Yamanashi Entrance Social Studies cheat sheet

Japan's four main islands north to south: Hokkaidō, Honshū, Shikoku, Kyūshū; Okinawa lies far southwest in the Ryūkyū chain.

Japan spans roughly 20°–46°N latitude and 122°–146°E longitude; the 45°N parallel crosses northern Hokkaidō near Wakkanai.

Climate zones: Hokkaidō (cool, heavy snow); Sea of Japan side (winter snow from northwest monsoon); Pacific side (dry winter, wet summer); Seto Inland Sea (mild, low rainfall); Nansei Islands (subtropical).

Summer rain front (baiu) arrives mid-June to mid-July; typhoons peak August–September; winter snowfall is heaviest on the Sea of Japan side.

Land use: about 70% mountainous forest; plains such as Kantō, Nobi, and Kansai hold most population and farmland.

Industry belts: Keihin (Tokyo–Yokohama), Chūkyō (Nagoya, automobiles), Hanshin (Osaka–Kobe), plus Kitakyūshū and Setouchi.

Population: total about 124 million; declining since 2008; aging rate above 29%; Tokyo metropolitan area holds over a quarter of the population.

Map reading: contour lines close together mean steep slope; scale 1:25,000 means 1 cm = 250 m; north is usually top unless a compass rose shows otherwise.

World regions: monsoon Asia is densely populated; dry Southwest Asia and North Africa are sparsely populated; Europe and East Asia lead in urbanization.

Periods in order: Jōmon, Yayoi, Kofun, Asuka, Nara, Heian, Kamakura, Muromachi (Northern and Southern Courts), then Azuchi–Momoyama.

Prince Shōtoku's Seventeen-Article Constitution (604) and the Taika Reform (645) centralized rule under the emperor; the ritsuryō codes followed.

Nara (710–784): capital Heijō-kyō; Tōdaiji and the Great Buddha; Shōsōin treasures; Kojiki (712) and Nihon shoki (720) compiled.

Heian (794–1185): capital Heian-kyō; Fujiwara regency (sekkan); shōen estates grew; Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu; Pure Land Buddhism spread.

Kamakura shogunate (1185–1333): Minamoto no Yoritomo; jitō and shugo appointed; Mongol invasions of 1274 and 1281 repelled (kamikaze).

Muromachi (1336–1573): Ashikaga shogunate; trade with Ming China; gold standard; Western firearms arrived 1543; Christianity introduced 1549.

Medieval society: samurai lord–vassal ties based on land grants; dōjō and guilds; peasant uprisings (ikki) increased in the Muromachi era.

Oda Nobunaga: entered Kyōto 1568; destroyed Enryakuji (1571); abolished toll barriers; sword hunt (katana-gari) separated warriors and peasants.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi: completed unification; land survey (taikō kenchi) 1582 onward; sword hunt 1588; froze social classes; two invasions of Korea (1592, 1597).

Battle of Sekigahara (1600) led to Tokugawa Ieyasu's shogunate (1603, Edo); Ōsaka sieges (1614–15) ended Toyotomi resistance.

Edo control: sankin-kōtai alternation; hostage system; Buke shohatto; shogunate held about one quarter of national rice output.

Sakoku: Christianity banned (1614); Japanese overseas travel forbidden (1635); Portuguese expelled (1639); Dutch and Chinese trade limited to Nagasaki (Dejima).

Society: shi-nō-kō-shō ranking; village self-government; five-household groups (gonin-gumi); rising commercial economy and Genroku culture.

Late Edo: famine and peasant unrest; Tempo Reforms (1841–43); Perry's ships arrived 1853; unequal treaties from 1858; shogunate fell 1867–68.

Meiji Restoration (1868): Charter Oath; abolition of domains (1871); conscription (1873); land tax reform (1873); Constitution of 1889 (bicameral Diet, emperor sovereign).

Industrialization: government-run model factories sold to zaibatsu; silk exports financed imports; railroads and telegraph built rapidly.

Imperial expansion: Sino-Japanese War (1894–95, Treaty of Shimonoseki); Russo-Japanese War (1904–05, Treaty of Portsmouth); annexation of Korea 1910.

Taishō democracy: party cabinets; universal male suffrage 1925 (Peace Preservation Law same year); Washington Naval Treaty 1922.

World Wars: WWI (1914–18) brought boom then bust; Manchurian Incident 1931; WWII ended with surrender August 1945.

Postwar: new Constitution 1946 (effective 1947); land reform; zaibatsu dissolved; San Francisco Peace Treaty 1951; high growth from about 1955.

World history anchors: French Revolution 1789; Industrial Revolution in Britain; Russian Revolution 1917; Great Depression 1929; decolonization after 1945; Cold War ended around 1989–91.

Constitution of Japan: Preamble plus 11 chapters and 103 articles; three principles are popular sovereignty, fundamental human rights, and pacifism (Article 9).

Emperor is symbol of the state (Article 1); acts in matters of state only with cabinet advice and approval (Article 3).

Diet is the highest organ of state power and sole law-making body (Article 41); House of Councillors members serve six years, half elected every three.

Cabinet: prime minister chosen by the Diet; majority of ministers must be Diet members; cabinet is collectively responsible to the Diet (Article 66).

Judiciary: independent; Supreme Court is court of last resort with power to review constitutionality; lower courts include district, family, and summary courts.

Human rights: equality (Article 14), freedom of thought and conscience (Article 19), no censorship (Article 21), workers' rights (Article 28).

Local government: governors and mayors elected directly; local assemblies; residents may petition for dissolution or recall under the Local Autonomy Law.

Elections: single-member districts plus proportional representation for the House of Representatives; 18 is the voting age; secret ballot.

GDP measures total output; nominal GDP uses current prices, real GDP is adjusted for price changes; per-capita GDP divides by population.

Business cycle: recovery, boom, recession, trough; deflation means falling prices, inflation means rising prices.

Fiscal policy uses government spending and taxes; monetary policy is run by the Bank of Japan through interest rates and money supply.

Public finance: main revenue is taxes (income, corporate, consumption); bonds cover shortfalls; a primary balance surplus means revenue covers spending excluding debt service.

Consumption tax rose to 8% in 2014 and 10% in 2019; income tax is progressive; corporate tax is levied on company profits.

International trade: Japan joined GATT in 1955 and the WTO in 1995; yen appreciation makes exports dearer and imports cheaper.

Exchange rates: a stronger yen lowers import prices but hurts exporters; a weaker yen raises import costs, especially for energy and food.

UN: Security Council has five permanent members with veto power; Japan is a major contributor to the UN budget and ODA.

Read a graph's title, units, axis labels, and legend before extracting any value; note whether the scale starts at zero.

Line graphs show change over time; bar graphs compare categories; pie charts show shares of a whole; scatter plots show correlation.

Percentage change = (new − old) ÷ old × 100; share = part ÷ total × 100.

Population pyramid: wide base means high birth rate; narrow base and wide top mean aging; check dependency ratio = (young + old) ÷ working-age × 100.

Map scale: multiply measured length by the scale denominator; 1:50,000 means 1 cm = 500 m.

Contour lines: V shapes pointing uphill mark valleys; concentric circles mark peaks; spacing indicates slope steepness.

Primary sources are made at the time (diaries, official records, coins); secondary sources interpret them; check author, date, purpose, and bias.

Correlation is not causation; check whether a third factor explains both variables before drawing a conclusion.