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Japan

Religions and languages in Japan

artificial river The actual state language of Japan is Japanese. The locals call it nihonga. It is worth noting that more than 142 million people speak Japanese fluently today, and it is the native language of more than 130 million people. This enables this linguistic structure to occupy a worthy 8th place in the world ranking based on its prevalence. Most of the people who speak Japanese naturally live in the Land of the Rising Sun. In addition, a significant number of people still live in Hawaii and Brazil to date. In one of the States of America, the Japanese language was even granted the status of state language.
Japan is a country with a constitutional monarchy. The head of state is the Emperor, but his functions are more ceremonial than legislative. The …
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It is worth noting that in the history of the formation of the Japanese language, there are still many unexplained facts. Some scientists advocate that the Altai language participated in the formation of the Japanese dialects. Others believe that Japanese is based on the Australian language. The path leading to the formation of the language in Japan, met with various obstacles. Today it can be said for sure that modern Japanese was significantly complemented by various dialects from Chinese and vocabulary from English. This is why residents of megacities, as well as the local population of remote provinces may not even understand each other.
Linguists claim that at least 10 different variations of the Japanese language are used in the country. First of all, this state of affairs is connected with territorial peculiarities. For example, the islands were isolated and were forced to develop without external influence. All Japanese dialects differ in their vocabulary, morphology, and the use of certain parts of speech. Very rarely do dialects differ in pronunciation. The most distant directions of Japanese are the southern and northern dialects. Despite this, every citizen of Japan perfectly knows the classical Japanese language that is employed while teaching in school. Copyright www.orangesmile.com
The Japanese economy today is among the five most developed economic structures in the world. But the Japan’s share of the global GDP is constantly …
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Today, the Japanese language is characterized by original writing, the symbols of which are not used in any other language of the world. Writing is based on a combination of syllabic phonography and ideography. Despite the fact that for many foreigners Japanese and writing are considered very difficult, the level of literacy in Japan is at a very high level. Japan is actively developing and the number of visitors is growing every year. It is for this reason that there are various communities on the territory of Japan that are similar in their nationality, but no one gives the official status to regional languages ​​of national minorities in Japan, because even the Japanese themselves have no government confirmation.
The religious situation in the Land of the Rising Sun is fairly homogeneous. Most believers consider themselves to be either Buddhists or Shintoists. At the same time, a sufficiently large percentage of Japanese believers can simultaneously classify themselves as belonging to these two religious denominations. According to last year’s census, about 92% of the total population consider themselves to be Buddhists or Shinto. The national religion in Japan has been formed for quite a long period. The ancient Japanese firmly believed in the existence of spirits, in magic, and in the magical properties of totems. Up till now, these mythological things are significant for many. In addition, the Japanese have a rather mystical idea of ​​the world of the ancients. They therefore strive to spiritualize any nonliving force. Only according to the basic principles of Shintoism, does each object have its own soul, including stones and objects. The main spiritual principle for every believer should be the desire for unity with nature. The peculiarity of this religious trend is the absence of any specific distinction between good and evil in their scriptures.
These spots really worth the attention of a real traveler-researcher. …
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Buddhists believe in the existence of Nirvana, during which the soul separates from the body. They also believe in reincarnation, that is life after death, and also worship their totems. It is worth noting that the Buddhist religion is one of the simplest in terms of worship. In this case, the magnificent decorations for the priests, bright ceremonies, jewels and others items, are not used. According to Buddhists, faith should be accessible to everyone. However, despite such a deep history of the two most powerful religions, all the major traditions of Buddhism and Shintoism today are not performed by all. This is welcomed only in narrow circles of old Believers. Modern Japanese youth is quite reserved about religion and do not consider it necessary to adopt the lifestyle of their ancestors. Although at the same time, the basic principles of Buddhism and Shintoism are supported by practically everyone. Christianity accounts for not more than 2% of the total population of Japan.
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Fantastic City Tours and Excursions in Japan

Original sightseeing of Japan

Churaumi Aquarium

From the series “The Coolest and Largest Oceanariums in the World”
One of the most famous and amazing aquariums in the world is Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium situated in the northern part of Okinawa, in the city of Motobu. The oceanarium, which visitors can see today, was opened in 2002. During the first 8 years of operation, it was visited by 20 million people. The first aquarium in this place was built in 1975. Later, it was decided to build a new four-storey building. In total, the building houses 77 tanks. The place boasts a collection of 26 000 marine animals, which belong to 740 different species.

The main feature of the site is its central aquarium, which amounts to 7 500 cubic meters. Its front panel is made of plexiglas with a thickness of 60 cm; the width is 22.5 meters and height is 8.2 m. At first glance, it looks like a huge screen similar to … Read all
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Saudi Arabia to Open 38 Hotels in Diriyah

Diriyah is one of the first mega projects in Saudi Arabia. Hotels and other infrastructure will start opening next year, and all works are expected to end in 2026. The first 18 restaurants in Bujairi Terrace will start operating already in early 2022. Read this

28.03.2024

Photogallery of iconic places of Japan

Traditions in Japan cities

Tokyo
Kyoto
In July Gion Festival traditionally takes place; it lasts for all month and includes a variety of cultural and recreational activities. Festive parades and concerts, children's performances and culinary contests, fairs and sporting events are held, as event program is kept by the hour. Interesting events are held in the old part of the city; in the evening some old family houses arrange a kind of open days. Everyone is welcome to visit mansions that have belonged to noble families for many … Read more
Osaka
At nightfall a major part of entertaining events takes place in city parks. Tourists may witness there bright dance shows. The festival ends with a symbolic and impressive event named Toro Nagashi which is a floating lanterns performance. These lanterns are believed to show the spirits the way back to the world of dead. Another interesting event is held in June. A bright fest in the Shitennoji temple is as well followed with impressive folk music performances. Tourists visiting Osaka in July … Read more
Sapporo
The process of creating of ice and snow figures which are decorating the park for the whole winter engages thousands of people. On the eve of the festival the city of Sapporo attracts masters and artists of snow statuary art literally from all the cities of the country. Foreign sculptors are as well engaged in the process of ice carving. The festival turned known to wide public in 1960. The celebration of its tenth anniversary was turned to a fantastic show. Since that time the festival has … Read more
Fukuoka
Celebration begins with a parade taking place on the main avenue of the city. Lots of children are usually involved in the solemn procession that makes the holiday even more touching and sincere. Matsubayashi performances, in which participate about 10,000 people, have become traditional for the holiday. It looks simply mesmerizing; all the performers wear beautiful national costumes and all performances are accompanied with national music. Typically, the parade is held 3 or 4 May; after the … Read more
Hiroshima
One of the most striking and recognizable national characteristics is eating food with chopsticks. Locals manage them so cleverly that you would be carried away by the sight of their movement. European cutlery is served in many local restaurants; you will certainly need to ask for it, if you are not sure that you could cope with unusual chopsticks. During the meal, don’t stick chopsticks upright in the rice, as it is considered one of the most common and serious errors. According to local … Read more
Kobe
The city was decorated with fantastic illumination for more than two weeks. Every evening the lights were lit for several hours. On the festive days, all the central streets are blocked for cars, so that it is more convenient for locals and tourists to admire the light installations. With such a beautiful holiday, it was possible to attract tourists who did not want to go to the ruined city but and raise enough funds to restore it. It was decided to hold the Festival Of Light in Kobe every … Read more
Nagasaki
Nagasaki is the venue for one of the largest fireworks festivals in Japan, which is usually held in the last days of July. A pyrotechnic show organized in a seaside park becomes one of the largest on Kyushu Island. The festival program lasts two days, and most of the events take place in the evening. About 10,000 fireworks are launched on the first evening and about 5,000 on the second. Apart from fireworks displays, a lot of interesting entertainments are organized as part of the festival. … Read more

Japan: traditions in the regions

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