Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
paint, but very inflammable, so that fires might easily sweep away whole villages or sec-
tionsoftownsifthewindwereright.Whenanearthquakecame,however,theframehouses
were pliable and less likely to collapse than if they had been more solidly built of brick or
stone.
(3) Snow scene. This photograph has some television aerials and electric wires, but other-
wise gives a good impression of a traditional Japanese scene after a moderate snowfall.
The People
In common with most of the other inhabitants of the Asian Pacific littoral, the modern
Japanese are classified as Mongols, but there seem to be several strains in the population.
It is most probable that there has been a mixture of people coming from Korea and North
China, from South China, and from the islands of the Pacific, through the Ryūkyū Islands.
There are indications that some elements of Japanese culture are derived from the south;
domestic architecture, for example, may have some connection with that of Polynesia.
The Japanese language, even though it has certain similarities of structure with some
continental Asian languages like Korean and Mongolian, cannot be shown to have a com-
mon descent with them, and the only clearly related language is that of the Ryūkyūs.
The sole extraneous ethnic group is formed by the Ainus, now restricted to the island of
Hokkaiō in the north; they had all gone from the mainland of Japan long before the sev-
enteenth century, and certain place-names, including that of Mt Fuji, are the only relics
of their earlier, far wider, occupation, before they were driven out by their successors, the
people who, free from invasion themselves, forged a strong and homogeneous culture, go-
ing back some 2,000 years.
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