In the beginning, the story goes, two gods conjured the islands out of primordial cha- os with the tip of a sacred spear. The 'Great Eight-Island Country', Japan has always followed its own unique path, often alone through centuries of deliberate isolation. Contact and conflict with other nations has often taken the form of flashpoints of social and technological shock: firearms, trade ships electric light and atom bombs. Yet despite the challenges that have beset it from outside and from within, Japan has maintained and expanded its singular and compelling culture for thousands of years. Today Japan is a key player on the world stage, a technological powerhouse, and an icon of non-aggressive international policy. Amid its hi-tech cities, ancient shrines call the faithful to venerate heavenly gods and the spirits of the land. Glittering technological marvels vie with traditional folklore; culinary practices and ceremonies to beguile visitors; and ancient buildings still hide in the shadows of the new.
