Japanese History Introduction

1. Japanese History Introduction

2. Japan • Just 110 miles east of Korea lies the Japanese archipelago, or chain of islands. • Japan consists of four large islands– Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu, and Hokkaido– and many smaller ones.

3. Japan • Because of this island geography, the Japanese formed their civilization mostly in isolation from mainland. • Cut off from mainland Asian civilizations,except for China.

4. Japan • Much of Japanese land is very mountainous. • Less than 20 percent is suitable for farming. • The Japanese learned to get most of their food from the sea.

5. Japan • They also learned to rely on the sea for protection from invaders. • They regarded it as a route of transportation between the islands.

6. Japan • Japan was first settled about 10,000 years ago, but little is known about its earliest inhabitants. • In early Japan, separate clans, or groups based on family ties, ruled their own regions.

7. Japan • Clan members practiced a religious belief called Shinto, or “the way of the gods.” • By about 400 A.D., the Yamato, became a militarily strong clan • They were based in central Japan.

8. Japan • It extended its rule over most of the country. • The Yamato chief in effect became the emperor of Japan.

9. Location • The lands of the Yamato clan were on a peninsula They lived on the southwest coast of island of Honshu

10. The Yamato clan consolidated its control over most of Japan. • They used a combination of military conquest, intermarriage, and diplomacy.

11. Technology • During this period, Japan accelerated its advance in technology: • It adopted rice cultivation. • improved its pottery. • developing iron working,

12. Religion • The Japanese religion became more formalized as Shinto. • This is the “Way of the Kami.”

13. Religion • The kami were an infinite number of natural spirits and powers • They could be called upon for aid or appeased when angered.

14. The Japanese believed their rulers descended from the sun goddess, • She was the supreme Shinto deity.

15. Technology • Building social hierarchies. • Consolidating political, economic, and cultural of the islands

16. Economy • The Japanese economy remained dependent on rice growing. • Peasants worked public lands. • It was primarily a barter economy. • Taxes were paid in rice, cloth, and other goods.

17. CapitalPrior to the late seventh century AD, there was no permanent capital of Japan. • Each king ruled from his own palace, which was usually abandoned following his death.

18. With the Yamato the need for a permanent seat of government arose. • The first capital was founded at Fujiwara in 694 AD.

19. It served three emperors before being abandoned in 710. • The second capital of this period was built at Heijo (occupied from 710 to 784.)

20. The Emperor of Japan • Initially the emperor had a great deal of political power. • By the A.D. 500s, however, the emperor had become more of a ceremonial figure.

21. The Emperor of Japan • The people of Japan believed that only the emperor could communicate with the gods in behalf of their people. • He mainly carried out religious rituals.

22. The Emperor of Japan • This insured that the same family remained on the throne. • Real political power was taken from the emperor • Various families ruled Japan through the centuries.

23. Japan • From A.D. 400 to A.D. 700, the Japanese developed close ties with Korea and China. • During this period the Chinese Empire had one of the most advanced civilizations in the world.

24. Japan • The Japanese began to model their society on Chinese principles and methods. • About A.D. 587 Prince Shotoku, the most powerful official at the emperor’s court, gave his support to Buddhism.

25. Japan • In A.D. 646 government officials instituted the Taika, or “Great Change” reforms. • These attempted to establish a strong central government patterned after that of China.

26. Greater government centralization did not take place until A.D. 710. • Japan built its first permanent capital at Nara.

27. During the Nara period, the Japanese produced their first written literature: • Mainly poetry and histories of early Japan.

28. Heian Kyo. • In A.D. 794 the Japanese established a new capital, Heian Kyo. • This was “the City of Peace and Tranquility,” later called Kyoto.

29. Heian Period • During the Heian period there was a strong central government in Japan • It was largely in the hands of aristocratic families such as the Fujiwara.

30. Heian Period • Life in the Heian court was known for its elegance, good manners, and love of natural beauty. • During the Heian period, women of the court produced Japan's first great prose literature.

31. Heian Period • Lady Shikibu Murasaki wrote The Tale of Genji, which some believe to be the world’s first novel. • This story described the daily lives, customs and attitudes of Japan.

32. Heian Period • In A.D. 1156 the rule of the Fujiwara family came to an end. • A dispute developed between two powerful court families: • The Taira and the Minamoto.

33. Minamoto • The Minamoto won the dispute. • The emperor gave the title shogun, or great general, to Yoritomo Minamoto. • The shogunate, or military government, proved to be quite strong.

34. Minamoto • It twice defended Japan against Mongol invaders. • In A.D. 1336 the Ashikaga family gained control of the shogunate. • But failed to secure control of regional warriors.

35. Civil War • Japan soon broke into individual warring states. • This left the shogun and the emperor as mere figureheads.

36. The powerful landowner-warriors in the countryside were called samurai. • The most powerful samurai became daimyo, or lords. • The samurai fought on horseback with bows, arrows, and steel swords.

37. They followed a strict code of honor called Bushido. • It meant “the way of the warrior.” • Bushido stressed bravery, self-discipline, and loyalty.

38. If a samurai was dishonored or defeated, he was expected to commit suicide. • There was great political turmoil during its feudal period

39. Japan developed economically at this time. • Each region began to specialize in specific goods.

40. This led to increased trade between regions. • The increasing trade led to the growth of towns around the castles of the daimyos.

41. Japanese merchants began to trade with Chinese and Korean merchants. • Exchange of goods also led to the exchange of ideas. • The Japanese not only imported Chinese goods, but their religion as well.

42. By the A.D. 1200s, Buddhism had spread from the nobles to the common people. • In the late A.D. 1100s, a new form of Buddhism called Zen reached Japan from China. • Followers of Zen rejected book learning and logical thought. • While embracing bodily discipline and meditation.

43. Zen perfected art forms and rituals such as ikebana, or flower arranging, meditation gardens, and the tea ceremony. • These and other arts and rituals derived from Buddhism remain popular in Japan today.