Q 01/05

Which animals roam Nara freely because they were long protected as sacred messengers of a Shinto god?

A) Deer

B) Rabbits

C) Foxes

D) Cranes

Answer · why

A) Deer

Deer in Nara were held so sacred that killing one was a capital offence until 1637. Legend says one of the Kasuga shrine's gods arrived riding a white...

Q 02/05

The twelfth-century Chōjū-giga scrolls of frolicking rabbits and frogs are often called Japan's oldest work of what?

A) Ukiyo-e

B) Calligraphy

C) Manga

D) Origami

Answer · why

C) Manga

Manga artists still use tricks seen in the scrolls, such as speed lines, and the pictures are read from right to left like a modern Japanese comic.

Q 03/05

Kongō Gumi, founded in 578 and often called the world's oldest company, works in which trade?

A) Sake brewing

B) Sword making

C) Paper making

D) Construction

Answer · why

D) Construction

Construction of Buddhist temples kept the family firm going for more than 1,400 years, until debts forced its sale to a bigger builder in 2006.

Q 04/05

Which beauty custom, known as ohaguro, did Heian-period court aristocrats follow with their teeth?

A) Filing them to points

B) Dyeing them black

C) Capping them in gold

D) Inlaying them with jade

Answer · why

B) Dyeing them black

Dyeing them black with a mix of iron filings and vinegar was a mark of beauty, and the custom lasted until Western tastes arrived in the nineteenth ce...

Q 05/05

Heikegani, linked to warriors drowned at the 1185 Battle of Dan-no-ura, are which animals with samurai-like faces?

A) Turtles

B) Moths

C) Crabs

D) Carp

Answer · why

C) Crabs

Crabs of this species carry shell ridges that look like a scowling warrior, and legend calls them the reborn spirits of the clan that lost the battle.