History of Japan

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History of Japan
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Geography

• Consists of many islands
• 4 main islands Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu

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Geography, cont.

• ¾ of Japan is covered with mountains
• Weather is cool/cold in the north, warm/hot in
  the south
• Plenty of rain and sunshine
• Frequent earthquakes, tsunamis, and typhoons

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VERY EARLY JAPAN

• About 10,000BC, people from Asia settled in
  Japan, and lived by hunting, gathering and
  fishing
• Ainu were among the early people of Japan lived
  in Northern Japan were ethnically different

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VERY EARLY JAPAN, cont.

• 100BC-rice farming metal working came to Japan
  from Korea
• Until about 300AD, there was no central
  government, and people lived in uji clans which
  controlled their on territory
• In 300AD, the Yamato clan became dominant and the
  Yamato clan chief was the Emperor of Japan, said
  to be descended from Amaterasu, the sun goddess

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SHINTO RELIGION

• Shinto means Way of the Kami
• Kami nature spirits that lived in natural
  objects
• Most clans had a special protective Kami
• Shinto involves
• prayer rituals to please the Kami
• reverence for nature
• cleanliness

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ABOUT 500AD-800AD

• About 552AD Buddhism brought to Japan by Korean
  missionaries
• Buddhist missionaries also brought Chinese
  writing, which the Japanese called Kanji
• About 600AD Prince Shotoku
• Promoted Chinese ideas, Buddhism, Confucianism
• Wrote the Constitution of 17 Articles for Japan
• Started sending delegations of young Japanese
  noblemen to study in China

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About 500AD-800AD

• 710AD Built the capital at Nara
• Japanese began to copy Chinese style in many
  aspects of life in every possible way food,
  architecture, flower arranging, etc.
• They never adopted the idea of a Civil Service
  Exam. Government positions were limited to the
  nobility. They never adopted foot binding.

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Changes about 800AD-Transition into the Heian
Period

• Built a new capital at Heian-Kyo
• Began to turn away from following the Chinese
  model in culture
• Stopped sending delegations of young men to study
  in China
• Developed kana, a simpler form of writing in
  which symbols represented syllables of spoken
  Japanese. Actually, 2 separate forms of kana were
  developed
• Hiragana-also called womens writing
• Katakana
• Men continued to write mostly in Kanji, women
  used kana, especially hiragana

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Heian Period about 800AD-1200AD

• Capital at Heian-Kyo
• Nobles had an elaborate court life at Heian Kyo,
  where elaborate etiquette determined every action
  in life
• Noblemen continued to write in Kanji, but Noble
  women used Kana, especially the type called
  hiragana.

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Heian Court Dress
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Heian period about 800AD-1200AD women writers

• Many noble women wrote Court Diaries
• Lady Sei Shonagon wrote the Pillow Book, a
  collection of anecdotes about court life
• Lady Murasaki wrote Tale of Genji, the worlds
  first novel

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The Pillow Bookby Sei Shonagon (diary)
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The Tale of Genji by Lady Murasaki
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Heian Period about 800AD-1200AD--political
developments

• The Emperors gradually became more interested in
  luxury than in actually ruling
• The Fujiwara clan took over much of the real
  power and ruled in the Emperors name
• Usually, a daughter of the Fugiwara married the
  emperor
• The Emperors continued to be held in honor and
  performed important Shinto rituals

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End of the Heian Period- Beginning the beginning
of the Feudal Period

• Late 1100s- The Fujiwara family dropped out of
  power, and there was a civil war between 2
  powerful families, the Taira and the Minamoto.
• 1185 the Minamoto clan won the civil war
• 1192, the Emperor granted Minamoto Yoritomo (head
  of the clan) the title Shogun! This was a
  turning point!

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JAPANESE FEUDALISM

• Emperor kept his throne, but the Shogun was the
  real ruler, in control of the military, finances,
  and laws
• The Emperors court continued in Heian-Kyo
  (Kyoto), and the Shogun set up a separate capital
  at Kamakura.
• 1192-1331 The Minamoto clan held the Shogunate

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MONGOL INVASION ATTEMPTS

• The Mongols under Kublai Khan tried twice to
  invade
• 1274-Mongol fleet didnt even land. It was blown
  away by a typhoon
• 1281-Mongols landed and fought the assembled
  Samurai for several weeks. Then their fleet was
  again blown away by a typhoon, called the
  Kamikaze, the sacred wind.

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Japan-Middle Ages Feudal Period, cont.

• 1192-1331, the Minamoto clan held the Shogunate
• In 1331,the Emperor briefly tried and failed to
  regain control
• 1333-1568, the Ashikaga clan held the Shogunate
• Increasingly throughout this period, the nobles
  became more independent, and warfare between
  Daimyo became frequent.

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Japan-Middle Ages- Feudal Period
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Daimyo

• Feudal lords of Japan
• Fought frequent wars against each other
• Hired Samurai to fight
• Taxed the peasants
• Had Japanese-styled castles

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SAMURAI

• Similar (in some ways) to European Knights
• Samurai refers to the warriors themselves,
  and to the social class of the warriors. Means
  those who serve.
• Followed a code of ethics Bushido (similar
  to Chivalry)
• Extreme loyalty to lord (Daimyo) Clan
• Brave fearless of death
• Most important weapon was a sword called a
  katana, that was regarded as the soul of a
  Samurai. He also carried a smaller sword or
  dagger (called a wakizashi or tanto) with which
  to commit seppuku, if necessary.

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SAMURAI, cont

• I If defeated or dishonored, he committed
  seppuku-ritual suicide by cutting his abdomen and
  disemboweling himself
• Also expected to be able to write poetry
  perform tea ceremony
• Often practiced Zen Buddhism, which
  emphasized self-discipline through meditation and
  fighting by instinct, rather than by thought

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SEPPUKU-ritual suicide of a Samurai
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Minamoto Tametomo-1st Seppuku

• Minamoto Tametomo was a member of the Minamoto
  clan who lived in the 1100sAD. He fought in the
  Civil War between the Minamoto and the Taira
  clan.

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Minamoto Tametomo-1st Seppuku

• Tametomo is known in the epic chronicles as a
  powerful archer and it is said that he once sunk
  an entire Taira ship with a single arrow by
  puncturing its hull below the waterline. It is
  also added in many legends that his left arm was
  about 6 in. longer than his right, enabling a
  longer draw of the arrow, and more powerful shots.

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Minamoto Tametomo-1st Seppuku

• In 1170, as the conflict between the Minamoto and
  Taira continued, Tametomo became surrounded by
  enemy Taira warriors on a small island. In some
  legends, it is said that Taira cut the tendons of
  Tametomo's left arm. Thinking that he wouldn't be
  able to fight anymore, he killed himself by
  slicing his abdomen, or committing seppuku. He is
  quite possibly the first warrior to commit
  seppuku in the chronicles.

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Samurai attire
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Samurai Charging
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• European Armor

• Samurai Armor

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Modern Day Samurai
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JAPANESE RELIGION

• Sects of Buddhism came from China
• Pure Land Buddhism stressed salvation through
  faith in Buddha
• Zen stressed salvation through enlightenment
  gained through meditation
• Most people followed Shinto, Buddhism
  Confucianism. Every home had a shrine which
  combined these religious practices

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PEASANTS

• Most people farmed or fished
• Rice and fish were the most important foods
• Lived simple lives and worked very hard
• Farming required extremely hard work because land
  was very limited

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Family and Women

• Family was the center of life, and was more
  important than the individual a disgrace to one
  was a disgrace to all.
• Oldest male was the head of the family made all
  important decisions was obeyed by all

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• When a woman married, she became part of her
  husbands family and obeyed her husband and his
  parents
• Women were regarded as objects of beauty, but
  were expected to endure hardships and peasant
  women were expected to work very hard
• They sometimes committed seppuku along with their
  husbands by opening the veins on their necks.
• Japanese never adopted the Chinese custom of
  footbinding

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OTHER FORMS OF CULTURE

• Landscape gardening featured gardens which looked
  natural but took great care. Usually had rocks
  running water.
• Zen gardens had a few rocks and sand raked in
  patterns
• Tea ceremony-very complex, elaborate ceremony
• Goal-to produce spiritual calm
• Every move was set took several hours
• Involving looking at nature and preparing and
  drinking tea.
• Noh drama in which men performed in a highly
  stylized dance-drama, often with a historical
  theme

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Noh Theatre
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Zen Garden
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Tea Ceremony