Japan

Japan (kanji: 日本 Nippon or Nihon, and formally 日本国 Nipponkoku or Nihonkoku) is a unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy located on a group of islands, over 400 of which are inhabited, outside the Asian mainland on the planet Earth. It is part of the Sinosphere and its primary language is called Japanese. Japan has been inhabited since the Paleolithic. Ancient humans migrated across land bridges from mainland Asia before the land bridges were submerged by rising sea levels from melting glaciers. Tsushima Island is the Japanese territory closest to mainland Asia.

A centralized government nominally controlled by the Emperor of Japan united Japan's many kingdoms and tribes between the 4th and 9th centuries. The imperial house established back then still exists now, albeit in a ceremonial role officially since 1947. Emperor Jimmu is celebrated for establishing Japan on National Foundation Day yet modern historians don't view Jimmu as a historical figure but a legendary one, historians instead regard Emperor Kinmei to be Japan's first emperor in 539 CE.

The Meiji period (1868-1912) brought intense, rapid change to Japan, such as the end of the Tokugawa shogunate in 1868, Prince Mutsuhito succeeding as emperor in 1867, shifting the capital from Kyōto to Tōkyō, and legally separating indigenous Shintō from imported Buddhism, which hadn't been fused but were still inextricably connected for a millennia prior. Meiji period Japan focused on abolishing its feudalistic practices, internally uniting the nation, economic growth, and became entranced by Western culture—conflating modernization and enlightenment with Westernization. This led to the nation's industrial revolution in the 1870s. This Westernization and rejection of several aspects of Japanese culture was opposed by various positions of Japanese society, seen in the emergence of the derisive term "haikara" for Japanese people enamored with Western fashion and the Satsuma Rebellion.

Shintō and Buddhism remain Japan's most popular religions, Buddhism being second to Shintō. Shinbutsu-shūgō (the mixing of Shintō and Buddhism) is also influenced by Taoism and Confucianism. However, the Japanese concept of religion differs from the Western concept. There is a high level of participation in religious practices in Japan yet its population commonly doesn't engage in religious identity (e.g., identifying as a Shintōist) and "religious" actions are often instead seen as social customs.

In TMNT[]

Japan is the origin of a multitude of characters in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise including Splinter, the Shredder, Hamato Yoshi, Yukio Mashimi, Karai, the Ancient One, Kenshin, Lord Norinaga, and Mitsu. Considering it was when ninja first rose, Japan during its pre-industrial feudal era is regularly depicted and mentioned in the TMNT franchise.

TMNT Adventures[]

In the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures comics, the Ninja Turtles visit Japan, where they befriend Ninjara.

IDW[]

In the IDW continuity, Japan is seen in stories that feature the Foot Clan during Hamato Yoshi's time during the feudal era.

The Last Ronin[]

In The Last Ronin series, Japan is home of the Hamato Clan, who were at war with the Foot Clan. Splinter and Donatello arrived there upon being asked about a peace talk with Oroku Hiroto, which turned out to be an ambush, leading to the two mutants' deaths. Days later, Splinter's youngest son, Michelangelo, came in search for them, but upon learning their deaths, he secluded himself in an abandoned hut in the mountains, where he stayed for three years until Death Worm thugs attacked him and he vowed to exact revenge upon defeating them.

1987 TV series[]

The 1987 TV series features time travel to feudal Japan in "The Legend of Koji".

1990 film series[]

The 1993 film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III features the Ninja Turtles travelling back in time to feudal Japan. In the prequel comic book of the 2007 film of the 1990 film series, TMNT, Leonardo visits Japan during his international pilgrimage, being tested by Hamato Yoshi's trainer.^[1]

2003 TV series[]

In the 2003 TV series, Japan plays a more important role during the series' fifth season. It is the home of the Ninja Tribunal, where they keep a monastery called Lap of the Gods. They recruit the Ninja Turtles and four other human fighters to train there and combat the reincarnation of the Tengu Shredder.

2012 TV series[]

In the 2012 TV series, the Ninja Turtles unintentionally travel back in time to Japan in "Tale of the Yokai" and witness some of Oroku Saki, Hamato Yoshi, Tang Shen, and Hamato Miwa's past prior to Shen's death and Yoshi and Saki's definitive establishment as archenemies.

Rise of the TMNT[]

In Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Japan was invaded by the Krang a millennium ago to initiate their global subjugation, but the Krang were banished to a prison dimension before they could succeed. The Shredder and the Foot Clan nearly wiped out all of Japan in the 1500s through their terrorism before being forced back and the Kuroi Yōroi being split into many pieces across the globe.