JAPAN, in Japanese NIPPON, or NIHON. An empire consisting of a chain of islands lying along the eastern coast. of Asia. and extending from latitude 21° 4S' to 50° 56' N., and from longitude 119° 20' to 156° 32' E. It is sepa rated from the most northern islands of the Philippine group by the Bashi Channel; from China by the Formosa Channel, 70 to 100 miles wide; from Korea by Broughton Channel, less than 25 miles in width; from the Russian island of Saghalin by La PC.rouse Strait, 25 miles wide, and from Kamtchatka by the Kurile Strait; while the wide, somewhat secluded Sea of Japan lies in the embrace of the main island and Yezo, on the south and east, and of the east coast of Korea and the maritime province of Siberian Manchuria on the west and north.
Japan is the name by which the country is known to foreigners, but in Japan itself Nippon or Nihon is used, sometimes with the syllable Dai ('Great') prefixed to it, and occasionally also Te Koka ('Empire' or so that in its most expanded form the name is Te Kok0 Dai Nippon (or Nihon), that is, 'The Empire of Great Japan.' The name Nihon seems to have been adopted about the year 670. Down to that time Yamato was the name. from the province adjoining Kioto. in which Jimmu Tenno (n.c. 660) and the early mikados ruled. The Chinese have long known the country as Jih-pun-Ktroh, Cr• 'Sun-origin Kingdom.' The islands of which the Empire is composed are said to number nearly 4000. but of these only about 501) are inhabited or have a coast line of over one ri, or about 2.44 miles. The remaining islands are mere rocks, sometimes covered with vegetation, as for example the SOS tiny islets of the Bay of Sendai, collectively known as :Matsushima, or 'Pine Islands.' The chief islands are five in number: (1) The Hondo, or 'Slain Island.' sometimes also desigmated as Honshiu• or 'the :Mainland,' and formerly but incorrectly named Nippon, a name which can be applied only to the whole country. It has an area of 14.492 square ri (the square ri being equal to 5.955 square miles). In shape it is an irregular crescent, its concave side forming the southeastern boundary of the Sea of Japan. Its greatest breadth is less than 200 miles. It is
separated from Yezo, on the north, by Tsugaru Strait, 10 miles in width (through which runs a strong current from the Sea of Japan) , and from the eastern part of Shikoku, on the southwest, by Kii Channel. (2) Shikoku. with an area of 1151 square ri, lying south of the western part of Hondo, and separated from it by the beautiful land-locked but shallow- channel. studded with islets, known to foreigners as the 'In land Sea,' hut to the Japanese by different names in different parts of its length. (3) Kiushiu, with an area of 2311 square ri, separated by the narrow Strait of Shimonoseki from the western point of Hondo. and lying to the west of Shikoku, from which it is divided by Bungo Channel. (4) Yezo. in irreg-ular four-co•nered island, with an area of 5056 square ri, lying north of the main island, with one long arm or corner stretch ing north to Siberia. and one reaching northeast to the Kurile Islands. (5) Formosa (q.v.), with an area of 2253 square ri, lying off the coast of China. The other considerable islands or groups of islands are Sado and Oki, in the Sea of Japan, with a combined area of 75 square ri; the island of Awaji, lying off the mouth of Osaka Bay and between the main island and Shikoku. area 36.69 square ri; and Iki and Tsushima. lying between Kiushiu and Korea, and having an area of 52.50 square ri, or with their six adjacent islands, 53.25 square ri; lastly. the 'Seven islands,' which are found off the promontory of ldzu.
The first three of the large islands, viz. Hondo, Shikoku, and Kiushiu. with their adjacent isl ands, together with Sado. Old, Awaji, Iki, and Tsushima, with their adjacent islands, constitute Oyashima. or 'Old Japan.' With the 55 islands of the Loo-choo group and the 20 of the Bonin group added, there is formed Japan proper Yezo. with its 12 adjacent islands, the 32 islands of the Kurile group. and Formosa and the Pesca dores. with their numerous adjacent islands being regarded merely as colonial possessions.
The following table shows the different con stituent members of the Empire—the chief isl ands with the number of adjacent islands, the length of coast-line of the various groups, and their area in square miles: