which, among other things, Japanese pirate raids [Wako], organized by discontented samurai, plagued the Chinese coasts), arts and commerce began to flourish, with feudal lords themselves acting as patrons in local centers. In 1542, the introduction of firearms by Portuguese sailors marked a turning point in military art. In 1549, St. Francis Xavier brought the Christian faith to Japan.
Among the feudal lords (*daimyō*), Oda Nobunaga, between 1560 and 1568, had conquered several provinces and even the capital itself. His wise efforts to consolidate imperial authority and reorganize administration were cut short by his death (1582) and taken up by Hideyoshi Toyotomi, who, after defeating rebel feudal lords, received the title of *Kwampaku* (1588) from Emperor Goyōzei. Hideyoshi, encouraging foreign trade, dreamed of founding an Asian empire encompassing China, Korea, Formosa, and the Philippines under Japanese hegemony. His two expeditions against the Ming of China yielded no definitive results, as his death in 1598 brought the enterprise to an end.
5. Edo Period (1602–1867)
Ieyasu Tokugawa then obtained the title of shogun, established his capital in Edo (Tokyo), and ensured internal order by strengthening central authority. His control over the dynasty and the *daimyō* was so skillful and energetic that every revolt became impossible.
Its successors initiated an isolationist policy which, under the pretext of preventing the spread of Christianity, aimed to strangle the political and economic activity of feudal lords in contact with foreigners. The expulsion of foreigners was therefore decreed, and Japanese were forbidden to leave the country. Peace was restored, but the discontent of the peasants, combined with the new authority of the bourgeoisie, undermined the prestige of the daimyō. During this period of enforced calm, there was only one uprising, that of the Christians of Shimabara, which was bloodily suppressed (1637). Despite economic prosperity and the flourishing of the arts, the deep stirrings of a political and social awakening were manifest, while a broad ideological movement took shape, arising from historical studies and intended to restore the moral values of Confucianism and Shintoism.