Mongol invasions of Japan
The Mongol invasions of Japan, which took place in 1274 and 1281, were major military efforts undertaken by Kublai Khan to conquer the Japanese archipelago after the submission of Goryeo to vassaldom. A failure, the invasion attempts are of macro-historical importance because they set a limit on Mongol expansion and rank as nation-defining events in the history of Japan; the Mongol invasions are considered a precursor to early modern warfare. One of the most notable technological innovations during the war was the use of explosive, hand-thrown bombs; the invasions are referred to in many works of fiction, are the earliest events for which the word kamikaze is used, originating in reference to the two typhoons faced by the Mongol fleets. After a series of Mongol invasions of Korea between 1231 and 1281, Goryeo signed a treaty in favor of the Mongols and became a vassal state. Kublai was declared Khagan of the Mongol Empire in 1260 and established his capital at Khanbaliq in 1264. Japan at the time was ruled by the Shikken of the Hōjō clan, who had intermarried with and wrested control from Minamoto no Yoriie, shōgun of the Kamakura shogunate, after his death in 1203.
The inner circle of the Hōjō clan had become so preeminent that they no longer consulted the council of the shogunate, the Imperial Court of Kyoto, or their gokenin vassals, made their decisions at private meetings in their residences. The Mongols made attempts to subjugate the native peoples of Sakhalin—the Ainu and Nivkh peoples—from 1260 to 1308. In 1266, Kublai Khan dispatched emissaries to Japan with a letter saying: Cherished by the Mandate of Heaven, the Great Mongol emperor sends this letter to the king of Japan; the sovereigns of small countries, sharing borders with each other, have for a long time been concerned to communicate with each other and become friendly. Since my ancestor governed at heaven's command, innumerable countries from afar disputed our power and slighted our virtue. Goryeo rendered thanks for my ceasefire and for restoring their land and people when I ascended the throne. Our relation is feudatory like a son. We think you know this. Goryeo is my eastern tributary.
Japan was allied with Goryeo and sometimes with China since the founding of your country. We are afraid. Hence we dispatched a mission with our letter expressing our wishes. Enter into friendly relations with each other from now on. We think. How are we in the right, unless we comprehend this? Nobody would wish to resort to arms. Kublai demanded that Japan become a vassal and send tribute under a threat of conflict. However, the emissaries returned empty-handed. A second set of emissaries were sent in 1268. Both sets of emissaries met with the Chinzei Bugyō, or Defense Commissioner for the West, who passed on the message to Shikken, Hōjō Tokimune, Japan's ruler in Kamakura and to the Emperor of Japan in Kyoto. After discussing the letters with his inner circle, there was much debate, but the Shikken had his mind made up; the Mongols continued to send demands, some through Korean emissaries and some through Mongol ambassadors on March 7, 1269. However, each time, the bearers were not permitted to land in Kyushu.
The Imperial Court suggested compromise, but had little effect in the matter, due to political marginalization after the Jōkyū War. The uncompromising shogunate ordered all those who held fiefs in Kyūshū, the area closest to the Korean Peninsula and thus most to be attacked, to return to their lands and forces in Kyūshū moved west, further securing the most landing points. After acknowledging its importance, the Imperial Court led great prayer services to calm local residents, much government business was put off to deal with this crisis; the Khan was willing to go to war as early as 1268 after having been rebuffed twice, but found that his empire did not have the resources to provide him with a sufficient navy at that time. With Mongol entry into the Korean court by marriage of the Korean crown prince to Kublai Khan's daughter, a mass construction of ships began on Korea's south-eastern shores, while the Mongols continued to demand Japan's surrender. Kublai Khan founded the Yuan dynasty in 1271.
In 1272, King Chungnyeol offered counsel to Kublai Khan. According to Goryeosa, Japan is yet to know. So dispatch emissaries and convey our military power to Japan. Battle ships and military rations are well prepared. If you appoint me, I encourage you to the extent of my power. According to the History of Yuan, King of Goryeo ask Kublai Khan for conquering Japan. I encourage your conquest of Japan. According to the Yuanshi, the Yuan fleet set out with an estimated 15,000 Mongol and Chinese soldiers and 1,600–8,000 Korean soldiers in 300 large vessels and 400–500 smaller craft along with several thousand sailors, although figures vary depending on the source and many modern historians consider the numbers exaggerated, they landed on Komodahama beach on Tsushima Island on October 5, 1274. Sō Sukekuni, governor of Tsushima, led a cavalry unit of 80 to defend the island, but he and his outnumbered unit were killed in the engagement; the Mongols and Koreans subsequently invaded Iki. Tairano Takakage, the Governor of Iki, fought the invaders with about 100 of his cavalrymen, but he killed himself after his unit
Emperor Go-Fukakusa
Emperor Go-Fukakusa was the 89th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. This reign spanned the years 1246 through 1260; this 13th-century sovereign was named after the 9th-century Emperor Ninmyō and go-, translates as "later", thus he could be called the "Later Emperor Fukakusa". The Japanese word go has been translated to mean the "second one". Before his ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne, his personal name was Hisahito. Although the Roman-alphabet spelling of the name of this 13th-century emperor is the same as that of the personal name of a current member of the Imperial family, the kanji are different: Emperor Go-Fukakusa Prince Hisahito Prince Hisahito of Akishino He was the second son of Emperor Go-Saga. Empress: Saionji Kimiko Higashinijō‘in, Saionji Saneuji’s daughter Second daughter: Imperial Princess Takako Daughter (1265-1266） Third daughter: Imperial Princess Reishi Imperial Prince Priest Shonnin (性仁法親王. 1247: In the 4th year of Go-Saga-tennō's reign, he abdicated.
Shortly thereafter, Emperor Go-Fukakusa is said to have acceded to the throne. In 1259, at the insistence of Retired Emperor Go-Saga, he abdicated at the age of 15 to his younger brother, who would become Emperor Kameyama. After Emperor Go-Uda's ascension in 1260, Saionji Sanekane negotiated with the Bakufu, succeeded in getting Emperor Go-Fukakusa's son Hirohito named as Crown Prince. In 1287, with his ascension as Emperor Fushimi, Go-Fukakusa's cloistered rule began. In 1290, he entered the priesthood. But, with his seventh son, Imperial Prince Hisaaki becoming the 8th Kamakura shōgun among other things, the position of his Jimyōin-tō became strengthened. In 1304, he died, he is enshrined with other emperors at the imperial tomb called Fukakusa no kita no misasagi in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto. Kugyō is a collective term for the few most powerful men attached to the court of the Emperor of Japan in pre-Meiji eras. During those years in which the court's actual influence outside the palace walls was minimal, the hierarchic organization persisted.
In general, this elite group included only three to four men at a time. These were hereditary courtiers whose experience and background would have brought them to the pinnacle of a life's career. During Go-Fukakusa's reign, this apex of the Daijō-kan included: Sesshō, Ichijō Sanetsune, 1246–1247 Sesshō, Konoe Kanetsune, 1247–1252 Sesshō, Takatsukasa Kanehira, 1252–1254 Kampaku, Takatsukasa Kanehira, 1254–1261 Sadaijin Udaijin Nadaijin Dainagon The years of Go-Fukakusa's reign are more identified by more than one era name or nengō. Kangen Hōji Kenchō Kōgen Shōka Shōgen Emperor of Japan List of Emperors of Japan Imperial cult Prince Hisahito of Akishino Link to Kyoto National Museum – calligraphy of Emperor Go-Fukakusa
Empress Jitō
Empress Jitō was the 41st monarch of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Jitō's reign spanned the years from 686 through 697. In the history of Japan, Jitō was the third of eight women to take on the role of empress regnant; the two female monarchs before Jitō were Kōgyoku/Saimei. The five women sovereigns reigning after Jitō were Genmei, Genshō, Kōken/Shōtoku, Meishō, Go-Sakuramachi. Empress Jitō was the daughter of Emperor Tenji, her mother was Ochi-no-Iratsume, the daughter of Minister Ō-omi Soga no Yamada-no Ishikawa Maro. She was the wife of Tenji's full brother Emperor Tenmu. Empress Jitō's given name was Unonosasara, or alternately Uno. Jitō took responsibility for court administration after the death of her husband, Emperor Tenmu, her uncle, she acceded to the throne in 687 in order to ensure the eventual succession of her son, Kusakabe-shinnō. Throughout this period, Empress Jitō ruled from the Fujiwara Palace in Yamato. In 689, Jitō prohibited Sugoroku, in 690 at enthronement she performed special ritual gave pardon and in 692 she travelled to Ise against the counsel of minister Miwa-no-Asono-Takechimaro.
Prince Kusakabe was named as crown prince to succeed Jitō. Kusakabe's son, Karu-no-o, was named as Jitō's successor, he would become known as Emperor Monmu. Empress Jitō reigned for eleven years. Although there were seven other reigning empresses, their successors were most selected from amongst the males of the paternal Imperial bloodline, why some conservative scholars argue that the women's reigns were temporary and that male-only succession tradition must be maintained in the 21st century. Empress Genmei, followed on the throne by her daughter, Empress Genshō, remains the sole exception to this conventional argument. In 697, Jitō abdicated in Mommu's favor. After this, her imperial successors who retired took the same title after abdication. Jitō continued to hold power as a cloistered ruler, which became a persistent trend in Japanese politics; the actual site of Jitō's grave is known. This empress is traditionally venerated at a memorial Shinto shrine at Nara; the Imperial Household Agency designates this location as Jitō's mausoleum.
It is formally named Ochi-no-Okanoe no misasagi. Kugyō is a collective term for the few most powerful men attached to the court of the Emperor of Japan in pre-Meiji eras. In general, this elite group included only three to four men at a time; these were hereditary courtiers whose experience and background would have brought them to the pinnacle of a life's career. During Jitō's reign, this apex of the Daijō-kan included: Daijō-daijin, Takechi-shinnō Sadaijin Udaijin Naidaijin Jitō's reign is not linked by scholars to any era or nengō; the Taika era innovation of naming time periods – nengō – languished until Mommu reasserted an imperial right by proclaiming the commencement of Taihō in 701. See Japanese era name – "Non-nengo periods" See Jitō period; however and Ishida's translation of Gukanshō offers an explanation which muddies a sense of easy clarity: "The eras that fell in this reign were: the remaining seven years of Shuchō. In the third year of the Taka era, Empress Jitō yielded the throne to the Crown Prince."
The Man'yōshū includes poems said to have been composed by Jitō: After the death of the Emperor Tenmu:Composed when the Empress climbed the Thunder Hill: One of the poems attributed to Empress Jitō was selected by Fujiwara no Teika for inclusion in the popular anthology Hyakunin Isshu: Emperor of Japan Imperial cult Japanese empresses List of Emperors of Japan Aston, William George.. Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A. D. 697. London: Kegan Paul, Trubner. OCLC 448337491 Brown, Delmer M. and Ichirō Ishida, eds.. Gukanshō: The Future and the Past. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-03460-0. "Hyakunin-Isshu: Single Songs of a Hundred Poets" in Transactions of the Asia Society of Japan. Tokyo: Asia Society of Japan.... Click link for digitized, full-text copy __________.. Kokka taikan. Tokyo: Teikoku Toshokan, Meiji 30–34. [reprinted Shinten kokka taikan, 10 vols. + 10 index vols. Kadokawa Shoten, Tokyo, 1983–1992. ISBN 978-4-04-020142-9 Nippon Gakujutsu Shinkōkai..
Man'yōshū. Tokyo: Iwanami shoten. [reprinted by Columbia University Press, New York, 1965. ISBN 0-231-08620-2. Rprinted by Dover Publications, New York, 2005. ISBN 978-0-486-43959-4 Ponsonby-Fane, Richard Arthur Brabazon.. The Imperial House of Japan. Kyoto: Ponsonby Memorial Society. OCLC 194887 Titsingh, Isaac.. Nihon Ōdai Ichiran. Paris: Royal Asiatic Society, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland. OCLC 5850691 Varley, H. Paul.. Jinnō Shōtōki: A Chronicle of Gods and Sovereigns. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-04940-5.
Meiji period
The Meiji period, or Meiji era, is an era of Japanese history which extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. This era represents the first half of the Empire of Japan, during which period the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonisation by European powers to the new paradigm of a modern, industrialised nationstate and emergent great power, influenced by Western scientific, philosophical, political and aesthetic ideas; as a result of such wholesale adoption of radically-different ideas, the changes to Japan were profound, affected its social structure, internal politics, economy and foreign relations. The period corresponded to the reign of Emperor Meiji and was succeeded upon the accession of Emperor Taishō by the Taishō period. On February 3, 1867, the 14-year-old Prince Mutsuhito succeeded his father, Emperor Kōmei, to the Chrysanthemum Throne as the 122nd emperor. On November 9, 1867, then-shōgun Tokugawa Yoshinobu tendered his resignation to the Emperor, formally stepped down ten days later.
Imperial restoration occurred the next year on January 3, 1868, with the formation of the new government. The fall of Edo in the summer of 1868 marked the end of the Tokugawa shogunate, a new era, was proclaimed; the first reform was the promulgation of the Five Charter Oath in 1868, a general statement of the aims of the Meiji leaders to boost morale and win financial support for the new government. Its five provisions consisted of: Establishment of deliberative assemblies. Implicit in the Charter Oath was an end to exclusive political rule by the bakufu, 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. Besides providing for a new Council of State, legislative bodies, systems of ranks for nobles and officials, it limited office tenure to four years, allowed public balloting, provided for a new taxation system, ordered new local administrative rules; 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, to reign until 1912, selected a new reign title—Meiji, or Enlightened Rule—to mark the beginning of a new era in Japanese history. 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. In a move critical for the consolidation of the new regime, most daimyōs voluntarily surrendered their land and census records to the Emperor in the abolition of the Han system, symbolizing that the land and people were under the Emperor's jurisdiction. Confirmed in their hereditary positions, the daimyo became governors, the central government assumed their administrative expenses and paid samurai stipends; the han were replaced with prefectures in 1871, authority continued to flow to the national government. Officials from the favored former han, such as Satsuma, Chōshū, Hizen staffed the new ministries. Old court nobles, lower-ranking but more radical samurai, replaced bakufu appointees and daimyo as a new ruling class appeared.
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. Since Shinto and Buddhism had molded into a syncretic belief in the prior one-thousand years and Buddhism had been connected with the shogunate, this involved the separation of Shinto and Buddhism and the associated destruction of various Buddhist temples and related violence. Furthermore, a new State Shinto had to be constructed for the purpose. In 1871, the Office of Shinto Worship was established, ranking above the Council of State in importance; the kokutai ideas of the Mito school were embraced, the divine ancestry of the Imperial House was emphasized. The government supported 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 was legalized, Confucianism remained an important ethical doctrine. However, Japanese thinkers identified with Western ideology and methods. A major proponent of representative government was Itagaki Taisuke, a powerful Tosa leader who had resigned from the Council of State over the Korean affair in 1873. Itagaki sought peaceful, rather than rebellious, he started a school and a movement aimed at establishing a constitutional monarchy and a legislative assembly. Such movements were called People's Rights Movement. Itagaki and others wrote the Tosa Memorial in 1874, criticizing the unbridled power of the oligarchy and calling for the immediate establishment of representative government. Between 1871 and 1873, a series of land and tax laws were enacted as the basis for modern fiscal policy. Private ownership was legalized, deeds were issued, lands were assessed at fair market value with taxes paid in cash rather than in k
Nanboku-chō period
The Nanboku-chō period, spanning from 1336 to 1392, was a period that occurred during the formative years of the Muromachi bakufu of Japanese history. During this period, there existed a Northern Imperial Court, established by Ashikaga Takauji in Kyoto, a Southern Imperial Court, established by Emperor Go-Daigo in Yoshino. Ideologically, the two courts fought for fifty years, with the South giving up to the North in 1392. However, in reality the Northern line was under the power of the Ashikaga shōguns and had little real independence. Since the 19th century the Emperors of the Southern Imperial Court have been considered the legitimate Emperors of Japan. Other contributing factors were the Southern Court's control of the Japanese imperial regalia, Kitabatake Chikafusa's work Jinnō Shōtōki, which legitimized the South's imperial court despite their defeat; the consequences of events in this period continue to be influential in modern Japan's conventional view of the Tennō Seika. Under the influence of State Shinto, an Imperial decree dated March 3, 1911, established that the legitimate reigning monarchs of this period were the Southern Court.
After World War II, a series of pretenders, starting with Kumazawa Hiromichi, claimed descent from the Southern Court and challenged the legitimacy of the modern imperial line, descended from the Northern Court. The destruction of the Kamakura shogunate of 1333 and the failure of the Kenmu Restoration in 1336 opened up a legitimacy crisis for the new shogunate. Furthermore, institutional changes in the estate system that formed the bedrock of the income of nobles and warriors alike decisively altered the status of the various social groups. What emerged from the exigencies of the Nanboku-chō War was the Muromachi regime, which broadened the economic base of the warriors while undercutting the noble proprietors, a trend that had started with the Kamakura bakufu; the main conflicts that contributed to the outbreak of the civil war were the growing conflict between the Hōjō family and other warrior groups in the wake of the Mongol invasions of Japan of 1274 and 1281 and the failure of the Kemmu Restoration, which triggered the struggle between the supporters of the imperial loyalists and supporters of the Ashikaga clan.
Disaffection towards the Hōjō-led Kamakura regime appeared among the warriors towards the end of the thirteenth century. This resentment was caused by the growing influence of the Hōjō over other warrior families within the regime; the Mongol invasions were the main cause behind this centralization of power that took place during the regency of Hōjō Tokimune. During the crisis, three things occurred: Hōjō family appointments to the council of state increased. Note a They narrowed down their constituents by including only Hōjō family members and direct vassals, at the expense of a broader base of support; when a coalition against the Hōjō emerged in 1331, it took only two years to topple the regime. Wealth in agrarian societies is tied to land, medieval Japan was no different. In fact, land was the main reason for much of the discontent among the warrior class. Since the rise of the warriors under the Minamoto, it was expected that victory in battle would be rewarded by land grants given to those who served on the victorious side.
However, unlike any war, fought until the Mongol invasions presented a problem since this war, seen by most Japanese as a patriotic duty, did not take place against another warrior family, but against a foreign enemy. After the foreign enemy's defeat there were no lands to hand out to the victors; this was a problem for those warriors who had fought valiantly and petitioned the Hōjō regents for land. In the beginning of the fourteenth century this discontent put a tremendous pressure on any regime that emerged, they had to satisfy this group in order to succeed. When Kamakura's rule was destroyed in 1333, Kyoto's court society emerged again to confront the warriors. In the transition from the Heian to the Kamakura period, the warriors emerged from the domination of court patrimonialism as an independent political force. With the demise of Kamakura, the imperial court attempted once again to restore its de jure power as an alternative to warrior rule; the Kemmu Restoration was the last desperate attempt on the part of the court to restore their leadership, not just to preserve their institutions.
Not until the Meiji Restoration of the 19th century did this occur again. In the spring of 1333, the Emperor Go-Daigo and his supporters believed that the moment had arrived to restore the glory of the imperial court; the Emperor Daigo, who lived at a time when the court had no rivals and effective rule was exercised directly from the throne, became Go-Daigo's adopted name and model. Of cardinal importance was the ideology that emerged with the Kemmu Restoration: it was a conscious movement to restore the imperial power vis-a-vis the warriors. Two of the movement's greatest spokesmen were Kitabatake Chikafusa. Prince Morinaga was Daigo's son, archrival to Ashikaga Takauji: he advocated the militarization of the nobles as a necessary step towards effective rule. Kitabatake Chikafusa epitomized what Prince Morinaga was looking for: a Kyoto noble who became the greatest of the imperialist generals, combining the ways of the warrior to his noble upbringing. During the long siege in Hitachi
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies off the eastern coast of the Asian continent and stretches from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and the Philippine Sea in the south; the kanji that make up Japan's name mean "sun origin", it is called the "Land of the Rising Sun". Japan is a stratovolcanic archipelago consisting of about 6,852 islands; the four largest are Honshu, Hokkaido and Shikoku, which make up about ninety-seven percent of Japan's land area and are referred to as home islands. The country is divided into 47 prefectures in eight regions, with Hokkaido being the northernmost prefecture and Okinawa being the southernmost one; the population of 127 million is the world's tenth largest. 90.7 % of people live in cities. About 13.8 million people live in the capital of Japan. The Greater Tokyo Area is the most populous metropolitan area in the world with over 38 million people. Archaeological research indicates; the first written mention of Japan is in Chinese history texts from the 1st century AD.
Influence from other regions China, followed by periods of isolation from Western Europe, has characterized Japan's history. From the 12th century until 1868, Japan was ruled by successive feudal military shōguns who ruled in the name of the Emperor. Japan entered into a long period of isolation in the early 17th century, ended in 1853 when a United States fleet pressured Japan to open to the West. After nearly two decades of internal conflict and insurrection, the Imperial Court regained its political power in 1868 through the help of several clans from Chōshū and Satsuma – and the Empire of Japan was established. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, victories in the First Sino-Japanese War, the Russo-Japanese War and World War I allowed Japan to expand its empire during a period of increasing militarism; the Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937 expanded into part of World War II in 1941, which came to an end in 1945 following the Japanese surrender. Since adopting its revised constitution on May 3, 1947, during the occupation led by SCAP, the sovereign state of Japan has maintained a unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy with an Emperor and an elected legislature called the National Diet.
Japan is a member of the ASEAN Plus mechanism, UN, the OECD, the G7, the G8, the G20, is considered a great power. Its economy is the world's third-largest by nominal GDP and the fourth-largest by purchasing power parity, it is the world's fourth-largest exporter and fourth-largest importer. Japan benefits from a skilled and educated workforce. Although it has renounced its right to declare war, Japan maintains a modern military with the world's eighth-largest military budget, used for self-defense and peacekeeping roles. Japan is a developed country with a high standard of living and Human Development Index, its population enjoys the highest life expectancy and third lowest infant mortality rate in the world, but is experiencing issues due to an aging population and low birthrate. Japan is renowned for its historical and extensive cinema, influential music industry, video gaming, rich cuisine and its major contributions to science and modern technology; the Japanese word for Japan is 日本, pronounced Nihon or Nippon and means "the origin of the sun".
The character nichi means "sun" or "day". The compound therefore means "origin of the sun" and is the source of the popular Western epithet "Land of the Rising Sun"; the earliest record of the name Nihon appears in the Chinese historical records of the Tang dynasty, the Old Book of Tang. At the end of the seventh century, a delegation from Japan requested that Nihon be used as the name of their country; this name may have its origin in a letter sent in 607 and recorded in the official history of the Sui dynasty. Prince Shōtoku, the Regent of Japan, sent a mission to China with a letter in which he called himself "the Emperor of the Land where the Sun rises"; the message said: "Here, I, the emperor of the country where the sun rises, send a letter to the emperor of the country where the sun sets. How are you". Prior to the adoption of Nihon, other terms such as Yamato and Wakoku were used; the term Wa is a homophone of Wo 倭, used by the Chinese as a designation for the Japanese as early as the third century Three Kingdoms period.
Another form of Wa, Wei in Chinese) was used for an early state in Japan called Nakoku during the Han dynasty. However, the Japanese disliked some connotation of Wa 倭, it was therefore replaced with the substitute character Wa, meaning "togetherness, harmony"; the English word Japan derives from the historical Chinese pronunciation of 日本. The Old Mandarin or early Wu Chinese pronunciation of Japan was recorded by Marco Polo as Cipangu. In modern Shanghainese, a Wu dialect, the pronunciation of characters 日本; the old Malay word for Japan, Japun or Japang, was borrowed from a southern coastal Chinese dialect Fukienese or Ningpo – and this Malay word was encountered by Portuguese traders in Southeast Asia in the 16th century. These Early Portuguese traders brought the word
