Japan 500-1450

Japanese geography Japan lies to the east of China “Land of the Rising Sun” 4,000 islands make up the Japanese archipelago but most Japanese live on the four largest ones Spans 1200 miles Land is mountainous and only 15% is arable Natural resources scarce

Early Japan Japan first mentioned in 300 as a set of clans that were not united Shinto- Japanese religion- “way of the gods” No rituals or philosophy Respect of nature Ancestor worship Believe in kami, divine spirits that dwell in nature

Yamato Emperors 5th C Yamato clan became leading clan 7th C claimed to be emperors of Japan Japan had an emperor who was a figure head and a power behind the throne that actually ruled

The Japanese Adapt Chinese Ideas Koreans travel to Japan during 6th C and bring Chinese ideas with them Mid-700s Japanese court adopted Buddhism Japanese did not give up Shinto even though most Japanese became Buddhist Instead Buddhist rituals became Shinto rituals and some Shinto gods were worshipped in Buddhist temples

Cultural Borrowing from China 607 Prince Shotoku sent missions to Tang China to learn about Chinese ways Japanese adopt Chinese system of writing Artists painted landscapes similar to Chinese artists Cooking, tea drinking Government- strong central government Attempted to introduce exam system for government officials but it failed and noble families remained in control Late 9th century missions ended along with the heavy borrowing

Life in the Heian Period- 794-1185 794 members of imperial court move capital to Heian (modern day Kyoto) Highly refined period Rituals and art filled the days of the nobility Etiquette extremely important Everyone at the court was expected to write poetry and paint Lady Murasaki- wrote the Tale of the Gengi, an account of imperial life First novel in any language

Decline of Central Power For most of Heian period the rich Fujiwara family held power in Japan but by the 11th C most of the family members were interested in luxury and other pursuits, rather than governance Large landowners began setting up private armies Life became dangerous so many farmers traded parts of their land to strong warlords for protection Lords began to acquire more power and the feudal period began

Samurai Warriors Samurai = one who serves Lords surrounded themselves with samurai Lived according to bushido- code of conduct “the way of the warrior” Courage, fairness, generosity to those weaker Dying an honorable death more important than living a long life

The Kamakura Shogunate late 1100s two powerful clans fought for power Minamoto clan emerged victorious Emperor gave Minamoto leader the tile of Shogun, which was basically a military dictator with everyone under his power Emperor was still in Kyoto but had no real power Military headquarters were at Kamakura and the 1200s are called the Kamakura Shogunate Under early shoguns local lords still had power Shoguns strengthened military control by assigning a military governor to each province- these were called daimyo