Emperor Hirohito ruled over Japan from 1926 until his death in 1989. He saw Japan through World War II, its defeat and resurrection from the ashes to become a world-renowned industrial and economic power. He was the grandson of the famed Emperor Meiji, who was generally considered to be one of the b...

INTRODUCTION Japan is geographically described as having 47 prefectures, with 4 distinct main islands, Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu. The distance separating Korea and Kyushu is only 200 km while the distance separating Hokkaido and Sakhalin is only 40 km. The formation of the Japanese civi...

1.Although the origins of Shinto1 can be traced to the pre-historic times, this uniquely Japanese religion did not have a historical founder, a fixed dogma, moral precepts, sacred writings, holy places for worship, or even a name during its early history. It emerged naturally within the historical d...

The Japanese religions, including Shintoism and Buddhism, are rich and complex, and it contains many contradictory trends which may puzzle a Westerner. In the center of the tradition is Shinto, the "natural" religion of Japan. Also in the center is Buddhism, the Indian religion that was brought ...