Preface
It is reported that "Wakoku" is a common name for the inhabitants of the Japanese archipelago in ancient times, and it was first recorded in literature.
And "倭" in Japanese is the same as "Yamato", which is also another name in Japan. For this reason, since the evolution of Chinese characters, "倭" has taken on the meaning of short stature.
It was not until the end of the 7th century that Japan sent Tang envoys to officially change its country name to "Japan", which means "the land of the rising sun". After this change, the official name continues to this day.
However, it is true that the ancient Japanese were short in stature.
The height of the ancient Japanese was not only lower than that of the Chinese, but even lower than the world average, and they were called "Uto" and were a small people.
The ancient Japanese were sometimes less than 1.5 meters tall, and their samurai were nothing more than a group of short men, and their weapons and armor were miniature versions.
In this article, I will also show you some photos of samurai from 100 years ago, so that you can witness with your own eyes how short the ancient Japanese were, and you will definitely be amazed and even unbearable to look at them.
1. Short Wa people
According to archaeologists and historians, the height of ancient Japanese has always been lower than that of the Chinese and the world average, from BC to the 19th century AD, the average height of Japanese men was about 1.55 meters to 1.6 meters, and the average height of women was about 1.45 meters to 1.5 meters.
Such a height was very short in East Asia and the world at that time, even lower than some primitive tribes in Africa and South America.
The height of the ancient Japanese was not only low, but also remained stable for a long time, with no obvious growth trend.
From B.C. to the 16th century A.D., the height of the Japanese remained largely unchanged, and even decreased for a while.
It was not until the end of the 19th century that the height of the Japanese began to increase significantly.
The height of the ancient Japanese was not only low, but they were also despised by the surrounding countries. In ancient Chinese literature, there are many names for the Japanese, the most common of which is "Waren" or "Wanu".
The word means "short man" or "dwarf slave" and is a slur and insult to the Japanese.
In some ancient Chinese poems, there are also ridicules and satires about the height of the Japanese, such as "the Japanese wear a basin on their heads and wear their clothes", "the Japanese are short and courageless, and they will collapse when they are vulnerable to a blow" and so on.
The height of the ancient Japanese was not only low, but also influenced their life and history. The height of the Japanese determined their physical strength and endurance, and also influenced the making and use of their weapons and armor.
The weapons and armor of the Japanese were customized according to their height and size, so they were smaller and lighter than the Chinese and Europeans, and even the swords and bows and arrows were shorter and lighter than those of the Chinese and Europeans.
For example, Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first general of the Edo shogunate at the end of Japan's Sengoku period.
He is one of the most influential figures in Japanese history, and is known as the "Three Masters of the Warring States" along with Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi. He unified Japan, ended a century of war, and ushered in peace and prosperity in the Edo period.
In Japanese history books, Tokugawa Ieyasu was only 159 centimeters tall, which was considered a relatively high size in Japan at the time.
Further observation reveals that Tokugawa Ieyasu's height is more prominent than that of many famous generals and daimyo of the same period. For example, Toyotomi Hideyoshi is 156 centimeters, and Oda Nobunaga is even less than 152 centimeters. Presumably because he is taller than these two, he has the image of Tokugawa Ieyasu as a burly and tall man in history, right?
In addition, have you noticed that the traditional Japanese costume clogs shoes actually have the effect of increasing height? However, the traditional Japanese costume of geta shoes was actually introduced from China, and it became a characteristic and culture of the Japanese people after the development and improvement of the Japanese.
2. Why were the ancient Japanese so short
So, why were the ancient Japanese so short in height? This is a complex question that involves many factors such as genetics, environment, diet, and culture.
First of all, the ancestors of the Japanese mainly migrated from the Korean Peninsula and Chinese mainland, and their genes are similar to those of East Asian humans, so their height is also similar to that of East Asian humans.
However, some of the ancestors of the Japanese migrated from Southeast Asia and the Pacific islands, and their genes are similar to those of Austronesian humans, so their height is similar to that of Austronesian humans.
Austronesian humans are generally lower in height than East Asian humans, so the height of Japanese humans is also influenced by the genes of Austronesian humans, making their height lower than the average for East Asian humans.
Secondly, Japan is an island country with a relatively small land area, a relatively high population density, relatively few resources, and a relatively cold climate. All of these environmental factors have had a detrimental effect on the height of Japanese people.
The small size of the country means that there is little arable land, agricultural production is limited, and the food supply is insufficient, which leads to malnutrition among the Japanese people, which affects their growth and development.
And the high population density means that the population competition is fierce, the social pressure is high, and the wars are frequent, which leads to the physical and mental trauma of the Japanese, affecting their height development.
In addition, the lack of resources means that the Japanese have a low standard of living, poor medical care, and many diseases, which affects their height growth.
The Japanese diet has also led to the short stature of the Japanese, who mainly eat seafood and plants, and lack animal protein and calcium.
Although seafood is rich in high-quality protein and trace elements, it also contains more iodine, and excessive iodine will inhibit the secretion of thyroxine, affect the secretion of growth hormone in the human body, and thus affect the growth of height.
Although plants are rich in vitamins and fiber, they also contain more phytic acid, which will combine with calcium to form calcium phytate that is insoluble in water, which affects the absorption of calcium and thus affects the development of bones.
Animal protein and calcium are important substances for human growth and development, and the lack of these substances will lead to stagnation or decline in height.
The Japanese don't care about their height, though. They even have the notion that "short is beautiful".
They love everything small and delicate like bonsai, origami, Japanese dolls, etc. These cultures and ideas have influenced Japanese attitudes and expectations towards height, making them less concerned about their height and less pursuing height growth.
3. The reason why Japanese people have become taller in recent years
As mentioned above, until the 19th century, the height of the Japanese increased rapidly. What is the reason?
Nutritional status is an important factor in influencing height.
Malnutrition can lead to stunted growth and development, while adequate nutrition will promote the secretion of growth hormone and the development of bones, thus achieving an increased effect.
The nutritional status of the Japanese people has improved greatly after World War II, mainly due to the rapid development of the economy and the diversification of food.
Their diet has also shifted from a single model based on rice to more vegetables, fruits, dairy products, fish, meat and other foods.
These foods provide the body with essential vitamins, minerals, proteins, fatty acids and other nutrients every day, especially in dark fruits and vegetables.
In addition, the improvement of genes is also a very important reason.
It is said that Emperor Suiko, the first female monarch in Japanese history, sent envoys to Sui four times during her reign to consult Buddhism and Xi advanced culture.
Moreover, Emperor Suiko also intended to improve the genes of his own people and improve his height and IQ by sending beautiful women to China.
It has since been shown that this approach has indeed paid off.
However, after World War II, Japan used this method again on American GIs.
Europeans and Africans are known to be much taller than Asians, so Japan targeted American GIs in Japan after World War II.
According to relevant information, Japan also uses high salaries to forcibly recruit its own women to provide sexual services for the US military. Moreover, an expert in the United States once pointed out that Japanese women could be paid 7.8 Hong Kong dollars per service, which was equivalent to the price of a pack of cigarettes at that time.
Later, Japan even used coaxing methods to advertise to recruit comfort women, which is so embarrassing that it still makes a big splash, and the brain circuits of the Japanese are simply unbelievable.
However, the U.S. military did leave a lot of mulattoes in Japan, according to records, between a few thousand and ten thousand.
While it is possible that these mixed-race children inherited the height advantage of American GIs, their situation in Japan was even more miserable. Not only did they suffer from the ostracism and contempt of Japanese society, but many were abandoned.