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The Japanese archipelago includes four major islands and many smaller ones, stretching roughly 1500 miles<ref name=brief>Shirokauer, et al., 3-5.</ref> from [[Hokkaido|Hokkaidô]] in the north, to the [[Ryukyu Islands|Ryûkyû Islands]] in the south. The four main islands of Hokkaidô, [[Honshu|Honshû]], [[Shikoku]], and [[Kyushu]] cover a total of roughly 146,000 square miles.<ref name=brief/>

The Japanese archipelago includes four major islands and many smaller ones, stretching roughly 1500 miles<ref name=brief>Shirokauer, et al., 3-5.</ref> from [[Hokkaido|Hokkaidô]] in the north, to the [[Ryukyu Islands|Ryûkyû Islands]] in the south.<ref>The northernmost parts of Hokkaidô lie at 45 degrees North latitude, and the southern portions of Kyushu, i.e. the southernmost points in the Japanese "mainland," around 31 degrees North. [[Yonaguni Island]], one of the southernmost of the Ryûkyû Islands, lies at around 24 degrees North.</ref> The four main islands of Hokkaidô, [[Honshu|Honshû]], [[Shikoku]], and [[Kyushu]] cover a total of roughly 146,000 square miles or 378,000 square kilometers.<ref name=brief/><ref>The land area of the three main islands which formed the extent of the realm throughout its pre-modern history, i.e. excluding Hokkaidô and the Ryukyus obtained in the late 19th century, is around 114,000 square miles, or 295,000 km².</ref>

The islands lie at the intersections of four tectonic plates<ref>The North American, Eurasian, Pacific, and Philippine Sea plates.</ref>, have volcanic origins, and are heavily mountainous.<ref>That is, with the exception of the Ryûkyû Island chain, which is relatively flat, close to sea level, and is composed chiefly not of volcanic soil, but of limestone, deriving from coral origins.</ref> Several of the archipelago's most famous mountains are still active volcanoes today, with [[Sakurajima]] erupting more or less constantly since 1950; [[Mt. Fuji]] is also considered active, though it has not erupted since [[1708]]. The islands are also one of the chief centers of earthquake activity in the world.

The islands lie at the intersections of four tectonic plates<ref>The North American, Eurasian, Pacific, and Philippine Sea plates.</ref>, have volcanic origins, and are heavily mountainous.<ref>That is, with the exception of the Ryûkyû Island chain, which is relatively flat, close to sea level, and is composed chiefly not of volcanic soil, but of limestone, deriving from coral origins.</ref> The islands are home to over sixty active volcanoes, comprising roughly ten percent of the active volcanoes in the world, and including several of the archipelago's most famous mountains.<ref name=totman>[[Conrad Totman]], ''Early Modern Japan'', University of California Press (1993), 4-5.</ref> [[Sakurajima]] in southern Kyushu has erupted more or less constantly since 1950; [[Mt. Fuji]] is also considered active, though it has not erupted since [[1708]]. The islands are also one of the chief centers of earthquake activity in the world.

The mountains leave only roughly 13 percent of the islands' land area as fertile plains,<ref name=brief/> and a considerable portion of the country's population, and political, cultural, and agricultural activity are concentrated in these areas. The four most historically significant areas of fertile plains are the Tsukushi Plain in northwest Kyushu (centered on the city of [[Kurume]], and stretching north to include [[Fukuoka]]/[[Hakata]]), the Kinai Plain (in which are situated the cities of [[Nara]], [[Kyoto]], and [[Osaka]]), the Nôbi Plain (in which [[Nagoya]] is located, and stretching south to [[Ise Bay]]), and the [[Kanto|Kantô Plain]] (home to [[Tokyo]] and an extensive surrounding area).

Japan's land is relatively new, in geologic time, as compared to many other areas of the world, with its mountains forming only about two to three million years ago. With roughly 80% of the archipelago consisting of mountainous bedrock, and grasslands terminating sharply at steep mountain rises,<ref name=totman/> only about 13 percent of the islands' land area is left as fertile plains.<ref name=brief/> While much land was reclaimed during the [[Edo period]], significantly expanding the total amount of land under cultivation, this could only go so far, and eventually hit up against strict topographical environmental limits.

 

A considerable portion of the country's population, and political, cultural, and agricultural activity are concentrated in these limited areas of cultivable plains. The four most historically significant areas of fertile plains are the Tsukushi Plain in northwest Kyushu (centered on the city of [[Kurume]], and stretching north to include [[Fukuoka]]/[[Hakata]]), the Kinai Plain (in which are situated the cities of [[Nara]], [[Kyoto]], and [[Osaka]]), the Nôbi Plain (in which [[Nagoya]] is located, and stretching south to [[Ise Bay]]), and the [[Kanto|Kantô Plain]] (home to [[Tokyo]] and an extensive surrounding area). Despite its geologic youth, however, Japan's proximity to the Asian continent has allowed it to develop considerable biodiversity; Japan is home to around 500 indigenous trees, as compared to around eighty in western Europe, or 250 in North America.<ref name=totman/>

==Climate==

==Climate==

==References==

==References==

*Conrad Shirokauer, Suzanne Gay, and David Lurie, ''A Brief History of Japanese Civilization'', Wadsworth Cengage Learning (2013), 3-5.

*Conrad Shirokauer, Suzanne Gay, and David Lurie, ''A Brief History of Japanese Civilization'', Wadsworth Cengage Learning (2013), 3-5.

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[[Category:Resource Articles]]

[[Category:Resource Articles]]

[[Category:Locations]]

[[Category:Locations]]