Geography
What is the capital of Japan?
a) Kyoto
b) Tokyo
c) Edo
d) Seoul
Tokyo
How do you say “Hello” in Japanese?
Konichiwa
Ohayo Gozaimasu
What are the two cities that the United States used nuclear weapons on at the end of WWII?
Hiroshima
Nagasaki
What is the name of a Japanese wrestling-style sport, where two opponents must either force one another to the ground or out of a sand ring?
Sumo Wrestling
What is the name for comics or graphic novels that are made in Japan?
Manga
What is the largest island in Japan named?
a) Hokkaido
b) Tokyo
c) Honshu
d) Kyushu
Honshu
TRUE or FALSE:
Though traditionally, Japanese is meant to be written horizontally, modern writings often portray vertically.
FALSE
Traditionally, Japanese is written vertically, though modern writings have begun to write it horizontally to mimic Western formats.
What was the title of the military leader of Japan who ruled from the 15th to the 19th century?
Shogunate
What is the Japanese art of folding paper (often coloured and intricately patterned) called?
Origami
What is the name for animated movies or TV shows that are made in Japan?
Anime
TRUE or FALSE:
80% of Japan's land is made up of mountains.
TRUE
What phrase is commonly used in Japan before eating a meal, meaning “Thank you for the meal”?
a) Tadaimas
b) Okaerinasai
c) Sumimasen
d) Itadakimasu
d) Itadakimasu
Samurai were predominately hired by:
a) Slaves
b) Common Folk
c) Lords
d) The Emperor
c) Lords
What is the Sakura?
a) Name of a snack
b) Species of flower
c) Type of weapon
d) Species of tree
d) Species of tree
What is the name of the famous international Japanese video game company headquartered in Kyoto known for its development of both video games and their consoles?
Nintendo
What famous Japanese mountain can you often see looming over the Tokyo skyline?
Mount Fuji
What is the name of Japan, as the Japanese call it?
Nippon
Nihon
What is the name of the period of violent civil war and conflict between different Feudal lords in Japanese history, taking place within the 15th and 16th centuries?
Sengoku Jidai
What is the most common religion in Japan?
a) Shinto
b) Christianity
c) Islam
d) Sun-worshipping
a) Shinto
What is the name of one of the most popular Japanese entertainment franchises worldwide, where you work to collect and battle with countless “Pocket Monsters”?
Pokémon
What was the former name for the city of Tokyo, renamed in 1868?
a) Kyoto
b) Tynamo
c) Edo
d) Kamakura
c) Edo
Name one of the three scripts of Japanese writing.
Hiragana
Katakana
Kanji
What prevented the Mongols, who ravished most of Asia during the late 13th century, from invading Japan?
a) The might of the Japanese army
b) Diseases
c) Mismanagement of the Mongolian military
d) Typhoons
d) Typhoons
When arriving at a home, it is considered customary to do which of the following before entering:
a) Take off one’s shoes
b) Remove one’s hat
c) Kneel before the owner of the house
d) Bow
a) Take off one’s shoes
What is the name of the Japanese animation studio famous for its popular movies My Neighbor Totoro (1988) and Spirited Away (2001)?
Studio Ghibli