An island nation: Japan (1950)

than the earthquakes that sometimes shake our nation. Tokyo's subway carries thousands of people back and forth to work every day. It was designed by Japanese engineers who studied abroad. Most people in cities dress like Europeans and Americans, although some of us still prefer to wear the Japanese kimono. In Tokyo's business district is the busy stock exchange building. Today, our country is the most important commercial and industrial nation in the Orient, but we were once a nation composed mostly of and fishermen. Japanese prosperity depends almost entirely upon foreign trade. We must import most of the raw materials needed for our industries, for we have so few natural resources of our own. >> To pay for what we buy, we must sell our manufactured products to other countries. Many of these products come from small factories scattered throughout Japan. We sell our products cheaply because we use modern machinery and pay lower wages to our workers than are paid in most of the Western nations. Among the customs we have adopted from the United States is baseball. This game is now the national sport of Japan. Water sports are very popular in Japan, where all the large cities are near the seashore and where there are many lakes and inland streams. We are proud of the progress country has made in public education. There is an elementary school in every town and all children are required to attend. >> [screaming] [screaming] >> Like Tokyo and Yokohama, many of Japan's largest cities are located on flatland near the sea. But the interior of our country is mountainous. The farmers in these regions have little fertile soil for their crops. Mount Fuji is the highest mountain in Japan and one of the most beautiful mountains in the world. Many modern railroads connect Japanese cities with towns and villages in the rural areas. My cousins, the Sugimotos, live on a farm in the country near Mount Fuji. Every year during my summer vacation from school, I make the trip from Tokyo to visit them. The Sugimoto farm is several miles away from the village where my train stops. The family often comes to town to shop and to sell the crops which are taken by rail down to the big markets in the city. The road to the farm is through hilly country where there are deep valleys and ravines. Up here in the Highlands during the summer, the climate is hot and there is a great deal of rain. My cousins use their horse for occasional trips to the village, but most of the time the animal works in the fields. The Sugimoto farmhouse is built of wood which comes from the forest. My cousins live on their own land unlike many Japanese farmers who live in town. Welcoming a guest into a Japanese home is a ceremony. It is our custom always to leave our shoes outside. No one in Japan enters a home with shoes on. A Japanese guest would never think of coming for a visit without bringing presents for every member of the family. >> [music] >> When there are guests, a Japanese family likes to have some kind of special entertainment which everyone can take part in and enjoy. >> [music] [music] >> At the party, there is a chance to show my cousins what I have learned at dancing school during the year. >> [music] [music] [music] [music] >> The evening's entertainment does not last too long, for we must all start the farm work early in the morning. My cousins get up at sunrise, for on a farm there is much to be done. The women start their day with the laundry. We are fortunate because a swift mountain stream flows by the door. Farm families often have to carry water to their home. >> Yes, yes. The farmers in Japan raise pigs, which are fed scraps from the kitchen. The Sugimotos have a cow, which is used for farm work like the horse. Cattle are rare in Japan, where grazing land is limited. For most of our farmers, the most important crop is rice, which grows best in a warm, damp climate. My cousins grow a good deal of rice, but they also raise wheat. THEY THRESH THEIR OWN GRAIN. A current of air from a wooden fan blows the husks away from the kernels. It takes a great deal of hard work to earn a living by farming. Children work, too, and even guests are ex- They're often on several small plots of land miles away from each other. One plot may have good soil, while the others are hard to cultivate. One of the Sugimotos' visitors is a musician. He takes his flute out into the fields and occasionally stops work to entertain the children. To make use of every foot of land, terraces are cut into the sides of the hills. Fruits and vegetables are planted on land where rice and other grain does not grow. For thousands of years, our Japanese farmers have cultivated every corner of usable land in their rocky mountainous country. We have cut away forests, plowed the slopes of our hills, and even filled out the banks of our rivers in order to grow enough food for our millions of people. But most farmers in Japan, even today, don't own more than an acre or two of land. A hilltop terrace is the best place for the Sugimoto's watermelon crop. Such crops, which need sun, are seldom planted in the valleys which have too much shade. The fruit ripens early in the season, and the long hours of sunshine make the melons sweet. >> [laughter] [laughter] >> Only about half of the people in Japan are farmers like my cousins. But in most other oriental countries, there are many more farmers than city people. In these other countries, only a few of the farmers raise crops that are large enough so that they can sell a surplus in the city. The Sugimotos, like most oriental farmers, feed themselves, but they also have enough left over to help supply food for the millions of people who work in our cities. When the wheat is threshed and put into bags, the Sugimotos take it to the nearby village, from where it is shipped down to the cities on the coastal plains. The grain market is owned and operated by the farmers of the neighborhood, who save money by banding together to send their produce to the cities in large amounts. Each farmer pays only his share of the total cost of shipping and selling. >> After the grain has been weighed, it is inspected. A sample from each sack is taken out to determine the quality of the grain. My uncle is not paid in cash. He receives a slip which shows the value of the grain credited to his account. The credit slip is as good as money and can be used in the stores where the Sugimotos do their shopping. Horses are sometimes used for farming in Japan. Machinery cannot be easily used in our mountainous country and besides, it is expensive. Tug of war is a game which we enjoy as much as most children of the world. Although some Japanese farmhouses have roofs made of slate, most of our homes have roofs made of straw. These thatched roofs are waterproof and keep out the rain even in stormy weather. After the wheat and rice crops are harvested, the leftover straw is carefully saved. In one way or another, the Sugimotos find a way to use almost everything grown on their farm. Except for such things as sugar, fish, and tea, the food our farm families eat comes mainly from their own land. Japanese are very fond of bathing and are very clean people. When it is too cold outside, the Sugimotos take their baths in the kitchen. One of our favorite meals for special occasions is sukiyaki, stew made of meat and vegetables and served with rice. We eat rice with every meal. Japanese people still prefer to eat with chopsticks. This custom was brought to Japan hundreds and hundreds of years ago by our ancestors who came from the mainland of Asia. >> [music]