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Japan is a chain of islands that stretches north to south in the northern Pacific Ocean. Japan's islands number more than 3,000, and many of them are tiny. For centuries, most Japanese have lived on the four largest islands: Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu.
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By A.D. 300, the Yayoi, or the early Japanese, had organized themselves into clans. A clan is a group of people united by actual or per ceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clan members may be organized around a founding member or apical ancestor.
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Hokkaido was settled by Ainu, Nivkh, and Orok 20,000 years ago. Hokkaido is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost o Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu.
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About A.D. 600, a Yamato prince named Shotoku took carge of Japan on behalf of his aunt the empress Suiko. The Horyuji temple, was built by Prince Shotoku. He wanted to create a strong government. He was born into the powerful Soga family, as the second son of Emperor Yomei.
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To reach this goal for Japan, Shotoku created a constitution. A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precendents according to which a state or other organization is governed.
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He was the leader of the Minamoto. Yoritomo was the commander of the Miamoto armies. Yoritomo proved to be a ruthless ruler. He killed most of his relatives.
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A shogun was one of the heredity military dictators of Japan from 1192 to 1867. In 1192 the emperpr gave Yoritomoto the title Shogun-commander of all of the emperor's military forces.
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A general named Ashikaga Takauji made himself shogun in 1333. A new government known as the Ashikaga shogunate began. The Ashikaga shoguns proved to be weak rulers.
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Honshu is the largest island of Japan. Honshu is connected to the islands of Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku by tunnels or bridges. The island is nominally divided into five regions and contains 34 prefectures.
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One woman, Lady Murasaki Shibiku, wrote "The Tale of Genji". She was a great novelist and poet of the Japanese Heian period. She was one of the first modern novelists.
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Japanese legend states that a Yamoto leader named Jimmu took th title "emperor of heaven." He founded a line of rulers in Japan that has never been broken. Akihito, who is Japan's emperor today, is one of his descendants.
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Kyushu the third largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Kyushu has a population of 13,231,995 and covers 35,640 square kilometers. It's the world's 37th largest island.
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The 50th largest island by area in the world. The larger southern area of Shikoku is mountainous and sparsely populated. The major river in Shikoku is the Yoshino River. Shikoku is connected to Honshu.
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To honor the kami, the Japanese worshiped at shrines. A shrine is a holy or sacred place, which is dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, daemon or similar figure of awe and respect, at which they are venerated or worsipped.
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To protect their lands and enforce law, nobles formed private armies. To create their armies, they gave land to warriors who agreed to fight for them. These warriors became known as saurai. The word samurai means "to serve."
