Читать книгу All About Japan - Willamarie Moore - Страница 5

That means “Hello!” My name is Yuto. I am 10 years old, and I’m the oldest of the kids in my family. My younger sister is 6 years old, and she just started going to elementary school. We have a baby brother who was born last year.

At school, I’m in the 5th grade. Because we live in the country, our school is small— there are only 12 kids in my grade. And we have all been in school together ever since kindergarten, so we all know each other really well. (More about my school on page 27!)

School is okay. My favorite class is art, because I like drawing. I also like collecting bugs, especially the giant samurai beetles. I like drawing the different kinds of bugs I’ve found. I have created my own manga (comic strip) character, a samurai beetle who saves the world from destruction. (More about manga on page 55!)

That means “Nice to meet you!” My name is Momoka. I live with my parents in Tokyo, but we travel a lot, too. (Check out my favorite places, on page 13!) This year I turned 12 years old. My grandma calls me a “very active girl.” My favorite sport is skiing, which my whole family does in the winter, and in the summer, I love to swim.

I also take ballet lessons, shodo (calligraphy) lessons, and this year I’ve started going to juku (cram school) after school, to prepare for the entrance exams for junior high school. I guess my grandma is right: I have quite a busy life! (Learn more about a typical day in my life on page 24!)

I’m an only child. We live in a condo in a tall building in Tokyo. (Check out my bedroom on page 18!) My dad is a “salaryman.” He works for a big advertising company. My mom is a professor at Sophia University. (More about my family on page 25!)

Your Map of Japan

Japan is an island country. There are more than 3,000 islands stretching for 3,000 kilometers (1,864 miles) from north to south. The four main islands are Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu. The total area of the country is about the same as the country of Germany, or the U.S. state of California.

Japan is located in the part of the world called the “Ring of Fire,” so there are many hot springs, earthquakes, and volcanoes. 80% of the land is covered by mountains. Mt. Fuji is Japan’s tallest mountain. It is 3,776 meters (12,388 feet) tall.

Can you find these locations?Yuto lives here!Momoka lives here!

1. Okinawa is where Iriomote wildcats live.

2. Tropical fruits grow in Japan!

3. Mt. Aso is the largest active volcano in Japan.

4. Beppu is famous for its many hot springs.

5. The A-Bomb Dome in Hiroshima was the only building left standing in the area where the first atomic bomb exploded on August 6, 1945.

6. Miyajima is home to Itsukushima Shrine, whose famous torii (shrine gateway) appears to rise out of the sea at high tide.

7. Tottori’s sand dunes are great for hiking.

8. Kyoto has famous temples, like the Golden Pavilion.

9. Nara has tame deer you can feed.

10. Mt. Fuji is famous for its beauty. Its last eruption was in 1707.

11. Tokyo Sky Tree is Japan’s tallest man-made structure.

12. The famous snow monkeys love to bathe in the hot springs!

13. Historic gassho-style thatched-roof farmhouses helped protect villagers from the heavy snow in this region.

14. The city of Yokote is famous for the annual Kamakura Matsuri, the Japanese Igloo Festival!

15. The Seikan Tunnel, the longest underwater tunnel in the world, connects Honshu and Hokkaido.

16. In folklore, the crane is said to live for 1,000 years, so in Japan it’s a symbol for long life.

17. You don’t want to mess with the Hokkaido Brown Bear!

18. Ryuhyo (drift ice) in the Sea of Okhotsk attracts tourists.

Springtime Cherry Blossoms

Spring is the time for new beginnings. In April, the new school year starts for children. Companies start the new business year. And throughout most of Japan, the cherry blossoms bloom!

Sakura is the Japanese word for "cherry blossom". When the sakura are in full bloom, people make special visits to parks and other spots with many cherry trees. They enjoy picnicking under the beautiful blossoms, and sometimes sing their favorite songs with a portable karaoke machine!

This is one of the most well known traditional Japanese songs. It is often played on a koto, a traditional Japanese stringed instrument.

Writing Haiku Poems

Another favorite Japanese pastime is to make up poetry for the season. A haiku is a 17-syllable poem that references the season. There are a few basic rules for writing a proper haiku:

• The first line has 5 syllables.

• The second line has 7 syllables.

• The third line has 5 syllables.

• You must include a kigo, or “seasonal word,”

to symbolize which season you are writing about. For example: cherry blossoms indicate spring, cicadas mean summer, maple leaves mean fall, snow means winter.

What season is it now, where you are? Can you create a haiku to express your feelings about it? Here is an example to inspire you, by the Japanese poet Issa...

Nara is famous for the deer that wander around in the large park area where many historic buildings are. On your way to visit the temples, you can pet the deer and feed them special rice crackers.

The largest Buddha statue in the world is inside the Great Buddha Hall of Todai-ji Temple. The Buddha is 15 meters (49.2 feet) tall and it weighs about 300 tons! One fun thing for kids is to crawl through a hole at the base of a pillar behind the statue. They say the hole is exactly the same size as the Great Buddha’s nostril, and that if you crawl through it, you will be healthy and happy in life.

Nebuta Matsuri is a huge, weeklong street festival and parade in Aomori. Everyone can participate! ... That is, as long as you wear the proper costume, called haneto.

There’s a special hat, a special waistband with a canteen hanging from it, and special shoes. The festival’s main attraction is the nighttime parade of floats that are actually gigantic paper lanterns shaped like famous samurai warriors. They are made of bamboo or wood frames covered with paper. They are lit from inside with hundreds of light bulbs. It’s an amazing sight to see!

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park has so many different monuments. There is the A-bomb Dome, which I had seen pictures of, but is huge and scary to see with your own eyes. Then there is the Children’s Peace Monument, which displays thousands of origami cranes, sent from children all over the world!

At the Peace Memorial Museum, they display all kinds of items that were frozen in time, at exactly 8:15 AM on August 6, 1945, the moment when the bomb was dropped. It’s kind of spooky, and makes you realize how awful war is. I wish for no more nuclear weapons and guns on earth! I want peace in the world.

Sapporo Snow Festival or Yuki Matsuri is held in the wintertime on Hokkaido, the northernmost of Japan’s main islands. (The word yuki means snow—like in that haiku on page 11!—and matsuri means festival, a word you’ll see more of later in this book.)

In Odori Koen, the central park in the middle of the city, people make huge sculptures (there’s about 300 of them) out of ice and snow. They really are HUGE…some as big as buildings and you can walk through them!

Okinawa is the southernmost string of islands in Japan, and the only prefecture that is located in the subtropical climate zone.

What is most surprising is how blue the ocean water is! And the sand is so white that it hurts your eyes! And then once you go into the water, it is so clear, you can see right to the bottom. You can also visit the Ocean Expo Park, and check out the most amazing whale sharks and manta rays!

The Island-Hopping Road or Shimanami Kaido is a fun adventure to bicycle along. It’s a route that’s 80 km (50 miles) long and it connects six islands between Honshu and Shikoku.

And there’s a special route only for bicycle and foot traffic. Don’t forget to pack onigiri for lunch—the perfect picnic or travel-food! (Check out page 23 to learn how to make onigiri!)

The Myth of Japan’s Creation

Izanagi and Izanami Create the Universe

In the beginning, the world was formless and shapeless, just a sea of filmy fog. Then a reed began growing high, and from it were born eight generations of gods.

One day, the first gods chose two divine beings—Izanagi (who was male) and Izanami (who was female)—to create the first land. The gods gave them a jeweled staff and showed them the Bridge of Heaven, which floated between Heaven and Earth.

At first, Izanagi and Izanami did not know what to do. They stood on the Bridge and looked down at the churning liquid below. They dipped the staff in and stirred it around. When they pulled it out, a few drops fell and became solid: this was the first island. Izanagi and Izanami were so pleased with this result, they descended from the Bridge and onto the new island.

They found it so pleasant, they decided to stay there. They built a home and had many, many children, some of whom later became the Islands of Japan. One of their children was Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess. Her grandson, Ninigi, was sent to rule Japan. He was given three treasures as symbols of his rule: a jeweled necklace (to symbolize generosity and kindness), a mirror (meaning purity), and a sword (courage).

It is said that Ninigi’s great-grandson, Jimmu Tenno, became the first human Emperor of Japan. Since him, there have been 125 Emperors of Japan—the longest unbroken line of emperors in the world. A necklace, mirror and sword are still the Japanese imperial symbols today.

Royal Symbols

The green jade bead is a magatama, a curved bead from ancient times. It is what the imperial necklace is said to be made of. The sword and the round mirror are also ancient treasures.

A Walk Through Japanese History

Pre-History

Around 2500 BCE, people used stone tools and earthenware. Around 1760 BCE they began to use metal tools and grow rice. Around 300–400 CE, they built burial mounds with haniwa figures like this, made of clay.

The Age of Nobility

Around the 7th century, people began building cities. The first capital was Nara, and then in the year 794, Kyoto became the capital. The nobility became more powerful. The Japanese writing called kana was invented, and the world’s first novel, The Tale of Genji, was written by Lady Murasaki.

The Age of Warriors

Samurai warriors became more powerful. They were loyal to a daimyo (feudal lord). The different lords’ armies battled each other throughout the country. Great castles were built for defense but also to display wealth and power.

The Age of Merchants

Under one ruler again, more people lived in cities. As they bought and sold more and more goods, merchants became more powerful. New art forms like kabuki and ukiyo-e became very popular, especially among townspeople.

The Age of Opening to the World

With the arrival of U.S. Commodore Perry’s Black Ships in 1853, Japan agreed to trade with other countries. In 1868, the Meiji Restoration put the Emperor back in power, in Kyoto. The capital city of Edo was given a new name, Tokyo, and this is where political rule remained. Many big changes took place in the way people lived.

Japan Today

Japan is a major economic and cultural power in the world.