armor-clad warriors and shamans; animals, buildings, and boats. These figurines were usually placed on the tombs of Japan's rulers.
As far as music and dance of Japan is concerned, gigaku, an age-old traditional form of music and dance is quite famous. History goes that a Korean performer had imported it from China somewhere in the early 6th century. In gigaku, masked dancers performed dramas to the accompaniment of flute, drum, and gong ensembles.
The flag of Japan is white with a large red disk (representing the sun without rays) in the center.
Please click here to view the Flag of Japan
Japan is the world's second largest
economy after the United States. Services make up the largest part of Japan's economy. In 2000, service sector (such as trade,
government, and
real estate) accounted for 67 percent of Japan's GDP, while industry (mining, manufacturing, and construction) made up 32 percent, and agriculture (including forestry and fishing) contributed simply 1 percent.
In 2001 Japan's gross domestic product (GDP) was $4.14 trillion. Japan's per capita GDP rose from 21 percent in 1955 to 56 percent in 1970. By 1992, per capita GDP had reached $19,920, 86 percent of the US level. However, in the late 1990s, Japan was mired in its longest recession since World War II.
GDP, which had grown slowly in the early 1990s, fell 0.4 percent in 1997 and another 2.8 percent in 1998. This was the first time in the postwar era that Japan's GDP declined two years in a row.
