The World and Japan
I am from Britain. Sometimes Japanese people think that Britain and Japan, or British and Japanese are similar. In some points I think that this is true, that there are many similarities but in other ways we are like chalk and cheese. What about the rest of Europe? Are French and Germans and their cultures the same? They do not think so, any more than Chinese think they are the same as Japanese or Koreans.
- From your knowledge and experience what things do you think are similar?
- What things do you think are different?
- Why do you think so? Did you read about it? Did you watch it on TV?
- Can you provide evidence for your opinions?
- Where would you go, to find evidence?
Climate and Physical Geography
Here are a few ideas to help. First of all, Britain is an island like Japan. This is a physical similarity but has this made us similar in other ways? Japan or the Japanese archipelago is more than 1500 (2000km) miles long; Britain is shorter and wider.
- But are Japan and Britain countries?
- What parts make Britain? Physical/Political (UK)
- What parts make Japan? Many islands (4 big islands)
Japan is very mountainous whereas the highest mountain in Scotland is only 4,406 feet high (1,400m) and in the Southeast of England the highest hills are 600 feet (200m) or so.
- What countries are similar to Japan?
- What countries are similar to Britain?
- If you were to place Tokyo in Western Europe or London on the Pacific coast of Asia where would they be?
- What is the weather like at those locations (latitude)?
http://www.worldclimate.com
The climates are different.
- What do we mean by climate?
http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/climate.htm
Look carefully at this site. Also look at the World Biomes Deciduous Forest.
- Japan and Britain are in the same classification but do they have the same climates?
The easiest way to think about this is to look at the east and west coasts of North America and of Europe and Asia. Essentially the eastern sides of these continents have more extreme weather changes especially between winter and summer, whereas the western sides do not. The climates are 'mild' and are influenced more by the sea and less by the land, hence the terms maritime and continental climates.
However, physical geography also plays a big part.
- Why it is that Tokyo weather in winter is usually drier and warmer than Kyoto and sometimes North Kyushu which are further south?
- Essentially the question being asked here is, how has the physical geography and climate of the region affected the type of agriculture, industry, and the culture and character of the people?
History
Here are the titles of some of the Set 1 Maps we will look at or that you can access anytime in the computer rooms. We will use these in lectures in the first semester. Please compare them with your World History Data text. You will find that to understand the background it may be better to first search in www.google.co.jp rather than google.com. If you search for the katakana or kanji you will usually find sites than give explanations in Japanese. Look again at your text and Set 1 Maps. All the time ask what, when, who, where, why, and how.
Maps Set 1
1. Hallstatt Culture
2. Alexandria Empire
3. Languages in Europe
4. Conquest of the Mediterranean Europe
5. Europe in 2ND Century AD
6. Partition of Verdun 843
7. Last Invasions of 9th Century
8. Europe in the Year 1000
9. France and Britain in 11th and 12th Centuries
10. Europe in the Early 14th Century
11. Religion in Post Reformation Europe
12. Europe after Treaties of Westphalia
13. The Holy Roman Empire (15th Century)
14. English domination in France
15. Eastern Europe at the End of the 16th Century
16. Duchy of Burgundy
17. Atlantic Discoveries in the 15th Century
18. World Winds and Currents
19. Spanish Conquests in the 16th Century
20. Dutch Colonial Empire in the Mid-17th Century
21. Colonial Empires and Triangular Trade Patterns, 1750 onwards
22. Europe at the End of the 15th Century
23. The Mediterranean, 16th Century
24. Louis XIV's Wars
25. Europe after the Treaty of Utrecht
26. Partitioning of Poland
27. Napoleon's Conquests
28. Europe in 1914
29. Europe after 1918
30. Political Regimes, 1937
31. The Oil Trade 1973
32. The Oil Trade 1988
33. European Economic Community
34. The ACP Countries
35. Unemployment in the European Union in 1994
36. Nationalities in Ex-Yugoslavia in 1990
37. The Partition of Bosnia by Dayton
38. Uniting Europe (1990-1996)
Vocabulary
- Culture Empire Kingdom Emirate Caliphate Principality
- Persia Alexander Roman Byzantine Ottoman
- Celts Germanic Tribes Hungarians
- Celts Anglo-Saxons Vikings Normans
- England Britain Brittany
- Holy Roman Empire Pope Catholic Reformation Protestant
- Pirates Henry VIII Elizabeth
- Possess, dispute, invade (to burn your boats)
