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Japan · 1001 Questions and Answers on General History

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  Chapter three of one thousand one Questions and Answers on General History. This is
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  a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more
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  information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. Recording by Larry Wilson.
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  One thousand one Questions and Answers on General History by Benjamin Hathaway Japan.
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  One Where is the Empire of Japan East Central Asia? Two? What does
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  it comprise? Four large islands and over three thousand small ones? Three?
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  What is the name of the largest island, Nihon or Nippon? Four?
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  What is the meaning of the word Japan sunrise or the land of Sunrise?
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  And thus denotes the position the empire occupies in the extreme East? Five Named
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  the oldest books of Japanese history, Book of Traditions published seventeen twelve a d.
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  And Chronicles of Japan published seven twenty a d. Six What do these
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  books record? Besides giving account of events? They record the Japanese theory of
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  creation? Seven? What is their theory of creation? It is a root
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  specimen of evolution, that heaven and Earth evolved from an egg, and that
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  the deity evolved from the Earth. Eight from the best authority. What is
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  thought to be the origin of the Japanese. The weight of history is in
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  favor of the idea that they migrated from northeastern Asia through Korea to Japan.
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  Nine What is the legend of the pedigree of their sovereign Their first existed seven
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  generations of heavenly deities, who were followed by five generations of earthly deities,
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  who in turn were succeeded by the mortal sovereigns, of whom the president,
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  Mikado or emperor is the one hundred twenty second. Ten What is the earliest
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  date accepted by the Japanese themselves? One that corresponds to six hundred BC,
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  when the first Emperor, Dimu succeeded to the throne. It is styled the
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  year one of the Japanese era. Eleven When do Buddhism entered Japan in the
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  year five fifty two a d. Twelve. What effect did this have on
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  Japan? Chinese institutions were introduced and a stream of skilled artisans, scholars,
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  teachers, and missionaries poured into the country. Thirteen What religious custom was adopted
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  by the rulers, that of abdicating the throne in order to spend old age
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  in prayer fourteen to what did this lead to the effacement of the mikado's authority
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  during the Middle Ages fifteen? What governmental changes occurred in six hundred four a
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  d a monarchical government was established sixteen? What caused this change an acquaintance with
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  the Chinese? Seventeen? How were the officials divided into civil and military grades,
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  a regular system of ministers responsible to the sovereign, who, as the
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  son of Heaven, was theoretically absolute eighteen? What war raged in the tenth
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  century the War of the Red and White Flags? Nineteen? Why so called
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  on account of the color of their banners? Twenty was it a civil or
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  a national war? Civil being between the ruling families? Twenty one? What
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  title was conferred by the mikado upon the conqueror shogun which signifies greatest general or
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  general in chief? Twenty two? What did the shogun acquire in eleven ninety
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  two the entire control of political affairs? Twenty three? What did the mikado
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  retain the religious supremacy and the symbols of royalty and remained the theoretical head of
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  the government Twenty four What grew up under this dual form of government, a
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  feudal system, the military leaders at Daimio's securing land in fief, erecting castles,
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  and supporting a host of retainers. Twenty five How long did this condition
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  of affairs last? Until a eighteen sixty eight, when a revolution restored the
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  Mikado to supreme power, destroyed the shogun's rule, and abolished the feudal titles
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  and tenures. Twenty six Who came to Japan during the sixteenth century? The
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  Portuguese twenty seven who introduced Christianity Francis Xevier the Apostle to the Indies, and
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  in time six hundred thousand converts were made. Twenty eight What did the Jesuit
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  fathers accomplish? They founded churches, organized hospitals, and established colleges where the
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  candidates for the church could be educated. Twenty nine What was the extent of
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  their influence? At one time it seemed probable that Japan as a nation would
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  embrace the Roman Catholic faith. Three What excited the alarm of the government at
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  last? The intrigues of the misistionaries Thirty one who is regarded by the Japanese
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  as their greatest men Taiko Sama. Thirty two. What edict did he issue?
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  An edict expelling all foreign religious leaders? Thirty three? What is said
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  of the persecution that followed? It has never been surpassed for cruelty and brutality
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  on the part of the persecutors, or for courage and constancy on the part
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  of those who suffered. Thirty four What foreign people were still allowed to remain?
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  The Dutch who had come in sixteen hundred were allowed a residence upon an
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  island in the harbor of Nagasaki, and to exchange a single shipload of merchandise
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  per year. Thirty five How long did the government maintain its isolation until the
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  country was opened to the five Great Western Powers by the American Treaty of March
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  thirty first, eighteen fifty four. Thirty six What expedition secured it? The
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  United States Expedition under Commodore Perry Thirty seven. What has the government of Japan
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  become a constitutional monarchy with a cabinet, a Privy Council, a House of
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  Peers, and a House of representatives? Thirty eight What has been accomplished by
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  the new order? Absolute religious freedom is secured, elementary education made compulsory,
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  kindergarten methods are provided and a flourishing government university is supported. Thirty nine What
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  was the cause of the war between Japan and China In eighteen ninety four ninety
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  five? A revolution in Korea drove the king into exile in Japan, and
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  the latter nation landed a large number of troops on Korean soil. China resented
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  this invasion, and upon the failure of the two nations to agree regarding their
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  mutual relations toward Korea, war was declared June eighteen ninety four. Forty What
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  was the result. Both countries sent large bodies of troops into Korea, and
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  the Japanese were victorious. A treaty of peace was signed March nineteenth, eighteen
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  ninety five, with terms favorable to Japan. Forty one What is the religious
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  belief of the Japanese, the Shinto and the Buddhist? There are various Christian
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  missions in Japan, principally in Tokyo and Yokohama. Forty two What is the
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  Shinto belief? A system of nature and hero worship is God number fourteen thousand,
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  and are propitiated by offerings of food and by music and dancing. Forty
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  three What is peculiar about the Japanese written language? Two distinct alphabets and kinds
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  of writing in use, the system of Chinese hieroglyphic symbols, which dates from
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  the third century, and a phonetic alphabet of forty seven characters invented in the
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  nineteenth century. Forty four What is said of the literature of Japan. It
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  is abundant and various, and includes works on history and science, encyclopedias,
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  poetry, prose fiction, and translations of European works. Forty five What is
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  the nature of Japanese art? It is essentially decorative and in its application to
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  a great degree, purely industrial. One of its characteristic features is individuality of
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  character in the treatment by which the absence of all uniformity and monotony or sameness
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  is secured. Forty six What is said of the governmental changes of Japan?
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  A single generation has witnessed changes that required in Europe's centuries to perfect end of
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  Chapter three,