日本文化介绍(全英文版)

Japan•JapanisanislandnationinEastAsiacomprisingalargestratovolcanicarchipelagoextendingalongthePacificcoastofAsia.Measuredfromthegeographiccoordinatesystem,Japanis36°northoftheequatorand138°eastofthePrimeMeridian.Thecountryisnorth-northeastofChinaandTaiwan(separatedbytheEastChinaSea)andslightlyeastofKorea(separatedbytheSeaofJapan).ThecountryissouthoftheRussianFarEast.•Themainislands,sometimescalledtheHomeIslands,are(fromnorthtosouth)Hokkaidō,Honshū(themainland),ShikokuandKyūshū.Therearealsoabout3,000smallerislands,includingOkinawa,andislets,someinhabitedandothersuninhabited.Intotal,asof2006,Japan'sterritoryis377,923.1km²,ofwhich374,834km²islandand3,091km²water.ThismakesJapan'stotalareaslightlysmallerthantheU.S.stateofMontana,slightlybiggerthantheBrazilianstateofMatoGrossodoSul.JapanisbiggerthanGermany,Malaysia,NewZealandandtheU.K.,andis1.7timesthesizeofKorea.CompositionClimate•Japanbelongstothetemperatezonewithfourdistinctseasons,butitsclimatevariesfromcooltemperateinthenorthtosubtropicalinthesouth.Theclimateisalsoaffectedbytheseasonalwindsthatblowfromthecontinenttotheoceaninwintersandviceversainsummers.Japanisgenerallyarainycountrywithhighhumidity.Becauseofitswiderangeoflatitude,Japanhasavarietyofclimates,witharangeoftencomparedtothatoftheeastcoastofNorthAmerica,fromNovaScotiatoGeorgia.Tokyoisatabout35degreesnorthlatitude,comparabletothatofTehran,Athens,orLasVegas.Thegenerallyhumid,temperateclimateexhibitsmarkedseasonalvariationcelebratedinartandliterature,aswellasregionalvariationsrangingfromcoolinHokkaidōtosubtropicalinKyūshū.ClimatealsovarieswithaltitudeandwithlocationonthePacificOceanorontheSeaofJapan.NorthernJapanhaswarmsummersbutlong,coldwinterswithheavysnow.CentralJapanhashot,humidsummersandshortwinters,andsouthwesternJapanhaslong,hot,humidsummersandmildwinters.Population•AsofMarch2009,Japan'spopulationis127,076,183,[1]makingittheworld'stenthmostpopulatedcountry.Itssizecanbeattributedtofastgrowthratesexperiencedduringthelate19thandearly20thcenturies.•Afterhavingexperiencednetpopulationlossoveranumberofyearsduetofallingbirthratesandalmostnonetimmigration,anddespitehavingoneofthehighestlifeexpectanciesintheworldat81.25yearsofageasof2006,[2]Japan'spopulationroseforasecondyearinarowin2009,[3]mainlybecausemoreJapanesereturnedtoJapanthanleft.[citationneeded]•ThepopulationofJapanin2000,atNewYear,was127million.Itspopulationdensitywas336peoplepersquarekilometer.•ThepopulationrankingofJapandroppedfrom7thto8thin1990andfrom8thto9thin1998and10thsinceClothes---Kimono(和服）ThekimonoisaJapanesetraditionalgarmentwornbywomen,menandchildren.Thewordkimono,whichliterallymeansathingtowear(kiwearandmonothing),hascometodenotethesefull-lengthrobes.ThestandardpluralofthewordkimonoinEnglishiskimonos,[buttheunmarkedJapanesepluralkimonoisalsosometimesused.KimonoareT-shaped,straight-linedrobeswornsothatthehemfallstotheankle,withattachedcollarsandlong,widesleeves.Kimonoarewrappedaroundthebody,alwayswiththeleftsideovertheright(exceptwhendressingthedeadforburial),[andsecuredbyasashcalledanobi,whichistiedattheback.Kimonoaregenerallywornwithtraditionalfootwearandsplit-toesocksToday,kimonoaremostoftenwornbywomen,andonspecialoccasions.Traditionally,unmarriedwomenworeastyleofkimonocalledfurisodewithalmostfloor-lengthsleeves,onspecialoccasions.Afewolderwomenandevenfewermenstillwearthekimonoonadailybasis.Menwearthekimonomostoftenatweddings,teaceremonies,andotherveryspecialorveryformaloccasions.ProfessionalsumowrestlersareoftenseeninthekimonobecausetheyarerequiredtoweartraditionalJapanesedresswheneverappearinginpublic•Awoman'skimonomayeasilyexceedUS$10,000;[acompletekimonooutfit,withkimono,undergarments,obi,ties,socks,sandals,andaccessories,canexceedUS$20,000.Asingleobimaycostseveralthousanddollars.However,mostkimonosownedbykimonohobbyistsorbypractitionersoftraditionalartsarefarlessexpensive.Enterprisingpeoplemaketheirownkimonoandundergarmentsbyfollowingastandardpattern,orbyrecyclingolderkimonos.Cheaperandmachine-madefabricscansubstituteforthetraditionalhand-dyedsilk.ThereisalsoathrivingbusinessinJapanforsecond-handkimonos,whichcancostaslittleas¥500(about$5).Women'sobis,however,mostlyremainanexpensiveitem.Althoughsimplepatternedorplaincoloredonescancostaslittleas¥1,500(about$15),evenausedobicancosthundredsofdollars,andexperiencedcraftsmanshipisrequiredtomakethem.Men'sobis,eventhosemadefromsilk,tendtobemuchlessexpensive,becausetheyarenarrower,shorterandlessdecorativethanthosewornbywomen.ThecostofKimono2/Sukiyaki[suki:'jɑ:ki:]鸡素烧•SukiyakiisoneoftherepresentativefoodsofJapan.Thenamecomesfromthefarmer’spadesometimesusedtocookon.Sukiyakirefersdirectlytobroilingbeefonthespade,alongwithsoybeancurd,leeks,andvegetables.Theseasoning调料includessoysauce[sɔ:s],sweetsake,andsugar.JapaneseFood•Thestaple[‘steipl]主食oftheJapanesedietisrice,riceandsoybeancurdsoup酱汤beingcommonbreakfastfoods.Therearealsomanypeoplewhoeatbreadforbreakfast.•Japanesefoodmostlyconsistsoffishinsteadofmeat,andalsosoybeans,soitisgoodforthehealth.Foodsthataremostwellreceivedbyforeignersar