Yoshinobu Launch Complex (© JAXA) in Tanegashima

Tanegashima (Japanese: 種子島) is an island lying to the south of Kyushu, south Japan, and is part of the Kagoshima Prefecture. Yoshinobu Launch Complex (© JAXA) This work is copyrighted. ... Yoshinobu Launch Complex (© JAXA) This work is copyrighted. ... The Japan Aerospace eXploration Agency (JAXA) is Japans aerospace agency. ... Kyushu region, Japan Kyushu (九州 kyÅ«shÅ«) is the third largest island of Japan and most southerly and westerly of the four main islands. ... Kagoshima Prefecture (鹿児島県 Kagoshima-ken) is located on Kyushu island, Japan. ...

It is a long low stretch of land, carefully cultivated, 57.5 kilometers from north to south, and 5-12 kilometers from east to west.

This island is celebrated as the place where Mendes Pinto landed when he found his way to Japan in 1543. Until modern times firearms were colloquially known in Japan as "Tanega-shima," due to the belief that they were introduced by Pinto. In fact, Pinto was probably not present at the first Portuguese contact with the Japanese, although he did visit Tanegashima soon after and legend says he did marry a local woman and had a son. Fernao Mendes Pinto (1509-1583) was an Portuguese adventurer and explorer. ... // Events February 21 - Battle of Wayna Daga - A combined army of Ethiopian and Portuguese troops defeat the armies of Adal led by Ahmed Gragn. ... An assortment of modern handheld firearms using fixed ammunition, including military assault rifles, a sporting shotgun (fourth from bottom), and a tactical shotgun (third from bottom). ...

The Namban had arrived to trade, not only guns, but also soap, tobacco and other goods unknown in medieval Japan, for the excellent Japanese manufactures sold for a good price in Europe. History of Japan Paleolithic Jomon Yayoi Yamato period ---Kofun period ---Asuka period Nara period Heian period Kamakura period Muromachi period Azuchi-Momoyama period ---Nanban period Edo period Meiji period Taisho period Showa period ---Japanese expansionism ---Occupied Japan ---Post-Occupation Japan Heisei The Nanban period of Japanese history extends from the... SOAP is a protocol for exchanging XML-based messages over a computer network, normally using HTTP. SOAP forms the foundation layer of the Web services stack, providing a basic messaging framework that more abstract layers can build on. ... Species N. glauca N. longiflora N. rustica N. sylvestris N. tabacum Ref: ITIS 30562 as of August 26, 2005 Tobacco (, L.) refers to a genus of broad-leafed plants of the nightshade family indigenous to North and South America, or to the dried and cured leaves of such plants. ... Europe is conventionally considered one of the seven continents of Earth which, in this case, is more a cultural and political distinction than a physiographic one, leading to various perspectives about Europes borders. ...

The headquarters of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, the Tanegashima Space Center spaceport is located at the southeastern end of the island. The Japan Aerospace eXploration Agency (JAXA) is Japans national aerospace agency. ... Yoshinobu Launch Complex (© JAXA) The Tanegashima Space Center (TNSC) is one of Japans space development facilities. ... A spaceport is a site for launching spacecraft, by analogy with airport for aircraft. ...

External links

• http://spaceboy.nasda.go.jp/gallery/gallery-e/t_tour_e.html
• http://web-japan.org/atlas/technology/tec09.html

Reference

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.