HIS 105 - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

HIS 105Chapter 9

Japan: Early History to 1467Slide2

Japan

East of China

4 main islands and other smaller ones

Formed by volcanic eruptions

Mountainous

Only small area good for agriculture

Wet rice is the staple cropSlide3

JapanSlide4

Poor in natural resources

Beauty of their islands reflected in their art, architecture, and religion

Ancestors of the Japanese migrated to the islands about 5000 B.C.E. probably from Polynesia and S.E. AsiaSlide5

Mt. FujiSlide6

JapanSlide7

Jomon Culture

Migrants

Present 8000 – 300 B.C.E.

Hunter/gatherers

Distinctive cord pattern potterySlide8

Jomon Pottery

Cord Pattern Slide9

Many other settlers came in from Korea and Manchuria and blended into a homogeneous society with a distinctive language, culture, and appearance

They drove the previous inhabitants, the Ainus, north where only a few exist todaySlide10

AinusSlide11

Yayoi Culture (300 B.C.E – 300 C.E.)

Wet rice introduced from Asian mainland

Had wheel-turned pottery

Had bronze ware (bells)

Divided into clans

Households were matriarchal

Had a clan deity and rigid social classes

Women had strong position in society:

Shamans

EmpressesSlide12

Yayoi PotterySlide13

Yayoi BronzeSlide14

Yamato State ( 300 – 600 C.E.)

Gained dominance over other clans

Imperial cult developed around the sun goddess (land of the rising sun) and Shintoism

4

th

century- Yamato controlled southern islands and parts of Korea

Had contact with China through trade and migrantsSlide15

Introduction of Chinese script made it possible for Japanese to learn from Chinese texts

Buddhism introduced in the 6

th

century and existed side-by-side with Shintoism

Shintoism

Animistic worship of the forces of nature

It included a great leader could be worshiped after deathSlide16

Chinese CalligraphySlide17

ShintoismSlide18

Mt. Fuji was holy

Each clan had a nature as its personal deity

Emperors seen as descendents of sun goddess so were living godsSlide19

7

th

century – Yamato tried to style government after Chinese model

This ushered in a 2

nd

major turning point for Japanese – the spread of Chinese culture

Took place from 7

th

to 12

th

centuries

Occurred in 3 stages:

Learning about China

Introducing Chinese institutions

Trying to make Chinese ways Japanese waysSlide20

Japan remained politically independent but heavily influenced by China

Many copied ways , in the end, did not work in Japan:

Government became to heavy

Landlords resisted changes to more central control

Many Chinese laws made no sense in JapanSlide21

There was a rising opposition to outside influences

However, a distinctive Japanese culture resultedSlide22

Change in Capitals

New capital established at Nara in 710 styled after the Chinese

In 794, the capital moved to Heian (Kyoto)

Much later the capital moved to Edo or Tokyo in 1869

All capitals were laid out quite elaborately and those in government lived luxuriouslySlide23

Peasants lived in pit houses in small villages

They worked on paddy rice farms

Used slash and burn techniques when preparing land for cultivation

There were also Buddhist templesSlide24

Pit HousesSlide25

Heian rulers followed both Shintoism and Confucius

Japanese believed they had only one dynasty in their history – all were descendents of the sun goddessSlide26

Heian Rulers

By 12

th

century

All land belonged to the emperor

It was redistributed every 6 years

Taxes were levied on people, not land

Things were all very stable until the end of Heian rule when taxes were placed on grain and landholdings became hereditarySlide27

Nobles and powerful temples were exempt from taxesSlide28

Samurai

792, the court began to rely on mounted warriors

They became the official troops of the emperor

They did not pay taxes

They were known as the

samurai

from the word

samurau

meaning “ to serve “Slide29

Samurai Slide30

They were the military of Japan until the 15

th

and 16

th

centuries when the “ foot soldier “ came into practice

Samurai paid for their own equipment and training, so many came from rich families

They were to preserve local order and to help collect taxesSlide31

Government

Slowly changed from Chinese model in 9

th

century

New agencies emerged

Audit officers

who tried to keep an eye on revenues

Bureau of Archivists

who recorded imperial decrees

Police Commissioners

who were responsible for law and orderSlide32

The Court

Emperor

Had the power to appoint

Some families gained great influence through marriage to the emperor: the Fujiwara family

Emperor Shirakawa believed an emperor should govern and he did from 1072-1086; then he stepped down but continued to rule for another 43 years

Other emperors followed his exampleSlide33

Culture

In Nara and early Heian Japan, culture was based in Shintoism and in village folkways

Court culture was still based in Chinese ways and teachings

Those in the court would read and write in Chinese and felt those who couldn’t were beneath them

760 – Japanese began writing their own stories in Japanese for a change

Collection of Ten Thousand LeavesSlide34

Chinese characters were used as phonetic symbols in that book of 4,516 poems

In 951 – a new alphabet or script,

kana

, was introduced for the Japanese

Many of the great writings during the Heian period were done by women

Tale of Genji

by Murasaki Shikibu in 1010 was the world’s first novel

showed sensitivity, character development, and lifeSlide35

KanaSlide36

Buddhism

Present in Nara Japan

Mahayana Buddhism

Had monks and monasteries living away from society

Received money from the state

Popular in Japan first because of its rituals, gods, demons, angels, and its art

Later because of its philosophySlide37

Not seen as foreign

Was felt deeply by Japanese

Shintoism was almost absorbed by Buddhism in the late Heian periodSlide38

Feudal Rule

1185 – capital was moved to Kyoto and civil rule was replaced by military rule called “tent government” or bakufu

This rule introduced the Shogun who was technically under the emperor

This brought about social reorganizationSlide39

ShogunSlide40

Taira rule in Kyoto was defeated by Minamoto Yoritomo (1147-1199) in 1185

It was a national victory

His soldiers were now his vassals

He had military governors in each province and military stewards on former Taira estates

Any money went to the stewards or to KyotoSlide41

Minamoto

Yoritomo

Slide42

This was the start of Feudal Japan

After Yoritomo’s death in 1199, there was chaos

In 1266 Kubla Khan demanded that Japan submit to his rule

He brought in 30,000 troops in 1274, was victorious but then left

1281- he returned with 140,000 troops in an amphibious operationSlide43

It didn’t look good for Japan until the

kamikaze

(divine winds) hit sinking a good part of the Mongol fleet; the rest turned around and leftSlide44

Women

Some became prominent like Yoritomo’s widow, Nun Shogun, who ruled after his death

Some became writers

There was that sun goddess connected to the royal family

For a time, women could inherit property

That changed as the warrior state appearedSlide45

Ashikaga Takauji

1331 – another emperor felt the emperor should rule

Ashikaga Takauji was sent to put down this emperor’s revolt, but he turned on Kyoto and destroyed the Kamakura government

After the revolt ended in 1336, a multi-state system emerged

Each state was run by a different warrior groupSlide46

Ashikaka set up his own bakufu with its own organization

Vassals on the land became known as

Daimyos

owing lyalty to the ShogunSlide47

Statistics

1200 – Japan had 6 million people

1600 – Japan had 12 million

Better agricultural techniques

New strains of rice

Iron tools

Peasants became self-sufficient

Barter systemSlide48

By 15

th

century, military weapons, sake, lumber, vegetable oil salt, sea products were sold

Copper coins and market places appeared and permanent townsSlide49

Buddhism

Pure Land Buddhism

Emerged around 10

th

century

A variety of Japanese Buddhism that said the true teachings of Buddha had been lost and that only faith was necessary for salvation

It remains dominant in Japan todaySlide50

Zen Buddhism

Included meditation

Monks stressed a return to the “uncluttered mind”, the one with intuitive understanding

The most Chinese of Japanese sects

Religious experience counts more than words

Influenced the artsSlide51

No Plays

Product of medieval Japan

Mystery drama

Bare stage

Male actors wearing beautiful robes and masks

Poetic language

Spirit possession of a character takes place and he dancesSlide52

No Plays