Get your passport! Ready for foreign travel again? Let's go to the Far East. William Elliot Griffis informs us of the not-readily-apparent differences between China and Japan in Japan, Child of the World's Old Age: An Empire of Mountainous Islands,Whose Alert People Constantly Conquer Harsh Forces of Land, Sea, and Sky in National Geographic Magazine, March, 1933. "Historically, China is old and ethical. The burden of all her literature is, "What ought I to do?" Japan is young and esthetic. The burden of her thought, as recorded for a thousand years is, "What is beautiful?"
Continuing, "Geologically, China is pre-ancient; Japan is recent. . . In China, Nature's forces are relatively static, but Japan is in the center of earth and sea convulsions and violent air disturbances. . . In contrast with the conservatism, phlegmatic temperament and age-old stolidity of character in China, we see developed in Japan a more mercurial and daring people, ready to change, yet able resolutely to face the drawbacks of both Nature and inheritance," p. 257).
The many islands constituting Japan are strung out, north to south, over 2,500 miles. There are 200 dormant volcanoes and 50 active volcanoes. Mount Fuji, a snow-covered, 12,395 foot tall volcanic mountain, can be viewed from many parts of Japan.
As long ago as 1879, Japan started climbing to the modern nation it was by 1933 by heavily investing in railroads, military defense, and education. "It was the public schools and universal education that made certain, from the first, the victory over illiterate Russia," (p. 271). One might also argue that Japan joined the modern world by the Treaty of Yedo in 1858, crafted by the American Consul-General, Townsend Harris.
The Japanese Empire in 1933 also included Taiwan and Korea, a fact unknown to me, in addition to the four largest islands and more than 4,000 smaller islands. In the next blog, we will finish the rest of this long article and examine the color photos section.
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