Intro

Hello and Welcome to this episode of the podcast, "The Mnemonic Tree", where we add a single mnemonic leaf, to our Tree of Knowledge.

Today's episode is on the five main islands of Japan. And yes, I have done this one before way back at episode one. Unfortunately, the audio was terrible, I was terrible and more importantly a section of the podcast was missing which just happened to include the answers to the quiz. So, I have decided to wipe the first episode, fatten and dress this one up and re-release it.

So here we go. Japan is a fascinating island nation that encompasses a rich history that contains both highs and lows such as the economic miracle of their economy following the war and on the other side their defeat in World War II and the two atomic bombs.

They have the most populated city on the planet with over 37 million people in Tokyo, the most photographed volcano Mount Fuji and the second longest life expectancy following Hong Kong.

All this while living on a proverbial knife edge, being located on the pacific ring of fire with over 1,500 earthquakes a year.

So, with no further ado, we will begin with a summary from Wikipedia.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Photographers_expand_horizons_in_2010_Army_Digital_Photography_Contest_110311_(5546845911).jpg

Wikipedia Summary

Japan (Japanese: 日本, Nippon or Nihon,[nb 1] and formally 日本国, Nihonkoku)[nb 2] is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north toward the East China Sea, Philippine Sea, and Taiwan in the south. Japan is a part of the Ring of Fire, and spans an archipelago of 14,125 islands, with the five main islands being Hokkaido, Honshu (the "mainland"), Shikoku, Kyushu, and Okinawa. Tokyo is the nation's capital and largest city, followed by Yokohama, Osaka, Nagoya, Sapporo, Fukuoka, Kobe, and Kyoto.

Japan is the eleventh most populous country in the world, as well as one of the most densely populated and urbanized. About three-fourths of the country's terrain is mountainous, concentrating its population of almost 125 million on narrow coastal plains. Japan is divided into 47 administrative prefectures and eight traditional regions. The Greater Tokyo Area is the most populous metropolitan area in the world, with more than 37.2 million residents.

In the Meiji period, the Empire of Japan adopted a Western-modeled constitution and pursued a program of industrialization and modernization. Amidst a rise in militarism and overseas colonization, Japan invaded China in 1937 and entered World War II as an Axis power in 1941. After suffering defeat in the Pacific War and two atomic bombings, Japan surrendered in 1945 and came under a seven-year Allied occupation, during which it adopted a new constitution and began a military alliance with the United States. Under the 1947 constitution, Japan has maintained a unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy with a bicameral legislature, the National Diet.

Japan is a developed country and a great power. It is a member of numerous international organizations, including the United Nations, G20, OECD, and the Group of Seven. Its economy is the world's third-largest by nominal GDP and the fourth-largest by PPP, with its per capita income ranking at 36th highest in the world. Although Japan has renounced its right to declare war, the country maintains Self-Defense Forces that rank as one of the world's strongest militaries. After World War II, Japan experienced record growth in an economic miracle, becoming the second-largest economy in the world by 1972 but has stagnated since 1995 in what is referred to as the Lost Decades. Japan has the world's highest life expectancy, though it is experiencing a population decline. A global leader in the automotive, robotics and electronics industries, the country has made significant contributions to science and technology. The culture of Japan is well known around the world, including its art, cuisine, film, music, and popular culture, which encompasses prominent manga, anime and video game industries.

Extracted from: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan]

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Japan-Archipelago-Outlined-Islands-Map.png

Mnemonic

Japan’s Five Main Islands – SHHOK (Picture the fact that Japan has more than 1,500 earthquakes a year, being part of the Pacific Ring of Fire)

1. Shikoku

2. Hokkaido

3. Honshu

4. Okinawa

5. Kyushu

Five Fun Facts

1. Japan has 6,852 islands. These islands were once part of the eastern coast of Japan until they were split off after tectonic activity around 15 million years ago, which then formed the Sea of Japan.

2. Japan has the highest number of vending machines in the world with over 5 million machines nationwide.

3. Japan has a Penis festival which is known as the Kanamara Matsuri which means “The festival for the phallus of steal”. Now I’d love to show you some of the highlights of the event, but unfortunately, all video of the festival has been pixelated out!

4. In Japan you bow instead of shaking hands and the lower a bow is an indication of more respect.

5. Japan are cultivating square melons! Now you are probably wondering why and how do they do this. Well, they are just regular melons, but they are placed inside boxes while they are growing. Apparently, the resultant square shape makes the melon easier to ship, store and slice.

6. Bonus Fact: The samurai warrior existed between the 12th century to the end of feudalism in the 19th century. Like 007 they had a licence to kill and sometimes this extended to themselves with the ritual suicide known as seppuku, if they had brought dishonour to their daimyo or lord.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:140405_Tsu_Castle_Tsu_MIe_pref_Japan01s.jpg

Three Question Quiz

Q.1. What is another popular name for Japan?

Q.2. Which island is the largest and most populous, with the capital Tokyo?

Q.3. What is the main religion of Japan?

Bonus Q. What is the currency of Japan?

Bonus Q. What is the traditional dress of Japan?

Mnemonic Recap

Japan’s Five Main Islands Mnemonic – SHHOK

(Picture the fact that Japan has more than 1500 earthquakes a year, being part of the Pacific Ring of Fire)

1. Shikoku

2. Hokkaido

3. Honshu

4. Okinawa

5. Kyushu

Three Question Quiz Answers

Q.1. What is another popular name for Japan?

A. Nihon and Nippon are still the most popular names of Japan. In ancient times Japan was also known as “Yamato”, and the Chinese used to call Japan “Wa” or “Wakoku”

Q.2. Which island is the largest and most populous, with the capital Tokyo?

A. Honshu

Q.3. What is the main religion of Japan?

A. Shinto

Bonus Q. What is the currency of Japan?

A. The Yen

Bonus Q. What is the traditional dress of Japan?

A. The Kimono, and that is worn by both men and women

Word of the Week

Moira

[moi-ruh]

noun