Japan

By: Mrs. Clinton

Geography and Climate 374,774 sq km of land Northeast of

Asia Slightly smaller than California Mostly tropical climate but is cooler

in the North Terrain is mostly mountains Lowest point: Hachiro gata at 4 m Highest point: Mt. Fugji at 3, 776 m Main Natural Resources: Fish

Flag of Japan

Map Long Island Made up of

Prefectures. Capital is Tokyo

Art Japanese art includes

stoneware ceramics, paints, and tea-ceremony collections. The pictures are from the collection of Charles Lang Freer.

Music Music styles vary in

Japan from traditional to Western styles like rock and salsa.

One traditional style is called Gagaku May be performed as

instrumental May be performed

with dance.

The music you hear is Taiko, traditional drums,

by the group Kodo

Food Japanese food is known for dishes that are in season, have quality ingredients, and are displayed attractively.

Examples: Tempura is a classic dish of

deep fried vegetables or seafood. Gyudon is a beef dish with rich,

onions and a sweet sauce. Gyu means beef or cow and don means bowl. It may be hard to find this beef dish because of American beef import bans.

Tempura

Gyudon

Holidays

Holidays in Japan include: January 1- New Year Day (Ganjitsu) January 12 - Coming of Age Day (Seijin-no-Hi) April 29 - Green Day (Midori-no-Hi) May 3 - Constitution Day (Kempo Kinen-bi) May 5 - Children's Day (Kodomo-no-Hi) September 20 - Respect-for-the-Aged-Day (Keiro-

no-Hi) October 11 - Health and Sports Day (Taiku-no-Hi) November 3 - National Culture Day (Bunka-no-Hi) November 23 - Labour Thanksgiving Day (Kinro

Kansha-no-Hi) December 23 - Emperor's Birthday (Tenno Tanjo-

bi)

Children’s Day During this holiday families who

have boys go out and fly carp shaped streamers that stand on a poll as tall as a 3 story house. However, some girls also ask their families to fly kites.

Children don’t go to school on this holiday.

Boys wear a Gogatsu-ningyo which are dolls of famous warriors and other heroes.

Children eat kashiwamochi a rice cake, which is covered up with a leaf we can eat and filled with bean paste.

Streamers

Warrior Doll

Clothing Traditional Japanese clothes are called wafuku.

Other categories include: Kimono - meaning clothing or

things to wear is the basic Japanese clothing

Yukata - the summer kimono Nagajugan - undergarments Clothing Accessories - obi, shoes,

socks, etc. Haori - short silk jackets Michiyuki - Overcoats Hakama - Japanese pants Uchikake - most formal kimono Shiro-maku - wedding kimono

InterviewThis is an interview with

Veronica Clinton who visited Japan.

Cultural Comparison

Resources CIA World Fact Book https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-

factbook/geos/ja.html Ask Asia - http://www.askasia.org/teachers/sitemap.php#maps Asia Art Collections - http://www.asia.si.edu/collections/default.htm International Music - Japan –

http://www.american.edu/TED/hpages/intlmusic/asia.htm#r1 Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_Japan and http://

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_cuisine Japanese Children’s Festivals -

http://www.internet-at-work.com/hos_mcgrane/holidays/2_yuko.html Japanese Clothing - http://www.japanesekimono.com/japanese_clothing.htm

Asia Source - http://www.asiasource.org/events/asiaholidays.cfm#Japan

Hope you enjoyed the show!