What are some cool facts about Japan?
Japan’s culture and history are unique and very different from western culture. It’s said to be one of the oldest cultures in the world. It’s a country of extreme precision in everything, including the art and architecture of it’s buildings. Here are some cool facts about Japan that we didn’t know, but you can find out.
1. It was the last country in the world to start printing money.
In the Edo period, before modern-day Japan was created, the country was ruled by feudal lords. The people under the feudal lords were divided into two distinct groups. Samurai and peasants. The samurai were trained in sword fighting, archery, horseback riding and farming. Because they weren’t needed for farming, they had the time to study Buddhism, poetry and art. The peasants were farmers and lived in the rural areas. When a lord needed help, they’d send a large army of samurai to fight the enemy. For their part, the peasants did their jobs, including farming and construction.
By 1600, Japan had conquered China, Korea, and Vietnam, but by 1868, the Meiji Restoration, it was able to claim the country’s unification.
The first country in the world to start printing money was The Netherlands.
2. The oldest surviving written language is Japanese.
Writing was invented over 5,000 years ago, in Mesopotamia. The Sumerian language was written in pictographs, also known as picture writing. The Chinese developed the ideogram system. The Chinese ideogram was later used by the Japanese to write Chinese characters.
3. The first computer was built in Japan.
The first computer was built in Japan by Yasuhiro Nakamori in 1971, two years before Thomas Watson built the first computer in the United States.
4. Samurai didn’t carry swords.
While they were heavily armed with their wakizashi, katana, and tonfa, they rarely used a sword. Their main weapon was a short spear called a yari.
5. Japan invented Buddhism and the concept of Shinran.
The Buddhist sect Shinshu came about in the ninth century. And while it was named after the monk Shinran, the sect’s teachings were based on his ideas. According to the sect, the human being has the ability to have a direct, intuitive connection to the Buddha.
6. Japan made its first robot.
Japan’s very first robot was built in 1964. It was made by Nakamura Atsutane and the Japanese National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology.
7. Japan invented modern karate.
The founder of modern karate, Jigoro Kano, was born in 1882. He was an enthusiastic karate practitioner and teacher in the Meiji period. He established the first Japan Karate Association in 1908 and taught it until his death in 1972.
8. Kyozuka Kankichi founded Sumo.
Kankichi, who created the sport of sumo in 1883, was also the first Japanese to become a black belt in judo. His student, Iwama Eigoro, became the first Japan Sumo Association president. He died at the age of 24 in 1891.
9. Kano Toyohisa was the first to introduce kendo.
As the first president of the Japan Sumo Association, Kano was the pioneer of kendo in Japan. He had a lot of success with his technique.
10. The first robot was based on an octopus.
The invention was named the Kuma, which was the Japanese word for octopus. Its creator, Osamu Tezuka, built it at a company in Shizuoka in 1958. He used it as a demonstration model in his manga comic, Tetsuwan Atomu.
11. Yokoi Toshiro invented "robo-dog."
The Robo-Dogs made their first appearance in the 1964 science fiction movie Fantastic Voyage. They were robots designed to assist doctors during operations by following surgical instruments and measuring the blood flow.
12. The first electric razor was invented in Japan.
The electric shaver was developed by Kunitoshi Kogyo in 1929, the year that he obtained the first patent for the device.
13. The robot was invented in Japan.
The first robot was built in 1884 by the Kyoto inventor, Yataro Izumi. It was known as the robot (roto) and it was driven by steam. This robot was a large metal figure with a face and hands. Its function was to act as an assistant. It would pick things up, take things out, open and close drawers, carry heavy objects, and help with other tasks. It did not interact with humans in any way.
14. The first robot is called Kirobo.
The name Kirobo was given to the robot because it is a robot that lives with humans. Kirobo, the first Japanese robot, was made in 2007 by Hiroshi Ishiguro, of Mitsubishi. It is known for its humanoid appearance. It responds to voice commands and can recognize emotions. It cannot speak, but it can say a few words of Japanese. Kirobo can also read facial expressions.
15. The first robot had to do all the chores.
In 1952, Toshiba engineers developed the first robot, and it was called the Asimo. It was built to take care of elderly people. It would be there 24 hours a day and it would serve them dinner and tuck them into bed. It was controlled by a person who sat in front of it and talked to it as if it was alive.
16. Humans are the only ones who can create AI.
In the early years of AI, it was thought that only a human being could create the machines that made the machines that did the AI. However, that is not the case. The machines can make themselves now, or they can learn new things.