h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

There is a typo in Tokugawa's name. It is shown as "Tokugawa Leyasu" and should be "Tokugawa Ieyasu" (i.e. a capital "I" rather than an "L").

The section around there could really deal, at least in passing, with how he became Shogun, since this was a critical event in Japanese history. Also, it could mention the careful balance between the Shogun and the Emperor (and the latter's spiritual role), especially as the section on the Meiji Restoration says "Emperor Mutsuhito was restored to power in 1867", but it isn't really clear why "restored" is the correct word.

After WW2, it says "After the war, the Emperor lost all his powers and nothing more than a symbol of Japan", but I think you're missing "became".

None of the buddhism links (e.g. nichiren) work.

Personally, I would put Ukiyo-e before swords as its subject matter is all the things that precede it in the list.

Interesting choice to put in "konnichiha" as an example since you have chosen one of the few irregulars in Japanese. Although written "ha", it is usually pronounced "wa". And wouldn't "konichiha" be a better transliteration as the syllabery is "ko-ni-chi-ha". Other than this and the "-su" ending, pronunciation tends to be very standard.

In that same area, you have "Katakan" for "Katakana" and the final paragraph about kanji is repeated from the first paragraph of the section.

Good article, though. Difficult to sum up a country in a single entry like that!

I agree with 'Manolan' - a good article on a difficult subject. Just one comment: I feel that the impact of Perry's arrival is not always explored, not just here, but generally. Perry gave them (as they saw it)a humiliating ultimatum - accept our need for bases and trade or we'll destroy you and do what we want anyway.

The long period of isolation (during which they had disdained the use of firearms as cowardly), had led to them being too weak to be masters of their own destiny. They accepted Perry's terms, but it was a traumatic experience for them. They learned they must adapt or die, as it were. Within fifty years, they had gone from feudalism to defeating the Russian Navy in a major engagement.

The trauma of Perry's arrival has been cited by some researchers as a possible explanation for Japan's rapid and aggressive rise into a major political power.