1.
Japanese people
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Japanese people are an ethnic group native to Japan. Japanese people make up 98. 5% of the population of their country. Worldwide, approximately 129 million people are of Japanese descent, of these, people of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries are referred to as the Japanese diaspora. The term ethnic Japanese may also be used in some contexts to refer to ethnic groups, including the Yamato, Ainu. The Japanese language is a Japonic language that in the past was treated as a language isolate, the Japanese language has a tripartite writing system using Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji. Domestic Japanese people use primarily Japanese for daily interaction, the adult literacy rate in Japan exceeds 99%. Japanese religion has traditionally been syncretic in nature, combining elements of Buddhism, Shinto, a polytheistic religion with no book of religious canon, is Japans native religion. Mahayana Buddhism came to Japan in the century and evolved into many different sects. Today, the largest form of Buddhism among Japanese people is the Jōdo Shinshū sect founded by Shinran, most Japanese people profess to believe in both Shinto and Buddhism. Japanese peoples religion functions mostly as a foundation for mythology, traditions, Christianity in Japan is among the nations minority religions. Just under 2%, or about 2.5 million, of Japans population are Christians, many Japanese practice Christianity in the diaspora in Brazil, which is home to the largest Japanese population outside Japan. About 60% of Japanese Brazilians are Roman Catholics, while 90% of Japanese Mexicans are Roman Catholic, certain genres of writing originated in and are often associated with Japanese society. These include the haiku, tanka, and I Novel, although modern writers generally avoid these writing styles, historically, many works have sought to capture or codify traditional Japanese cultural values and aesthetics. Twentieth-century Japanese writers recorded changes in Japanese society through their works, some of the most notable authors included Natsume Sōseki, Junichirō Tanizaki, Osamu Dazai, Yasunari Kawabata, Fumiko Enchi, Yukio Mishima, and Ryōtarō Shiba. In contemporary Japan, popular authors such as Ryū Murakami, Haruki Murakami, decorative arts in Japan date back to prehistoric times. Jōmon pottery includes examples with elaborate ornamentation, in the Yayoi period, artisans produced mirrors, spears, and ceremonial bells known as dōtaku. Later burial mounds, or kofun, preserve characteristic clay haniwa, beginning in the Nara period, painting, calligraphy, and sculpture flourished under strong Confucian and Buddhist influences from China. Among the architectural achievements of this period are the Hōryū-ji and the Yakushi-ji, after the cessation of official relations with the Tang dynasty in the ninth century, Japanese art and architecture gradually became less influenced by China
2.
History of Japan
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It is widely accepted that first Human habitation in the Japanese archipelago traced back to prehistoric times. The Jōmon period, named after its cord-marked pottery, was followed by the Yayoi in the first millennium BC, during this period, in the first century AD, the first known written reference to Japan was recorded in the Chinese Book of Han. Between the fourth century and the century, Japans many kingdoms and tribes gradually came to be unified under a centralized government. The imperial dynasty established at this time continues to reign over Japan to this day, in 794, a new imperial capital was established at Heian-kyō, marking the beginning of the Heian period, which lasted until 1185. The Heian period is considered an age of classical Japanese culture. Japanese religious life from time and onwards was a mix of Buddhism. Over the following centuries the power of the Emperor and the imperial court gradually declined and passed to the military clans, the Minamoto clan under Minamoto no Yoritomo emerged victorious from the Genpei War of 1180–85. After seizing power, Yoritomo set up his capital in Kamakura, in 1274 and 1281, the Kamakura shogunate withstood two Mongol invasions, but in 1333 it was toppled by a rival claimant to the shogunate, ushering in the Muromachi period. During the Muromachi period regional warlords called daimyō grew in power at the expense of the shogun, eventually, Japan descended into a period of civil war. Over the course of the sixteenth century, Japan was reunified under the leadership of the daimyō Oda Nobunaga. After Hideyoshis death in 1598, Tokugawa Ieyasu came to power and was appointed shogun by the Emperor, the Tokugawa shogunate, which governed from Edo, presided over a prosperous and peaceful era known as the Edo period. The Tokugawa shogunate imposed a strict class system on Japanese society, the American Perry Expedition in 1853–54 ended Japans seclusion, this in turn contributed to the fall of the shogunate and the return of power to the Emperor in 1868. The new national leadership of the following Meiji period transformed their isolated, underdeveloped island country into an empire that closely followed Western models and became a world power. Although democracy developed and modern civilian culture prospered during the Taishō period, Japans powerful military had great autonomy, the military invaded Manchuria in 1931, and from 1937 the conflict escalated into a prolonged war with China. Japans attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 led to war with the United States, Japans forces soon became overextended, but the military held out in spite of Allied air attacks that inflicted severe damage on population centers. Japans unconditional surrender was announced by Emperor Hirohito on 14 August 1945 following the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Allies occupied Japan until 1952, during which a new constitution was enacted in 1947 that transformed Japan into a constitutional monarchy, after 1955, Japan enjoyed very high economic growth, and became a world economic powerhouse. Since the 1990s, economic stagnation has been a major issue, an earthquake and tsunami in 2011 caused massive economic dislocations and a serious nuclear power disaster
3.
Ritual purification
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Ritual purification is a feature of many religions. The aim of these rituals is to remove specifically defined uncleanliness prior to a type of activity. This ritual uncleanliness is not identical with ordinary physical impurity, such as stains, nevertheless. Most of these rituals existed long before the theory of disease. Some have seen benefits of these practices as a point of health, while these practices came before the idea of the germ theory was public in areas that use daily cleaning, the destruction of infectious agents seems to be dramatic. Others have described a dimension of purity that is universal in religions that seeks to move us away from disgust, away from uncleanliness to purity, and away from deviant to moral behavior. In the Baháí Faith, ritual ablutions should be done before the saying of the obligatory prayers, as well as prior to the recitation of the Greatest Name 95 times. Menstruating women are obliged to pray, but have the alternative of reciting a verse instead, if the choice is taken. Baháulláh, the founder of the Baháí Faith, prescribed the ablutions in his book of laws, the Kitáb-i-Aqdas. If no water is available or if an illness would be worsened by the use of water, one may repeat the verse In the Name of God, the Most Pure. Apart from this, Baháulláh abolished all forms of ritual impurity of people and things and stressed the importance of cleanliness, in Japanese Buddhism, a basin called a tsukubai is provided at Buddhist temples for ablutions. It is also used for tea ceremony, the Bible has many rituals of purification relating to menstruation, childbirth, sexual relations, nocturnal emission, unusual bodily fluids, skin disease, death, and animal sacrifices. The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church prescribes several kinds of hand washing for example after leaving the latrine, lavatory or bathhouse, or before prayer, or after eating a meal. Baptism, as a form of purification, occurs in several religions related to Judaism. In traditional liturgical churches a laver, often embedded in the wall, exists for the priest, many ancient churches were built with a large fountain in the courtyard. It was the tradition for Christians to wash before entering the church for worship. This usage is also legislated in the Rule of St. Benedict, as a result of which, the churching of women is still performed in a number of Eastern Christian churches. For Catholics, this is required at least once a year, in Reformed Christianity, ritual purity is achieved though the Confession of Sins, and Assurance of Forgiveness, and Sanctification
4.
Kegare
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Kegare is the Japanese term for a state of pollution and defilement, important particularly in Shinto as a religious term. Typical causes of kegare are the contact with any form of death, childbirth, disease, in Shinto kegare is a form of tsumi, which needs to be somehow remedied by the person responsible. This condition can be remedied through purification rites called misogi and harae, kegare can have an adverse impact not only on the person directly affected, but also to the community he or she belongs to. Kegare is not a form of judgment, but rather a spontaneous reaction to amoral natural forces. Whether the defiling was caused by an act, as for example in the case of a crime, or by an external event. It is therefore not an equivalent of sin, the concept of kegare from death still has considerable force within Japanese society, even during Buddhist funerals. Death and everything having to do with it are seen as a source of defilement. Those who attend a Buddhist funeral receive a bag of salt to purify themselves before they return to their homes. The familys kami must be protected as much as possible contact with death, blood. A still common consequence of this is the habit to give up the traditional New Year visit to a Shinto shrine if a death in the family has occurred within the last year. Shinto priests are expected to pay attention to avoid this kind of kegare. Given how important dealing with death is in religion, this death taboo cannot have been part of kami worship from the beginning. The exclusion of death from religious rites became for the first time possible when another religion, Buddhism, harae Tsumi The Glossary of Shinto for an explanation of terms concerning Japanese Shinto, Shinto art, and Shinto shrine architecture
5.
Hamlet (place)
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A hamlet is a small human settlement. The word and concept of a hamlet have roots in the Anglo-Norman settlement of England, in English geography, a hamlet is considered smaller than a village and distinctly without a church. The word comes from Anglo-Norman hamelete, corresponding to Old French hamelet and this, in turn, is a diminutive of Old French ham, possibly borrowed from Franconian languages. Compare with modern French Hameau, Dutch heem, German Heim, Old English hām, in Australia a hamlet is a small village. Officially, a hamlet differs from a village in having no commercial premises, in Bangladesh, Hamlet is known as Para or Paara. A village is divided by more than one Para and that is the smallest partition of a place in Bangladesh. Each para contains some families, or a group of families, in Canadas three territories, hamlets are officially designated municipalities. Canadas two largest hamlets – Fort McMurray and Sherwood Park – are located in Alberta and they each have populations, within their main urban area, in excess of 60, 000—well in excess of the 10, 000-person threshold that can choose to incorporate as a city in Alberta. As such, these two hamlets have been designated by the Province of Alberta as urban service areas. An urban service area is recognized as equivalent to a city for the purposes of provincial and federal program delivery, during the 18th century, for rich or noble people, it was up-to-date to create their own hameau in their gardens. They were a group of houses or farms with rustic appearance. The best known in the Hameau de la Reine built by the queen Marie-Antoinette in the park of the Château de Versailles, or the Hameau de Chantilly built by Louis Joseph, Prince of Condé in Chantilly, Oise. Lieu-dit is another name for hamlet, the difference is that a hamlet is permanently inhabited, but a lieu-dit is not. In Germany hamlets are called Weiler and they are often part of bigger villages and municipalities. Most German hamlets are situated in Bavaria, Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse, in the low Saxon dialect of northwestern Germany hamlets are called Bauerschaft. In different states of India, there are different words for hamlet, in Gujarat a hamlet is called a nesada, which are more prevalent in the Gir forest. In Maharashtra its called a paadaa, in southern Bihar, especially in the Magadh division, a hamlet is called a bigha. All over Indonesia, hamlets are translated as small village, or kampung and they are known as dusun in Central Java and East Java, banjar in Bali, jorong or kampuang in West Sumatra
6.
Ghetto
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A ghetto is a part of a city in which members of a minority group live, especially because of social, legal, or economic pressure. The term was used in Venice to describe the part of the city to which Jews were restricted and segregated. The term has been applied in various contexts, the word ghetto comes from the Jewish area of Venice, the Venetian Ghetto in Cannaregio. However, there is no agreement among etymologists about the origins of the Venetian language term, by 1899 the term had been extended to crowded urban quarters of other minority groups. In Northern Ireland, towns and cities have long been segregated along ethnic, religious, Northern Irelands two main communities are its Irish nationalist/republican community and its unionist/loyalist community. Ghettos emerged in Belfast during the riots that accompanied the Irish War of Independence, for safety, people fled to areas where their community was the majority. They then sealed off these neighborhoods with barricades to keep out rioters or gunmen from the other side, many more ghettos emerged after the 1969 riots and beginning of the Troubles. In August 1969 the British Army was deployed to restore order, the government built barriers called peace lines. Many of the ghettos came under the control of such as the Provisional Irish Republican Army. One of the most notable ghettos was Free Derry, the existence of ethnic enclaves in the United Kingdom is controversial. By 2001, two London boroughs – Newham and Brent – had minority majority populations, and most parts of the city tend to have a diverse population, in France, a banlieue is a suburb of a large city. Banlieues are divided into autonomous entities and do not constitute part of the city proper. For instance, 80% of the inhabitants of the Paris area live outside the city of Paris, a Jewish quarter is the area of a city traditionally inhabited by Jews in the diaspora. Jewish quarters, like the Jewish ghettos in Europe, were often the outgrowths of segregated ghettos instituted by the surrounding authorities, a Yiddish term for a Jewish quarter or neighborhood is Di yiddishe gas, or The Jewish street. Many European and Middle Eastern cities once had a historical Jewish quarter, Jewish ghettos in Europe existed because Jews were viewed as alien. As a result, Jews were placed under strict regulations throughout many European cities, the character of ghettos has varied through times. In some cases, the ghetto was a Jewish quarter with an affluent population. In other cases, ghettos were places of terrible poverty and during periods of growth, ghettos, had narrow streets and tall
7.
Edo period
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The Edo period or Tokugawa period is the period between 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when Japanese society was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the countrys 300 regional daimyō. The period was characterized by growth, strict social order, isolationist foreign policies. The shogunate was established in Edo on March 24,1603. The period came to an end with the Meiji Restoration on May 3,1868, instrumental in the rise of the new bakufu was Tokugawa Ieyasu, the main beneficiary of the achievements of Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Already powerful, Ieyasu profited by his transfer to the rich Kantō area, after Hideyoshis death, Ieyasu moved quickly to seize control from the Toyotomi family. Ieyasus victory over the western daimyōs at the Battle of Sekigahara gave him control of all Japan. He rapidly abolished numerous enemy daimyō houses, reduced others, such as that of the Toyotomi, Ieyasu still failed to achieve complete control of the western daimyōs, but his assumption of the title of shogun helped consolidate the alliance system. After further strengthening his base, Ieyasu installed his son Hidetada as shogun. The Toyotomi were still a significant threat, and Ieyasu devoted the next decade to their eradication, in 1615, the Tokugawa army destroyed the Toyotomi stronghold at Osaka. The Tokugawa period brought 250 years of stability to Japan, the political system evolved into what historians call bakuhan, a combination of the terms bakufu and han to describe the government and society of the period. In the bakuhan, the shogun had national authority and the daimyōs had regional authority and this represented a new unity in the feudal structure, which featured an increasingly large bureaucracy to administer the mixture of centralized and decentralized authorities. The feudal hierarchy was completed by the classes of daimyō. Closest to the Tokugawa house were the shinpan, or related houses and they were twenty-three daimyōs on the borders of Tokugawa lands, all directly related to Ieyasu. The shinpan held mostly honorary titles and advisory posts in the bakufu, the second class of the hierarchy were the fudai, or house daimyōs, rewarded with lands close to the Tokugawa holdings for their faithful service. By the 18th century,145 fudai controlled such smaller han, members of the fudai class staffed most of the major bakufu offices. Ninety-seven han formed the group, the tozama, former opponents or new allies. The tozama were located mostly on the peripheries of the archipelago, because the tozama were least trusted of the daimyō, they were the most cautiously managed and generously treated, although they were excluded from central government positions. The Tokugawa not only consolidated their control over a reunified Japan, they also had unprecedented power over the emperor, the court, all daimyōs and the religious orders
8.
Forced displacement
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Forced displacement or forced migration is the coerced movement of a person or persons away from their home or home region and it often connotes violent coercion. Someone who has experienced forced displacement is a migrant, a displaced person, rarely also a displacee, or if it is within the same country. In some cases the forced migrant can also become a refugee, a specific form of forced displacement is population transfer, which is a coherent policy to move unwanted persons, for example, as an attempt at ethnic cleansing. Forced displacement has accompanied persecution, as well as war, throughout history but has only become a topic of serious study. The concept of forced displacement envelopes demographic movements like flight, evacuation, displacement, however this thought has been questioned, especially by Marxians, who argue that in most cases migrants have little or no choice. In such a scenario, migration becomes more of a strategy, as natural disasters often cause the loss of money, homes. For example, Hurricane Katrina resulted in displacement of almost the population of New Orleans, leaving the community and government with several economic. Biological, physical or chemical change in ecosystem, Migration can also occur as a result of slow-onset climate change, such as desertification or sea-level rise, of deforestation or land degradation. Man-made disasters can also cause forced migration, examples are industrial accidents and especially accidents that involve radioactivity, such as in Chernobyl or Fukushima. An elaboration of such migrants is given by Essam El-Hinnawi, Migrants who are able to return to their original habitat once the disruption is over, Migrants who seek better living conditions due to deterioration of environmental conditions in their present habitat, such as soil fertility. In the middle of the 19th century, for example, Ireland experienced a famine never before seen in the country’s history. War, civil war, political repression or religious conflicts, Some migrants are impelled to cross national borders by war or persecution, due to political, social, ethnic and these immigrants may be considered refugees if they apply for asylum in the receiving country. It has been associated with the construction of dams for hydroelectric power and irrigation purposes but also appears due to many other activities, such as mining. The best-known recent example of such development-induced displacement may be resulting from the construction of the Three Gorges Dam in China. This type of forced migration disproportionately affects low income earners and ethnic minorities, according to estimates, between 90 and 100 million people were forced to leave their homes due to development projects in the 1990s. Human trafficking and human smuggling, Migrants displaced through deception or coercion with purpose of their exploitation fall under this category, the data on such forced migration are limited since the activities involved are clandestine in nature. While migration of this nature is well covered for male migrants, the International Labour Organization considers trafficking an offence against labor protection and denies them the opportunity of utilizing their resources for their country. ILO’s Multilateral Framework includes principle no, slavery, Historys greatest forced migration was the Middle Passage of the Atlantic slave trade during the 15th through the 19th centuries
9.
Muromachi period
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The Muromachi period is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period ended in 1573 when the 15th and last shogun of this line, from a cultural perspective, the period can be divided into the Kitayama and Higashiyama periods. The early years from 1336 to 1392 of the Muromachi period are known as the Nanboku-chō or Northern and Southern Court period and this period is marked by the continued resistance of the supporters of Emperor Go-Daigo, the emperor behind the Kenmu Restoration. The years from 1465 to the end of the Muromachi period are known as the Sengoku period or Warring States period. Emperor Go-Daigos brief attempt to restore the power in the Kenmu Restoration alienated the samurai class. Ashikaga Takauji obtained the samurais strong support, and deposed Emperor Go-Daigo, in 1338 Takauji was proclaimed shogun and established his government in Kyoto. However, Emperor Godaigo escaped from his confinement and revived his political power in Nara, the ensuing period of Ashikaga rule was called Muromachi from the district of Kyoto in which its headquarters – the Hana-no-gosho – were located by third shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu in 1378. Nevertheless, the Ashikaga shogunate was not as strong as that in Kamakura had been, not until the rule of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu did a semblance of order emerge. Yoshimitsu allowed the constables, who had had limited powers during the Kamakura period, to become strong regional rulers, in time, a balance of power evolved between the shogun and the daimyō, the three most prominent daimyō families rotated as deputies to the shogun at Kyoto. The line of shoguns gradually weakened after Yoshimitsu and increasingly lost power to the daimyō, the shoguns influence on imperial succession waned, and the daimyō could back their own candidates. In time, the Ashikaga family had its own problems, resulting finally in the Ōnin War. The power vacuum that ensued launched a century of anarchy, the Japanese contact with the Ming dynasty began when China was renewed during the Muromachi period after the Chinese sought support in suppressing Japanese pirates in coastal areas of China. Japanese pirates of this era and region were referred to as wokou by the Chinese, wanting to improve relations with China and to rid Japan of the wokou threat, Yoshimitsu accepted a relationship with the Chinese that was to last for half a century. In 1401 he restarted the system, describing himself in a letter to the Chinese Emperor as Your subject. Japanese wood, sulfur, copper ore, swords, and folding fans were traded for Chinese silk, porcelain, books, and coins, in what the Chinese considered tribute but the Japanese saw as profitable trade. Zen played a role in spreading not only religious teachings and practices but also art and culture, including influences derived from paintings of the Chinese Song, Yuan. The proximity of the court to the bakufu resulted in a commingling of imperial family members, courtiers, daimyō, samurai. Art of all kinds—architecture, literature, Noh drama, Kyōgen, poetry, sarugaku, the tea ceremony, landscape gardening, there was renewed interest in Shinto, which had quietly coexisted with Buddhism during the centuries of the latters predominance
10.
Tokyo
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Tokyo, officially Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan and one of its 47 prefectures. The Greater Tokyo Area is the most populous area in the world. It is the seat of the Emperor of Japan and the Japanese government, Tokyo is in the Kantō region on the southeastern side of the main island Honshu and includes the Izu Islands and Ogasawara Islands. Formerly known as Edo, it has been the de facto seat of government since 1603 when Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu made the city his headquarters. It officially became the capital after Emperor Meiji moved his seat to the city from the old capital of Kyoto in 1868, Tokyo Metropolis was formed in 1943 from the merger of the former Tokyo Prefecture and the city of Tokyo. The Tokyo metropolitan government administers the 23 Special Wards of Tokyo, the metropolitan government also administers 39 municipalities in the western part of the prefecture and the two outlying island chains. The population of the wards is over 9 million people. The prefecture is part of the worlds most populous metropolitan area with upwards of 37.8 million people, the city hosts 51 of the Fortune Global 500 companies, the highest number of any city in the world. Tokyo ranked third in the International Financial Centres Development IndexEdit, the city is also home to various television networks such as Fuji TV, Tokyo MX, TV Tokyo, TV Asahi, Nippon Television, NHK and the Tokyo Broadcasting System. Tokyo ranked first in the Global Economic Power Index and fourth in the Global Cities Index. The city is considered a world city – as listed by the GaWCs 2008 inventory – and in 2014. In 2015, Tokyo was named the Most Liveable City in the world by the magazine Monocle, the Michelin Guide has awarded Tokyo by far the most Michelin stars of any city in the world. Tokyo ranked first in the world in the Safe Cities Index, the 2016 edition of QS Best Student Cities ranked Tokyo as the 3rd-best city in the world to be a university student. Tokyo hosted the 1964 Summer Olympics, the 1979 G-7 summit, the 1986 G-7 summit, and the 1993 G-7 summit, and will host the 2020 Summer Olympics, Tokyo was originally known as Edo, which means estuary. During the early Meiji period, the city was also called Tōkei, some surviving official English documents use the spelling Tokei. However, this pronunciation is now obsolete, the name Tokyo was first suggested in 1813 in the book Kondō Hisaku, written by Satō Nobuhiro. When Ōkubo Toshimichi proposed the renaming to the government during the Meiji Restoration, according to Oda Kanshi, Tokyo was originally a small fishing village named Edo, in what was formerly part of the old Musashi Province. Edo was first fortified by the Edo clan, in the twelfth century
11.
Tram
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A tram is a rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets, and also sometimes on a segregated right of way. The lines or networks operated by tramcars are called tramways, Tramways powered by electricity, the most common type historically, were once called electric street railways. However, trams were used in urban areas before the universal adoption of electrification. Tram lines may run between cities and/or towns, and/or partially grade-separated even in the cities. Very occasionally, trams also carry freight, Tram vehicles are usually lighter and shorter than conventional trains and rapid transit trains, but the size of trams is rapidly increasing. Some trams may also run on railway tracks, a tramway may be upgraded to a light rail or a rapid transit line. For all these reasons, the differences between the modes of rail transportation are often indistinct. In the United States, the tram has sometimes been used for rubber-tired trackless trains. Today, most trams use electrical power, usually fed by a pantograph, in some cases by a sliding shoe on a third rail. If necessary, they may have dual power systems — electricity in city streets, trams are now included in the wider term light rail, which also includes segregated systems. The English terms tram and tramway are derived from the Scots word tram, referring respectively to a type of truck used in coal mines and the tracks on which they ran. The word tram probably derived from Middle Flemish trame, a Romanesque word meaning the beam or shaft of a barrow or sledge, the identical word la trame with the meaning crossbeam is also used in the French language. The word Tram-car is attested from 1873, although the terms tram and tramway have been adopted by many languages, they are not used universally in English, North Americans prefer streetcar, trolley, or trolleycar. The term streetcar is first recorded in 1840, and originally referred to horsecars, when electrification came, Americans began to speak of trolleycars or later, trolleys. The troller design frequently fell off the wires, and was replaced by other more reliable devices. The terms trolley pole and trolley wheel both derive from the troller, Modern trams often have an overhead pantograph mechanical linkage to connect to power, abandoning the trolley pole altogether. Conventional diesel tourist buses decorated to look like streetcars are sometimes called trolleys in the US, the term may also apply to an aerial ropeway, e. g. the Roosevelt Island Tramway. Over time, the trolley has fallen into informal use
12.
Social class
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Class is an essential object of analysis for sociologists, political scientists, anthropologists, and social historians. However, there is not a consensus on the best definition of the class, the precise measurements of what determines social class in society has varied over time. According to philosopher Karl Marx, class is determined entirely by ones relationship to the means of production, the term class is etymologically derived from the Latin classis, which was used by census takers to categorize citizens by wealth, in order to determine military service obligations. In the late 18th century, the class began to replace classifications such as estates, rank. Historically social class and behavior was sometimes laid down in law, definitions of social classes reflect a number of sociological perspectives, informed by anthropology, economics, psychology, and sociology. The major perspectives historically have been Marxism and Structural functionalism, the common stratum model of class divides society into a simple hierarchy of working class, middle class and upper class. For Marx, class is a combination of objective and subjective factors, objectively, a class shares a common relationship to the means of production. Subjectively, the members will necessarily have some perception of their similarity, Class consciousness is not simply an awareness of ones own class interest but is also a set of shared views regarding how society should be organized legally, culturally, socially and politically. These class relations are reproduced through time and this is the fundamental economic structure of work and property, a state of inequality that is normalized and reproduced through cultural ideology. Marxists explain the history of civilized societies in terms of a war of classes between those who control production and those who produce the goods or services in society, in the Marxist view of capitalism, this is a conflict between capitalists and wage-workers. Furthermore, in countries where modern civilisation has become fully developed, an industrial army of workmen, under the command of a capitalist, requires, like a real army, officers and sergeants who, while the work is being done, command in the name of the capitalist. This would mark the beginning of a society in which human needs rather than profit would be motive for production. In a society with democratic control and production for use, there would be no class, no state and no need for financial and banking institutions and money. Max Weber formulated a three-component theory of stratification, that saw social class as emerging from an interplay between class, status and power. Weber believed that class position was determined by a relationship to the means of production. Weber derived many of his key concepts on social stratification by examining the structure of many countries. He noted that contrary to Marxs theories, stratification was based on more than simply ownership of capital, Weber pointed out that some members of the aristocracy lack economic wealth yet might nevertheless have political power. Likewise in Europe, many wealthy Jewish families in lack prestige and honor, Class, A persons economic position in a society
13.
Four occupations
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In descending order, these were the shi, the nong, the gong, and the shang. In some manner this system of order was adopted throughout the Chinese cultural sphere. In Japanese it is called mibunsei and is stated as Shi, nō, kō, shō, in Korean as Sa, nong, gong, sang. The main difference in adaptation was the definition of the shi, the system did not figure in all other social groups present in premodern Chinese society, and its broad categories were more an idealization than a practical reality. The commercialization of Chinese society in the Song and Ming periods further blurred the lines between these four hierarchic social distinctions, there was also a gradual fusion of the wealthy merchant and landholding gentry classes, culminating in the late Ming Dynasty. From existing literary evidence, commoner rankings in China were employed for the first time during the Warring States period. Despite this, Eastern-Han historian Ban Gu asserted in his Book of Han that the four occupations for commoners had existed in the Western Zhou era, which he considered a golden age. However, it is now known that the classification of four occupations as Ban Gu understood it did not exist until the 2nd century BC. Ban explained the hierarchy of each group in descending order, Scholars, farmers, artisans. Those who studied in order to positions of rank were called the shi. Those who cultivated the soil and propagated grains were called nong and those who manifested skill and made utensils were called gong. Those who transported valuable articles and sold commodities were called shang, during the ancient Shang and Zhou dynasties, the shi were regarded as a knightly social order of low-level aristocratic lineage compared to dukes and marquises. This social class was distinguished by their right to ride in chariots and command battles from mobile chariots and they were also known by the weaponry they used, the double-edged sword, or jian. The type of clothing worn by the shi class also distinguished them from others and this was also a period where philosophical schools flourished in China, while intellectual pursuits became highly valued amongst statesmen. Under Duke Xiao of Qin and the minister and reformer Shang Yang. This philosophy stressed stern punishments for those who disobeyed the publicly known laws while rewarding those who labored for the state and it was a means to diminish the power of the nobility, and was another force behind the transformation of the shi class from warrior-aristocrats into merit-driven officials. The Qin Dynasty unified China under the Legalist system, but became infamous for its oppressive measures, the victor of this war was Liu Bang, who initiated four centuries of unification of China proper under the Han Dynasty. After the Han period, this system was replaced by the nine-rank system, both systems favored the wealthy, those of noble background, and the well-connected
14.
Sumptuary law
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Societies have used sumptuary laws for a variety of purposes. They were used as an attempt to regulate the balance of trade by limiting the market for imported goods. They made it easy to identify social rank and privilege, the laws frequently prevented commoners from imitating the appearance of aristocrats and also could be used to stigmatize disfavored groups. In the Late Middle Ages, sumptuary laws in cities were instituted as a way for the nobility to cap or limit the conspicuous consumption of the prosperous bourgeoisie. If bourgeois subjects appeared to be as wealthy or wealthier than the nobility, it could undermine the nobilitys presentation of themselves as powerful. This could call into question their ability to control and defend their fief, such laws continued to be used for these purposes well into the 17th century. It also banned the drinking of undiluted wine except for medical purposes, the Sumptuariae Leges of ancient Rome were various laws passed to prevent inordinate expense in banquets and dress, such as the use of expensive Tyrian purple dye. In the early years of the Empire, men were forbidden to wear silk and it was considered the duty of government to put a check upon extravagance in personal expenditure, and such restrictions are found in laws attributed to the kings of Rome and in the Twelve Tables. The Roman censors, who were entrusted with the disciplina or cura morum, in it were listed the names of everyone found guilty of a luxurious mode of living, a great many instances of this kind are recorded. As the Roman Republic wore on, further laws were passed, however, towards the end of the Republic. Any such laws which may have existed were ignored during the period of profligate luxury characterizing the height of the Roman Empire. During the height of the Empire, such vast quantities of silk were imported from Sinica along the Silk Road that Imperial advisers warned that Roman silver reserves were becoming exhausted, Sumptuary laws existed in China in one form or another from the Qin dynasty onwards. The Confucian virtue of restraint was embodied in the scholarly system central to Chinas bureaucracy, some laws concerned the size and decoration of graves and mausoleums. The location of graves, and the number of attendant statues depended on rank, after circa 1550, sumptuary law in China was reformed. According to Britannica Online, In feudal Japan sumptuary laws were passed with a frequency, during the Tokugawa period in Japan, people of every class were subject to strict sumptuary laws that included regulation of the types of clothing that could be worn. Islamic sumptuary laws are based upon teachings found in the Quran, males are exhorted not to wear silk clothes, nor have jewelry made of gold. Likewise, wearing clothes or robes that drag on the ground, seen as a sign of vanity and these rules do not apply to women, who are allowed all this. Prohibition of depictions of human and animal figures in general are similar to those of the Quranic prohibition on graven images, hadiths do allow the depiction of animals on clothing items
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Headwear
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Headgear, headwear or headdress is the name given to any element of clothing which is worn on ones head. Some styles of bonnets had peaks so large that they prevented women from looking right or left without turning their heads. Bonnets worn by men and boys are generally distinguished from hats by being soft, caps are generally soft and often have no brim or just a peak. For many centuries women wore a variety of head-coverings which were called caps, an ochipok is part of traditional Ukrainian costume. Some headgear, such as the crown, coronet, and tiara, have evolved into jewelry and these headgear are worn as a symbol of nobility or royal status. Kokoshnik is part of Russian traditional dress, often worn by nobility, a fillet or circlet is a round band worn around the head and over the hair. Elaborate and costly versions of these evolved into crowns, but fillets could be made from woven bands of fabric, leather. Fillets are unisex, and are prevalent in archaic to renaissance dress. Hairnets are used to prevent loose hair from contaminating food or work areas, a snood is a net or fabric bag pinned or tied on at the back of a womans head for holding the hair. Scarves are used to protect styled hair or keep it tidy, shower caps and swim caps prevent hair from becoming wet or entangled during activity. Hats often have an all the way around the rim. Depending on the type of hat, they may be worn by men. Helmets are designed to protect the head, and sometimes the neck and they are usually rigid, and offer protection from blows. Helmets are commonly worn in battle, on sites and in many contact sports. In most of the United States they are required by law for operating a range of vehicles including motorcycles. Modern hoods are generally soft headcoverings which are a part of a larger garment, like an overcoat. Historically, hoods were either similar to modern hoods, or a form of headgear. In medieval Europe hoods with short capes, called chaperons in French, were extremely common, a mask is worn over part or all of the face, frequently to disguise the wearer, but sometimes to protect the face
16.
Tokugawa shogunate
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The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the Tokugawa bakufu and the Edo bakufu, was the last feudal Japanese military government, which existed between 1600 and 1868. The head of government was the shogun, and each was a member of the Tokugawa clan, the Tokugawa shogunate ruled from Edo Castle and the years of the shogunate became known as the Edo period. This time is called the Tokugawa period or pre-modern. Following the Sengoku period, the government had been largely re-established by Oda Nobunaga during the Azuchi–Momoyama period. After the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, central authority fell to Tokugawa Ieyasu, society in the Tokugawa period, unlike the shogunates before it, was supposedly based on the strict class hierarchy originally established by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. The daimyō were at the top, followed by the warrior-caste of samurai, with the farmers, artisans, and traders ranking below. In some parts of the country, particularly smaller regions, daimyō and samurai were more or less identical, since daimyō might be trained as samurai, otherwise, the largely inflexible nature of this social stratification system unleashed disruptive forces over time. Taxes on the peasantry were set at fixed amounts which did not account for inflation or other changes in monetary value, as a result, the tax revenues collected by the samurai landowners were worth less and less over time. This often led to confrontations between noble but impoverished samurai and well-to-do peasants, ranging from simple local disturbances to much bigger rebellions. None, however, proved compelling enough to challenge the established order until the arrival of foreign powers. The Tokugawa Shogunate came to an end in 1868 with the resignation of the 15th Tokugawa Shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu. The bakuhan taisei was the political system in the Edo period of Japan. Baku is an abbreviation of bakufu, meaning military government—that is, the han were the domains headed by daimyō. Vassals held inherited lands and provided service and homage to their lords. The bakuhan taisei split feudal power between the shogunate in Edo and provincial domains throughout Japan, provinces had a degree of sovereignty and were allowed an independent administration of the han in exchange for loyalty to the shogun, who was responsible for foreign relations and national security. The shogun and lords were all daimyō, feudal lords with their own bureaucracies, policies, the shogun also administered the most powerful han, the hereditary fief of the House of Tokugawa. Each level of government administered its own system of taxation, the emperor, nominally a religious leader, held no real power, this was invested in the shogun. The shogunate had the power to discard, annex, and transform domains, the sankin kōtai system of alternative residence required each daimyō to reside in alternate years between the han and the court in Edo
17.
Samurai
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Samurai were the military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan. In Japanese, they are referred to as bushi or buke. In both countries the terms were nominalized to mean those who serve in close attendance to the nobility, the pronunciation in Japanese changing to saburai. According to Wilson, a reference to the word samurai appears in the Kokin Wakashū. By the end of the 12th century, samurai became almost entirely synonymous with bushi, the samurai were usually associated with a clan and their lord, and were trained as officers in military tactics and grand strategy. While the samurai numbered less than 10% of then Japans population, following the Battle of Hakusukinoe against Tang China and Silla in 663 AD, which led to a retreat from Korean affairs, Japan underwent widespread reform. One of the most important was that of the Taika Reform and this edict allowed the Japanese aristocracy to adopt the Tang dynasty political structure, bureaucracy, culture, religion, and philosophy. As part of the Taihō Code of 702 AD, and the later Yōrō Code, the population was required to regularly for census. With an understanding of how the population was distributed, Emperor Monmu introduced a law whereby 1 in 3–4 adult males were drafted into the national military and these soldiers were required to supply their own weapons, and in-return were exempted from duties and taxes. This was one of the first attempts by the Imperial government to form an organized army modeled after the Chinese system and it was called Gundan-Sei by later historians and is believed to have been short-lived. The Taihō Code classified most of the Imperial bureaucrats into 12 ranks and those of 6th rank and below were referred to as samurai and dealt with day-to-day affairs. Although these samurai were civilian public servants, the word is believed to have derived from this term. Military men, however, would not be referred to as samurai for many more centuries, Emperor Kanmu introduced the title of seii-taishōgun, or Shogun, and began to rely on the powerful regional clans to conquer the Emishi. Skilled in mounted combat and archery, these clan warriors became the Emperors preferred tool for putting down rebellions, though this is the first known use of the Shogun title, it was a temporary title, and was not imbued with political power until the 13th century. At this time, the Imperial Court officials considered them to be merely a military section under the control of the Imperial Court, ultimately, Emperor Kanmu disbanded his army. From this time, the Emperors power gradually declined, while the Emperor was still the ruler, powerful clans around Kyoto assumed positions as ministers, and their relatives bought positions as magistrates. To amass wealth and repay their debts, magistrates often imposed heavy taxes, through protective agreements and political marriages, they accumulated, or gathered, political power, eventually surpassing the traditional aristocracy. Some clans were formed by farmers who had taken up arms to protect themselves from the Imperial magistrates sent to govern their lands
18.
Buraku Liberation League
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The Buraku Liberation League is one of the burakumins rights groups in Japan. Buraku are members of social groups, descendants of outcast communities of the Japanese feudal era. The origin of the Buraku Liberation League is the National Levelers Association, however, in 1942, some of the leading activists, including Asada Zennosuke, were recruited into the military. The National Levelers Association disbanded in the same year, in 1946, the ex-members of the National Levelers Association formed the Buraku Liberation National Committee. In 1955, it was renamed the Buraku Liberation League, in 1966, one of the leaders, Jiichirō Matsumoto, died. Around the same time, the BLL purged the members who were against the decision that the subsidy to the burakumin should be limited to the BLL members only. Asada played a role in this purge. Thus, the ex-members of the BLL formed the Buraku Liberation League Normalization National Liaison Conference in 1970 and this was the predecessor of the All Japan Federation of Buraku Liberation Movement. In response to the denuclearization struggle The reason for fear is not by birth and it has been said that self-purpose groups fear losing their meaning of existence by achieving their original purpose since late 1960s. He criticized the Matsumotos intimidation that Your company is over if you write my words as the essence of the liberation alliance s Suppression of free speech Official website
19.
Fukuoka Prefecture
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Fukuoka Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan on Kyūshū Island. The capital is the city of Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture includes the former provinces of Chikugo, Chikuzen, and Buzen. Kōra taisha, Sumiyoshi-jinja, and Hakosagi-gū are the chief Shinto shrines in the prefecture, Fukuoka Prefecture faces the sea on three sides, bordering Saga, Ōita, and Kumamoto prefectures and facing Yamaguchi Prefecture across the Kanmon Straits. Fukuoka includes the two largest cities on Kyūshū, Fukuoka and Kitakyushu, and much of Kyūshūs industry and it also includes a number of small islands near the north coast of Kyūshū. Major industries include automobiles, semiconductors, and steel, Fukuoka prefecture is where tire manufacturer Bridgestone and consumer electronics chain Best Denki were founded. According to 1 June 2013 Japanese estimates, the population in Fukuoka Prefecture reached 5,088,483 inhabitants, Fukuoka Art Museum – In Ohori Park, contains a wide selection of contemporary and other art from around the world. Fukuoka Asian Art Museum – contains art from Asia, Fukuoka City Museum – displays a broad range of items from the regions history, including a spectacular gold seal. Genko Historical Museum in Higashi Koen displays Japanese and Mongolian arms, hakata Machiya Folk Museum – Dedicated to displaying the traditional ways of life, speech, and culture of the Fukuoka region. Fukuoka Castle – a castle in Chūō-ku, Fukuoka, hakata Gion Yamakasa – Japanese festival celebrated 1–15 July. Ōhori Park – a registered Place of Scenic Beauty, HKT48 Theater – where the idol group HKT48 performs every day. LinQ – the Kyushu idol group meaning Love in Kyushu, local theater where the LinQ performs weekly on Saturday and Sunday in Tenjin Best Hall, the marathon has been held in Fukuoka since 1959 and has seen world records broken. Fukuoka Prefecture has the most designated yakuza groups among all of the prefectures, at five, the Kudo-kai, the Taishu-kai, the Fukuhaku-kai, the Dojin-kai, between 2004 and 2009, and in early 2011, Fukuoka Prefecture lead the nation in gun-related incidents. These incidents were related to the local yakuza syndicates, specifically the Kudo-kai, the Dojin-kai. Fukuoka Prefecture has had the highest frequency of youth crime among the prefectures of Japan since 2003, the most popular place for tourism is Fukuoka City, especially at the time of the Dontaku festival, and Dazaifu, although Kitakyūshū has tried to attract tourists
20.
Meiji Restoration
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The Meiji Restoration, also known as the Meiji Ishin, Renovation, Revolution, Reform, or Renewal, was an event of change that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were Emperors before the Meiji Restoration, the events restored practical abilities, Meiji government also made education compulsory for both boys and girls at minimal fees. The goals of the government were expressed by the new emperor in the Charter Oath. The Restoration led to changes in Japans political and social structure. In Japan however, unlike China, foreign ideas were not associated with opium addiction. Figures like Shimazu Nariakira concluded that if we take the initiative, we can dominate, if we do not, we will be dominated, leading Japan to throw open its doors to foreign technology. Observing Japans response to the powers, Li Hongzhang considered Japan Chinas principal security threat as early as 1863. The word Meiji means enlightened rule and the goal was to modern advances with traditional eastern values. The main leaders of this were Itō Hirobumi, Matsukata Masayoshi, Kido Takayoshi, Itagaki Taisuke, Yamagata Aritomo, Mori Arinori, Ōkubo Toshimichi, and Yamaguchi Naoyoshi. The foundation of the Meiji restoration was the 1866 Satsuma-Chōshū Alliance between Saigō Takamori and Kido Takayoshi, leaders of the reformist elements in the Satsuma Domain and Chōshū Domain. These two leaders supported the Emperor Kōmei and were brought together by Sakamoto Ryōma for the purpose of challenging the ruling Tokugawa shogunate, after Emperor Kōmeis death on January 30,1867, Emperor Meiji ascended the throne on February 3. This period also saw Japan change from being a society to having a market economy. The Tokugawa Shogunate came to its end on November 9,1867, when Tokugawa Yoshinobu. Shortly thereafter in January 1868, the Boshin War started with the Battle of Toba–Fushimi in which Chōshū and this forced the Emperor to strip Yoshinobu of all power, setting the stage for official restoration. We shall henceforward exercise supreme authority in all the internal and external affairs of the country, consequently the title of Emperor must be substituted for that of Taikun, in which the treaties have been made. Officers are being appointed by us to the conduct of foreign affairs and it is desirable that the representatives of the treaty powers recognize this announcement. All Tokugawa lands were seized and placed under control, thus placing them under the prerogative of the new Meiji government. With Fuhanken sanchisei, the areas were split into three types, urban prefectures, rural prefectures and the already existing domains
21.
Slaughterhouse
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A slaughterhouse or abattoir /ˈæbətwɑːr/ is a facility where animals are slaughtered for consumption as food for humans. Slaughtering animals on a large scale poses significant logistical problems, animal welfare problems, public health requirements, due to public aversion in many cultures, determining where to build slaughterhouses is also troubling. Until modern times, the slaughter of animals took place in a haphazard. Early maps of London show numerous stockyards in the periphery of the city, the slaughterhouse emerged as a coherent institution in the nineteenth century. An additional motivation for eliminating private slaughter was to impose a system of regulation for the morally dangerous task of putting animals to death. As a result of tension, meat markets within the city were closed. An early framework for the establishment of public slaughterhouses was put in place in Paris in 1810, five areas were set aside on the outskirts of the city and the feudal privileges of the guilds were curtailed. As the meat requirements of the number of residents in London steadily expanded. Meat had been traded at Smithfield Market as early as the 10th century, by 1726, it was regarded as without question, the greatest in the world, by Daniel Defoe. In 1843, the Farmers Magazine published a petition signed by bankers, salesmen, aldermen, butchers, an Act of Parliament was finally passed in 1852. Under its provisions, a new cattle-market was constructed in Copenhagen Fields, the market was designed by architect Sir Horace Jones and was completed in 1868. A cut and cover tunnel was constructed beneath the market to create a triangular junction with the railway between Blackfriars and Kings Cross. This allowed animals to be transported into the slaughterhouse by train and these slaughterhouses were regulated by law to ensure good standards of hygiene, the prevention of the spread of disease and the minimization of needless animal cruelty. The slaughterhouse had to be equipped with a water supply system to effectively clean the operating area of blood. Veterinary scientists, notably George Fleming and John Gamgee, campaigned for stringent levels of inspection to ensure that such as rinderpest would not be able to spread. By 1874, three meat inspectors were appointed for the London area, and the Public Health Act 1875 required local authorities to provide central slaughterhouses. Yet the appointment of inspectors and the establishment of centralised abattoirs took place much earlier in the British colonies, such as the colonies of New South Wales. Attempts were also made throughout the British Empire to reform the practice of slaughter itself, the eminent physician, Benjamin Ward Richardson, spent many years in developing more humane methods of slaughter
22.
Butcher
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A butcher is a person who may slaughter animals, dress their flesh, sell their meat or do any combination of these three tasks. They may prepare standard cuts of meat and poultry for sale in retail or wholesale food establishments, a butcher may be employed by supermarkets, grocery stores, butcher shops and fish markets, slaughter house, or may be self-employed. An ancient trade, whose duties may date back to the domestication of livestock, today, many jurisdictions offer trade certifications for butchers. Some areas expect a three-year apprenticeship followed by the option of becoming a master butcher, butchery is a traditional line of work. In the industrialized world, slaughterhouses use butchers to slaughter the animals, the steps include stunning, exsanguination, skinning or scalding and dehairing, evisceration and splitting. Secondary butchery involves boning and trimming primal cuts in preparation for sale, historically, primary and secondary butchery were performed in the same establishment, but the advent of methods of preservation and low cost transportation has largely separated them. In parts of the world, it is common for butchers to perform many or all of the butchers duties, where refrigeration is less common, these skills are required to sell the meat of slaughtered animals. Some butchers sell their goods in specialized stores, commonly termed a butcher shop, butchers at a butcher shop may perform primary butchery, but will typically perform secondary butchery to prepare fresh cuts of meat for sale. These shops may also sell related products, such as food supplies, baked goods. Butcher shops can have a variety of animal types, meat cuts. Additionally, butcher shops may focus on a culture, or nationality. Some butcher shops, termed meat delis, may include a delicatessen. In the United States and Canada, butcher shops are becoming common because of the increasing popularity of supermarkets. A primal cut is a piece of meat initially separated from the carcass during butchering, different countries and cultures make these cuts in different ways, and primal cuts also differ between type of carcass. The British, American and French primal cuts all differ in some respects, a notable example is fatback, which in Europe is an important primal cut of pork, but in North America is regarded as trimmings to be used in sausage or rendered into lard. The primal cuts may be complete or cut further. See also Butcher In various periods and cultures, the butcher has been applied to people who act cruelly to other human beings or slaughter them
23.
Caste
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Its paradigmatic ethnographic example is the division of Indian society into rigid social groups, with roots in Indias ancient history and persisting until today. However, the significance of the caste system in India has been declining as a result of urbanization. The term is applied to non-human populations like ants and bees. The English word caste derives from the Spanish and Portuguese casta, when the Spanish colonized the New World, they used the word to mean a clan or lineage. The use of the caste, with this latter meaning, is first attested to in English in 1613. Modern Indias caste system is based on the social groupings called jāti, the system of varnas appears in Hindu texts dating back to 1000 BCE and envisages the society divided into four classes, Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras. The texts do not mention any separate, untouchable category in varna classification, scholars believe that the system of varnas was a theoretical classification envisioned by the Brahmins, but never truly operational in the society. The practical division of the society had always been in terms of jātis, which are not based on any specific principle, but could vary from ethnic origins to occupations. The jātis have been endogamous groups without any fixed hierarchy but subject to vague notions of rank articulated over time based on lifestyle, starting with the British colonial Census of 1901 led by Herbert Hope Risley, all the jātis were grouped under the theoretical varnas categories. The classical authors scarcely speak of anything other than the varnas, as it provided a convenient shorthand, upon independence from Britain, the Indian Constitution listed 1,108 castes across the country as Scheduled Castes in 1950, for positive discrimination. The Untouchable communities are sometimes called Scheduled Castes, Dalit or Harijan in contemporary literature, in 2001, Dalits were 16. 2% of Indias population. Most of the 15 million bonded child workers are from the lowest castes, independent India has witnessed caste-related violence. Indias National Crime Records Bureau records crimes against scheduled castes and scheduled tribes – the most disadvantaged groups - in a separate category, the socio-economic limitations of the caste system are reduced due to urbanization and affirmative action. Nevertheless, the system still exists in endogamy and patrimony, and thrives in the politics of democracy. The globalization and economic opportunities from foreign businesses has influenced the growth of Indias middle-class population, some members of the Chhattisgarh Potter Caste Community are middle-class urban professionals and no longer potters unlike the remaining majority of traditional rural potter members. The co-existence of the middle-class and traditional members in the CPCC has created intersectionality between caste and class, there is persistence of caste in Indian politics. Caste associations have evolved into caste-based political parties, political parties and the state perceive caste as an important factor for mobilization of people and policy development. It is not politics that gets caste-ridden, it is caste that gets politicized, the Nepalese caste system resembles that of the Indian jāti system with numerous jāti divisions with a varna system superimposed for a rough equivalence
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Discrimination
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This includes treatment of an individual or group, based on their actual or perceived membership in a certain group or social category, in a way that is worse than the way people are usually treated. Discriminatory traditions, policies, ideas, practices, and laws exist in countries and institutions in every part of the world. In some places, controversial attempts such as quotas have been used to benefit those believed to be current or past victims of discrimination—but have sometimes been called reverse discrimination, the term discriminate appeared in the early 17th century in the English language. It is from the Latin discriminat- distinguished between, from the verb discriminare, from discrimen distinction, from the verb discernere, Discrimination derives from Latin, where the verb discrimire means to separate, to distinguish, to make a distinction. Moral philosophers have defined discrimination as disadvantageous treatment or consideration, an individual need not be actually harmed in order to be discriminated against. They just need to be treated worse than others for some arbitrary reason, in addition to this discrimination develops into a source of oppression. It is similar to the action of recognizing someone as different so much that they are treated inhumanly, social competition is driven by the need for self-esteem and is aimed at achieving a positive social status for the in-group relative to comparable out-groups. Consensual discrimination is driven by the need for accuracy and reflects stable, the United Nations stance on discrimination includes the statement, Discriminatory behaviors take many forms, but they all involve some form of exclusion or rejection. International bodies United Nations Human Rights Council work towards helping ending discrimination around the world, important UN documents addressing discrimination include, The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 10 December 1948. The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination is a United Nations convention, the Convention commits its members to the elimination of racial discrimination. The convention was adopted and opened for signature by the United Nations General Assembly on 21 December 1965, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women is an international treaty adopted in 1979 by the United Nations General Assembly. Described as a bill of rights for women, it came into force on 3 September 1981. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is a human rights instrument treaty of the United Nations. Parties to the Convention are required to promote, protect, and ensure the full enjoyment of human rights by persons with disabilities, the text was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 13 December 2006, and opened for signature on 30 March 2007. Following ratification by the 20th party, it came into force on 3 May 2008, ageism or age discrimination is discrimination and stereotyping based on the grounds of someones age. It is a set of beliefs, norms, and values used to justify discrimination or subordination based on a persons age. Ageism is most often directed towards old people, or adolescents, Age discrimination in hiring has been shown to exist in the United States. In Europe, Stijn Baert, Jennifer Norga, Yannick Thuy and Marieke Van Hecke, researchers at Ghent University, interestingly, they found that age discrimination is heterogeneous by the activity older candidates undertook during their additional post-educational years
25.
Koseki
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A koseki is a Japanese family registry. Marriages, adoptions and acknowledgements of paternity become legally effective only when events are recorded in the koseki. Births and deaths become legally effective as they happen, but such events must be filed by family members, a typical koseki has one page for the households parents and their first two children, additional children are recorded on additional pages. Any changes to information have to be sealed by an official registrar. The following items are recorded in the koseki and this census was introduced under the ritsuryō system of governance. During the Bakufu, there were four forms of population registration, the ninbetsuchō, the shūmon jinbetsu aratamechō also called the shūmon aratamechō, the gonin gumichō. The shūmon jinbetsu aratamechō was created around 1670 and lasted almost 200 years and it combined social and religious registration, and data was renewed annually. Several categories of outcasts were not registered at all under this system, or were registered in specific registers, the modern koseki, encompassing all of Japans citizenry, appeared in 1872, immediately following the Meiji Restoration. This was the first time in history that all Japanese people were required to have names as well as given names. Problems also happened at the edge of the territory, for instance in the Ogasawara Islands. During the course of Japanese Empire, a number of reforms were carried out after 1910 to eliminate double standards in the koseki system, in general, though, residents of the Empires colonies held external registries and Japanese held domestic registries. In 2003, the GID Law was enacted, enabling people with gender identity disorder or gender dysphoria to change their gender on their koseki provided they meet certain conditions. Persons diagnosed with GID must seek a diagnosis with letters of support from two independent psychiatrists to change their koseki gender. Information provided in koseki is detailed and sensitive and makes discrimination possible against such groups as burakumin or illegitimate children and unwed mothers, as the burakumin liberation movement gained strength in postwar Japan some changes were made to family registries. In 1974 a notice that prohibited employers from asking prospective employees to show their family registry was released by the Ministry of Health, in 1975 ones lineage name was deleted and in 1976 access to family registries was restricted. As of April 2007, anyone interested was eligible to get a copy of someone elses koseki. Anyone who is listed on a koseki, even if their name has been crossed off by reason of divorce, one can obtain a copy in person or by mail. Lawyers can also obtain copies of any koseki if a person listed is involved in legal proceedings, only Japanese citizens may be registered in a koseki, because koseki serve as certificates of citizenship
26.
Taboo
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A taboo is a vehement prohibition of an action based on the belief that such behavior is either too sacred or too accursed for ordinary individuals to undertake. Such prohibitions are present in all societies. Breaking a taboo is usually considered objectionable by society in general, the term taboo comes from the Tongan tapu or Fijian tabu, related among others to the Maori tapu, Hawaiian kapu, Malagasy fady. Its English use dates to 1777 when the British explorer James Cook visited Tonga and he wrote, The term was translated to him as consecrated, inviolable, forbidden, unclean or cursed. In its current use on Tonga, the word tapu means sacred or holy, on the main island, the word is often appended to the end of Tonga as Tongatapu, here meaning Sacred South rather than Forbidden South. Sigmund Freud posited that incest and patricide were the only two universal taboos and formed the basis of civilization, however, although cannibalism, in-group murder, and incest are taboo in the majority of societies, marriages between brothers and sisters occurred in Roman Egypt. Modern Western societies, however, do not condone such relationships and these familial sexual activities are criminalised, even if all parties are consenting adults. Through an analysis of the language surrounding these laws, it can be seen how the policy makers, and society as a whole, find these acts to be immoral. Common taboos involve restrictions or ritual regulation of killing and hunting, sex and sexual relationships, reproduction, in Madagascar, a strong code of taboos, known as fady, constantly change and are formed from new experiences. Each region, village or tribe may have its own fady, taboos often extend to cover discussion of taboo topics such as profanity, resulting in euphemisms and replacement of taboo words. The word taboo gained popularity at times, with some looking for ways to apply it where other English words had previously been applied. For example, J. M. Albert Schweitzer wrote a chapter about taboos of the people of Gabon, as an example, it was considered a misfortune for twins to be born, and they would be subject to many rules not incumbent on other people. Communist and materialist theorists have argued that taboos can be used to reveal the histories of societies when other records are lacking, marvin Harris particularly endeavored to explain taboos as a consequence of ecologic and economic conditions. Some argue that contemporary multicultural societies have taboos against tribalisms and prejudices, incest itself has been pulled both ways, with some seeking to normalize consensual adult relationships regardless of the degree of kinship and others expanding the degrees of prohibited contact. Among other reasons, this taboo may come from concern that comments may be out of the appropriate context
27.
Myth
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A myth is any traditional story consisting of events that are ostensibly historical, though often supernatural, explaining the origins of a cultural practice or natural phenomenon. The word myth is derived from the Greek word mythos, which means story. Mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths, myth can mean sacred story, traditional narrative or tale of the gods. A myth can also be a story to explain why something exists, human cultures usually include a cosmogonical or creation myth, concerning the origins of the world, or how the world came to exist. The active beings in myths are generally gods and goddesses, heroes and heroines, or animals, most myths are set in a timeless past before recorded time or beginning of the critical history. A myth can be a story involving symbols that are capable of multiple meanings, a myth is a sacred narrative because it holds religious or spiritual significance for those who tell it. Myths also contribute to and express a cultures systems of thought and values, myths are often therefore stories that are currently understood as being exaggerated or fictitious. According to Albert A. Anderson, a professor of philosophy, in these works, the term had several meanings, conversation, narrative, speech, story, tale, and word. Like the related term logos, mythos expresses whatever can be delivered in the form of words, Anderson contrasts the two terms with ergon, a Greek term for action, deed, and work. The term mythos lacks an explicit distinction between true or false narratives, in the context of the Theatre of ancient Greece, the term mythos referred to the myth, the narrative, the plot, and the story of a theatrical play. According to David Wiles, the Greek term mythos in this era covered an entire spectrum of different meanings, from undeniable falsehoods to stories with religious, according to philosopher Aristotle, the spirit of a theatrical play was its mythos. The term mythos was also used for the material of Greek tragedy. The tragedians of the era could draw inspiration from Greek mythology, David Wiles observes that modern conceptions about Greek tragedy can be misleading. It is commonly thought that the ancient audience members were familiar with the mythos behind a play. However, the Greek dramatists were not expected to faithfully reproduce traditional myths when adapting them for the stage and they were instead recreating the myths and producing new versions. Storytellers like Euripides relied on suspense to excite their audiences, in one of his works, Merope attempts to kill her sons murderer with an axe, unaware that the man in question is actually her son. According to an ancient description of reactions to this work. They rose to their feet in terror and caused an uproar, David Wiles points that the traditional mythos of Ancient Greece, was primarily a part of its oral tradition
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Protest
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A protest is an expression of bearing witness on behalf of an express cause by words or actions with regard to particular events, policies or situations. Protests can take different forms, from individual statements to mass demonstrations. Various forms of self-expression and protest are sometimes restricted by policy, economic circumstances, religious orthodoxy, social structures. One state reaction to protests is the use of riot police, observers have noted an increased militarization of protest policing, with police deploying armored vehicles and snipers against the protesters. A protest can itself sometimes be the subject of a counter-protest, in such a case, counter-protesters demonstrate their support for the person, policy, action, etc. that is the subject of the original protest. In some cases, these protesters can violently clash, unaddressed protests may grow and widen into civil resistance, dissent, activism, riots, insurgency, revolts, and political and/or social revolution. 2013 through Feb.2014 Black Lives Matter 2016 South Korean protests 2017 Jallikattu protests Dakota Access Pipeline protests A protest can take many forms, the Dynamics of Collective Action project and the Global Nonviolent Action Database are two of the leading data collection efforts attempting to capture protest events. Reference to speeches, speakers, singing, preaching, often verified by indication of sound equipment of PA, ordinarily will include worship services, speeches, briefings. March, Reference to moving from one location to another, to be distinguished from rotating or walking in a circle with picket signs which by definition, but also no reference to sound systems or to marches, it may well be a vigil. Most vigils have banners, placards, or leaflets so that people passing by, despite silence from participants, picket, The modal activity is picketing, there may be references to picket line, to informational picketing, holding signs, carrying signs and walking around in a circle). Symbolic display, e. g. Menorah, Creche Scene, graffiti, cross burnings, signs, standing displays Attack by instigators Ethnic group victim of physical attack, boundary motivating attack is other groups identity, as in gay-bashing, lynching. Can also include verbal attack and/or threats, too, Riot, melee, mob violence, Large-scale, use of violence by instigators against persons, property, police, or buildings separately or in combination, lasting several hours. Strike, slow down and sick-ins employee work protest of any kind, Regular air strike through failure of negotiations, boycott, Organized refusal to buy or use a product or service, rent strikes. Press conference, If specifically named as such in report, could involve disclosure of information to educate the public or influence various decision-makers. Organization formation announcement or meeting announcement, meeting or press conference to announce the formation of a new organization, conflict, attack or clash, no instigator, This includes any boundary conflict in which no instigator can be identified, i. e. black/white conflicts, abortion/anti-abortion conflicts. Lawsuit, legal maneuver by social movement organization or group The Global Nonviolent Action database uses Gene Sharps classification of 198 methods of nonviolent action, there is considerable overlap with the Dynamics of Collective Action repertoire, although the GNA repertoire includes more specific tactics. Together, the two projects help define tactics available to protesters and document instances of their use, thomas Ratliff and Lori Hall have devised a typology of six broad activity categories of the protest activities described in the Dynamics of Collective Action project. Literal, symbolic, aesthetic and sensory - Artistic, dramaturgical, use of images, objects, graphic arts, musical performances, or vocal/auditory exhibitions
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Politics of Japan
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Legislative power is vested in the National Diet, which consists of the House of Representatives and the House of Councillors. Judicial power is vested in the Supreme Court and lower courts, Japan is considered a constitutional monarchy with a system of civil law. The Constitution of Japan defines the Emperor to be the symbol of the State and he performs ceremonial duties and holds no real power. Political power is mainly by the Prime Minister and other elected members of the Diet. The Imperial Throne is succeeded by a member of the Imperial House as designated by the Imperial Household Law, the chief of the executive branch, the Prime Minister, is appointed by the Emperor as directed by the Diet. He is a member of house of the Diet and must be a civilian. The Cabinet members are nominated by the Prime Minister, and are required to be civilian. With the Liberal Democratic Party in power, it has been convention that the President of the party serves as the Prime Minister. Several political parties exist in Japan, however, the politics of Japan have primarily been dominated by the LDP since 1955, despite an increasingly unpredictable domestic and international environment, policy making conforms to well established postwar patterns. The close collaboration of the party, the elite bureaucracy. After a largely informal process within elite circles in which ideas were discussed and developed and this process often took place in deliberation councils. There were about 200 shingikai, each attached to a ministry, the shingikai played a large role in facilitating communication among those who ordinarily might not meet. These bodies were established but had no authority to oblige governments to adopt their recommendations. The most important deliberation council during the 1980s was the Provisional Commission for Administrative Reform, the commission had nine members, assisted in their deliberations by six advisers, twenty-one expert members, and around fifty councillors representing a wide range of groups. Its head, Keidanren president Doko Toshio, insisted that government agree to take its recommendations seriously and commit itself to reforming the administrative structure, in 1982, the commission had arrived at several recommendations that by the end of the decade had been actualized. Another significant policy-making institution in the early 1990s were the Liberal Democratic Partys Policy Research Council and it consisted of a number of committees, composed of LDP Diet members, with the committees corresponding to the different executive agencies. See also, Industrial policy of Japan, Monetary and fiscal policy of Japan, Mass media, left-wing organizations, such as the Japan Socialist Party and the Japanese Communist Party, quickly reestablished themselves, as did various conservative parties. The old Rikken Seiyūkai and Rikken Minseitō came back as, respectively, the Liberal Party, the first postwar elections were held in 1948, and the Liberal Partys vice president, Yoshida Shigeru, became prime minister
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Tokyo Metropolitan Government
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The Tokyo Metropolitan Government is the government of the Tokyo Metropolis, one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. The government consists of an elected governor and assembly. The headquarters building is located in the ward of Shinjuku, the metropolitan government administers the 23 Special Wards of Tokyo, as well as the other cities and towns that constitute the prefecture. Under Japanese law, Tokyo is designated as a to, translated as metropolis, in addition to these 23 local governments, Tokyo also encompasses 26 cities, five towns, and eight villages, each of which has a local government. These other municipalities are located in the part of the prefecture, as well as the outlying island chains of Izu. The Metropolitan Assembly is the organ of the whole prefecture of Tokyo. It consists of 127 members elected each four years, regular sessions are held four times each year, in February, June, September and December. These sessions typically lasts for 30 days, between these are plenary sessions where discussions on bills are held. As in other prefectures of Japan, the people of Tokyo directly elect the governor to four-year terms of office, there is no limit to the number of terms a person may serve. Unlike collegiate cabinet systems, where the decisions are made unanimously, in contrast to other prefectures, the governor of Tokyo has a relatively important role given the size of Tokyos budget. The Tokyo metropolitan government also has relative freedom in how it allocates the budget, Tokyos gubernatorial elections had always been held as part of the unified local elections from 1947 to 2011. But following Shintarō Ishiharas resignation in October 2012, Tokyo held a gubernatorial election in December 2012 and has left the unified election cycle. The four largest established national parties of the past decade are represented in the Tokyo Assembly. The Social Democratic Party, formerly the Japanese Socialist Party, which had been the major party for much of the postwar era. The previous governor Naoki Inose, endorsed by LDP, Kōmeitō and JRP, Inose resigned in December 2013 and his successor Yoichi Masuzoe was elected in the Tokyo gubernatorial election,2014. The last assembly election was held in June 2013, the LDP won 36% of the vote and 59 of 127 seats in the Tokyo prefectural election,2013. In the previous election of 2009, the Democratic Party had managed to become strongest party after forty years of LDP dominance, in 2012, the DPJ was reduced to fourth party with 15 seats as the Kōmeitō won 23 seats and Communists 17 seats
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Marriage in Japan
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Marriage in Japan is a legal and social institution at the center of the household. Couples are legally married once they have made the change in status on their family registration sheets, the institution of marriage in Japan has changed radically over the last millennium. Customs once exclusive to a small aristocracy gained mass popularity as the population became increasingly urbanized, the Heian period of Japanese history marked the culmination of its classical era, when the vast imperial court established itself and its culture in Heian-kyō. Heian society was organized by a system of rank. It was neither ceremonial nor necessarily permanent, aristocrats exchanged letters and poetry for a period of months or years before arranging to meet after dark. If a man saw the woman for a period of three nights, they were considered married, and the wifes parents held a banquet for the couple. High-ranked noblemen sometimes kept multiple wives or concubines, aristocratic wives could remain in their fathers house, and the husband would recognize paternity with the formal presentation of a gift. In pre-modern Japan, marriage was inextricable from the ie, the unit of society with a collective continuity independent of any individual life. Members of the household were expected to all their own interests to that of the ie, with respect for an ideal of filial piety. The choice to remain single was the greatest crime a man could commit, property was regarded to belong to the ie rather than to individuals, and inheritance was strictly agnatic primogeniture. A woman married the household of her husband, hence the logograms for yome, in the absence of sons, some households would adopt a male heir to maintain the dynasty, a practice which continues in corporate Japan. Nearly all adoptions are of adult men, marriage was restricted to households of equal social standing, which made selection a crucial, painstaking process. Although Confucian ethics encouraged people to marry outside their own group, approximately one-in-five marriages in pre-modern Japan occurred between households that were already related. Marriage between a Japanese and non-Japanese person was not officially permitted until 14 March 1873, a date now commemorated as White Day, marriage with a foreigner required the Japanese national to surrender his or her social standing. The seventeenth-century treatise Onna Daigaku instructed wives honor their parents-in-law before their own parents, and to be courteous, humble, husbands were also encouraged to place the needs of their parents and children before those of their wives. One British observer remarked, If you love your wife you spoil your mothers servant, the tension between a housewife and her mother-in-law has been a keynote of Japanese drama ever since. Romantic love played little part in medieval marriages, as emotional attachment was considered inconsistent with filial piety, a proverb said, Those who come together in passion stay together in tears. For men, sexual gratification was seen as separate from conjugal relations with ones wife, the genre called Ukiyo-e celebrated the luxury and hedonism of the era, typically with depictions of beautiful courtesans and geisha of the pleasure districts
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Economy of Japan
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The economy of Japan is the third-largest in the world by nominal GDP and the fourth-largest by purchasing power parity. And is the second largest developed economy. According to the International Monetary Fund, the countrys per capita GDP was at $37,519, Japan is a member of the G7. The Japanese economy is forecasted by the Quarterly Tankan survey of business sentiment conducted by the Bank of Japan, Nikkei 225 presents the monthly report of top Blue chip equities on Japan Exchange Group. Due to a currency exchange rate, Japans GDP as measured in dollars fluctuates widely. Accounting for these fluctuations through use of the Atlas method, Japan is estimated to have a GDP per capita of around $38,490, besides the Kantō region, the Kansai region is one of the leading industrial clusters and manufacturing centers for the Japanese economy. Japan is the worlds largest creditor nation Japan generally runs a trade surplus and has a considerable net international investment surplus. As of 2010, Japan possesses 13. 7% of the private financial assets at an estimated $13.5 trillion. As of 2015,54 of the Fortune Global 500 companies are based in Japan, Japan has the highest ratio of public debt to GDP of any developed nation. The Japanese economy faces considerable challenges posed by a declining population. Statistics showed a decline for the first time in 2015. By 1990, income per capita in Japan equalled or surpassed that in most countries in the West, however, in the second half of the 1980s, rising stock and real estate prices caused the economic bubble to the Japanese economy by Bank of Japan. The economic bubble came to an end as the Tokyo Stock Exchange crashed in 1990–92. Growth in Japan throughout the 1990s at 1. 5% was slower than growth in other developed economies. After another decade of low rate, the term became the Lost 20 Years. Nonetheless, GDP per capita growth from 2001 to 2010 has still managed to outpace Europe and his analysis indicates that Japan has converged on its steady-state growth rate. With this low rate, national debt of Japan is difficult for the government to manage due to its considerable social welfare spending related to an aging society. The scenario of Abandoned homes continues to spread from areas to urban areas in Japan
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Meiji period
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The Meiji period, also known as the Meiji era, is a Japanese era which extended from October 23,1868 through July 30,1912. This period represents the first half of the Empire of Japan during which Japanese society moved from being a feudal society to its modern form. Fundamental changes affected its structure, internal politics, economy, military. The period corresponded with the reign of Emperor Meiji after 1868 and it was succeeded by the Taishō period upon the accession of Emperor Taishō to the throne. On February 3,1867, the 14-year-old Prince Mutsuhito succeeded his father, Emperor Kōmei, on November 9,1867, then-Shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu tendered his resignation to the Emperor, and formally stepped down ten days later. Imperial restoration occurred the year on January 3,1868. The fall of Edo in the summer of 1868 marked the end of the Tokugawa shogunate, and a new era, Meiji, was proclaimed. The first reform was the promulgation of the Five Charter Oath in 1868, implicit in the Charter Oath was an end to exclusive political rule by the bakufu, and a move toward more democratic participation in government. To implement the Charter Oath, a rather short-lived constitution with eleven articles was drawn up in June 1868, the Meiji government assured the foreign powers that it would follow the old treaties negotiated by the bakufu and announced that it would act in accordance with international law. Mutsuhito, who was to reign until 1912, selected a new reign title—Meiji, to further dramatize the new order, the capital was relocated from Kyoto, where it had been situated since 794, to Tokyo, the new name for Edo. Confirmed in their positions, the daimyo became governors. The han were replaced with prefectures in 1871, and authority continued to flow to the national government, officials from the favored former han, such as Satsuma, Chōshū, Tosa, and Hizen staffed the new ministries. Formerly old court nobles, and lower-ranking but more radical samurai, replaced bakufu appointees, in as much as the Meiji Restoration had sought to return the Emperor to a preeminent position, efforts were made to establish a Shinto-oriented state much like it was 1,000 years earlier. Furthermore, a new State Shinto had to be constructed for the purpose, in 1871, the Office of Shinto Worship was established, ranking even above the Council of State in importance. The kokutai ideas of the Mito school were embraced, and the ancestry of the Imperial House was emphasized. The government supported Shinto teachers, a small but important move, although the Office of Shinto Worship was demoted in 1872, by 1877 the Home Ministry controlled all Shinto shrines and certain Shinto sects were given state recognition. Shinto was released from Buddhist administration and its properties restored, although Buddhism suffered from state sponsorship of Shinto, it had its own resurgence. Christianity also was legalized, and Confucianism remained an important ethical doctrine, increasingly, however, Japanese thinkers identified with Western ideology and methods
34.
Kansai region
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The Kansai region or the Kinki region lies in the southern-central region of Japans main island Honshū. The region includes the prefectures of Mie, Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo, while the use of the terms Kansai and Kinki have changed over history, in most modern contexts the use of the two terms is interchangeable. The urban region of Osaka, Kobe and Kyoto is the second most populated in Japan after the Greater Tokyo Area, the Kansai region is the cultural and historical heart of Japan with 11% of its land area and 22,757,897 residents as of 2010. In the north the region is bordered by the Sea of Japan, to the south by the Kii Peninsula and Pacific Ocean, four of Japans national parks lie within its borders, in whole or in part. The area also contains six of the seven top prefectures in terms of national treasures, other geographical features include Amanohashidate in Kyoto Prefecture and Awaji Island in Hyōgo. The Kansai region is compared with the Kantō region, which lies to its east and consists primarily of Tokyo. This East-West rivalry has deep roots, particularly from the Edo period. With a samurai population of less than 1% the culture of the merchant city of Osaka stood in sharp contrast to that of Edo, many characteristic traits of Kansai people descend from Osaka merchant culture. Catherine Maxwell, an editor for the newsletter Omusubi, writes, Kansai residents are seen as being pragmatic, entrepreneurial, down-to-earth and possessing a strong sense of humour. Kanto people on the hand are perceived as more sophisticated, reserved and formal, in keeping with Tokyo’s history and modern status as the nation’s capital. Kansai is known for its food, especially Osaka, as supported by the saying Kyotoites are ruined by overspending on clothing, popular Osakan dishes include takoyaki, okonomiyaki, kitsune udon and kushikatsu. Kyoto is considered a mecca of traditional Japanese cuisine like kaiseki, Kansai has many wagyu brands such as Kobe beef and Tajima cattle from Hyōgo, Matsusaka beef from Mie and Omi beef from Shiga. Sake is another specialty of the region, the areas of Nada-Gogō, as opposed to food from Eastern Japan, food in the Kansai area tends to be sweeter, and foods such as nattō tend to be less popular. The dialects of the people from the Kansai region, commonly called Kansai-ben, have their own variations of pronunciation, vocabulary, Kansai-ben is the group of dialects spoken in the Kansai area, but is often treated as a dialect in its own right. Kansai is one of the most prosperous areas for baseball in Japan, two Nippon Professional Baseball teams, Hanshin Tigers and Orix Buffaloes, are based in Kansai. Koshien Stadium, the stadium of the Hanshin Tigers, is also famous for the nationwide high school baseball tournaments. In association football, the Kansai Soccer League was founded in 1966, cerezo Osaka, Gamba Osaka, and Vissel Kobe belong to J. League Division 1 and Kyoto Sanga F. C. belongs to J. League Division 2, the top professional leagues in Japan. The terms Kansai, Kinki, and Kinai have a deep history
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Osaka
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Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Japan. Historically a merchant city, Osaka has also known as the nations kitchen. Some of the earliest signs of habitation in the Osaka area at the Morinomiya ruins comprise shell mounds, sea oysters. It is believed that what is today the Uehonmachi area consisted of a land with an inland sea in the east. During the Yayoi period, permanent habitation on the plains grew as rice farming became popular, by the Kofun period, Osaka developed into a hub port connecting the region to the western part of Japan. The large numbers of increasingly larger tomb mounds found in the plains of Osaka are seen as evidence of political-power concentration, in 645, Emperor Kōtoku built his Naniwa Nagara-Toyosaki Palace in what is now Osaka, making it the capital of Japan. The city now known as Osaka was at this time referred to as Naniwa, although the capital was moved to Asuka in 655, Naniwa remained a vital connection, by land and sea, between Yamato, Korea, and China. Naniwa was declared the capital again in 744 by order of Emperor Shōmu, and remained so until 745, in 1496, Jōdo Shinshū Buddhists established their headquarters in the heavily fortified Ishiyama Hongan-ji, located directly on the site of the old Naniwa Imperial Palace. Oda Nobunaga began a siege campaign on the temple in 1570 which ultimately resulted in the surrender of the monks. Toyotomi Hideyoshi constructed Osaka Castle in its place in 1583, Osaka was long considered Japans primary economic center, with a large percentage of the population belonging to the merchant class. Over the course of the Edo period, Osaka grew into one of Japans major cities and returned to its ancient role as a lively and its popular culture was closely related to ukiyo-e depictions of life in Edo. By 1780 Osaka had cultivated a vibrant arts culture, as typified by its famous Kabuki, in 1837 Ōshio Heihachirō, a low-ranking samurai, led a peasant insurrection in response to the citys unwillingness to support the many poor and suffering families in the area. Approximately one-quarter of the city was razed before shogunal officials put down the rebellion, Osaka was opened to foreign trade by the government of the Bakufu at the same time as Hyōgo on 1 January 1868, just before the advent of the Boshin War and the Meiji Restoration. Osaka residents were stereotyped in Edo literature from at least the 18th century, jippenisha Ikku in 1802 depicted Osakans as stingy almost beyond belief. Edo writers aspired to samurai culture, and saw themselves as poor but generous, chaste, Edo writers by contrast saw zeeroku as obsequious apprentices, stingy, greedy, gluttonous, and lewd. The modern municipality was established in 1889 by government ordinance, with an area of 15 square kilometres, overlapping todays Chūō. Later, the city went through three major expansions to reach its current size of 223 square kilometres, Osaka was the industrial center most clearly defined in the development of capitalism in Japan. It became known as the Manchester of the Orient, the rapid industrialization attracted many Korean immigrants, who set up a life apart for themselves
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Kyoto
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Kyoto is a city located in the central part of the island of Honshu, Japan. It has a close to 1.5 million. Kyoto is also known as the thousand-year capital, in Japanese, the city has been called Kyō, Miyako, or Kyō no Miyako. In the 11th century, the city was renamed Kyoto, after the Chinese word for capital city, after the city of Edo was renamed Tokyo in 1868, and the seat of the Emperor was transferred there, Kyoto was known for a short time as Saikyō. Obsolete spellings for the name include Kioto, Miaco and Meaco. Another term commonly used to refer to the city in the period was Keishi. His last choice for the site was the village of Uda, the new city, Heian-kyō, a scaled replica of the then Tang capital Changan, became the seat of Japans imperial court in 794, beginning the Heian period of Japanese history. The city suffered destruction in the Ōnin War of 1467–1477. Battles between samurai factions spilled into the streets, and came to involve the court nobility and religious factions as well, nobles mansions were transformed into fortresses, deep trenches dug throughout the city for defense and as firebreaks, and numerous buildings burned. The city has not seen such widespread destruction since, Hideyoshi also built earthwork walls called odoi encircling the city. Teramachi Street in central Kyoto is a Buddhist temple quarter where Hideyoshi gathered temples in the city, throughout the Edo period, the economy of the city flourished as one of three major cities in Japan, the others being Osaka and Edo. The Hamaguri rebellion of 1864 burnt down 28,000 houses in the city, the modern city of Kyoto was formed on April 1,1889. The construction of Lake Biwa Canal in 1890 is one taken to revive the city. The population of the city exceeded one million in 1932, stimson, Secretary of War in the Roosevelt and Truman administrations, the city was removed from the list of targets and replaced by Nagasaki. The city was spared from conventional bombing as well, although small-scale air raids did result in casualties. As a result, the Imperial City of Kyoto is one of the few Japanese cities that still have an abundance of prewar buildings, however, modernization is continually breaking down the traditional Kyoto in favor of newer architecture, such as the Kyōto Station complex. Kyoto became a city designated by government ordinance on September 1,1956, in 1997, Kyoto hosted the conference that resulted in the protocol on greenhouse gas emissions that bears the citys name. Kyoto is located in a valley, part of the Yamashiro Basin, in the part of the mountainous region known as the Tamba highlands
37.
Hiroshima
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Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture and the largest city in the Chūgoku region of western Honshu - the largest island of Japan. The citys name, 広島, means Broad Island in Japanese, Hiroshima gained city status on April 1,1889. On April 1,1980, Hiroshima became a designated city, as of August 2016, the city had an estimated population of 1,196,274. The GDP in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Metropolitan Employment Area, is US$61.3 billion as of 2010, kazumi Matsui has been the citys mayor since April 2011. Hiroshima was established on the river delta coastline of the Seto Inland Sea in 1589 by powerful warlord Mōri Terumoto, Hiroshima Castle was quickly built, and in 1593 Terumoto moved in. Terumoto was on the side at the Battle of Sekigahara. The winner of the battle, Tokugawa Ieyasu, deprived Mōri Terumoto of most of his fiefs, including Hiroshima and gave Aki Province to Masanori Fukushima, after the han was abolished in 1871, the city became the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture. Hiroshima became an urban center during the imperial period, as the Japanese economy shifted from primarily rural to urban industries. During the 1870s, one of the seven government-sponsored English language schools was established in Hiroshima, Ujina Harbor was constructed through the efforts of Hiroshima Governor Sadaaki Senda in the 1880s, allowing Hiroshima to become an important port city. The Sanyō Railway was extended to Hiroshima in 1894, and a line from the main station to the harbor was constructed for military transportation during the First Sino-Japanese War. During that war, the Japanese government moved temporarily to Hiroshima, New industrial plants, including cotton mills, were established in Hiroshima in the late 19th century. Further industrialization in Hiroshima was stimulated during the Russo-Japanese War in 1904, the Hiroshima Prefectural Commercial Exhibition Hall was constructed in 1915 as a center for trade and exhibition of new products. Later, its name was changed to Hiroshima Prefectural Product Exhibition Hall, during World War I, Hiroshima became a focal point of military activity, as the Japanese government entered the war on the Allied side. About 500 German prisoners of war were held in Ninoshima Island in Hiroshima Bay, during World War II, the 2nd General Army and Chugoku Regional Army were headquartered in Hiroshima, and the Army Marine Headquarters was located at Ujina port. The city also had large depots of supplies, and was a key center for shipping. The bombing of Tokyo and other cities in Japan during World War II caused widespread destruction, there were no such air raids on Hiroshima. However, a real threat existed and was recognized, in order to protect against potential firebombings in Hiroshima, school children aged 11–14 years were mobilized to demolish houses and create firebreaks. On Monday, August 6,1945, at 8,15 a. m, by the end of the year, injury and radiation brought the total number of deaths to 90, 000–166,000
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Prefectures of Japan
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The Prefectures of Japan consist of 47 prefectures. They form the first level of jurisdiction and administrative division of Japan and they consist of 43 prefectures proper, two urban prefectures, one circuit or territory and one metropolis. The Meiji Fuhanken sanchisei administration created the first prefectures to replace the provinces of Japan in 1868, each prefectures chief executive is a directly-elected governor. Ordinances and budgets are enacted by an assembly whose members are elected for four-year terms. Under the current Local Autonomy Law, each prefecture is subdivided into cities and districts and each district into towns, for example, Hokkaido has 14 subprefectures that act as branch offices of the prefecture. Some other prefectures also have offices that carry out prefectural administrative functions outside the capital. Tokyo, the capital of Japan, is a merged city-prefecture, the Wests use of prefecture to label these Japanese regions stems from 16th-century Portuguese explorers and traders use of prefeitura to describe the fiefdoms they encountered there. Its original sense in Portuguese, however, was closer to municipality than province and those fiefs were headed by a local warlord or family. Though the fiefs have long since been dismantled, merged, and reorganized multiple times, and been granted legislative governance and oversight, the Meiji government established the current system in July 1871 with the abolition of the Han system and establishment of the prefecture system. Although there were initially over 300 prefectures, many of them being former Han territories, this number was reduced to 72 in the part of 1871. The Local Autonomy Law of 1947 gave more power to prefectures. In 2003, then-Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi proposed that the government consolidate the current prefectures into about 10 regional states, the plan called for each region to have greater autonomy than existing prefectures. This process would reduce the number of administrative regions and cut administrative costs. As of August 2012, no reorganization has been scheduled, the central government delegates many functions to the prefectures and municipalities, but retains the overall right to control them. Although local government expenditure accounts for 70 percent of government expenditure, the central government controls local budgets, tax rates. Historically, during the Edo period, the Tokugawa shogunate established bugyō-ruled zones around the nine largest cities in Japan, and 302 township-ruled zones elsewhere. When the Meiji government began to create the system in 1868, the nine bugyō-ruled zones became fu, while the township-ruled zones. Later, in 1871, the government designated Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto as fu, during World War II, in 1943, Tokyo became a to, a new type of pseudo-prefecture
