JAPAN “LAND OF THE RISING SUN” - PowerPoint Presentation

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JAPAN

“LAND

OF THE RISING SUN”

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JAPAN

ARCHIPELAGO

—chain of islands

100 miles east of the Asian mainland

Four main islands—

Hokkaido

,

Honshu

,

Shikoku

and

Kyushu

plus 3,000 smaller ones

About the size of Montana

Climate similar to eastern United States

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JAPAN

Only 20% of the land is suitable for farming

Very mountainous

Most people settled in narrow river valleys and along coastal plains

Used

terracing

to farm sides of mountains

Japanese also turned to the sea for food (protein)

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Japan

Seas also protect Japan—seas kept Japan mostly isolated from the Asian mainland

Japan close enough to Korea and China for trade

Far enough away not to be conquered

Seas served as trade routes

Japan located the “

Ring of Fire

”—earthquakes and volcanic eruptions

Cause

tsunami

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Early Japanese Traditions

Early Japanese society divided into

clans

- family groups that trace their origins to a common ancestor

Yamato

clan will gain control around 500 CE

Yamato set up Japan’s first and only dynasty

Claimed descent from the Sun Goddess,

Amaterasu

and the rising sun became the Yamato symbol

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Early Japanese Traditions

Traditional religion of Japan is

Shinto

means “way of the gods”—based on the worship and respect for nature—no sacred text

Created out of the worship of

Kami

—word means spirits—natural forces found in all things

Shrines built to honor nature usually around waterfalls, mountains, grove of ancient trees

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Early Japanese Traditions

Japanese language similar to Korean but totally different from Chinese

Korea and Japan in constant contact—migrations and warfare a constant in early centuries CE

Buddhist missionaries from Korea introduced religion to Japan around 500 CE

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Chinese Influence

Prince

Shotoku

will be very influential in spreading Chinese culture and Buddhism

Sent missions to Tang China to gather knowledge of Chinese ways

Many more missions will follow over next 200 years

Returned and spread Chinese art, technology, thought and ideas on government

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Chinese Influence

Japanese emperor built new capital at

Nara

– modeled on the Chinese capital

Nobles spoke Chinese—dressed Chinese—ate Chinese foods

Tea drinking and

tea ceremony

introduced

Chinese became official writing system of officials and scholars

Chinese influence only reached small group

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In architecture the Japanese adopted the

pagoda

style

Buddhist monasteries were built—very powerful

Confucian ideas took root in Japanese society

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Chinese Influence

Japanese will later begin

selective borrowing

Will never adopt Chinese civil service exam

Relied upon inheritance to fill government positions—educated sons of nobles

Japan produced its own unique civilization

Added

kana

(phonetic symbols representing syllables) to Chinese writing

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Heian Period

794 to 1185

Heian

period saw Chinese influence reach it’s peak and then decline

Capital located in

Heian

(present-day

Kyoto

)

Fujiwara

family in control of the throne

Small population of nobles controlled society

Emperors were figureheads (religious ceremonies)

Feudalism introduced during this period

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Heian Capital

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Heian Period

Court etiquette governed society

—beauty important

(

what made one a good person)

Noblewomen/men blackened their teeth and powdered their faces—men faint moustache and thin goatee

Noblewomen wore hair to ankles, dyed clothing to match seasons (12 layered silk robe), eyebrows plucked or shaved and redrawn higher up on forehead

Everyone in court expected to write poetry/paint

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Heian Literature

Women produced the most important literature of the period (

women were forbidden to learn Chinese

)—wrote in kana

Sei

Shonagon

wrote

The Pillow Book

Lady

Murasaki

the best known writer of the period wrote

The Tale of

Genji

(1010) which is considered by many to be the world’s first novel

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Zen Buddhism

New Buddhist sect will win widespread acceptance called

Zen

Zen means meditation and stresses devotion to duty

Values peace, simplicity, love of beauty and reverence to nature

Did not conflict with Shinto

Landscape gardening and painting

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Artistic Traditions

Two types of drama will become popular

No

(Noh) drama—performed on wooden stage without scenery—men wore mask (1300s)

Kabuki

drama included comedy and melodrama (1600s)—violence and emotion—portrayed family and historical events—popular with townspeople

In poetry Japanese created the

haiku

—miniature poem (3 lines 17 syllables in Japanese language)

Woodblock printing art form (1600s)

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Japanese Feudalism

Feudal system developed in Japan during the

Heian

period

Warrior aristocracy dominated Japanese society

Warlords had men under their command loyal to them not to the central government

In theory the emperor was at the head of the country but actually he was powerless

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Feudal Japan

Power in the hands of the

Shogun

or supreme military commander

Gave land to vassals—great warrior lords called

Daimyo

Lesser warriors called

samurai

“those who serve”—fighting force in feudal Japan

Ronin

were samurai who had lost their master

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Feudal Japan

Samurai followed the code of

Bushido

which means way of the warrior

Loyalty to lord put above all other things

Betray their code then they were expected to commit

seppuku

, ritual suicide

Dying an honorable death better than living a long life that was dishonorable

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Kamakura Shogunate

1100s two powerful clans

Taira

and

Minamoto

fought for control—lasted 30 years

Minamoto

emerged victorious and in 1192

Yoritomo

Minamoto

took title of shogun

Emperor still ruled in Kyoto but real power with shogun

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Kamakura Shogunate

Mongols launched two unsuccessful naval invasions of Japan during this period

Mongol ruler was

Kublai Khan

(grandson of

Genghis Khan

)

who sent fleets in 1274 and 1281

Japan saved both times by

typhoons

which the Japanese called “kamikaze” or divine wind

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Civil War Period

Period between 1467 and 1568 known as the

Sengoku

or “warring states” period

Powerful daimyo controlled this period warring amongst themselves for control

Saw the arrival of the first Europeans to Japan, the

Portuguese

brought their religion as well

Oda

Nobunaga

will eventually defeat all rivals—used firearms for the first time effectively in Japan during a battle

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Civil War Period

Nobunaga will never unite all of Japan

Toyotomi

Hideyoshi

will succeed Nobunaga and will control most of country by 1590

Failed expeditions against Korea kept him from uniting all of Japan

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Tokugawa Shogunate

The unification of Japan will be completed by

Tokugawa

Ieyasu

Defeated his rivals at the battle of

Sekigahara

in 1600

In 1603 he took the title of Shogun

Moved the capital to

Edo

(present-day) Tokyo

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Tokugawa Shogunate

Required daimyo to spend every other year in the capital—

Family had to stay at Edo at all times

Ieyasu

will ban Christianity

Kicked all Westerners out of Japan with the exception of the

Dutch

Dutch allowed to come to

Nagasaki

to trade once a year

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Tokugawa Shogunate

Shoguns able to control daimyo by setting up a strong central government

Brought peace and prosperity

Orderly society because they put restrictions on social classes