Transcript Japan Notes

• Archipelago: chain of
islands
• Has 4 main islands
• About the size of
Montana
• Too mountainous to
farm
• Lies in the Pacific Ring
of Fire
• Yomato clan dominated
Honshu in 500 AD
• Shinto: clan gods and
goddesses inhabit natural
objects
• Language is distantly
related to Korean
Japanese symbol for
Shinto
• Imported Chinese
ideas about
government
• Never accepted
Chinese Civil servant
exams
• Revised Chinese
writing
Chinese
writing
Japanese
Writing
• 794-1185 AD
• Had an elegant
court
• Lady Murasaki
wrote The Tale of
Genji
Cover art for Tale of Genji.
Displays traditional 12 layer
kimono.
• Japanese feudalism
– Shogun
– Daimyo
– Samurai
– Peasants
Japanese Shogun
during early 1900’s
• Bushido- way of the
warrior
• Was samurai code
• Japan’s warrior class
was governed by
honor
• Unlike middle ages
during chivalry, the
position of women
declined
Traditional samurai armor cir. 1880s
Modern animae
depction of
bushido
Photo of real samurai on the eve of the
Meiji Restoration
•
•
•
•
Successfully centralized feudalism
Unified society
Economy grew a lot
Ended with the Meiji Restoration in the late
1800’s. This was also the death of the samurai
class.
• Emphasized
meditation and
devotion to duty
• People could seek
enlightenment through
the performance of
every day tasks
• Religion of the samurai
Artwork of a samurai Zen master
• Theater
– “No” Plays: performed on a square wooden stage;
presented Zen Buddhist themes
– Kabuki: 1600’s drama
Actor in a Japanese
Noh play
• Literature
– Tale of Heike- a
violent conflict
between 2 families
– Haiku: 17 syllable
poem
13th Century scroll
depicting a scene from the
Tale of Heike
• Arts
– Paintings
reflected a
Chinese
landscape
influence
– Tended to
involve the sea
• How did Japan’s geography affect its
economy?
• How did Japan’s geography affect its
political development?