1. Japan Geography  Archipelago- chain of islands  4 main islands and 3000 tiny islands  Kyushu, Shikoku, Honshu, and Hokkaido are the main islands- Honshu most populated  Island Sea serves a major highway between the islands

2. Japan Geography  Lies on the Pacific Ring of Fire  1500 tremors shake the islands every year  30 active volcanoes  Fierce typhoons routinely strike the islands  Mild climate

3. Japan Geography  Intensive land use / mild climate / terraced land / drained swamps / 2 growing seasons.  Excellent use of the seas / fish is major source of protein  Limited mineral resources- Almost everything comes to Japan via trade

4. Japanese People  Homogenous society- same language, same culture, no ethnic minorities  A separate identity  Discrimination towards Ainu and Burakumin…Early settlers of the northern islands and leather tanners respectively

5. Japanese History  Early Japanese society divided into clans according to work/warriors, farmers, weavers, potters etc.  Tenno clan unites country…all emperors can trace back to this clan  Buddhism arrives from Korea in 500AD  Chinese culture influences every aspect of Japanese life- Cultural Diffusion

6. Japanese History  Despite massive borrowing from Chinese culture, Japan still preserves its own culture.  Japanese selected only those ideas that worked for them.  Rejected civil service system  Accepted Buddhism and kept Shinto as well

7. Japanese History  Heian Court- Blended the best of Chinese and Japanese cultures  Created new system of writing-Kana  Ruled for 200 years  By 1100AD Japanese Feudalism firmly in place  Samurai-warrior knights waged battle to control land

8. Japanese History Feudal Classes  Emperor  Shogun  Samurai  Merchants  Artisans  Peasants

9. Japanese History  1192- Minamoto Yoritomo is made shogun or chief general of the army.  Emperor becomes a figurehead…Shoguns have all the power  Frequent warfare…Japan in a constant state of war through 1400’s.  1500- Japan united for 1 st time under Toyotomi Hideyoshi

10. Japanese History  1600- Tokugawa Leyasu claims shogun- His shogunate lasts until 1868  Peaceful, orderly society with centralized feudalism  The great samurai now called daimyo were brought under control by using their families as hostages

11. Japanese History  Tokugawa period caused large economic growth complete with money, urbanization, and new rich merchants who made their fortunes by trading.  Remained isolated as Tokugawa’s drove out Christian missionaries who showed up following Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, and English traders.

12. Japanese History  By 1600 Japan is almost totally isolated from rest of world  1853- U.S. ends Japan’s isolation by force( Admiral Perry’s Fleet)- Treaty of Kanagawa grants US vast powers over Japan---Unequal terms  Tokugawa’s begin to decline and lose suppory among all classes

13. Japanese History  1868- Meiji Restoration- Emperor restored to power.  Modernized Japan  Sent many to Europe and U.S. to study government, industry and military  Emperor is kept/ constitution is written /legislature called “Diet” is created

14. Japanese History  Economy grows quickly under “zaibatsu system”…Still exists today.  Abolished feudal social classes  Required military service  Urbanization / large cities  By 1900 Japan had become a modern industrialized nation  Territorial Expansion begins

15. Japanese History  1895- Japan defeats China to get partial control of Korea  1904- World is shocked when Japan defeats Russia for control of the rest of Korea and a small section of Manchuria  Japan gets much needed natural resources and world standing and respect

16. Japanese History  WW1- Japan takes over defeated Germany’s holdings in China  The Depression brings military dictatorship to Japan  Renewed expansion in the Pacific to gain more control of China and French Indochina (Vietnam) for their natural resources

17. Japanese History  In response to Japanese expansion the Pacific, U.S. cuts off Japan’s oil supply and other goods necessary for the military.  Japan retaliates by bombing Pearl Harbor and WW2 begins for U.S. and Japan.  Japan is defeated after U.S. uses atomic bomb

18. Japanese Government  Many reforms after WW2- Disbanded military, new constitution moved power from emperor to the Diet, new bill of rights, women allowed to vote, war was made illegal.  Douglas MacArthur in charge of Japanese occupation.  Today the government is democratic, close to business, and much like U.S.

19. Japanese Economy  Japan’s economy return to a healthy state by supplying military equipment to the UN for use in Korean War.  Looked to U.S. market to sell new smaller hi tech cars, VCR’s, tape recorders, radios, cameras. TV’s, stereo equipment, computer printers and other related products

20. Japanese Economy  Reason’s for success: Well educated workforce Cheap labor Innovation of old products and new invention Driven as a single society to succeed. Some see their economic success as an extension of their need to dominate other countries

21. Japanese Societal Reforms  Arranged marriages based on family interests an social class became less common. Marriages are no longer family alliances  Son no longer follow in father’s footsteps regarding occupations  Land was more evenly distributed among tenant farmers and peasants.  Head of households no longer have legal authority over family members

22. Japanese Societal Reforms  Family remains center of life...Elders often live in the country while the younger members live in the city in very crowded conditions  Japan women have important roles in the labor force 1/3 are OL’s but this is changing rapidly.

23. Japanese Religion  Shinto- Way of the gods…Spirits or Kami live in things and controlled nature  Buddhism- 552 AD arrival via Buddhists missionaries. Ties Confucianism, Daoism, Legalism together. Reincarnation Samurais adapt Zen Buddhism…meditation, self-discipline, self-control both mental and physical. “Bushhido”