Module 1 - The Country in East Asia and its Language

Lesson 1: The Country in East Asia and its Language

    Over the past few decades, local TV networks have begun to air the so called “cartoons”
to entertain the kids of those times. Voltes V, Daimos, Mazinger Z and many more have
been popular among kids back then which made their childhood memorable and even more
interesting. At the present time, these cartoons are now known as “anime” which has
originated from one of the country in Asia - Japan. Among the countries in Asia, Japan is
known as the birthplace of anime, manga and videogames.

     In 2017, Japan was the 12th-most visited country on the planet as cited from United
Nations World Tourism Organization and it also recorded the highest growth in tourist
arrivals, outpacing Vietnam, Chile and Thailand. "Japan has its own unique attraction for
foreigners ... especially its food and drink culture," says Tyler Palma, an American who is
Tokyo office manager of “InsideJapan” Tours, a tour operator. This country became the
popular destinations among the travellers because of its enriched culture, foods, climate
and historical cities as well. One of the interesting parts in visiting this country is that most of
the people are non-speaker of other nation’s language rather than its own language –
Nihongo or Japanese. These might one of the most challenging factors not for only visiting
the said country but also a place to work with.
1. Overview of Japan
     Over the past few decades, local TV networks have begun to air the so called “cartoons”
to entertain the kids of those times. Voltes V, Daimos, Mazinger Z and many more have
been popular among kids back then which made their childhood memorable and even more
interesting. At the present time, these cartoons are now known as “anime” which has
originated from one of the country in Asia - Japan. Among the countries in Asia, Japan is
known as the birthplace of anime, manga and videogames.

     In 2017, Japan was the 12 th-most visited country on the planet as cited from United
Nations World Tourism Organization and it also recorded the highest growth in tourist
arrivals, outpacing Vietnam, Chile and Thailand. "Japan has its own unique attraction for
foreigners ... especially its food and drink culture," says Tyler Palma, an American who is
Tokyo office manager of “InsideJapan” Tours, a tour operator. This country became the
popular destinations among the travellers because of its enriched culture, foods, climate
and historical cities as well. One of the interesting parts in visiting this country is that most of
the people are non-speaker of other nation’s language rather than its own language –
Nihongo or Japanese. These might one of the most challenging factors not for only visiting
the said country but also a place to work with.

2. Learning Outcomes
At the end of the module, students should be able to.

1. Observe the general information of Japan such as its name, geographical

information, and climate.
2. Discuss the history of Japanese language.
3. Describe the culture of Japan.
4. Differentiate the use of 3 writing system of Japanese language.
5. Recite the self-introduction in Japanese.
6. Articulate and utilize the common greetings and useful classroom expressions in
Japanese.
7. Recognize the gestures used in Japan.

3. General Information of Japan

Country’s Name
“Nippon” or “Nihon” is commonly known of its official name Japan. Nihon/Nippon is being
written in 日本 which means "the sun's origin" or most often translated as the “Land of the
Rising Sun”. The characters 日(hi/ni)  means sun while 本(hon) as origin.
National Flag and Anthem
The official and national flag of Japan is called Nisshōki ( 日章旗, the "flag of sun"). But in
Japan, this is commonly known as “Hinomaru”.  Symbolically, the flag contains a red
circular shape on the centre of a plain white rectangular canvas. It embodies the country's
label “Land of the Rising Sun”.
 The Hinomaru(日の丸)
Taken from [Link]
The Nisshōki flag is designated as the national flag in the Act on National Flag and Anthem,
which was promulgated and became effective on August 13, 1999. Meanwhile, "Kimigayo"
(君が代) which means "His Imperial Majesty's Reign" is the national anthem of Japan.
Geography
Japan is an archipelago on the eastern edge of Asia. Japan's nearest mainland neighbours
are the Siberian region of Russia in the north and Korea and China farther south.
 

The Archipelago of Japan

Taken from [Link]
Nearly the entire land area is taken up by the country’s four main islands; from north to
south these are Hokkaido (Hokkaidō), Honshu (Honshū), Shikoku, and Kyushu (Kyūshū).
Honshu is the largest of the four, followed in size by Hokkaido, Kyushu, and Shikoku.
Almost four-fifths of Japan is covered with mountains. The Japanese Alps run down the
centre of the largest island, Honshu. The highest peak is Mount Fuji, a cone-shaped
volcano considered sacred by many Japanese.
                                   
Main Islands of Japan
Taken from [Link]
Climate
The climate in Japan has a large variety of weather and enjoys the four seasons similar to
United States. Japan's spring months are March, April, and May while the summer months
are June, July, and August. Usually the cooler or autumn season starts from September
until November. The winter months are December, January, and February.

Seasons in Japan
Taken from [Link]
Government and People
Japan’s constitution was promulgated in 1946 and came into force in 1947, superseding the
Meiji Constitution of 1889. It differs from the earlier document in two fundamental ways: the
principle of sovereignty and the stated aim of maintaining Japan as a peaceful and
democratic country in perpetuity. The emperor, is the symbol of the state and of the unity of
the people, while sovereign power rests with the people (whose fundamental human rights
are explicitly guaranteed).
Japanese government is now based on a constitution that orders the separation of powers
between the legislative, executive, and judicial branches.           

Government Seal of Japan

Image taken from [Link]
The major role of the emperor are appointing the prime minister and the chief justice of the
Supreme Court (Saikō Saibansho), convoking sessions of the Diet, laws and treaties
promulgation, and awarding state honours - All as advised and approved by cabinet
(naikaku). The prime minister should be first designated by the Diet (Kokkai) before
appointment.
Here's the official website of the Japan Government : [Link]
For administrative purposes, Japan is divided into 47 prefectures stretching from Hokkaido
in the north to Okinawa in the south.

Japan Region and Prefectures Map

Taken from [Link]
Language
Japanese is the official language used in the country and is also the primary language in the
country with over 125 million speakers.  Locally, the Japanese language is referred to as
“Nihongo” or Nihongo(日本語)  and is native to Japan.
For more info about the Japanese language and its history, visit the video from this
Play Video
.

Culture and Traditions

Japan has enriched culture which is mostly influenced by China, European  and North
American countries over the years.
 
     Religion
    Most Japanese people are belonged to the two main religions in Japan- Shinto and   
Buddhism.
     Festivals
    In Japanese, festival is known as matsuri. Usually, Japanese people celebrate matsuri as
part of their traditional or religious occasion and according to the town they are belonged to.
     Below are some of the popular festivals which are widely attended by all:

 Hinamatsuri(Doll Festival) – March 3

 Hanami(Flower Viewing/Cherry Blossom Festival)- Late March to early May
 Oshōgatsu(New Year)
 Tōrō nagashi(Lantern Festival) – Final evening of “Bon Festival”
 Tanabata(Star Festival)- July 7
 Ōmisoka(New Year’s Eve) – December 31
 Shichi-Go-San(Festival day for children aged,three, five, seven) – November 15
 
     Sports
     In Japan, Sports also plays a significant part in their culture. Widely played sports in
Japan are composed of both traditional and adopted games from western countries.
 
            Traditional Sport - Sumo Wrestling
             Japan’s national sport is known as “sumo”. This sport is primarily practiced only in
the said country. Traditionally, this sport has players or wrestlers with enormous size who
strikes each other and pushes one another until one of them touches or drops outside the
circular ring. Judo and Karate are also known as traditional sports in Japan.
               Popular and Adopted Sports
            Historically speaking, Baseball is the most popular sport in Japan. This sport is also
popular among youngsters. Other popular sports include soccer, golf, and rugby.   
 
     Cuisine
     Japanese cuisine is much known for bento or having a complete meal plan to balance
their diet. Typical foods are made from rice and noodles.  Miso soups and okazu (Side dish)
are common part of their meal plan. Among the foreign visitors, they tend to indulged
themselves to other popular food such as ramen, sushi and sashimi. Sake and tea( like
green tea, oolong tea, etc) are the common and popular beverages in Japan.  
 
     Music
    In traditional Japanese music, it widely uses the instruments such
as koto and shamisen. Enka is known as the popular music genre of Japan in which
encompasses the traditional Japanese music.
 
     Fashion
    Kimono is the most traditional dress in Japan. These are now mostly worn during special
events – wedding, traditional occasion or ceremonies, and funerals.
 
     Art
    One of the Traditional forms of art in Japan is the figurative paintings. The most popular
form of art known as manga and anime/animation are influenced by the interaction Japan
and European country.
 
      Bowing Gesture
     Gestures can be considered as another form to communicate. Japanese people greet
each other by bowing. The common known functions of this gesture are for expressing
respect, gratitude and sometimes for apologies. Generally, the longer and deeper the
person bows, it would appear to be more formal and respectful.
 
      Education
     The Japanese language is the primary language being used during their classroom
discussions. Elementary and lower secondary levels education are compulsory in Japan.
4. The Japanese Scripts
The Japanese writing system uses three kinds of characters which were believe to be
adopted from Chinese characters.
The Three Japanese Characters
a. Hiragana
          This in a roundish shape or form and used for writing the Japanese native words,
names, and grammatical elements such as particles.
b. Katakana
This is normally used for writing the loanwords and foreign names in Japanese.
c. Kanji
Represent not only sounds but also meanings. Kanji is used for nouns and the stems of
verbs and adjectives.
For learning the Japanese language, there are also other scriptures being utilized to aid the
reading of the Japanese characters namely:
a.  Romaji
This are the Japanese words written using English alphabet.
Hiragana<---あ(a)-->Romaji
b. Furigana
This is a Japanese reading aid which uses small hiragana characters that appear above or
beside a kanji characters.

The Kanji, Hiragana and Furigana Characters

Image taken from 

5. The Self-Introduction in Japanese
Self-Introduction is translated in Japanese as “Jikoshokai”. Below is a sample pattern that
can be utilized to introduce one’s self.  

Japanese English Translation  

Hajimemashite. How do you do?
Watashi no namae wa <name> desu . My name is <name>.
<country> no <city> kara kimashita. Came from <city>, <country>.
Watashi wa NEU no gakusei desu. I am a student from New Era
Shumi wa <your hobby> desu. University
Yoroshiku onegai shimasu. My hobby is <your hobby>.
Nice to meet you./ Thank you for your
time.
6. Greetings
and Useful Expressions in Classroom
Below are some of the commonly used aisatsu or greetings:

(Image taken from Genki 1 by Eri Banno)

Below are some of the useful expressions in Japanese that can be used inside the
classroom: