The official language of Japan is Japanese (Nihongo). After the Meiji Restoration in 1868, the government attempted to create a strong centralized state. Having an official language was a step towards having their own identity. The dialect, hyōjungo ("the standard language"), was based on the linguistic patterns of Tokyo's samurai ("warrior") classes and has become the norm in the educational system, the mass media, government, and business.
Japanese is linguistically related to Korean, and both languages are thought to be members of the Ural-Altaic family. Despite similarity in syntax, vocabulary, and grammar, the contemporary languages are mutually unintelligible.
Chinese made enormous impact on the Japanese language and civilization. The Chinese system of writing was introduced along with Buddhism in the sixth century, and Chinese orthography was used to transform Japanese into a written language.
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