Japanese Buffet Trivia Quiz

Answer: Kurile

The Kuriles are a chain of volcanic islands that stretch over 1300 km (810 mi) from Hokkaido, Japan to Kamchatka, Russia. Japan claims the four southernmost islands, but the entire chain was occupied by the Soviet Union at the end of WW2 and the dispute with Russia continues to this day.

Answer: Chrysanthemum

The Chrysanthemum Throne is a metonymic (a concept represented by an object associated with that concept) term for the imperial government of Japan. The first emperor is considered to be Jimmu, ruling from approximately 650 BCE. The ruler at the time of this quiz, Akihito, is the 125th Emperor of Japan.

Answer: Bento

The origin of "bento" is from a word meaning "convenient", and they are that. A typical bento lunch contains rice, a protein and pickled or fried vegetables. The food may be decorated to appear like cartoon characters, animals, landscapes, buildings or flowers. The boxes themselves range from mass-produced plastic and foam to high-end lacquered wood.

Answer: Commodore Perry

Matthew C. Perry commanded two separate naval/diplomatic visits to Japan from 1852-1854. After shows of strength, negotiations and threat of invasion, Perry secured a treaty opening some Japanese ports to visits by U.S. ships and the establishment of a U.S. Consulate in Japan. Pictured is a Perry-class frigate of the U.S. Navy, named not for Matthew, but for his older brother, Oliver Hazard, also a Commodore and hero of the War of 1812.

Answer: Sliding vertical panels

Fusuma are sliding vertical panels that serve as doors and can be rearranged to change the size and shape of the interior spaces of a home. The standard size has increased over the decades due to the increasing average height of the Japanese.

Answer: Bonsai

Bonsai roughly translates as "plant in a tray". Plants used in bonsai are not dwarf species, but are grown from regular stock and are pruned and shaped to produce miniature plants that mimic full-grown specimens of the species.

Answer: Betamax

Betamax tapes became available in 1975, produced by the Japanese Sony Corporation. Although VHS won the "war" in the early 1990s, and DVDs became more popular than VHS in 2008, Sony discontinued the Betamax format only in 2016.

Answer: Iwo To (Iwo Jima)

Iwo To, known in English as Iwo Jima, means "Sulfur Island", no doubt from the gaseous emissions of the volcanic Mt. Suribachi. Site of one of the fiercest battles of WW2, the island is littered with ordnance and wrecked military machinery. The Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force maintains a military airfield on the island, and the Japanese Ground Self Defense Force has an ordnance disposal unit that continues to clean up the still-dangerous weaponry.

Answer: Samurai

"Chambara" is onomatopoeia in Japanese for "clash of swords", and this genre of film is also known as "Samurai cinema". These are the Japanese equivalent of American Western movies, and Akira Kurosawa is an acknowledged master story teller in this genre, with films such as "Seven Samurai" (1954) and "Yojimbo" (1961) as outstanding examples.

Answer: Anime

In Japan, "Anime" refers to any animation, but English-speakers tend to apply that term to animation from Japan. Often confused with anime, "manga" is a printed cartoon, not an animation.