JAPAN: LAND OF THE RISING SUN Ch. 14

Japan: Geography Japan consists of a chain of islands off the coast of China. It is composed of four main islands Hokkaido Honshu Shikoku Kyushu

Japan: Geography Most of Japan is covered by mountains. About 188 of Japans mountains are volcanoes. Japan experiences a lot of seismic activity each year. Because of the mountains, only about 20% of Japan’s land can be farmed. Traditionally this land is the most fought over.

Japan: Geography Because of the geography of the islands, many people have to live by the sea. This allowed Japanese people to easily travel down the coast to see one another. However, the mountains also kept them separated from other cultures for many years. As a result, Japan developed its own society, art, economy, and culture.

Jomon Around 10,000 BC, one of the first groups of people in the country of Japan were called the Jomon. Most of what we know about them comes from artifacts and pottery. They were mostly nomadic hunters that followed game onto the islands.

Yayoi Around 300 B.C., a new culture appeared in Japan. They were called the Yayoi. These are the ancestors of the modern day Japanese. They had many skills that they had learned over time from the Chinese and the Koreans. They were skilled at many things including metalworking and the making of religious bells.

Yayoi cont. The Yayoi organized themselves into clans. This was very similar to the clan design that many Japanese still have today. They buried their leaders in large mounds known as kofun. These kofun were larger than the Egyptian pyramids.

Beginning of time Just as every other culture has, the Japanese have a myth about the beginning of time. They believe that at the beginning of time two gods dipped their wooden spears into the ocean and as drops of seawater fell off of them, the islands of Japan were formed. These two gods then made the sun goddess Amaterasu, and the storm god Susanowo to rule over the earth.

Susanowo: Susanowo is supposedly the father of the Japanese people. Amaterasu sent her grandson to rule over them. She gave him a jewel and a sword to help him rule. These are still symbols of leadership in Japan today.

Beginning of modern day Japan Around A.D. 500, the Yamato clan became strong enough to rule Japan. The other clans still held their land, but had to give their loyalty to the Yamato. Legend says that a Yamato leader named Jimmu, took the name “emperor of heaven.” He founded a line of rulers in Japan that has not been broken to this day.

The Yamato Yamato chiefs claimed that they came from the sun goddess and, therefore, had a right to rule Japan.

Shotoku He was a Yamato emperor who took charge of the government from his aunt. He wanted to create a more powerful government and he looked to China for guidance. He created a constitution.

He was a Yamato emperor who took charge of the government from his aunt. He wanted to create a more powerful government and he looked to China for guidance. He created a constitution.

The emperor had the power to appoint all of the government officials Government officials were sent to China to study Chinese art, medicine, government, Buddhism, and philosophy (much which came from Korea)

Buddhism During the same time the emperor’s government was growing strong, Buddhism became popular and influenced government decisions. Shotoku ordered Buddhist temples and monasteries to be built throughout Japan

In 646 CE the Yamato began the Taika, or Great Change They divided Japan into provinces and they were all run by officials who reported to the emperor These reforms created a strong central government in Japan

The Shinto Religion of Japan The Japanese religion called Shinto was based on nature spirits They believe that all things in nature have their own spirits (animism)

SHINTO This idea is called animism Nature spirits are called kami The word Shinto means “way of the spirits”

Feudal Japanese Government At the top of the government in feudal Japan was the emperor. Was seen as a religious leader who could communicate with the gods. The emperor had little power.

Feudal Japanese Government The shogun was underneath the emperor. He had the most power in the Japanese hierarchy. He was a powerful military leader and was in charge of the government and all of Japan. He was the most powerful daimyo at the time and other daimyos often fought for the title.

Feudal Japanese Government The daimyo were below the shogun. These men were powerful land owners who owned their own private samurai army. They were wealthy landowners who gave people protection and food in exchange for their loyalty.

Feudal Japanese Government The daimyo didn't have to pay taxes Often fought with other daimyos by having their samurai armies clash on the battlefield. There were a total of 260 daimyos by the end of the feudalistic era.

Feudal Japan’s Social Structure

Samurai Nobles (daimyo) formed private armies to protect their land To create their armies they gave land to warriors who agreed to fight for them These warriors became known as SAMURAI

SAMURAI Samurai means “to serve” Samurai lived by a code of conduct called Bushido which means “the way of the warrior” A Samurai would rather die in battle than betray his lord (daimyo)

The Daimyo Divide Japan Samurai became vassals which means that they pledged to serve their daimyo in times of war and in return the daimyo gave them land This bond of loyalty between a lord and a vassal is known as feudalism

As the shogun’s power weakened, Japan broke into warring kingdoms run by rulers known as daimyo The daimyo pledged loyalty to the emperor and the shogun, but they ruled their lands as if they were independent kingdoms To protect their lands they created their own local armies made up of Samurai warriors

Shogun Early 1100’s: powerful Japanese families fought each other using their Samurai armies In 1192, Yoritomo, the leader of a powerful family, was given the title of shogun The shogun is the commander of all of the emperor’s military forces

SHOGUN The military government was known as the shogunate Shoguns ran Japan for the next 700 years In 1274 and 1281, the shogunate successfully held off attacks by the Mongols

Japanese Religion and Culture Buddhism and Shinto shaped much of Japan’s culture These religions affected Japanese art, architecture, novels and plays The arts of Japan revealed the Japanese love of beauty and simplicity

The art of folding paper, know as Origami, was invented in Japan Calligraphy, the art of writing beautifully, was much admired in Japan

Japan’s oldest form of poetry was the tanka Tanka was an unrhymed poem of five lines Tanka poems capture nature’s beauty and the joys and sorrows of life By the 1600’s, tanka poems changed into a new form called haiku

Haiku consisted of 3 lines of words with a total of 17 syllables The oldest type of Japanese plays were called Noh and they were written to teach Buddhist ideas Some Japanese nobles, merchants, and artisans grew wealthy during the shogun period, but the lives of women remained restricted in many areas of life

Get Ready to Read (cont.) Focusing on the Main Ideas Shoguns and Samurai Get Ready to Read (cont.) Focusing on the Main Ideas During the A.D. 700s, Japan built a strong national government at Nara, and Buddhism became a popular religion. Japan’s civilian government and the emperor came to be dominated by military rulers known as shoguns. As the shogun’s power weakened, Japan broke into warring kingdoms run by rulers known as daimyo.

Get Ready to Read (cont.) Shoguns and Samurai Get Ready to Read (cont.) Locating Places Heian (HAY·ahn) Kamakura (kah·MAH·kuh·RAH) Meeting People Minamoto Yoritomo Ashikaga Takauji (ah·shee·kah·gah tah·kow·jee)

Get Ready to Read (cont.) Shoguns and Samurai Get Ready to Read (cont.) Building Your Vocabulary samurai (SA·muh·RY) shogun (SHOH·guhn) daimyo (DY·mee·OH) vassal (VA·suhl) feudalism (FYOO·duhl·IH·zuhm)

Nara Japan Shoguns and Samurai Nara became the capital city of Japan in the early A.D. 700s. Because of its importance, the history of Japan during this time is called the Nara Period. Nara resembled the Chinese city of Changan. (pages 492–493)

Nara Japan (cont.) Shoguns and Samurai Japanese emperors at Nara organized government into ranks. Government jobs were given to nobles of powerful families. Jobs could be passed on to the official’s son or another relative. The emperor’s power came from the control of land and crops. A census was conducted for tax-collecting purposes. (pages 492–493)

Nara Japan (cont.) Shoguns and Samurai Buddhism came to Japan from Korea and was popular during the Nara Period. Nobles who were not Buddhists opposed the religion, and struggles broke out between Buddhists and non-Buddhists for control of the government. After stopping an attempt by a Buddhist monk to seize the throne, the emperor left Nara to the Buddhists. (pages 492–493)

The Rise of the Shogun Shoguns and Samurai In A.D. 794, Heian became the new capital of Japan. Today the city is known as Kyoto. The government of Japan declined during the A.D. 800s because of a series of weak emperors. Since many of Japan’s emperors were children, regents ruled for them. (pages 493–495)

Heian Period This period began in 794 A.D. when the capital was moved to Kyoto. This move came on the heels of an attempt by Buddhist to take over the government. Kyoto would remain the capital of Japan for over 1000 years.

Rulers During the Heian Period During this period the Japanese rulers became much weaker. A number of weak emperors took the throne during this period and many of the emperor were still children when they took the crown. Regents had to stand in for these young rulers, and may of the rulers spent most of their time writing poetry and studying instead of ruling. The rulers no longer had real power.

Power Shift As the emperor became less powerful, noble and landowners became more powerful.

The Rise of the Shogun (cont.) Shoguns and Samurai The Rise of the Shogun (cont.) Most regents were from the Fujiwara clan, and the clan grew wealthy and powerful in Heian. Powerful nobles of other clans gained control in the provinces of Japan. To protect their lands, nobles built armies of warriors called samurai. (pages 493–495)

The Rise of the Shogun (cont.) Shoguns and Samurai The Rise of the Shogun (cont.) Samurai followed a code of conduct called Bushido, which demanded that a samurai be loyal to his master, courageous, and honorable. (pages 493–495)

The Rise of the Shogun (cont.) Shoguns and Samurai The Rise of the Shogun (cont.) The Gempei War was a civil war between the two most powerful clans in Japan: the Taira family and the Minamoto family. Minamoto Yoritomo was the leader of the Minamoto clan and commander of their army. After the Minamoto clan won the Gempei War, the emperor decided to reward Yoritomo to keep him happy and loyal to the emperor. (pages 493–495)

The Rise of the Shogun (cont.) Shoguns and Samurai The Rise of the Shogun (cont.) The emperor gave him the title of shogun, or commander of all of the emperor’s military. Yoritomo was a ruthless leader. He and the shoguns after him appointed samurai to run provinces. Kublai Kahn and the Mongols invaded Japan twice but were defeated. Typhoons called kamikaze by the Japanese helped defeat the Mongols. (pages 493–495)

The Daimyo Divide Japan Shoguns and Samurai The Daimyo Divide Japan As samurai divided their lands among their sons, the pieces of land got smaller, and the samurai grew resentful toward the shogun. In 1331, the emperor rebelled against the shoguns and many samurai joined him. Although he won, the emperor refused to give the samurai more land. (pages 496–497)

The Daimyo Divide Japan (cont.) Shoguns and Samurai The Daimyo Divide Japan (cont.) Ashikaga Takauji was a general who turned against the emperor and made himself shogun. The daimyo were powerful military lords who controlled territories created after the Ashikaga shoguns took over. The daimyo protected their territories by creating their own armies of samurai warriors. (pages 496–497)

The Daimyo Divide Japan (cont.) Shoguns and Samurai The Daimyo Divide Japan (cont.) Many samurai became vassals of a daimyo. This meant the samurai gave an oath of loyalty to his daimyo in exchange for land. This system of granting land for loyalty is known as feudalism. With no strong central government, Japanese warriors fought each other. (pages 496–497)

The Daimyo Divide Japan (cont.) Shoguns and Samurai The Daimyo Divide Japan (cont.) The Onin War raged from 1467 to 1477. Much of Kyoto was destroyed then. After the war, fighting spread throughout the country as daimyo resisted shoguns. The Ashikaga shogunate fell in 1567. (pages 496–497)