Population
According to an article by John W. Traphagan just this year, "Japanese have among the lowest total fertility rates (TFR) in the world at about 1.4 and this rate has been consistently under 2.0 (2.1 is needed to keep a population stable) since the mid-1970s. At the same time, the Japanese population is among the longest-lived in the word with about 25% of the people over 65 and only 13% in their teens. As the elderly have started to pass away, the population has started to shrink" (Japan: Death by Demographics?). His article provides a full length analysis on the dire situation that Japan population is slowly decreasing.
Population Pyramids
Settlement
Japanese settlement is believed to have begun nearly 35,000 years ago, in the Paleolithic era. A bridge connecting Korea and Siberia to it the mainland allowed settlers to easily travel and begin their settlement into agricultural communities (Travel Souk). It is believed that many of the first settlers were to be Siberian due to the similarities in pottery-work that has been found in ancient Siberia. During the second century B.C., another pattern of Neolithic settlers were discovered near the capital of Japan – Tokyo – believed to have been the ones to have cultivated rice.
Nearly 200 years after this first group of settlers, there was a great movement of Chinese settlers, who moved through Korea, bringing with them a, “bronze culture of China, soon to be followed by iron” (History of Japan). Despite a great new wave of settlers, there was one region – Honshu – that had not yet been inhabited (Travel Souk). It wasn’t until the 4th century, that the Yamato clan established the idea of beginning the line of emperors who would eventually become the rulers of Japan for most of their history. The Yamato clan, was given its name after the Yamato plains in southern Japan, where “the first Japanese kingdom arose and provided the basis of future Japanese civilization” (Ancient Japan).
Later on, in the same century, the first settlers began to adapt new ideas and technology introduced by Chinese and Korean immigrants. Rice farming and irrigation rose in population and agriculture began to blossom. It is said that Japanese rice culture, “caused rich-poor gaps, and sowed seeds for political groups in rural areas and the Japanese beliefs and rituals emerged” (Japanese Rice Culture and History). It is safe to say then, that Japan's climate was mostly moist, as rice and other grains grow best in wetter climates. It is often that rice is farmed in flooded fields! However, it isn't impossible to grow rice, wheat and barley in dryer climates, thus rice being one most cultivated foods in the world!
Soon, emperors began to send their commanders to begin moderating Honshu. These commanders later became known as Shoguns – any one of the military leaders who ruled Japan until the revolution (Merriam-Webster, 2014) (Travel Souk). Once shoguns began to increase, the power of the emperor would slowly decrease until a Mongol invasion between 1274 and 1282, and a new idea of shogun power was introduced. These new shoguns – Tokugawa Shoguns – began to implement a new government among the people of Japan. They gave civil monarchy control to the emperors, banned guns – after a Portuguese ship had crashed on the island of Tanegashima, where firearms were first introduced (Guns in Medieval Japan) – and “limiting contact with foreigners (only Dutch and Chinese traders were permitted) and stamping out Christianity”. Their control of Japan allowed civil and economic development, but left the population of Japan to be discontent with the changes that their country had undergone. It wasn’t until in the 19th century that a young emperor named himself to be supreme among samurais and shoguns, abolishing their power over Japan, thus began modernization in Japan (Travel Souk).
New research has found that a number or things from the earliest settlement periods that show the importance of studying the ruins of the lands that were first touched by the first settlers. Researchers state that “officials have found remains of about 50 stone implements believed to have been used to crush nuts. ‘This is a major discover that can alter our views about the Paleolithic age, which has so far been believed to have been characterized by hunting-oriented migration’” (Ruins of possibly Japan’s oldest settlement). Now, Japan is considered to be “one of the world’s wealthiest and most developed counties in the world” (Travel Souk).
Nearly 200 years after this first group of settlers, there was a great movement of Chinese settlers, who moved through Korea, bringing with them a, “bronze culture of China, soon to be followed by iron” (History of Japan). Despite a great new wave of settlers, there was one region – Honshu – that had not yet been inhabited (Travel Souk). It wasn’t until the 4th century, that the Yamato clan established the idea of beginning the line of emperors who would eventually become the rulers of Japan for most of their history. The Yamato clan, was given its name after the Yamato plains in southern Japan, where “the first Japanese kingdom arose and provided the basis of future Japanese civilization” (Ancient Japan).
Later on, in the same century, the first settlers began to adapt new ideas and technology introduced by Chinese and Korean immigrants. Rice farming and irrigation rose in population and agriculture began to blossom. It is said that Japanese rice culture, “caused rich-poor gaps, and sowed seeds for political groups in rural areas and the Japanese beliefs and rituals emerged” (Japanese Rice Culture and History). It is safe to say then, that Japan's climate was mostly moist, as rice and other grains grow best in wetter climates. It is often that rice is farmed in flooded fields! However, it isn't impossible to grow rice, wheat and barley in dryer climates, thus rice being one most cultivated foods in the world!
Soon, emperors began to send their commanders to begin moderating Honshu. These commanders later became known as Shoguns – any one of the military leaders who ruled Japan until the revolution (Merriam-Webster, 2014) (Travel Souk). Once shoguns began to increase, the power of the emperor would slowly decrease until a Mongol invasion between 1274 and 1282, and a new idea of shogun power was introduced. These new shoguns – Tokugawa Shoguns – began to implement a new government among the people of Japan. They gave civil monarchy control to the emperors, banned guns – after a Portuguese ship had crashed on the island of Tanegashima, where firearms were first introduced (Guns in Medieval Japan) – and “limiting contact with foreigners (only Dutch and Chinese traders were permitted) and stamping out Christianity”. Their control of Japan allowed civil and economic development, but left the population of Japan to be discontent with the changes that their country had undergone. It wasn’t until in the 19th century that a young emperor named himself to be supreme among samurais and shoguns, abolishing their power over Japan, thus began modernization in Japan (Travel Souk).
New research has found that a number or things from the earliest settlement periods that show the importance of studying the ruins of the lands that were first touched by the first settlers. Researchers state that “officials have found remains of about 50 stone implements believed to have been used to crush nuts. ‘This is a major discover that can alter our views about the Paleolithic age, which has so far been believed to have been characterized by hunting-oriented migration’” (Ruins of possibly Japan’s oldest settlement). Now, Japan is considered to be “one of the world’s wealthiest and most developed counties in the world” (Travel Souk).
Maps
This map simply shows the minerals that are available throughout different regions of Japan. You can see that the copper culture that was introduced by Chinese immigrants plays a great role as it is available throughout Japan - mostly in the northeastern hemisphere. Copper refining processing can also be found in similar areas.
Japans Mineral Map. Retrieved from http://www.mappery.com/Japan-Minerals-Map
This map represents land utilization throughout Japan. You can see that the forest is much more dominant and consistent throughout out the country, as well as paddy fields that farm rice, wheat and barley - popular grains in Japan. You can also see that there are plenty of fishing ports that contribute to a large market in Japan. Researchers believe that hunting, fishing, and farming were three of the main reasons for settlement in Japan.
Retrieved from NationMaster. http://images.nationmaster.com/images/motw/middle_east_and_asia/japan_land_1971.jpg
This simple map shows the range of climate throughout Japan. It varies from latitude, region from region. Regions with a moderate temperature tend to be more forest dominant, and you can see that southern regions rise in temperature, and tend to be more arid. This could possibly show why settlement occurred, because of the wide variety of climate from northern and southern Japan.
Climate Map of Japan. Retrieved from http://www.facts-about-japan.com/images/map_gallery/Climate_Map_of_Japan.png
Works Cited
Ancient Japan. (n.d.). Retrieved September 17, 2014, from http://www.shibuiswords.com/yamatostate.htm
Facts to Know About Japan. (2014, January 1). Retrieved September 17, 2014, from http://asianhistory.about.com/od/japan/p/ProfileJapan.htm
HISTORY OF JAPAN. (2001, January 1). Retrieved September 17, 2014, from http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?groupid=2009&HistoryID=ab84>rack=pthc
Japan. (n.d.). Retrieved September 17, 2014, from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ja.html
Japan: Death by Demographics? (2014). Retrieved September 17, 2014, from http://nationalinterest.org/commentary/japans-looming-demographic-disaster-9736
Japanese Rice Culture and History. (n.d.). Retrieved September 17, 2014, from http://cofcorice.com/en/nutritions/1061.aspx
Ruins of possibly Japan's oldest settlement on Tanegashima Island show nut-gathering culture began very early. (n.d.). Retrieved September 17, 2014, from http://heritageofjapan.wordpress.com/pacing-the-paleolithic-path/stone-age-accessories/stone-tool-inventory/types-of-chipped-stone-artifacts/stone-age-news/ruins-on-tanegashima-island-in-possibly-japans-oldest-settlement-show-nut-gathering-culture-began-very-early/
The history of Japan. (2009, January 1). Retrieved September 17, 2014, from http://www.travelsouk.com/dest/japan/history.htm
More resources
Here you can find more information on rural settlement in Japan as well as urban settlements, and other general considerations
Here you can find more information on rural settlement in Japan as well as urban settlements, and other general considerations
- http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/300531/Japan/23253/Demographic-trends.
- http://heritageofjapan.wordpress.com/