JAPAN 



3115 



JAPAN 



AP AN , ja pan ' , an island-empire lying 

 in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, called by its own 

 people NIPPON, or "the origin of the sun/' for 

 the continent of Asia to the west sees the sun 

 emerge, apparently, from the myriad islands of 

 Japan. "Myriad" is an accurate and not a 

 mere poetic term here, for there are about 

 four thousand islands in the Empire. Most 

 of them are tiny mere shrubbery-grown rocks 

 which rise steeply out of the ocean; and fewer 

 than one-eighth of them are inhabited or have 

 a coast line of more than two and one-half 

 miles. 



Like its neighbor to the west, China, Japan 

 has taken its place among the powers of the 

 world only recently, having spent the cen- 

 turies on centuries of its existence shut up 

 within itself, rejecting progress, resisting every 

 advance of the Western nations, to which it 

 was an impenetrable but fascinating mystery. 

 Like the other countries of the Orient, it found 

 a place in the hazy geography of the Middle 

 Ages, and the heart of Europe yearned toward 

 it, for within its borders, it was believed, were 

 countless riches and beautiful things.' Cipango 

 it was called by Europeans, and explorers 

 sought for its shores; and to the day of his 

 death Columbus thought that he had reached 

 not a new world with its wealth all unde- 

 veloped, but Cipango the marvelous, the long- 

 sought-for. 



To-day, as India and Egypt stand to the 

 average reader for romance and Oriental mys- 

 tery, Japan stands for beauty. Its dainty 

 women, its cherry blossoms, wistaria and chrys- 

 anthemums; its picturesque temples, its artis- 

 tically-bridged streams, and above all its 

 famous sacred mountain of Fujiyama all of 

 these form definite pictures in the imaginatfon. 

 That this nation of little people, beauty-lov- 

 ing, suave and gentle, should have placed 

 itself so quickly among the world's great mili- 

 tary and naval powers after its interest was 

 awakened is one of the miracles of modern 

 times. 



Location and Size. The islands which com- 

 pose Japan form a chain about 2,400 miles in 

 length to the east of Asia, and are separated 



from the continent by the Sea of Japan and 

 Korea Strait. There are five chief islands, of 

 which Hondo or Honshiu, or as it was formerly 

 called, Nippon, is the largest and most impor- 

 tant in effect, the mainland. The area in 

 square miles, coast line and population of these 

 principal islands are as follows: 



But the totals of these by no means give the 

 correct statistics for the Empire. The esti- 

 mated area, exclusive of Korea, which was an- 

 nexed to Japan in 1910 (and is treated in a 

 separate article), is almost 175,000 square miles, 



or about a tenth ^^^^^^MJ. 



greater than the 

 combined areas of 

 the American 

 North Atlantic 

 states, while the 

 total population 

 is approximately 

 51,902,000, more 

 than half that of 



the entire United LOCATION MAP 



States and seven A sma ii ribboniike string 

 of the f mountainous islands in the 



sea whose people dominate 

 vast Dominion of the policies of the entire yel- 

 ^ j low race. 



Canada. 



When Japan proper is spoken of, it must be 

 understood as including the three large islands 

 of Hondo, Shikoku and Kiushiu, the Loo-Choo 

 Islands, fifty-five in number, and several hun- 

 dred small islands; while the remainder of the 

 possessions, including such large areas as Korea, 

 Yezo, Formosa and Sakhalin, are in effect but 

 colonies. 



This island empire extends from latitude 

 20 45' to 50 56' north, and from longitude 

 119 18' to 156 32' east. It lies in about the 

 same latitude as the United States, but because 

 of the. southwest monsoon the heat at some 

 seasons is much greater than that of similar 

 latitudes in Europe and America. 



