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Early Japan

Early Japan. And Feudalism. Geography. Archipelago? Chain of islands, about 100 miles off Asian mainland Size of Montana Why do most live in river valleys or along coast? Too mountainous, 4/5ths How did seas help and hurt them? Isolated, trade, food, influences. Ring of Fire?

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Early Japan

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  1. Early Japan And Feudalism

  2. Geography • Archipelago? • Chain of islands, about 100 miles off Asian mainland • Size of Montana • Why do most live in river valleys or along coast? • Too mountainous, 4/5ths • How did seas help and hurt them? • Isolated, trade, food, influences

  3. Ring of Fire? • Area in Pacific includes Philippines, Indonesia, Australia, and South America • Tsunami? • Underwater earthquake causing huge tidal waves

  4. Japan From the 300s ce to 600s ce

  5. Early Japan • Hundreds of Clans controlled their own territories in Japan. • The dominant religion, Shintoism, was polytheistic (each clan had its own gods from original ancestor) and based on divine spirits in nature. • Honoring kami, or nature spirits • Yamato Clan set up Japan’s first and only dynasty.

  6. Yamato Clan

  7. Shinto Shrine

  8. Early Japan • The economy was agriculturally based and there were trade contacts with China. • The influence of China on many aspects of Japanese culture was significant.

  9. First Emperors • By the 400s, one the most powerful clans claimed divine approval and their leaders called themselves emperors. • Current emperor still claims decent from Yamato Clan

  10. First Emperors • Though ruling families changed, the position of emperor, as a figurehead with divine qualities, became a common trend. • Korean Bridge? • Korean artisans in Japan, warrior attacks, religion, Chinese culture from Korea

  11. Japan From the 600s ce to 1600s

  12. Increased Chinese influence • In the 600s, Chinese culture and styles in government, writing, court etiquette, Confucianism, and Buddhism were often mandated by the ruling clans. • Chinese Buddhism gradually mixed with Shinto beliefs and a distinct form of Japanese Buddhism evolved.

  13. Heian Period • (hay AHN) 794-1185. Imperial capital. • Elegant and sophisticated culture blossomed • Fairy-tale atmosphere of gardens and pools • Extraordinary dress • Women had little rights

  14. Japan’s Feudal Age

  15. Loss of Central Authority • Eventually enthusiasm for everything Chinese died down • Powerful families and Buddhist leaders began to challenge the central government as regional rulers with their own armies developed.

  16. Loss of Central Authority • Mini-states, or shogunates (supreme military commander), took the place of the central government. • Emperor had little power

  17. Warlords • These great lords and their warriors fought for political power and control of territory. Civil wars resulted. • The Japanese Feudal Period or The Era of Warrior Dominance had begun.

  18. Feudal Rank • Shogun • Daimyo (Di myoh)- vassal lords • Samurai- knights • Bushido “way of the warrior”- chivalry • Supposed to have no fear • Seppuku (she poo koo)? • Ritual suicide

  19. Early women more rights, could become warriors • Samurai code did not set women on pedestal • Artisans- made armor and weapons • Peasants- 75%, farmed, soldiers, rise in ranks • Merchants

  20. Kamikaze? • Divine winds, after Mongols attempted invasion • Japanese thought had special protection of the gods

  21. Samurai and Knights • Japanese Warriors compared to the European Warriors

  22. Samurai Wisdom from the Hagakure • A child should not be allowed to become frightened of thunder through the oversight of his parents, or forbidden to go into the dark, and it is bad policy to tell him frightening stories to keep him quiet when he cries.

  23. Samurai Wisdom from the Hagakure • The best conduct with regard to speaking is to remain silent. At least if you think you can manage without speaking, do not speak. What must be said should be said as succinctly as possible. A surprising number of people make fools of themselves by talking without thinking, and are looked down upon.

  24. Samurai Wisdom from the Hagakure • A man endowed with equal virtue has at core a kind of calm or ease so that he never gives the impression of being busy. It is lesser men who have no peacefulness in their character, who compete for fame and go around knocking each other down.

  25. Tokugawas • 1603-1868 ruled Japan • Rid of feudal warfare • Daimyo required to live in capital Edo every other year; wife and kids remained full time; permission • Only samurai serve in military or government; peasants farmed; low class couldn’t wear silk • Women rights strictly regulated

  26. Economic Growth • Agriculture improved and expanded (new seeds, tools, fertilizer) • Population growth • More towns • New roads for trade

  27. Zen Buddhism • Emphasized meditation and devotion to duty • Devotion to nature (landscaping), seek enlightenment through precise performance of everyday tasks • Contradictions • Zen monks great scholars but moment of “non-knowing” • Compassion for all but samurai killed • Absolute freedom but rigid rules in society

  28. Artistic Traditions • No plays performed on square wooden stage with no scenery • Elegant carved masks, movements had special meaning • Kabuki? • Comedy or melodrama • Bunraku? • Narrator with story and used near life-sized puppets for story

  29. Haiku? • Three lines- totalizing 17 syllables • Express feeling or thought

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