1. Japan: From Nara to Heian

2. The Nara Empire In 710, a Chinese style empire was created
It was based out of the city Nara which was being built in the checkerboard format of the Tang Dynasty
The empire was physically and politically dominated by Buddhists

3. The Heian Empire
In 794, a new emperor decided to build a new capital city in Heian (now Kyoto) in order to escape Buddhist domination
It would remain Japan’s capital until 1868

4. Sinification of Japan
During this period Japan became very similar to China
The land was split into sections led by nobles
People were taxed off the land
Men were now dominate
Later Japan would be Americanised….

5. Pressures on the Environment: Farming
In the year 550 Japan had a population of around 2 million, by the year 1000 the population was 5 million
This led to an increase in farming and destroyed Japan’s soil
This lead to increased irrigation and the use of night soil

6. Pressures on the Environment: Deforestation
The Japanese began to rapidly cut down their forests for:
Land to farm
Ship Building
Housing
Buddhist Temples
Fires for iron and heat

7. Consequences of Deforestation
In order to conserve wood, the Japanese began making walls of rice paper instead of wood
Floors were covered by grass mats
High quality timber was reserved for ship building