The Land of the Rising Sun
How did Japan's geography influence the Japanese sense of identity?
According to Japanese mythology, there were a series of events that were part of the creation of the islands of Japan.
The Story of Izanagi and Izanami
The Goddess Amaterasu
Japan has been described by as the Land of the Rising Sun. After Amaterasu came out of her cave, as learned in the story of Amaterasu, "all rulers or emperors of Japan were considered the descendants of Amaterasu."1 From this point on, all emperors were likened to gods, but of earth earthly gods.
Read the following article.
Geography
The land area is 380,000km2 and just over half the size of Alberta. The population in 1600 was approximately 12 million. There are approximately 127 million people living there today.
Only 18% of the land can be used for agriculture, as the remainder is mountainous with steep valleys.
A Land Apart
Being an isolated island country, its closest neighbors are Korea, China and Russia. As early as the mid-200's, evidence shows that contact between the Japanese, Chinese and Korean took place. Prior to the 1500's, Europeans did not have the navigational technology to attempt a Pacific crossing and once it was available it was very dangerous.
Adopting and Adapting Elements of Culture
Choosing elements of one culture to include in there own, was done freely.
Example: Chinese writing system
Assignment:
Read "Fast Forward" on page 267 and reply to the questions on Google Classroom.
Fast Forward: Protecting the Canadian Identity
1. Antayá-Moore, Dana. Worldviews: Contact and Change. Toronto: Pearson Education Canada, 2007. Print. page 262