1.
Japan
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Japan is a sovereign island nation in Eastern Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies off the eastern coast of the Asia Mainland and stretches from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea, the kanji that make up Japans name mean sun origin. 日 can be read as ni and means sun while 本 can be read as hon, or pon, Japan is often referred to by the famous epithet Land of the Rising Sun in reference to its Japanese name. Japan is an archipelago consisting of about 6,852 islands. The four largest are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku, the country is divided into 47 prefectures in eight regions. Hokkaido being the northernmost prefecture and Okinawa being the southernmost one, the population of 127 million is the worlds tenth largest. Japanese people make up 98. 5% of Japans total population, approximately 9.1 million people live in the city of Tokyo, the capital of Japan. Archaeological research indicates that Japan was inhabited as early as the Upper Paleolithic period, the first written mention of Japan is in Chinese history texts from the 1st century AD. Influence from other regions, mainly China, followed by periods of isolation, from the 12th century until 1868, Japan was ruled by successive feudal military shoguns who ruled in the name of the Emperor. Japan entered into a period of isolation in the early 17th century. 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 bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan is a member of the UN, the OECD, the G7, the G8, the country has the worlds third-largest economy by nominal GDP and the worlds fourth-largest economy by purchasing power parity. It is also the worlds fourth-largest exporter and fourth-largest importer, although Japan has officially renounced its right to declare war, it maintains a modern military with the worlds eighth-largest military budget, used for self-defense and peacekeeping roles. Japan is a country with a very high standard of living. Its population enjoys the highest life expectancy and the third lowest infant mortality rate in the world, in ancient China, Japan was called Wo 倭. It was mentioned in the third century Chinese historical text Records of the Three Kingdoms in the section for the Wei kingdom, Wa became disliked because it has the connotation of the character 矮, meaning dwarf. The 倭 kanji has been replaced with the homophone Wa, meaning harmony, the Japanese word for Japan is 日本, which is pronounced Nippon or Nihon and literally means the origin of the sun. The earliest record of the name Nihon appears in the Chinese historical records of the Tang dynasty, at the start of the seventh century, a delegation from Japan introduced their country as Nihon
2.
Miyazaki, Miyazaki
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Miyazaki is the capital city of Miyazaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. Located on the coast and crossed by rivers, Miyazaki City enjoys scenic views of both ocean and nearby, verdant mountains. A popular resort destination for Japanese tourists, the city offers many attractions, including the SeaGaia event center, the Phoenix Zoo, the city is the primary shopping destination for eastern Kyushu residents in smaller towns around the prefecture. The city was founded on April 1,1924, as of this merger, the city has an estimated population of 365,311 and a population density of 612 persons per km². The total area is 596.68 km², as of December 2010, the current population is 399,834. Miyazaki Airport and Miyazaki seaport serve the city, in 1940, the imperialist Shōwa regime constructed the 37 meter Hakkō Ichiu pillar upon the legendary site of Emperor Jimmus palace. Located near Miyazaki, it was intended to symbolize the divine right of the Empire of Japan to unify the eight corners of the world. The tower survived the war and is now the piece of the Heiwadai-koen peace park. On January 1,2006, the towns of Sadowara and Tano, on March 23,2010, the town of Kiyotake was merged into Miyazaki. Miyazaki District was dissolved as a result of this merger, skynet Asia Airways has its headquarters in Miyazaki. Asiana Airlines operates an office on the sixth floor of the Miyazaki Daiichi Seimei Building in Miyazaki. Dell Inc has their two centers in Japan then had opened the one on the 5th floor of Carino Miyazaki Building in Miyazaki. Miyazaki Prefectural Office became famous as a tourist spot when Hideo Higashikokubaru, miyazaki-jingū, a shrine in the citys center, is one of Miyazakis sacred dedications to Japans first emperor, Jinmu. Heiwadai Tower or Peace Tower, in the expansive Heiwadai park, is a must-see for tourists, originally the Tower of the Emperor, symbolizing Japanese imperial expansion, it was renamed for peace after the events of World War II. The fascinating Aoshima Subtropical Botanical Garden is also located nearby, the Tom Watson Golf Course was produced by Tom Watson, an American professional golfer. Miyazaki-city Phoenix Zoo The Citizens Forest, a Large park near Phoenix Zoo. L Located on its grounds is the Misogi-ike, Pound of Purification, the Ikimen Burial Mounds are located in Miyzaki and include the Ikime-no-mori Yukokan, Activity Centre, where visitors learn the history of the burial mounds and learn about ancient activities. Miyazaki City is known for its excellent surfing conditions year-round, and Kisakihama Beach, Aoshima Beach, the JR Kyushu Nichinan Line serves the area
3.
Arecaceae
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The Arecaceae are a botanical family of perennial climbers, shrubs, acaules and trees commonly known as palm trees. They are flowering plants, a family in the monocot order Arecales, currently 181 genera with around 2600 species are known, most of them restricted to tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate climates. Most palms are distinguished by their large, compound, evergreen leaves, known as fronds, however, palms exhibit an enormous diversity in physical characteristics and inhabit nearly every type of habitat within their range, from rainforests to deserts. Palms are among the best known and most extensively cultivated plant families and they have been important to humans throughout much of history. Many common products and foods are derived from palms, and palms are widely used in landscaping, making them one of the most economically important plants. In many historical cultures, palms were symbols for such ideas as victory, peace, for inhabitants of cooler climates today, palms symbolize the tropics and vacations. Whether as shrubs, trees, or vines, palms have two methods of growth, solitary or clustered, the common representation is that of a solitary shoot ending in a crown of leaves. This monopodial character may be exhibited by prostrate, trunkless, some common palms restricted to solitary growth include Washingtonia and Roystonea. Palms may instead grow in sparse though dense clusters, the trunk develops an axillary bud at a leaf node, usually near the base, from which a new shoot emerges. The new shoot, in turn, produces an axillary bud, exclusively sympodial genera include many of the rattans, Guihaia, and Rhapis. Several palm genera have both solitary and clustering members, Palms which are usually solitary may grow in clusters, and vice versa. These aberrations suggest the habit operates on a single gene, Palms have large, evergreen leaves that are either palmately or pinnately compound and spirally arranged at the top of the stem. The leaves have a sheath at the base that usually splits open on one side at maturity. The inflorescence is a spadix or spike surrounded by one or more bracts or spathes that become woody at maturity, the flowers are generally small and white, radially symmetric, and can be either uni- or bisexual. The sepals and petals usually number three each, and may be distinct or joined at the base, the stamens generally number six, with filaments that may be separate, attached to each other, or attached to the pistil at the base. The fruit is usually a single-seeded drupe but some genera may contain two or more seeds in each fruit, like all monocots, palms do not have the ability to increase the width of a stem via the same kind of vascular cambium found in non-monocot woody plants. This explains the shape of the trunk that is often seen in palms. The Arecaceae are notable among monocots for their height and for the size of their seeds, leaves, Ceroxylon quindiuense, Colombias national tree, is the tallest monocot in the world, reaching up to 60 m tall
4.
History of Miyazaki Prefecture
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This is an outline of the history of Miyazaki Prefecture. It was in Wamyo Ruijusho that Miyazaki first appeared in Japanese documents as one of the names of 5 guns in Miyazaki. According to the History of Miyazaki Prefecture by Tsugiyoshi Hidaka Miyazaki might be the place where Emperor Jinmu, teeth of Elephas naumanni were excavated at Tonokoori, Saito city. Gomuta archaeological site of Kawaminami was in the paleolithic era. 25,000 years ago, many sites of the latter paleolithic era are distributed around Gokase river. 12,000 years ago, nail-shaped earthenwares and elevated-line earthernwares,10,000 years ago, in the early Jōmon period, the sealine rose 5 meters high because of weather warming. There were Onuki shellheap site, Kashiwada shellheap site, Atoe shellheap site of Miyazaki presented dugout, dokoubo tomb,6,400 years ago, Kigai Caldera erupted in Kagoshima Prefecture, and earthenwares are classified before and after the eruption. 4,000 years ago, Jinnai archaeological site in Takachiho showed signs of earliest farming,3,000 years ago, there was Shimozuru archaeological site in Togo town. 3rd century B. C. parts of bronze mirror were excavated from Jindaigasako site, saitobaru kofungun is a group of three hundred thirty three kofuns or tumuli in Saito city, Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan. This is the largest kofun group in Japan, situated on a 70-meter hill composed of diluvium and these names include Yamato Choutei, Yamato Ouken, Wa Ouken, and Yamato Seiken. At the same time, there are views that the presence of regional states should be respected. There is a view that Choutei should not be used before the 4th and 5th century, at the present time, Yamato Ouken is tentatively used here. In the mythologies of country production, Miyazaki appeared as a part of Kumaso in Kyushu, by and by, the force of Yamato Ouken infiltrated from the Oita area southward. According to Nihon Shoki, a Japanese document, the offsprings of Prince Toyokuniwake, after the establishment of the Ritsuryo system, the country of Hyuga had been called Himuka, facing the east. The control of Yamato Ouken was not strong, and in 702, Satsuma country and these countries were under the strong control of Yamato Ouken, or Dazaifu. In 815, there were 500 soldiers of the Yamato Ouken, in 1185, Shimazu Tadahisa was the founder of the Shimazu samurai clan. The Shimazu clan had become the daimyo of Satsuma and Osumi domains of Kagoshima and he went to Satsuma in 1196, subdued Hyuga and Osumi provinces, and built a castle in the domain of Shimazu which name he also adopted. He is buried in Kamakura, near his fathers tomb, strongmen in Hyuga were Tsuchimochi, Ito, Kitahara and Shimazu, Hongo and Niiro
5.
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
6.
Pacific Ocean
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The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of the Earths oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south and is bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, the Mariana Trench in the western North Pacific is the deepest point in the world, reaching a depth of 10,911 metres. Both the center of the Water Hemisphere and the Western Hemisphere are in the Pacific Ocean, the oceans current name was coined by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan during the Spanish circumnavigation of the world in 1521, as he encountered favourable winds on reaching the ocean. He called it Mar Pacífico, which in both Portuguese and Spanish means peaceful sea, important human migrations occurred in the Pacific in prehistoric times. Long-distance trade developed all along the coast from Mozambique to Japan, trade, and therefore knowledge, extended to the Indonesian islands but apparently not Australia. By at least 878 when there was a significant Islamic settlement in Canton much of trade was controlled by Arabs or Muslims. In 219 BC Xu Fu sailed out into the Pacific searching for the elixir of immortality, from 1404 to 1433 Zheng He led expeditions into the Indian Ocean. The east side of the ocean was discovered by Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa in 1513 after his expedition crossed the Isthmus of Panama and he named it Mar del Sur because the ocean was to the south of the coast of the isthmus where he first observed the Pacific. Later, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan sailed the Pacific East to West on a Castilian expedition of world circumnavigation starting in 1519, Magellan called the ocean Pacífico because, after sailing through the stormy seas off Cape Horn, the expedition found calm waters. The ocean was often called the Sea of Magellan in his honor until the eighteenth century, sailing around and east of the Moluccas, between 1525 and 1527, Portuguese expeditions discovered the Caroline Islands, the Aru Islands, and Papua New Guinea. In 1542–43 the Portuguese also reached Japan, in 1564, five Spanish ships consisting of 379 explorers crossed the ocean from Mexico led by Miguel López de Legazpi and sailed to the Philippines and Mariana Islands. The Manila galleons operated for two and a half centuries linking Manila and Acapulco, in one of the longest trade routes in history, Spanish expeditions also discovered Tuvalu, the Marquesas, the Cook Islands, the Solomon Islands, and the Admiralty Islands in the South Pacific. In the 16th and 17th century Spain considered the Pacific Ocean a Mare clausum—a sea closed to other naval powers, as the only known entrance from the Atlantic the Strait of Magellan was at times patrolled by fleets sent to prevent entrance of non-Spanish ships. On the western end of the Pacific Ocean the Dutch threatened the Spanish Philippines, Spain also sent expeditions to the Pacific Northwest reaching Vancouver Island in southern Canada, and Alaska. The French explored and settled Polynesia, and the British made three voyages with James Cook to the South Pacific and Australia, Hawaii, and the North American Pacific Northwest, one of the earliest voyages of scientific exploration was organized by Spain in the Malaspina Expedition of 1789–1794. It sailed vast areas of the Pacific, from Cape Horn to Alaska, Guam and the Philippines, New Zealand, Australia, and the South Pacific. Growing imperialism during the 19th century resulted in the occupation of much of Oceania by other European powers, and later, Japan, in Oceania, France got a leading position as imperial power after making Tahiti and New Caledonia protectorates in 1842 and 1853 respectively. After navy visits to Easter Island in 1875 and 1887, Chilean navy officer Policarpo Toro managed to negotiate an incorporation of the island into Chile with native Rapanui in 1888, by occupying Easter Island, Chile joined the imperial nations
7.
Kumamoto Prefecture
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Kumamoto Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu. The capital is the city of Kumamoto, historically, the area was called Higo Province, and the province was renamed Kumamoto during the Meiji Restoration. The creation of prefectures was part of the abolition of the feudal system, the current Japanese orthography for Kumamoto literally means bear root/origin, or origin of the bear. Kumamoto Prefecture is in the center of Kyushu, the southernmost of the four major Japanese islands, mount Aso, an extensive active volcano, is in the east of Kumamoto Prefecture. This volcano is located at the centre of the Aso caldera, fourteen cities are located in Kumamoto Prefecture, These are the towns and villages in each district, The population is 1,812,255. The prefecture ranks 23rd in Japan, the population density is 244.76 people per square kilometer. There is a Honda automobile plant, mount Aso is one of the worlds largest active volcanoes. Kumamoto has a city located in Texas named San Antonio. In 2015 the mascot, Kumamon visited as an ambassador during the festival located at the Japanese Tea Gardens. ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5, OCLC58053128 Official website National Archives of Japan
8.
Kagoshima Prefecture
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Kagoshima Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu. The capital is the city of Kagoshima, Kagoshima Prefecture corresponds to the ancient Japanese provinces Ōsumi and Satsuma, including the northern part of the Ryukyu Islands. This region played a key role in the Meiji Restoration, and the city of Kagoshima was an important naval base during Japans 20th century wars and this became known only recently under the Koizumi administration. Kagoshima Prefecture is located at the southwest tip of Kyushu on the Satsuma Peninsula and this prefecture also includes a chain of islands stretching further to the southwest of Kyushu for a few hundred kilometers. The most important group is the Amami Islands, surrounded by the East China Sea to the west, Okinawa Prefecture in the south, Kumamoto Prefecture to the north, and Miyazaki Prefecture to the east, it has 2,632 km of coastline. It has a bay called Kagoshima Bay, which is sandwiched by two peninsulas, Satsuma and Ōsumi and its position made it a gateway to Japan at various times in history. While Kyushu has about 13 million people, there are less than 2 million in this prefecture, the prefecture boasts a chain of active and dormant volcanoes, including the great Sakurajima, which towers out of the Kagoshima bay opposite Kagoshima city. A steady trickle of smoke and ash emerges from the caldera, on active days in Kagoshima city an umbrella is advisable to ward off the ash. Sakurajima is one of Japans most active volcanoes, major eruptions occurred in 1914, when the island mountain spilled enough material to become permanently connected to the mainland, and a lesser eruption in 1960. Volcanic materials in the soil make Sakurajima a source for record daikon radishes, many beaches around the Kagoshima Bay are littered with well-worn pumice stones. A crater lake in the tip of the prefecture, near the spa town of Ibusuki, is home to a rare species of giant eel. Most of the sector is focused in Kagoshima City and the surrounding area. The eastern part of the prefecture, the former Ōsumi Province, is mostly rural, the prefecture has strong agricultural roots, which are reflected in its most well-known exports, green tea, sweet potato, radish, Pongee rice, Satsuma ware and Berkshire pork. Kagoshima prefectures production of bonito flakes is second only to that of Shizuoka, in addition it produces Japans largest volume of unagi eels. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency has several facilities within the prefecture, including the main launch facility on Tanegashima. The prefectures gross domestic product is approximately 4.834 trillion yen. League, Kagoshima United FC, a soccer team, was founded in 2014 and competes in the J3 League. High-speed craft route to Ibusuki, Tanegashima and Yakushima, ISBN 0-674-01753-6, ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5, OCLC58053128. Kagoshima travel guide from Wikivoyage Official Kagoshima Prefecture website National Archives of Japan
9.
Chorioactis
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Chorioactis is a genus of fungus that contains the single species Chorioactis geaster. The mushroom is known as the devils cigar or the Texas star in the United States. This extremely rare mushroom is notable for its appearance and disjunct distribution, it is found only in select locales in Texas. The interior surface of the body bears the spore-bearing tissue known as the hymenium. The fruit body opening can be accompanied by a hissing sound. Although the new genus Chorioactis was proposed to accommodate the species a few years after its original discovery. Its classification has also been a source of confusion, historically, Chorioactis was placed in the fungus family Sarcosomataceae, despite inconsistencies in the microscopic structure of the ascus, the saclike structure in which spores are formed. In 2009, Japanese researchers reported discovering a form of the fungus missing the stage of its life cycle. The fungus was first collected in Austin, Texas, in 1893 by botanist Lucien Marcus Underwood, Peck described the species as Urnula geaster in that years Annual Report of the New York State botanist, although he expressed doubt about its generic placement in Urnula. She concluded that the Texan species was so dissimilar as to warrant its own genus, historically, Chorioactis was considered to be in the family Sarcosomataceae. A1983 monograph on the family included Chorioactis in the tribe Sarcosomateae, the specific epithet geaster alludes to members of genus Geastrum, which also open to form star-shaped fruit bodies commonly called earthstars. In the United States, Chorioactis geaster is commonly known as the Texas star, at any rate, the name is very appropriate. In 1997, Texan state Senator Chris Harris filed a bill to make C. geaster the official state fungus of Texas, the bill passed the Senate but did not succeed in the House. In Japan the mushroom is called kirinomitake, because the immature, unopened fruit body bears a resemblance to the seed pods of kiri. Young specimens of C. geaster have a hollow, club-shaped dark-brown fruit body, the flesh of the stem and the wall of the fruit body is white, while the inner surface is yellowish-white, turning light brown with age. The fruit body varies in width from 1.2 to 3.5 cm in the thickest portion, and has a length of 4 to 12 cm, both stem and fruit body are covered by a dense layer of soft brown velvety hairs, or tomentum. In maturity, the body splits open into 4–7 rays that curve downward. The spores are borne on the surface of the rays
10.
Hyuganatsu
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Hyuganatsu is a citrus fruit and plant grown in Japan. The name comes from Hyūga, the ancient name of Miyazaki Prefecture in Kyushu, hyūganatsu grown outside Kyushu are sometimes shipped under different names such as Konatsu, Tosakonatsu, or New Summer Orange. A hyūganatsu sapling was said to have suddenly been found in a Miyazaki garden sometime in the 1820s and it is theorized to be either a mutated yuzu or perhaps more likely, a chance hybrid between yuzu and pomelo. The fruit is of size and its shape is round to slightly oblong. When ripe, it turns a light yellow and its flesh is juicy and sweet with a slightly sour taste. It is usually cut up, sprinkled with sugar and with most of its rather thick pith intact. The fruits oil is higher than other fruits in trans-β-farnesene, l-carvone. Japanese citrus Amanatsu Ōgonkan Hyuga Natsu at Citrus Variety Collection Hyuganatsu orange contains a water soluble substance that suppresses bone loss in ovariectomized rats, effects of storage conditions on the composition of Citrus tamurana Hort. Ex Tanaka essential oil The Flying Kitchen
11.
Misato, Miyazaki
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Misato is a town located in Higashiusuki District, Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan. The town was formed on January 1,2006 from the merger of the villages of Kitagō, Nangō and Saigō, all from Higashiusuki District. As of February 1,2011, the town has an population of 6,010, with 2,493 households. The total area is 448.72 km2, museum of Baekje in Misato and West Shosoin in Misato, both built in 1996, as part of the tourism pertnership in Japan and South Korea. Media related to Misato, Miyazaki at Wikimedia Commons Misato official website Misato official website
