Hi, I’m Rémi, a new contributor to Japundit. I’m Canadian and I’ve been studying the language and the culture of Japan as a hobby since years. Today, my first post will be a pop quiz for you. Here are the questions:
- How many Japanese islands have hosted the Olympic Games?
- Who was the first non-mythical ruling Empress of Japan?
- Which train route was inaugurated in 2005, which goes from Tokyo to Ibaraki?
- In what year was the group Morning Musume formed, and with how many members?
- Which coin, used in Japan until 1953, was equivalent to 1/100th of a yen?
- The famous Japanese social networking site Mixi was proposed in 2003 by a programmer now known as Batara Eto. In which country was he borned?
- What is the name of the temple which has the largest wooden building in the world?
- Since March 2005, who is the voice actor (or “seiyuu”) for the character Doraemon?
- Name an actress who played in the movie Death Note and in a special episode of GTO.
Bonus: Who was the first Japanese settler in Canada?
When I asked those questions at the local Natsu Matsuri, everyone hated me for asking them. I’ll go easy next year. Comment with your answers, and don’t cheat!
How about slippin any easy multi-choice one for us dummies. Like: What’s the capital of Japan?
A. Paris
B. London
C. Tokyo
D. Rome
I only know one, and I’m almost ashamed of it (almost). Morning Musume was founded in 1997 (their founding aired on the September 7 episode of ASAYAN that year, though it was filmed on August 20th) with 5 members: Ishiguro Aya, Nakazawa Yuuko, Fukuda Asuka, Iida Kaori, and Abe Natsumi.
That was off the top of my head, I swear. I’m anxious to hear the answers to the other questions!
Just guessing on several, but here goes…
1.) Two, Honshu (Tokyo 1964 and Nagano 1998) and Hokkaido (Sapporo 1972);
2.) Himiko or Pimiko?
7.) Todai-ji in Nara.
Sorry for my answers in Japanese.
１．２つ（北海道： 札幌、本州： 東京、長野）
２．神武天皇
３．つくばエクスプレス
４．１９９７年 ５人
５．銭
６．インドネシア
７．東本願寺御影堂
８．水田わさび
９．香椎由宇、浅見れいな
Tofu, “empress” if feminine, so the answer can’t be 神武. It’s 卑弥呼.
Thanks Lyrt, but the answer should be 推古天皇．
As for Quiz No.9 I assume there is no actress who played both in Death Note and in a special episode of GTO.
Indeed, Pimiko was a female, a ruler, but not an empress. I bow to your knowledge.
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