Early Japanese History

10,500-300 BC Jomon Period 300 BC-300 AD Yayoi Period 57 AD First mention of Japan in historical writing (Chinese history) ~250-260 AD Founding of the Great Shrine of Ise 300-710 AD Kufun or Yamato Period 552 AD Introduction of Buddhism into Japan 552-645 AD Asuka Period, named after the Asukadera temple in Asuka 592-628 AD Empress Suiko, Prince Shotoku serves as regent 604 AD The Seventeen Article Constitution of Prince Shotoku

Jomon Period 10,000 – 350 BCE “Jomon” means “cord pattern” for the cord patterns found on their pottery hunter- gatherers relatively isolated culture

Early Period Jomon Pottery

Late/Final Era Jomon Pottery

Dogu Figures

Yayoi Period 300 BCE – 300 CE Iron Age in Japan Came from northern Kyushu and then seemed to replace the Jomon Unknown origins Argument for China: Bronze artifacts, rice paddy cultivation, bronze mirrors and bells Agriculturally-based culture focued on extensive rice cultivation Iron agriculture tools Lived in clans called uji Clans connected with “gods” or “spirits” called “kami” (origins of indigenous religion: Shinto)

Yayoi Jar 1st – 3rd Cent. CE

Reconstructed Yayoi Village – Yoshinogari

Earliest Historical References to Japan In 57 CE, a Chinese history mentions that the Han emperor sent a golden seal to Japan (called “Wa”) and mentions that Japan was divided into 100+ communities and had no political unity Story of a “queen” called Himiko who sent a tribute mission to the Chinese state of Wei in 239 CE

Ancient Religion What we know as “Shinto” develops over time and isn’t named as such till Buddhism arrives Originally a clan-based religion, each clan associated with a “kami” As clans consolidated, multiple kami were worshipped Definition of kami elements in nature, animals, creationary forces in the universe, as well as spirits of the revered deceased. Concerns for purity Burial rituals Shrines (founding of Ise)

Shrine at Ise

Yamato or Kofun Period 300-710 CE Sometimes called “Kofun” for the tomb-mounds built by this culture “Yamato” is the plain near modern Osaka, where the Yamato kings established their capital Kings in the Yamato plain began to consolidate power, e.g. Yuryaku (late 5th cent.) – establishes systems of hierarchy based on Chinese systems & using Korean nomenclature

“Keyhole” Kofun of Emperor Nintoku, 5th cent., near Osaka

Round Kofun, 5th cent. CE, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo

Prince Shotoku

Shotoku Reunification in China – Sui/Tang Dynasty widens influence in Korea and then Japan Factional disputes amongst Japanese clans Some clans (e.g. Nakatomi) have a more traditionalist attitude toward religion (kami) Others (e.g. Soga) influenced by Chinese philosophy and theories of government

Shotoku (cont.) Suiko (princess from Soga clan) rules until 628 CE, has capital at Asuka, and opens relations with China Prince Shotoku (574-622 CE) appointed as regent in 593 at age 20 Regent: a person appointed to administer a country because the monarch is a minor or is absent or incapacitated. Encourages education of elite in Chinese culture - portrayed in the attire of the Chinese court Said to have lectured on the Lotus Sutra in the court in 606 CE and famously said “The world is Illusion; only Buddha is truth.” Often regarded as an ideal ruler later in Japanese historiography

Greatest Accomplishments 12 cap and rank system of administration Seventeen Article Constitution

As You Read: Highlight Confucian influences in one color Highlight Buddhist influences in another color Highlight sections about the ruler and the ruled in another color Answer the questions, no need to put into essay format