1. Early Japanese History

4. 10, BC
Jomon Period
300 BC-300 AD
Yayoi Period
57 AD
First mention of Japan in historical writing (Chinese history)
~ AD
Founding of the Great Shrine of Ise AD
Kufun or Yamato Period
552 AD
Introduction of Buddhism into Japan AD
Asuka Period, named after the Asukadera temple in Asuka AD
Empress Suiko, Prince Shotoku serves as regent
604 AD
The Seventeen Article Constitution of Prince Shotoku

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

6. Early Period Jomon Pottery

7. Late/Final Era Jomon Pottery

9. Dogu Figures

11. 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)

12. Yayoi Jar
1st – 3rd Cent. CE

13. Reconstructed Yayoi Village –
Yoshinogari

14. Earliest Historical References to Japan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

15. 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)

17. Shrine at Ise

20. 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

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

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

23. Prince Shotoku

24. 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

25. Shotoku (cont.)
Suiko (princess from Soga clan) rules until 628 CE, has capital at Asuka, and opens relations with China
Prince Shotoku ( 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

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

28. 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