Chapter 15: Japan

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Chapter 15 Japan

• Section 1 Geography and Early Japan
• Section 2 Art and Culture in Heian
• Section 3 Growth of a Military Society

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Section 1Geography and Early Japan

• Islands
• Largest is Honshu
• Mountain and Volcanoes
• Seafood
• Islands separated from other Asian people
• Korea (100 mi) and China (200 mi) are very close
  to Japan, but not attached

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Early Japan

• There were two cultures Ainu (EYE-noo) in the
  North and who became Japanese in the South
• Lived in Clans
• Yamato rulers were the most powerful and called
  themselves emperors
• Believed in kami (KAH-mee)
• Traditional religion was Shinto

• Rulers of Japans sent missionaries to Korea and
  China to learn about other cultures
• Japanese wrote in Chinese first
• Prince Shotoku (shoh-toh-koo) served as a regent,
  loved Chinese culture
• Built Buddhist temples
• Confucianism spread throughout Japan
• Koreans had introduced Buddhism to Japan, but
  Shotoku helped spread it

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Section 2Art and Culture in Heian

• A court was built in Heian (Kyoto) by the nobles
  and became a center of culture and learning.
• Nobles lived apart from poorer citizens and
  called themselves dwellers among the clouds.
• Nobles
• Beauty and elegance
• Valued their appearances (silk robes/gowns, gold
  jewelry, and decorative fans)
• Great care in how they spoke and wrote (men in
  Chinese and women in Japanese)

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Literature and Arts

• Lady Murasaki Shikibu (moohr-ah-sahk-ee
  shee-kee-boo) wrote The Tale of Genji
• Considered the worlds 1st full-length novel
  (Japans greatest)

• Paintings (bright, bold color and nature)
• Calligraphy (decorative writing)
• Architecture (copied Chinese buildings
• Noh plays (music, speaking and dance)

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Zen Buddhism

• Religion became an art form in Japan
• Pure Land Buddhism (no rituals)
• Zen Buddhism came from China and wisdom comes
  from self-discipline and meditation. This became
  popular in Japan, especially among the warriors.

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Section 3Growth of a Military Society

• Nobles and rebel were fighting for land and power
  in Japan.
• Japans rulers were too focused on courtly life
  to notice other problems in their country.
• SoJapans large landowners decided they needed
  to protect their lands and a new social class is
  created.

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This system and social class is similar to what
system in Europe?
Samurai comes from the Japanese word servant
Though two major clans fought for almost 30
years, the Minamoto clan won. The Minamoto
leader established the shogun title.
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The Samurai

• Lived honorably
• Respected
• Could be killed if you disrespect a Samurai
• No Entertainment
• No trade or Commerce
• Must follow Bushido the way of the warrior

• Live simple, but disciplined
• Bushido influenced much of Japanese society
• Values Loyalty, Bravery, and Honor
• A samurais entire family, men and women learned
  how fight to protect

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Mongols attack Japan

• Mongolian invasion helped Japanese nobles put
  aside their differences to fight the enemy.
• The weather help Japanese warrior combat the
  Mongols and the Mongols never invaded again.
• The grateful Japanese called the storms
  kamikaze or divine wind.
• After the war, nobles began to resent the
  shoguns power over them.

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Samurai Order Changes

• Emperor fights shogun for control.
• Daimyo fought to break free from shogun.
• Shoguns lost power by 1400s and daimyo ruled much
  of Japan.

• Japan unifies
• 1st leader was Oda Nobunaga (ohd-ah
  noh-booh-nah-gah)
• Solders had guns
• Tokugawa leyasu (toh-koohg-ah-wuh ee-e-yahs-ooh)
  became shogun after fighting off enemies
• Ruled all of Japan
• Opened up Japan to the rest of the world
• Became known as Tokugawa Shogunate

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Isolation

• Some shoguns feared that Japan would become too
  much like Europe and shoguns could lose their
  power.
• Japanese rulers banned guns with fear peasants
  would revolt.
• Isolation with limited technology allowed samurai
  period in Japan to last until the 1800s.

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