Transcript Notes.12.4 - Mona Shores Blogs

Chapter 12, Section 4
“Feudal Powers in Japan”
Shintoism
 Japan around the 1st
century B.C. was
organized into clans.
Each clan worshipped its
own nature god or
goddess.
 This god worship
developed into
Shintoism, the belief that
divine spirits dwelled in
nature. Shinto also
believed ancestors could
manifest themselves in
nature.
The Yamato Clan
 By A.D. 400s the Yamato
clan had established
itself as the leading clan,
claiming to be descended
from the sun goddess
Amaterasu.
 The Yamato clan leader
claimed to be emperor of
Japan. From this point
forward, Japan would
always have an emperor
claiming heritage to the
Yamato clan.
Buddhism in Japan
 Korean travelers to
Japan brought with them
Buddhism.
 By the 8th century,
Buddhist ideas had
spread throughout
Japan.
 Many Japanese merged
Shintoism with Buddhist
thought.
Cultural Influences from China
 In 607, Prince Shotoku,
fascinated with Chinese
culture because of
Buddhism, sent 3
missions to China to
study Chinese culture.
 The Japanese adopted
the Chinese system of
writing, Chinese
landscape painting, and
the simple arts of
everyday living such as
cooking, gardening, and
drinking tea.
Japanese Feudalism
 As Japanese central
power declined, local
leaders took more power
and a state of feudalism
developed in Japan.
 By the 11th century large
landowners living away
from the capital set up
their own private armies.
 These private armies
were made up of samurai
warriors, who lived by
“bushido” (the way of
the warrior)