Chapter · Japan · Land
A country set on the ring
A correct map with no explanation, a fish, and a mountain's name
In 1905 a reference work describes the Pacific ring of volcanoes exactly as we do, then adds that the cause of earthquakes remains obscure. Sixty years separate the map from its explanation. This path looks at a country that measures itself continually, and that recounted its islands in 2023.
Context first
A lesson to read before the others, to set the scene.
- The place
- The era
- The people
The lessons in this chapter
- 1How many islands does Japan have?Japan went from 6,852 to 14,125 islands without gaining a metre of land: the maps got finer. And the institute itself notes that the real number is higher than the one it publishes.10 min
- 2The fish undergroundEarthquakes can be neither prevented nor predicted, and that was already the conclusion in 1905. What can be done is to choose your ground, isolate your foundations, and not build at the edge of a cliff.10 min
- 3Fuji's name may not be JapaneseNobody knows what Fuji means. The hypothesis a philologist kept in 1905 derives it from an Ainu verb meaning to burst forth, applied first to the river and not to the mountain.9 min
How these lessons are written
Each lesson starts from first-hand sources: Wikisource, Gallica, Persée, archives, museums and institutes. A fact without a source does not get written, and every lesson lists its own as direct links.
The rhythm
A lesson is five minutes of cards and four questions. Those questions then come back the next day, then at 3, 7, 21 and 60 days, and that return is what makes it stick. One a day is enough, and you can do several in a row.