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Japan Talks

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea in the south. The Japanese archipelago consists of four major islands—Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu—and thousands of smaller islands, covering 377,975 square kilometers (145,937 sq mi). Japan has a population of over 123 million as of 2025, making it the eleventh-most populous country. The capital of Japan and its largest city is Tokyo; the Greater Tokyo Area is the largest metropolitan area in the world, with more than 37 million inhabitants as of 2024. Japan is divided into 47 administrative prefectures and eight traditional regions. About three-quarters of the country's terrain is mountainous and heavily forested, concentrating its agriculture and highly urbanized population along its eastern coastal plains. The country sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, making its islands prone to destructive earthquakes and tsunamis.

The first known habitation of the archipelago dates to the Upper Paleolithic, with the beginning of the Japanese Paleolithic dating to c. 36,000 BC. Between the fourth and sixth centuries, its kingdoms were united under an emperor in Nara, and later Heian-kyō. From the 12th century, actual power was held by military dictators (shōgun) and feudal lords (daimyō), and enforced by warrior nobility (samurai). After rule by the Kamakura and Ashikaga shogunates and a century of warring states, Japan was unified in 1600 by the Tokugawa shogunate, which implemented an isolationist foreign policy. In 1853, a United States fleet forced Japan to open trade to the West, which led to the end of the shogunate and the restoration of imperial power in 1868. In the Meiji period, Japan pursued rapid industrialization and modernization, as well as militarism and overseas colonization. In 1937, Japan invaded China, and in 1941 attacked the United States and European colonial powers, entering World War II as an Axis power. After suffering defeat in the Pacific War and two atomic bombings, Japan surrendered in 1945 and came under Allied occupation. Afterwards, the country underwent rapid economic growth and became one of the five earliest major non-NATO allies of the United States.

Japan is a constitutional monarchy with a bicameral legislature, the National Diet. A great power and the only Asian member of the G7, Japan has constitutionally renounced its right to declare war, but maintains one of the world's strongest militaries. A developed country with one of the world's largest economies by nominal GDP, Japan is a global leader in the automotive, robotics, and electronics industries, and has made significant contributions to science and technology. It has one of the world's highest life expectancies, though it is undergoing a population decline. Japan's culture is well known around the world, including its art, cuisine, film, music, and popular culture, which includes prominent animation, comics, and video game industries.

From Japan on Wikipedia

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Title Speaker

Cherry Blossom Bodhisattvas

Japan, Avatamsaka Sutra, Flower Adornment Sutra, Precepts, Precepts, Daily Life,...
Apr 13 2024
AM
No Abode Hermitage

Entering the Samadhi of Buddha’s Radiance

A talk by Tenshin Roshi for a gathering of the No Abode community

Flower Adornment Sutra, Avatamsaka Sutra, Katagiri Roshi, Suzuki Roshi, Tassajara Zen Mountain...
Aug 12 2023
No Abode Hermitage

Hiroshima Day and Dogen’s Repentance Practice

Serial: TL-00806

ADZG Sunday Morning,
Dharma Talk

War, Zazen, Eihei Koso Hotsuganmon, Practice, Japan, Buddha
Aug 06 2023
Hybrid

Ten Vows, Ten Practices, and Ten Cakes

Discrimination, Bowing, Japan, Bell, Attachment, Priest, Dragons, Doubt, Bodhidharma...
Mar 07 2020
PM
No Abode Hermitage

Reaching Home Again Without Realizing It

Chanting, Suzuki Roshi, Practice Period, Priest, japanese, Faith, Impermanence, Lotus...
Oct 19 2019
AM
No Abode Hermitage

Stories of Enlightenment

In our class this fall we will contemplate and converse about several stories of Zen practice and enlightenment. Our contemplation and conversations will naturally bring up questions and concerns...

YRB-2019-Fall, Blue Cliff Record, Japan, true dharma, Book of Serenity, Patience,...
Oct 17 2019
3/7
The Yoga Room

Stories of Enlightenment

In our class this fall we will contemplate and converse about several stories of Zen practice and enlightenment. Our contemplation and conversations will naturally bring up questions and concerns...

YRB-2019-Fall, Four Noble Truths, Book of Serenity, Daily Life, Suzuki Roshi,...
Oct 10 2019
2/7
The Yoga Room

Zen Spaces: Bridging East and West

Serial: RB-03178

Door-Step-Zen_City-Groups

Japan, Practice, japanese
Aug 2019
Johanneshof

Attentional Attunement in Zen Awareness

Serial: RB-03186

Door-Step-Zen

Japan, Practice, Time
Jul 2019
Johanneshof

Blurring Lines of Inner and Outer

Serial: RB-03835

Door-Step-Zen

Time, japanese, Japan
Jun 2019
Johanneshof

Reflecting Awareness in Zen Practice

Serial: RB-03834

Door-Step-Zen

Japan, Practice, japanese
Jun 2019
Johanneshof

A Conversation about Principle and Phenomena

Heart Sutra, Perfect Wisdom, resistance, confusion, Letting Go, Don't Know Mind...
May 18 2019
AM
No Abode Hermitage

Silent Sitting & Social Action

Zen students often ask how our practice of silence and stillness relates to injustice and our environmental crisis. In this class we explore this question and study the intimate interplay of...

YRB-2018-Fall, Silence, Bodhidharma, cognitive process, Observe, Fundraising, Lay,...
Nov 13 2018
5 of 7
The Yoga Room

Zen Altar: Where Practice Meets Presence

Serial: RB-02232

Practice-Period_Talks

Practice, Time, Japan
Sep 2018
Johanneshof

Awakening Breath: Language and Zen

Serial: RB-02228

Practice-Period_Talks

japanese, Practice, Japan
Sep 2018
Johanneshof

Zen Rhythms: Dance of Change

Serial: RB-02943

Sesshin

Practice, Japan, Suzuki Roshi
Feb 2018
Johanneshof

Zen's Western Journey: Adapting Tradition

Serial: RB-03162

Sesshin

Suzuki Roshi, Practice, Japan
Jul 2017
Johanneshof

December 4th, 2014, Serial No. 04181

American, Japan, japanese
Dec 04 2014

October 2nd, 2014, Serial No. 04158

Suzuki Roshi, Japan, Triple Treasure
Oct 02 2014

Zen Meets Psyche: Bridging Traditions

Serial: RB-02915

Seminar_Zen_and_Psychotherapy

Japan, Dogen, Buddhism
Jun 2014
Rastenberg

April 17th, 2014, Serial No. 04129

Perfect Wisdom, Mindfulness, Japan
Apr 17 2014

I always think of Hunan in Spring

Bodhisattva Vow, Koan, Perfection of Wisdom, Perfect Wisdom, japanese, Sangha,...
Apr 12 2014
AM
No Abode Hermitage

The Good Friendship of Shitou, Matsu and Yaoshan

Suzuki Roshi, Japan, Silence, Three Treasures, Bodhisattva Way
Feb 01 2014
Afternoon
No Abode Hermitage

Embodying Zen Beyond Thought

Serial: RB-04170

Sesshin

Practice, Time, Japan
2014
Johanneshof

Evolving Spaces in Zen Practice

Serial: RB-02259

Seminar_Sangha_Dharma_Buddha

Japan, Practice, japanese
Mar 2013
Johanneshof

November 18th, 2012, Serial No. 04016

Bodhidharma, Japan, Emptiness
Nov 18 2012

Facing Change and Realizing Peace 

Commitment, difficulty, Japan, Funeral
Aug 02 2012
The Yoga Room

Embracing In-Betweenness Through Ma

Serial: RB-03534

Seminar_Challenges_of_Lay-Buddhism

Time, japanese, Japan
Feb 2012
Johanneshof

Shadow Dance: Zen's Liminal Journey

Serial: RB-03536

Seminar_Challenges_of_Lay-Buddhism

Time, Suzuki Roshi, Japan
Feb 2012
Johanneshof

Beyond Words: Embracing Bodily Space

Serial: RB-03485

Practice-Period_Talks

Practice, Japan, Zazen
Mar 27 2011
Crestone

March 20th, 2011, Serial No. 03835

Generosity, Pain, Japan
Mar 20 2011

Japan Catastrophe

Serial: BZ-02165

Earthquake, Tsunami, Nuclear Fallout, One-Day Sitting

Karma, Japan, Current Events, Karma, Repentance, Vow, Renewal, Composure, Interview,...
Mar 19 2011
Berkeley Zen Center

Intimacy with Birth and Death: The 39th Yearly Memorial for Suzuki Roshi 

Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, Commitment, Suzuki Roshi, Intimacy, Japan
Dec 04 2010
Afternoon
No Abode Hermitage

Zen and the Art of Cutting

Mindfulness, Japan
May 11 2009

2008.10.04-serial.00198

War, japanese, Japan
Oct 04 2008

2008.10.02-serial.00196

Practice, japanese, Japan
Oct 02 2008

Entering and Embodying Truth 

Soto Zen, Japan, Bodhisattva Precepts, Perfect Wisdom
Jul 29 2008
The Yoga Room

March 24th, 2008, Serial No. 03558

Japan, Priest, Suzuki Roshi
Mar 24 2008

Mountains, Rivers, Mindful Transformation

Serial: RB-02896

Practice-Period_Talks

Japan, Practice, Time
Feb 12 2007
Crestone

Rooted Unity: Zen's Sacred Connection

Serial: RB-03110

Seminar_Heartfelt_Desire

Priest, Work, Japan
Jun 2006
Rastenberg

The Transformative Power of Attention

Serial: RB-01647E

Sesshin

japanese, Time, Japan
Oct 2005
Johanneshof

Zen and Psychotherapy: A Cultural Contrast

Serial: RB-01633A

Seminar_Zen_and_Psychotherapy

Practice, Buddhism, Japan
Jun 2005
Kassel

Way Seeking Mind

Serial: SF-00044

The route to becoming a zen monk; growing up Jewish and hanging out with the beats; meeting Suzuki Roshi.

Monastic Practice, Japan, Way-Seeking Mind, Suzuki Roshi, Monastic Practice, Priest,...
Mar 13 2005
2
Tassajara

In Memorium to the Victims of the WW II Bombing

Serial: BZ-01279A

How Something Good Can Come From Something Tragic, Saturday Lecture

War, Japan, War, Peace, American, Building, Priest, Renewal, Karma
Aug 07 2004
Berkeley Zen Center

Ephemeral Reality: Zen's Evenflow Perception

Serial: RB-03758

Seminar_What_Is_Reality?

Practice, Japan, Work
May 2004
Johanneshof

Trip to Japan (last two weeks of Oct. 2003)

Serial: BZ-01365

The Necessity of both Oneness and Diversity, Saturday Lecture

Oneness, Japan, Fox, Priest, Lay, Soto Zen, Ordination, Diversity, Precepts, Lay...
Nov 01 2003
Berkeley Zen Center

Cultures Intertwined: Body and Mind

Serial: RB-01459

Seminar_Body_and_Mind

Culture, japanese, Japan
Feb 13 2003
Johanneshof

Trip to Japan

Serial: BZ-00210B

Saturday Lecture

Japan, Bell, resistance, Soto Zen, American, Heart Sutra, Chanting, Practice Period,...
Sep 28 2002
Berkeley Zen Center

Invite Difficulty In

Serial: BZ-00106B

Sesshin Day 5

Dogen, Japan, Manjushri, Intuition, Harmonizing, Daily Life, Building, Non-duality,...
Jun 24 2001
Berkeley Zen Center

Sensory Zen: Experiencing Timeless Harmony

Serial: RB-01247

Practice-Week_Sandokai

Time, Practice, Japan
Sep 09 2000
Roseburg

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