Ishikawa Entrance Social Studies flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Seto Inland Sea climate

A mild, dry climate zone between Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu. Mountains block monsoon rain, so annual precipitation is low and sunny days are frequent, favoring salt and fruit production.

Pacific Belt

The continuous industrial and urban corridor from Tokyo through Nagoya and Osaka to Kitakyushu. Port access for imported raw materials and a dense labor pool explain its concentration of heavy industry.

Omote-Nihon and ura-Nihon

Japan's Pacific side receives summer rain and dry winters, while the Sea of Japan side receives heavy winter snow. Northwest winter winds pick up moisture over the warm Tsushima Current before hitting the mountains.

Contour lines

Lines on a topographic map joining points of equal elevation. Close spacing means a steep slope, wide spacing means gentle terrain, and hachures inside a closed contour mark a depression.

Population pyramid reading

A graph of age groups by sex. A narrow base shows low birth rates, a wide top shows long life expectancy, and a bulge marks a generation such as Japan's baby boomers.

Trade surplus

The amount by which a country's exports exceed its imports in a period. Japan traditionally runs surpluses in manufactured goods but deficits when fuel import prices rise sharply.

Choropleth map

A map that shades regions by the value of a statistic per unit area, such as population density. Darker shading normally indicates a higher value, so the legend must be checked first.

Correlation and causation

A scatter plot may show two variables moving together without one causing the other. A third factor or coincidence can explain the pattern, so conclusions need supporting evidence.

Taika Reform

A 645 coup and reform program that aimed to centralize Japan under the emperor. It introduced land and tax systems later completed by the Taiho Code in 701.

Ritsuryo system

The centralized legal order based on Chinese models. It placed land under state allotment, appointed provincial governors, and collected taxes in grain, cloth, and labor.

Kamakura shogunate

The military government established around 1185–1192 by Minamoto no Yoritomo. It placed shugo constables and jito stewards in the provinces and shared power with the imperial court.

Onin War

A succession dispute in Kyoto from 1467 to 1477 that devastated the capital. It weakened the Muromachi shogunate and opened the Sengoku period of competing regional lords.

Sankin kotai

An Edo-period rule requiring daimyo to alternate residence between their domains and Edo. The system drained domain finances and kept lords under close shogunal supervision.

Sakoku policy

Edo restrictions on foreign contact, tightened by the 1639 expulsion of the Portuguese. Trade continued only through Nagasaki, Tsushima, Satsuma, and Matsumae.

Meiji Restoration

The 1868 overthrow of the Tokugawa shogunate that returned formal power to the emperor. The new government pursued industrialization, conscription, and legal and land-tax reform.

Sino-Japanese War

The 1894–1895 conflict over influence in Korea. Japan's victory brought the Treaty of Shimonoseki, including Taiwan, and signaled Japan's rise as an imperial power.

Popular sovereignty

The constitutional principle that political authority rests with the people, not the emperor. The 1947 Constitution expresses this in its preamble and in the Diet's status as the highest organ of state power.

Article 9

The constitutional clause renouncing war as a sovereign right and forbidding maintenance of armed forces with war potential. Its interpretation has been debated regarding the Self-Defense Forces.

Separation of powers

The division of government into legislative, executive, and judicial branches that check one another. In Japan the Diet makes laws, the Cabinet administers, and independent courts judge.

Cabinet responsibility

The Cabinet is collectively responsible to the Diet and must resign if the House of Representatives passes a no-confidence motion, unless the House is dissolved.

Constitutional amendment

A change to the Constitution requiring a two-thirds majority in each Diet house plus a majority in a national referendum. No amendment has been enacted since 1947.

Local autonomy

The principle that local governments manage their own affairs. Governors and mayors are directly elected, and local assemblies enact ordinances within national law.

Bank of Japan

The central bank, which issues currency and adjusts monetary policy through interest rates and asset purchases. It is independent of the Cabinet's day-to-day fiscal decisions.

Jomon period

A prehistoric era of hunter-gatherer-fisher culture, roughly 14,000 BCE to 300 BCE. It is named for cord-marked pottery and includes large shell mounds and pit dwellings.

Yayoi period

An era from about 300 BCE to 300 CE marked by wet-rice farming, bronze and iron tools, and growing social differences. It is linked to the emergence of small regional states.

Heian period

The era from 794 to 1185 when the capital was at Heian-kyo. Aristocratic court culture flourished with kana writing and literature, while warrior clans gained regional power.

Edo period

The era from 1603 to 1868 under the Tokugawa shogunate. It featured strict status orders, controlled foreign contact, and a commercial economy centered on Edo and Osaka.

Pacific side industry

The coastal belt from Tokyo to Kitakyushu where factories cluster near ports. Imported raw materials and exports of machinery and automobiles explain this location pattern.

Hokkaido agriculture

Japan's northernmost main island has cool summers and broad plains. It leads the country in dairy farming, wheat, potatoes, and large-scale mechanized farming.

Aging rate

The share of a population aged 65 or older. Japan's rate exceeds 29 percent, the highest among major economies, which raises pension and medical costs.

Source criticism

Checking who wrote a document, when, and why before using it as evidence. Comparing multiple sources helps separate fact from opinion and detect bias.

Percentage change

A calculation of change relative to the starting value: (new minus old) divided by old, times 100. It allows comparison of trends measured in different units.