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1 Setting Lecture Notes ?/span> 2001 by Mineharu Nakayama

 

Key Words: The origin of the name "Japan", National emblem, Location, Size, Population, Climate of Japan, Four major islands, Land use, Ainu, Agricultural assistance index, Food intake

 

1.1. Origin

 

The origin of the name "Japan"

      Prince Shotoku - the country where the sun rises -> ?/span>˙ñ{ Gipang - Marco Polo

 

National Flag (nisshooshiki) - the flag of the rising sun - first used as shrine flags - adapted as a flag for Japanese ships in the 16th century - formally designated in 1870 on merchant ships

      (cf. US flag - adopted in June 14, 1777)

 

National emblem - chrysanthemum

 

National anthem – “Kimigayo”

      Kimigayo - designated in 1893, was adopted as Japan's national anthem in August 1999

      (cf. US National anthem - "The Star Spangled Banner" adopted in March 3, 1931)

 

National flower - cherry, chrysanthemum

      (cf. US National flower - Rose, adopted in Oct. 7, 1986)

 

      (cf. US Motto - In God We Trust, adopted in July 30, 1956)

      (cf. US National bird - Bald Eagle, adopted in June 20, 1782)

1.2. Land

 

Location of Japan (northern hemisphere) - covers from Main to Florida

 

Location of Tokyo (Capital) - 140 degree east longitude (central Australia) and 36 degree north latitude (the Grand Canyon)

 

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Four major islands - Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu

      Ura Nippon vs. Omote Nippon

      Kanto (East of the Barrier) vs. Kansai (West of the Barrier)

      Honshu - Tohoku (Northeast), Kanto, Chubu (Center), Kinki, Sanin (Dark Side), Sanyo (bright Side of the Mts)

 

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47 political regions - 1 To (Tokyo), 1 Doo (Hokkaido), 2 Fu (Osaka, Kyoto) and 43 Ken (prefectures)

 

Size of the country  = smaller than California; NY, NJ, PA and all New England except ME; little bigger than Germany, but smaller than Spain and France

      Compare    1) Russia          17,075,000km2

                        2) Canada        9,971,000km2

                        3) China           9,597,000km2

                        4) USA            9,364,000km2

                        5) Brazil           8,512,000km2             Japan   378,000km2

 

No part of Japan is farther than 70 miles from the sea

      1860 miles from north to south

 

Land use          Agriculture - 14% (US - 46%)

                        Forests/woodland - 67% (US- 31%)

 

Urban Park area - per capita in 1997 -Tokyo 3m2, Osaka 3.3m2, Kobe 16m2

      Compare

            NYC 29.1m2 in '97                              London 25.3m2 in '94

            Boston 32.8m2 in '93               Paris 11.8m2 in '94

            LA 17.8m2 in '94                                 Vancouver 26.5m2 in '93

 

1.3. Nature

 

Climate in Japan - different depending on the place (4 seasons)

      (house architecture - to accommodate hot and humid summers, not for cold winters)

Tsuyu (rainy season, mid June - mid July) and Typhoons (late August- late October)

 

Amount of yearly rainfall

      Compare                Tokyo              1,460 ml

                                    Moscow           656.6

                                    London            758.8

                                    New York        1,028.3

                                    Sydney 1,245.4

 

Average temperature for each month of the year (centigrade)

                   Jan.     Feb.   Mar.   Apr    May    June    July     Aug    Sep     Oct     Nov    Dec

Tokyo         4.7      5.4     8.4      13.9   18.4    21.5   25.2    26.7   22.9    17.3   12.3    7.4

New York   0         0.7     4.9      11      16.5    21.7   24.7    24      20.2    14.2   8.4      2.3

London        3.6      4.1     5.6      7.9     11.1    14.3   16.1    15.9   13.7    10.7   6.4      4.4

Sydney        22.3    22.4   21.5    18.9   15.6    13.4   12.4    13.4   15.3    17.7   19.6    21.5

 

Surrounding waters: Japan Sea, Inland Sea, Pacific Ocean (Black Current)

Mountains - the Japan Alps - 9,840 feet mountains (Mt. Fuji (dormant) - 12,388 feet)

Rivers - fast flowing (the Shinano River (longest) - 228 miles)

 

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Lakes - Lake Biwa - the biggest - an area of 260 sq. miles

      Lake Tazawa - the deepest - 1388 feet deep

Lagoons - Kasumigaura - 65 sq. miles

Plain - the Kanto Plain - stretches a mere 120 miles at its longest point

 

Volcanic activity - about 60 active volcanos (Mt. Fuji last erupted in 1707)

 

Earthquakes

      9/1/23 - the Great Kanto Earthquake - 130,000 died

      Kobe Earthquake - 1/17/95

 

Japan's Earthquake Intensity Scale (Newsweek 10/14/96)- different from Richter's scale

 

Rating               Effects on People                      Other effects

      0                Can't be felt                                          -

      1                Some trembling felt in house                  -

      2                Many feel trembling                  Suspended lights sway

      3                Most feel trembling;                  Dishes rattle

                        some feel frightened

      4                Those asleep are awakened      Some ornaments fall

      5 weak       Many seek shelter;                    Dishes and books fall

                        some are unable to move

      5 strong      Many are quite frightened          TVs tip over; some vending machines topple

      6 weak       Can't stand still             Many windows break

      6 strong      Can only crawl             Stone fences topple; doors come off

      7                People are thrown about           Furniture flies about

 

1.4. People

 

Population of Japan - 126,070,000 in 1997 

      Compare    1) China           1,243,740,000 (including Taiwan)

                        2) India            955,220,000

                        3) US - 267,900,000               8) Japan

 

      Tokyo        8,355,000                    Sapporo           1,543,000

      Osaka        2,636,000                    Fukuoka           1,160,000

      Nagoya      2,116,000                    Hiroshima         1,044,000

 

Density 338 persons/km2 (cf. US - 29/km2)

                        Japan   3.3 people : 10,000m2

                        Tokyo  139 people : 10,000m2

 

Average Life Expectancy - M (76.8) F (82.9) in 1998

            (cf. US- M(73.4), F(80.1) in 1998)

      Persons over age 65 - 17.2% of the total population in 2000 (projection)

            (cf. US - 12.5% in 2000)

            projection in 2050 - JPN 32.3% vs. US 21.7%

 

Average weight and hieght of Japanese (1986)

      Man           63.8kg 169.9cm

      Woman      51.3kg 156.6cm

 

Minorities - Ainu, Korean-Japanese, Chinese-Japanese, (Burakumin)

 

Foreign residents (registered) in JPN - 1,354,011 in 1994 (Korean 50%, Chinese 16.1%, Brazilian 11.8%, Philippinos 6.3%, Americans 3.2%)

Foreign residents (registered) in JPN - 1,512,116 in 1998 (Korean 42.2%, Chinese 18%, Brazilian 14.7%, Philippinos 7%, Americans 2.8%)

 

Japanese nationals living overseas

Total          789,534 in 1998           permanent        278,619

USA          289,957 (36.7%)                                 104,089

Brazil          83,803 (10.6%)                                   80,918

UK            55,583 (7%)                                        8,049

 

1.5. Housing

 

"rabbit hutches" - low living standard?

      Top 5 most difficult things to keep in order

            1) Clothing 2) Books and magazines 3) Tableware 4) Seasonal goods 5) Bedding

 

Cost of a single house in Tokyo - 12.9 times the annual income in '94 (cf. NYC 2.9 times)

Home ownership ratio - JPN 60.8% in 1993, Area per house 93.1m2 in 1997, Rooms per house 4.9 in 1993 (cf. US 59.7% in 1995, 177.5m2 in 1996)

      Tokyo (=100) single house residential area

            Osaka land price 66.5 house price 72.9 in 1996

            New York land price 3.6 house price 32.8 in 1996

            Hong Kong land price 105.8 house price 132 in 1996

 

Dwelling floor space per capita - 30.6m2 in 1993 (cf. US 62.6m2 in 1981)

      Top 5 Complaints about rented homes

            1) Size 34.8%           2) Home facilities 12%     3) Distance to train station 9.5%

            4) Not enough sunshine, ventilation 8.4%          5) Inconvenient commuting time 6.2%

 

Sewage diffusion ratio (% of the total population using the sewage system) - 47% in '93

      (cf. US - 73% in 1986)

 

Ownership of consumer durables in JPN in 1999 (% of households)

      Color TVs - 98.9%, Video decks 77.8%, Passenger cars -82.5%,

      CD Players - 60.1%, Video cameras - 36.3%, Personal computers - 29.5%

      Washing machines (automatic)-75.3%, Clothes dryers - 20.8%

      Microwave ovens - 93.3%, Room Air conditioners - 84.4%

 

Home renters' living expenses (houses and apartments)

      1) Food 24%   2) Rent/Land price 16%     3) Transportation, communication fees 11%

      4) Entertainment 7%                                   5) Clothing, shoes 6%

 

Public utility charges in Nov. 1997

electricity (280kwh/month) - JPN 7,038 yen  vs.  US 5,924

gas (550,000kcal/month) - JPN 7,081 yen  vs. US 3,635

telephone (200km, 3 min, daytime) - JPN 116 yen  vs.  US 109 yen

domestic mail (letter) - JPN 80 yen  vs.  US 39yen

taxi (5km, daytime) - JPN 1,540 yen  vs.  US 905 yen

 

Retail prices index in Nov. 1997 (Tokyo=100)

New York All commodities 85, Food 71, Clothing & footware 75

                              House rent 65, Public utilities 64,

                              Transportation and communication 92

                              Medical care 122, Education 182

 

Prices of products and services in Nov. 1998 (US$=130.9)

rice (10kg)             Tokyo  4241 yen          New York        2394

bread                                 422                                          392

milk (1 liter)                        208                                          193

eggs (1 kg)                         296                                          304

cola (1 can)                        117                                          55

tissues (5 boxes)                 409                                          1068

color film ( 1 roll)    506                                          576

Gasoline (1 liter)                 98                                            41

round of golf                       16900                          3222

movie ticket (1)                  1808                                        1008

 

1.6. Health

 

Cause of deaths in '97 (per 100,000 population)

      Cancer 226.8, Heart diseases 57.4, Cerebrovascular diseases 110.9

      (cf. US in '95 - Cancer 232.0, Heart diseases 183.2, Cerebrovascular diseases 60.1)

 

Number of doctors - 1.8 per 1,000 population in 1996 (cf. US 2.6)

Number of beds - 16.2 per 1,000 population in 1996  (cf. US 4.0)

Average length of hospital stay - 43.7 days in 1996  (cf. US 7.8)

 

Daily supply of nutrients - total intake 2,898K cal/day per person in 1994-6 (starch 96.4g, fat 80.6g veg 297g)

      cf. US 3624K cal (starch 111g, fat 142.9g veg 312g)

      gohan, sashimi, sushi, miso, tofu, shoyu, sukiyaki (invention by a medical student), tempura (Portuguese)

 

Health expenditures $1,677 per capita in 1996  cf. US $3,898

 

1.7. Agriculture

 

2c or 3c BC - wet-field rice cultivation was introduced from S. China.

 

by 2c AD - essentially modern form, in small dike-surrounded, water-filled plots of land, fed by an intricate man-made system of small waterways.

 

Transplanting by hand -> size of the paddy does not allow the use of large combines and tractors -> development of different sets of tractors, threshers, rice transplanters, and other machines.

 

No necessity for massive water control efforts.

 

Emphasis on productivity per acre rather than per man - rich in labor than land

Beginning of the 20th c - a deficit of almost 20 % in food supply.

 

Foodstuffs imported ($41.4 billion) - from US 30.1% (#1), from China 11.1%.

      Fish & shellfish 30.4%; Meat 16.3%, Fruit & vegetables 14.1%

 

1.8. Nihonjin-ron (theory/theories on the Japanese people)

            cf. Bunka-ron (theories of culture(s))   ***There are many Japans within Japan.***

 

Three notables:

      1) Climate (cf. Watsuji's Fudo 1926)

            -Japan as "wet" (shimeppoi)

            -effect of monsoon season: wet-rice culture: environment as all; passive, high                              humidity

            -outlook of an agrarian society 1920s-50s

            -Japanese people and language

                        as "wet" (uetto) vs. "dry" (dorai)

 

      2) Reischauer's "typhoon mentality"

            -stoicism in the face of natural disasters

            -"oriental fatalism"

            -shikata-ga nai 'What can we do?/There is no choice.'

 

      3) The Chrysanthemum & the Sword (1946) by Ruth Benedict

            -first study of Japan by a cultural anthropologist

            -emphasizes two traditions: imperial and samurai (a "split" personality)

 

"Situational" vs. absolute ethics; shame vs. guilt culture

      inner-directed vs. outer-directed cultures (Reisman)

Japan as a "borrower" or "imitative" culture

 

      What did Japan adopt from China?

            ancestor worship, concept of rei, patriarchy (with modifications), court ranks,    emphasis on harmony, examination system, names for imperial eras (nengo) e.g.,           Heisei for Emperor Akihito's reign - 1999=Heisei 11

 

      What did Japan not adopt from China?

                        concept of the "Mandate of Heaven" (i.e., a ruler can fall from power), agricultural         reform (attempted but abandoned), eunuchs, footbinding, etc.