Emergence of Japan & Political Changes

 Archipelago- Japan is a chain of islands that lies about 100 miles off the coast of East Asia  146,000 square miles  4 Main Islands 1. Kyushu 2. Shikoku 3. Honshu 4. Hokkaido

 Pacific Ring of Fire- region of earthquakes and volcanoes  As many as 1,500 tremors shake Japan per year  30 active volcanoes on Japan  Fierce typhoons pound the islands

Landforms and Climate Four Seasons in Japan  Japan is equal in size to the state of Montana  125 million people live there (7 th in world)  4/5 of land is mountainous  Limited farmland  Lowland areas are densely populated  Mild Climate  Similar to eastern coast of United States  Few mineral resources

 Yamato Clan unified Japan  7 th Century  Fear of China  Based on Chinese model  Prince Shotoku  Centralized government under a supreme ruler  Divine figure and symbol of Japanese nation  Died in 622 AD

 Yamato ruler still in power  Fujiwara family gains influence  New capital at Nara  Emperor calls himself “Son of Heaven”  By the 800s, land was divided into private estates  Peasants worked the land  The Fujiwara gained great land wealth and control over Japan for 200 years  Power of the emperor diminished

 794: Emperor moves capital to Kyoto  Local aristocrats took justice into their own hands  Samurai: warrior knights who fought on horseback, clad in helmet and armor, and carried a sword and a bow and arrow  Bushido: “the way of the warrior  strict warrior code of conduct based on loyalty to his lord

 Shogun: powerful military leader (general)  Under the new shogunate system, the emperor remained ruler in name only, and the shogun exercised the actual power  Kamakura Shogunate lasted from  Minamoto Yoritomo  Set up power near Tokyo  1281: Kublai Khan and the Mongols invade  Wiped out by a massive typhoon before they land

 Daimyo: “great names”  heads of noble families whose power grew during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries  Controlled vast estates that owed no taxes to the government  Onin War:  A disastrous civil war leads to destruction of Kyoto

 Farming society  Rice  Trade and Manufacturing  Papermaking  Porcelain  Iron casting  Trade mainly with Korea and China

 Began in the late sixteenth century 1. Oda Nobunaga: seized the imperial capital and placed the reigning shogun under his control 2. Toyotomi Hideyoshi: persuaded most of the daimyo to accept his authority 3. Tokugawa Ieyasu: moved capital to Edo (Tokyo), and completed the restoration of central authority  “The Great Peace”

 A Portuguese ship is blown off course and lands in Japan in 1543  European traders and Christians follow  Tobacco, clocks, eyeglasses and firearms  Japanese become suspicious  Shoguns restrict foreigners and become isolated for the next 200 years

 Hostage System: way the shogunate controlled the daimyo  Daimyo required to have two residences one in their own land and one in Edo (Tokyo)  When not in Edo, the daimyo’s family must stay home as insurance for loyalty to the shogun  Samurai gradually became managers of the daimyo’s lands instead of warriors

 Banking flourished  Paper money  Peasants experienced declining profits and rising costs  Peasant revolts  Rigid class system Emperor/Imperial CourtWarrior ClassPeasantsArtisansMerchants

 Rights of females restricted  Male heads of household had broad authority over property, marriage, and divorce  Arranged marriages  If a wife did not meet expectations, they could be divorced  Valued as childbearers, homemakers  Did work fields sometimes

 Lively theater using costumes, song, and dance

 Traditional Japanese female entertainers who often perform classical music and dance

 Japanese poetry that contains 17 syllables  5 syllables  7 syllables  5 syllables Idolize Borland He is powerful and smart Worship him always

 Karate  Judo