The Early History of Japan

Shape of the Day The Origins of Religion The Origins of Japan Early Inventions of Japan A Comparison of Religions

How Did Mankind Reach Japan?

The Jomon The Jomon had a very simple civilization that largely survived off of hunting and gathering There is evidence that civilization was based off small groups which were always in conflict

The Yayoi The Jamon people, however, are not the true ancestor of Japan as a group from Korea known as the Yayoi displaced them For quite a while Japan survived as a “province” of Korea Modern Japanese people can be genetically traced back to ancestors from Korea and Northeast Asia - Japanese were not their own distinct people until as late as 200 CE

Improvements of the Yayoi With the migration of Koreans to Japan, a number of improvements came including: Comparison of Japan to province of Korea Rice Farming Stronger Clay Iron Weapons Iron Tools

Replacement of Iron Around 500 hundred years after the Yayoi period, Iron would be replaced by the much stronger metal steel This would be crucial to the development of the famous samurai sword. Do you know what it was called?

The Rise of Japan By the fifth century, people inhabiting Japan were unique enough that we many now call them Japanese At this time the Japanese now had technology equivalent to the Shang Dynasty (the Shang Dynasty began 2000 years earlier) The island of Japan at this point was made up of many strong families under the control of the Yamato family

Shinto Quickly read pages 180-181 *Stop when you reach Buddhism Take a few notes on Shintoism What is Kami? What are some examples of Kami? Is the sun significant? Does Shinto involve spirits? Compare Shintoism to the video “Origins of Religions” Does this video compare well with Shinto?

Buddhism While Buddhism spread to China and Korea rapidly, Japan was more skeptical Japan did accept Buddhism for one reason however: the promise of an after life In 552 Buddhism was declared the state religion of Japan by Prince Shotoku

Some More Chinese Influence Prince Shotuko not only inherited Buddhism from China, but a number of other Chinese aspects as well Shotuko sent hundreds of monks, painters, musicians, and government officials to learn from the Chinese, they would return 30 years later

The Influence of Chinese Government Like the Chinese, the Japanese government used a number of officials to rule from the Japanese Capital These officials would observe and control smaller areas of Japan, but could not live among them This process was implemented in China during the Qin Dynasty