Transcript Japan is an archipelago of 4 major and over 4000

MEDIEVAL JAPAN
Chapter 14, sections 1-3
GEOGRAPHY OF JAPAN
 Japan
is an archipelago of 4 major
and over 4,000 smaller islands.
The land is mostly mountainous
with only 15% of its land
cultivable.
 Hokkaido(hah-KY-doh),
Honshu(HAHN-shoo),
Shikoku(shih-KOH-koo) &
Kyushu(kee-OO-shoo) are the 4
main islands.
 How
do you think Japan’s
geography effected its
socialization?
 Where were most likely places for
cities to be established?
 What type industries would be
established first?
FIRST SETTLERS
 Earliest
people came from
northeast Asia between 30,000 and
10,000 B.C.
 Hunted and gathered foods as
other early peoples. Lived in pits
dug into the ground.
 Jomon culture develops around
5000 B.C.
 Jomon made clay pottery with a
knotted cord to create patterns in
the clay.
YAYOI CULTURE
 Introduced
farming in
rice paddies,
which they
may have
learned from
the Chinese or
Koreans.
Buried
their
chiefs in large
dirt mounds
known as
kofun. Were
filled with
personal
belongings
such as
pottery,
weapons, tools
and armor.
MYTHOLOGICAL ORIGINS
2
gods dipped a
spear into the
sea, when they
pulled it out,
drops of salty
water fell on the
water’s surface
and formed the
islands of Japan.
 The
2 gods then
created the sun
goddess,
Amaterasu to rule
over Earth. They
also created the
storm god,
Susanowo, as her
companion.
 A.D.
500’s, the Yamato clan
became strong enough to bring
most of Japan under their rule.
Yamato chiefs claimed they were
descended from the sun goddess,
therefore had the right to rule.
Jimmu took the title, “emperor of
heaven,” founded a line of rulers
that has never been broken.
IMPERIAL PALACE IN TOKYO
PRINCE SHOTOKU
 Looked
to China to improve
Japan
 Writes a constitution, plan of
gov’t. giving all power to the
emperor
Learned about Buddhist teachings,
philosophy, medicine and art
 Built Horyuji (HOHR-yoo-jee) Buddhist
temple that stands today

HORYUJI
1300 year old Buddhist temple in Ikaruga, Nara
Prefecture, Japan
SHINTO
Animism:belief that all natural things have
spirits (wind,rivers,trees, etc)
 Nature spirits=kami

 Honored
kami in shrines, or holy
places
 Shinto means “way of the spirits”

Kami will only help a person if they are pure
SECTION 2 SHOGUNS & SAMURAI
During 700’s, capital is moved to Nara, it
becomes the center of gov’t and religion.
Known as the Nara Period.
 Emperor’s power came from his control of
land & its crops.

BUDDHISM SPREADS

500’s Buddhism came to Japan from Korea.
Gov’t officials were the 1st to accept its
ideas but by 770 when a Buddhist monk
tried to seize power, the emperor turns
away from Buddhism.
THE RISE OF THE SHOGUN

Series of emperor
children weakens
the gov’t. Regents
come from the
Fujiwara clan and
spend most of their
time writing poetry
or studying
Buddhism.

Gov’t gave away
land to nobles as a
way to compensate
them for their work.
Puts them in charge
of governing the
land, collecting taxes
from peasants.
To protect their
lands & enforce
laws, nobles form
private armies and
gave land away to
warriors, or
samurai, who agreed
to fight for them.
 Samurai = one who
serves

Bushido code = way
of the warrior
 Strict code that
required the
samurai to be loyal,
courageous, &
honorable
 Pledged to die in
battle rather than
betray his lord.

By 1100’s most
powerful Japanese
families are fighting
each other using
their samurai
armies.
 Gempi War begins in
1180, a civil war
between the 2 most
powerful clans,
Taira & Minamoto


1192, Minamoto is
given the title of
shogun, commander
of all emperor’s
military forces in an
effort to keep him
loyal, but it creates a
dual government in
Japan.
MONGOLS ATTACK

1274 & 1281, Kublai
Khan sent ships &
warriors to invade
Japan. Both times
the Mongols were
defeated because of
violent Pacific
storms.
 Japanese
named
the typhoons,
kamikaze, or
divine wind, in
honor of the
spirits they
think saved
them from the
Mongols.
DAIMYO 1300’S

Breakdown in the
shogunate leads to
Japan being divided
into small
territories. These
areas were led by
powerful military
lords known as
daimyo who pledge
their loyalty to the
shogun & emperor,
but ran their lands
as if they were
independent

Many samurai
became vassals of a
daimyo. The samurai
gave an oath of
loyalty to the
daimyo, in return
the daimyo gave
land to his warriors.
This
bond of loyalty
between a lord and
vassal become known
as feudalism.
SECTION 3 LIFE IN MEDIEVAL JAPAN
 Zen
Buddhism
teaches people
 Most Japanese
practice both Shinto can have inner
and Buddhism, each peace through
meet a specific need. self control & a
Shinto for daily
simple way of
concerns, Buddhism
life.
for the afterlife.

Many sects, a
smaller religious
group, of Buddhism
developed
 Followers
of Zen
learned to control
their bodies
through martial
arts or sports that
involve self
defense.
 Zen
Buddhists
also practice
meditation to
help them relax
and find inner
peace. The person
will sit cross
legged and
remain
motionless for
hours.
ART & ARCHITECTURE
 Japanese
borrowed
artistic ideas
from China &
Korea. The
arts reveal the
love of beauty
and simplicity.
 Japan’s
oldest
form of poetry
was the tanka,
an unrhymed
poem of 5 lines
about nature.
TANKA POETRY

Beautiful mountains
Rivers with cold, cold
water.
White cold snow on
rocks
Trees over the place
with frost
White sparkly snow
everywhere.
 Lady
Shikibu
wrote The Tale
of Genji, a book
about a
Japanese prince
in 1,000 believed
to be the world’s
1st novel.

Shinto shrines built
in Japanese style
close to a sacred
natural feature.
Buddhist temples
were wooden
structures built in
Chinese style.
ECONOMY & SOCIETY
 Japanese
wealth came
from its
farmers,
artisans &
increased
trade.
 Capital
city of
Kyoto became
a major center
of production
and trade.
Artisans &
merchants
formed guilds
to increase
their profits.
ROLE OF WOMEN
Medieval families
included
grandparents,
parents & children
all in one household.
 Women were
expected to obey
their father,
husband & son.
 Marriages were
arranged.

 When
Japan
became a warrior
society, upper
class women lost
freedoms of
owning property
and serving as
rulers they
enjoyed in early
Japan under
Prince Shotoku.