Japanese people

{{Short description|none}} {{about|the general data on those who are Japanese in origin|Japanese nationality law|Japanese nationality law|the predominant ethnic group sometimes simply called Japanese people|Yamato people}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2020}}

{{Infobox ethnic group | group = Japanese people | native_name = 日本人 | native_name_lang = ja | population = {{circa}} '''125 million''' center|frameless|260x260px | regions = Japan: 119.3 million<ref name="estimates">{{cite web|title=Population Estimates by Age (Five-Year Groups) and Sex|url=https://www.stat.go.jp/english/data/jinsui/tsuki/index.html|website=stat.go.jp|publisher=Statistics Bureau of Japan|access-date=August 29, 2025}}</ref> | tablehdr = ''Significant Japanese diaspora in'': | | region1 = Brazil | pop1 = 2,700,000 | ref1 = <ref name= MOFAstats /> (2023) | region2 = United States | pop2 = 1,586,652 | ref2 = <ref>{{cite web|title=2020: DEC Detailed Demographic and Housing Characteristics File A|url=https://data.census.gov/table/DECENNIALDDHCA2020.T01001?t=-04&y=2020|website=United States Census Bureau|access-date=January 3, 2025}}</ref> (2020) | region3 = Peru | pop3 = 203,130 | ref3 = <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mofa.go.jp/region/latin/peru/data.html|title=Japan-Peru Relations (Basic Data)|work=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan|access-date=August 26, 2025}}</ref> (2023) | region4 = Canada | pop4 = 129,425 | ref4 = <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810035501|title=Ethnic or cultural origin by gender and age: Canada, provinces and territories|website=Statistics Canada|date=October 26, 2022|access-date=May 22, 2023|archive-date=April 4, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404063818/https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810035501|url-status=live}}</ref> (2021) | region5 = Philippines | pop5 = 120,000 | ref5 = <ref>{{cite news|last=Agnote|first=Dario|date=October 11, 2006|title=A glimmer of hope for castoffs|url=http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20061011f1.html|newspaper=The Japan Times|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607035509/http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20061011f1.html|archive-date=June 7, 2011|access-date=August 9, 2016}}</ref><ref name="Ohno 2006 97">{{cite book|last=Ohno|first=Shun|date=2006|chapter=The Intermarried issei and ''mestizo'' nisei in the Philippines|editor-last=Adachi|editor-first=Nobuko|title=Japanese diasporas: Unsung pasts, conflicting presents, and uncertain futures|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8P2SAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA97|page=97|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-135-98723-7|access-date=August 10, 2016|archive-date=September 28, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230928155511/https://books.google.com/books?id=8P2SAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA97#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=May 2023}} | region6 = Australia | pop6 = 105,566 | ref6 = <ref name=MOFA2025>{{cite web|url=https://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/files/100957047.pdf|script-title=ja:海外在留邦人数調査統計|trans-title=Annual Report of Statistics on Japanese Nationals Overseas|language=ja|date=October 1, 2024|website=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan|access-date=August 26, 2025}}</ref> (2025){{Ref|population|note}} | region7 = China | pop7 = 92,928 | ref7 = <ref name=MOFA2025/> (2025){{Ref|population|note}} | region8 = Mexico | pop8 = 88,985 | ref8 = <ref>{{cite web|title=Japan-Mexico Relations|url=https://www.mofa.go.jp/region/latin/mexico/data.html|publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan|access-date=May 22, 2023|archive-date=June 3, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210603103126/https://www.mofa.go.jp/region/latin/mexico/data.html|url-status=live}}</ref> (2024) | region9 = Argentina | pop9 = 75,528 | ref9 = <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mofa.go.jp/region/latin/argentine/data.html|title=Japan-Argentina Relations (Basic Data)|work=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan|access-date=August 25, 2025}}</ref> (2024) | region10 = Thailand | pop10 = 72,113 | ref10 = <ref name=MOFA2025/> (2025){{Ref|population|note}} | region11 = United Kingdom | pop11 = 62,270 | ref11 = <ref name=MOFA2025/> (2025){{Ref|population|note}} | region12 = Germany | pop12 = 44,468 | ref12 = <ref name=MOFA2025/> (2025){{Ref|population|note}} | region13 = South Korea | pop13 = 44,471 | ref13 = <ref name=MOFA2025/> (2025){{Ref|population|note}} | region14 = France | pop14 = 36,023 | ref14 = <ref name=MOFA2025/> (2025){{Ref|population|note}} | region15 = Singapore | pop15 = 33,397 | ref15 = <ref name=MOFA2025/> (2025){{Ref|population|note}} | region16 = Taiwan | pop16 = 21,755 | ref16 = <ref name=MOFA2025/> (2025){{Ref|population|note}} | region17 = New Zealand | pop17 = 21,471 | ref17 = <ref name=MOFA2025/> (2025){{Ref|population|note}} | region18 = Malaysia | pop18 = 19,690 | ref18 = <ref name=MOFA2025/> (2025){{Ref|population|note}} | region19 = Micronesia | pop19 = 20,000 | ref19 = <ref name= MOFAstats /> (2023) {{collapsed infobox section begin|Other countries<br />(fewer than 20,000)}} | region20 = Vietnam | pop20 = 17,410 | ref20 = <ref name=MOFA2025/> (2024){{Ref|population|note}} | region21 = Indonesia | pop21 = 14,720 | ref21 = <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/area/indonesia/data.html|title=インドネシア基礎データ｜外務省|work=外務省}}</ref>{{Ref |population |note}} | region22 = Bolivia | pop22 = 14,000 | ref22 = <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/area/bolivia/data.html|title=ボリビア基礎データ｜外務省|work=外務省}}</ref> | region23 = Netherlands | pop23 = 10,460 | ref23 = <ref>{{cite web |title=Japan-Netherlands Relations (Basic Data) |url=https://www.mofa.go.jp/region/europe/netherlands/data.html#:~:text=Number%20of%20Residents%3A,in%20Japan%3A%201%2C294%20(2020) |website=mofa.go.jp}}</ref>{{collapsed infobox section end}} | languages = Japanese | religions = Primarily, in a traditional/cultural context, a mix of Shinto and Buddhism; minorities ascribe to Christianity and other religions<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-report-on-international-religious-freedom/japan|title=2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Japan|publisher=United States Department of State|access-date=May 22, 2023|archive-date=May 21, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230521223830/https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-report-on-international-religious-freedom/japan|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.insidejapantours.com/japanese-culture/religion/|title=Shinto, Buddhism and the Japanese belief system|publisher=Inside Japan Tours|access-date=June 17, 2023|archive-date=June 18, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230618035337/https://www.insidejapantours.com/japanese-culture/religion/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/atheists-countries-list-six-world-most-convinced-a6946291.html#:~:text=Between%2030%20and%2039%20per,than%20an%20all%2Dseeing%20god.|title=The six countries in the world with the most 'convinced atheists'|work=The Independent|access-date=March 23, 2016|archive-date=March 23, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160323232541/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/atheists-countries-list-six-world-most-convinced-a6946291.html#:~:text=Between%2030%20and%2039%20per,than%20an%20all%2Dseeing%20god.|url-status=live}}</ref> | footnotes = {{note|population}} Note: For this country, only the number of residents with Japanese nationality is shown, since the number of naturalized Japanese people and their descendants is unknown. | related_groups = Ainu{{·}}Ryukyuan }} {{Nihongo|'''Japanese people'''|{{linktext|日本人}}|Nihonjin|{{ipa|ja|ɲihoɲdʑiꜜɴ|ipa}}|lead=yes}} are people or ethnic groups identified with the Japanese archipelago.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Japan/People|title=Japan - People|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=July 29, 2016|archive-date=July 17, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190717042446/https://www.britannica.com/place/Japan/People|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761566679_5/Japan.html|title=Japan. B. Ethnic Groups|encyclopedia=Encarta|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080122044842/http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761566679_5/Japan.html|archive-date=January 22, 2008}}</ref> Japanese people constitute 97.1% of the population of the country of Japan.<ref name="estimates"/> Approximately 119.9 million Japanese people are residents of Japan,<ref name="estimates"/> and there are approximately five million members of the Japanese diaspora, known as {{nihongo||日系人|Nikkeijin}}.<ref name=MOFAstats>{{cite web |url = https://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/files/100646175.pdf |title = 海外日系人数推計 |trans-title=Estimated Number of Nikkeijin Living Abroad|language=ja|date=October 1, 2023|website=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan|access-date=August 29, 2025}}</ref>

In some contexts, the term "Japanese people" might be used to refer specifically to the Yamato people, who are primarily from the historically principal islands of Honshu, Kyushu and Shikoku and constitute by far the largest group. In other contexts, the term could include other groups native to the Japanese archipelago, including Ryukyuan people, who share connections with the Yamato but are often regarded as distinct, and Ainu people.<ref name="Minahan">{{citation|last=Minahan|first=James B.|title=Ethnic Groups of North, East, and Central Asia: An Encyclopedia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oZCOAwAAQBAJ|pages=231–233|year=2014|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-61069-018-8|access-date=January 30, 2019|archive-date=January 23, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230123142507/https://books.google.com/books?id=oZCOAwAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> In recent decades, there has also been an increase in the number of people with both Japanese and non-Japanese roots, including those who are half Japanese.

==History== {{Main|History of Japan}}

===Theories of origins===  {{Main|Genetic and anthropometric studies on Japanese people}}

{{stack|[[File:Stone statue, late Jomon period.JPG|thumb|upright=0.9|{{Nihongo||遮光器土偶|Shakōki-dogū}} (1000–400 BC), "goggle-eyed type" figurine. Tokyo National Museum]]}}

Archaeological evidence indicates that Stone Age people lived in the Japanese archipelago during the Paleolithic period between 39,000 and 21,000 years ago.<ref>[http://www.pnas.org/cgi/reprint/102/17/6231.pdf Global archaeological evidence for proboscidean overkill] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080626001634/http://www.pnas.org/cgi/reprint/102/17/6231.pdf |date=June 26, 2008 }} in PNAS online; Page 3 (page No.6233), Table 1. The known global sample of proboscidean kill/scavenge sites :Lake Nojiri Japan 33-39 ka (ka: thousand years).</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pref.nagano.jp/kyouiku/syougai/english/history/genshi/genshi.htm|title=Prehistoric Times|work=Web Site Shinshu|publisher=Nagano Prefecture|access-date=January 22, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101231000244/http://www.pref.nagano.jp/kyouiku/syougai/english/history/genshi/genshi.htm|archive-date=December 31, 2010}}</ref> Japan was then connected to mainland Asia by at least one land bridge, where nomadic hunter-gatherers crossed to Japan. Flint tools and bony implements of this era have been excavated in Japan.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.avis.ne.jp/~nojiriko/nojiri.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000519040301/http://www.avis.ne.jp/~nojiriko/nojiri.html|archive-date=May 19, 2000 |script-title=ja:野尻湖人の世界|language=ja |date=May 19, 2000|access-date=December 12, 2017}}</ref>

In the 18th century, Arai Hakuseki suggested that the ancient stone tools in Japan were left behind by the Shukushin. Later, Philipp Franz von Siebold argued that the Ainu people were indigenous to northern Japan.<ref name="tokyo">{{cite web|url=http://www.um.u-tokyo.ac.jp/publish_db/2000dm2k/english/02/02-02.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927190954/http://www.um.u-tokyo.ac.jp/publish_db/2000dm2k/english/02/02-02.html|archive-date=September 27, 2011|title=Archaeological Research of the Jomon Period in the 21st Century|first=Keiji|last=Imamura|publisher=The University Museum, The University of Tokyo|year=2000|access-date=December 29, 2010}}</ref> Iha Fuyū suggested that Japanese and Ryukyuan people have the same ethnic origin, based on his 1906 research on the Ryukyuan languages.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ryukyushimpo.jp/news/storyid-165373-storytopic-1.html |script-title=ja:伊波普猷の卒論発見思想骨格鮮明に |language=ja |publisher=Ryūkyū Shimpō |date=July 25, 2010 |access-date=March 7, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722123804/http://ryukyushimpo.jp/news/storyid-165373-storytopic-1.html |archive-date=July 22, 2011 }}</ref> In the Taishō period, Torii Ryūzō claimed that Yamato people used Yayoi pottery and Ainu used Jōmon pottery.<ref name="tokyo" />

After World War II, Kotondo Hasebe and Hisashi Suzuki claimed that the origin of Japanese people did not lie in newcomers from the Yayoi period (300 BCE – 300 CE) but people from the Jōmon period.<ref name="postcolonical">{{cite journal|first=Arnaud|last=Nanta|year=2008|title=Physical Anthropology and the Reconstruction of Japanese Identity in Postcolonial Japan|journal=Social Science Japan Journal|volume=11|issue=1|pages=29–47|doi=10.1093/ssjj/jyn019|doi-access=free}}</ref> However, Kazuro Hanihara announced a new racial admixture theory in 1984<ref name="postcolonical" /> and a "dual structure model" in 1991.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Hanihara | first1 = K | year = 1991 | title = Dual structure model for the population history of the Japanese | journal = Japan Review | volume = 2 | pages = 1–33 }}</ref> According to Hanihara, modern Japanese lineages began with Jōmon people, who moved into the Japanese archipelago during Paleolithic times, followed by a second wave of immigration, from East Asia to Japan during the Yayoi period (300 BC). Following a population expansion in Neolithic times, these newcomers then found their way to the Japanese archipelago sometime during the Yayoi period. As a result, replacement of the hunter-gatherers was common in the island regions of Kyushu, Shikoku, and southern Honshu, but did not prevail in the outlying Ryukyu Islands and Hokkaido, and the Ryukyuan and Ainu people show mixed characteristics. Mark J. Hudson claims that the main ethnic image of Japanese people was biologically and linguistically formed from 400 BCE to 1,200 CE.<ref name="postcolonical" /> Currently, the most well-regarded theory is that present-day Japanese people formed from both the Yayoi rice-agriculturalists and the various Jōmon period ethnicities.<ref name="Melinda A 2020">{{Cite journal|last1=Boer|first1=Elisabeth de|last2=Yang|first2=Melinda A.|last3=Kawagoe|first3=Aileen|last4=Barnes|first4=Gina L.|date=2020|title=Japan considered from the hypothesis of farmer/language spread|journal=Evolutionary Human Sciences|language=en|volume=2|article-number=e13 |doi=10.1017/ehs.2020.7|pmid=37588377 |pmc=10427481 |issn=2513-843X|doi-access=free}}</ref> However, some recent studies have argued that the Jōmon people had more ethnic diversity than originally suggested<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Lee|last2=Hasegawa|first1=Sean|first2=Toshikazu|date=April 2013|title=Evolution of the Ainu Language in Space and Time|journal=PLOS ONE|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/236604406|volume=8|issue=4|article-number=e62243|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0062243|pmid=23638014|pmc=3637396|bibcode=2013PLoSO...862243L|s2cid=8370300|quote=|doi-access=free}}</ref> or that the people of Japan bear significant genetic signatures from three ancient populations, rather than just two.<ref name="dunham">{{cite news|last=Dunham|first=W.|date=18 September 2021|title=Study rewrites understanding of modern Japan's genetic ancestry|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/study-rewrites-understanding-modern-japans-genetic-ancestry-2021-09-17/|access-date=October 9, 2021|archive-date=October 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211009125137/https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/study-rewrites-understanding-modern-japans-genetic-ancestry-2021-09-17/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Cooke|first1=N. P.|last2=Mattiangeli|first2=V.|last3=Cassidy|first3=L. M.|last4=Okazaki|first4=K.|last5=Stokes|first5=C. A.|last6=Onbe|first6=S.|last7=Hatakeyama|first7=S.|last8=Machida|first8=K.|last9=Kasai|first9=K.|last10=Tomioka|first10=N.|last11=Matsumoto|first11=A.|date=17 September 2021|title=Ancient genomics reveals tripartite origins of Japanese populations|journal=Science Advances|volume=7|issue=38|article-number=eabh2419|doi=10.1126/sciadv.abh2419|pmid=34533991|doi-access=free|last12=Ito|first13=Y.|first14=D. G.|last14=Bradley|first15=T.|last15=Gakuhari|first16=S.|last16=Nakagome|first12=M.|last13=Kojima|pmc=8448447|bibcode=2021SciA....7.2419C }}</ref>

===Jōmon and Yayoi periods=== {{Main|Jōmon period|Yayoi period}} Some of the world's oldest known pottery pieces were developed by the Jōmon people in the Upper Paleolithic period, dating back as far as 16,000 years. The name {{Nihongo|"Jōmon"|縄文|Jōmon}} means "cord-impressed pattern", and comes from the characteristic markings found on the pottery. The Jōmon people were mostly hunter-gatherers, but also practiced early agriculture, such as Azuki bean cultivation. At least one middle-to-late Jōmon site ({{nihongo|Minami Mizote|南溝手}}, {{Circa|1200}}–1000 BC) featured a primitive rice-growing agriculture, relying primarily on fish and nuts for protein. The ethnic roots of the Jōmon period population were heterogeneous, and can be traced back to ancient Southeast Asia, the Tibetan Plateau, ancient Taiwan, and Siberia.<ref name="Melinda A 2020"/><ref>{{Cite bioRxiv|last1=Watanabe|first1=Yusuke|last2=Ohashi|first2=Jun|date=2021-03-08|title=Comprehensive analysis of Japanese archipelago population history by detecting ancestry-marker polymorphisms without using ancient DNA data|language=en|biorxiv=10.1101/2020.12.07.414037}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Yang|first1=Melinda A.|last2=Fan|first2=Xuechun|last3=Sun|first3=Bo|last4=Chen|first4=Chungyu|last5=Lang|first5=Jianfeng|last6=Ko|first6=Ying-Chin|last7=Tsang|first7=Cheng-hwa|last8=Chiu|first8=Hunglin|last9=Wang|first9=Tianyi|last10=Bao|first10=Qingchuan|last11=Wu|first11=Xiaohong|date=2020-07-17|title=Ancient DNA indicates human population shifts and admixture in northern and southern China|url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aba0909|journal=Science|language=en|volume=369|issue=6501|pages=282–288|doi=10.1126/science.aba0909|issn=0036-8075|pmid=32409524|bibcode=2020Sci...369..282Y|s2cid=218649510|access-date=June 30, 2022|archive-date=May 23, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230523074820/https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aba0909|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

Beginning around 300 BC, the Yayoi people originating from Northeast Asia entered the Japanese islands and displaced or intermingled with the Jōmon. The Yayoi brought wet-rice farming and advanced bronze and iron technology to Japan. The more productive paddy field systems allowed the communities to support larger populations and spread over time, in turn becoming the basis for more advanced institutions and heralding the new civilization of the succeeding Kofun period.

The estimated population of Japan in the late Jōmon period was about eight hundred thousand, compared to about three million by the Nara period. Taking the growth rates of hunting and agricultural societies into account, it is calculated that about one-and-a-half million immigrants moved to Japan in the period. According to several studies, the Yayoi created the "Japanese-hierarchical society".<ref>{{cite book |last=Kumar |first=Ann |year=2009 |title=Globalizing the Prehistory of Japan: Language, Genes, and Civilization. |location=Oxford |publisher=Routledge}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Farris |first=William Wayne |date=1996 |title=Ancient Japan's Korean Connection |journal=Korean Studies |volume=20 |pages=1–22 |jstor=23719600 |issn=0145-840X }}</ref>

===Consolidation and feudal periods=== {{Main|History of Japan#Classical Japan|History of Japan#Feudal Japan}} {{Expand section|date=May 2021}}

===Colonial period=== {{See also|Japanese colonial empire|Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere}} thumb|upright=1.25|Location of Imperial Japan

During the Japanese colonial period of 1895 to 1945, the phrase "Japanese people" was used to refer not only to residents of the Japanese archipelago, but also to people from colonies who held Japanese citizenship, such as Taiwanese people and Korean people. The official term used to refer to ethnic Japanese during this period was {{nihongo|"inland people"|内地人|naichijin}}. Such linguistic distinctions facilitated forced assimilation of colonized ethnic identities into a single Imperial Japanese identity.<ref name="Tai">{{cite journal|volume= 36|date=September 2004|pages=355–382|doi=10.1080/1467271042000241586|title=Korean Japanese|author=Eika Tai|journal=Critical Asian Studies|issue= 3|s2cid=147377282}}</ref>

After the end of World War II, the Soviet Union classified many Nivkh people and Orok people from southern Sakhalin, who had been Japanese imperial subjects in Karafuto Prefecture, as Japanese people and repatriated them to Hokkaido. On the other hand, many Sakhalin Koreans who had held Japanese citizenship until the end of the war were left stateless by the Soviet occupation.<ref name="Lankov1">{{cite news|last=Lankov|first=Andrei|author-link=Andrei Lankov|newspaper=The Korea Times|date=January 5, 2006|access-date=November 26, 2006|title=Stateless in Sakhalin|url=http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/opinion/200601/kt2006010516434554130.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060221144952/http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/opinion/200601/kt2006010516434554130.htm|archive-date=February 21, 2006}}</ref>

==Language== {{Main|Japanese language}} The Japanese language is a Japonic language that is related to the Ryukyuan languages and was treated as a language isolate in the past. The earliest attested form of the language, Old Japanese, dates to the 8th century. Japanese phonology is characterized by a relatively small number of vowel phonemes, frequent gemination and a distinctive pitch accent system. The modern Japanese language has a tripartite writing system using hiragana, katakana and kanji. The language includes native Japanese words and a large number of words derived from the Chinese language. In Japan the adult literacy rate in the Japanese language exceeds 99%.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/japan/|title=The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency|website=www.cia.gov|access-date=December 12, 2017|archive-date=January 5, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210105105736/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/japan/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Dozens of Japanese dialects are spoken in regions of Japan. For now, Japanese is classified as a member of the Japonic languages or as a language isolate with no known living relatives if Ryukyuan is counted as dialects.<ref>Kindaichi, Haruhiko (2011-12-20). ''Japanese Language: Learn the Fascinating History and Evolution of the Language Along With Many Useful Japanese Grammar Points.'' Tuttle Publishing. {{ISBN|9781462902668}}</ref>

==Religion== {{Main|Religion in Japan}} [[File:Ōmiya_Hachiman_Shrine_Mikoshi.JPG|thumb|A Shinto festival in Miki, Hyogo]] Japanese religion has traditionally been syncretic in nature, combining elements of Buddhism and Shinto (Shinbutsu-shūgō).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://k-amc.kokugakuin.ac.jp/DM/detail.do?class_name=col_eos&data_id=23041|website=Kokugakuin University Encyclopedia of Shinto|title=Shinto and Buddhism|author=Satō Makoto|access-date=March 31, 2018|archive-date=April 1, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180401075412/http://k-amc.kokugakuin.ac.jp/DM/detail.do?class_name=col_eos&data_id=23041}}</ref> Shinto, a polytheistic religion with no book of religious canon, is Japan's native religion. Shinto was one of the traditional grounds for the right to the throne of the Japanese imperial family and was codified as the state religion in 1868 (State Shinto), but was abolished by the American occupation in 1945. Mahayana Buddhism came to Japan in the sixth century and evolved into many different sects. Today, the largest form of Buddhism among Japanese people is the Jōdo Shinshū sect founded by Shinran.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.e-stat.go.jp/stat-search/files?page=1&layout=datalist&toukei=00401101&kikan=00401&tstat=000001018471&cycle=0&tclass1=000001111515&stat_infid=000031662957 |script-title=ja:宗教統計調査 / 平成２９年度 |title=Shūkyō tōkei chōsa / Heisei 29-nendo |trans-title=Japanese government statistics on total religious followers for 2017 |language=ja |website=e-stat.go.jp |access-date=March 3, 2025 |archive-date=April 1, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180401144332/https://www.e-stat.go.jp/stat-search/files?page=1&layout=datalist&toukei=00401101&kikan=00401&tstat=000001018471&cycle=0&tclass1=000001111515&stat_infid=000031662957 |url-status=live}}</ref>

A large majority of Japanese people profess to believe in both Shinto and Buddhism.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/japan/|title=The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency|website=Cia.gov|access-date=December 12, 2017|archive-date=January 5, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210105105736/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/japan/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2006/71342.htm|title=Japan|website=State.gov|access-date=December 12, 2017|archive-date=May 12, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210512183410/https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2006/71342.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vipassanafoundation.com/Buddhists.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040704135418/http://www.vipassanafoundation.com/Buddhists.html|archive-date=July 4, 2004|title=Buddhists in the world|date=July 4, 2004|access-date=December 12, 2017}}</ref> Japanese people's religion functions mostly as a foundation for mythology, traditions and neighborhood activities, rather than as the single source of moral guidelines for one's life.{{citation needed|date=April 2012}}

A significant proportion of members of the Japanese diaspora practice Christianity; about 60% of Japanese Brazilians and 90% of Japanese Mexicans are Roman Catholics,<ref name="panib.org.br">{{cite web|url=http://panib.org.br/|title=PANIB - Pastoral Nipo Brasileira|date=October 15, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071015201123/http://panib.org.br/|archive-date=October 15, 2007}}</ref><ref name="Aciprensa">{{cite web |url= https://www.aciprensa.com/noticias/colonia-japonesa-en-mexico-visita-guadalupe-en-54-peregrinacion-anual/ |title= Colonia japonesa en México visita Guadalupe en 54º peregrinación anual |publisher= Aciprensa |access-date= February 20, 2014 |archive-date= December 19, 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141219152904/https://www.aciprensa.com/noticias/colonia-japonesa-en-mexico-visita-guadalupe-en-54-peregrinacion-anual/ }}</ref> while about 37% of Japanese Americans are Christians (33% Protestant and 4% Catholic).<ref name="pewforum.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.pewforum.org/Asian-Americans-A-Mosaic-of-Faiths-overview.aspx|title=Asian Americans: A Mosaic of Faiths|date=July 19, 2012|work=Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project|access-date=March 17, 2015|archive-date=July 16, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130716064702/http://www.pewforum.org/Asian-Americans-A-Mosaic-of-Faiths-overview.aspx}}</ref>

==Literature== {{Main|Japanese literature}} [[File:Momotaro2.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|left|Bisque doll of Momotarō,<br />a character from Japanese literature and folklore]] Certain genres of writing originated in and are often associated with Japanese society. These include the haiku, tanka, and I Novel, although modern writers generally avoid these writing styles. Historically, many works have sought to capture or codify traditional Japanese cultural values and aesthetics. Some of the most famous of these include Murasaki Shikibu's ''The Tale of Genji'' (1021), about Heian court culture; Miyamoto Musashi's ''The Book of Five Rings'' (1645), concerning military strategy; Matsuo Bashō's ''Oku no Hosomichi'' (1691), a travelogue; and Jun'ichirō Tanizaki's essay "In Praise of Shadows" (1933), which contrasts Eastern and Western cultures.

Following the opening of Japan to the West in 1854, some works of this style were written in English by natives of Japan; they include ''Bushido: The Soul of Japan'' by Nitobe Inazō (1900), concerning samurai ethics, and ''The Book of Tea'' by Okakura Kakuzō (1906), which deals with the philosophical implications of the Japanese tea ceremony. Western observers have often attempted to evaluate Japanese society as well, to varying degrees of success; one of the most well-known and controversial works resulting from this is Ruth Benedict's ''The Chrysanthemum and the Sword'' (1946).

Twentieth-century Japanese writers recorded changes in Japanese society through their works. Some of the most notable authors included Natsume Sōseki, Jun'ichirō Tanizaki, Osamu Dazai, Fumiko Enchi, Akiko Yosano, Yukio Mishima, and Ryōtarō Shiba. Popular contemporary authors such as Ryū Murakami, Haruki Murakami, and Banana Yoshimoto have been translated into many languages and enjoy international followings, and Yasunari Kawabata and Kenzaburō Ōe were awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.

==Arts== {{Main|Japanese art|Japanese architecture}} [[File:「富嶽三十六景凱風快晴」-South Wind, Clear Sky (Gaifū kaisei), also known as Red Fuji, from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei) MET DP141062.jpg|thumb|The print ''Red Fuji'' from Katsushika Hokusai's series, ''Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji'']] Decorative arts in Japan date back to prehistoric times. Jōmon pottery includes examples with elaborate ornamentation. In the Yayoi period, artisans produced mirrors, spears, and ceremonial bells known as {{tlit|ja|dōtaku}}. Later burial mounds, or {{tlit|ja|kofun}}, preserve characteristic clay figures known as {{tlit|ja|haniwa}}, as well as wall paintings.

Beginning in the Nara period, painting, calligraphy, and sculpture flourished under strong Confucian and Buddhist influences from China. Among the architectural achievements of this period are the Hōryū-ji and the Yakushi-ji, two Buddhist temples in Nara Prefecture. After the cessation of official relations with the Tang dynasty in the ninth century, Japanese art and architecture gradually became less influenced by China. Extravagant art and clothing were commissioned by nobles to decorate their court, and although the aristocracy was quite limited in size and power, many of these pieces are still extant. After the Tōdai-ji was attacked and burned during the Genpei War, a special office of restoration was founded, and the Tōdai-ji became an important artistic center. The leading masters of the time were Unkei and Kaikei.{{citation needed|date=December 2018}}

Painting advanced in the Muromachi period in the form of ink wash painting under the influence of Zen Buddhism as practiced by such masters as Sesshū Tōyō. Zen Buddhist tenets were also incorporated into the tea ceremony during the Sengoku period. During the Edo period, the polychrome painting screens of the Kanō school were influential thanks to their powerful patrons (including the Tokugawa clan). Popular artists created ukiyo-e, woodblock prints for sale to commoners in the flourishing cities. Pottery such as Imari ware was highly valued as far away as Europe.

In theater, Noh is a traditional, spare dramatic form that developed in tandem with kyōgen farce. In stark contrast to the restrained refinement of noh, kabuki, an "explosion of color", uses every possible stage trick for dramatic effect. Plays include sensational events such as suicides, and many such works were performed both in kabuki and in bunraku puppet theater.{{citation needed|date=December 2018}}

Since the Meiji Restoration, Japanese art has been influenced by many elements of Western culture. Contemporary decorative, practical, and performing arts works range from traditional forms to purely modern modes. Products of popular culture, including J-pop, J-rock, manga, and anime have found audiences around the world.

==Citizenship== Article 10 of the Constitution of Japan defines the term "Japanese" based upon Japanese nationality (citizenship) alone, without regard for ethnicity.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://japan.kantei.go.jp/constitution_and_government_of_japan/constitution_e.html|title=The Constitution of Japan|publisher=Prime Minister's Office of Japan|access-date=May 23, 2023|archive-date=August 5, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190805192218/http://japan.kantei.go.jp/constitution_and_government_of_japan/constitution_e.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The Government of Japan considers all naturalized and native-born Japanese nationals with a multi-ethnic background "Japanese", and in the national census the Japanese Statistics Bureau asks only about nationality, so there is no official census data on the variety of ethnic groups in Japan. While this has contributed to or reinforced the widespread belief that Japan is ethnically homogeneous, as shown in the claim of former Japanese Prime Minister Tarō Asō that Japan is a nation of "one race, one civilization, one language and one culture",<ref>{{cite web|title="Aso says Japan is nation of 'one race'"|publisher=The Japan Times|date=October 18, 2005|access-date=May 24, 2023|url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2005/10/18/national/aso-says-japan-is-nation-of-one-race/|archive-date=May 24, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230524054529/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2005/10/18/national/aso-says-japan-is-nation-of-one-race/|url-status=live}} Note: The term which Kyodo News translates as "race" here is {{nihongo|民族|minzoku}}, which is often translated as "people", "nation", or "ethnic group".</ref> some scholars have argued that it is more accurate to describe the country of Japan as a multiethnic society.<ref>John Lie ''Multiethnic Japan'' (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2001)</ref><ref>Oguma Eiji, ''A Genealogy of 'Japanese' Self-images'' (Melbourne: Trans Pacific Press, 2002)</ref>

Children born to international couples receive Japanese nationality when one parent is a Japanese national. However, Japanese law states that children who are dual citizens must choose one nationality before the age of 20.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.moj.go.jp/MINJI/minji78.html#a15 |script-title=ja:法務省：国籍Ｑ＆Ａ |title=Hōmushō: Kokuseki Kyū-ando-ei |trans-title=On nationality, Ministry of Justice Q&A |publisher=Japanese Ministry of Justice |access-date=March 3, 2025 |archive-date=May 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230525004707/https://www.moj.go.jp/MINJI/minji78.html#a15 |language=ja |url-status=live}} Note: Before the legal age of adulthood in Japan was lowered from 20 to 18 on April 1, 2022, the legal limit age for the choice of nationality was 22.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ph.emb-japan.go.jp/files/100325631.pdf|title=The Choice of Nationality|publisher=Embassy of Japan in the Philippines|access-date=May 25, 2023|archive-date=March 18, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230318065754/https://www.ph.emb-japan.go.jp/files/100325631.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Studies estimate that 1 in 30 children born in Japan are born to interracial couples, and these children are sometimes referred to as {{tlit|ja|hāfu}} (half Japanese).<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/9/9/hafu-in-japan-mixed-race.html |title=Being 'hafu' in Japan: Mixed-race people face ridicule, rejection |website=America.aljazeera.com |access-date=January 24, 2019 |archive-date=May 20, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170520110100/http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/9/9/hafu-in-japan-mixed-race.html }}</ref>

==Diaspora== {{Main|Japanese diaspora}} [[File:Japantown SF Peace Plaza during 2010 NCCBF 2010-04-18 3.JPG|thumb|The Japantown Peace Plaza during the Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival]] The term {{nihongo||日系人|Nikkeijin}} is used to refer to Japanese people who emigrated from Japan and their descendants.

Emigration from Japan was recorded as early as the 15th century to the Philippines and Borneo,<ref>{{Cite web|url = https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/10434/ancient-japanese-pottery-in-boljoon-town|title = Ancient Japanese pottery in Boljoon town|date = May 30, 2011|access-date = November 8, 2021|archive-date = May 13, 2020|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200513005305/https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/10434/ancient-japanese-pottery-in-boljoon-town|url-status = live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://sambali.blogspot.com/2006/09/luzon-jars-glossary.html|title=Quests of the Dragon and Bird Clan: Luzon Jars (Glossary)|first=Paul Kekai|last=Manansala|date=September 5, 2006|access-date=February 3, 2020|archive-date=January 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200119133911/http://sambali.blogspot.com/2006/09/luzon-jars-glossary.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="cole">{{cite journal |last1=Cole |first1=Fay-Cooper |title=Chinese Pottery in the Philippines |journal=Field Museum of Natural History. Anthropological Series |date=1912 |volume=12 |issue=1 |url=https://www.forgottenbooks.com/en/download/Chinese_Pottery_in_the_Philippines_1000107472.pdf |access-date=January 12, 2021 |archive-date=September 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210903115635/https://www.forgottenbooks.com/en/download/Chinese_Pottery_in_the_Philippines_1000107472.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://asiapacificuniverse.com/pkm/tech.htm|title=Hotels in Philippines - Booked.net|website=Booked.net|access-date=December 12, 2017|archive-date=August 17, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110817073439/http://asiapacificuniverse.com/pkm/tech.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> and in the 16th and 17th centuries, thousands of traders from Japan also migrated to the Philippines and assimilated into the local population.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-I6owJcCOdwC&q=Racial+intimacy+in+Japan&pg=PA126|title=Interracial Intimacy in Japan|isbn=978-0-8264-6074-5|last1=Leupp|first1=Gary P.|date=January 1, 2003|publisher=A&C Black|access-date=October 5, 2020|archive-date=September 28, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230928155512/https://books.google.com/books?id=-I6owJcCOdwC&q=Racial+intimacy+in+Japan&pg=PA126#v=snippet&q=Racial%20intimacy%20in%20Japan&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref>{{rp|pp. 52–3}} However, migration of Japanese people did not become a mass phenomenon until the Meiji era, when Japanese people began to go to the United States, Brazil, Canada, the Philippines, China, and Peru. There was also significant emigration to the territories of the Empire of Japan during the colonial period, but most of these emigrants and settlers repatriated to Japan after the end of World War II in Asia.<ref name="Lankov2">{{cite news|url=http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/opinion/200603/kt2006032318091354130.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060619173835/http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/opinion/200603/kt2006032318091354130.htm|archive-date=June 19, 2006|last=Lankov|first=Andrei|access-date=December 18, 2006|date=March 23, 2006|title=The Dawn of Modern Korea (360): Settling Down|newspaper=The Korea Times}}</ref>

According to Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, there are about five million {{tlit|ja|Nikkeijin}} living in their adopted countries.<ref name=MOFAstats /> The largest of these foreign communities are in the Brazilian states of São Paulo and Paraná.<ref name="IBGEPerfil">IBGE. Resistência e Integração: 100 anos de Imigração Japonesa no Brasil ''apud'' [http://madeinjapan.uol.com.br/2008/06/21/ibge-traca-perfil-dos-imigrantes Made in Japan. IBGE Traça o Perfil dos Imigrantes; 21 de junho de 2008] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080624140253/http://madeinjapan.uol.com.br/2008/06/21/ibge-traca-perfil-dos-imigrantes |date=June 24, 2008 }} Accessed September 4, 2008. {{in lang|pt}}</ref> There are also significant cohesive Japanese communities in the Philippines,<ref name="Shiraishi1993">{{cite book|last=Furia|first=Reiko|editor1=Saya Shiraishi|editor2=Takashi Shiraishi|title=The Japanese in Colonial Southeast Asia|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6mfCzrbOn80C&pg=PA157|access-date=May 30, 2016|year=1993|publisher=Southeast Asia Program, Cornell University Publications|isbn=978-0-87727-402-5|page=157|chapter=The Japanese Community Abroad: The Case of Prewar Davao in the Philippines}}</ref> East Malaysia, Peru, the U.S. states of Hawaii, California, and Washington, and the Canadian cities of Vancouver and Toronto. Separately, the number of Japanese citizens living abroad is over one million according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

==See also== {{Portal|Japan}} * Ethnic issues in Japan * Foreign-born Japanese * Japantown * List of Japanese people * Nihonjinron * Demographics of Japan ** Burakumin ** Dekasegi * Azumi people, an ancient group of peoples who inhabited parts of northern Kyushu * Emishi, a group of people who lived in the northeastern Tōhoku region of Japan

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{Commons category|People of Japan}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20260118105509/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/japan/ CIA The World Fact Book 2006] * [https://www.jadesas.or.jp/ The Association of Nikkei & Japanese Abroad] {{in lang|ja}} * [https://www.discovernikkei.org/en/ Discover Nikkei] – Information on Japanese emigrants and their descendants * [https://web.archive.org/web/20060614075235/http://clas.berkeley.edu:7001/Research/graduate/summer2005/tinker/Rivas/index.html Jun-Nissei Literature and Culture in Brazil] (archived) * [https://www.mofa.go.jp/index.html The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan] * [https://www.rekihaku.ac.jp/english/index.html The National Museum of Japanese History] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20190415212807/http://www.habri.co.uk/ Japanese society and culture]

{{Japanese diaspora}} {{East Asian topics|state=collapsed}} {{Ethnic groups in Japan|state=collapsed}} {{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Japanese people}} Category:Japanese people Category:Ethnic groups in Japan