Portal:Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asian mainland, it is bordered to the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea in the south. The Japanese archipelago consists of four major islands alongside 14,121 smaller islands, covering 377,975 square kilometers (145,937 sq mi). Divided into 47 administrative prefectures and eight traditional regions, about 75% of the country's terrain is mountainous and heavily forested, concentrating its agriculture and highly urbanized population along its eastern coastal plains. With a population of over 123 million as of 2025, it is the 11th most populous country. The country's capital and largest city is Tokyo.

The first known habitation of the archipelago dates to the Upper Paleolithic, with the beginning of the Japanese Paleolithic dating to c. 36,000 BC. Between the 4th and 6th centuries, its kingdoms were united under an emperor in Nara and later Heian-kyō. From the 12th century, actual power was held by military dictators known as shōgun and feudal lords called daimyō, enforced by warrior nobility named samurai. After rule by the Kamakura and Ashikaga shogunates and a century of warring states, Japan was unified in 1600 by the Tokugawa shogunate, which implemented an isolationist foreign policy. In 1853, an American fleet forced Japan to open trade to the West, which led to the end of the shogunate and the restoration of imperial power in 1868.

In the Meiji period, Japan pursued rapid industrialization and modernization, as well as militarism and overseas colonization. The country invaded China in 1937 and attacked the United States and European colonial powers in 1941, thus entering World War II as an Axis power. After being defeated in the Pacific War and suffering the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan surrendered in 1945 and came under Allied occupation. Afterwards, the country underwent rapid economic growth and became one of the five earliest major non-NATO allies of the U.S. Since the collapse of the Japanese asset price bubble in the early 1990s, it has experienced a prolonged period of economic stagnation referred to as the Lost Decades.

Japan is a constitutional monarchy with a bicameral legislature known as the National Diet. Widely considered a great power and the only Asian member of the G7, it maintains one of the world's strongest militaries but has constitutionally renounced its right to declare war. A developed country with one of the world's largest economies by nominal GDP, Japan is a global leader in the automotive, electronics, and robotics industries, in addition to making significant contributions to science and technology. It has one of the highest life expectancies, but is undergoing a severe population decline and has the highest proportion of elderly citizens of any country in the world. The culture of Japan is globally well known, especially its popular culture, which includes art, cuisine, films, music, animation, comics, and video games. (Full article...)

Selected article –

Japan has submitted films for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film since the inception of the award. The award is handed out annually by the United States Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to a feature-length motion picture produced outside the United States that contains primarily non-English dialogue. The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film was not created until 1956; however, between 1947 and 1955, the Academy presented Honorary Awards to the best foreign language films released in the United States. These awards were not competitive, as there were no nominees but simply a winner every year that was voted on by the Board of Governors of the Academy. Three Japanese films were recipients of Honorary Awards during this period. For the 1956 Academy Awards, a competitive Academy Award of Merit, known as the Best Foreign Language Film Award, was created for non-English speaking films, and has been given annually since. As of 2009, twelve Japanese films have been nominees for Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, and one film, Departures, has won the award. The only Japanese directors to have multiple films be nominated for the award are Akira Kurosawa and Noboru Nakamura. Kurosawa received an Honorary Award prior to the conception of the formal award for his work on Rashomon and the actual Academy Award for Dersu Uzala (submitted for the former Soviet Union), and had four other films submitted, with two of them accepted as nominees. Notably, Kurosawa's 1985 film Ran was deliberately not nominated by the Japanese film industry for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film due to the poor perception he had among Japanese filmmakers at the time. (Full article...)

More selected articles

Selected pictures

Image 1
Asahi Breweries
Photograph credit: Basile Morin
Asahi Breweries is a Japanese global beer, spirits, soft drinks and food business group. This photograph, taken during the blue hour with a full moon, shows the headquarters of Asahi Breweries in Sumida, Tokyo, as viewed from the wharf on the Sumida River near Azuma Bridge. The Asahi Beer Hall, topped by the Asahi Flame, designed by Philippe Starck, is visible on the right, with the Tokyo Skytree in the background on the left.
Image 2
Japanese government-issued currency in the Dutch East Indies
Banknotes: Empire of Japan. Reproduction: National Numismatic Collection, National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institution
The Japanese-issued Netherlands Indies gulden was the currency issued by the Japanese Empire when it occupied the Dutch East Indies during World War II. Following the Dutch capitulation in March 1942, the Japanese closed all banks, seized assets and currency, and assumed control of the economy in the territory. They began issuing military banknotes, as had previously been done in other occupied territories. These were printed in Japan, but retained the name of the pre-war currency and replaced the Dutch gulden at par. From 1943 the military banknotes were replaced by identical bank-issued notes printed within the territory, and the currency was renamed the roepiah from 1944. The currency was replaced by the Indonesian rupiah in 1946, one year after the Japanese surrender and the country's independence.

This note, denominated half gulden, is part of the 1942 series.

See other denominations: One cent · Five cents · Ten cents · Half gulden · One gulden, Five gulden, Ten gulden
Image 3
Kanō Masanobu
Credit: Kanō Masanobu
Zhou Maoshu Appreciating Lotuses, c. 15th century, an ink painting in suiboku style by Kanō Masanobu. The scroll has been designated a National Treasure of Japan.
Image 4
Japanese Instrument of Surrender
Credit: U.S. Navy
On September 2, 1945, General Douglas MacArthur signs the Japanese Instrument of Surrender as Supreme Allied Commander during formal surrender ceremonies on the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, Japan. Behind General MacArthur are Lieutenant General Jonathan Wainwright and Lieutenant General A. E. Percival.
Image 5
Japanese battleship Yamato
Image: Alexpl
A line drawing of the Japanese battleship Yamato, the lead ship of the Yamato class of battleships that served with the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. Named after the ancient Japanese Yamato Province, she was launched on 8 August 1940 and served as the flagship of the Japanese Combined Fleet in 1942.
Image 6
Tsingtao occupation money
Banknote design credit: Bank of Japan; photographed by Andrew Shiva
This picture shows a ten-sen banknote, in use during the 1914–1922 Japanese occupation of Tsingtao (Qingdao), China, as part of the Asian and Pacific theatre of World War I. Issued by the Bank of Japan, the currency was based on the silver standard. This banknote, dated 1914, is in the National Numismatic Collection of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History.

Before the outbreak of World War I, German naval ships were located in the Pacific; Tsingtao developed into a major seaport while the surrounding Kiautschou Bay area was leased to Germany since 1898. During the war, Japanese and British Allied troops besieged the port in 1914 before capturing it from the German and Austro-Hungarian Central Powers, occupying the city and the surrounding region. It served as a base for the exploitation of the natural resources of Shandong province and northern China, and a "New City District" was established to furnish the Japanese colonists with commercial sections and living quarters. Tsingtao eventually reverted to Chinese rule by 1922.
Image 7
Ginkakuji-temple on a snowy day, Kyoto, Japan.
Ginkaku-ji
Credit: Moja
Ginkaku-ji is a Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan. The temple is part of the Shokoku-ji branch of Rinzai Zen.
Image 8
Plum Park in Kameido
Print: Hiroshige
Plum Park in Kameido is a woodblock print in the ukiyo-e genre by the Japanese artist Hiroshige. It was published in 1857 as the thirtieth print in the One Hundred Famous Views of Edo series and depicts Prunus mume trees in bloom. Popular prints such as Plum Park in Kameido were produced in the tens of thousands at a low individual cost. After the opening up of Japan in 1853, they found a following in Europe, where they had a significant influence on the Impressionist artists such as Vincent van Gogh.

See Van Gogh's derivative version
Image 9
Ase o fuku onna (woman wiping sweat), 1798.
Utamaro
Credit: Kitagawa Utamaro
Ase o fuku onna (woman wiping sweat), 1798, a ukiyo-e print created by Kitagawa Utamaro.
Image 10
Siberian Intervention
Image: Shobido & Co.; Restoration: Adam Cuerden
A Japanese lithograph depicting the capture of Blagoveshchensk, Siberia, by the Imperial Japanese Army during the Siberian Intervention, part of a larger effort by the western powers and Japan to support White Russian forces against the Bolshevik Red Army during the Russian Civil War. The Allied invasion took place in August 1918, and Japanese troops remained in Russia until October 1922.
Image 11
Blind Monks Examining an Elephant
Blind men and an elephant
Credit: Hanabusa Itchō
An 1888 Hanabusa Itchō ukiyo-e print illustrating a Buddhist parable showing blind monks examining an elephant.
Image 12
Ghosts from the crushing defeat, 1904
Kobayashi Kiyochika
Credit: Kobayashi Kiyochika
This humorous Kobayashi Kiyochika ukiyo-e print depicts Nicholas II waking from a nightmare showing the battered and wounded Russian forces returning from battle with the Japanese during the Russo-Japanese War.
Image 13
Siege of Osaka
Painting credit: unknown
The siege of Osaka was a series of battles undertaken by the Japanese Tokugawa shogunate against the Toyotomi clan, and ending in the clan's dissolution. Divided into two stages (the winter campaign and the summer campaign), and lasting from 1614 to 1615, the siege put an end to the last major armed opposition to the shogunate's establishment. This eight-metre-long (26 ft) painting, titled The Summer Battle of Osaka Castle and executed on a Japanese folding screen, illustrates Osaka Castle under siege, and was commissioned by the daimyo Kuroda Nagamasa, who took a team of painters with him to the battlefield to record the event. The painting depicts 5071 people and 21 generals, and is held in the collection of Osaka Castle.
Image 14
Satellite image of Japan
Islands of Japan
Credit: NASA
The four main islands of Japan are shown clearly off the coast of North Korea and South Korea, China and Russia in this true-color image. Running down through the islands are a string of mountains that make up part of the Pacific Ring of Fire.
Image 15
Japanese government-issued rupee in Burma
Banknote design credit: Empire of Japan; photographed by Andrew Shiva
The Japanese government-issued rupee in Burma was Japanese invasion money issued as a replacement for the local currency during the Japanese occupation of Burma in the Second World War. Like most Japanese colonial currency from this period, a letter code was used on the notes; the first or top letter "B" indicates that the note was printed in and issued for the State of Burma; the second letter or letters indicate the block (or printing batch) of the note. The higher-value notes depict Ananda Temple in Bagan on the obverse. This one-rupee banknote is part of the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution.

Other denominations:
'"`UNIQ--templatestyles-00000010-QINU`"'

* 1 cent
* 5 cents
* 10 cents
*
'"`UNIQ--templatestyles-00000011-QINU`"'
1⁄4 rupee
*
'"`UNIQ--templatestyles-00000013-QINU`"'
1⁄2 rupee
* 5 rupees
* 10 rupees
* 100 rupees
Image 16
Japanese government-issued dollar in Malaya and Borneo
Banknote design credit: Empire of Japan; photographed by Andrew Shiva
The Japanese government-issued dollar was a form of currency issued between 1942 and 1945 for use within the territories of Singapore, Malaya, North Borneo, Sarawak and Brunei, under occupation by Imperial Japan during World War II. The currency, informally referred to as "banana money", was released solely in the form of banknotes, as metals were considered essential to the war effort. The languages used on the notes were reduced to English and Japanese. Each note bears a different obverse and reverse design, but all have a similar layout, and were marked with stamped block letters that begin with "M" for "Malaya". This 1942 five-cent Japanese-issued banknote is part of the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution.

Other denominations:
'"`UNIQ--templatestyles-00000014-QINU`"'
Image 17
Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies registration card
Document: Japanese occupation government; scan by the National Archives of the Netherlands
A registration card for Louis Wijnhamer (1904–1975), an ethnic Dutch humanitarian who was captured soon after the Empire of Japan occupied the Dutch East Indies in March 1942. Prior to the occupation, many ethnic Europeans had refused to leave, expecting the Japanese occupation government to keep a Dutch administration in place. When Japanese troops took control of government infrastructure and services such as ports and postal services, 100,000 European (and some Chinese) civilians were interned in prisoner-of-war camps where the death rates were between 13 and 30 per cent. Wijnhamer was interned in a series of camps throughout Southeast Asia and, after the surrender of Japan, returned to what was now Indonesia, where he lived until his death.

On this day...

August 22:

Events

1875 - The Treaty of Saint Petersburg between Japan and Russia is ratified, providing for the exchange of Sakhalin for the Kuril Islands.

Births

1943 - Masatoshi Shima, computer scientist, co-designed the Intel 4004
1967 - Yukiko Okada (d. 1986), singer and actress
1977 - Miho Kanno, actress and singer
1981 - Takumi Saito, actor and singer
1986 - Keiko Kitagawa, actress

Deaths

1155 - Emperor Konoe (b. 1139)

In the news

15 August 2025 – Gwangbokjeol, 2025 South Korean presidential election: South Korean president Lee Jae Myung holds a "de facto" inauguration ceremony, known as the "People's Mandate Ceremony", coinciding with the 80th anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japan at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul, where he receives letters of appointment from 80 selected individuals. Lee took office on June 4 after winning the 21st presidential election without an official inauguration ceremony. (Anadolu Ajansı)
5 August 2025 – Australia–Japan relations, Australian general purpose frigate program: Australian defence minister Richard Marles announces that the country will purchase eleven Mogami-class frigates from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to upgrade its Navy as the New FFM. (DW)
3 August 2025 –: Four workers are killed while inspecting sewage pipes after falling into a manhole filled with hydrogen sulfide in Gyōda, Saitama Prefecture, Japan. (DW)

Selected quote –

“

Japanese food is the most closely watched in the world.

”

— Junichiro Koizumi, former Prime Minister of Japan

More selected quotes

Selected biography –

Hiroh Kikai (鬼海弘雄, Kikai Hiroo; 18 March 1945 – 19 October 2020) was a Japanese photographer best known within Japan for four series of monochrome photographs: scenes of buildings in and close to Tokyo, portraits of people in the Asakusa area of Tokyo, and rural and town life in India and Turkey. He pursued each of these for over two decades, and each led to one or more book-length collections.

Although previously a respected name in Japanese photography, Kikai was not widely known until 2004, when the first edition of his book Persona, a collection of Asakusa portraits, won both the Domon Ken Award and Annual Award of the PSJ. In 2009, the ICP and Steidl copublished Asakusa Portraits for an international market. (Full article...)

List of selected biographies

Selected prefecture –

Ehime Prefecture is a prefecture in northwestern Shikoku, Japan. The capital is Matsuyama. Until the Meiji Restoration, Ehime prefecture was known as Iyo province. Since before the Heian period, the area was dominated by fishermen and sailors who played an important role in defending Japan against pirates and Mongol invasions. After the Battle of Sekigahara, the Tokugawa shōgun gave the area to his allies, including Kato Yoshiaki who built Matsuyama Castle, forming the basis for the modern city of Matsuyama. The name Ehime comes from the Kojiki and means "beautiful maiden." Located in the northwestern part of Shikoku, Ehime faces the Seto inland sea to the north and is bordered by Kagawa and Tokushima in the east and Kochi in the south. The prefecture includes both high mountains in the inland region and a long coastline, with many islands in the Seto inland Sea. The westernmost arm of Ehime, the Sadamisaki Peninsula, is the longest peninsula in Japan. The area around Matsuyama has a number of industries, including shipbuilding, chemicals, oil refining, and paper and textile products. The rural areas of the prefecture mostly engage in agricultural and fishing industries, and are particularly known for citrus fruit such as mikan (tangerine) and iyokan and cultured pearls.

Did you know... –

The Hon-dō at Shin-Yakushi-ji

... that eleven of the Twelve Heavenly Generals at Shin-Yakushi-ji temple (hon-dō pictured) in Nara, Japan, are made of clay and date to the 8th century while the wooden statue of Haira was made in 1931?

...that Navajo codetalkers directed naval gunfire onto Japanese positions in the Battle of Saipan?

... that Queen Millennia was combined by Harmony Gold and Carl Macek with another Leiji Matsumoto series, Captain Harlock, to create Captain Harlock and the Queen of a Thousand Years?

... that Minori Kimura made her professional manga artist debut at the age of 14 in the 1964 Spring Special issue of Ribon, a magazine published in Japan by Shueisha?

... that the Nikkatsu Roman Porno film Love Hunter (1972) was confiscated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police, and became the last film to be tried for obscenity in Japan to this day?

General images

The following are images from various Japan-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1A map of Japan (from Geography of Japan)
Image 2Daisenryō Kofun, Osaka (from History of Japan)
Image 3The Nanpō Islands of the Japanese archipelago (from Geography of Japan)
Image 4Japanese experts inspect the scene of the alleged railway sabotage on South Manchurian Railway that led to the Mukden Incident and the Japanese occupation of Manchuria. (from History of Japan)
Image 5Torii entrance gate at Kamigamo Shrine, Kyoto (from Culture of Japan)
Image 6The islands comprising the Japanese Archipelago were separated from the Asian continent by back-arc spreading. (from Geography of Japan)
Image 7Planes from the Japanese aircraft carrier Shōkaku preparing the attack on Pearl Harbor (from History of Japan)
Image 8Samurai could kill a commoner for the slightest insult and were widely feared by the Japanese population. Edo period (1798) (from History of Japan)
Image 9Jesus statue in Yokohama (from Culture of Japan)
Image 10Mount Fuji and sakura (cherry blossoms) are national symbols of Japan (from Culture of Japan)
Image 11Mount Yari, Nagano Prefecture in August (from Geography of Japan)
Image 12Izu Islands south of Tokyo (from Geography of Japan)
Image 13Taiheiyō Belt (from Geography of Japan)
Image 14Buddhist temple of Hōryū-ji is the oldest wooden structure in the world. It was commissioned by Prince Shotoku and represents the beginning of Buddhism in Japan. However, this was built by ancient Korean architects dispatched from Baekje. (from History of Japan)
Image 15Portrait of Ashikaga Takauji who was the founder and first shōgun of the Ashikaga shogunate (from History of Japan)
Image 16Miniature model of the ancient capital Heian-kyō (from History of Japan)
Image 17Japan's exclusive economic zones:
  Japan's EEZ
  Joint regime with Republic of Korea
  EEZ claimed by Japan, disputed by others
(from Geography of Japan)
Image 18Minamoto no Yoritomo was the founder of the Kamakura shogunate in 1192. This was the first military government in which the shogun with the samurai were the de facto rulers of Japan. (from History of Japan)
Image 19Woman in kimono at Fukuoka City Hall (from Culture of Japan)
Image 20Guardian in Tōdai-ji, Nara (from Culture of Japan)
Image 21Samurai of the Satsuma Domain during the Boshin War (late 1860s) (from History of Japan)
Image 22Later Three-Year War in the 11th century (from History of Japan)
Image 23Regions and prefectures of Japan (from Geography of Japan)
Image 24Mount Aso 4 pyroclastic flow and the spread of Aso 4 tephra (90,000 to 85,000 years ago). The pyroclastic flow reached almost the whole area of Kyushu, and volcanic ash was deposited of 15 cm in a wide area from Kyushu to southern Hokkaido. (from Geography of Japan)
Image 25Japan (Iapam) and Korea, in the 1568 Portuguese map of the cartographer João Vaz Dourado (from History of Japan)
Image 26Atomic cloud over Hiroshima, 1945 (from History of Japan)
Image 27Sakura blossoms with Himeji Castle in Hyōgo Prefecture in April (from Geography of Japan)
Image 28The summit of Mount Fuji is the highest point in Japan. (from Geography of Japan)
Image 29Ukiyo-e based on kabuki actor Ichikawa Danjūrō V, by Utagawa Kunimasa (from Culture of Japan)
Image 30A map of Japan's major cities, main towns and selected smaller centers (from Geography of Japan)
Image 31
Edo period screen depicting the Battle of Sekigahara. It began on 21 October 1600, with a total of 160,000 men facing each other.
(from History of Japan)
Image 32Prince Shōtoku was a semi-legendary regent of the Asuka period, and considered to be the first major sponsor of Buddhism in Japan. (from History of Japan)
Image 33The word Nihon written in kanji (horizontal placement of characters). The text means "Japan" in Japanese. (from History of Japan)
Image 34The Ryukyu Islands administered by Kagoshima Prefecture and Okinawa Prefecture (from Geography of Japan)
Image 35Tokugawa Ieyasu was the founder and first shōgun of the Tokugawa shogunate. (from History of Japan)
Image 36Seto Inland Sea (from Geography of Japan)
Image 37Shinano River in Niigata City (from Geography of Japan)
Image 38The aftermath of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami (from Geography of Japan)
Image 39Hōryū-ji is widely known to be the oldest wooden architecture existing in the world. (from Culture of Japan)
Image 40Noh play at traditional Noh theatre (from Culture of Japan)
Image 41The Empire of Japan in 1939 (from History of Japan)
Image 42Extreme points of Japan (from Geography of Japan)
Image 43Kabira Bay on Ishigaki Island, Okinawa Prefecture in March (from Geography of Japan)
Image 44Reconstruction of a Jōmon family from the Sannai-Maruyama Site (from History of Japan)
Image 45Kinkaku-ji was built in 1397 by Ashikaga Yoshimitsu (from History of Japan)
Image 46Middle Jōmon vase (2000 BC) (from History of Japan)
Image 47Japanese archipelago with outlined islands (from Geography of Japan)
Image 48Aerial view of Lake Biwa (from Geography of Japan)
Image 49Tectonic map of Japan (French) (from Geography of Japan)
Image 50Dogū figurine of the late Jōmon period (1000–400 BC) (from History of Japan)
Image 51Ritsurin Garden, Takamatsu, Japan (from Geography of Japan)
Image 52Territorial extent of Yamato court during the Kofun period (from History of Japan)
Image 53Sakurajima eruption on October 3, 2009 (from Geography of Japan)
Image 54Shigeru Yoshida was one of the longest serving prime ministers in Japanese history (1946–1947 and 1948–1954). (from History of Japan)
Image 55Ritsurin Garden (from Culture of Japan)
Image 56Japan in 1582, showing territory conquered by Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi in gray (from History of Japan)
Image 57Map of the Kantō Plain (from Geography of Japan)
Image 58Lake Tōya and Shōwa-shinzan in Shikotsu-Tōya National Park (from Geography of Japan)
Image 59Kobe Airport in Osaka Bay (from Geography of Japan)
Image 60Emperor Shōwa was in power during World War II (from History of Japan)
Image 61Two students practicing kendo at Hiroshima University (from Culture of Japan)
Image 62A handscroll painting dated c. 1130, illustrating a scene from the "Bamboo River" chapter of The Tale of Genji (from History of Japan)
Image 63Newly-wed Emperor Naruhito, then Crown Prince, wearing a sokutai and Empress Masako, then-Crown Princess, wearing a jūnihitoe. Costumes of these styles have been worn by the Imperial family since the Heian period, when a unique Japanese style developed. (from Culture of Japan)
Image 64The Daibutsu-den, within the complex of Tōdai-ji. This Buddhist temple was sponsored by the Imperial Court during the Nara period. (from History of Japan)
Image 65Kokin Wakashū, an early anthology of the waka form of Japanese poetry, National Treasure; early twelfth century; at the Tokyo National Museum (from Culture of Japan)
Image 66Relief map of the land and the seabed of Japan. It shows the surface and underwater terrain of the Japanese archipelago. (from Geography of Japan)
Image 67Traditional breakfast at a ryokan (from Culture of Japan)
Image 68Japan at the Last Glacial Maximum in the Late Pleistocene about 20,000 years ago
  Regions above sea level
  Unvegetated
  Sea
(from History of Japan)
Image 69Vegetation during the Last Glacial Maximum (16,000 BCE) (from Geography of Japan)
Image 70A vase from the early Jōmon period (11000–7000 BC) (from History of Japan)
Image 71U.S. Secretary of State Dean Acheson signing the Treaty of Peace with Japan, 8 September 1951 (from History of Japan)
Image 72Pair of byōbu with a leopard, tiger and dragon by Kanō Sanraku (from Culture of Japan)
Image 73Tokyo in 2010 (from History of Japan)
Image 74Winter with frozen coniferous trees near Mt. Kumano in the Mount Zaō range in Miyagi Prefecture (from Geography of Japan)
Image 75Emperor Meiji, the 122nd Emperor of Japan (from History of Japan)
Image 76American general Douglas MacArthur and emperor Hirohito, at their first meeting, September 1945 (from History of Japan)
Image 77
Chinese generals surrendering to the Japanese in the First Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895)
(from History of Japan)
Image 78A Yayoi period bronze bell (dōtaku) of the 3rd century AD (from History of Japan)
Image 79Map showing the territories of major daimyō families around 1570 (from History of Japan)
Image 80Fumie Hihara playing the shamisen, Guimet Museum, Paris (from Culture of Japan)
Image 81The Kuril Islands, with their Russian names. The borders of the Treaty of Shimoda (1855) and the Treaty of St. Petersburg (1875) are shown in red. Currently, all islands northeast of Hokkaido are administered by Russia. (from Geography of Japan)
Image 82A Köppen climate classification map of Japan (from Geography of Japan)
Image 83The Empire of Japan at its peak in 1942:
   Territory (1870–1895)
   Acquisitions (1895–1930)
   Acquisitions (1930–1942)
(from History of Japan)
Image 84The map depicts the Kuril–Kamchatka Trench, Japan Trench, Izu–Ogasawara Trench, and Mariana Trench. (from Geography of Japan)
Image 85A topographic map of Japan (from Geography of Japan)
Image 86A social hierarchy chart based on old academic theories. Such hierarchical diagrams were removed from Japanese textbooks after various studies in the 1990s revealed that peasants, craftsmen, and merchants were in fact equal and merely social categories. Successive shoguns held the highest or near-highest court ranks, higher than most court nobles. (from History of Japan)
Image 87Sea of Japan (from Geography of Japan)
Image 88The Black Ship Portuguese traders that came from Goa and Macau once a year (from History of Japan)
Image 89Amida Buddha, Kōtoku-in (from Culture of Japan)
Image 90Wreckage at a railway station destroyed during the 2011 earthquake and tsunami (from History of Japan)

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07. Japanese Garden Pano, Cowra, NSW, 22.09.2006
2003 Mazda 6 (GG) Classic hatchback 01
Asahi Breweries headquarters building with the Asahi Flame and Skytree at blue hour with full moon, Sumida-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Ase o fuku onna2
BUR-10b-Burma-Japanese Occupation-Five Cents ND (1942)
BUR-11a-Burma-Japanese Occupation-10 Cents ND (1942)
BUR-12a-Burma-Japanese Occupation-One Quarter Rupee ND (1942)
BUR-13b-Burma-Japanese Occupation-One Half Rupee ND (1942)
BUR-14-Burma-Japanese Occupation-One Rupee ND (1942)
BUR-15b-Burma-Japanese Occupation-Five Rupees ND (1942-44)
BUR-16-Japanese occupation Burma-10 rupees (1942-44)
BUR-17b-Burma-Japanese Occupation-100 Rupees ND (1944)
BUR-9b-Burma-Japanese Occupation-One Cent ND (1942)
Beijing Castle Boxer Rebellion 1900 FINAL
Bicycle crankset Shimano 105 R7000 (chainring 50-34, length 172.5mm, 11 speed)
Blind monks examining an elephant
Bloody Saturday, Shanghai
Comme des Garcons at the Met (62473)
Crested myna, Osaka, Japan
Daurian redstart at Daisen Park in Osaka, January 2016
Douglas MacArthur signs formal surrender
Extermination of Evil Tenkeisei
Forces returning 2
Gasshukoku suishi teitoku kōjōgaki (Oral statement by the American Navy admiral)
Golden gate of Ueno Tōshō-gū Shinto shrine, Tokyo, Japan
Great Wave off Kanagawa2
Hasegawa Tohaku - Pine Trees (Shōrin-zu byōbu) - left hand screen
Hasegawa Tohaku - Pine Trees (Shōrin-zu byōbu) - right hand screen
Heart Mountain Relocation Center, Heart Mountain, Wyoming. In his barracks home at Block 7 - 21 - NARA - 539206 - Restoration
Hiroshige II - Kishu kumano iwatake tori - Shokoku meisho hyakkei
HiroshimaPeaceMemorialPanorama-2
HoryujiYumedono0363edit4
Hyochangwon as Korea's first golf course
ISS Aug2005
ISS March 2009
Instrument of surrender Japan2
JAPAN-10-Constitutional Monarchy-One Yen (1873)
JAPAN-M7-Tsingtao-10 Sen (1914)
Japan 1870 20 Yen (alt)
Japanese Squirrel edit2
Japanese archer 1878b
Japanese pygmy woodpecker in Sakai, Osaka, February 2016
Japanese white-eye at Tennōji Park in Osaka, January 2016 III
Japaneseweavera
Japanmakaken im Jigokudani Monkey Park bei der Fellpflege
Kabukicho red gate and colorful neon street signs at night, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan
Khalili Collections A Composite Imaginary View of Japan
Kiyonaga bathhouse women-2
Koku Saitcho shounin
Lagopus muta japonica Mount Tsubakuro
Line scan photo of Shinkansen N700A Series Set G13 in 2017, car 01
Line scan photo of Shinkansen N700A Series Set G13 in 2017, car 02
Line scan photo of Shinkansen N700A Series Set G13 in 2017, car 03
Line scan photo of Shinkansen N700A Series Set G13 in 2017, car 04
Line scan photo of Shinkansen N700A Series Set G13 in 2017, car 05
Line scan photo of Shinkansen N700A Series Set G13 in 2017, car 06
Line scan photo of Shinkansen N700A Series Set G13 in 2017, car 07
Line scan photo of Shinkansen N700A Series Set G13 in 2017, car 08
Line scan photo of Shinkansen N700A Series Set G13 in 2017, car 09
Line scan photo of Shinkansen N700A Series Set G13 in 2017, car 10
Line scan photo of Shinkansen N700A Series Set G13 in 2017, car 11
Line scan photo of Shinkansen N700A Series Set G13 in 2017, car 12
Line scan photo of Shinkansen N700A Series Set G13 in 2017, car 13
Line scan photo of Shinkansen N700A Series Set G13 in 2017, car 14
Line scan photo of Shinkansen N700A Series Set G13 in 2017, car 15
Line scan photo of Shinkansen N700A Series Set G13 in 2017, car 16
MAL-M10b-Malaya-Japanese Occupation-1000 Dollars ND (1945)
MAL-M1b-Malaya-Japanese Occupation-One Cent ND (1942)
MAL-M2a-Malaya-Japanese Occupation-Five Cents ND (1942)
MAL-M3b-Malaya-Japanese Occupation-10 Cents ND (1942)
MAL-M4b-Malaya-Japanese Occupation-50 Cents ND (1942)
MAL-M5c-Malaya-Japanese Occupation-One Dollar ND (1942)
MAL-M6c-Malaya-Japanese Occupation-Five Dollars ND (1942)
MAL-M7c-Malaya-Japanese Occupation-10 Dollars ND (1944)
MAL-M8b-Malaya-Japanese Occupation-100 Dollars ND (1944)
MAL-M9-Malaya-Japanese Occupation-100 Dollars ND (1945)
Mamoru Shigemitsu signs the Instrument of Surrender, officially ending the Second World War
Manzanar calisthenics 0016u
Manzanar portrait Toyo Miyatake 00100u
Maresuke Nogi, 近世名士写真其1 - Photo only
Mazda RX-8 on freeway
NI-119b-Netherlands Indies-Japanese Occupation-1 Cent (1942)
NI-120c-Netherlands Indies-Japanese Occupation-5 Cents (1942)
NI-121a-Netherlands Indies-Japanese Occupation-10 Cents (1942)
NI-122b-Netherlands Indies-Japanese Occupation-half Gulden (1942)
NI-123-Netherlands Indies-Japanese Occupation-1 Gulden (1942)
NI-124c-Netherlands Indies-Japanese Occupation-5 Gulden (1942)
NI-125c-Netherlands Indies-Japanese Occupation-10 Gulden (1942)
Nagasakibomb
Nagoya Castle(Edit2)
Noru 2017-07-31 0415Z
OCE-1a-Oceania-Japanese Occupation-Half Shilling ND (1942)
OCE-2a-Oceania-Japanese Occupation-One Shilling ND (1942)
OCE-3a-Oceania-Japanese Occupation-10 Shillings ND (1942)
OCE-4a-Oceania-Japanese Occupation-One Pound ND (1942)
Ogata Gekko - Ryu sho ten edit
Olympus E-M1 Mark III Zuiko 12-100mm
Onna Okinawa Japan Cape-Manzamo-01
PHI-102b-Japanese Government (Philippines)-1 Centavo (1942)
PHI-103b-Japanese Government (Philippines)-5 Centavos (1942)
PHI-104b-Japanese Government (Philippines)-10 Centavos (1942)
PHI-105b-Japanese Government (Philippines)-50 Centavos (1942)
PHI-106-Japanese Government (Philippines)-1 Peso (1942)
PHI-107A-Japanese Government (Philippines)-5 Pesos (1942)
PHI-108-Japanese Government (Philippines)-10 Pesos (1942)
PHI-109-Japanese Government (Philippines)-1 Peso (1943)
PHI-110-Japanese Government (Philippines)-5 Pesos (1943)
PHI-111-Japanese Government (Philippines)-10 Pesos (1943)
PHI-112-Japanese Government (Philippines)-100 Pesos (1944)
PHI-114-Japanese Government (Philippines)-500 Pesos (1944)
PHI-115-Japanese Government (Philippines)-1000 Pesos (1945)
Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima, larger - edit1
Red Fuji southern wind clear morning
Rhinogobius flumineus(Hamamatsu,Shizuoka,Japan)
STS-134 International Space Station after undocking
Samurai with sword
Sesshu - Haboku-Sansui - complete
Shimano Hyperglide cassette 8-speed CS-HG51 11-32
Shoki2
Somagahana Fuchiemon restored
Suikoden
The Illustration of The Siberian War, No. 16. The Japanese Army Occupied Vragaeschensk
The brown-eared bulbul after playing with water
Torii path with lantern at Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine, Kyoto, Japan
Two Lovers Beneath an Umbrella in the Snow
USS Bunker Hill hit by two Kamikazes
Zhou Maoshu Appreciating Lotuses

Featured portals

Picture of the day pictures

07. Japanese Garden Pano, Cowra, NSW, 22.09.2006
2003 Mazda 6 (GG) Classic hatchback 01
Asahi Breweries headquarters building with the Asahi Flame and Skytree at blue hour with full moon, Sumida-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Ase o fuku onna2
BUR-10b-Burma-Japanese Occupation-Five Cents ND (1942)
BUR-11a-Burma-Japanese Occupation-10 Cents ND (1942)
BUR-12a-Burma-Japanese Occupation-One Quarter Rupee ND (1942)
BUR-13b-Burma-Japanese Occupation-One Half Rupee ND (1942)
BUR-14-Burma-Japanese Occupation-One Rupee ND (1942)
BUR-15b-Burma-Japanese Occupation-Five Rupees ND (1942-44)
BUR-16-Japanese occupation Burma-10 rupees (1942-44)
BUR-17b-Burma-Japanese Occupation-100 Rupees ND (1944)
BUR-9b-Burma-Japanese Occupation-One Cent ND (1942)
Beijing Castle Boxer Rebellion 1900 FINAL
Bicycle crankset Shimano 105 R7000 (chainring 50-34, length 172.5mm, 11 speed)
Blind monks examining an elephant
Bloody Saturday, Shanghai
Comme des Garcons at the Met (62473)
Crested myna, Osaka, Japan
Daurian redstart at Daisen Park in Osaka, January 2016
Douglas MacArthur signs formal surrender
Extermination of Evil Tenkeisei
Forces returning 2
Gasshukoku suishi teitoku kōjōgaki (Oral statement by the American Navy admiral)
Geisha Kyoto Gion
Geisha-kyoto-2004-11-21
Golden gate of Ueno Tōshō-gū Shinto shrine, Tokyo, Japan
Great Wave off Kanagawa2
Hasegawa Tohaku - Pine Trees (Shōrin-zu byōbu) - left hand screen
Hasegawa Tohaku - Pine Trees (Shōrin-zu byōbu) - right hand screen
Heart Mountain Relocation Center, Heart Mountain, Wyoming. In his barracks home at Block 7 - 21 - NARA - 539206 - Restoration
Hiroshige II - Kishu kumano iwatake tori - Shokoku meisho hyakkei
HiroshimaPeaceMemorialPanorama-2
HoryujiYumedono0363edit4
Hyochangwon as Korea's first golf course
ISS Aug2005
ISS March 2009
Instrument of surrender Japan2
JAPAN-10-Constitutional Monarchy-One Yen (1873)
JAPAN-M7-Tsingtao-10 Sen (1914)
Japan 1870 20 Yen (alt)
Japanese Squirrel edit2
Japanese archer 1878b
Japanese pygmy woodpecker in Sakai, Osaka, February 2016
Japanese white-eye at Tennōji Park in Osaka, January 2016 III
Japaneseweavera
Japanmakaken im Jigokudani Monkey Park bei der Fellpflege
Kabukicho red gate and colorful neon street signs at night, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan
Khalili Collections A Composite Imaginary View of Japan
Kiyonaga bathhouse women-2
Koku Saitcho shounin
KyotoFushimiInariLarge
Lagopus muta japonica Mount Tsubakuro
Line scan photo of Shinkansen N700A Series Set G13 in 2017, car 01
Line scan photo of Shinkansen N700A Series Set G13 in 2017, car 02
Line scan photo of Shinkansen N700A Series Set G13 in 2017, car 03
Line scan photo of Shinkansen N700A Series Set G13 in 2017, car 04
Line scan photo of Shinkansen N700A Series Set G13 in 2017, car 05
Line scan photo of Shinkansen N700A Series Set G13 in 2017, car 06
Line scan photo of Shinkansen N700A Series Set G13 in 2017, car 07
Line scan photo of Shinkansen N700A Series Set G13 in 2017, car 08
Line scan photo of Shinkansen N700A Series Set G13 in 2017, car 09
Line scan photo of Shinkansen N700A Series Set G13 in 2017, car 10
Line scan photo of Shinkansen N700A Series Set G13 in 2017, car 11
Line scan photo of Shinkansen N700A Series Set G13 in 2017, car 12
Line scan photo of Shinkansen N700A Series Set G13 in 2017, car 13
Line scan photo of Shinkansen N700A Series Set G13 in 2017, car 14
Line scan photo of Shinkansen N700A Series Set G13 in 2017, car 15
Line scan photo of Shinkansen N700A Series Set G13 in 2017, car 16
MAL-M10b-Malaya-Japanese Occupation-1000 Dollars ND (1945)
MAL-M1b-Malaya-Japanese Occupation-One Cent ND (1942)
MAL-M2a-Malaya-Japanese Occupation-Five Cents ND (1942)
MAL-M3b-Malaya-Japanese Occupation-10 Cents ND (1942)
MAL-M4b-Malaya-Japanese Occupation-50 Cents ND (1942)
MAL-M5c-Malaya-Japanese Occupation-One Dollar ND (1942)
MAL-M6c-Malaya-Japanese Occupation-Five Dollars ND (1942)
MAL-M7c-Malaya-Japanese Occupation-10 Dollars ND (1944)
MAL-M8b-Malaya-Japanese Occupation-100 Dollars ND (1944)
MAL-M9-Malaya-Japanese Occupation-100 Dollars ND (1945)
Mamoru Shigemitsu signs the Instrument of Surrender, officially ending the Second World War
Manzanar calisthenics 0016u
Manzanar portrait Toyo Miyatake 00100u
Maresuke Nogi, 近世名士写真其1 - Photo only
Mazda RX-8 on freeway
NI-119b-Netherlands Indies-Japanese Occupation-1 Cent (1942)
NI-120c-Netherlands Indies-Japanese Occupation-5 Cents (1942)
NI-121a-Netherlands Indies-Japanese Occupation-10 Cents (1942)
NI-122b-Netherlands Indies-Japanese Occupation-half Gulden (1942)
NI-123-Netherlands Indies-Japanese Occupation-1 Gulden (1942)
NI-124c-Netherlands Indies-Japanese Occupation-5 Gulden (1942)
NI-125c-Netherlands Indies-Japanese Occupation-10 Gulden (1942)
Nagasakibomb
Nagoya Castle(Edit2)
Noru 2017-07-31 0415Z
OCE-1a-Oceania-Japanese Occupation-Half Shilling ND (1942)
OCE-2a-Oceania-Japanese Occupation-One Shilling ND (1942)
OCE-3a-Oceania-Japanese Occupation-10 Shillings ND (1942)
OCE-4a-Oceania-Japanese Occupation-One Pound ND (1942)
Ogata Gekko - Ryu sho ten edit
Olympus E-M1 Mark III Zuiko 12-100mm
PHI-102b-Japanese Government (Philippines)-1 Centavo (1942)
PHI-103b-Japanese Government (Philippines)-5 Centavos (1942)
PHI-104b-Japanese Government (Philippines)-10 Centavos (1942)
PHI-105b-Japanese Government (Philippines)-50 Centavos (1942)
PHI-106-Japanese Government (Philippines)-1 Peso (1942)
PHI-107A-Japanese Government (Philippines)-5 Pesos (1942)
PHI-108-Japanese Government (Philippines)-10 Pesos (1942)
PHI-109-Japanese Government (Philippines)-1 Peso (1943)
PHI-110-Japanese Government (Philippines)-5 Pesos (1943)
PHI-111-Japanese Government (Philippines)-10 Pesos (1943)
PHI-112-Japanese Government (Philippines)-100 Pesos (1944)
PHI-114-Japanese Government (Philippines)-500 Pesos (1944)
PHI-115-Japanese Government (Philippines)-1000 Pesos (1945)
Panorama of Edo bw
Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima, larger - edit1
Red Fuji southern wind clear morning
Rhinogobius flumineus(Hamamatsu,Shizuoka,Japan)
STS-134 International Space Station after undocking
Sake barrels at Itsukushima Shrine
Samurai with sword
Sesshu - Haboku-Sansui - complete
Shimano Hyperglide cassette 8-speed CS-HG51 11-32
Shoki2
Somagahana Fuchiemon restored
Suikoden
The Illustration of The Siberian War, No. 16. The Japanese Army Occupied Vragaeschensk
The brown-eared bulbul after playing with water
Torii path with lantern at Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine, Kyoto, Japan
Two Lovers Beneath an Umbrella in the Snow
USS Bunker Hill hit by two Kamikazes
Zhou Maoshu Appreciating Lotuses