Prehistory and ancient history
A Paleolithic
culture around 30,000 BC constitutes the first known habitation of the
Japanese archipelago. This was followed from around 14,000 BC (the start
of the Jōmon period) by a Mesolithic to Neolithic semi-sedentary hunter-gatherer culture, who include ancestors of both the contemporary Ainu people and Yamato people, characterized by pit dwelling and rudimentary agriculture.Decorated clay vessels from this period are some of the oldest
surviving examples of pottery in the world. Around 300 BC, the Yayoi
people began to enter the Japanese islands, intermingling with the
Jōmon.The Yayoi period, starting around 500 BC, saw the introduction of practices like wet-rice farming, a new style of pottery,and metallurgy, introduced from China and Korea.
Japan first appears in written history in the Chinese Book of Han.According to the Records of the Three Kingdoms, the most powerful kingdom on the archipelago during the 3rd century was called Yamataikoku. Buddhism was first introduced to Japan from Baekje of Korea, but the subsequent development of Japanese Buddhism was primarily influenced by China.Despite early resistance, Buddhism was promoted by the ruling class and gained widespread acceptance beginning in the Asuka period (592–710).
The Nara period (710–784) of the 8th century marked the emergence of a strong Japanese state, centered on an imperial court in Heijō-kyō (modern Nara). The Nara period is characterized by the appearance of a nascent literature as well as the development of Buddhist-inspired art and architecture.The smallpox epidemic of 735–737 is believed to have killed as much as one-third of Japan's population.In 784, Emperor Kammu moved the capital from Nara to Nagaoka-kyō before relocating it to Heian-kyōKyoto) in 794. (modern
This marked the beginning of the Heian period (794–1185), during which a distinctly indigenous Japanese culture emerged, noted for its art, poetry and prose. Lady Murasaki'sThe Tale of Genji and the lyrics of Japan's national anthem Kimigayo were written during this time.
Buddhism began to spread during the Heian era chiefly through two major sects, TendaiSaichō, and Shingon by Kūkai. Pure Land Buddhism greatly becomes popular in the latter half of the 11th century.
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The English word Japan is an exonym. The Japanese names for Japan are Nippon (にっぽん) and Nihon (にほん); both names are written using the kanji 日本. The Japanese name Nippon is used for most official purposes, including on Japanese yen, postage stamps, and for many international sporting events. Nihon is a more casual term and is used in colloquial speech.
From the Meiji Restoration until the end of World War II, the full title of Japan was Dai Nippon Teikoku (大日本帝國), meaning "the Empire of Great Japan". Today the name Nippon-koku or Nihon-koku (日本国)
is used as a formal modern-day equivalent; countries like Japan whose
long form does not contain a descriptive designation are generally given
a name appended by the character koku (国), meaning "country", "nation" or "state".
Japanese people refer to themselves as Nihonjin (日本人) and to their language as Nihongo(日本語). Both Nippon and Nihon mean "sun-origin" and are often translated as Land of the Rising Sun. This nomenclature comes from Japanese missions to Imperial ChinaNihon came into official use, Japan was known as Wa (倭) or Wakoku (倭国). and refers to Japan's eastward position relative to China. Before
The English word for Japan came to the West via early trade routes. The early Mandarin or possibly Wu Chinese (吳語) word for Japan was recorded by Marco Polo as Cipangu. In modern Shanghainese, a Wu dialect, the pronunciation of characters 日本 'Japan' is Zeppen [zəʔpən]. The old Malay word for Japan, Jepang, was borrowed from Chinese Jih'pen'kuoFukienese or Ningpo,and this Malay word was encountered by PortugueseMalacca in the 16th century. Portuguese traders were the first to bring the word to Europe.It was first recorded in English in a 1565 letter, spelled Giapan.
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Japan, an island nation in east Asia, is an archipelago (large group of
islands) located east of the Korean peninsula. It has an area of 377,835
square kilometers (145,882 square miles), which makes it slightly
smaller than the state of California. Japan is bordered by the Pacific
Ocean on the north and east, by the Philippine Sea and the East China
Sea to the south, and by the Sea of Japan / East Sea on the west. It has
a coastline of 29,751 kilometers (18,487 miles). Japan's major
cities, including Tokyo, its capital, and Yokohama, its major port, are
located in the southeastern part of the country, on the main island of
Honshu. Kyoto, Nagoya, and Osaka are in the southern part of Honshu.
Sapporo is located on the northern island of Hokkaido. The other 2 main
islands in the Japanese archipelago are Kyushu and Shikoku, to the
southwest.
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Japan,
Tokyo
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