so named 1868, from Japanese to "east" + kyo "capital;" its earlier name was Edo, literally "estuary."
1570s, via Portuguese Japao, Dutch Japan, acquired in Malacca from Malay Japang, from Chinese jih pun "sunrise" (equivalent of Japanese Nippon), from jih "sun" + pun "origin." Earliest form in Europe was Marco Polo's Chipangu. Cultural contact led to japaning "coat with lacquer or varnish" (1680s), japonaiserie (1896, from French), etc.
Island nation in the northwest Pacific Ocean off the coast of east Asia, separated by the Sea of Japan from Russian Siberia, China, and Korea. The Japanese archipelago includes four major islands (Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu, and Shikoku) as well as many smaller islands. Its capital and largest city is Tokyo.
Note: Called the “Land of the Rising Sun,” Japan is symbolized by a red sun on a white background.
Note: Another symbol of Japan is Fujiyama, also called Mount Fuji, a volcano whose symmetrical snow-capped peak has been the object of countless pilgrimages, poems, and paintings. It has not erupted since 1707.
Note: Imperial Japan was organized on a feudal system (see feudalism), characterized by the samurai (the warrior class, which eventually became landed gentry) and the shogun (the hereditary administrative leader). The emperor, believed to be divine, was the ceremonial leader. Japan is a constitutional monarchy today.
Note: Japan's ports were first opened to Western traders in the sixteenth century but were closed in the seventeenth century. Japan remained in virtual isolation until the 1850s, when an American naval officer, Matthew C. Perry, persuaded the government to reopen trade with the West.
Note: Suffering from overcrowding, lack of natural resources, and the influence of powerful military factions, Japan pursued an aggressive policy of expansion in China during the 1930s, ultimately resulting in a military alliance with Germany and Italy to form the Axis powers in World War II. (See also Hiroshima, Pearl Harbor, and Douglas MacArthur.)
Note: Although a world leader in shipbuilding, electronics, and automobile manufacture, Japan's economy suffered a severe slump during the 1990s.
Capital of Japan and largest city in the country, located on the island of Honshu at the head of Tokyo Bay; the administrative, financial, educational, and cultural center of Japan.
Note: The world's largest city, Tokyo is also among its most modern.
Note: It was heavily damaged by Allied bombing during World War II.
Note: Tokyo became the capital of the Japanese Empire in 1868 when Japan began a period of intensive modernization.
any of a class of oil varnishes in which bitumen (a mixture of asphaltlike hydrocarbons) replaces the natural gums or resins used as hardeners in clear varnish. Black varnish is widely used as a protective coating for interior and exterior ironwork such as pipework, tanks, stoves, roofing, and marine accessories. The bitumen forms a protective barrier against atmospheric corrosion. Bitumens used include petroleum bitumen; natural asphalts, such as uintaite; and pitches, as from coal tar.