Japanese Alps and Kamikōchi

The Japanese Alps (日本アルプス Nihon Arupusu^?) is a series of mountain ranges in Japan which bisect the main island of Honshu. 

 

The name was coined by William Gowland, the "Father of Japanese Archaeology", and later popularized by Reverend Walter Weston (1861–1940), an English missionary for whom a memorial plaque is located at Kamikochi, a tourist destination known for its alpine climate. When Gowland coined the phrase, however, he was only referring to the Hida Mountains.

 

Today, the Japanese Alps encompass the Hida Mountains, the Kiso Mountains and the Akaishi Mountains. These towering ranges include several peaks exceeding 3,000 m (9,843 ft) in height, the tallest after Mount Fuji.

 

Kamikōchi (上高地 Upper Highlands^?) is a remote mountainous highland in the western portion of Nagano Prefecture, Japan, which has been preserved in its natural state. 

 

Kamikōchi is located in the Hida Mountains, the northern part of the Japan Alps.

 

It has been designated as one of Japan's National Cultural Assets.^[1] 

 

It is sometimes referred to as the "Japanese Yosemite," although it is considerably smaller than its American counterpart. The highlands reach an altitude of 1,500 m (4,900 ft). The kanji 神垣内 (Kami-ko-uchi) were also used to write "Kamikōchi," but 上高地 (Kami-kō-chi) has become the common way to write the name.

Rice Production In Japan

Rice production in Japan is important to the food supply in Japan, with rice being a staple part of the Japanese diet.

The most striking feature of Japanese agriculture however is the shortage of farmland. The 4.63 million hectares under cultivation in 2008 has shrunk, with most farmers over 65.

However, the land is intensively cultivated. Paddy fields occupy much of the countryside, whether on the alluvial plains, the terraced slopes, or the swampland and coastal bays.

The History of rice and rice agriculture in the Japanese archipelago is not a long one. According to the accepted view, rice was introduced into Japan during the period between the Final Jōmon and the Early Yayoi Period. But recent phytolith studies indicate that rice may have been in Japan as early as the Early Jōmon, approximately 6000 years ago(Takamiya, 2001).

Rice occupies an emotional place in Japanese history, society, and political economy (Hsu, 1994).

Japan is the ninth largest producer of rice in the world in rice production.

The most widely planted variety is Koshihikari. Onigiri rice balls are popular [1].

Kusa Mochi (aka Yomogi Mochi)

Kusa mochi (草餅^?, literally "grass mochi"), also known as yomogi mochi, is a Japanese sweet. It is considered a seasonal dish for spring.

It is made from mochi and leaf of yomogi (Artemisia princeps), or more traditionally from the Gnaphalium affine (ハハコグサ). It may also be filled with red bean paste.
Kusa mochi may also be used to make a kind of daifuku called yomogi daifuku.

Mochi (餅^?) is a Japanese rice cake made of glutinous rice, waxy rice, sweet rice or otherwise called mochi rice.
Daifukumochi (大福餅^?), or Daifuku (大福^?) (literally "great luck"), is a Japanese confection consisting of a small round mochi (glutinous rice cake) stuffed with sweet filling, most commonly anko, sweetened red bean paste made from azuki beans.

Hanafuda and Plum (Ume) Blossoms

Hanafuda (花札^?) are playing cards of Japanese origin that are used to play a number of games. The name literally translates as "flower cards."^[1][2] The name also refers to games played with those cards.

Plum (Ume) blossoms are often mentioned in Japanese poetry as a symbol of spring. When used in haiku or renga, they are a kigo or season word for early spring. The blossoms are associated with the Japanese Bush Warbler and depicted together on one of the twelve suits of hanafuda (Japanese playing cards).^[60]

Plum blossoms were favored during the Nara period (710–794) until the emergence of the Heian period (794-1185) in which the cherry blossoms was preferred.^[61]

Japanese tradition holds that the ume functions as a protective charm against evil, so the ume is traditionally planted in the northeast of the garden, the direction from which evil is believed to come. The eating of the pickled fruit for breakfast is also supposed to stave off misfortune.^[62]
 
Renga (連歌^?, collaborative poetry) is a genre^[1] of Japanese collaborative poetry.

Iriomote-yamaneko

The Iriomote cat (Prionailurus bengalensis iriomotensis) is a subspecies of the leopard cat that lives exclusively on the Japanese island of Iriomote.

It has been classified as Critically Endangered by IUCN since 2008, as the population size is fewer than 250, is declining, and consists of a single subpopulation.^[1] As of 2007, there are an estimated 100–109 individuals remaining.^[2]

In Japanese it is called Iriomote-yamaneko "Iriomote mountain cat" (西表山猫^?) and has also previously been known to the local islanders as yamamaya (ヤママヤ^?, "the cat in the mountain"), yamapikaryaa (ヤマピカリャー^?, "that which shines on the mountain"), and meepisukaryaa (メーピスカリャー^?, "that which has flashing eyes").^[3][4]
 

It is estimated that Iriomote cats live for seven to eight years in the wild and eight to nine years in captivity. ^[7][18] Because of human influences, though, traffic accidents and traps may lower their lifespan to two to five years.^[18] In captivity, an Iriomote cat lived for an estimated fifteen years and one month, the longest known lifespan of any Iriomote cat (see #Yon).^[30]

Yukiguni (Snow Country)

Snow country (雪国 yukiguni; also, more prosaically, 豪雪地帯 gōsetsu chitai ["heavy snow area"]) refers to areas in Japan characterized by heavy, long-lasting snowfalls.

The rather poetic snow country (雪国 yukiguni^?) can refer to any place with heavy or deep snows and is generally understood as a reference to the Sea of Japan side of Honshū (Japan's main island) and the area encompassed by the Japanese Alps, a series of mountain ranges that make up the island's backbone.

In its broadest meaning, snow country means the belt along the Sea of Japan from Yamaguchi (in particular, Shimane) in the south to Honshū's northern tip, as well as Sado Island and Hokkaidō. More narrowly defined, it is used to indicate the area from Fukui to Akita Prefecture, but it is most closely associated with part of Fukui and all of Toyama and Niigata Prefectures.
 
"Heavy Snowfall Zones" refers to places where snowfall and snow cover are severe enough to be a hindrance to the livelihood of inhabitants or the development of local industry. In all, more than half of Japan's land area carries the designation—all of ten of the country's 47 prefectures and portions of fourteen others.

Frequently snow is so deep in some places that buildings have a special entrance on their second story; people must remove snow from their roofs to prevent its weight from crushing their homes, and special care is taken to protect trees from the snow's weight. In some towns, people used to tunnel paths to one another's homes, and streets were lined with covered sidewalks to ensure that people could get around. Today in areas where temperatures are high enough to make it practical, many roads are equipped with sprinklers using warm ground water to keep them passable by melting the snow.

Yōkai and Obake

Yōkai (妖怪^?, ghost, phantom, strange apparition) are a class of supernatural monsters in Japanese folklore.

Yōkai range eclectically from the malevolent to the mischievous, or occasionally bring good fortune to those who encounter them. Often they possess animal features (such as the Kappa, which is similar to a turtle, or the Tengu which has wings), other times they can appear mostly human, some look like inanimate objects and others have no discernible shape.  

Yōkai usually have a spiritual supernatural power, with shapeshifting being one of the most common. Yōkai that have the ability to shapeshift are called obake.
 
Obake (お化け^?) and bakemono (化け物^?) are a class of yōkai, preternatural creatures in Japanese folklore. Literally, the terms mean a thing that changes, referring to a state of transformation or shapeshifting.

As a secondary usage, the term obake can be a synonym for yūrei, the ghost of a deceased human being.^[2]

A bakemono's true form may be an animal such as a fox (kitsune), a raccoon dog (tanuki), a badger (mujina), a transforming cat (bakeneko), the spirit of a plant — such as a kodama, or an inanimate object which may possess a soul in Shinto and other animistic traditions. Obake derived from household objects are often called tsukumogami.

Fusuma, Shōji, Kamoi and Shikii

In Japanese architecture, fusuma (襖, japanese sliding screen) are vertical rectangular panels which can slide from side to side to redefine spaces within a room, or act as doors.

In traditional Japanese architecture, a shōji (障子^?, paper sliding door) is a door, window or room divider consisting of translucent paper over a frame of wood which holds together a lattice of wood or bamboo. While washi is the traditional paper, shōji may be made of paper made by modern manufacturing processes; plastic is also in use.

Historically, fusuma were painted, often with scenes from nature such as mountains, forests or animals. Today, many feature plain rice paper, or have industrially printed graphics of fans, autumn leaves, cherry blossom, trees, or geometric graphics. Patterns for children featuring popular characters can also be purchased.

Both fusuma and shōji (sheer, translucent paper room dividers) run on wooden rails at the top and bottom. The upper rail is called a kamoi (鴨居^?), literally "duck's place", and the lower is called a shikii (敷居^?).

Traditionally these were waxed, but nowadays they usually have a vinyl lubricating strip to ease movement of the fusuma and shōji.

Along with the fusuma, shōji and tatami straw mats (as the floor) make up a typical Japanese room.

Shūbun/Shunbun no Hi and Kōreisai

Autumnal Equinox Day (秋分の日 Shūbun no Hi^?) is a public holiday in Japan that usually occurs on September 22 or 23, the date of Southward equinox in Japan Standard Time (autumnal equinox can occur on different dates for different timezones). Due to the necessity of recent astronomical measurements, the date of the holiday is not officially declared until February of the previous year. Autumnal Equinox Day became a public holiday on 1948. In 1947 and before, it was the date of Shūki kōreisai ( 秋季皇霊祭^?), an event relating to Shintoism. Like other holidays, this holiday was repackaged as a non-religious holiday for the sake of separation of religion and state in Japan's postwar constitution.

Vernal Equinox Day (春分の日 Shunbun no Hi^?) is a public holiday in Japan that occurs on the date of the Northward equinox in Japan Standard Time (the vernal equinox can occur on different dates in different timezones), usually March 20 or 21. The date of the holiday is not officially declared until February of the previous year, due to the need for recent astronomical measurements.
Vernal Equinox Day became a public holiday in 1948. Prior to that it was the date of Shunki kōreisai ( 春季皇霊祭^?), an event relating to Shintoism. Like other Japanese holidays, this holiday was repackaged as a non-religious holiday for the sake of separation of religion and state in Japan's postwar constitution.

Kōreisai (皇霊祭^?), or Shun-ki (春季^?, Vernal) and Shū-ki (秋季^?, Autumnal) Kōreisai, are days of worship in Japan that began in 1878 (Meiji 11) to pay respects to the past emperors and imperial family members. It occurred on the spring and autumn equinoxes of the anniversary of the person's death. After the 1948 passing of the Act on National Holidays, these days were marked in a non-religious manner as the national holidays of Vernal Equinox Day and Autumnal Equinox Day. During the event, one prayed for good harvest in the spring and said thankyou for the harvest in autumn. The equinoxes were also the days of ancestor veneration in China.

Tobi Pants, Tora-ichi and Toramani

Tobi trousers or tobi pants are a type of baggy pants used as a common uniform of tobi shokunin, construction workers in Japan who work on high places (such as scaffolding and skyscrapers).^[1]

The pants are baggy to a point below the knees, abruptly narrowing at the calves so as to be put into the footwear: high boots or jikatabi (tabi-style boots), often brightly colored.^[2]

According to a spokesperson for Toraichi, a major manufacturer of worker's clothes of this style, the style was developed from knickerbockers. The regular knickerbocker-style pants are called nikka zubon ("zubon" means "trousers," and "nikka" or "nikka-bokka" is a gairaigo-transformation of the word "knickerbockers"). The excessively widened ones are called chocho zubon.^[1] This style has also entered popular fashion,^[3] as evidenced by the emergence of toramani ("Toraichi maniacs"), die-hard fans of Toraichi trousers.^[1] 

Shōjin Ryōri and Fucha Ryōri

Buddhist cuisine is an East Asian cuisine which is followed by some believers of Buddhism. It is primarily vegetarian, a manifestation of the general Buddhist precept of ahimsa (non-violence).

The origin of "Buddhist food" as a distinct sub-style of cuisine is tied to monasteries, where one member of the community would have the duty of being the head cook and supplying meals that paid respect to the strictures of Buddhist precepts. Temples that were open to visitors from the general public might also serve meals to them and a few temples effectively run functioning restaurants on the premises.

In Japan, this practice is generally known as shōjin ryōri (精進料理^?, devotion cuisine), and served at many temples, especially in Kyoto.

A more recent version, more Chinese in style, is prepared by the Ōbaku school of zen, and known as fucha ryōri (普茶料理^?); this is served at the head temple of Manpuku-ji, as well as various subtemples. In modern times, commercial restaurants have also latched on to the style, catering both to practicing and non-practicing lay people.

Wasei Eigo and Wasei Kango

Wasei-eigo (和製英語^?, Japanese-made English, English words coined in Japan) are Japanese pseudo-Anglicisms: English constructions not used in the English-speaking world or by native English speakers, but that appear in Japanese.

Some common examples are sararīman = "salaryman" meaning 'white-collar worker'; ōeru = OL standing for "office lady" meaning 'female office worker'; "walkman", a brand name for a portable audio player; etc.

Some wasei-eigo have in turn been borrowed as pseudo-Anglicisms in other countries
 
This should not be confused for foreign words gairaigo, which generally refer to words from European languages, especially English.

Wasei-eigo is also distinct from Engrish, as these are actual Japanese words used in Japanese conversation—not attempts at speaking English.^[1]

Wasei-eigo can be compared to wasei kango (和製漢語^?, Japanese-created kango (Chinese compounds)), which are Japanese pseudo-Sinicisms (Japanese words created on Chinese roots), and are also extremely common.

Many Japanese-created kango refer to uniquely Japanese concepts. Examples include daimyō (大名), waka (和歌), haiku (俳句), geisha (芸者), chōnin (町人), matcha (抹茶), sencha (煎茶), washi (和紙), jūdō (柔道), kendō (剣道), Shintō (神道), shōgi (将棋), dōjō (道場), and seppuku (切腹).

Masu

A masu (枡^?) was originally a square wooden box used to measure rice in Japan during the feudal period.

Masu existed in many sizes, typically covering the range from one to (一斗枡 ittomasu, c. 18L) to one gō (一合枡 ichigōmasu, c. 0.18L).

Today masu are largely used for drinking sake, as the advent of modern rice cookers and a higher calorie diet in Japan has made them impractical for measuring portions of rice, and the standard size is one gō, or 0.18039L.

A small (2.5 in x 2.5 in x 2.25 in h), lidded form of masu, made of hinoki, is sold for serving pepper, salt, sugar, and other dry condiments at the table.

Hinoki is a species of cypress native to central Japan.^[2][3]

Shoin-zukuri

Shoin-zukuri (書院造^?) is a style of Japanese residential architecture used in the mansions of the military, temple guest halls, and Zen abbot's quarters of the Azuchi-Momoyama (1568-1600) and Edo periods (1600-1868).

It forms the basis of today's traditional-style Japanese house.

Characteristics of the shoin-zukuri development were the incorporation of square posts and floors completely covered with tatami.^[1]

The style takes its name from the shoin, a term that originally meant a study and a place for lectures on the sūtra within a temple, but which later came to mean just a drawing room or study.^[2]
 
Ginkaku-ji's Tōgu-dō is the oldest extant example of shoin-zukuri.

The foundations for the design of today's traditional Japanese residential houses with tatami floors were established in the late Muromachi period and refined during the ensuing Momoyama period.^[3][4]
Shoin-zukuri, a new architectural style influenced by Zen Buddhism, developed during that time from the shinden-zukuri of the earlier Heian period's palaces and the subsequent residential style favored by the warrior class during the Kamakura period.^[3][5][6]

 

O-furo

Furo (風呂^?), polite form ofuro (お風呂^?), is a Japanese bath.

Specifically it is a type of bath which originated as a short, steep-sided wooden bathtub. Baths of this type are found all over Japan in houses, apartments and traditional Japanese inns (ryokans) but are now usually made out of a plastic or stainless steel.

A furo differs from a conventional Western bathtub by being of a deeper construction, typically in the region of 0.6 m (25 inches). The sides are generally square rather than being sloped. They generally have no overflow drainage. Traditional pot shaped cast iron furo were heated by a wood-burning stove built-in below them.

Furo (or yubune (湯船, bathtub) that specifically refer to the bath with water) are usually left filled with water overnight, and for some household the water reused or recycled for washing clothes the next day. As in the West, it was the custom for more than one member of the family to use the same bath water and therefore, for the Japanese, it was important to be completely clean before entering the bath. This type of furo was the precursor of the modern Western-style hot tub.^{[citation needed]}

Furo are part of the Japanese ritual of bathing, not meant for washing but rather for relaxing and warming oneself. Washing is carried out separately outside the yubune. The bather should enter the water only after rinsing or lightly showering. Generally Japanese bathrooms are small by Western standards, so the bathroom is set up much like a walk-in shower area but containing the furo.

Chashitsu and O-chaya

In Japanese tradition, architectural spaces designed to be used for tea ceremony (chanoyu) gatherings are known as chashitsu (茶室, literally "tea rooms").^[1]

The architectural style that developed for chashitsu is referred to as the sukiya style (sukiya-zukuri), and the term sukiya (数奇屋) may be used as a synonym for chashitsu.^[2] Related Japanese terms are chaseki (茶席), broadly meaning "place for tea," and implying any sort of space where people are seated to participate in tea ceremony,^[3] and chabana, "tea flowers", the style of flower arrangement associated with the tea ceremony.

Typical features of chashitsu are shōji windows and sliding doors made of wooden lattice covered in a translucent Japanese paper; tatami mat floors; a tokonoma alcove; and simple, subdued colours and style.

The ideal floor size of a chashitsu is 4.5 tatami mats.^[4]

In Japan, an ochaya (お茶屋^?, literally "tea house") is an establishment where patrons are entertained by geisha. Ochaya are located in geisha districts (花街 hanamachi^?), and are today most numerous in Kyoto, though they can be found in geisha districts in other cities, such as Tokyo.

Ochaya, where geisha entertain, should be distinguished from okiya (boarding house), where geisha live – these may both be loosely translated as "geisha house". Geisha are attached to a single boarding house (where they do not entertain), and entertain at various ochaya or other venues from night to night. As geisha replaced previous courtesans, ochaya (in geisha districts, where geisha entertained) replaced the previous ageya (in yūkaku "pleasure quarters", where tayū and oiran entertained).
  
The most notable and famous ochaya is Ichiriki Chaya, in the Gion district of Kyoto, which is considered the height of exclusivity, and features as a major setting in Arthur Golden’s fictional portrayal of a Gion Geisha's life, Memoirs of a Geisha.

Bunraku (aka Ningyō jōruri)

Bunraku (文楽^?), also known as Ningyō jōruri (人形浄瑠璃), is a form of traditional Japanese puppet theatre, founded in Osaka in 1684.

Three kinds of performers take part in a bunraku performance:

• Ningyōtsukai or Ningyōzukai—puppeteers
• Tayū—the chanters
• Shamisen players

Occasionally other instruments such as taiko drums will be used.
The most accurate term for the traditional puppet theater in Japan is ningyō jōruri (人形浄瑠璃^?). The combination of chanting and shamisen playing is called jōruri and the Japanese word for puppet (or dolls, generally) is ningyō.

Bunraku puppetry has been a documented traditional activity for Japanese for hundreds of years.^[1]

Osaka is the home of the government-supported troupe at National Bunraku Theater. The Troupe offers five or more shows every year, each running for two to three weeks in Osaka before moving to Tokyo for a run at the National Theater. The National Bunraku Theater Troupe also tours within Japan and occasionally abroad.

Nihonga

Nihonga (日本画 Nihonga^?) or literally "Japanese-style paintings" are paintings that have been made in accordance with traditional Japanese artistic conventions, techniques and materials. While based on traditions over a thousand years old, the term was coined in the Meiji period of the Imperial Japan, to distinguish such works from Western-style paintings, or Yōga (洋画 Yōga^?).

However, in many cases Nihonga artists also adopted realistic Western painting techniques, such as perspective and shading. Because of this tendency to synthesize, although Nihonga form a distinct category within the Japanese annual Nitten exhibitions, in recent years, it has become increasingly difficult to draw a distinct separation in either techniques or materials between Nihonga and Yōga.

Nihonga are typically executed on washi (Japanese paper) or eginu (silk), using brushes. The paintings can be either monochrome or polychrome. If monochrome, typically sumi (Chinese ink) made from soot mixed with a glue from fishbone or animal hide is used. If polychrome, the pigments are derived from natural ingredients: minerals, shells, corals, and even semi-precious stones like malachite, azurite and cinnabar.

Yagō, Kagō and Gō

Yagō (屋号), literally meaning "house name", is a term applied in traditional Japanese culture to names passed down within a guild, studio, or other circumstance other than blood relations.

The term is synonymous with iena (家名) and kadona (角名).

The term most often refers to the guild names of kabuki actors, but is also applicable to the names artists take from their masters or studios, names taken from one's business, and a few other similar circumstances.
The ya (屋) of yagō, also often seen at the end of a yagō name, means "house", "roof", or "shop", and helps to illuminate the origins and meanings of the term.

Yagō came to be especially well-known and widely used in kabuki theater, where actors take on a name relating to their guild. The famous actor Ichikawa Danjūrō V, though he was from the Ichikawa family, was also known by the yagō of Naritaya (Narita house), which indicates his guild within the Kabuki world.

Artists, writers and poets in Japan, like in other parts of the world, would often take on pen names or pseudonyms. These were sometimes derived from the names of their mentors (particularly in painting studios), in which case they could be considered yagō. But more often these art-names or pen names are called in Japanese kagō (家号) or simply gō (号).

Naoshima

Naoshima (直島町 Naoshima-chō^?) is an island town administratively part of Kagawa District, Kagawa, Japan located in the Seto Inland Sea.

The island is known for its many contemporary art museums. For example, the Chichu Art Museum (literally, "in the earth") houses a number of site-specific installations by James Turrell, Walter De Maria, and paintings by Claude Monet. Designed by Tadao Ando, it is located on one of the highest points of the island, and various exhibits and facets of the museum's architecture take advantage of its commanding view. Another contemporary museum (and hotel) is Benesse House, also by Ando. Another is the Naoshima Fukutake Art Museum, with an outdoor sculpture garden, and a third is the James Bond museum, inspired by the island's use as one of the settings for the 2002 Bond novel The Man with the Red Tattoo by Raymond Benson.^[1]

The museums and beauty of the island draw many tourists, whose visits help support the local economy.

However, it is Mitsubishi Materials, loosely affiliated with other Japanese companies of the Mitsubishi name, that dominates industry on the island, as Naoshima has been the site of massive refining by Mitsubishi since 1917.

Benesse Corporation (one of the largest education companies in Japan and based in Okayama) has directed the creation and operation of the island's museums and other projects since the late 1980s.

This series of Benesse Art Site Naoshima projects has caused Naoshima to be recognized inside and outside Japan as a contemporary art mecca, leading to the Setouchi International Art Festival 2010.

Naoshima is the sister city of Timmins, Ontario Canada.

Kagawa Prefecture (香川県 Kagawa-ken^?) is a prefecture of Japan located on Shikoku island.^[1] The capital is Takamatsu.^[2]

Okayama (岡山市 Okayama-shi^?) is the capital city of Okayama Prefecture in the Chūgoku region of Japan.

Tower of the Sun

The Tower of the Sun (太陽の塔 Taiyō no Tō^?) is a building created by Japanese artist Tarō Okamoto.

It was known as the symbol of Expo '70 and currently is preserved and located in the Expo Commemoration Park in Suita, Osaka, Japan.

The tower's height is 70 metres, the diameter of the basement is 20 metres, and length of arms is 25 metres.^[2] The tower has three faces, two faces on the front, and a face in the back.

Originally, the tower was built for Expo '70 and housed in the Festival Plaza building known as "Big Roof" designed by Japanese architect Kenzo Tange. The tip of the tower projected out of the Big Roof's ceiling due to the height of the building.

A miniature version of the Tower of the Sun is located in the Taro Okamoto Museum of Art. The tower has also been listed as one of the Best 100 Media Arts in Japan by the Agency for Cultural Affairs.^[3]

O-Seibo

There are two gift seasons in Japan, called seibo (歳暮^?) and chūgen (中元^?). One is for winter and the other is for summer. Gifts are given to those with whom one has a relationship, especially the people who have helped the gift giver.

Chūgen (中元), also Ochūgen (お中元), is an annual event in Japan on the 15th day of the 7th lunar month, when people give gifts to their superiors and acquaintances. One of the three days that form the sangen (三元^?) of Daoism, it is sometimes considered a Zassetsu in the Japanese calendar. Originally it was an annual event for giving gifts to the ancestral spirits.

Wildlife of Japan

The Wildlife of Japan includes its flora, fauna and natural habitats. The islands of Japan stretch a long distance from north to south and cover a wide range of climatic zones. This results in a high diversity of wildlife despite Japan's isolation from the mainland of Asia. In the north of the country, there are many subarctic species which have colonized Japan from the north. In the south there are south-east Asian species, typical of tropical regions. Between these areas lies the temperate zone which shares many species with China and Korea. Japan also has many endemic species that are found nowhere else.

Bamboo grows abundantly in Japan with around 400 to 500 different species including the dwarf bamboos known as sasa and the taller kinds called take which can reach 20 metres in height.

Conifer plantations have replaced natural forest in many areas.
 Around 5000 to 6000 species of plant occur naturally in Japan. The vegetation varies widely from subtropical forest in the south to coniferous forest in the north. In the subtropical zone, mangroves, cycads and tree ferns can be found. In the warm-temperate climate of Kyūshū, Shikoku and south-western Honshū, the dominant vegetation is broad-leaved evergreen forest with many oaks. In north Honshū and south-west Hokkaidō the climate is cool-temperate with broad-leaved deciduous trees including Japanese beech (Fagus crenata) and oaks like the konara (Quercus serrata). Conifers are dominant in much of Hokkaidō and in the mountains of central and northern Honshū with spruces and firs growing. In the highest mountains there is a zone of arctic-alpine plants including the low-growing Siberian dwarf pine (Pinus pumila).

Nihon Kamoshika (Japanese Serow)

The Japanese serow (Capricornis crispus or Naemorhedus crispus), known in Japanese as the Nihon kamoshika (ニホンカモシカ^?), is a goat-antelope found in dense woodland on Honshū, Japan.

Japanese serow stand 60 to 90 centimetres at the shoulder and weigh 30 to 130 kilograms.

Japanese serow are mottled brown and white and black underneath. Their fur is very bushy, especially their tails. Both sexes have short 10 centimetre horns, which curve backwards.

Japanese serow are found in dense hillside forests where they eat leaves, and acorns. They are diurnal, feeding in the mornings and evenings and resting under rock ledges for the remainder of the day.

The serow are solitary, or gather in couples, sometimes with kids as well. Generally they live in small ranges, around 20,000 square metres for individuals and up to 200,000 square metres for larger groups. Ranges are marked with a substance similar to vinegar that is secreted from the serow's preorbital gland, which is just in front of the eye.

They have lived up to 10 years in captivity. Lifespan in the wild is unknown. The captive population is around 35.

Sound Trucks in Japan

Sound trucks in Japan (gaisensha, (街宣車) are used by political parties and candidates to express their views.

Vendors also use sound trucks for the purpose of selling goods, collecting recyclable materials, and other purposes.

The trucks have one or more loudspeakers which play a recorded message or recorded music.

Many right-wing political groups drive around city streets in sound trucks, play nationalistic music at high volume and communicate their political views to the citizenry.^[1] They also sometimes station themselves on a street, while one of the group's members address the public.

Many Japanese people are annoyed with these displays by the right wing groups; however, few Japanese openly challenge or complain to those who operate the trucks.^[2] The Japanese police tend to ignore them or allow them to operate freely, in the interest of free speech.

The right-wing sound trucks in Japan often disregard stop signs and stoplights, even on busy streets, and can have a negative effect on businesses they regularly pass or station themselves in front. Many of the right wing groups who operate the sound trucks are assumed to have Yakuza connections.^[3][4]

To a lesser extent the Communist Party of Japan also uses sound trucks to advertise its political views.

Honke and Bunke

Honke (本家^?) is the main household of Japanese family. The head of a household and his successor reside in the honke, while collateral branches establish bunke.^[1]

The honke-bunke relationship is also reflected in the relationship between Japanese companies and their subsidiaries.^[1]

A bunke (分家^?) is a branch family established by a collateral of the honke (the line descended through the eldest male) in Japan.

Meganebashi (Spectacles Bridge)

Meganebashi (眼鏡橋^?) or Spectacles Bridge, over the Nakashima River (中島川) was built in Nagasaki in 1634^[1] by the Japanese monk Mokusu of Kofukuji Temple.

It is said to be the oldest stone arch bridge in Japan and has been designated as an Important Cultural Property.

It received the nickname "Spectacles Bridge" because its two arches and their reflection in the water create the image of a pair of spectacles.

On July 23, 1982, a disastrous deluge washed away six of the ten stone bridges over the Nakashima River. Meganebashi was badly damaged but fortunately almost all the original stones were retrieved and the bridge was restored to its original appearance.

There is a similar but larger "Spectacles Bridge" in Isahaya Park.

Nagasaki (長崎市 Nagasaki-shi^?) ( listen (help·info)) is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan.
Tōmeizan Kōfuku-ji (東明山興福寺^?) is an Ōbaku Zen Buddhist temple established in 1624 in Nagasaki, Japan. It is an important cultural asset designated by the government.

Softcream

Soft serve is a type of ice cream that is softer than regular ice cream. Soft serve ice cream has been sold commercially since the late 1930s.^[1] 
 
Softcream (ソフトクリーム sofutokuriimu^?) is used to describe an analogous product in Japan, that can be either savory or sweet, with uniquely Asian flavors such as powdered tea, wasabi, sesame, ume or plum, rose, kabocha or Japanese pumpkin, peach, and grape, among others.

Soft Tennis

Soft tennis is a racket game played on a court of two halves, separated by a net.

Soft tennis differs from regular tennis in that it uses soft rubber balls instead of hard yellow balls. It is played primarily in Asia, especially in Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Thailand and the Philippines.

Most of the rules for soft tennis are the same as those for regular tennis.

At the end of the 19th century, tennis was introduced to Japan by a Western missionary, and it was later modified to better suit Japanese tastes. A special racquet and ball were developed, and the game became known as soft tennis (ソフトテニス sofutotenisu^?).

In 2004 Soft tennis was introduced into Europe. Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, the United Kingdom, and India all now have active Soft tennis federations. All of them are also members of the European Soft tennis Federation, and the International Federation JSTA.