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Shinano

(Encyclopedia)Shinano shĭnäˈnō [key], river, longest of Honshu, Japan, c.230 mi (370 km) long. It rises in the mountains of central Honshu and flows generally NE to the Sea of Japan at Niigata. It waters the fe...

Nara

(Encyclopedia)Nara näˈrä [key], city (1990 pop. 349,349), capital of Nara prefecture, S Honshu, Japan. An ancient cultural and religious center, it was founded in 706 by imperial decree and was modeled after Cha...

Satsuma

(Encyclopedia)Satsuma sätso͞oˈmä [key], peninsula, Kagoshima prefecture, SW Kyushu, Japan. It gives its name to a famous porcelain, Satsuma ware, which was first manufactured there by Korean artisans in the 16t...

Tsugaru Strait

(Encyclopedia)Tsugaru Strait tso͝ogäˈro͞o [key], c.100 mi (160 km) long and from 15 to 25 mi (24–40 km) wide, separating Honshu and Hokkaido, N Japan, and connecting the Sea of Japan with the Pacific Ocean. ...

Tsuruga

(Encyclopedia)Tsuruga tso͞oro͞oˈgä [key], city (1990 pop. 68,041), Fukui prefecture, central Honshu, Japan, a port on the Sea of Japan. It was long a center for commerce with Korea. Among the city's principal p...

Kakinomoto no Hitomaro

(Encyclopedia)Kakinomoto no Hitomaro käˈkēˈnōˈmōˈtō nō hēˈtōˈmäˈrō [key], ?–710?, early Japanese lyric poet. He is the greatest poet represented in the Manyôshu [collection of myriad leaves], wh...

Nogi, Maresuke

(Encyclopedia)Nogi, Maresuke märāˈso͞okā nōˈgē [key], 1849–1912, Japanese general. Made a lieutenant general in 1895, he became governor-general of Taiwan. He was the hero of the capture of Port Arthur in...

Wakatsuki, Reijiro

(Encyclopedia)Wakatsuki, Reijiro rāˈjērō wäkätso͞oˈkē [key], 1866–1949, Japanese statesman. He served (1906, 1908–11) as vice minister of finance, was elected to parliament in 1911, and was minister of...

missions

(Encyclopedia)missions, term generally applied to organizations formed for the purpose of extending religious teaching, whether at home or abroad. It also indicates the stations or the fields where such teaching is...

Masuda

(Encyclopedia)Masuda mäso͞oˈdä [key], city (1990 pop. 52,408), Shimane prefecture, SW Honshu, Japan, on the Sea of Japan at the mouth of the Takutsu River. It is an agricultural and communications center, with ...