JAPAN

JAPAN’S GEOGRAPHY  Japan is made up of 4 islands  Substantial climate differences across the 4 islands  Only 1/5 of the surface of the country is suitable for agriculture  What can we learn about Japan from knowing these facts about its geography?

POPULATION  Most homogenous population in all of Asia  No need to assimilate newcomers  Ethnically closer to Koreans but linguistically closer to Chinese (especially in writing)  So what?

RELIGION  Buddhism  Ethics  Many different varieties throughout Japanese culture and society  Shinto  Like Chinese Daosim  Native Japanese Religion  Optimistic! Guilt free!  Adaptable!

GOVERNMENT  Seventeen Point Constitution  Prince Shotoku  1604  Buddhist/Confucianist principles  Took elements from TANG CHINA and applied the ones that they liked  Peasants paid taxes to central gov  8 officials to assist the Emperor  Government was an aristocratic privilege

CUT OFF FROM CHINA  In 784 the imperial court was moved to Heian (Kyoto)  Began cutting off contact with mainland  By 1200, Japanese and Chinese had entirely unique cultures  Why is this important?

SHOGUNATE  System of disguised rule by powerful families  Kept Japan’s government STABLE for hundreds of years  WHY SHOULD WE CARE ABOUT STABILITY?

SAMURAI  What was a samurai’s role in society?  In reality what were samurai like?

CULTURE  World’s first novel- Tale of Genji  POETRY!  Paintings  Colorful dress  Expressive emotions

QUESTIONS TO DISCUSS  Based on what we learned, what do you think is going to happen when Europe comes into contact with Japan?  How are the Japanese similar to the Chinese? How are they different?