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terrace

(Encyclopedia)terrace, a level field built on top of a hillslope into the floor of a deep valley to improve cultivation of crops. Terracing uses the runoff from the hill to increase soil retentiveness and arability...

Shimizu

(Encyclopedia)Shimizu shĭmēˈzo͞o [key], city (1990 pop. 241,523), Shizuoka prefecture, E central Honshu, Japan, on Suruga Bay. A port and fishing center, it exports tea, oranges, and canned food. Shimizu produc...

Shimoda

(Encyclopedia)Shimoda shĭmōˈdä [key], town (1990 pop. 30,081), Shizuoka prefecture, E central Honshu, Japan, at the south extremity of Izu peninsula, on Shimoda Bay. It is an important port for the peninsula. T...

Akashi Kaikyo Bridge

(Encyclopedia)Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, vehicular suspension bridge, S Honshu, Japan, across the Akashi Strait, a busy shipping lane, linking the city of Kobe with Awaji Island and part of a link between Honshu and Shi...

Sikhote-Alin

(Encyclopedia)Sikhote-Alin sēkhətĕ-əlyēnˈyə [key], mountain range, c.625 mi (990 km) long, S Russian Far East. It is composed of a series of ridges lying between the Sea of Japan and the Ussuri and Amur rive...

Brown, Samuel Robbins

(Encyclopedia)Brown, Samuel Robbins, 1810–80, American missionary and educator, b. East Windsor, Conn. As a missionary (1839–47) to China, he took charge of a school founded by the Morrison Educational Associat...

Fukuoka

(Encyclopedia)Fukuoka fo͝oko͞oˈōkä [key], city, capital of Fukuoka prefecture, N Kyushu, Japan, on Hakata ...

Hideyoshi

(Encyclopedia)Hideyoshi (Hideyoshi Toyotomi) hēdāōˈshē [key], 1536–98, Japanese warrior and dictator. He entered the service of Nobunaga as his sandal holder and rose to become his leading general. After Nob...

Ainu

(Encyclopedia)Ainu īˈno͞o [key], aborigines of Japan who may be descended from a Caucasoid people who once lived in N Asia. More powerful invaders from the Asian mainland gradually forced the Ainu to retreat to ...

Kiyoura, Keigo

(Encyclopedia)Kiyoura, Keigo, 1850–1942, Japanese government official and political leader. He joined the ministry of justice in 1876 and participated in the drafting of new legal codes for Japan. He held several...