Magic has been found around the world for thousands of years. From continent to continent, magic has sprung and flourished in many different ways. In this article, you will be learning about different locations around the world and the magic that is held in that place. For this issue, I will be writing about Japan.

For this article, we will be focusing on more modern versions of these places rather than their ancient versions. If you want to learn about ancient civilisations, I suggest taking Ancient Studies (great class; highly recommended). Japan is an archipelago located off the coast of Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, this small series of islands has a rich history.

Before speaking about magic in Japan, it is important to know first about the most important parts of its history. For many years, Japan was ruled by many different clans. Eventually, the Heian Period came along, when many changes came to the country under the Fujiwara family. Eventually, civil war broke out, and the country turned to feudalism. Daimyo, or land owners, began to find samurai, or warriors, and would use them to control their fief (land). However, after a few centuries, a huge feudal war broke out, leading to many fights between different daimyos for the title of Shogun: the military warlord of Japan. Eventually, Tokugawa Ieyasu unified Japan and led to a huge increase in society.

As for the magic of Japan, it is very rich. Japan, like many powerful countries, has its own Ministry of Magic. The Ministry was founded because, like most of the other countries at the time, Japan needed structure. The Japanese Ministry of Magic is known to have formed the Japanese Wizard’s Code: a set of legal guidelines stating what can and cannot be done. This is similar to the laws created for the Ancient Greek and Roman people. Very simply, it was a set of laws for the Japanese wizards and witches to follow.

As for education, Japan is home to Mahoutokoro: the wizarding school of Japan. It is located in Minami Iwo Jima, and is on the topmost volcano in that location. Though it is one of the eleven major schools, it has the smallest student government. Though not much is known about the school, two important things are. The first is that Mahoutokoro has a powerful Quidditch team. After some troublemakers brought the sport to the school, it increased in popularity. Another fact about the school is that it favours students that have cherry wood as their wand, as it is extremely rare and students that have it are praised. Students at Mahoutokoro begin studying at eleven but could be accepted there as early as seven. Students are allowed to go to school during the day and fly back to their normal houses at night instead of staying on campus.

As stated earlier, Japan has a very strong Quidditch team. Japan's National Team has done very well in many of the world cups, and managed third in 2014 after beating U.S.A in the semi-final loser bracket. Also, some creatures native to Japan are the Kappa, Oni, Petrel, and Demiguise.

Japan is a country of rich history, both in a magical and non-magical sense. The small archipelago has one of the most important wizarding schools, a powerful government, and an exceptional Quidditch team.

I hope you are all ready for the June edition, when we will be going around the world to learn about magical Russia.

Written by Michael Isserles

Edited by Hazel Emory Antler

Proofread by Lena Hunt