Fairy Tales of the World

Fairy Tales of the World Japan

Geography

Location

Japan is a small country made of islands that lies along the eastern edge of the Asian continent. To Japan's east lies the Pacific Ocean. It stretches from South Korea up to southern Russia. Japan is separated into five districts which are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, Shikoku, and Okinawa.

Climate

Japan's climate is rather varied throughout its parts. For example, Hokkaido and northern Honshu usually have cool summers and below freezing winters, while the southern and eastern parts of Japan are more inclined to have hot and humid summers and mild winters. All areas excluding Hokkaido usually get at least forty inches of rainfall per year. Rain and typhoons tend to hit more in summer and early fall.

Physical characteristics

Japan is a country that is made of a great deal of islands. This is because Japan lies on an extremely unstable part of the earth's crust. Japan is also a very rugged and mountainous area because of this.

Population

Japan has a very large amount of people. In fact, in the year 2000, Japan's population was estimated to be about 126,994,100. Despite the large population, the majority of people live in urban areas.

Culture

Customs & Traditions

Ikebana is a largely followed Japanese tradition that is part of the Buddhist belief system. Ikebana originated in India, where it was basically throwing flower petals about Buddhist altars. When ikebana arrived in Japan, it became much more complicated, with every part meaning a specific thing. The peach blossom is a popular flower to use on girls festival, which occurs on march third.

Religions

Most of Japan's population follows the beliefs of either Shintoism or Buddhism. According to a report in 2007, 82% of Japan's population follows Shintoism while 69% practice Buddhism. The reason the combined number exceeds 100% is that many people follow both belief systems.

Language

Japanese is the official language in Japan. Japanese is heavily based off of Chinese, and the main difference is how the words are pronounced. Japanese has many words for abstract things, such as human emotions and ethics, but it is rather weak in words for technical and scientific expressions. When addressing another person in Japanese, it is important to use honorifics to show respect to the person you are addressing and their social standing.

Food

Japan has a wide variety of edible plants that are grown, but they grow more of specific types than others. Japan mainly grows crops such as rice in abundance, but they have not planted much other plants such as fruits. This has caused fruits to become much more valuable and expensive to purchase, especially if the fruit has trouble growing in the area.

Momotaro

Unknown

Synopsis

Momotaro is a story about a young boy who comes from a peach, and the adventure he has when he grows up.

Typical characteristics

Special beginning:

Momotaro has a rather interesting beginning. It starts talking about THE TIME WHEN THE FAIRIES WERE NONE SO SHY AS THEY ARE NOW (COLE).

Good Character:

The protagonist, Momotaro, was a person who was well liked by others. All of Momotaros neighbors said that MOMOTARO IS A FINE YOUNG MAN(COLE).

Evil characters:

The evil characters were the ogres. The ogres stole from and were cruel to innocent people, indeed, A WICKED LOT THEY WERE (COLE).

Castle:

The ogres had a large castle that they lived in that they stored their treasure in.

Magic:

Magic is displayed in Momotaro in many different ways. A prominent example is Momotaro coming from a peach.

Problem & solution:

The challenge in Momotaro is fighting the ogres. There are a great deal of ogres, and they have weapons to. The solution is the result of gathering some companions and a good battle plan.

The number three:

The number three appears in Momotaro more towards the end of the story. An example being Momotaros three companions, the dog, the monkey, and the pheasant.

Connection to Japan

Momotaro is shown to be connected to Japan in several ways. One of the connections is what some items are called, such as millet dumplings being called Kimi-Dango. Other connections include Momotaros name being in Japanese, and items such as bamboo that were used by characters.

Appreciate

Credits:

Created with images by Moyan_Brenn - "Japan" • parkyuha - "world map wave blue" • sharonang - "fantastic wonder beautiful" • PeeJayx - "japan mount fuji mountain" • kevin dooley - "Osaka Japan" • Andy Atzert - "Ikebana" • http://klarititemplateshop.com/ - "Mandala 001" • Jim Epler - "Kanji" • A_of_DooM - "rice" • UNE Photos - "Once upon a time ..." • wxzhuo - "photographer hero camera" • Wonderlane - "Ogre Mask, on brick, (or Zephr), molded terracotta, traces of paint, Tang dynasty (618-907), Xinuningsi pagota, Temple Where Contemplation Is Cultivated, Mount Qingliang, China - collection Art Institute, Chicago, Illinois, USA" • Bergadder - "budapest church architecture" • ShamelessMartin - "bokeh lights effect" • yasuoogle - "half" • otama - "3" • marion joy - "peach blossom"