Japan's+Geography

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Everything in a country has always been -one way or another -influenced from its geography. This page will discuss the following questions in depth:
 * How does their geographical location bring them to a disadvantage and advantage?
 * How does the geographical location (along with the natural disasters) affect Japan's development?
 * How did Japan's geology influence/affect their culture?

-- **__How Does Their Geographical Location Bring Them to a Disadvantage and Advantage?__**

Japan is a unique country that had developed to be a well-known civilization throughout the world in ways different from most countries. With abnormal geological details in land that others would find hindering for a civilization to grow, their way of life works very well. While Japan obviously does have many disadvantages, they always find an way of turning anything into something that could be used for humanity and life. Below are the disadvantages of their country and obviously, the advantages that had helped Japan become the great country it is today. Due to Japan consisting of 70% mountain, its inhabitants are forced to live on flat coastal plains that they can cultivate on, giving them less land to live on. While this causes crowding, it forces a cooperative society. Not only is Japan mostly on mountains, they are also on the ridge between two tectonic plates much like British Columbia and home to many volcanos and earthquakes. Earthquakes and typhoons would cause hundreds of dollars’ worth of damage unfortunately. However, because of the volcanoes, Japan is able to use many geysers as natural hot springs. Japan is well known to be an isolated country –though this does result in a lack of trade with other countries, it leads to fewer invasions. Japan is relatively close to both China and Korea, allowing them to choose and accept influences and reject those unwanted. Due to their warm ocean current of Kiro Shio, Japan has a nice climate and is blessed with an early cherry blossom viewing as they situate themselves near the equator. Japan’s many unique features that make them a self-sufficient country when it comes to food. Due having flat coastal plains, they have a sea nearby that supplies them with most of their food. The sea is a home to many aquatic animals and plants. Some seafood that is a wide staple of their diet are fish, seaweed and other organisms such as oysters and clams. Tokyo, a level land with a mild, moist climate is ideal for farming. In addition, Japan has the best seasons for growing rice –a huge contribution to their meals. In their seasons, they have a nice long period of time where it rains heavily in June, followed by a hot summer. That is most preferable when growing rice. Despite the limited amount of resources, Japan still manages to fill their necessities and more, proving to be a great independent and resource civilization. (By Carly and Amy). > media type="youtube" key="tUlnjaZsM44" width="420" height="315"media type="custom" key="23113024" = The geographic location of Japan affected it's development greatly. Many factors contributed to Japan’s development such as the sea, mountains and natural disasters. First, the sea provided Japan with most of their food and staple food like shellfish, seaweed and fish. The sea also isolated Japan from other countries, Japan is about 200 kilometres away from the closest country. The sea also made it harder for other countries to attack Japan. There was also trading because of the sea surrounding Japan. Japan was also very mountainous, which made a good natural barrier against invasions. The mountains on the island made it difficult to live on and made for poor agricultural land; therefore relies on fishing as their main source of food. Japan suffered from many natural disasters like earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions. Many of these natural disasters happen due to Japan being on top of the Ring of Fire. Natural disasters affected Japan's development because they killed thousands and thousands of people which caused some drawbacks. An effect from the natural disasters was a large demand for workers. Also, a lot of money and resources go into rebuilding the affected areas. Japan’s development was affected greatly by its geographic location. =
 * =__**How did the geographic location (including natural disasters) affect Japan’s development?**__=

__**How did Japan’s Geography Affect/influence Their Culture?**__
Japan’s geography is fairly limited in size. And because of that, its geography affects many aspects of Japan such as Culture. Japan’s limited agriculture space is made up by its very fertile land. North Japan and South Japan have different climates so they are able to harvest an assortment of crops. Rice is made all over Japan, but other grains are located at the two islands: Kyushu and Hokkaido, and in a few small parts of Honshu. Silk fields are also located at the very top and bottom of Japan. These are there because the climate is just right and most of these are made near the ocean. Japan uses a very unique way of farming. They build farms and agriculture on small slopes and introduce irrigation into them. The rainfall builds up onto the existing water and allows the growing of crops more efficient. The Japanese made great use of their mountainous terrain. Japan showed how very important rice was to them by vigorously defending their land. Because Japan is widely surrounded by sea, fishing is a heavily practiced activity. Then the religion of Shinto came into power throughout Japan. Shinto is based on many traditions involving pilgrimages and famous shrines. The geography in Japan has made Shinto a beautiful aspect of Japan as many shrines have been built on many natural spots in across the country. Before the 1500s, no Europeans could reach Japan by sea. Once they managed to make boats to get them there, it was still extremely dangerous and rarely used because of the rough waters surrounding Japan. This isolated Japan entirely allowing them to create and develop their own style of culture for a long period of time. They could create their own beliefs and activities however they liked. Even today, Japans unique culture remains different than any other country in the world because of these medieval times. media type="youtube" key="Ob7UhHBI7Oc" width="547" height="331" align="center"

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Credits: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston. "Geography and Early Japan." Powerpoint: Japan. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 May 2013 Heinrich, Amy Vlandeck, Dr. "Japan's Geography (1)." Geography: Japan's Geography. East Asian Cirriculum, n.d. Web. 21 May 2013. Petry, Anne K. "SPICE." Geography of Japan-SPICE. Stanford University, July 2003. Web. 21 May 2013. "Introduction: The Geographical Element." FC59: The Development of Early Japan to C.700 CE -. Chris Butler, 2007. Web. 21 May 2013. Yonemoto, Marcia. "Tokugawa Japan: An Introductory Essay." Tokugawa - Essay | Imaging Japanese History. Program for Teaching East Asia, Colorado University, 2010. Web. 21 May 2013.