![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/09\/Japan-World-Map-300x300.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Japan is the 11th most populous country in the world, as well as one of the most densely populated and urbanized. About three-fourths of the country’s terrain is mountainous, concentrating its population of 126.2 million on narrow coastal plains. Japan is administratively divided into 47 prefectures<\/a> and traditionally divided into eight regions<\/a>. The Greater Tokyo Area<\/a> is the most populous metropolitan area in the world, with more than 37.4 million residents.<\/p>\n The islands of Japan were inhabited as early as the Upper Paleolithic period<\/a>, though the first mentions of the archipelago appear in Chinese chronicles<\/a> from the 1st century AD. Between the 4th and 9th centuries, the kingdoms of Japan became unified under an emperor and imperial court based in Heian-ky\u014d<\/a>. Starting in the 12th century, however, political power was held by a series of military dictators (sh\u014dgun<\/a>), feudal lords (daimy\u014d<\/a>), and a class of warrior nobility (samurai<\/a>). After a century-long period of civil war<\/a>, the country was reunified in 1603 under the Tokugawa shogunate<\/a>, which enacted a foreign policy of isolation<\/a>. In 1854, a United States fleet forced Japan to open trade to the West<\/a>, leading to the end of the shogunate<\/a> and the restoration of imperial power in 1868.<\/a><\/p>\n In the Meiji era<\/a>, the Empire of Japan<\/a> adopted a Western-style constitution and pursued industrialization and modernization. Japan invaded China in 1937<\/a>; in 1941, it entered World War II<\/a> as an Axis<\/a> power. After suffering defeat in the Pacific War<\/a> and two atomic bombings<\/a>, Japan surrendered in 1945<\/a> and came under an Allied occupation<\/a>, during which it adopted a post-war constitution. It has since maintained a unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy with an elected legislature known as the National Diet<\/a>.<\/p>\n Japan is a great power and a member of numerous international organizations, including the United Nations<\/a> (since 1956), the OECD<\/a>, and the G7<\/a>. Although it has renounced its right to declare war, the country maintains a modern military ranked as the world’s fourth most powerful. Following World War II, Japan experienced high economic growth, becoming the second-largest economy in the world by 1990 before being surpassed by China in 2010. Despite stagnant economic growth ever since the Lost Decade<\/a>, the country’s economy is still the third-largest by nominal GDP and fourth-largest by purchasing power parity as of 2019. Japan is a global leader in the automotive and electronics industries and has made significant contributions to science and technology. Ranked the second highest country on the Human Development Index<\/a> in Asia after Singapore<\/a>, Japan also has the world’s second-highest life expectancy, though it is currently experiencing a decline in population. Culturally, Japan is renowned for its art, cuisine, music, and popular culture, including its prominent animation and video game industries.<\/p>\n A Paleolithic culture<\/a> from around 30,000 BC constitutes the first known habitation of the islands of Japan. This was followed from around 14,500 BC (the start of the J\u014dmon<\/a> period) by a Mesolithic<\/a> to Neolithic<\/a> semi-sedentary hunter-gatherer culture characterized by pit dwelling<\/a> and rudimentary agriculture. Clay vessels<\/a> from the period are among the oldest surviving examples of pottery. From around 1000 BC, Yayoi<\/a> people began to enter the archipelago from Kyushu, intermingling with the J\u014dmon; the Yayoi period saw the introduction of practices including wet-rice farming, a new style of pottery<\/a>, and metallurgy from China and Korea. According to legend, Emperor Jimmu<\/a> (grandson of Amaterasu) founded a kingdom<\/a> in central Japan in 660 BC, beginning a continuous imperial line.<\/p>\n Japan first appears in written history in the Chinese Book of Han, completed in 111 AD. Buddhism was introduced to Japan from Baekje<\/a> (a Korean kingdom) in 552, but the subsequent development of Japanese Buddhism<\/a> was primarily influenced by China. Despite early resistance, Buddhism was promoted by the ruling class, including figures like Prince Sh\u014dtoku<\/a>, and gained widespread acceptance beginning in the Asuka period<\/a> (592\u2013710).<\/p>\n After defeat in the Battle of Baekgang<\/a> by the Chinese Tang dynasty<\/a>, the Japanese government devised and implemented the far-reaching Taika Reforms<\/a>. It nationalized all land in Japan, to be distributed equally among cultivators, and ordered the compilation of a household registry as the basis for a new system of taxation. The Jinshin War of 672<\/a>, a bloody conflict between Prince \u014cama<\/a> and his nephew Prince \u014ctomo<\/a>, became a major catalyst for further administrative reforms. These reforms culminated with the promulgation of the Taih\u014d Code<\/a>, which consolidated existing statutes and established the structure of the central and subordinate local governments. These legal reforms created the ritsury\u014d state<\/a>, a system of Chinese-style centralized government that remained in place for half a millennium.<\/p>\n The Nara period (710\u2013784)<\/a> marked an emergence of a Japanese state centered on the Imperial Court in Heij\u014d-ky\u014d<\/a> (modern Nara<\/a>). The period is characterized by the appearance of a nascent literary culture with the completion of the Kojiki<\/a> (712) and Nihon Shoki<\/a> (720), as well as the development of Buddhist-inspired artwork and architecture. A smallpox epidemic in 735\u2013737<\/a> is believed to have killed as much as one-third of Japan’s population. In 784, Emperor Kanmu<\/a> moved the capital from Nara to Nagaoka-ky\u014d<\/a>, then to Heian-ky\u014d (modern Kyoto) in 794. This marked the beginning of the Heian period (794\u20131185)<\/a>, during which a distinctly indigenous Japanese culture emerged. Murasaki Shikibu’s<\/a> The Tale of Genji<\/a> and the lyrics of Japan’s national anthem “Kimigayo” were written during this time.<\/p>\n Japan’s feudal era was characterized by the emergence and dominance of a ruling class of warriors, the samurai. In 1185, following the defeat of the Taira clan<\/a> in the Genpei War<\/a>, samurai Minamoto no Yoritomo<\/a> established a military government at Kamakura<\/a>. After Yoritomo’s death, the H\u014dj\u014d clan<\/a> came to power as regents for the sh\u014dguns. The Zen<\/a> school of Buddhism was introduced from China in the Kamakura period (1185\u20131333)<\/a> and became popular among the samurai class. The Kamakura shogunate<\/a> repelled Mongol invasions<\/a> in 1274 and 1281 but was eventually overthrown<\/a> by Emperor Go-Daigo<\/a>.<\/p>\n Go-Daigo was defeated by Ashikaga Takauji<\/a> in 1336, beginning the Muromachi period (1336\u20131573)<\/a>. However, the succeeding Ashikaga shogunate<\/a> failed to control the feudal warlords (daimy\u014ds) and a civil war began in 1467<\/a>, opening the century-long Sengoku period (“Warring States”).<\/p>\n During the 16th century, Portuguese traders and Jesuit missionaries reached Japan for the first time, initiating direct commercial and cultural exchange between Japan and the West. Oda Nobunaga<\/a> used European technology and firearms to conquer many other daimy\u014ds; his consolidation of power began what was known as the Azuchi\u2013Momoyama period (1573\u20131603)<\/a>. After Nobunaga was assassinated in 1582 by Akechi Mitsuhide<\/a>, his successor Toyotomi Hideyoshi<\/a> unified the nation in 1590 and launched two unsuccessful invasions of Korea in 1592 and 1597<\/a>.<\/p>\n Tokugawa Ieyasu<\/a> served as regent for Hideyoshi’s son Toyotomi Hideyori<\/a> and used his position to gain political and military support. When open war broke out, Ieyasu defeated rival clans in the Battle of Sekigahara<\/a> in 1600. He was appointed sh\u014dgun by Emperor Go-Y\u014dzei<\/a> in 1603 and established the Tokugawa shogunate at Edo<\/a> (modern Tokyo).<\/p>\n The shogunate enacted measures including buke shohatto<\/a>, as a code of conduct to control the autonomous daimy\u014ds, and in 1639 the isolationist sakoku (“closed country”) policy that spanned the two and a half centuries of tenuous political unity known as the Edo period (1603\u20131868)<\/a>. Modern Japan’s economic growth began in this period, resulting in roads and water transportation routes, as well as financial instruments such as futures contracts, banking and insurance of the Osaka rice brokers<\/a>. The study of Western sciences (rangaku<\/a>) continued through contact with the Dutch enclave at Dejima<\/a> in Nagasaki<\/a>. The Edo period also gave rise to kokugaku<\/a> (“national studies”), the study of Japan by the Japanese.<\/p>\n In 1854, Commodore Matthew Perry<\/a> and the “Black Ships<\/a>” of the United States Navy forced the opening of Japan to the outside world with the Convention of Kanagawa<\/a>. Similar treaties with Western countries in the Bakumatsu period brought economic and political crises. The resignation of the sh\u014dgun led to the Boshin War and the establishment of a centralized state nominally unified under the emperor (the Meiji Restoration).<\/p>\n Adopting Western political, judicial, and military institutions, the Cabinet organized the Privy Council, introduced the Meiji Constitution, and assembled the Imperial Diet. During the Meiji era (1868\u20131912), the Empire of Japan emerged as the most developed nation in Asia and as an industrialized world power that pursued military conflict to expand its sphere of influence. Starting with consolidation of its borders to the north and south via the Hokkaid\u014d Development Commission<\/a> and so-called Ry\u016bky\u016b Disposition<\/a>, after victories in the First Sino-Japanese War (1894\u20131895)<\/a> and the Russo-Japanese War (1904\u20131905)<\/a>, Japan gained control of Taiwan, Korea and the southern half of Sakhalin<\/a>. The Japanese population doubled from 35 million in 1873 to 70 million by 1935.<\/p>\n The early 20th century saw a period of Taish\u014d<\/a> democracy (1912\u20131926) overshadowed by increasing expansionism and militarization. World War I<\/a> allowed Japan, which joined the side of the victorious Allies, to capture German possessions in the Pacific and in China. The 1920s saw a political shift towards statism, the passing of laws against political dissent, and a series of attempted coups. This process accelerated during the 1930s, spawning a number of Radical Nationalist groups that shared a hostility to liberal democracy and a dedication to expansion in Asia. In 1931, Japan invaded and occupied Manchuria<\/a>; following international condemnation of the occupation<\/a>, it resigned from the League of Nations<\/a> two years later. In 1936, Japan signed the Anti-Comintern Pact with Nazi Germany<\/a>; the 1940 Tripartite Pact made it one of the Axis Powers.<\/p>\n The Empire of Japan invaded other parts of China in 1937, precipitating the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937\u20131945)<\/a>. In 1940, the Empire invaded French Indochina<\/a>, after which the United States placed an oil embargo on Japan. On December 7\u20138, 1941, Japanese forces carried out surprise attacks on Pearl Harbor<\/a>, as well as on British forces in Malaya<\/a>, Singapore<\/a>, and Hong Kong<\/a>, and declared war on the United States and the British Empire<\/a>, beginning World War II in the Pacific<\/a>.<\/p>\n After Allied victories during the next four years, which culminated in the Soviet invasion of Manchuria<\/a> and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, Japan agreed to an unconditional surrender. The war cost Japan its colonies, China and the war’s other combatants tens of millions of lives, and left much of Japan’s industry and infrastructure destroyed. The Allies (led by the United States) repatriated millions of ethnic Japanese from colonies and military camps throughout Asia, largely eliminating the Japanese empire and its influence over its conquered territories. The Allies also convened the International Military Tribunal for the Far East<\/a> to prosecute Japanese leaders for war crimes.<\/p>\n In 1947, Japan adopted a new constitution emphasizing liberal democratic practices. The Allied occupation ended with the Treaty of San Francisco in 1952<\/a>, and Japan was granted membership in the United Nations in 1956. A period of record growth<\/a> propelled Japan to become the second-largest economy in the world; this ended in the mid-1990s after the popping of an asset price bubble<\/a>, beginning the “Lost Decade”. In the 21st century, positive growth has signaled a gradual economic recovery. On March 11, 2011, Japan suffered one of the largest earthquakes in its recorded history<\/a>, triggering the Fukushima Daiichi<\/a> nuclear disaster. On May 1, 2019, after the historic abdication of Emperor Akihito<\/a>, his son Naruhito<\/a> became the new emperor, beginning the Reiwa<\/a> era.<\/p>\n Japan comprises 6,852 islands extending along the Pacific coast of Asia. It stretches over 3,000 km (1,900 mi) northeast\u2013southwest from the Sea of Okhotsk to the East China and Philippine Seas<\/a>. The county’s five main islands, from north to south, are Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu and Okinawa. The Ryukyu Islands, which include Okinawa, are a chain to the south of Kyushu. The Nanp\u014d Islands<\/a> are south and east of the main islands of Japan. Together they are often known as the Japanese archipelago. As of 2019, Japan’s territory is 377,975.24 km2 (145,937.06 sq mi). Japan has the sixth longest coastline in the world (29,751 km (18,486 mi)). Because of its many far-flung outlying islands, Japan has the eighth largest Exclusive Economic Zone in the world covering 4,470,000 km2 (1,730,000 sq mi).<\/p>\n About 73 percent of Japan is forested, mountainous and unsuitable for agricultural, industrial or residential use. As a result, the habitable zones, mainly in coastal areas, have extremely high population densities: Japan is one of the most densely populated countries. Approximately 0.5% of Japan’s total area is reclaimed land (umetatechi). Late 20th and early 21st century projects include artificial islands such as Chubu Centrair International Airport<\/a> in Ise Bay<\/a>, Kansai International Airport<\/a> in the middle of Osaka Bay<\/a>, Yokohama Hakkeijima Sea Paradise<\/a> and Wakayama Marina City.<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Japan is substantially prone to earthquakes, tsunami and volcanoes because of its location along the Pacific Ring of Fire. It has the 15th highest natural disaster risk as measured in the 2013 World Risk Index. Japan has 108 active volcanoes, which are primarily the result of large oceanic movements occurring from the mid-Silurian to the Pleistocene<\/a> as a result of the subduction of the Philippine Sea Plate<\/a> beneath the continental Amurian Plate<\/a> and Okinawa Plate<\/a> to the south, and subduction of the Pacific Plate<\/a> under the Okhotsk Plate<\/a> to the north. Japan was originally attached to the Eurasian continent; the subducting plates opened the Sea of Japan around 15 million years ago. During the twentieth century several new volcanoes emerged, including Sh\u014dwa-shinzan<\/a> on Hokkaido and My\u014djin-sh\u014d<\/a> off the Bayonnaise Rocks<\/a>. Destructive earthquakes, often resulting in tsunami, occur several times each century. The 1923 Tokyo earthquake<\/a> killed over 140,000 people. More recent major quakes are the 1995 Great Hanshin earthquake<\/a> and the 2011 T\u014dhoku earthquake, which triggered a large tsunami.<\/p>\n Japan is the third largest national economy in the world, after the United States and China, in terms of nominal GDP, and the fourth largest national economy in the world, after the United States, China and India, in terms of purchasing power parity. As of 2017, Japan’s public debt was estimated at more than 230 percent of its annual gross domestic product, the largest of any nation in the world. The service sector accounts for three quarters of the gross domestic product.<\/p>\n As of 2017, Japan’s labor force consisted of some 65 million workers. Japan has a low unemployment rate of around three percent. Around 16 percent of the population were below the poverty line in 2013. Housing in Japan<\/a> is characterized by limited land supply in urban areas.<\/p>\n Japan’s exports amounted to US$5,430 per capita in 2017. As of 2017, Japan’s main export markets were the United States (19.4 percent), China (19 percent), South Korea (7.6 percent), Hong Kong (5.1 percent) and Thailand (4.2 percent). Its main exports are transportation equipment, motor vehicles, iron and steel products, semiconductors and auto parts. Japan’s main import markets as of 2017 were China (24.5 percent), the United States (11 percent), Australia (5.8 percent), South Korea (4.2 percent), and Saudi Arabia (4.1 percent). Japan’s main imports are machinery and equipment, fossil fuels, foodstuffs (in particular beef), chemicals, textiles and raw materials for its industries. By market share measures, domestic markets are the least open of any OECD country.<\/p>\n Japan ranks 34th of 190 countries in the 2018 ease of doing business index and has one of the smallest tax revenues of the developed world. The Japanese variant of capitalism has many distinct features: keiretsu<\/a> enterprises are influential, and lifetime employment and seniority-based career advancement are relatively common in the Japanese work environment. Japanese companies are known for management methods like “The Toyota Way<\/a>“, and shareholder activism is rare. Japan also has a large cooperative sector, with three of the ten largest cooperatives in the world, including the largest consumer cooperative and the largest agricultural cooperative in the world.<\/p>\n Japan’s road spending has been extensive. Its 1.2 million kilometers (0.75 million miles) of paved road are the main means of transportation. As of 2012, Japan has approximately 1,215,000 kilometers (755,000 miles) of roads made up of 1,022,000 kilometers (635,000 miles) of city, town and village roads, 129,000 kilometers (80,000 miles) of prefectural roads, 55,000 kilometers (34,000 miles) of general national highways and 8,050 kilometers (5,000 miles) of national expressways. A single network of high-speed, divided, limited-access toll roads connects major cities on Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu (Hokkaido has a separate network). Cars are inexpensive; car ownership fees and fuel levies are used to promote energy efficiency. However, at just 50 percent of all distance traveled, car usage is the lowest of all G8 countries.<\/p>\n Since privatization in 1987, dozens of Japanese railway companies compete in regional and local passenger transportation markets; major companies include seven JR<\/a> enterprises, Kintetsu<\/a>, Seibu Railway<\/a> and Keio Corporation<\/a>.<\/p>\n Some 250 high-speed Shinkansen<\/a> trains connect major cities and Japanese trains are known for their safety and punctuality. A new Maglev<\/a> line called the Ch\u016b\u014d Shinkansen<\/a> is being constructed between Tokyo and Nagoya. It is due to be completed in 2027.<\/p>\n There are 175 airports in Japan; the largest domestic airport, Haneda Airport in Tokyo<\/a>, is Asia’s second-busiest airport. The largest international gateways are Narita International Airport<\/a>, Kansai International Airport<\/a> and Ch\u016bbu Centrair International Airport<\/a>.<\/p>\n Nagoya Port<\/a> is the country’s largest and busiest port, accounting for 10 percent of Japan’s trade value.<\/p>\n The national flag of Japan is a rectangular white banner bearing a crimson-red disc at its center. This flag is officially called Nissh\u014dki (\u65e5\u7ae0\u65d7, the “flag of sun”), but is more commonly known in Japan as Hinomaru (\u65e5\u306e\u4e38, the “circle of the sun”). It embodies the country’s sobriquet: Land of the Rising Sun.<\/p>\n The Nissh\u014dki flag is designated as the national flag in the Act on National Flag and Anthem<\/a>, which was promulgated and became effective on August 13, 1999. Although no earlier legislation had specified a national flag, the sun-disc flag had already become the de facto national flag of Japan. Two proclamations issued in 1870 by the Daij\u014d-kan<\/a>, the governmental body of the early Meiji period<\/a>, each had a provision for a design of the national flag. A sun-disc flag was adopted as the national flag for merchant ships under Proclamation No. 57 of Meiji 3 (issued on February 27, 1870), and as the national flag used by the Navy under Proclamation No. 651 of Meiji 3 (issued on October 27, 1870). Use of the Hinomaru was severely restricted during the early years of the Allied occupation of Japan<\/a> after World War II<\/a>; these restrictions were later relaxed.<\/p>\n The sun plays an important role in Japanese mythology and religion as the Emperor<\/a> is said to be the direct descendant of the sun goddess Amaterasu<\/a> and the legitimacy of the ruling house rested on this divine appointment and descent from the chief deity of the predominant Shinto<\/a> religion. The name of the country as well as the design of the flag reflect this central importance of the sun. The ancient history Shoku Nihongi<\/a> says that Emperor Monmu<\/a> used a flag representing the sun in his court in 701, and this is the first recorded use of a sun-motif flag in Japan. The oldest existing flag is preserved in Unp\u014d-ji temple, K\u014dsh\u016b, Yamanashi<\/a>, which is older than the 16th century, and an ancient legend says that the flag was given to the temple by Emperor Go-Reizei<\/a> in the 11th century. During the Meiji Restoration<\/a>, both the sun disc and the Rising Sun Ensign<\/a> of the Imperial Japanese Navy<\/a> became major symbols in the emerging Japanese Empire.<\/p>\n Propaganda posters, textbooks, and films depicted the flag as a source of pride and patriotism. In Japanese homes, citizens were required to display the flag during national holidays, celebrations and other occasions as decreed by the government. Different tokens of devotion to Japan and its Emperor featuring the Hinomaru motif became popular among the public during the Second Sino-Japanese War<\/a> and other conflicts. These tokens ranged from slogans written on the flag to clothing items and dishes that resembled the flag.<\/p>\n Public perception of the national flag varies. Historically, both Western and Japanese sources claimed the flag was a powerful and enduring symbol to the Japanese. Since the end of World War II (the Pacific War<\/a>), the use of the flag and the national anthem Kimigayo<\/a> has been a contentious issue for Japan’s public schools. Disputes about their use have led to protests and lawsuits. The flag is not frequently displayed in Japan due to its association with ultranationalism. To some Okinawans<\/a>, the flag represents the events of World War II and the subsequent U.S. military presence there. For some nations that have been occupied by Japan, the flag is a symbol of aggression and imperialism. The Hinomaru was used as a tool against occupied nations for purposes of intimidation, asserting Japan’s dominance, or subjugation. Several military banners of Japan are based on the Hinomaru, including the sunrayed naval ensign. The Hinomaru also serves as a template for other Japanese flags in public and private use.<\/p>\n Extensive history and background regarding the flag of Japan is available elsewhere.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Nissh\u014dki flag is designated as the national flag in the Act on National Flag and Anthem, which was promulgated and became effective on August 13, 1999. Although no earlier legislation had specified a national flag, the sun-disc flag had already become the de facto national flag of Japan. Two proclamations issued in 1870 by the Daij\u014d-kan, the governmental body of the early Meiji period, each had a provision for a design of the national flag. A sun-disc flag was adopted as the national flag for merchant ships under Proclamation No. 57 of Meiji 3 (issued on February 27, 1870), and as the national flag used by the Navy under Proclamation No. 651 of Meiji 3 (issued on October 27, 1870). Use of the Hinomaru was severely restricted during the early years of the Allied occupation of Japan after World War II; these restrictions were later relaxed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6672,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"default","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[36,59,5,6,7,29,30,44,60],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6376"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6376"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6376\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6672"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6376"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6376"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6376"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/09\/Commodore-Matthew-Perry-Opens-Japan-to-Trade-300x214.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>History:<\/h2>\n
Prehistoric to Classical History:<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/09\/Emperor-Jimmu-203x300.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/09\/Murasaki-Shikibu-183x300.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Feudal Era:<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/09\/Emperor-Godaigo-300x300.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/09\/Tokugawa-Ieyasu-150x300.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Modern Era:<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/09\/Emperor-Meiji-219x300.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/09\/View-From-a-Japanese-Bombing-Plane-Approaching-Pearl-Harbor-300x213.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/09\/Emperor-Naruhito-263x300.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Geography:<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/10\/Topographic-Map-of-Japan-280x300.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/10\/Kansai-International-Airport-300x225.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Economy:<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/10\/Japan-Export-Treemap-300x235.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/10\/The-Japanese-Experiment-Module-Kibo-at-the-International-Space-Station-300x199.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Transportation:<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/10\/Shinkansen-Trains-300x184.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Flag of Japan:<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/09\/Flag-of-Japan-300x200.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/09\/Japanese-Imperial-Navy-Ensign-300x200.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>