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Liancourt Rocks

(Encyclopedia)Liancourt Rocks, Jap. Takeshima, Korean Dokdo or Tokdo, island group, 58 acres (23 hectares), in the SW Sea of Japan, roughly midway between the Japanese island of Honshu and the Korean peninsula. Con...

Adams, Will

(Encyclopedia)Adams, Will (William Adams), 1564?–1620, first Englishman to visit Japan. As pilot of a Dutch ship searching for gold and trade, he reached Japan in 1600. At first imprisoned and sentenced to death,...

Portsmouth, Treaty of

(Encyclopedia)Portsmouth, Treaty of, 1905, treaty ending the Russo-Japanese War. It was signed at the Portsmouth Naval Base, New Hampshire, on Sept. 5, 1905. Negotiations leading up to the treaty began in the sprin...

South Manchurian Railway

(Encyclopedia)South Manchurian Railway, Japanese-developed enterprise, with a trackage of 701 mi (1128 km). The line from Changchun to Lüshun (Port Arthur), originally belonging to the Russian-built Chinese Easter...

Hiranuma, Kiichiro, Baron

(Encyclopedia)Hiranuma, Kiichiro, Baron kēˌēˈchērō hēräˈno͞omä [key], 1865–1952, Japanese statesman, founder of the Kokuhonsha, a powerful militaristic and reactionary society. He became minister of ju...

Kano, family or school of Japanese painters

(Encyclopedia)Kano käˈnō [key], family or school of Japanese painters. Kano Masanobu, c.1434–c.1530, the forerunner of the school, was attached to the shogun Yoshimasa's court. He painted landscapes, birds, an...

gentlemen's agreement

(Encyclopedia)gentlemen's agreement, in U.S. history, an agreement between the United States and Japan in 1907 that Japan should stop the emigration of its laborers to the United States and that the United States s...

Noguchi, Yone

(Encyclopedia)Noguchi, Yone (Yonejiro Noguchi) yōˈnā nōgo͞oˈchē, yōˌnājīrōˈ [key], Japanese poet and critic of Japanese art and poetry. Noguchi traveled and lectured in the United States and England, a...

Bonin Islands

(Encyclopedia)Bonin Islands bōˈnīn [key], Jap. Ogasawara-gunto, volcanic island group, c.40 sq mi (100 sq km), in the W Pacific Ocean, c.500 mi (800 km) S of Tokyo; part of Tokyo prefecture, Japan. The largest a...

Volcano Islands

(Encyclopedia)Volcano Islands, Jap. Kazan-retto, island group, c.11 sq mi (30 sq km), W Pacific. The group consists of three islands, of which Iwo Jima (Iwo To) is the most important. The highest peak (3,181 ft/970...