Transcript Feudal Japan

A.D. 300 TO A.D. 1500
Early Japan
Yayoi, ancestors of Japanese, buried their chiefs in
Kofun, or large mounds of dirt.
The Jomon were early settlers to Japan that made
pottery and lived from fishing.
Prince Shotoku used China’s government as a
pattern for the Japanese government and created the
world’s first known constitution (plan for government).
Shinto literally means ‘way of the spirits”
Jimmu the Yamoto leader took the title of emperor of
heaven”
A shrine is considerd to be a holy place.
Animism is the belief that all things have a spirit!
Clans are Japanese families that are related by blood
or marriage.
Yamato Period: 300-710
4 Islands: Honshu, Shikoku,
Kyushu, and Hokkaido
Nara Period: Emperors power
came from ownership of land and
crops.
Began promoting the adoption of
Chinese culture:
 Confucianism.
 Language (kanji characters).
 Buddhist sects.
“Great
Kings” era
 Chinese
art & architecture.
 Government structure.
Prince Shotoku: 573-621 pg.488
 Adopted Chinese
culture and
Confucianism.
 Buddhist sects
allowed to develop.
 Created a new
government
structure:
 17 Article
Constitution
in 604. 
Heian Period: 794-1156 pg.493
Characteristics:
 Growth of large landed estates.
 Arts & literature of China
flourished.
 Elaborate court life [highly refined]
 ETIQUETTE. 
 Personal diaries
 The Pillow Book by Sei Shonagon [10c]
 Great novel
 The Tale of Genji by Lady Murasaki
Shikibu [1000 pgs.+] 
 Moving away from Chinese models in
religion, the arts, and government. 
Heian Period:
Cultural Borrowing
1.Chinese writing.
2.Chinese artistic styles.
3.Buddhism [in the form of
ZEN].
4.BUT, not the Chinese civil
service system! 
Heian Court Dress
The Pillow Book
by Sei Shonagon (diary)
The Pillow Book
by Sei Shonagon (diary)
Tale of Genji (first novel)
Tale of Genji Scroll
(first novel)
Lady Murasaki Shikibu pg. 501-502
She contributed much to the Japanese
script known as kana, while men wrote
with Chinese characters, kanji.
Minamoto Yoritomo
Founded the Kamakura Shogunate:
1185-1333 (page 495)
The emperor
reigned, but did
not always rule!
Feudal
Society
Feudalism
A political, economic, and social
system based on loyalty, the
holding of land, and military
service.
Japan:
Shogun
Land - Shoen
Land - Shoen
Protection
Samurai
Peasant
Daimyo
Loyalty
Daimyo
Samurai
Peasant
Loyalty
Samurai
Peasant
Food
Peasant
Code of Bushido
* Fidelity
* Politeness
* Virility
* Simplicity
Seppuku:
Ritual Suicide
It is honorable to
die in this way.
Kaishaku – his
“seconds”
Full Samurai Attire
Samurai Sword
Early Mounted
Samurai Warriors
Underpinnings: Basic Steps
in Self Defense
A COTTON BREECH CLOUT
that extended up over the
chest was the basic
undergarment of a samurai’s
costume
A SHORT SLEEVED KIMONO,
or “armor robe,” was tied
snugly at the waist with a
special knot (lower right)
BILLOWING
PANTALOONS,
worn over the
armor robe,
fitted loosely in
the legs to
allow freedom
of movement
STURDY
SHINGUARDS
of cloth or
leather were
reinforced with
strips of iron
to give
protection
from the front
AN EXQUISITE
BROCADE, richly
worked with a
design of peonies,
was one of the
extravagant
materials used in
an armor robe
that may have
been made for a
14th Century
imperial prince
Samurai Charging
Modern-Day “Samurai Warriors”
Feudalism
A political, economic, and social
system based on loyalty, the
holding of land, and military
service.
Europe:
King
Land - Fief
Land - Fief
Protection
Knight
Peasant
Lord
Loyalty
Lord
Knight
Peasant
Loyalty
Knight
Peasant
Food
Peasant
Code of Chivalry
* Justice
* Loyalty
* Defense
* Courage
* Faith
* Humility
* Nobility
Medieval Warriors
vs.
European knight
Samurai Warrior
Medieval Warriors
vs.
Knight’s Armor
Samurai Armor
Zen Buddhism pg. 499
 A Japanese
variation of the
Mahayana form
of Buddhism,
which came from
India through
China.
 It reinforced the
Bushido values of
mental and
self-discipline.
Mongol
“Invasions”
of Japan
4,400 ships and 140,000 men, but kamikaze
winds stopped them.
Ashikaga Age:
1338-1573
► Shoguns fought for power.
 Laws are unclear.
 Less efficient than the
Kamakura.
 Armies of samurai protected
the country. 
C
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Osaka Castle
Main Gate of
Hiroshima Castle
Caernorfon Castle,
Wales
1. Around A.D. 500, the ____ religion came to Japan
from Korea. (Buddhist)
2. In 1192, the newly appointed ____ created two
governments in Japan. (Shogun)
3. When the Mongols attacked the Kamakura
shogunate in the 1200s, a(n) ____ helped the Japanese
to defeat them. (Typhoon)
4. Young samurai studied martial arts, astronomy, and
(math).
5. A Japanese warrior who pledged loyalty to a powerful
military lord (Vassal)
6. A powerful Japanese military lord (Daimyo)
7. The commander of the Japanese military forces
(shogun)
8. “One who serves” or (Samurai)
9. What is the bond of loyalty between a lord and a
vassal (feudalism)