1.
Aomori Prefecture
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Aomori Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region. The capital is the city of Aomori, until the Meiji Restoration, the area of Aomori prefecture was known as the northern part of Mutsu Province. During the Edo period the Hirosaki clan began building a seaport at the current city of Aomori, there were green woods near the city which were used as landmarks for the ships that came into port. These green woods called aoi-mori is where Aomori got its name, the prefecture came into existence in 1871. The town of Aomori was established in 1889, the town was incorporated as a city in 1898 with a population of 28,000. On May 3,1910 a fire out in the Yasukata district. Fanned by strong winds, the fire devastated the whole city. The conflagration claimed 26 lives and injured a further 160 residents and it destroyed 5,246 houses and burnt 19 storage sheds and 157 warehouses. At 10,30 p. m. on July 28,1945 a squadron of American B29 bombers bombed over 90% of the city, radio Aomori made its first broadcast in 1951. Four years later, the first fish auctions were held,1958 saw the completion of the Municipal Fish Market as well as the opening of the Citizens Hospital. In the same year, the Tsugaru Line established a connection with Minmaya Village at the tip of the peninsula. Various outlying towns and villages were incorporated into the city and with the absorption of Nonai Village in 1962. Almost exactly three years later, on March 13, railroad service was inaugurated on the Tsugaru Kaikyo Line and that same day saw the end of the Seikan Ferry service. During their 80 years of service, the ferries of the Seikan line sailed between Aomori and Hakodate some 720,000 times, carrying 160 million passengers. In April 1993, Aomori Public College opened, in August 1994, Aomori City made an Education, Culture and Friendship Exchange Pact with Kecskemét in Hungary. One year later a treaty was signed with Pyongtaek in South Korea. In April 1995, Aomori Airport began offering regular international air service to Seoul, South Korea, and Khabarovsk, Russia. In June 2007, four North Korean defectors reached Aomori Prefecture, after having been at sea for six days, in March 2011, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck Japan on the east coast
2.
Japan Standard Time
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Japan Standard Time or JST is the standard timezone in Japan, and is 9 hours ahead of UTC, i. e. it is UTC+09,00. There is no daylight saving time, though its introduction has been debated several times, during World War II, it was often called Tokyo Standard Time. Japan Standard Time is the same as Korean Standard Time, Indonesian Eastern Standard Time, before the Meiji era, each local region had its own timezone in which noon was when the sun was exactly at its zenith. As modern transportation methods, such as trains, were adopted, in 1886, Ordinance 51 was issued in response to this problem, which stated, Ordinance 51 - July 13,1886 The prime meridian passes through Englands Greenwich Observatory. Longitudes are calculated using the prime meridian, counting 180 degrees either east or west, positive degrees are east, negative degrees are west. On January 1,1888,135 degrees east longitude will be set as the meridian for all of Japan. According to this, the time was set 9 hours ahead of GMT. In the ordinance, the first clause mentions GMT, the second defines east longitude and west longitude, the city of Akashi in Hyōgo Prefecture is located exactly on 135 degrees east longitude and subsequently became known as Toki no machi. While Korea came under Japanese rule in 1910, Korea Standard Time of UTC+8,30 continued to be used until 1912, when it was changed to Central Standard Time. Western Standard Time, which was used in Taiwan and some parts of Okinawa, was abolished by Ordinance 529 in 1937 and replaced by Central Standard Time in those areas. Territories occupied by Japan during World War II, including Singapore and Malaya, adopted Japan Standard Time for the duration of their occupation, more recently there have been efforts to bring back DST in Japan, but so far this has not happened. The two-time-zone system was implemented in Japan between January 1896 and September 1937, From October 1937, Central Standard Time was also used in western Okinawa, the IANA time zone database contains one zone for Japan in the file zone. tab, named Asia/Tokyo. From 1948–51, Japan observed DST between May and September every year under an initiative of the U. S. -led occupation army, since then, DST has never been officially implemented nationwide in Japan. Starting in the late 1990s, a movement to reinstate DST in Japan gained some popularity, aiming at saving energy, in the early 2000s, a few local governments and commerce departments promoted unmandated hour-earlier work schedule experiments during the summer without officially resetting clocks. The Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy is expected to propose that the Japanese government begin studying DST in an attempt to combat global warming. Japanese PM Shinzo Abe made a significant effort to introduce daylight saving time, however, it is not clear that DST would conserve energy in Japan. JJY Japanese calendar UTC+09,00 Japanese clock
3.
Honshu
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Honshu is the largest and most populous island of Japan, located south of Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyushu across the Kanmon Straits. The island separates the Sea of Japan, which lies to its north and west, from the North Pacific Ocean to its south and it is the seventh-largest island in the world, and the second-most populous after the Indonesian island of Java. Honshu had a population of 103 million as of 2005, mostly concentrated in the coastal lowlands, as the historical center of Japanese culture and political power, the island includes several past Japanese capitals, including Kyoto, Nara, and Kamakura. Much of the southern shore forms part of the Taiheiyō Belt. The island is linked to the three major Japanese islands by a number of bridges and tunnels. Its climate is humid and mild, the island is roughly 1,300 km long and ranges from 50 to 230 km wide, and its total area is 225,800 km2, 60% of the total area of Japan, making it slightly larger than Great Britain. Its land area has been increasing with land reclamation and coastal uplift in the north, Honshu has 5,450 kilometres of coastline. Mountainous and volcanic, Honshu experiences frequent earthquakes, the highest peak is the active volcano Mount Fuji at 3,776 m, which makes Honshu the worlds 7th highest island. There are many rivers, including the Shinano River, Japans longest, the northernmost point on Honshu is the tip of the Shimokita Peninsula in Ōma, Aomori, Cape Kure lies at the southern extreme in Kushimoto, Wakayama. The islands eastern extremity is Todogasaki in Miyako, Iwate, and its western one is Bishanohana in Shimonoseki, Honshu spans more than eight degrees of latitude and 11 degrees of longitude. Honshu is connected to the islands of Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku by tunnels or bridges, the island is divided into five nominal regions and contains 34 prefectures, including metropolitan Tokyo. Administratively, some islands are included within these prefectures, notably including the Ogasawara Islands, Sado Island, Izu Ōshima. Fruits, vegetables, grains, rice and cotton are grown in Honshu, niigata is noted as an important producer of rice. The Kantō and Nōbi plains produce rice and vegetables, yamanashi is a major fruit-growing area, and Aomori is famous for its apples. Rare species of the lichen genus Menegazzia are found only in Honshu, yields of zinc, copper, and oil have been found on Honshu
4.
Japanese archipelago
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It consists of islands from the Sakhalin island arc and the Northeastern Japan arc. The term Home Islands was used at the end of World War II to define the area of Japan to which its sovereignty, the term is also commonly used today to distinguish the archipelago from Japans colonies and other territories in the first half of the 20th century. The archipelago consists of 6,852 islands, of which 430 are inhabited, the four main islands, from north to south, are Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu, Honshu is the largest and referred to as the Japanese mainland. Sakhalin, part of the Russian Federation, is considered to be geographically part of the Japanese archipelago. Changes to the Japanese archipelago over time, Geography of Japan List of islands of Japan 37°30′52″N 137°42′44″E, center of mass
5.
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
6.
Akita Prefecture
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Akita Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of northern Honshu, the main island of Japan. The capital is the city of Akita, the area of Akita has been created from the ancient provinces of Dewa and Mutsu. Akita was a region of hunter-gatherers and principally nomadic tribes, the first historical record of what is now Akita Prefecture dates to 658, when the Abe no Hirafu conquered the native Ezo tribes at what are now the cities of Akita and Noshiro. Hirafu, then governor of Koshi Province, established a fort on the Mogami River, in 733, a new military settlement—later renamed Akita Castle—was built in modern-day Akita city at Takashimizu, and more permanent roads and structures were developed. The region was used as a base of operations for the Japanese empire as it drove the native Ezo people from northern Honshū. During the Tokugawa shogunate it was appropriated to the Satake clan, throughout this period, it was classified as part of Dewa Province. In 1871, during the Meiji Restoration, Dewa Province was reshaped, the famous Heian period waka poet, Ono no Komachi, is said to have been born in Yuzawa City, Ogachi Town, located in the southeast of the prefecture. Akita Prefecture is rectangular in shape, roughly 181 km from north to south and 111 km from west to east, the Ōu Mountains mark the eastern border of the prefecture, and the higher Dewa Mountains run parallel through the center of the prefecture. Like much of northern Japan, the prefecture has cold winters, the Oga Peninsula is a prominent feature of the coastline. This has led many people to migrate to Tokyo and other large cities. Akita Prefecture is where declines in population are most severe in Japan and it also has the lowest number of children as a percentage of the population, at 11. 2%. As of 2010, it has a population of just over 1 million people, Akita is famous for rice farming and its sake breweries. It is well known for having the highest consumption of sake in Japan, the women of the region, referred to as Akita bijin, have also gained widespread renown for their white skin, rounded faces and high voices, all of which are considered highly desirable. Ono no Komachi is an example of an Akita bijin. Kiritanpo Nabe Gakko Rice – Akita komachi Sake Near Lake Tazawa and these are popular with tourists from all over Japan. In addition, its numerous seasonal festivals offer a glimpse of rural or traditional Japan, some famous examples are the Akita Kantō, the Omagari Fireworks, Namahage Festival, and the Yokote Kamakura Festivals. Kakunodate is a charming old town, known as the little Kyoto. The Aoyagi house is the residence of Odano Naotake, the man who illustrated Japans first modern guide to the human anatomy
7.
Fukushima Prefecture
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Fukushima Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region on the island of Honshu. The capital is the city of Fukushima, until the Meiji Restoration, the area of Fukushima prefecture was part of what was known as Mutsu Province. The Shirakawa Barrier and the Nakoso Barrier were built around the 5th century to protect civilized Japan from the barbarians to the north, Fukushima became a Province of Mutsu after the Taika Reforms were established in 646. In 718, the provinces of Iwase and Iwaki were created, the province of Fukushima was conquered by Prince Subaru in 1293. This region of Japan is also known as Michinoku and Ōshū, the Fukushima Incident took place in the prefecture after Mishima Michitsune was appointed governor in 1882. The 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami and the resulting Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster caused significant damage to the prefecture, primarily, on Friday, March 11,2011,14,46 JST, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake occurred off the coast of Miyagi Prefecture. Fukushima City, located in Naka-dōri and the capital of Fukushima Prefecture, following the earthquake there were isolated reports of major damage to structures, including the failure of Fujinuma Dam as well as damage from landslides. The earthquake also triggered a tsunami that hit the eastern coast of the prefecture and caused widespread destruction. In the two following the earthquake,1,817 residents of Fukushima Prefecture had either been confirmed dead or were missing as a result of the earthquake. Many residents were evacuated to nearby localities due to the development of an evacuation zone around the plant. Radiation levels near the plant peaked at 400 mSv/h after the earthquake and tsunami and this resulted in increased recorded radiation levels across Japan. On April 11,2011, officials upgraded the disaster to a level 7 out of a possible 7, Fukushima is both the southernmost prefecture of Tōhoku region and the prefecture of Tōhoku region that is closest to Tokyo. It is divided by mountain ranges into three regions called Aizu, Nakadōri, and Hamadōri, the mountainous Aizu region has scenic lakes, lush forests, and snowy winters. Thanks to Fukushimas climate, various fruits are grown throughout the year and these include pears, peaches, cherries, grapes, and apples. As of March 2011, the prefecture produced 20. 6% of Japans peaches and 8. 7% of cucumbers, Fukushima also produces rice, that combined with pure water from mountain run-offs, is used to make sake. Some sakes from the region are considered so tasteful that they are served to visiting royalty, lacquerware is another popular product from Fukushima. Dating back over four hundred years, the process of making lacquerware involves carving an object out of wood, then putting a lacquer on it, objects made are usually dishes, vases and writing utensils. Legend has it that an ogress, Adachigahara, once roamed the plain after whom it was named, the Adachigahara plain lies close to the city of Fukushima
8.
Iwate Prefecture
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Iwate Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan. It is located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu island and contains the islands easternmost point, Iwate has the lowest population density of any prefecture outside Hokkaido. There are several theories about the origin of the name Iwate, but the most well known is the tale Oni no tegata and these rocks are said to have been thrown down into Morioka by an eruption of Mt. Iwate. According to the legend, there was once a devil who often tormented and harassed the local people, when the people prayed to the spirits of Mitsuishi for protection, the devil was immediately shackled to these rocks and forced to make a promise never to trouble the people again. As a seal of his oath the devil made a handprint on one of the rocks, thus giving rise to the name Iwate, even now after a rainfall it is said that the devils hand print can still be seen there. Bashō visited and wrote about Iwate in the journey described in Oku no Hosomichi and he was especially inspired by Hiraizumi. Until the Meiji Restoration, the area of Iwate prefecture was part of Mutsu Province, Iwate Prefecture was created in 1876 in the aftermath of the Boshin Civil War which heralded the beginning of the Meiji Restoration. The area now known as Iwate Prefecture was inhabited by the Jomon people who left their artifacts throughout the prefecture, for example, a large number of burial pits from the Middle Jomon Period have been found in Nishida. Various sites from the Late Jomon Period including Tateishi, Makumae and Hatten contain clay figurines, masks and ear, the Kunenbashi site in Kitakami City has yielded stone swords, tablets and tools as well as clay figurines, earrings and potsherds from the Final Jomon Period. The earliest mention of a Japanese presence dates to about 630 when the Hakusan Shrine was said to have built on Mt. Kanzan in what is now Hiraizumi. At this time various Japanese traders, hunters, adventurers, priests, in 712 the province of Mutsu, containing all of Tohoku, was divided into Dewa Province, the area west of the Ou Mountains and Mutsu Province. In 729 Kokuseki-ji Temple was founded in what is now Mizusawa Ward, More fighting occurred the next and following years but mostly in Dewa and the area south of present-day Iwate prefecture. This situation continued until March 787 when the Yamato army suffered a defeat in the Battle of Sufuse Village in what is now Mizusawa Ward. There the Emishi leaders More and Aterui leading a cavalry force trapped the Yamato infantry. Over 1,000 soldiers drowned that day, the Japanese general Ki no Asami Kosami was rebuked by the Emperor Kanmu when he returned to Kyoto. Since the Japanese could not win on the battlefield they resorted to means to conquer the Emishi. Trade for superior quality iron wares and sake made the Emishi dependent on the Japanese for these valuable goods, bribes were offered to the Emishi leaders in the form of Japanese citizenship and rank if they would defect. Finally a campaign of burning crops and kidnapping the Emishi women and children, many a stout warrior gave up the fight to join his family again
9.
Miyagi Prefecture
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Miyagi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku region on Honshu island. Miyagi Prefecture was formerly part of the province of Mutsu, Mutsu Province, on northern Honshu, was one of the last provinces to be formed as land was taken from the indigenous Emishi, and became the largest as it expanded northward. The ancient capital was at Taga-jō in modern Miyagi Prefecture, in the third month of second year of the Wadō era, there was an uprising against governmental authority in Mutsu Province and in nearby Echigo Province. Troops were promptly dispatched to subdue the revolt, in Wadō5, the land of Mutsu Province was administratively separated from Dewa Province. During the Sengoku period various clans ruled different parts of the province, in the Meiji period, four new provinces were created from parts of Mutsu, Rikuchū, Rikuzen, Iwaki, and Iwashiro. The area that is now Aomori Prefecture continued to be part of Mutsu until the abolition of the han system, Date Masamune built a castle at Sendai as his seat to rule Mutsu. In 1871, Sendai Prefecture was formed and it was renamed Miyagi prefecture the following year. On March 11,2011, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake, the tsunami was estimated to be approximately 10 meters high in Miyagi Prefecture. On April 7,2011,7. 4-magnitude earthquake strikes off coast of Miyagi, Japan, workers were then evacuated from the nearby troubled Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear facility once again, as a tsunami warning was issued for the coastline. Residents were told to flee for inner land at this time, officials from the U. S. Geological Survey later downgraded the magnitude to 7.1 from 7.4. In 2013, Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako visited the prefecture to see the progress made since the tsunami, Miyagi Prefecture is in the central part of Tōhoku, facing the Pacific Ocean, and contains Tōhokus largest city, Sendai. There are high mountains on the west and along the northeast coast, matsushima is known as one of the three most scenic views of Japan, with a bay full of 260 small islands covered in pine groves. Oshika Peninsula projects from the coastline of the prefecture. Fourteen cities are located in Miyagi Prefecture, Sendai - the largest, as of March 2011, the prefecture produced 4. 7% of Japans rice, 23% of oysters, and 15. 9% of sauries. In July 2011, the Japanese government decided to ban all shipments of cattle from northeast Miyagi Prefecture over fears of radioactive contamination. Matsushima Bay Sendai Airport The sports teams listed below are based in Miyagi Prefecture, baseball Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles Tohoku Reia Football Vegalta Sendai Sony Sendai F. C. Sendai was the castle town of the daimyo Date Masamune. The remains of Sendai Castle stand on a hill above the city, Miyagi Prefecture boasts one of Japans three greatest sights. Matsushima, the islands, dot the waters off the coast of the prefecture
10.
Yamagata Prefecture
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Yamagata Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region on Honshu island. The aboriginal Ezo people once inhabited the area now known as Yamagata, Yamagata and Akita Prefecture were known as Dewa Province until the Meiji Restoration. During the Heian Period, the Fujiwara family ruled the area, Yamagata City flourished during the Edo Period due to its status as a castle town and post station, famous for beni. In 1689, the haiku poet, Matsuo Bashō visited Yamagata during his five-month trip to the northern regions of Japan. Yamagata Prefecture is located in the southwest corner of Tōhoku, facing the Sea of Japan and it borders Niigata Prefecture and Fukushima Prefecture on the south, Miyagi Prefecture on the east, and Akita Prefecture on the north. All of these boundaries are marked by mountains, with most of the population residing in a central plain. Both spring and autumn are short, the often cold, the latter often warm. Yamagata Prefecture, along with parts of Miyagi and Iwate are the transition areas from humid subtropical climate to humid continental within the Japan mainland. Winter temperatures rarely fall below -10 °C in populated areas, they rise above 30 °C in July. Precipitation falls all year round and the remnants of one or perhaps two typhoons usually pass through between August and October, the winters see heavy snowfall especially at higher elevations, though the Japan Sea coast is milder and has more rain. Snowfall for Shinjō is typical of populated areas, snowfall for Yamagata City typical of the valleys. The central mountains around Gassan may see as much as 3000 cm of snow in a season with depths up to 8 metres at higher elevations, Yamagata Prefecture is the largest producer of cherries and pears in Japan. A large quantity of other kinds of such as grapes, apples, peaches. As of October 2012, Yamagata Prefecture had a population of 1,152,000, the prefecture also has one of the oldest populations in Japan. As of 2004,12. 8% of the population was aged between 65 and 74, and 12. 1% was over 75, over 40% of households in Yamagata contain one or more relatives aged 65 or over. Yamagata Prefecture has a number of festivals and events. Yamagata City is the home of the bi-annual Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival in October, in February, a snow lantern festival is held in Yonezawa at the Uesugi Shrine. Hundreds of candle-lit lanterns light pathways dug into the snow around the shrine, Yonezawa is also the site of the Uesugi Festival in mid-spring
11.
Climate
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Climate is the statistics of weather, usually over a 30-year interval. Climate differs from weather, in that weather only describes the conditions of these variables in a given region. A regions climate is generated by the system, which has five components, atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, lithosphere. The climate of a location is affected by its latitude, terrain, climates can be classified according to the average and the typical ranges of different variables, most commonly temperature and precipitation. The most commonly used classification scheme was the Köppen climate classification, the Bergeron and Spatial Synoptic Classification systems focus on the origin of air masses that define the climate of a region. Paleoclimatology is the study of ancient climates, Climate models are mathematical models of past, present and future climates. Climate change may occur long and short timescales from a variety of factors. For example, a 3°C change in mean annual temperature corresponds to a shift in isotherms of approximately 300–400 km in latitude or 500 m in elevation, therefore, species are expected to move upwards in elevation or towards the poles in latitude in response to shifting climate zones. Climate is commonly defined as the weather averaged over a long period, the standard averaging period is 30 years, but other periods may be used depending on the purpose. Climate also includes statistics other than the average, such as the magnitudes of day-to-day or year-to-year variations, the classical period is 30 years, as defined by the World Meteorological Organization. These quantities are most often surface variables such as temperature, precipitation, Climate in a wider sense is the state, including a statistical description, of the climate system. The World Meteorological Organization describes climate normals as reference points used by climatologists to compare current climatological trends to that of the past or what is considered normal, a Normal is defined as the arithmetic average of a climate element over a 30-year period. A30 year period is used, as it is enough to filter out any interannual variation or anomalies. The WMO originated from the International Meteorological Organization which set up a commission for climatology in 1929. At its 1934 Wiesbaden meeting the commission designated the thirty-year period from 1901 to 1930 as the reference time frame for climatological standard normals. In 1982 the WMO agreed to update climate normals, and in these were completed on the basis of climate data from 1 January 1961 to 31 December 1990. The difference between climate and weather is usefully summarized by the popular phrase Climate is what you expect, weather is what you get. Over historical time spans there are a number of nearly constant variables that determine climate, including latitude, altitude, proportion of land to water and these change only over periods of millions of years due to processes such as plate tectonics
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Tourism
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Tourism is travel for pleasure or business, also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. Tourism may be international, or within the travellers country, Tourism can be domestic or international, and international tourism has both incoming and outgoing implications on a countrys balance of payments. Today, tourism is a source of income for many countries. International tourism receipts grew to US$1.03 trillion in 2011, the ITB Berlin is the worlds leading tourism trade fair. The word tourist was used by 1772 and tourism by 1811. It is formed from the tour, which is derived from Old English turian, from Old French torner, from Latin tornare, to turn on a lathe. Tourism is an important, even vital, source of income for many regions and it also creates opportunities for employment in the service sector of the economy associated with tourism. This is in addition to goods bought by tourists, including souvenirs, in 1936, the League of Nations defined a foreign tourist as someone traveling abroad for at least twenty-four hours. Its successor, the United Nations, amended this definition in 1945 and it includes movements for all purposes. In 1981, the International Association of Scientific Experts in Tourism defined tourism in terms of particular activities chosen and undertaken outside the home, in this context, travel has a similar definition to tourism, but implies a more purposeful journey. The terms tourism and tourist are sometimes used pejoratively, to imply a shallow interest in the cultures or locations visited, by contrast, traveler is often used as a sign of distinction. The sociology of tourism has studied the values underpinning these distinctions. International tourist arrivals reached 1.035 billion in 2012, up from over 996 million in 2011, the World Tourism Organization reports the following ten destinations as the most visited in terms of the number of international travellers in 2016. International tourism receipts grew to US$1.2 trillion in 2014, based upon air traffic, the MasterCard Global Destination Cities Index reports the following cities as the top ten most popular destinations of international tourism worldwide. MasterCard reports the following cities as the top ten biggest earners on international tourism worldwide in 2015, as early as Shulgi, however, kings praised themselves for protecting roads and building waystations for travelers. During the Roman Republic, spas and coastal resorts such as Baiae were popular among the rich, pausanias wrote his Description of Greece in the 2nd century AD. In ancient China, nobles sometimes made a point of visiting Mount Tai and, on occasion, the Islamic hajj is still central to its faith and Chaucers Canterbury Tales and Wu Chengens Journey to the West remain classics of English and Chinese literature. The 10th- to 13th-century Song dynasty also saw secular travel writers such as Su Shi, under the Ming, Xu Xiake continued the practice
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Industry
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Industry is the production of goods or related services within an economy. The major source of revenue of a group or company is the indicator of its relevant industry, when a large group has multiple sources of revenue generation, it is considered to be working in different industries. Manufacturing industry became a key sector of production and labour in European and North American countries during the Industrial Revolution, upsetting previous mercantile and this came through many successive rapid advances in technology, such as the production of steel and coal. Following the Industrial Revolution, possibly a third of the economic output are derived that is from manufacturing industries. Many developed countries and many developing/semi-developed countries depend significantly on manufacturing industry, Industries, the countries they reside in, and the economies of those countries are interlinked in a complex web of interdependence. Industries can be classified in a variety of ways, at the top level, industry is often classified according to the three-sector theory into sectors, primary, secondary, and tertiary. Some authors add quaternary or even quinary sectors, over time, the fraction of a societys industry within each sector changes. Below the economic sectors there are other more detailed industry classifications. These classification systems commonly divide industries according to functions and markets. Market-based classification systems such as the Global Industry Classification Standard and the Industry Classification Benchmark are used in finance, the International Standard Industrial Classification of all economic activities is the most complete and systematic industrial classification made by the United Nations Statistics Division. ISIC is a classification of economic activities arranged so that entities can be classified according to the activity they carry out. The Industrial Revolution led to the development of factories for large-scale production, originally the factories were steam-powered, but later transitioned to electricity once an electrical grid was developed. The mechanized assembly line was introduced to parts in a repeatable fashion. This led to significant increases in efficiency, lowering the cost of the end process, later automation was increasingly used to replace human operators. This process has accelerated with the development of the computer and the robot, historically certain manufacturing industries have gone into a decline due to various economic factors, including the development of replacement technology or the loss of competitive advantage. An example of the former is the decline in manufacturing when the automobile was mass-produced. A recent trend has been the migration of prosperous, industrialized nations towards a post-industrial society and this is manifested by an increase in the service sector at the expense of manufacturing, and the development of an information-based economy, the so-called informational revolution. In a post-industrial society, manufacturing is relocated to more favourable locations through a process of off-shoring
14.
Mutsu Province
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Mutsu Province was an old province of Japan in the area of Fukushima, Miyagi, Iwate and Aomori Prefectures and the municipalities of Kazuno and Kosaka in Akita Prefecture. Mutsu Province is also known as Ōshū or Michinoku, the term Ōu is often used to refer to the combined area of Mutsu and the neighboring province Dewa which make up the Tōhoku region. Mutsu, on northern Honshū, was one of the last provinces to be formed as land was taken from the indigenous Emishi, the ancient capital of the Kinai government was Tagajō in present-day Miyagi Prefecture. 709, an uprising against governmental authority took place in Mutsu, troops were dispatched to subdue the revolt. 712, Mutsu was separated from Dewa Province, empress Genmeis Daijō-kan made cadastral changes in the provincial map of the Nara period, as in the following year when Mimasaka Province was split from Bizen Province. Hyūga Province was sundered from Ōsumi Province, Tanba Province was severed from Tango Province,718, Shineha, Uda and Watari districts of the Mutsu Province, Kikuta, Iwaki districts of the Hitachi Province are incorporated into the Iwaki Province. 801, Mutsu was conquered by Sakanoue no Tamuramaro,869, A terrible earthquake struck Mutsu. More than 1,000 people lost their lives in the disaster, in 1095, the Ōshū Fujiwara clan settled at Hiraizumi, under the leadership of Fujiwara no Kiyohira. He hoped to form a city rivaling Kyoto as a centre of culture, the legacy of the Ōshū Fujiwara clan remains as the Chūson-ji. In 1189 Minamoto no Yoritomo invaded Mutsu with three forces, eventually killing Fujiwara no Yasuhira and all his vast domain fell into the hands of Yoritomo. Mōtsū-ji in Hiraizumi, the Shiramizu Amidadō in the base of the Iwaki clan, during the Sengoku period, clans ruled parts of the province. The Nanbu clan at Morioka in the north, the Date clan at Iwadeyama and Sendai in the south. The Sōma clan at Nakamura in the south, the Iwaki clan at Iinodaira in the south. The Uesugi clan had a town at Wakamatsu in the south. As the result of the Boshin War, the Mutsu Province was divided by the Meiji government on 19 January 1869, in this division, five provinces were established. The Meiji Mutsu Province was a region in the northernmost part of the island that corresponds to todays Aomori Prefecture. At the same time, while the characters of the name were unchanged, Dewa Province Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric and Käthe Roth. ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5, OCLC58053128 Titsingh, Isaac, paris, Royal Asiatic Society, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland
15.
Ainu people
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The Ainu or the Aynu, in the historical Japanese texts Ezo/Emishi/Ebisu or Ainu, are an indigenous people of Japan and Russia. Many Ainu today have been assimilated into Japanese identity. Recent research suggests that Ainu culture originated from a merger of the Okhotsk, in 1264, Ainu invaded the land of Nivkh people controlled by the Yuan Dynasty of Mongolia, resulting in battles between Ainu and the Chinese. Active contact between the Wajin and the Ainu of Ezochi began in the 13th century, the Ainu formed a society of hunter-gatherers, surviving mainly by hunting and fishing. They followed a religion which was based on natural phenomena, during the Muromachi period, the disputes between the Japanese and Ainu developed into a war. Takeda Nobuhiro killed the Ainu leader, Koshamain, Many Ainu were subject to Japanese rule which led to a violent Ainu revolt such as Koshamains Revolt in 1456. The Tokugawa bakufu granted the Matsumae clan exclusive rights to trade with the Ainu in the part of the island. Later, the Matsumae began to lease out trading rights to Japanese merchants, throughout this period the Ainu became increasingly dependent on goods imported by the Japanese, and were suffering from epidemic diseases such as smallpox. The most important was Shakushains Revolt, an Ainu rebellion against Japanese authority, another large-scale revolt by Ainu against Japanese rule was the Menashi-Kunashir Battle in 1789. In the 18th century there were 80,000 Ainu, in 1868 there were about 15,000 Ainu in Hokkaido,2000 in Sakhalin, and around 100 in the Kuril islands. In 1869, the new Meiji government renamed Ezo as Hokkaido and it banned the Ainu language, took Ainu land away, and prohibited salmon fishing and deer hunting. The beginning of the Meiji Restoration in 1868 proved a point for Ainu culture. The Japanese government introduced a variety of social, political and economic reforms in hope of modernizing the country in the Western style, one innovation involved the annexation of Hokkaido. Second … it offered a solution to the unemployment for the samurai class … Finally. Also at this time, the Ainu were granted automatic Japanese citizenship, during this time the Ainu were forced to learn Japanese, required to adopt Japanese names, and ordered to cease religious practices such as animal sacrifice and the custom of tattooing. The 1899 act mentioned above was replaced in 1997—until then the government had stated there were no ethnic minority groups and it was not until June 6,2008, that Japan formally recognised the Ainu as an indigenous group. The vast majority of these Wajin men are believed to have compelled Ainu women into partnering with them as local wives, intermarriage between Japanese and Ainu was actively promoted by the Ainu to lessen the chances of discrimination against their offspring. As a result, many Ainu are indistinguishable from their Japanese neighbors, for example, Oki, born as a child of an Ainu father and a Japanese mother, became a musician who plays the traditional Ainu instrument tonkori
16.
Dewa Province
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Dewa Province was a province of Japan comprising modern-day Yamagata Prefecture and Akita Prefecture, except for the city of Kazuno and the town of Kosaka. Dewa bordered on Mutsu and Echigō Provinces and its abbreviated form name was Ushū. Prior to the Asuka period, Dewa was inhabited by Ainu or Emishi tribes, abe no Hirafu conquered the native Emishi tribes at what are now the cities of Akita and Noshiro in 658 and established a fort on the Mogami River. In 708 AD Dewa District was created within Echigō Province, Dewa District was promoted to the status of a province in 712 AD, and gained Okitama and Mogami Districts, formerly part of Mutsu Province. A number of expeditions were sent to the area, with armed colonists forming settlements with wooden palisades across central Dewa in what is now the Shōnai area of Yamagata Prefecture. In 733, the capital was moved north, and a new military settlement, abe no Yakamaro was sent as Chinjufu Shogun. In 737, a military operation began to connect Akita Castle with Taga Castle on the Pacific Coast. Over the next 50 years, additional fortifications were erected at Okachi in Dewa Province, the road was greatly resented by the Emishi tribes, and after an uprising in 767, pacification expeditions were carried out in 776,778,794,801 and 811. During the Nara period, under the Engishiki classification system, Dewa was ranked as a greater country, under the ritsuryō system, Dewa was classed as a “far country”. The name of the province was originally pronounced “Idewa”, the Ichinomiya of Dewa Province was the Chōkaisan Omonoimi Jinja in what is now Yuza, Yamagata. During the Heian period, in 878, a rebellion known as the Ganki Disturbance erupted in the region against Yamato rule. Another major uprising occurred in 939, as part of East Japan war Tengyō no Ran, towards the end of the Heian period, the province was organized into eleven districts. It was latter a battleground in the Gosannen War and the Former Nine Years War, the area was divided into numerous shōen during the Kamakura period, which developed into the centers of numerous rival samurai clans. In 1335, Shiba Kaneyori received the Dewa Province as a fief from Ashikaga Takauji, both clans sided with Tokugawa Ieyasu at the Battle of Sekigahara, and were thus secured in their holdings at the start of the Tokugawa shogunate. During the early Edo period, both the Mogami and the Akita were dispossessed, and their territories broken up into smaller domains, during the Bakumatsu period, all of the domains in the area joined the Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei supporting the Tokugawa shogunate. Sendai Kaidō – connecting what is now Sakata, Yamagata with Sendai, Ushū Hamakaidō – connecting Sakata with Nigata Kōdansha. Tokyo, Kōdansha, OCLC193352222 Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric and Käthe Roth, ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5, OCLC58053128 Terry, Thomas Philip. Terrys Japanese Empire, including Korea and Formosa, with Chapters on Manchuria, the Trans-Siberian Railway, and the Chief Ocean Routes to Japan, paris, Royal Asiatic Society, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland
17.
Heian period
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The Heian period is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. The period is named after the city of Heian-kyō, or modern Kyōto. It is the period in Japanese history when Buddhism, Taoism, the Heian period is also considered the peak of the Japanese imperial court and noted for its art, especially poetry and literature. Although the Imperial House of Japan had power on the surface, the power was in the hands of the Fujiwara clan. Many emperors actually had mothers from the Fujiwara family, the Heian period was preceded by the Nara period and began in 794 A. D. after the movement of the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō, by the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu. Kanmu first tried to move the capital to Nagaoka-kyō, but a series of disasters befell the city, prompting the emperor to relocate the capital a second time, a rebellion occurred in China in the last years of the 9th century, making the political situation unstable. The Japanese missions to Tang China was suspended and the influx of Chinese exports halted, therefore the Heian Period is considered a high point in Japanese culture that later generations have always admired. The period is noted for the rise of the samurai class. Nominally, sovereignty lay in the emperor but in power was wielded by the Fujiwara nobility. However, to protect their interests in the provinces, the Fujiwara and other noble families required guards, police, the warrior class made steady political gains throughout the Heian period. Still, a military takeover of the Japanese government was centuries away. The entry of the class into court influence was a result of the Hōgen Rebellion. At this time Taira no Kiyomori revived the Fujiwara practices by placing his grandson on the throne to rule Japan by regency and their clan, the Taira, would not be overthrown until after the Genpei War, which marked the start of the shogunate. The Kamakura period began in 1185 when Minamoto no Yoritomo seized power from the emperors, Nara was abandoned after only 70 years in part due to the ascendancy of Dōkyō and the encroaching secular power of the Buddhist institutions there. Kyōto had good access to the sea and could be reached by land routes from the eastern provinces. The early Heian period continued Nara culture, the Heian capital was patterned on the Chinese Tang capital at Changan, as was Nara, Kanmu endeavoured to improve the Tang-style administrative system which was in use. Known as the ritsuryō, this attempted to recreate the Tang imperium in Japan. Despite the decline of the Taika–Taihō reforms, imperial government was vigorous during the early Heian period, Kanmus avoidance of drastic reform decreased the intensity of political struggles, and he became recognized as one of Japans most forceful emperors
18.
Culture of Japan
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Japanese is the official and primary language of Japan. Japanese is relatively small but has a lexically distinct pitch-accent system, early Japanese is known largely on the basis of its state in the 8th century, when the three major works of Old Japanese were compiled. The earliest attestation of the Japanese language is in a Chinese document from 252 AD, Japanese is written with a combination of three scripts, hiragana, derived from the Chinese cursive script, katakana, derived as a shorthand from Chinese characters, and kanji, imported from China. The Latin alphabet, rōmaji, is often used in modern Japanese, especially for company names and logos, advertising. The Hindu-Arabic numerals are used for numbers, but traditional Sino-Japanese numerals are also very common. Early works of Japanese literature were influenced by cultural contact with China and Chinese literature. Indian literature also had an influence through the spread of Buddhism throughout Japan, eventually, Japanese literature developed into a separate style in its own right as Japanese writers began writing their own works about Japan. Since Japan reopened its ports to Western trading and diplomacy in the 19th century, Western and Eastern literature have strongly affected each other, the music of Japan includes a wide array of performers in distinct styles both traditional and modern. The word for music in Japanese is 音楽, combining the kanji 音 on with the kanji 楽 gaku. Japan is the second largest music market in the world, behind the United States, and the largest in Asia, local music often appears at karaoke venues, which is on lease from the record labels. Traditional Japanese music is different from Western Music and is based on the intervals of human breathing rather than mathematical timing. In 1873, a British traveler claimed that Japanese music, exasperates beyond all endurance the European breast. Painting has been an art in Japan for a long time, the brush is a traditional writing and painting tool. Japanese painters are often categorized by what they painted, as most of them constrained themselves solely to subjects such as animals, landscapes, Chinese papermaking was introduced to Japan around the 7th century. Later, washi was developed from it, native Japanese painting techniques are still in use today, as well as techniques adopted from continental Asia and from the West. Famous Japanese painters include Kanō Sanraku, Maruyama Ōkyo, and Tani Bunchō, the flowing, brush-drawn Japanese rendering of text itself is seen as a traditional art form as well as a means of conveying written information. The written work can consist of phrases, poems, stories, the style and format of the writing can mimic the subject matter, even to the point of texture and stroke speed. In some cases, it can take one hundred attempts to produce the desired effect of a single character
19.
Indigenous peoples
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Groups are usually described as indigenous when they maintain traditions or other aspects of an early culture that is associated with a given region. Not all indigenous peoples share such characteristics, Indigenous societies are found in every inhabited climate zone and continent of the world. Estimates put the population of indigenous peoples from 220 million to 350 million. The adjective indigenous is derived from the Latin word indigena, which is based on the root gen- to be born with a form of the prefix in in. Any given people, ethnic group or community may be described as indigenous in reference to some particular region or location that they see as their tribal land claim. Other terms used to refer to indigenous populations are aboriginal, native, original, james Anaya, former Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, has defined indigenous peoples as living descendants of pre-invasion inhabitants of lands now dominated by others. They are culturally distinct groups that find themselves engulfed by other settler societies born of forces of empire, throughout history, different states designate the groups within their boundaries that are recognized as indigenous peoples according to international or national legislation by different terms. Their ability to influence and participate in the policies that may exercise jurisdiction over their traditional lands. The presence of external laws, claims and cultural mores either potentially or actually act to constrain the practices and observances of an indigenous society. These constraints can be observed even when the society is regulated largely by its own tradition. They may be imposed, or arise as unintended consequence of trans-cultural interaction. They may have an effect, even where countered by other external influences. This definition has some limitations, because the definition applies mainly to pre-colonial populations, the primary impetus in considering indigenous identity comes from the post-colonial movements and considering the historical impacts on populations by the European imperialism. Greek sources of the Classical period acknowledge the existence of indigenous people. These peoples inhabited lands surrounding the Aegean Sea before the subsequent migrations of the Hellenic ancestors claimed by these authors, the disposition and precise identity of this former group is elusive, and sources such as Homer, Hesiod and Herodotus give varying, partially mythological accounts. However, it is clear that cultures existed whose indigenous characteristics were distinguished by the subsequent Hellenic cultures, greco-Roman society flourished between 250 BC and 480 AD and commanded successive waves of conquests that gripped more than half of the globe. The rapid and extensive spread of the various European powers from the early 15th century onwards had an impact upon many of the indigenous cultures with whom they came into contact. The Canary Islands had an indigenous population called the Guanches whose origin is still the subject of discussion among historians, the United Nations estimates that there are over 370 million indigenous people living in over 70 countries worldwide
20.
Emishi
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The Emishi or Ebisu constituted an ethnic group of people who lived in northeastern Honshū in the Tōhoku region which was referred to as michi no oku in contemporary sources. The origin of the Emishi is unknown, but they are believed to have descended from the Jōmon people, the first mention of them in literature dates to AD400, in which they are mentioned as the hairy people from the Chinese records. Some Emishi tribes resisted the rule of the Japanese Emperors during the late Nara, scholars believe that they were natives of northern Honshū and were descendants of those who developed the Jōmon culture in that region. They are thought to have related to the Ainu. The Emishi were represented by different tribes, some of whom became allies of the Japanese, the Emishi in northeastern Honshū relied on their horses in warfare. Their livelihood was based on hunting and gathering as well as on the cultivation of such as millet. Recently, it has been thought that they practiced rice cultivation in areas where rice could be easily grown, the first major attempts to subjugate the Emishi in the 8th century were largely unsuccessful. The imperial armies, which were modeled after the mainland Chinese armies, were no match for the tactics of the Emishi. It was the development of archery and the adoption of Emishi tactics by the early Japanese warriors that led to the Emishi defeat. The success of the change in battle tactics came at the very end of the 8th century in the 790s under the command of the general Sakanoue no Tamuramaro. They either submitted themselves to authority as fushu and ifu or migrated further north. By the mid-9th century, most of their land in Honshū was conquered, however, they continued to be influential in local politics as subjugated, though powerful, Emishi families created semi-autonomous feudal domains in the north. In the two following the conquest, a few of these domains became regional states that came into conflict with the central government. The following is a chronology of the main events in the relations between the Emishi and the Japanese. The record of Emperor Jimmu in the Nihon Shoki mentions the Emishi with ateji—whom his armed forces defeated before he was enthroned as the Emperor of Japan. According to Nihon Shoki, Takenouchi no Sukune in the era of Emperor Keikō proposed that they should subjugate Emishi of Hitakami no Kuni in eastern Japan. The first mention of Emishi from a source outside Japan was in the Chinese book of Song in 478 which referred to them as hairy people. The book refers to the 55 kingdoms of the people of the East as a report by King Bu—one of the Five kings of Wa
21.
Sengoku period
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The Sengoku period is a period in Japanese history marked by social upheaval, political intrigue and near-constant military conflict. Japanese historians named it after the otherwise unrelated Warring States period in China and it came to an end when all political power was unified under the Tokugawa shogunate. In the years preceding this era the Shogunate gradually lost influence, many of these Lords began to fight uncontrollably with each other for control over land and influence over the shogunate. As trade with China grew, the developed, and the use of money became widespread as markets. This, combined with developments in agriculture and small-scale trading, led to the desire for local autonomy throughout all levels of the social hierarchy. As early as the beginning of the 15th century, the caused by earthquakes and famines often served to trigger armed uprisings by farmers weary of debt. The Ōnin War, a conflict rooted in economic distress and brought on by a dispute over succession, is generally regarded as the onset of the Sengoku period. The eastern army of the Hosokawa family and its allies clashed with the army of the Yamana. Fighting in and around Kyoto lasted for nearly 11 years, leaving the city almost completely destroyed, the conflict in Kyoto then spread to outlying provinces. The period culminated with a series of three warlords, Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu, who gradually unified Japan, after Tokugawa Ieyasus final victory at the siege of Osaka in 1615, Japan settled down into several centuries of peace under the Tokugawa Shogunate. The Ōnin War in 1467 is usually considered the point of Sengoku period. There are several events which could be considered the end of it, The Siege of Odawara, the Battle of Sekigahara, the upheaval resulted in the further weakening of central authority, and throughout Japan regional lords, called daimyōs, rose to fill the vacuum. There were many, however, whose positions eroded and were usurped by more capable underlings. One of the earliest instances of this was Hōjō Sōun, who rose from humble origins. Building on the accomplishments of Sōun, the Late Hōjō clan remained a power in the Kantō region until its subjugation by Toyotomi Hideyoshi late in the Sengoku period. Well-organized religious groups also gained power at this time by uniting farmers in resistance. The monks of the Buddhist True Pure Land sect formed numerous Ikkō-ikki and this in turn provided Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who had risen through the ranks from ashigaru to become one of Odas most trusted generals, with the opportunity to establish himself as Odas successor. Toyotomi eventually consolidated his control over the remaining daimyōs and, although he was ineligible for the title of Seii Taishogun because of his common birth, during his short reign as Kampaku, Toyotomi attempted two invasions of Korea
22.
Cast iron
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Cast iron is a group of iron-carbon alloys with a carbon content greater than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its low melting temperature. Carbon ranging from 1. 8–4 wt%, and silicon 1–3 wt% are the main alloying elements of cast iron, Iron alloys with less carbon content are known as steel. While this technically makes the Fe–C–Si system ternary, the principle of cast iron solidification can be understood from the simpler binary iron–carbon phase diagram, cast iron tends to be brittle, except for malleable cast irons. It is resistant to destruction and weakening by oxidation, the earliest cast iron artefacts date to the 5th century BC, and were discovered by archaeologists in what is now Jiangsu in China. Cast iron was used in ancient China for warfare, agriculture, during the 15th century, cast iron became utilized for artillery in Burgundy, France, and in England during the Reformation. The first cast iron bridge was built during the 1770s by Abraham Darby III, cast iron is also used in the construction of buildings. Cast iron is made by re-melting pig iron, often along with quantities of iron, steel, limestone, carbon. Phosphorus and sulfur may be burnt out of the iron, but this also burns out the carbon. Depending on the application, carbon and silicon content are adjusted to the desired levels, other elements are then added to the melt before the final form is produced by casting. Cast iron is melted in a special type of blast furnace known as a cupola. After melting is complete, the molten cast iron is poured into a furnace or ladle. Cast irons properties are changed by adding various alloying elements, or alloyants, next to carbon, silicon is the most important alloyant because it forces carbon out of solution. A low percentage of silicon allows carbon to remain in solution forming iron carbide, a high percentage of silicon forces carbon out of solution forming graphite and the production of grey cast iron. Other alloying agents, manganese, chromium, molybdenum, titanium and vanadium counteracts silicon, promotes the retention of carbon, nickel and copper increase strength, and machinability, but do not change the amount of graphite formed. The carbon in the form of graphite results in an iron, reduces shrinkage, lowers strength. Sulfur, largely a contaminant when present, forms iron sulfide, the problem with sulfur is that it makes molten cast iron viscous, which causes defects. To counter the effects of sulfur, manganese is added because the two form into manganese sulfide instead of iron sulfide, the manganese sulfide is lighter than the melt so it tends to float out of the melt and into the slag
23.
Teapot
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A teapot is a vessel used for steeping tea leaves or an herbal mix in boiling or near-boiling water, and for serving the resulting infusion which is called tea. Teapots usually have an opening with a lid at their top, where the dry tea and hot water are added, a handle for holding by hand, some teapots have a strainer built-in on the inner edge of the spout. A small air hole in the lid is often created to stop the spout from dripping and splashing when tea is poured. In modern times, a cover called a tea cosy may be used to enhance the steeping process or to prevent the contents of the teapot from cooling too rapidly. The teapot was invented in China during the Yuan Dynasty and it was probably derived from ceramic kettles and wine pots, which were made of bronze and other metals and were a feature of Chinese life for thousands of years. Tea preparation during previous dynasties did not use a teapot, in the Tang Dynasty, a cauldron was used to boil ground tea, which was served in bowls. Song Dynasty tea was made by boiling water in a kettle then pouring the water into a bowl with finely ground tea leaves, a brush was then used to stir the tea. Written evidence of a teapot appears in the Yuan Dynasty text Jiyuan Conghua, by the Ming Dynasty, teapots were widespread in China. The earliest example of a teapot that has survived to this day seems to be the one in the Flagstaff House Museum of Teaware, it has been dated to 1513 and is attributed to Gongchun. Early teapots are small by western standards because they are designed for a single drinker. The size reflects the importance of serving single portions so that the flavours can be concentrated and controlled. From the end of the 17th century tea was shipped from China to Europe as part of the export of exotic spices, the ships that brought the tea also carried porcelain teapots. The majority of these teapots were painted in blue and white underglaze, porcelain, being completely vitrified, will withstand sea water without damage, so the teapots were packed below deck whilst the tea was stowed above deck to ensure that it remained dry. Tea drinking in Europe was initially the preserve of the upper classes, porcelain teapots were particularly desirable because porcelain could not be made in Europe at that time. It wasnt until 1708 that Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus devised a way of making porcelain in Dresden, Germany, when European potteries began to make their own tea wares they were inspired by the Chinese designs. In colonial America, Boston became the epicenter for silver production, among the many artists in Boston there were four major families in the citys silver market, Edwards, Revere, Burt and Hurd. Their works of art included silver teapots, to keep teapots hot after tea is first brewed, early English households employed the tea cosy, a padded fabric covering, much like a hat, that slips over the tea pot. Often decorated with lace or log cabin motifs in the early 1900s, a chocolate teapot is a teapot that would be made from chocolate
24.
Stove
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A stove is an enclosed space in which fuel is burned to provide heating, either to heat the space in which the stove is situated, or to heat the stove itself and items placed on it. This article is concerned with enclosed stoves burning solid fuels for room heating. A kitchen stove is used to cook food, a wood-burning stove or a coal stove is typically used for heating a dwelling. Enclosed stoves are efficient and prevents air from being sucked from the room into the chimney. Due to concerns about air pollution, efforts have made to improve stove design. Pellet stoves, for example are a type of clean-burning stove, air-tight stoves more completely combust wood and eliminate polluting combustion products. In the U. S. since 1992, all wood stoves being manufactured must limit particulate emission, the Old English word stofa meant any individual enclosed space, such as a room, and stove is still occasionally used in that sense, as in stoved in. In its earliest attestation, cooking was done by roasting meat, pottery and other cooking vessels may be placed directly on an open fire, but setting the vessel on a support, as simple as a base of three stones, resulted in a stove. The three-stone stove is still used around the world. In some areas it developed into a U-shaped dried mud or brick enclosure with the opening in the front for fuel and air, a kitchen stove, cooker, or cookstove is a kitchen appliance designed for the purpose of cooking food. Kitchen stoves rely on the application of heat for the cooking process. Traditionally these have been fueled by wood and one of the earliest recorded instances of a burning kitchen stove was the so-called stew stove. More modern versions such as the popular Rayburn Range offer a choice between using wood or gas as the fuel source, the most common stove for heating in the industrial world for almost a century and a half was the coal stove that burned coal. Coal stoves came in all sizes and shapes and different operating principles, coal burns at a much higher temperature than wood, and coal stoves must be constructed to withstand the high heat levels. A coal stove can burn wood or coal, but a wood stove cannot burn coal unless a grate is supplied. The grate may be removable or an extra and this is because coal stoves are fitted with a grate so allowing part of the combustion air to be admitted below the fire. The proportion of air admitted above/below the fire depends on the type of coal, brown coal and lignites evolve more combustible gases than say anthracite and so need more air above the fire. The ratio of air above/below the fire must be adjusted to enable complete combustion
25.
Winter
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Winter is the coldest season of the year in polar and temperate climates, between autumn and spring. Winter is caused by the axis of the Earth in that hemisphere being oriented away from the Sun, different cultures define different dates as the start of winter, and some use a definition based on weather. When it is winter in the Northern Hemisphere, it is summer in the Southern Hemisphere, in many regions, winter is associated with snow and freezing temperatures. The moment of winter solstice is when the elevation with respect to the North or South Pole is at its most negative value, meaning this day will have the shortest day. The English word winter comes from the Proto-Indo-European root wend, relating to water, the tilt of the Earths axis relative to its orbital plane plays a large role in the formation of weather. The Earth is tilted at an angle of 23. 44° to the plane of its orbit, when it is winter in the Northern Hemisphere, the Southern Hemisphere faces the Sun more directly and thus experiences warmer temperatures than the Northern Hemisphere. Conversely, winter in the Southern Hemisphere occurs when the Northern Hemisphere is tilted more toward the Sun, from the perspective of an observer on the Earth, the winter Sun has a lower maximum altitude in the sky than the summer Sun. During winter in either hemisphere, the altitude of the Sun causes the sunlight to hit that hemisphere at an oblique angle. In regions experiencing winter, the amount of solar radiation is spread out over a larger area. This effect is compounded by the distance that the light must travel through the atmosphere. Compared with these effects, the changes in the distance of the earth from the sun are negligible, the manifestation of the meteorological winter in the northerly snow–prone parallels is highly variable depending on elevation, position versus marine winds and the amount of precipitation. A case in point is Canada, a country associated with tough winters. Winnipeg on the Great Plains at a distance from large bodies of water has a January high of −11.3 °C. In comparison, Vancouver on the coast with an influence from moderating Pacific winds has a January low of 1.4 °C with days well above freezing at 6.9 °C. Both areas are on the 49th parallel north and in the western half of the continent. Winter is often defined by meteorologists to be the three months with the lowest average temperatures. This corresponds to the months of December, January and February in the Northern Hemisphere, the coldest average temperatures of the season are typically experienced in January or February in the Northern Hemisphere and in June, July or August in the Southern Hemisphere. Blizzards often develop and cause many transportation delays, diamond dust, also known as ice needles or ice crystals, forms at temperatures approaching −40 °F due to air with slightly higher moisture from aloft mixing with colder, surface based air
26.
Haiku
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Haiku listen is a very short form of Japanese poetry. It is typically characterised by 3 qualities, The essence of haiku is cutting, traditional haiku consist of 17 on, in three phrases of 5,7, and 5 on respectively. A kigo, usually drawn from a saijiki, an extensive, there is a common, although relatively recent, perception that the images juxtaposed must be directly observed everyday objects or occurrences. In Japanese, haiku are traditionally printed in a vertical line while haiku in English often appear in three lines to parallel the three phrases of Japanese haiku. Previously called hokku, haiku was given its current name by the Japanese writer Masaoka Shiki at the end of the 19th century, in Japanese haiku a kireji, or cutting word, typically appears at the end of one of the verses three phrases. A kireji fills a role analogous to a caesura in classical western poetry or to a volta in sonnets. The fundamental aesthetic quality of both hokku and haiku is that it is sufficient, independent of context, and will bear consideration as a complete work. The kireji lends the verse structural support, allowing it to stand as an independent poem, the kireji in the Bashō examples old pond and the wind of Mt Fuji are both ya. Neither the remaining Bashō example nor the Issa example contain a kireji although they do both balance a fragment in the first five on against a phrase in the remaining 12 on. In comparison with English verse typically characterized by syllabic meter, Japanese verse counts sound units known as on or morae, traditional haiku consist of 17 on, in three phrases of five, seven and five on respectively. Among contemporary poems teikei haiku continue to use the 5-7-5 pattern while jiyuritsu haiku do not, one of the examples below illustrates that traditional haiku masters were not always constrained by the 5-7-5 pattern. Although the word on is sometimes translated as syllable, one on is counted for a short syllable and this is illustrated by the Issa haiku below, which contains 17 on but only 15 syllables. Conversely, some sounds, such as kyo may look like two syllables to English speakers but are in fact a single on in Japanese, the word onji is sometimes used in referring to Japanese sound units in English although this word is no longer current in Japanese. In Japanese, each on corresponds to a character and hence ji is also sometimes used as the count unit. In 1973, the Haiku Society of America noted that the norm for writers of haiku in English was to use 17 syllables, some translators of Japanese poetry have noted that about 12 syllables in English approximate the duration of 17 Japanese on. Kigo are often in the form of metonyms and can be difficult for those who lack Japanese cultural references to spot, the Bashō examples below include kawazu, frog implying spring, and shigure, a rain shower in late autumn or early winter. Kigo are not always included in non-Japanese haiku or by writers of Japanese free-form haiku. Hokku is the opening stanza of an orthodox collaborative linked poem, or renga, by the time of Matsuo Bashō, the hokku had begun to appear as an independent poem, and was also incorporated in haibun, and haiga
27.
Oku no Hosomichi
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The text is written in the form of a prose and verse travel diary and was penned as Bashō made an epic and dangerous journey on foot through the Edo Japan of the late 17th century. While the poetic work became seminal of its own account, the travels in the text have since inspired many people to follow in his footsteps. In one of its most memorable passages, Bashō suggests that every day is a journey, the text was also influenced by the works of Du Fu, who was highly revered by Bashō. Of Oku no Hosomichi, Kenji Miyazawa once suggested, It was as if the soul of Japan had itself written it. Bashōs introductory sentences are the most quoted of Oku no Hosomichi, specifically, he was emulating Saigyō, whom Bashō praised as the greatest waka poet, Bashō made a point of visiting all the sites mentioned in Saigyōs verse. Travel in those days was very dangerous, but Bashō was committed to a kind of poetic ideal of wandering and he traveled for about 156 days altogether, covering almost 1,500 miles, mostly on foot. Of all of Bashōs works, this is the best known and this poetic diary is in the form known as haibun, a combination of prose and haiku. It contains many references to Confucius, Saigyō, Du Fu, ancient Chinese poetry and it manages to strike a delicate balance between all the elements to produce a powerful account. It is primarily an account, and Bashō vividly relates the unique poetic essence of each stop in his travels. Stops on his journey include the Tokugawa shrine at Nikkō, the Shirakawa barrier, the islands of Matsushima, Hiraizumi, Sakata, Kisakata, and Etchū. He and Sora parted at Yamanaka, but at Ōgaki he briefly met up with a few of his other disciples before departing again to the Ise Shrine, after his journey, he spent five years working and reworking the poems and prose of Oku no Hosomichi before publishing it. Based on differences between versions of the account, Soras diary, and the final version, it is clear that Bashō took a number of artistic liberties in the writing. Bashō similarly includes in Oku no Hosomichi a tale of him having an exchange with prostitutes staying in the same inn, nobuyuki Yuasa notes that Bashō studied Zen meditation under the guidance of the Priest Buccho, though it is uncertain whether Bashō ever attained enlightenment. The Japanese Zen scholar D. T, suzuki has described Bashōs philosophy in writing poetry as one requiring that both subject and object were entirely annihilated in meditative experience. He had to cast this self away, for otherwise he was not able to restore his true identity. Yuasa notes The Narrow Road to the Deep North is Bashōs study in eternity, the Narrow Road to the Deep North and Other Travel Sketches. The Narrow Road Through the Provinces, berkeley, University of California Press,1969. The Narrow Road to the Interior, Narrow Road to the Interior and other writings
28.
Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster
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The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster was an energy accident at the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant in Fukushima, initiated primarily by the tsunami following the Tōhoku earthquake on 11 March 2011. Immediately after the earthquake, the reactors automatically shut down their sustained fission reactions. However, the disabled the emergency generators that would have provided power to control. The insufficient cooling led to three nuclear meltdowns, hydrogen-air chemical explosions, and the release of material in Units 1,2 and 3 from 12 March to 15 March. Loss of cooling also caused the pool for storing spent fuel from Reactor 4 to overheat on 15 March due to the heat from the fuel rods. On 12 October 2012, TEPCO admitted for the first time that it had failed to take measures for fear of inviting lawsuits or protests against its nuclear plants. However, an estimated 1,600 deaths are believed to have occurred due to the resultant evacuation conditions, There are no clear plans for decommissioning the plant, but the plant management estimate is 30 or 40 years. Radiation levels of about 650 sieverts per hour have been detected in the containment vessel of reactor No.2, the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant comprised six separate boiling water reactors originally designed by General Electric and maintained by the Tokyo Electric Power Company. At the time of the Tōhoku earthquake on 11 March 2011, however, their spent fuel pools still required cooling. As the reactors were unable to power to run their own coolant pumps, emergency diesel generators came online, as designed, to power electronics. These operated nominally until the destroyed the generators for reactors 1–5. The largest tsunami wave was 13 meters high and hit 50 minutes after the earthquake, overwhelming the plants seawall. The moment of impact was recorded by a camera, water quickly flooded the low-lying rooms in which the emergency generators were housed. The flooded diesel generators failed soon afterwards, resulting in a loss of power to the coolant water pumps. The fuel rods would become hot enough to melt during the decay time period if an adequate heat sink was not available. After the secondary emergency pumps ran out, one day after the tsunami,12 March, the pumps stopped. The insufficient cooling led to meltdowns in reactors 1,2, and 3. It is estimated that the hot zirconium fuel cladding-water reaction in reactors 1–3 produced 800 to 1000 kilograms of hydrogen gas each
29.
Holy See
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The Holy See, also referred to as the See of Rome, is the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, the episcopal see of the Pope, and an independent sovereign entity. It serves as the point of reference for the Catholic Church everywhere. Today, it is responsible for the governance of all Catholics, organised in their Particular Churches, Patriarchates, as an independent sovereign entity, holding the Vatican City enclave in Rome as sovereign territory, it maintains diplomatic relations with other states. Diplomatically, the Holy See acts and speaks for the whole church and it is also recognised by other subjects of international law as a sovereign entity, headed by the Pope, with which diplomatic relations can be maintained. The creation of the Vatican City state was meant to ensure the diplomatic, in Greek, the adjective holy or sacred is constantly applied to all such sees as a matter of course. The word see comes from the Latin word sedes, meaning seat, while Saint Peters basilica in Vatican City is perhaps the church most associated with the Papacy, the actual cathedral of the Holy See is the church of Saint John Lateran within the city of Rome. The Pope governs the Catholic Church through the Roman Curia, the Secretariat of State, under the Cardinal Secretary of State, directs and coordinates the Curia. The incumbent, Archbishop Pietro Parolin, is the Sees equivalent of a prime minister, Archbishop Paul Gallagher, Secretary of the Section for Relations with States of the Secretariat of State, acts as the Holy Sees minister of foreign affairs. Parolin was named in his role by Pope Francis On 31 August 2013, mamberti was named in his role by Pope Benedict XVI in September 2006. The Secretariat of State is the body of the Curia that is situated within Vatican City. The others are in buildings in different parts of Rome that have rights similar to those of embassies. The Roman Rota handles normal judicial appeals, the most numerous being those that concern alleged nullity of marriage and it also oversees the work of other ecclesiastical tribunals at all levels. The most important of these is the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See, the Prefecture of the Papal Household is responsible for the organization of the papal household, audiences, and ceremonies. The Holy See does not dissolve upon a Popes death or resignation and it instead operates under a different set of laws sede vacante. The government of the See, and therefore of the Catholic Church, canon law prohibits the College and the Camerlengo from introducing any innovations or novelties in the government of the Church during this period. In 2001, the Holy See had a revenue of 422.098 billion Italian lire, the Guardian newspaper described Mennini and his role in the following manner. Paolo Mennini, who is in effect the popes merchant banker, Mennini heads a special unit inside the Vatican called the extraordinary division of APSA – Amministrazione del Patrimonio della Sede Apostolica – which handles the patrimony of the Holy See. The Holy See has been recognized, both in practice and in the writing of modern legal scholars, as a subject of public international law, with rights
30.
Luis Sotelo
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Blessed Luis Sotelo, also known as Louis Sotelo, was a Franciscan friar who died as a martyr in Japan, in 1624, and was beatified by Pope Pius IX in 1867. Luis was born in Sevilla, Spain, and studied at the University of Salamanca before entering the convent of Calvario de los Hermanos Menores. He was sent, in 1600, to the Philippines, in order to take on the needs of the Japanese settlement of Dilao, until it was destroyed by Spanish forces, in 1608. In 1608, Pope Paul V authorized minor religious orders to proselytize in Japan, Sotelo spent four years in Manila, learning the Japanese language before going to Japan and taking a leading role there. Luis tried to establish a Franciscan church in the area of Edo, the church was destroyed in 1612, following the interdiction of Christianity in the territories of the Tokugawa shogunate on April 21,1612. This decree started the persecution of Christians, which lasted several decades. He came back to Tokyo the following year and constructed and inaugurated a new church on May 12,1613, the Bakufu reacted by arresting the Christians, and Luis himself was put in the Kodenma-chō prison. Seven fellow Japanese Christians, who had been arrested with Luis, were executed on July 1, Luis, fluent in Japanese, planned and acted as translator on a Japanese embassy sent by Date Masamune to Spain on October 28,1613. The embassy was headed by Hasekura Rokuemon Tsunenaga, and crossed the Pacific to Acapulco on board the Japanese-built galleon San Juan Bautista, the embassy continued to Veracruz and Sanlucar de Barrameda, Seville, and Madrid. Luis had the Japanese receive baptism in Madrid, before accompanying them to see Pope Paul V in Rome. Pope Paul V had appointed him as such, pending the approval of the King of Spain, however, the Catholic Council of the Indies sent him back to Nueva España in 1618, to pursue his missionary activities there. Most of the Japanese samurai sent with the mission, who had converted to Christianity, remained at Coria del Río, near Seville, the ambassadors plan to return to Sendai from Manila was obstructed first by pirates and contrary winds. He finally managed to enter Japan in 1622 and was turned over to the authorities by Chinese merchants when he was discovered on their ship and he was imprisoned for two years at Ōmura, north of Nagasaki, while the Shogun deliberated on his case. In the local prison, he joined Pedro Vásquez OP, Miguel de Carvalho SJ, Luis was burned at the stake in Ōmura, on 25 August 1624, at the age of 50, together with his religious companions. He was beatified by Pope Pius IX on 7 July 1867, in the Roman Catholic Church, his feast day is celebrated on 25 August, as well as 10 September, the anniversary of the massacre of 205 Japanese martyrs. “The Christian century in Japan 1549-1650” C. R, boxer ISBN 1-85754-035-2 Histoire de la Religion Chrétienne au Japon depuis 1598 jusqu’a 1651… by Léon Pagès,1869. Historia del regno di Voxu del Giapone… Rome, G. Mascardi
31.
Hasekura Tsunenaga
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Hasekura Rokuemon Tsunenaga was a Roman noble of Japanese imperial descent with ancestral ties to Emperor Kanmu and a Japanese samurai and retainer of Date Masamune, the daimyō of Sendai. In the years 1613 through 1620, Hasekura headed a mission to the Vatican in Rome, traveling through New Spain. This historic mission is called the Keichō Embassy, and follows the Tenshō embassy of 1582, on the return trip, Hasekura and his companions re-traced their route across Mexico in 1619, sailing from Acapulco for Manila, and then sailing north to Japan in 1620. He is conventionally considered the first Japanese ambassador in the Americas, although Hasekuras embassy was cordially received in Europe, it happened at a time when Japan was moving toward the suppression of Christianity. European monarchs such as the King of Spain thus refused the trade agreements Hasekura had been seeking, Hasekura returned to Japan in 1620 and died of illness a year later, his embassy seemingly ending with few results in an increasingly isolationist Japan. Japans next embassy to Europe would only occur more than 200 years later, little is known of the early life of Hasekura Tsunenaga. According to Date Sejin Kafu, he was of Japanese imperial descent and had ties with Emperor Kanmu. He was a noble samurai in the Sendai Domain in northern Japan. He spent his young adulthood at the scenic Kamitate Castle that was constructed in Hasekura Ward, Kawasaki City, Miyagi Prefecture, the place of origin of the family name Hasekura was Hasekura Village, now Hasekura Ward in Kawasaki City. Hasekura and Date Masamune were of roughly the age. It is also recorded that Hasekura served as a samurai during the Japanese invasion of Korea under the Taikō Toyotomi Hideyoshi, in 1612, Hasekuras father, Hasekura Tsunenari, was indicted for corruption, and he was put to death in 1613. His fief was confiscated, and his son should normally have been executed as well, Date, however, gave him the opportunity to redeem his honour by placing him in charge of the Embassy to Europe, and soon gave him back his territories as well. The Spanish started trans-Pacific voyages between New Spain and the Philippines in 1565, the famous Manila galleons carried silver from Mexican mines westward to the entrepôt of Manila in the Spanish possession of the Philippines. There, the silver was used to purchase spices and trade goods gathered from throughout Asia, Spanish ships were periodically shipwrecked on the coasts of Japan due to bad weather, initiating contacts with the country. The Spanish wished to expand the Christian faith in Japan, however, some Japanese, such as Christopher and Cosmas, are known to have crossed the Pacific onboard Spanish galleons as early as 1587. It is known that gifts were exchanged between the governor of the Philippines and Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who thanks him in a 1597 letter, writing The black elephant in particular I found most unusual. In 1609, the Spanish Manila galleon San Francisco encountered bad weather on its way from Manila to Acapulco, the sailors were rescued and welcomed, and the ships captain, Rodrigo de Vivero, former interim governor of the Philippines, met with the retired shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu. Vizcaino arrived in Japan in 1611 and had meetings with the Shogun
32.
Date Masamune
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Date Masamune was a regional strongman of Japans Azuchi–Momoyama period through early Edo period. Heir to a line of powerful daimyōs in the Tōhoku region. An outstanding tactician, he was all the more iconic for his missing eye. As a legendary warrior and leader, Masamune is a character in a number of Japanese period dramas and he was played by Ken Watanabe in the popular 1987 NHK series Dokuganryū Masamune. Date Masamune was the eldest son of Date Terumune, born in Yonezawa Castle, at the age of 14 in 1581 Masamune led his first campaign, helping his father fight the Sōma family. In 1584, at the age of 17, Masamune succeeded his father, Terumune, Masamunes army was recognized by its black armor and golden headgear. Masamune is known for a few things that made him out from other daimyōs of the time. In particular, his famous crescent-moon-bearing helmet won him a fearsome reputation, as a child, smallpox robbed him of sight in his right eye, though it is unclear exactly how he lost the organ entirely. Various theories behind the eyes condition exist, some sources say he plucked out the eye himself when a senior member of the clan pointed out that an enemy could grab it in a fight. Others say that he had his trusted retainer Katakura Kojūrō gouge out the eye for him, the Date clan had built alliances with neighboring clans through marriages over previous generations, but local disputes remained commonplace. Shortly after Masamunes succession in 1584, a Date retainer named Ōuchi Sadatsuna defected to the Ashina clan of the Aizu region, Masamune declared war on Ōuchi and the Ashina for this betrayal, and started a campaign to hunt down Sadatsuna. Formerly amicable alliances were cast aside as he began to attack and conquer the lands of Sadatsunas allies in pursuit, even those of his kin in Mutsu and Dewa Provinces. In the winter of 1585, one of allies, Hatakeyama Yoshitsugu, felt defeat was approaching. Masamune agreed to accept the surrender, but on the condition that the Hatakeyama give up most of their territory to the Date. This resulted in Yoshitsugu kidnapping Masamunes father Terumune during their meeting in Miyamori Castle, the incident ended with both Yoshitsugu and Terumune killed as the fleeing Hatakeyama party clashed with the pursuing Date troops near the Abukuma River. Various records of the event exist, although they present different accounts of its circumstances, the Date fought many battles with their neighbours afterwards, including the Battle of Hitotoribashi in 1585. After defeating the Ashina at the Battle of Suriagehara in 1589, in 1590, Toyotomi Hideyoshi seized Odawara Castle and compelled the Tōhoku-region daimyōs to participate in the campaign. Although Masamune refused Hideyoshis demands at first, he had no choice in the matter since Hideyoshi was the virtual ruler of Japan
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Date clan
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The Date clan is a Japanese samurai kin group. Though not gaining the fame or power of the likes of Oda Nobunaga, Uesugi Kenshin, or Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Date Masamune contributed in particular to this effort, consolidating the families of the north into alliances against the major warlords. In 1589, Masamune seized the Aizu Domain of the Ashina, however, the following year, Hideyoshi triumphed over the Hōjo of Odawara, and Hideyoshi then obliged Masamune to be content with the fief of Yonezawa. Masamune ultimately gained some degree of independence by supporting Tokugawa Ieyasu, Ieyasu granted the Date much of the north, and yet the Date were not fully trusted. Despite the Date contribution of reinforcements for the Tokugawa during the battle of Sekigahara, the Date were viewed as a threat. In the Edo period, the Date were identified as one of the tozama or outsider clans, in 1600, Ieyasu charged the Date to fight against Uesugi Kagekatsu, and, with the assistance of Mogami Yoshiteru, Masamunes forces defeated Naoe Kanetsugu. In recognition of this success in battle, Masamune was granted the fiefs in twelve districts which had held until that time by the Uesugi clan. The Date established themselves at Sendai, in 1660, Date Tsunamune was arrested in Edo, for drunkenness and debauchery, the charges were generally believed to have been true. Tsunamune was condemned to excavate the moats which encircled the shoguns Edo Castle, in 1660, he was ordered to supervise and pay for enhancing the north-east moat running from Megane-bashi to the Ushigome gate. The initial charges of living are now believed to have been encouraged heavily by certain vassals. Thus, Tsunamura became daimyo, under the guardianship of his uncles, Date Munekatsu, the episode that followed is so complex and dramatic as to warrant becoming a well-known story known as the Date Sōdō and a theatrical play as well. One retainer in particular, Harada Munesuke, was a supporter of Tsunamura and his uncles and, it is said, at one point, Aki came upon Harada waiting to meet with some of the officials, and Aki began shouting insults. Swords were then drawn, and Aki was killed, Harada was killed moments after, by the officials or their guards. The official verdict was that Harada drew first, the Harada family was disbanded and though Tsunamura was affirmed as the proper daimyo, his uncles were punished. Though the Date are most well known for their power in the north, Date Hidemune, the tozama Date clan originated during the 12th century in Shimōsa Province. They claim descent from the Fujiwara clan, from the early 17th century until 1868, the Date continued to hold Sendai Domain in Mutsu province. The head of this Senior clan line was ennobled as an hereditary Count in the Meiji period and this senior branch of the Date produced a nominal offshoot or side branch. Date Tadamune, a son of Masamune, produced more than one son, tadamunes second son, Muneyoshi, revived the name of Tamura, an ancient Mutsu family name which had been relinquished by Masamune
34.
Sendai Domain
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Sendai Domain was a Japanese domain of the Edo period. Most of its holdings were contiguous, covering all of present-day Miyagi Prefecture, small portions of southern Iwate Prefecture, the domains capital, and the ruling familys castle, were located in what became the modern Sendai City. Its jitsudaka, or true income level, is said to have somewhere between one and two million koku. Sendai was the point of the Ouetsu Reppan Domei during the Boshin War. Unlike the nearby Aizu domain, Sendai survived the war largely intact and it was disbanded with the other domains in 1873. The Sendai domain was founded in the years of the 16th century. Upon entry into his new fief, Masamune took up residence in Iwadeyama Castle, the name of Sendai at this time was written 千代, however, Masamune changed it to 仙臺 (Later changed to the current 仙台）. A relief sculpture on the base of Masamunes equestrian statue in Sendai Castle commemorates his entry into the city, a list of the lords of Sendai follows below, in chronological order, Date Masamune, r. 1841-1868 Date Munemoto, r.1868 Munemoto ruled briefly as the 14th and final lord of Sendai in 1868, when the domain was abolished. He thus became the first imperial governor of Sendai, serving until 1870, and was succeeded by a cousin, Date Muneatsu, the Sendai domain, like many other domains across the country, had its political center in its castle town. However, some retainers had their personal landholdings scattered throughout the domains territory and their presence provided a secondary, more local level of supervision. Certain of the retainers of Sendai even separated from the main domain. Mizusawa Domain was one such short-lived subdomain, the Ichinoseki Domain, ruled by the Tamura family, was another subdomain, and survived to the end of the Edo period. There were eleven main ranks into which the retainers of the Sendai domain were divided, ichimon 一門, blood relations of the Date clan. Held prestige but no political or administrative role. Ikka 一家, The families who ran much of the high-level day-to-day affairs of the Date clan, jun ikka 準一家, Families who had lost their heads or had been incapacitated due to internal strife in the Date clan. Ichizoku 一族, Fudai retainers of the Date clan, chakuza 着 座, Retainers who had the right to report to the castle and present the lord with a sword and stirrups for new years celebrations, and in return receive a cup of sake from the lord. This rank was founded after Date Masamunes tenure as lord, tachi-jō 太刀上, Retainers who had the right to present the lord with a sword at new years festivities, and in return received a cup of sake from the lord
35.
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
36.
Oda Nobunaga
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Oda Nobunaga was a powerful Daimyō of Japan in the late 16th century who attempted to unify Japan during the late Sengoku period. Nobunaga is regarded as one of three unifiers of Japan along with his retainers Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu, Nobunaga was widely known as one of the most brutal figures in history, eliminating anyone who stood in his way. He was both a ruler and keen businessman, strategizing at both the micro- and macroeconomic scales. He met his demise when his retainer Akechi Mitsuhide rebelled against him at Honnō-ji, Oda Nobunaga was the first for whom this goal seemed attainable. Nobunaga had gained control over most of Honshu before his death during the 1582 Honnō-ji incident and it is not certain whether Nobunaga was killed in the attack or else committed seppuku. The motivations behind Mitsuhides betrayal was never revealed to anyone who survived the incident, following the incident, Akechi Mitsuhide declared himself master over Nobunagas domains, but was quickly defeated by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who regained control of and greatly expanded the Oda holdings. Oda Nobunaga was born on June 23,1534, in the Owari domain and he was the second son of Oda Nobuhide, a deputy shugo with land holdings in Owari Province. He is said to have born in Nagoya Castle, although this is subject to debate. Through his childhood and early years, he was well known for his bizarre behavior. He was known to run around with other youths from the area, with the introduction of firearms into Japan, however, he became known for his fondness of tanegashima firearms. In 1551, Oda Nobuhide died unexpectedly, Nobunaga was said to have acted outrageously during his funeral, throwing ceremonial incense at the altar. This convinced many Oda retainers of Nobunagas mediocrity and lack of discipline, alienated, they then began to side with his soft-spoken and well-mannered brother, Nobuyuki. Hirate Masahide, a mentor and retainer to Nobunaga, was ashamed by Nobunagas behavior. This had an effect on Nobunaga, who later built a temple to honor Masahide. Although Nobunaga was Nobuhides legitimate successor, the Oda clan was divided into factions. Oda Nobutomo, the deceased Nobuhides brother and deputy to the shugo, used the weak Yoshimune as his puppet, Nobutomo murdered Yoshimune when it was discovered that he supported and attempted to aid Nobunaga. This also ensured that the Imagawa clan would have to stop attacking Owaris borders, although Nobuyuki and his supporters were still at large, Nobunaga brought an army to Mino Province to aid Saitō Dōsan after Dōsans son, Saitō Yoshitatsu, turned against him. The campaign failed, as Dōsan was killed in the Battle of Nagara-gawa, a few months later Nobuyuki, with support from Shibata Katsuie and Hayashi Hidesada, rebelled against Nobunaga
37.
Matsushima
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Matsushima is a group of islands in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. There are some 260 tiny islands covered in pines – hence the name – and is ranked as one of the Three Views of Japan, nearby cultural properties include Zuigan-ji, Entsū-in, Kanrantei, and the Satohama shell mound. There are four well-known spots to view the Matsushima, known as the Magnificent View, Beautiful View, Enchanting View, tourists can view the islands from up close on cruise boats. The town is only a distance from prefectural capital Sendai and is easily accessible by train. Matsushima-Kaigan Station is near the attractions such as Zuiganji and the waterfront, Matsushima Station, on a separate line is on the opposite side of the town. Despite the proximity of Matsushima to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, the initial tsunami was 3.2 meters with the second 3.8 meters. Electricity was restored by March 18, water fully restored by April 16th, nevertheless,3 people were confirmed killed in Matsushima with 18 killed while out of town. List of Special Places of Scenic Beauty, Special Historic Sites and Special Natural Monuments
38.
Sendai
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Sendai is the capital city of Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, and the largest city in the Tōhoku region, and the second largest city north of Tokyo. In 2010, the city had a population of one million, the city was founded in 1600 by the daimyō Date Masamune, and is nicknamed the City of Trees, there are about 60 zelkova trees on Jōzenji Street and Aoba Street. In the summer, the Sendai Tanabata Festival, the largest Tanabata festival in Japan, is held, in winter, the trees are decorated with thousands of lights for the Pageant of Starlight, lasting through most of December. On March 11,2011, coastal areas of the city suffered damage from a magnitude 9.0 offshore earthquake which triggered a destructive tsunami. Although the Sendai area was inhabited as early as 20,000 years ago, the history of Sendai as a city begins from 1600, Masamune was not happy with his previous stronghold, Iwadeyama. Iwadeyama was located to the north of his territories and was difficult to access from Edo. Sendai was a location, being in the centre of Masamunes newly defined territories, upon a major road from Edo. Tokugawa Ieyasu gave Masamune permission to build a new castle in Aoba-yama, the previous ruler of the Sendai area had used a castle located on Aobayama. At this time Sendai was written as 千代, because a temple with a thousand Buddha statues used to be located in Aobayama, Masamune changed the kanji to 仙臺, which later became 仙台. The kanji came from a Chinese poem that praised a palace created by the Emperor Wen of Han China, tradition says that Masamune chose this kanji so that the castle would prosper as long as a mountain inhabited by an immortal hermit. Masamune ordered the construction of Sendai Castle in December 1600 and the construction of the town of Sendai in 1601, the grid plan roads in present-day central Sendai are based upon his plans. The first railway line between Sendai and Tokyo, now the Tōhoku Main Line, opened in 1887, bringing the area within a days travel from Tokyo for the first time in history. Tohoku Imperial University, the regions first university, was founded in Sendai in 1907, Sendai was incorporated as a city on 1 April 1889, as a result of the abolition of the han system. At the time of incorporation the citys area was 17.45 square kilometres, the city grew, however, through seven annexations that occurred between 1928 and 1988. The city became a city on 1 April 1989, the citys population exceeded one million in 1999. Sendai was considered to be one of Japans greenest cities, mostly because of its numbers of trees. Sendai became known as The City of Trees before the Meiji Restoration, as a result, many houses, temples, and shrines in central Sendai had household forests, which were used as resources for wood and other everyday materials. In 1925, the Senseki Line to Sendai Station became the first underground railway segment in Japan, the 2nd Infantry Division was known as the Sendai Division as it was based in Sendai, and recruited locally
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Granary
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A granary is a storehouse or room in a barn for threshed grain or animal feed. Ancient or primitive granaries are most often out of pottery. Granaries are often built above the ground to keep the food away from mice. From ancient times grain has been stored in bulk, the oldest granaries yet found date back to 9500 BC and are located in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A settlements in the Jordan Valley. The first were located in places between other buildings, however beginning around 8500 BC, they were moved inside houses, and by 7500 BC storage occurred in special rooms. The first granaries measured 3 x 3 m on the outside and had suspended floors that protected the grain from rodents and insects and these granaries are followed by those in Mehrgarh in the Indus Valley from 6000 BC. The ancient Egyptians made a practice of preserving grain in years of plenty against years of scarcity, the climate of Egypt being very dry, grain could be stored in pits for a long time without discernible loss of quality. The silo pit, as it has termed, has been a favorite way of storing grain from time immemorial in all oriental lands. In Turkey and Persia, usurers used to buy up wheat or barley when comparatively cheap, in Malta a relatively large stock of wheat was preserved in some hundreds of pits cut in the rock. A single silo stored from 60 to 80 tons of wheat, in the archaeological vernacular of Northeast Asia, these features are lumped with those that may have also functioned as residences and together are called raised floor buildings. In vernacular architecture of Indonesian archipelago granaries are made of wood and bamboo materials, examples of Indonesian granary is Sundanese leuit and Minang rangkiang. In Great Britain small granaries were built on mushroom shaped stumps called staddle stones and they were built of timber frame construction and often had slate roofs. Larger ones were similar to linhays, but with the upper floor enclosed, access to the first floor was usually via stone staircase on the outside wall. Towards the close of the 19th century, warehouses specially intended for holding grain began to multiply in Great Britain, there are climatic difficulties in the way of storing grain in Great Britain on a large scale, but these difficulties have been largely overcome. Modern grain farming operations often use manufactured steel granaries to store grain on-site until it can be trucked to major storage facilities in anticipation of shipping, the large mechanized facilities, particularly seen in Russia and North America are known as grain elevators. Grain must be away from moisture for as long as possible to preserve it in good condition. Newly harvested grain brought into a granary tends to contain excess moisture, fermentation generally spoils grain and may cause chemical changes that create poisonous mycotoxins. One traditional remedy is to spread the grain in thin layers on a floor, once the grain is sufficiently dry it can be transferred to a granary for storage
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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
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Yokohama
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Yokohama is the second largest city in Japan by population and most populous municipality of Japan. It is the city of Kanagawa Prefecture. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the island of Honshu. It is a commercial hub of the Greater Tokyo Area. Yokohamas population of 3.7 million makes it Japans largest city after the Special Wards of Tokyo, Yokohama was a small fishing village up to the end of the feudal Edo period, when Japan held a policy of national seclusion, having little contact with foreigners. It was initially agreed that one of the ports to be opened to ships would be the bustling town of Kanagawa-juku on the Tōkaidō. However, the Tokugawa shogunate decided that Kanagawa-juku was too close to the Tōkaidō for comfort, the Port of Yokohama was officially opened on June 2,1859. Yokohama quickly became the base of trade in Japan. Kannai, the trade and commercial district, was surrounded by a moat. To protect British commercial and diplomatic interests in Yokohama a military garrison was established in 1862, with the growth in trade increasing numbers of Chinese also came to settle in the city. Recreational sports introduced to Japan by foreign residents in Yokohama included European style horse racing in 1862, cricket in 1863, after the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the port was developed for trading silk, the main trading partner being Great Britain. In 1887, a British merchant, Samuel Cocking, built the citys first power plant, at first for his own use, this coal-burning plant became the basis for the Yokohama Cooperative Electric Light Company. The city was incorporated on April 1,1889. The early 20th century was marked by growth of industry. Entrepreneurs built factories along reclaimed land to the north of the city toward Kawasaki, much of Yokohama was destroyed on September 1,1923 by the Great Kantō earthquake. The Yokohama police reported casualties at 30,771 dead and 47,908 injured, fuelled by rumours of rebellion and sabotage, vigilante mobs thereupon murdered many Koreans in the Kojiki-yato slum. Many people believed that Koreans used black magic to cause the earthquake, martial law was in place until November 19. Rubble from the quake was used to land for parks
This article incorporates public domain material from the Library of Congress Country Studies website http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/.—Japan
This article incorporates 
Tōhoku region travel guide from Wikivoyage
