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

I've already seen two worn out saints on the byway, damm x-ian slackers. My priest powers are still just about keeping me in for the haul.

Well, you have my prayers, Jon... W

Hi

I enjoyed the entry but was a little confused by the paragraph below

Japan has also been in the hands of the samurai with the birth of Kamakura Bakufu (1192 - 1333)

2 points

1 The samurai were controled by the noble class the diamyo who were controled by the Kamakura Bakufu

2 Also the Kamakura Bakufu sounds as if it were a person and needs to be made clear that it was a government system

Consider please a possable alternative:-

From the formation of the new military government The Kamakura Bakufu (1192 - 1333)set up by Minamoto Yoritomo at Kamakura in 1192 , who became "Seii-tai shogun" from 1192 after his victory over the Taira clan . Japan has been in the hands of the The diamyo, (landowning nobles written with the characters for 'great name') with recruited private armies made up of an elite warrior class the samurai.


Notes to support comments and for free use

From about 1200 Japan had a feudal system similar to the European system where you got land for military service. The diamyo, (landowning nobles written with the characters for 'great name') possessed the political power. And recruited private armies made up of an elite warrior class the samurai the diamyo held the power and without central government repeatedly plunged the country in a state of civil war.
During the Warring States period and early Edo period, many samurai lost their masters. With no master, they became ronin (Ronin is the term for a master less samurai and is written with the characters for 'floating' and 'man', i.e., a warrior adrift with no lord to serve.) had to seek alternative employment. It is estimated the Edo period was troubled by 400,000 ronin.
These men were armed, out of work, and caused trouble and so they were forced to take employment. Ronin became active again at the end of the Edo period. Taking ronin status a samurai could act against the shogunate without putting a stain upon his lords honour. Although there are differences, the daimyo approximates to the European nobles, and the samurai to the knights. These feudal titles and ranks were abolished in Japan in 1868

I will stop now, please feel free to use any of the above

not a bad entry - good points above Bob.

For your consideration:

The biggest kanji dictionary contains 50,300 kanji. Newspapers contain 3328 kanji, while to be considered able to read most newspapers and magazines, you will need to learn the most common 2000.

Tea is commonly drunk with meals, although this is often oolong cha, not the machya drunk in tea ceremony (Sadoh). Tea ceremony is a separate 'event' and rarely features as part of a meal, being a highly ritualistic ceremony requiring a number of years to understand, before mastery.

Kogal is more young girl style clothing, GothLoli is what you've described.

Yukata tend to be worn in summer, as they are lighter and more suited to the humidity. Kimono tend to be worn only formally, and more often in cooler weather, as they feature many thick layers of material.

I think you might want to include the walkman in Technology!

baseball is the most popular sport in japan, football (soccer) is gaining popularity - it took off especially during the Korea/japan 2002 cup.

Most Japanese childen study monday through friday at their schools, before attending juku - cram schools to help them improve their chances at passing exams. Sadly, there seems to be little time for play.

Perhaps include: Hayao Miyazaki - Director of Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle, to name only two, and

Akira Kurosawa - Of The Seven Samurai fame.

*pops in to defuse tension*

Some Researchers don't use phrases like 'updated' or 'changes made' until they've addressed all the suggestions, and therefore get confused when others use the phrases before they've got the entry completely up to date - ie waiting for other comments. Best to post something like:

"Changes made, but I haven't done the whales bit yet - should I add a new section about animals?"


Alex

Oops - had a non up-to-date version of the thread tucked away int' browser

A12590462 - Japan - for ease of loading the entry

You look real cute when you blush

History was never my forte

well you must be good at something Fruitylicious Opti
Nother

you think?

>>>You look real cute when you blush<<<

I'd say that the japanese have had much more success at grand prix motorcycling rather than F1. They have had a number of 125cc and 250cc world champions and Yamaha, Honda and Suzuki (and to a lesser extent Kawasaki) have dominated the Grand Prix scene for decades.

fyi

A13073069

If you want to link to this, you can, although it says it's in PR, it isn't. The system cocked up just as I was submitting it.

The Eds are trying to sort it out so the A number may change. You're more than welcome to use it anyways (as long as it gets through PR, which I have no doubt it will)

VV

Just one more pointer for you.

You say that Japan were never allowed an army again. This might be wrong. From information I read recently, they weren't allowed a navy or an air force.

They were allowed an army as they would have to be able to protect their own borders should anyone try to invade in the future. They just weren't allowed to go attacking other countries

The constitution of Japan prohibits it from
maintain military forces, and leading/going to war as an agressor. However it was argued that maintaining a force only for self defence would not contradict the constitution.

The Self Defence Force is divided into three branches:
Ground Self Defence Force
Maritime Self Defence Force
Air Self Defence Force

As far as I can make out, Japan has an unusual civilian control of the armed forces as all SDF personnel are technically civilians: "those in uniform are classified as special civil servants and are subordinate to the ordinary civil servants who run the Defense Agency" (from wikipedia, sorry!)

Right well I think I may have just about covered everything except the last posting and of course I can't really put the Enola entry in yet as I really need to get the edited one. If anyone can help me with the history (which is a mess) I'd be greatful.

Hope all are well love opti

"Japan, under the U.S. President Harry Truman occupation, made a remarkable economic4 recovery due to technological advancements."

Brilliant, I get to use the 'Cold War History' part of my degree for something.

Ok, Japan recovered so quickly (if I remember my course pre-Christmas correctly) for two reasons.
Firstly, it was very politically stable, for a stupidly long time (you'll have to check how long) only one political party was voted in, so it didn't have any upheavals that follow the transition from Labour to Tory and back or from Democrat to Republican.
Secondly, it was militarily speaking, a protectorate of the USA which used it both as a base for operations in SE Asia (Korea and Vietnam) and an armoury to churn out jeeps and radios and suchlike. Also, during 1946-1990 the main expenditure for first world countries was defence. Nuclear programmes, deterrents, missiles, better tanks, etc. Japan didn't need that because it fell under America's defence network. Hence the billions of pounds that it would have spent on rocket launchers and hand grenades and suchlike was pumped into regenerating the Japanese economy.

And that's without touching on the Japanese work ethic !

Hope that helps.

Psyc.

I will give it a go and grt back to you

Hi
this is just a suggestion hope it helps all the best.


History
Mythical - JOMON (10,000 - 300 B.C.)
According to legend Japan was created by the sun goddess and all its emperors were descendants. The Jomon period represents the earliest known period of Japanese Prehistoric organized tribal culture. Jomon Japan (although the nation did not exist at the time) was home to a hunter-gatherer society, and is named after its characteristic pottery decoration. This period covers the mythical foundation of Japan by Prince Jimmu Tenno, though no evidence for this exists.
YAYOI (300 B.C. - A.D 300)
Rice cultivation, metalworking, and the potter's wheel are introduced from China and Korea. Era named "Yayoi" after the place in Tokyo where wheel-turned pottery was found.
In Shinto, Japan's oldest religion, people identify kami (divine forces) in nature and in such human virtues as loyalty and wisdom. 100-300: Local clans form small political units.
.
KOFUN (YAMATO) (300 - 645)
Unified state begins with emergence of powerful clan rulers; Japan establishes close contacts with mainland Asia.
Clan rulers are buried in kofun (large tomb mounds), surrounded by haniwa (clay sculptures). Yamato clan rulers, claiming descent from Amaterasu Omikami, begin the imperial dynasty that continues to occupy the throne today. Japan adopts Chinese written characters. Shotoku Taishi (574-622) begins to shape Japanese society and government more after the pattern of China. He seeks centralization of government and a bureaucracy of merit. He also calls for reverence for Buddhism and the Confucian virtues.

ASUKA (645 -710)
A great wave of reforms called the Taika no Kaishin (Taika Reforms) aims to strengthen the emperor's power.
New aristocratic families are created. Especially powerful is that of Fujiwara no Kamatari, who helped push the reforms

NARA (710 - 794)
Imperial court builds new capital, modelled upon Chang-an in China, at Nara. Though emperors are Shinto chiefs, they patronize Buddhism in the belief that its teachings will bring about a peaceful society and protect the state.
Legends surrounding the founding of Japan are compiled as history in the Kojiki (Record of Ancient Matters) and the Nihon shoki (Chronicle of Japan). With the adoption of Buddhism as the state religion, its monasteries gain political power.


HEIAN (794-1185)
Imperial court moves to Heiankyo (now Kyoto) to escape domination of Nara's Buddhist establishment. Official contacts with China stop in 838.
Buddhism, in combination with native Shinto beliefs, continues to flourish. Flowering of classical Japanese culture aided by invention of kana (syllabary for writing Japanese language). Court women produce the best of era's literature. Murasaki Shikibu's Tale of Genji (ca. 1002) is the world's first novel. Court undergoes decline of power with rise of provincial bushi (warrior class).
From about 1180 Japan had a feudal system similar to the European system where you got land for military service. The diamyo, (landowning nobles written with the characters for 'great name') possessed the political power. And recruited private armies made up of an elite warrior class the samurai the diamyo held the power and without central government repeatedly plunged the country in a state of civil war. During the Warring States period and early Edo period, many samurai lost their masters. With no master, they became ronin (Ronin is the term for a master less samurai and is written with the characters for 'floating' and 'man', i.e., a warrior adrift with no lord to serve.) had to seek alternative employment. It is estimated the Edo period was troubled by 400,000 ronin. These men were armed, out of work, and caused trouble and so they were forced to take employment. Ronin became active again at the end of the Edo period. Taking ronin status a samurai could act against the shogunate without putting a stain upon his lords honour. Although there are differences, the daimyo approximates to the European nobles, and the samurai to the knights. These feudal titles and ranks were abolished in Japan in 1868


KAMAKURA (1185-1333)
The Gempei war started this period the Minamoto family became the rulers when they were victorious over the Taira clan From the formation of the new military government The Kamakura Bakufu (1192 - 1333)set up by Minamoto Yoritomo at Kamakura in 1192 , who became "Seii-tai shogun" from 1192 after his victory over the Taira clan . Japan has been in the hands of the diamyo, (landowning nobles written with the characters for 'great name') with recruited private armies made up of an elite warrior class the samurai. During this period the samurai. saw off invasions from the Mongols in 1274, 1281.
the Zen sect (introduced 1191) found favour among the samurai, that now gained high social class
Yoritomo died in 1199 a struggle developed between the Kyoto Imperial court and the Kamakura Bakufu, the Imperial court was defeated in 1221 in battle at Kyoto.


MUROMACHI (1333 -1568)
This is the most violent period. first the Onin no Ran or Onin war destroyed centralised government. Then after that the Sengoku Jidai the country at war. The only imports from Europe were Guns in 1543 and Francis Xavier and Christianity in 1549

AZUCHIMOMOYA MA (1568 -1600)
After the century of destructive wars the task of reunifying Japan is taken up by Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582) starts process war. The task is completed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536-1598). His plans invade China and Korea fail the local armies defeat him. to Foundation of modern Japan is laid. Today’s country of Japan can trace its start to this point.


EDO (TOKUGAWA) (1600 -1868)
The new Shogun Tokugawa leyasu in 1635 takes as his base Edo (Tokyo) Osaka Castle is captured an age of peace begins and maintained by a strict social order the order of status was Samurai, farmers, artisans, and merchants. But Japan isolates itself from the world and limits Chinese and Dutch traders to Nagasaki and Christianity is oppressed. The country becomes very prosperous, education and the access to books is widespread.
Then in 1835 Commodore Matthew C. Perry arrives and demands access so that the US can operate a commercial shipping fleet in the area and use Japanese ports as a base. Japan accepts.


MEIJI (1868 -1912)
Japan enters the modern world and becomes a nation, restores the Emperor in 1867 Emperor Mutsuhito known as Meiji.
The feudal system is reformed and Japan sets to work to become rich, industrialised and powerful. It builds a new western army to stop the west exploiting it, as happened to China.
Sino-Japanese war in (1895) and Russo-Japanese war in (1904-05) proved the military might of the new army. As dose the Korea campaign of(1910-45).

TAISHO [1912-1926]
The domination of the trade of the Pacific is achieved, A more liberal style of government is started and the [population achieved the vote in 1925.


SHOWA [1926 -1989)
This is the era Hirohito 1926 to 1989. It is the longest recorded reign.
1931 Manchuria annexed
1937 World War II starts
1941 neutrality pact with Russia
1941Pearl Harbour French Indochina invaded
1945 America dropped two atomic bombs, one on Hiroshima and the other on Nagasaki
1945 World War II ends
1945 Japan occupied
1952 Occupying forces leave Japan


The Age Of High Growth 1950 - 1970
The growth of trade in the area of cars, motorcycles and consumer electrical goods.
The Emperor reduced to a figure head Japan is a full democracy

thinks that that is possibly a bit too much to stuff into the entry