Category People and places

Japan: Where tradition meets modernity

Sushi, ikebana, cherry blossoms, haiku, sumo and more… Japan is a rich showcase of heritage. But hold on, modern Japan reflects Western cultural influences too.

Ranu Joardar

Japan, a string of islands, has achieved remarkable success since the devastating Second World War. It is now the world’s third-largest economy, a major aid donor, and plays a major role in the Asia-Pacific region. Let us know more about the country.

History

Though it remains unknown when humans first settled on the Japan archipelago, the excavations since the Second World War have unearthed a wide variety of Paleolithic tools. Japan’s first emperor Jimmu Tenno came to power in 660 BC. Emperors continued to rule the country till the 12th Century AD when military rulers (shoguns) took over.

Europeans came to the country in 1543, introducing guns and Christianity. In 1635, shoguns banned the entry of foreigners, and citizens were not allowed to travel abroad. The isolation continued for 200 years until the shoguns were overthrown in 1868. This political revolution that brought an end to the military government was known as the Meiji Restoration. During the First World War, Japan fought alongside the U.S. After the bombing of the United States Navy fleet at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii by Japan on December 7, 1941, the U.S. joined the Second World War. From 1941-1945, Japan’s military leaders fought against the U.S. and the Allied forces. In 1945, the U.S. army dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing about 1,15,000 people. Japan surrendered a few days later.

Geography

Japan consists of a string of islands in a northeast-southwest arc that stretches for about 2,400 km in the western North Pacific Ocean. Though there are numerous small islands, the four main islands from north to south are – Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu. Honshu is the largest island of the four. The national capital, Tokyo, in Honshu is one of the world’s most populous cities.

The country’s four-fifth portion of land is covered with mountains. It has about 200 volcanoes, 60 of which are active. Its highest peak is Mount Fuji, a dormant volcano since its last eruption in 1707. The mountain is part of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park and is at the centre of a UNESCO World Heritage site designated in 2013.

The country is extremely prone to earthquakes as tectonic plates that form the Earth’s crust meet nearby and they often move against each other. Every year, the country faces about 1,000 tremors, most of them minor. The major earthquakes in the country included the Tokyo-Yokohama in 1923 and Kobe in 1995. In 2011, the country witnessed a major earthquake that caused widespread damage on land and initiated a series of large tsunami waves. The tsunami caused the Fukushima nuclear accident, the second worst nuclear accident in the history of nuclear power generation. Some rivers flowing from the volcanic areas of northeastern Honshu are acidic and hence cannot be used for irrigation and other purposes.

Flora and fauna

Most of the original vegetation in Japan has been replaced by agriculture or foreign species. The Ryukyu and Bonin archipelagoes are covered by semitropical rainforest and have various kinds of mulberries, camphor, oaks, and ferns (including tree ferns). The cherry tree is one of the symbols of Japan.

According to the ancient Shinto religion, features like mountains and forests have their own spirits (souls).

The mammals in Japan are mostly found in the remote, heavily forested mountain regions. These animals include bears, wild boars, raccoon dogs (tanuki), foxes, deer (including sikas), antelope, hares, and weasels. The Japanese macaque or snow monkeys are important figures in myths and folktales. For instance, they are represented in the Buddhist adage “See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.”

People

The Japanese are known as hardworking people. At a very early age, children are taught self-discipline, respect, and cooperation.

The Japanese language is similar to Korean, though the Vocabularies are different. According to some linguists, Japanese contains some elements of the Southeast Asian languages. Earlier, the Japanese had no written form. The Japanese language was enriched with the introduction of the Chinese writing system and Chinese literature around the 4th Century AD.

One of the well-known forms of Japanese poetry is Haiku, which first emerged in Japanese literature during the 17th Century. It is an unrhymed poetic form of 17 syllables.

The native religion of Japan, Shinto, coexists with various sects of Buddhism, Christianity, and some ancient shamanistic practices, as well as a number of new religions that emerged since the 19th Century. Though children usually do not receive formal religious training, many Japanese homes have a Buddhist altar where various rituals are held to commemorate deceased family members.

Modern Japanese culture is a mix of both East and West influences. It has familiar elements of the West and also powerful and distinctive traditional cultural aesthetic. Western art forms have been embraced by the Japanese. The Japanese are one of the most literate peoples in the world.

Japanese food mostly contains rice, fish, and vegetables. Their cuisine is often served raw or only lightly cooked but is famous for its subtle and delicate flavours. Their best known dish sushi is cooked vinegared rice served with a variety of vegetables, sashimi (raw seafood), and egg garnish, and formed into various shapes. Another popular part of Japanese food is green tea, which is cultivated on or near the slopes of Mount Fuji in Shizuoka prefecture.

Due to their healthy diet, the Japanese people live a very long life (longer than any other people in the world). In March this year, the world’s oldest person Kane Tanaka passed away at the age of 119.

Japan has a rich tradition of arts such as tea ceremony, calligraphy, ikebana (flower arranging), gardening, architecture, painting, and sculpture. Their performing arts are distinguished by their mix of music, dance, and drama, rooted in different eras of the past.

Japan is home to over a dozen UNESCO World Heritage sites. Historic monuments like Kyoto and Nara (designated in 1993 and 1998 respectively) reflect the country’s rich tradition. Meanwhile, the Atomic Bomb Dome at Hiroshima and the silver-mining area in Honshu are part of recent history.

Though several sports are played in Japan, its traditional sport is sumo (its origins date back to the 8th Century). Six major professional tournaments are held annually and they are avidly followed throughout the country.

Government

Japan is one of the world’s most successful democracies and largest economies. Its constitution was formed in 1946 and came into force in 1947, which superseded the 1889 Meiji Constitution. Interestingly, Article 9 of the constitution states that Japan has renounced war forever as a sovereign right of the nation. This clause had been under much debate.

Though the country still has an emperor, he is only the symbol of the state and of the unity of the people. His major role includes appointing the Prime Minister (who is first designated by the Diet, the national legislature) and appointing the chief justice of the Supreme Court.

In 2019, the father of current emperor Naruhito, Emperor Akihito, became the country’s first monarch to step down from the Chrysanthemum Throne in two centuries.

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Ecuador: Complex legacy of indigenous, colonial pasts

Named after Equator, the country was colonised by the Inca and Spanish empires before achieving independence in 1833. It has also been a part of several key scientific expeditions.

Ranu Joardar

Ecuador is located in northwestern South America. It is one of the most environmentally diverse countries and has even contributed to the environmental sciences such as establishing basic theories of modem geography and evolutionary biology.

Geography

Ecuador is named after Equator, which is the imaginary line around the Earth. While the Equator divides the country in two, most parts of it lie in the Southern Hemisphere. The country is bordered by Colombia and Peru. Andes Mountains are the backbone of the country; the Oriente in the east of the Andes is rich in oil Cotopaxi in the Andes is the highest active volcano in the world.

The Galapagos Islands, which lie 900 km west of Ecuador, are home to unique reptiles, birds, and plants. In the Costa or coastal plain region, most of the bananas in the world are grown.

Though Mount Everest's peak is the highest altitude above sea level, Ecuadors Mount Chimborazo is the highest point above Earth's centre. It is located at a degree south of the Equator where Earth's bulge is greatest. Despite having a height of only about 20.702 feet, it is the closest point on Earth to the stars.

History

Ecuador is a mixture of indigenous and colonial pasts. Most parts of the country were part of the Inca empire, the largest political unit of pre-Columbian America, Peru-centred Inca Empire in the 15th Century. A century later, it became a Spanish colony and remained under its rule for 300 years. The country gained independence from Spain in 1822.

However, the country's history dates back to long before even the Inca conquest. Pottery figurines and containers dating from 3000 to 2500 BC have been discovered, which makes them one of the earliest ceramics in the New World. By the 1400s,

Ecuador was divided among warring chiefdoms. Though the country had sophisticated raised-field cultivation systems and trade networks, it lacked cities and States until after the Inca conquest.

Flora and fauna

The wet lowlands of the Oriente and the northern and southeastern parts of the Costa are covered with tropical rainforests. Balsa trees, found in the Guayas River valley, are heavily exploited for their light wood. Meanwhile, the cinchona trees in the eastern forest have been a valuable source of quinine (medications to treat malaria) before its synthetic equivalents.

The rainforest is home to a wide variety of monkeys and carnivorous mammals such as jaguars, ocelots, foxes, weasels, otters, skunks, raccoons, coatis, and kinkajous. Besides, tapir, deer, and peccary are also found in the region. The region is home to about 1,500 species of birds such as condors, hummingbirds, blue-footed boobies, and parrots.

People and culture

The ethnic population includes several indigenous language-speaking people and highland and lowland Spanish-speaking mestizos (people of mixed indigenous and European descent). Most people describe themselves as mestizo.

The population also includes descendants of Africans and more-recent immigrants from countries such as Lebanon, China, Korea, Japan, Italy, and Germany.

Though Spanish is the official language, there are dialectal differences between Sierra and Costa Spanish. Sierra Spanish is influenced by Quichua. Quichua and Shuar (both of which are official intercultural languages) as well as other ancestral languages are spoken by the indigenous people.

Interestingly, people here identify more with their region or village than with the country. It can be said that the country may be divided into a dozen major folk-cultural regions such as norteno mestizo, northern Quechua, Esmeraldeno blacks, Shuar (Jivaro), and Amazonian Quechua.

Their holidays are associated with particular foods or drinks, and music. During Easter, the popular food, especially in the mountain highlands, is fanesca, which is a traditional Ecuadorian soup made with grains, vegetables, and hard-boiled eggs. Chilli sauce is part of most meals. In the coastal regions, the popular food is seviche, which is made with shrimp or shellfish or even mushrooms pickled with lemon juice, cilantro, and onions.

The country is a favourite tourist destination for its jazz, poetry readings, folk music, and arena rock concerts.

There are numerous architectural masterpieces in Ecuador such as the large tolas (pre-Inca ramp mounds) of the northern highlands, those protected at the Cochasqui archaeological park: the Inca stone walls of Ingapirca near Canar; the great colonial churches of Quito (especially San Francisco and La Compania) with their paintings and gilt wood carving. The old urban centre of Quito was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1978, as was that of Cuenca in 1999.

Football is Ecuador's national sport. Their other fovourite sports include basketball and volleyball.

Scientific marvels

The first scientific expedition to measure the Earth's circumference, led by Charles-Marie de La Condamine of France, was in Ecuador. Renowned naturalists Alexander von Humboldt of Prussia and Charles Darwin of England conducted research in Ecuador to establish basic theories of modern geography, ecology, and evolutionary biology.

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Indonesia: the nation of 17,500 islands

The world’s largest island complex, which has been inhabited for about 1.7 million years, is now home to more than 300 different ethnic groups

Ranu Joardar

Indonesia is an archipelago comprising the Greater Sunda Islands of Sumatra (Sumatera), Java (Jawa), the southern extent of Borneo (Kalimantan), and Celebes (Sulawesi); the Lesser Sunda Islands (Nusa Tenggara) of Bali and a chain of islands that runs eastward through Timor, the Moluccas (Maluku) between Celebes and the island of New Guinea; and the western extent of New Guinea (generally known as Papua).

Indonesia is the largest and most populous country in Southeast Asia. The country is one of the founding members of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which aims to accelerate economic growth, social progress, and cultural development and promote peace and security in Southeast Asia.

History

Formerly known as the Dutch East Indies or the Netherlands East Indies, the name ‘Indonesia’ was used as early as 1884 by a German geographer. It is believed that the name has derived from the Greek word ‘indos’, meaning ‘India’, and ‘nesos’, meaning ‘island’.

While records of foreign trade begin only in the early centuries, it is widely believed that people from the Indonesian archipelago were sailing to other parts of Asia much earlier. According to Roman historian Pliny the Elder’s encyclopaedic scientific work Natural History, the Indonesians used to trade with the east coast of Africa in the 1st Century AD.

The Indonesian written and oral sources suggest that the origins of kingdoms along the coasts of the Java Sea were related to the success of local heroes in using foreign trading treasure to their advantage.

Geography

Indonesia comprises about 17,500 islands, of which more than 7,000 are uninhabited. The Equator crosses Sumatra at its centre.

The remains of Homo erectus (originally known as Pithecanthropus or Java man) have revealed that the Java island was already inhabited about 1.7 million years ago, the time when most of the western archipelago was linked by land bridges. These bridges submerged about 6,000 years ago due to rapid postglacial rise in sea level.

Most of the Indonesian islands are densely forested volcanic mountains in the interior that slope down to coastal plains covered with thick alluvial swamps. These swamps dissolve into shallow seas and coral reefs. Underneath this surface is the junction of three major sections of the Earth’s crust.

Flora and fauna

The vegetation in Indonesia is similar to that of the Philippines, Malaysia, and Papua New Guinea. It is home to about 40,000 species of flowering plants, including 5,000 species of orchids and Rafflesiaceae (the world’s largest flower).

There are over 3,000 tree species such as durian, sandalwood, and costly timber varieties such as teak and ironwood.

Here, mangrove forests can be seen in salty or brackish water along muddy shores. Most mangrove swamps are along the shallow seas in eastern Sumatra, southern Kalimantan, and the southeastern segment of western New Guinea.

Some of the islands of the archipelago are home to endemic species such as the Javanese peacock, Sumatran drongo, proboscis monkey in Kalimantan, and babirusa and tamarau in Celebes.

Most of the Javanese rhinoceroses can only be found on the western tip of Java. This species is one of the world’s most highly protected forms of wildlife. Another such endangered species is the orangutan. They are native to Borneo and Sumatra. To save the population from capture and slaughter, several orangutan rehabilitation centres and programmes have been established. These organisations also train orangutans who have been held captive to return to the wild.

People

Indonesia has been the middle point of two population groups – Asians in the west and Melanesians (indigenous peoples of Pacific Islands known as Melanesia) in the east.

Though the majority of the population is related to those from eastern Asia, there has been an influx of and mixing with Arabs, Indians, and Europeans in past centuries.

The eastern islands are dominated by people of Melanesian origin.

The country has more than 300 different ethnic groups, resulting in twice as many distinct languages and most of the major world religions.

Meanwhile, Bali, whose local religious practices are influenced by both Hinduism and Buddhism, has customs that are different from that of other parts of Indonesia.

About half of the country’s population lives in rural areas. Java, Madura, and Bali have a systemised rural structure that is based most on wet-rice cultivation (cultivating rice by planting on dry land then transferring the seedlings to a flooded field, and draining the field before harvesting).

Indonesia’s five largest cities are Jakarta, Surabaya, Bandung, Bekasi, and Medan. They are considered metropolitan areas as they have the most number of government, financial, and business offices.

Government

After the Japanese invasion (1942-45) during World War II, statesman Sukarno declared Indonesia’s independence in 1945 (though the Netherlands retained a large portion of the region).

However, the struggle for independence continued till 1949 when the Dutch officially recognised Indonesian Sovereignty. Sukarno became the country’s first President in 1949.

Till 2002, both the President and the Prime Minister were elected for a period of five years by the People’s Consultative Assembly. Since 2004, both leaders are being directly elected.

On August 8, 1967, five leaders – the Foreign Ministers of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand- established the ASEAN.

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Why Hungary rich in culture?

Budapest, Hungary’s capital, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its rich architectural legacy.

Ranu Joardar

Hungary, one of the several landlocked countries in Europe, is unique in itself. Having a language that is not related to any European language, the country has felt isolated through much of its history. It has produced a number of scientists, mathematicians, economists, anthropologists, musicians, and artists.

History

Hungary is referred to as Magyarorszag or the land of Magyars’ by its citizens. Some believe that the country came into existence after the Magyars, a Finno-Ugric people, occupied the middle basin of the Danube River in the late 9th Century. However, archaeologist Gyula Laslo has opined that the country’s history dates back to 670 with the arrival of the Late Avars, who were the early Magyars. The Magyars had a thriving society till 1241 when the Mongols invaded the region. The Mongols were defeated by the Magyars twice. It later became a part of the Ottoman Empire and remained so for several years. From 1699 till the First World War, Hungary was part of Austria. During the Second World War, Hungary fought alongside the Axis powers – Germany, Italy and Japan.

Geography

Hungary is bordered by Slovakia and Austria to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Slovenia to the west, and Croatia and Serbia to the south.

The country is mostly flat and has a large lowland area known as the Great Hungarian Plain. The Danube River, the largest river in the country, cuts through the middle of the country. It crosses 10 countries on its way to the Black Sea. There are three key freshwater lakes including Lake Balaton, the largest in central Europe. Lake Balaton was designated as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1989. Lake Heviz, which flows alongside the northern slope of Mount Keszthely, is one of the world’s largest thermal lakes. Near the Slovakia border is the Aggtelek National Park, which was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the late 20th Century. Of eight World Heritage sites, the caves of Aggtelek Karst and Slovak Karst, is a natural site.

Flora and fauna

While half of the land is used for farming, about one-sixth is used for non-agricultural purposes and the remainder comprises meadows, rough pasture, forests and woodland. The Great Hungarian Plain is the grasslands covering the central and eastern part of the country. In the north of the plains is a mountain range known as the Northern Hills. The hilly areas in the west of the Danube River are known as the Transdanube.

The Great Hungarian Plain is home to several species of animals such as roe deer, wild boars, red foxes, mouflon sheep, and birds such as the imperial eagle and great bustard. In 1999, the United Nations designated Hortobagy National Park, the largest of Hungary’s 10 national parks, as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Many threatened and endangered species of fish such as sturgeon and the Danube salmon are found in the Danube River.

People

Since the 10th Century, Hungary has been a multi-ethnic country with the Magyars as the dominant population. The Hungarian language, Magyar, is part of the Finno-Ugric group of the Uralic language. It is written in Latin alphabet, but has 44 letters in total.

Music is integral to the Hungarian culture. Their folk music is based on the daily experiences of peasants in the countryside with themes ranging from joy and sadness to weather and farming. The two greatest composers – Bela Bartok and Franz  Liszt – were from Hungary. It is the birthplace of many famous people such as Erno Rubik, inventor of the Rubik’s Cube.

Red meat forms an important part of their cuisine such as Gulyas (a thick beef soup cooked with onions and potatoes) and Hungarian sausage. Paprika is common in most Hungarian dishes. The Hungarian national anthem is based on the poem ‘Hymnusz’ written by Hungarian Romantic poet Ferenc Kolcsey in 1823. It was officially adopted in 1844.

The Hungarian capital Budapest has a rich architectural legacy from various periods that led to it being designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Danube Banks and the Buda Castle District (having medieval and characteristically Baroque style) were the first sites in Budapest to have been included on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1987. Budapest has the remains of monuments such as the Roman city of Aquincum and the Gothic castle of Buda, which influenced the architecture of various periods.

Government

Hungary is one of the new democracies. Throughout the 19th and 20th Centuries, the country’s political system had elements of autocracy. While between 1867 and 1948, the country had a parliament with a multiparty system, in 1948 the communists took over and a Soviet-style political system was followed. In 1990, the country held its first democratic elections. It became a part of the European Union in 2004. The country is now a parliamentary republic, led by a President is elected by the public. The Prime Minister is the head of the government. The current President Katalin Novak is the first female President of Hungary.

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What are the specialities of Goa, the smallest state in India?

Goa is located on the west coast of the Indian peninsula. It is the smallest state in the country by area and has a total area of 3,702 square kilometres, which makes up only 0.11 percentage of the total land area of the country. Panaji is the capital of Goa and Vasco da Gama is its largest city.

Goa shares boundaries with Karnataka and Maharashtra, where the Terekhol River separates Goa from Maharashtra in the North. In the East and the South, the boundaries are defined by the state of Karnataka. The Arabian Sea marks Goa’s borders in the West. The state is 594 km away from Mumbai city by road.

Konkani is the official language of Goa, which is spoken by the majority population. Goa is known for its white-sand beaches, active nightlife, places of worship, and World-Heritage-listed architecture. These factors attract many tourists from across the globe to Goa every year. Goa is also renowned for the wealth of flora and fauna it possesses as it lies close to the North Western Ghat rainforests, which is one among the rarest biodiversity hotspots of the world.

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Which is the largest state in India?

The largest state in India, Rajasthan, covers a total of 342,239 sq km area, and forms 10.4 per cent of the country’s total area. Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra are closely behind Rajasthan in terms of land area.

Its capital is Jaipur and Rajasthan is home to some of the important cities of the country like Jodhpur, Bikaner, Kota, Udaipur, Ajmer and Bharatpur. Rajasthan also has the Thar Desert.

Although it is the largest state, it is one of the least densely populated states as most of its population still lives in rural settlements. Rajasthan has sites of ruins of the Indus Valley civilisation at Kalibangan and Balathal, making it home to a very prominent archaeological region. The Dilwara Temple, a Jain pilgrimage site at Mount Abu, which is located in the ancient Aravalli mountain range in eastern Rajasthan, is another important destination. Apart from these, the Keoladeo National Park of Bharatpur, which is a World Heritage Site known for its bird life, is also part of Rajasthan.

The Ranthambore National Park in Sawai Madhopur, the Mukundra Hills Reserve in Kota, and Sariska Tiger Reserve in Alwar are the three national tiger reserves in the state.

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