Ancient Japan

Geography Only 20% of land is flat Sea is essential part of diet (fish/seaweed) Close but isolated (impacts on development?) What are the 4 main islands? Where would cities develop (2 factors)

Early Japanese Society Clans/Families ruled farming villages Head of family ruled and had religious duties (Shinto) Nature spirits are called kami Everything in nature has kami (including clan leaders) Leaders from Honshu eventually take over (greatest of kami) and call themselves emperors

China’s Influence Language Philosophy Religion

China’s Influence Japanese learned written language from China (earliest history is in Chinese) 200 years later they devised Japanese written Language Prince Shotoku (shoh-toh-koo) 593-621 CE Regent for aunt Admired Confucius thought but was a practicing Buddhist (melds the two)

Heian Period 794 CE – Emperor moved to Heian (Hay-ahn) current day Kyoto Many nobles followed Nobles loved art and beauty and set out to make the city beautiful (Golden Era begins) Tale of Genji – fictitious story of 4 generations of Japanese aristocracy (why sig?) Writing fan

Growth of Military Emperor gets distracted by life at court Daimyo (dy-mee-oh) protect their lands by hiring samurai Most samurai inherited position from father Samurai derives from the word servant or those who serve

Samurai Fought on horseback, and used swords and bows Lived by strict warrior code Bushido – the way of the warrior Samurai disciplined themselves by practicing the art of poetry, meditation and gardening

Powerful military leader who ruled in the name of the Emperor Shogun Civil war breaks out in 1150 Minamoto clan wins but keeps emperor as a figurehead When he died he passed power onto his son Lasts for the next 700 years Powerful military leader who ruled in the name of the Emperor

Turning Point Mongol emperor Kublai Khan 1st attempts to conquer Japan in 1274 Korean and Chinese troops made Mongol army ridiculously strong Heavy storm decimated the fleet and its manpower 1281, Khan returns with an even larger fleet, but most of it is destroyed by a typhoon The Japanese called these storms kamikaze – “divine wind” Japanese take it that they are invincible because they are protected by divine powers

Oh yeah .... The portugese introduced guns to Japan Oda Nobunaga (ohd-ah noh-booh-nah-gah) wins and moves the capital to Edo (Tokyo) 1630s shogun outlaws guns – afraid the peasants would revolt with them Isolation and lack of technology keeps Japan the exact same from 1600s to late 1800s!

Reviewing Japan Unscramble each group of letters to spell a term: etrgne – a person who rules in someone else’s name Regent misaaru – a Japanese warrior aclsn – large, extended families elauvs – ideas that people hold dear uctro – a group of nobles who surround a ruler nguosh – great Japanese general who ruled instead of the Emperor enz – form of Japanese Buddhism osnith – a nature religion that begun in Japan odmiya – Japanese lords who gave land to samurai kosouth – prince who introduced many Chinese ideas to Japan rctusrteu – the way something is set up